Stolen from a friend,

[runiclaw]

this isa post from a friend of mine, i just wish he was not right about this...

"All right, I don't post often. But I feel that this merits the attention of everyone, especially those in the USA. The proposed NASA space program "cuts" by President Bush are in:

Europa mission development is cancelled.

The Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) development is

Comments

[hellocobweb]

Thanks for swiping! ^-^

"Can't stop the signal..."

[runiclaw]

is not just teh war that they are talking about, its teh fact that we waste so much on things that have little meaning. EG the libary, and other things. personaly space has always been a passion of mine so agree we need to spend Far more on it. as to the breast cancer, there will not be a Cure for breast cancer as there are too many factors envolved mainly the choices we make as a person. you know about my life as a kid so alot of that hits close to home for me. but there are alot of factors to whatyou said. until the moral right starts letting us get more advanced on birth control those things will always be there. the ones who can not afford conterseption are the ones who have the most kids. they also have the highest AIDS count. i will Not say that space is more important then the kids, but think of how the Old man refured to the past. what he perdicted is comming true,

[phenyxxfire]

The one that really gets me is the number of kids witout health insurance. And they're not poverty stricken ones either. I'm talking about the working poor families who have jobs and make too much $$ to qualify for medicare but who either can't afford health coverage or don't have it offered through their employers. Rhys and I were part of that class in the time between when Eric and I split and Jeff and I married (when he could put us on his insurance). I couldn't even take him to the dentist once a year.

[hellocobweb]

To be fair, the library is going to be funded by private donations. It is meant to be an interesting item for comparison, though; theoretically, stroking the President's ego is worth half of a shuttle mission.

[phenyxxfire]

Ok, lets start with the points I agree with: yes, the war in Iraq is a horrendous waste of time, resources and human lives and yes, the space program should be a far higher priority than it is

[hellocobweb]

I'm sorry about that -- the current "War on Terror" was just a handy reference for comparison (that theoretically everyone would be familiar with).

My point was that NASA's budget was already miniscule -- they've been struggling on a shoestring budget for over a decade. And the first place that Congressmen look for funding for "pork barrel" projects -- such as replacing all of the computers in (only) the High School that the Congressman attended. It's a lovely gesture (if a bit narcissistic), but the funding for that shouldn't come from NASA's crumb of the pie. Maybe sacrifice a couple of caviar breakfasts, forego that 5-figure annual pay raise (which to their credit, they did this year) or downgrade your first-class flights to business class -- that would show how much it matters

[phenyxxfire]

Yeah, I can see how I misinterpreted your post and went off in a weird black and white direction with it. I do agree with you that funding should indeed be cut from places that can afford it better than NASA and I also agree with you that salaries, first class plane flights and caviar brunches should be at the top of that list.

I also don't think funding should be stripped from NASA for the programs I mentioned. I don't disagree that a lot of our best technology has come out of the space program, but don't forget that an even larger portion of our best technological advances all throughout history have come from warfare.

Personally, I think this country's highest priority should be education because ignorance is more costly than anything else. If we educate our kids to the highest standard possible that can only be of benefit to everyone.

[pktaxwench]

To whowever you swiped that from:

Wow. That was the biggest pile of BS I've seen in ages. People who belittle the soldiers for their own personal adgenda should be shot on prinicple.

I think I'll FWD this to my friend who actually works in the NASA adminstration. I think she'll find it interesting. Then she'll tear you to shreds.

[vkacademy]

Or how about governments who refer to soldiers as "sacrifices" for their own egomaniacal agendas? The soldiers are brave and honorable. No one says otherwise.

[hellocobweb]

I didn't belittle the soldiers serving in the armed forces, and I sincerely apologize to any who would read that into what I said. I would much rather see a fraction of our servicemen and women put in the line of fire with superior arms and armor than see 50,000 underprovided "sacrifices" put in harm's way, however. My friends who have served over there (and who have all survived their tours, thankfully) pretty much share that view. Strip-mining NASA's budget won't have an appreciable positive impact, compared to trimming exorbitant, wasteful, and possibly criminal misspending elsewhere. It's that which I truly object to.

If you're upset that I referred to the NASA casualties as "heroes" and not the armed service casualties, I do apologize for that. I believe that everyone who risks their life for the betterment of the world is a hero, be they soldier, pilot, scientist, EMT, firemen, or even an Amish schoolgirl. My lack of compassion in the above post was intended to convey the triviality with which our administration seems to

[pktaxwench]

NASA served its purpose - to instill pride in the american people that we were better than the USSR. They've really not done anything worthwhile in 20 years. (My friend disagrees with me on that, but she'll agree they've not matched their previous milestones

[teakitten]

WOlf! Cecily Passed away! Mew. Sharon seems to know the details... Im in Germany so I really cant find out... mew.... Cecily was such a good good person.... Sad. Mew.

[runiclaw]

I know sis, i was there when matt young got the first call. was a dark day for all of us. still not well liked by that group so can not go to the funeral, so said my good by's in private. from what i understand was a blood clot, she died very fast. we will all miss her greatly