Roadblocks

Let's throw this out for consideration...

We all know how the government can't stand letting the country (and its denizens) run their own lives. Nor can the people who are all for social programs stand to see money going away from their pet projects.

Let's bounce forward a few years. We're actually at the point of seriously kickstarting the private enterprise space program, be it Virgin Galactic, SpaceX, SpaceDev, or one of the myriad of other corporations vying for the ability (it may even be a private individual who finally makes a breakthrough into inexpensive and viable space travel!) to be first.

Along comes Unca Sam and the Gimme Brigade with their hands out. "We want our cut! You can't do it cheaper than NASA! You must have this installed. You must have this safety inspection. You must have this license. You must have this certificate."

What will they do trying to cripple our rise back into space?

NASA Bites the Dust; Thank You, Obama!

Before we get back to the froggies, let me go off on a minor rant here.

See, that bonehead in the Whitehouse (who has now lost any scrap of respect he might have garnered from my corner of the world,) decided to cank NASA’s budget.

Huh. So space travel is not important in the grand plan of handing out money to banks and welfare recipients, who, here in my state, went in to Wally World today to buy groceries with her food stamps card, and then went out to the parking lot and put her groceries in the back of a $60,000 Lexus—but I digress.

Let’s see . . . NASA was to get $6,000,000,000. Now compared to the grand total of what the socialist in the Whitehouse intends to spend—a whopping $3,830,000,000,000, that puts NASA’s budget at .0015 percent. That’s way less than one penny on the dollar. I must not be very good at math. I don’t see how this can be too much money to spend on space exploration.

But let’s get away from the monetary value for the moment. Let’s look at future benefits for mankind that will be missed out on. I mean, c’mon—where would we be without Velcro? Oh, don’t get snarky on me. There was mush more than Velcro to come out of the space program. Your home computer is one aspect. What else?

Laser surveying tools
Compact Digital Discs (CDs and DVDs)
Scratch resistant lenses
Dustbusters
Home security systems
Smoke detectors
Flat panel TVs/monitors
High density batteries
Trash compactors
Freeze dried food technology
Sports bras
Quartz crystal time pieces
Solar energy panels
Noise abatement technology
Energy saving air conditioning technology
Air purification technology
Laser angioplasty
Ultrasound scanners
Automatic insulin pumps
Portable X-ray devices
MRIs
Self locking nuts
Wireless communications (your cellphone)
Emergency rescue cutters (Jaws of life-type equipment)
Doppler radar
Firefighter’s radios
Fire protective clothing
Robotic arms

The list goes on and on. But it seems that we can’t afford those measly pennies on the dollar because it would take away from his pet projects—like a high speed rail system for California. Hmm, people quit using the train already because it was too expensive. So we’re going to make it run faster (in another 20 years or so—that’s how long it will take to create this “green” monstrosity!) and then we’ll have to subsidize it like we’re already doing with freight rails. So, there you go! No space for money to be spent on the space program! I’m starting to see it from a green point of view. But what do I know?

I can hear the Green Police knocking on my door for wrong thinking now. Go ‘way! No one here but us Droogs.