Posted on 03/09/2010 7:27:45 PM PST by Nachum
Harrison Schmitt's credentials as a space policy analyst include several days of walking on the moon. The Apollo 17 astronaut, who is also a former U.S. senator, is aghast at what President Obama is doing to the space program.
"It's bad for the country," Schmitt said. "This administration really does not believe in American exceptionalism."
Schmitt's harsh words are part of a furious blowback to the administration's new strategy for NASA. The administration has decided to kill NASA's Constellation program, crafted during the Bush administration with an ambitious goal of putting astronauts back on the moon by 2020. Obama's 2011 budget request would nix Constellation's rocket and crew capsule, funnel billions of dollars to new spaceflight technologies, and outsource to commercial firms the task of ferrying astronauts to low-Earth orbit.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
The list, ping
What does Congress have to say? Of have they totally abdicated to this damned communist?
Muslims do not believe in scientific advancement.
Nope; they’ll never understand the value the space program has provided to this nation. Pearls before swine....
They are already writing the Malaise II speech.
I have enjoyed the fruits of NASA discoveries and inventions as have millions of folks. I guess that qualifies for Obummers disregard for the program. The more I hear about this jackass the more I dislike him and his minions!
He is absolutely the very worst president this country has ever had. I doubt if we can ever redo the damage he and his cohorts have done.
Considering the present crop of contenders, I am not holding my breath. I just can't come up with a person who can get the job done. I guess we shall see.
tens of thousands of Americans in space program being put out of work - money to be funneled to Muslim countries -
NASA plans more outreach to Muslim countries
(per a directive from obama)
headline:
“Obama calls ‘entrepreneurship summit’ with Muslims”
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.c429eac8e6bddb6d430d2b4d28386dd9.551&show_article=1
In addition, a letter from Hillary:
Hillary Clinton
Remarks at the U.S.-Islamic World Forum
Doha, Qatar
February 14, 2010
President Obama and I believe that education and innovation are the currency of this century. That's why he announced a new era of engagement with Muslim communities to expand educational opportunities, support entrepreneurs, and promote advances in science and technology.
Our goal is to identify excellent ideas and successful projects in Muslim communities and then invest in them, help to scale them up, and to connect innovators and entrepreneurs, so that they can support and enhance each other’s work.
We are creating a Global Technology and Innovation Fund, which we will launch this spring, that will provide hundreds of millions of dollars in capital to small and medium-sized businesses throughout the Middle East, Asia, and Africa . . .
We have to continue to expand and strengthen outreach to students. And that is why we have increased funding for educational exchange programs for Muslim students. NASA, our space program, has partnered with the Arab Youth Venture Foundation in Dubai to give Arab and American engineering students the chance to work together on NASA missions.
****************************
These are illegal acts - NOT the prerogative of the Executive Office under our Separation of Powers - indeed, NASA and the Space Program are legally under the auspices of CONGRESS. The WH has no legal right to by-pass Congress on NASA.
and so the redistribution of money out of OUR pockets kicks into high gear. (and the redistribution of jobs - tens of thousands of Americans will loose their jobs - as the money and jobs are given to Muslims around the world...not to mention the technology to create several more Irans. And then the Caliphate?)
Obama stated his goal of redistribution before he was elected...it's the prime tenet of the Black Liberationists churches, one of which he sat in for 20 years.
We are dealing with America-hating, One World Gov’t driven ‘enemies within’, the likes of which we have never seen or imagined in the history of this country.
Hear it in his own words -
Video/Text of President Barack Obama ‘s speech at Cairo University
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/04/obama-speech-in-cairo-vid_n_211215.html
I have enjoyed the fruits of NASA discoveries and inventions as have millions of folks. I guess that qualifies for Obummers disregard for the program”
http://www.thespaceplace.com/nasa/spinoffs.html
but his real reason is not stupidity - it's deliberate. See post 12
Obama came once to Central Florida as a candidate to lie about Constellation. What is his game this time? /rhetorical
Can you name any NASA discoveries and inventions you have enjoyed? If you look at the lists that NASA puts out of their top technological spinoffs, you will see that:
1. Clearly a lot of these items would have come along without NASA and NASA was not the only force behind their invention.
2. The amount of generally useful technology generated per billion dollars invested in NASA does not seem so impressive.
See #16. We didn’t have to go into space for 50 years to get scratch-resistant lenses.
“1. Clearly a lot of these items would have come along without NASA and NASA was not the only force behind their invention.
2. The amount of generally useful technology generated per billion dollars invested in NASA does not seem so impressive.”
Spinoffs are not the justification, they are just that.. spinoffs. They are a major bonus to the endeavor itself.
Thye are not the primary reason we send people into space.
It is unarguble however, the technologies came along SOONER then they would have before. They came first in America rather then some other nation.
Many would NOT have been sought after for their own sake.
And certainly some would not have been discovered by now either.
Now, if your life had depended on that tech, and many peoples lives have, you would be quite happy those spinoffs came along sooner then they would have.
Then nations that lead on the frontiers.... dictate the course of human history.
Is that worth a tiny percentage of federal discretionary spending or not?
Because it is tiny.
What's exceptional about doing what you did 50 years prior? Even assuming that NASA could meet the deadline and the budget? Maybe it is time to see if private industry, with some government funding, can do a better job cheaper, and in less time?
They are used as a justification by NASA, by other people on this thread, and in your own post.
It is unarguble however, the technologies came along SOONER then they would have before. They came first in America rather then some other nation. ...
Now, if your life had depended on that tech, and many peoples lives have, you would be quite happy those spinoffs came along sooner then they would have.
You have to be specific. You are setting up a straw man of life-saving technologies created by NASA but you haven't named any.
BTW I am in favor of space exploration and basic research in general. I just think the whole spinoff thing is an obvious PR exaggeration.
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