Seems that Billings takes issue with America having power on earth or in space.
The freedom is "bright-and-shiny." The power is "dark-and-jagged."
All I know is that superiority in space technology is required if America wants to remain the most powerful nation in the world. The nation that leads in space is going to be the nation that calls the shots on this planet.
Going to the moon was nice and everything, creating warm-and-fuzzies in people, but the truth is: American superiority in space is necessary for the preservation and advance of American freedom.