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I agree with your spiritual view of exploration. It seems almost an abomination that this entire universe was created for us, yet we insist on living on what only amounts to a speck of dust in the grand scheme of things.

Having human outposts on other worlds is also an insurance policy against natural or man-made disasters that could wipe out the Earth.

The problem is that the most sheep care not one wit about anything beyond their own immediate existence. Issues like legacy or leaving something better for a future generation are alien to them. That's why Clintoon was so popular. He governed for today only, going only on the latest opinion polling.

Bush is taking a lot of hits off this proposal, and when we finally make it to Mars, he'll be long gone from public office, denying him the "glory"... Clintoon would never have proposed something like this (and well, he didn't).

The universe is like a brand new bicycle given to us by YOU KNOW WHO, as a birthday present...

We are like the kid who would rather eat candy and play with the checkers game, so we won't have to go outside and skin our knees on that "nasty bicycle" that Daddy bought us.

You know, Dad has to be dissappointed: "Kids, I go to work here every day, and it's GREAT! So, why not let me show you the family 'business', instead of playing with those stupid television boxes you make up? Hey let Me dish a while, let's talk quantum mechanics, son!"

"Aw dad, I just wanna play with my ballbat..."

Regarding costs:
What did it cost to go to the moon the first time, in dollars?
Do you think we could do it for less* or would the economy of scale make it much more expensive?
We sent the rovers for what, 480 million a piece (or is that both of them)?
Would a human mission cost double or triple that?

Keep in mind that this is lest than the cost of three or four california "big time hollywierdo" estates. The proceeds from 10 or 15 "blockbuster movies", literally a drop in our national bucket...

One of my biggest "whatif's" is what if what we discover on mars, or with the technology we need to get there, sets us free from the mad mullahs monopolizing the world's oil supply? What if our need to find a way to power, fuel, oxygenate and colonize mars, SAVES us from our environmental concerns for the next twenty millenia?

What if?

*adjusted for inflation of course