And as we seek to create the space for a meaningful debate on immigration reform, we are reminded of the success stories that make up who we are as a country.
In 2014 it intends to launch, at a cost of a few million dollars, a set of small space telescopes whose purpose will be to seek out asteroids which are easy to get to and whose orbits return them to the vicinity of Earth often enough for the accumulated spoils of a mining operation to be downloaded at frequent intervals.
It is long-overdue recognition that intelligent life is not something for us to seek in the outer reaches of space but is abundant right here on earth, under our noses.
The British Museum does not currently have space for a big travelling show (it had to seek special permission from English Heritage to use the old Reading Room for the recent exhibition from China).
Researchers at the Center for Laser Applications at the University of Tennessee Space Institute in Tullahoma have developed a technology that goes on a "seek and destroy" mission for cancerous tumors.