On Fri, 29 Jul 2005 18:07:47 -0700, mcdaniel_san2 wrote:


Richard the Dreaded Libertarian wrote:

There are those who say that it's the fault of environmentalists -
Personally, I think it's the fault of the nazi warlovers. They're rather
spend your money murdering people than exploring the new frontiers of
humankind.

The House just voted to authorized spending billions on sending people
to the moon and Mars. Maybe you're just out of touch with reality.

Yeah, I guess so. Dunno what hair got up my ass that day, sorry. But it
is kind of mind-boggling to think of the amount of money spent on the
military. I hope they get Iraq and Afghanistan resolved soon.

Remember the insanely successful Mars rovers? The ones with the
air bags and tetrahedral lander? That cost, like $300 million?
Like, you can send a robot to Mars cheaper than you can make a
movie about sending a robot to Mars. :-)

Anyway, there was a call-in show on CNN or CNBC or something, and they
were talking about the costs of the mission and stuff, and "Shouldn't
we be spending this money on Earth" had come up, and so I dialed the
phone. I got through! I was gonna get to ask a question live on cable
TV! I very carefully phrased my question - all of the moisture had
drained out of my mouth and was coming out my armpits - I asked, "Is
it not true that if the US refrained from buying even _one_ aircraft
carrier or nuclear-missile submarine, that the savings would cover
the entire cost of NASA since its inception?" And the _real_
scientists agreed to a man. The pols hemmed and hawed as usual.

Anyway, it was kewl at the time, and I just felt like sharing. %-}

Thanks!
Rich