prog: (coffee)
prog ([personal profile] prog) wrote2004-01-14 11:27 am
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Me am sad that people are being cynical about future moon & Mars missions because Bush is vocally backing them, and therefore something stinks.

Of course by "people" I mean Jon Stewart of The Daily Show, and I dunno how effective a barometer he is, but one could make the argument.

Another reason not to like Bush, though for bizarro reasons.

Speaking of Bizarro, to people who bring out the "Why are we spending money on outer space when it could better go to solving problems here on earth?" I say:
  1. Your notion of national finances as a zero-sum game is inaccurate, and
  2. You are acting exactly like the villain from that one episode of Super-Friends and you know I could never support you if you keep up that sort of thing.
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something stinks!

[identity profile] leahleaf.livejournal.com 2004-01-14 09:19 am (UTC)(link)
i have to thoughts on the subject:

one, that any sort of permanent moon base will be used for the housing of suspected terrorists. guantanamo bay on the moon! and so what if we haven't worked out all kinks in space-related travel, who will miss another few hundred suspected terrorists if their transport vehicle blows up on the way. to the moon! god's amurca on the mooooooon!

and two, that david icke guy was right and current and past world leaders are really reptilian sympathizers working to bring about a new world order, the space program is just a coverup to slowly reveal to the eventually-microchipped masses what they have known for years! look, we've made interplanetary contact with these guys. PREPARE TO BE COLONIZED

personally i don't see any harm in, say, coming up with a long-term plan for the country's finances before promoting Grand Visions For The Future and then not actually directing any money or resources towards them, whether they are available or not. (see: no child left behind)

[identity profile] ex-colorwhe.livejournal.com 2004-01-14 09:25 am (UTC)(link)
Hmm, I saw that Daily Show too and just assumed Jon was being his usual facetious self, not especially being cynical about space exploration personally. I think his MO is "comedy first." Any chance he could be trusting us to know that serious things lurk underneath?

On the other hand, he's not always "comedy first" with politicians, so maybe you're right. Carol Mosely Braun tonight, I think; we'll see.

Did you see the Nova about Mars exploration? It was awesome, and I still have it on tape-shmape if anyone wants to see it.

[identity profile] dougo.livejournal.com 2004-01-14 12:15 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm all for space exploration and settlement, just NOT NOW. It seems like a really bad time to be focusing a lot of attention on that. It'd be like Hoover proposing a moon shot (or something equivalently grandiose and long-term) in 1932. It seems solely politically motivated. Also, what little I heard about the plans included scrapping the International Space Station, which sounds kind of ridiculous to me. Let's keep going with that, and rehabilitate our shuttle program, and then maybe 20-30 years from now we'll go to Mars for fun.

Also, I'm surprised a Republican wouldn't want to encourage privatized space flight. Or maybe that's too much of a security threat?

monkeys

[identity profile] temvald.livejournal.com 2004-01-14 12:21 pm (UTC)(link)
see my other response on this subject:

http://www.livejournal.com/users/mildmannered/5190.html

(a joke ripped off directly from jon stewart, i might add.)

basically, it's not that i'm cynical about the prospects for a moon and mars mission. it's that i'm cynical about _any_ project implemented by this administration. it's the 'everything they touch turns to shit' principle. and, since i'd sort of like to see a mars mission succeed someday, i have to oppose starting one now.

[identity profile] cortezopossum.livejournal.com 2004-01-14 01:03 pm (UTC)(link)
I've seen a few other opinion polls about missions to mars and they seem to agree that the majority of people aren't supports of this idea and felt the money could be better spent elsewhere. The same, however, was true with opinion polls back in the 60's about going to the Moon.

I actually support the idea of a manned mission to Mars however I don't like the idea of a moon base being used as a 'stepping stone' for it. We don't need a moon base or space platform for a Mars mission -- it's actually physically inefficient to do so. It sounds like they're still bumbling around with basic fundamentals of 'how are we going to get there' when that question has already been well thought out.

I remember that episode of Super-Friends... I thought that villan was a short-sighted jerk and deserved a super-wedgie.
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