... new frontiers, new sights. But I simultaneously hate the idea of space, because it distracts people from important things yet to be accomplished on earth. Like jobs. And medical care. And equality. And no more war. Etc.
I believe that the next great journey for man is not "without" (i.e., space), but "within". The next conquest must be man's conquest over himself.
When Kennedy declared that we WOULD make the moon within the decade, we did it by doubling NASA's budget twice within the decade. Inflation adjusted for today, it cost something like $100 billion to run the Apollo missions. Bush's proposal calls for $13 billion, but only $1 billion of that is new, the rest being pulled off existing projects. How does he accomplish that? Well, actually the new money is primarily to DESIGN the machinery we'd need - BUILDING it, for a mission to Mars that could occur as "soon" as 30 years from now, would need to be paid for long after a certain President is back in Texas. But he gets credit for making the Kennedy-esque pledge to reach the moon. Not the first time he's carefully swept the true cost of things he promises under the rug. (See various funny tax cut math, a "balanced budget" for 2003 that didn't account for the war we know know he'd been planning for over two years, the steps towards privatization in the prescription drug benefit that no one would ever have supported except for the fact that they were bundled with something tasty and don't kick in for 10 years.)
Bottom line is we probably won't actually go - as Ruby points out, there are a lot of things to spend the money on here on THIS planet. But let it not be said that SOMEONE in the White House (if not the Prez) knows how to spin the political game....
I'm totally not a Democrat, but I'd rather see the money spent on education, health care for poor and elderly and feeding hungry children. Rotten little brats will run the world in the future, so we should educate them properly. Hungry kids can't learn.
I hate to say it, but it's all campaign crap. Unless they've found oil on the moon, of course, and then the damn thing is AMERICAN, I tell you. OURS!!
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timeasmymeasure
I think
Date: 2004-01-14 02:39 pm (UTC)I love the idea of space...
Date: 2004-01-14 02:43 pm (UTC)I believe that the next great journey for man is not "without" (i.e., space), but "within". The next conquest must be man's conquest over himself.
Wow.
Date: 2004-01-14 03:40 pm (UTC)I think it's fabulous.
Date: 2004-01-14 05:58 pm (UTC)*whistles Would You Like To Swing on a Star*
SWS
It's all hat, no substance.
Date: 2004-01-14 06:00 pm (UTC)Bottom line is we probably won't actually go - as Ruby points out, there are a lot of things to spend the money on here on THIS planet. But let it not be said that SOMEONE in the White House (if not the Prez) knows how to spin the political game....
I think it's STUPID.
Date: 2004-01-15 01:54 am (UTC)I hate to say it, but it's all campaign crap. Unless they've found oil on the moon, of course, and then the damn thing is AMERICAN, I tell you. OURS!!
Booyah!