I recommend you read arstechnica's rebuttal of Steve Jobs's claims.
I want my five minutes back. This editorial is terrible. Jobs made a distinction between proprietary standards for content on the web and proprietary tools to access that content. This editorial completely glosses over that distinction and argues that all proprietary software is bad. Seriously? I'm all for touting the benefits of open source and free software but there's a place for proprietary software as well. If you don't like the iphone's proprietary software, buy another phone. It's not like there aren't plenty of options.
I can't even come close to replicating these photographs myself, but there are even more incredible examples of amateurs doing amazing space photography with relatively simple equipment. There are a couple of these geniuses in the SF Bay Area. One I'm familiar with is Rogelio Bernal Andreo. He is a fixture at astro sites around the Bay, and his photographs are simply jaw dropping. I believe most of his magic happens on the back end in the digital processing. His set up easily packs into his car.
Check some of these out: http://blog.deepskycolors.com/nebulas.html
Then why does congress get this kind of protection when private citizens suspected of a crime do not?
They do. It's called a Grand Jury. Although sometimes the media gets the information anyway, like in this case.
No amount of careful planning will ever replace dumb luck.