BANG! SMACK! TO DA MOON BUSHY!

[Demrepdan]

Bush wants to go back to the moon......your thoughts?

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3910698/

[© Tweed the Younger]

He also wants to go to Mars, back to his homeland.  

[Clay]

And Mars too.

I say, why not?

[Demrepdan]

I think he wants to go to Mars to INVADE them! Because those MARTIANS have their PROTON bombs, and their LASER guns and all of their "NUKE-LER" BOMBS and WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTIONS!  

Don't you see the imminent danger we are in?!?!?

WE MUST DISARM MARS!!! AND THEIR EVIL DICTATOR SUDAK HUSTKAR!!!

[DarthKosh]

And Mars too.

I say, why not?

I'm packed and ready to go.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

I can understand and agree with spending whatever is necessary to win the War on Terror.

I can understand cutting taxes to increase economic activity.

But I can't understand spending a dime on this Moon/Mars proposal while we're fighting a global war on terror and our economy is undergoing restructuring.

About the only thing the Shuttle and the Space Station do is fly in circles around the earth and suck money into the vacuum of space.  I would end their programs also.

To save even more money.  I would also end the farm bill and the prescription drug program.

Bush needs a swift kick in the head!

[DarthKosh]

I can understand and agree with spending whatever is necessary to win the War on Terror.

I can understand cutting taxes to increase economic activity.

But I can't understand spending a dime on this Moon/Mars proposal while we're fighting a global war on terror and our economy is undergoing restructuring.

About the only thing the Shuttle and the Space Station do is fly in circles around the earth and such money into the vacuum of space.  I would end their programs also.

To save even more money.  I would also end the farm bill and the prescription drug program.

Bush needs a swift kick in the head!

Please i rather spend it on space missions the the war on terror.

[Clay]

I think he wants to go to Mars to INVADE them! Because those MARTIANS have their PROTON bombs, and their LASER guns and all of their "NUKE-LER" BOMBS and WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTIONS!  

Don't you see the imminent danger we are in?!?!?

WE MUST DISARM MARS!!! AND THEIR EVIL DICTATOR SUDAK HUSTKAR!!!

lol  Demrepdan, you should really change your colors back now.

And tell me... what do you know about Sudak Hustkar?

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

Please i rather spend it on space missions the the war on terror.

I rather not have to spend money defending the country also.  But, unless we want to bow in submission to these terrorists, we must bury them.

Until victory in the war is won, robotic mission can be done at 1/100 the cost of manned missions.

[Dave from Michigan]

I think it would be cool to go to mars and see the first man to walk on mars.

[Gustaf]

I'm think I'm gonna side with jmf here. Space programs aren't that important (though it would be nice of you to send up that poor Swedish astronaut who has been sitting around waiting for 10 years! )

Cutting subsidies to special interest is always a good thing!

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

I think it would be cool to go to mars and see the first man to walk on mars.

yeah, and it would be cool to drive around in a Lamborghini...but that doesn't mean I am willing to pay the cost of enjoying such a thrill.

[Harry]

I'm think I'm gonna side with jmf here. Space programs aren't that important (though it would be nice of you to send up that poor Swedish astronaut who has been sitting around waiting for 10 years! )

Cutting subsidies to special interest is always a good thing!

Space programs really do benefit science.

[StevenNick]

I'm okay with spending the money on the space program so long as it's Lance Bass that gets to set foot on Mars first.

[CTguy]

Space programs are in fact important.  Many of the inventions that we use and take for granted came from ideas NASA has used for space deployments.  And space research has taught us a lot about our own planets history as well as helped provide information about things such as our weather and geography (things that have saved us money and saved lives).

[Demrepdan]

I think he wants to go to Mars to INVADE them! Because those MARTIANS have their PROTON bombs, and their LASER guns and all of their "NUKE-LER" BOMBS and WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTIONS!  

Don't you see the imminent danger we are in?!?!?

WE MUST DISARM MARS!!! AND THEIR EVIL DICTATOR SUDAK HUSTKAR!!!

lol  Demrepdan, you should really change your colors back now.

All in good time....

And tell me... what do you know about Sudak Hustkar?

I know that he tried to get uranium from Africa, and he may have al-Qaida connections...

[CHRISTOPHER MICHAE]

I can understand and agree with spending whatever is necessary to win the War on Terror.

I can understand cutting taxes to increase economic activity.

But I can't understand spending a dime on this Moon/Mars proposal while we're fighting a global war on terror and our economy is undergoing restructuring.

About the only thing the Shuttle and the Space Station do is fly in circles around the earth and suck money into the vacuum of space.  I would end their programs also.

To save even more money.  I would also end the farm bill and the prescription drug program.

Bush needs a swift kick in the head!

Farming is a major part of our economy. We need food to live, and farmers need to make a living. End the prescription drug program and let millions of people die, all because they have to make the choice wtih their money-whether to eat or buy their necessary drugs. If it wasn't for Medicaid covering my drugs, for the most part at least, I would have been dead already, that's a fact. It just goes to show how RUTHLESS and EXTREME some in the Republican party are. Are you a big Thomas Malthus fan or something?

[Sibboleth]

It wouldn't suprise me if Jmf was a fan of Rev Malthus...

[Paul]

The advances and innovations that space exploration bring can't be ignored.  When our nation is truly focused on a goal in space, not just a routine, it can be great.  One of the ideas of this initiative is to bring more interest in science for another generation.  Someone will go back to the moon and then to Mars.  Why shouldn't it be the U.S., and why not sooner than later?
[BTW, I wonder if the critics of this plan will be upset that the U.S. is continuing to engage in unilateralism?]

[opebo]

I like Bush's space ideas, but am uncomfortable with the government increasing its involvement in inappropriate activities (i.e. outside of defense, the courts, etc.).   Perhaps the space program could be justified under national security - we wouldn't want the Chinese to gain possession of the moon.
And I don't think the pricetag sounds that bad.

[Paul]

Yeah, I hear pundits floating this figure of $1 trillion around, and I thought, "How the heck can we afford this?"  But it turns out that the plan is to increase NASA's funding by about 5% per year...that's only $800 million more next year.  Pretty inexpensive in comparison to Iraq or the Medicare drug entitlement.

[Nation]

The pricetag isn't that bad, but still, that's $800 Million of "do we REALLY need to expand NASA right now?"  Personally, I don't think so, especially when money is desperately needed moreso in other fields.

[Nym90]

We could easily afford $800 million for NASA...just reduce the size of the tax cuts by $800 million. So the richest 1% of Americans would each only have to give up $300/year to make it happen.

[opebo]

We could easily afford $800 million for NASA...just reduce the size of the tax cuts by $800 million. So the richest 1% of Americans would each only have to give up $300/year to make it happen.

I'd be comfortable with more than 800 million, but I'd like to see it taken out of give-away programs like medicare and the prescription drug boondoggle.  The rich already pay nearly all the taxes anway - its at least conceivable they'd enjoy a cool space program, while I doubt they get any joy out of paying to keep some uneconomic old duffer around for a few more years of nursing home living.

[© Tweed the Younger]

how much money does bush think he has?  His spending policy is downright scary.  we are in a nearly $500B dollar hole next year, and he still doles out billions for a questionable Medicare bill and sending astronauts to Mars.  Kucinich wants to cut the defense budget by 15%--and maybe he's right.