The President's Space Initiative Speech

"Mike Rapoport" wrote:

Jay, you have to weigh the cost and the benefits. It doesn't make any sense
to go now, the technology is not ready.

The goal drives the technology.

The whole idea is election year politics, its pathetic.

And going to the moon was cold war politics. Would America
or the world be better off if we hadn't gone to the moon and
the Soviets had?

Politicians are driven by .... politics.... (surprise) and
they control the purse. If Bush thinks he gets a political
advantage by appealing to those who support the space
program, then it's a good sign, as far as I'm concerned.
His opponents need to decide whether he's right or wrong.
Personally, I think he's right and hope his opponents do
too. I spend a percentage of my money on my current needs,
a percentage investing for my future needs and a percentage
on my dreams. I think the country should do the same. When
you give up the dreams and frontiers, you stagnate.


Todd Pattist
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"Todd Pattist" wrote in message
...
"Mike Rapoport" wrote:

Jay, you have to weigh the cost and the benefits. It doesn't make any
sense
to go now, the technology is not ready.

The goal drives the technology.

The whole idea is election year politics, its pathetic.

And going to the moon was cold war politics. Would America
or the world be better off if we hadn't gone to the moon and
the Soviets had?

Politicians are driven by .... politics.... (surprise) and
they control the purse. If Bush thinks he gets a political
advantage by appealing to those who support the space
program, then it's a good sign, as far as I'm concerned.
His opponents need to decide whether he's right or wrong.
Personally, I think he's right and hope his opponents do
too. I spend a percentage of my money on my current needs,
a percentage investing for my future needs and a percentage
on my dreams. I think the country should do the same. When
you give up the dreams and frontiers, you stagnate.

But you have to have the money to start with. This country does not have
the money to pay for current or future needs much less dreams. Get rid of
the deficit then you can go play Star Trek.




Todd Pattist
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"Dave Stadt" wrote:

But you have to have the money to start with. This country does not have
the money to pay for current or future needs much less dreams. Get rid of
the deficit then you can go play Star Trek.

Give me the power to prioritize the spending and I'll give
you a balanced budget and a man on Mars in 10 years. I pay
my taxes and watch the farm lobby push for subsidies that
pay them not to grow things, and drop the prices so low that
African countries can't grow crops to compete. I pay taxes
and watch the sports teams get funding for stadiums. There
will always be things you don't want money spent on and
things I don't want it spent on. Spending it on space will
push our technological edge and our political edge. It
helps us regain the moral high ground in the world. It
gives us greater security against the threat of the near
Earth asteroid or comment strike that could destroy this
world. It's something that will happen eventually or this
world and humanity will ultimately disappear from the
universe. Every generation of humanity needs to take a few
steps towards the future. It's our turn now. One percent
of the budget is not too much to spend on the future. The
return on that investment is worth far more than what it
costs.
Todd Pattist
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