http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,107807,00.html

Comments on this will fall in two categories I believe:

1). What!?!?!? I hate NASA feed the poor people!!
2). Cool!

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Ω of 14
Half-Life 2 Central: your definitive source for everything HL2!

And of course
3). This is a horrible waste of tax money. Just cut it and lower taxes.

My take:
All three are pretty valid points I think, but I like 2 the best myself, because the inventions we come up with on the road to manned space flight and colonization will be great and I think have huge positive effects on life at home; just look at all of the great things we got from the Apollo program and such.

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Ω of 14
Half-Life 2 Central: your definitive source for everything HL2!

Meh, on the one hand it would be cool to have a permanent colony on the moon, but on the other hand I would be just as happy if it happened via some other country's money.

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AGONetwork

I think for the survival of our species, getting off this rock should be a primary goal....so 2).

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Cantina Cloud | BCF | The Massassian 1 & 2 | Gonkmeg
Corrupting the kiddies since '97

I'll step in and say it before I go to sleep:

DO NOT USE THIS AS A FOXNEWS BASHING OPPORTUNITY.


I vote for 2 and 3. It's cool, but the price probably isn't right for Bush's budget.

Why don't we just put the poor people on the moon? That solves the problem of feeding them, and they can colonize the moon for us.

That still leaves the problem of when they become a self-sufficient civilization and come down from the moon to enslave us, but hey! It won't happen during MY term, that's for sure.

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The Matrix: Unplugged

I agree with Jaiph. This planet is doomed if we don't get people off of it soon. (If we keep reproducing like rabbits, overpopulation and pollution will destroy us)

Although.. 500 billion is A LOT of money we don't really have..

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MadQuack on Military school: Pro's: I get to shoot a gun. Con's: Everything else.
"I'm going to beat you until the laws of physics are violated!!" ! Maeve's Warcry

RIP -MaDaVentor-. You will be missed.

2, but I doubt it will amount to anything. Remember that Bush's father made a similar announcement, and we've yet to commit to any realistic plans.


-Fox

What the hell do we hope to accomplish?

Our space program can put stuff in Earth's orbit, put stuff on the moon, and put stuff on mars. Sometimes they'll send stuff to the outer reaches of the solar system, but it won't really get anything done.

Is it just me, or have we seen and done everything we possibly can with this space program?

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Duel Zero : Released the beta. Probably the end of it. Not to worry though, I'm working on Randsaber, which is a lot better.

Bush has nothing to lose by saying any of this, whether it ever happens or not.

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I'm not an actor. I just play one on TV.

Considering how freaking big space is? Nope.



The point was to illustrate that a similar pledge was made in the past, and nothing was done. Hence, my sincere doubt this announcement will do jack for the space program.


-Fox

[This message has been edited by Firefox (edited January 08, 2004).]

We have to go. It's our destiny (as people).

1) As long as we live in a capitalist society there will always be poor starving people. There's absolutely no way around it. We just don't care about each other enough.
2) Very cool. It's about time.
3) Someone has to do it. The US has the cash and the technology. And if it doesn't have enough of either, it'll go take it from someone else.

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To artificial life, all reality is virtual.

2. I think that a base on the moon would be good, but it will cost a boatload of money.

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"Church, women are like Voltron, the more you can hook up, the better it gets!"
-Tucker
Red vs Blue

If I were president the first thing I'd do is completely get rid of nasa. It's a complete and total waste. We have more important things to do than go to outer space.

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"The Oracle told me I would die with my boots on. I've worn tennis shoes ever since." - Axis

1 and 2.

Mars is cool. Spaceflight is cool. Half trillion dollar deficts in a faltering job market are not cool.

Yeah, you're right, like cure diseases and such. Oh, wait...NASA's doing research that will help cure diseases and such. Oops...you just wiped out NASA. Oh well. :/



But on the other hand, invigorating NASA and creating more jobs through it, and inspiring the nation, can be good for the economy. But I'm no expert. :\

And Bush does take a risk with this, politically. His stance on NASA and the money it costs can certainly have an effect on the coming election.

And yeah, Bush may not be President for much longer. Even if he announces a trip to Mars in three years, if he's not reelected, the next President would probably kill it off.

But who wants to talk politics. Has anyone here read about the idea for space stations at the LaGrange points, instead of the moon? Could be more useful.

[This message has been edited by blujay (edited January 08, 2004).]

I agree completely. Just trying to get at that it's a political move

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I'm not an actor. I just play one on TV.

Untill we find something better than the whole charcoal-brick-with-a-cockpit setup we have going now, we're wasting our time.

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Duel Zero : Released the beta. Probably the end of it. Not to worry though, I'm working on Randsaber, which is a lot better.

*sighs* its just another way for bush to be the neo nazi he is. sorry, not a pro america kinda person, was'nt a pro nazi either, kthxbai

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People Fear What They Dont Understand...

Well I think it's kinda a half-baked thing for him to say. We would really need to improve our methods of space travel... We easily could, if NASA could get the funding. Although I'm guessing that's included in the plans, so I think it's a great idea.

If they can get enough funding to put top of the line systems on the ships, that would likely cut down possible loss quite a bit. Heck, maybe they could even create a ship that could not only be reusable, but actually could go to the Moon's orbit as well.

Obviously we do need this, because we're also exhausting the Earth's resources, and space holds much more precious resources we could use. Such as stronger metals, which we could get from capturing asteroids.

This would create tons of jobs for people of all levels if it got off the ground well enough.

This could even be more effective for Earth use as well, if we could get satellites that are tons more advanced than Hubble, they could help military and police efforts.

This is something that definitely has to be done, otherwise the only point to have a NASA is to be an outdated deathtrap.

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"We came, we saw, we conquered, we...woke up!"

<3 Thrawn42689.

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Yeah, but you know what? This one, this one right here, this was my dream, my wish, and it didn't come true. So I'm takin' it back. I'm takin' 'em all back.

We are capable of reading, Firefox. The foxnews link point out the same thing.

It's a rather obscure way to get re-elected, methinks.

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Map-Review | Digital Core | The Matrix: Unplugged

Farewell, MaDaVentor. In our hearts, you'll always live on.

You underestimate the stupidity of the average American voter a stunt like this will make people forget all about the war and and all the crap he's caused and they'll relect him. "OMG! MOON BASE! OMG! MOON BASE!"

That was a pretty rude way to put it. At least I'm backing up the article.



Or it could harm his reelection bid. Some who support Bush may be those who think space is a waste of money.


-Fox

[This message has been edited by Firefox (edited January 09, 2004).]

I'd rather keep my money. We don't need more technological advancements.

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Baby Mama's Drama

I beat Bush couldnt even spell Mars...

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In Tribute to Adam Sliger. Rest in Peace

10/7/85 - 12/9/03

This is foolish. I certainly think the overall exploration of space is a good think, it pushes the human mind and spirit, And I am a strong supported of the continued existence of NASA (if with a few reforms). However, Bush is an IDIOT, I don’t think he understands what he speaks of. I personally think this is a ploy for re-election AND a bigger place in history. Instead of Bush the reactionary warmonger, we can have the Bush memorial space station on the moon which has a giant statue of the man (or Monkey) who pushed forward America and brought us to the moon.

Simply put, under better leadership this might be a good move, under current administration it is just a ploy...


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"Well, if I am not drunk, I am mad, but I trust I can behave like a gentleman in either
condition."... G. K. Chesterton

“questions are a burden to others; answers a prison for oneself”

He certainly seems to be as far as space affairs are concerned (as I recall, he had never visited Johnson Space Center before the Columbia accident, so he doesn't seem to care much for space). The sentiment would be justified if he announces only a manned flyby or orbital mission of Mars, with no effort made to land.

On the other hand, returning to the Moon is a logical step. It allows us to gain experience on how to operate on another world, further from home. There's also experience to be gained outside the van Allen radiation belts (had the Apollo missions taken place during a solar maximum, we would likely have lost at least three astronauts on the Moon and/or in lunar orbit). Developing means to shield astronauts from radiation would have to be a priority before we go to Mars.


-Fox

AWOOGA AWOOGA AWOOGA

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A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops.
On my desk I have a workstation...

I wasn't as interested in space exploration as I was after I had visited JSC. Even if he had no past interest, that might have changed.

Either way, the goals he is talking about won't be achieved during his presidency, and certainly aren't going to be presented as such (hopefully). I really want to think that this is a campaign push, but the voting community he risks losing on such a proposal is much higher than the voters he wishes to gain. Most voters today care about where our dwindiling social security (blanket) funds are going, and who is going to put them back on track. Not how to get to mars and back.

Either way, a future manned mission to mars rocks my socks off. If he's serious about taking the next step in exploring our own nook of the galaxy, then more power to him. Every president since Reagan has promised a bigger, better space program, but nothing has happened.

Edit : GRAMMAR

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A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops.
On my desk I have a workstation...


[This message has been edited by Farix (edited January 09, 2004).]

As long as it is the USA wasting money, I say "2) Cool!"

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GhostOfYoda - General doer of stuff.

I think its a good idea, you never know how soon we might colonize another planet or find a new element that we can use for something amazing... anything to further human development is a go.

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"Ahhhh!! I'm Burnin'! I'm Burnin!!!" - Cleaner from Max Payne 2

It's amazing how the majority of people in this thread have demonstrated their lack of education, nonsense and hatred on an issue they know nothing about simply because bush is president, and their complete inability to post anything other than 'bush is an idiot' which is solely a matter of opinion. Please, for once, post something educated and sensible.

Possibly but I'm guessing he could spell the word "bet". Afterall, it is shorter than "Mars".


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former TACC outcast

I think it's a smart move by Bush. He needs something other than the War on Terror to unite America. Most Americans are behind him on the war effort but I think making the push to Mars will have broader appeal. Similar to what Kennedy did.

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former TACC outcast

We don't need to develop anymore.

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Baby Mama's Drama

Classic..

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[Blue Mink Bifocals !] [fsck -Rf /world/usr/] [<!-- kalimonster -->] [Capite Terram]
Applecore scowled. "What does that mean, 'real'? Amn't I real, you? If you cut me, do I not bleed? If you piss me off, will I not kick you up the arse?" -War of the Flowers
NPC.Interact::PressButton($'Submit');

While I think Mars is really important for our growth as a race, I think we are currently not in an economic position to waste that kind of moneys

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Happy "Diseased" dud: You said I'd be like this guy. Boycotting everything..
Happy "Diseased" dud: ted kazcnisky. That's who it was.
Happy "Diseased" dud: Wait, That's the unibomer.
Happy "Diseased" dud: Wrong guy.

Sure we do. It's going to happen you can't just stop it.

I think the reason why we don't have the technologies that you see in star trek or star wars is because the lack of resources and the out datedness of them. If we begin to explore new planets who knows of the new materials like metals and liquids we could find that would support such advance technology.

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I felt like destroying something beautiful.