High Moon.

Perhap’s he thinking about the November election, or perhaps he just fell asleep in front of Outland the other night. Either way, next week Dubya will make the case for a moonbase and a Marshot. As y’all might expect, I’m all for it, although Bush, Sr. said much the same thing over a decade ago and it went nowhere. I’m also with the folks who agree that some sort of shuttle alternative may need to be in the works before we can seriously start setting up a lunar settlement…but, hey, let’s at least start thinking big again.

6 thoughts on “High Moon.”

  1. I still say we should clean up this planet (in every way possible) before we spend trillions and trillions to eff-up another planet–or moon as the case may be.

    And I still see the space program as the biggest tax-payer-financed corporate boondoggle around. These corporations that benefit from space studies should pay their way. Because the so-called benefits that “consumers” get isn’t what it should be (much like the sweet deal pharmaceutical companies get with tax breaks from the gov’t to create drugs that they then price beyond people’s reach once they are developed)

    I’m glad your for spending money on big phallic overpriced toys, but I still would rather see that money go to health care and education for ALL. I don’t care why drunk spiders in space spin webs that look like Jackson Pollack on acid. 🙂

  2. But space spider webs are so cool, Scully!

    Seriously though, two points, and you heard these last time we talked about this (In fact, I think I phrased them better in my last post, which is linked above.) One, on the small-r republican tip, the space program is exactly one of those programs that shouldn’t be dictated by consumer desires and wants – Sometimes, politics should be about something larger than “where’s my stuff.” And, as I said before, I think the space program is a perfect vehicle for fostering national community (and advancing the boundaries of knowledge) through a shared vision and a shared project, while reducing international tension through collective (or competitive) endeavor.

    And for another, as I said last time we talked about this, the utilitarian (greatest good for the greatest number) argument against the space program breaks down, once you consider that currently all of our eggs are in one basket, this planet. I’m all for a more cost-efficient space program…right now, NASA’s fiscal priorities are often completely snarled up. But, a dollar spent on space is going to save more lives than a dollar spent on health, education, or almost anything else, and that’s a fact.

    Finally, the phallic thing was a cheapshot, particularly as I’m on the record here as favoring “space plane” technology over rockets. I’m not one to get all loopy over power and thrust. 😉

  3. That’s a fact? Saving lives?

    And what sort of metophor is eggs and baskets? What/which bets are being hedged?

    Yeah, it is a nice idea. But as Scully alludes, it’s not a small change sacrafice.

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