IDEA!!! Kill the space program and put all NASA scientists on finding a way for American's to travel using American, renewable fuel! Tell them they will have a green light to go to Mars or wherever else they want to go when they are finished. That should light a fire under their butts! Not that I'm against space exploration, but I think my way will get us what we need.

 

Don't you remember Obama assignmed NASA to proving to Muslims we are not "anti-islamist"?

 

I've always thought it would be smart for a modern President to spur patriotism and technological advancement by taking a page out of Kennedy's gameplan for the space program. Kennedy made getting to the moon a point of National pride -- I think it would be effective to create the same kind of atmosphere around energy independence......

 

ddwllwo, exactly. put as much of our nations resources as possible to energy independence. The payoff would be greater than the sacrifice we would make till it happened.

 

The problem is the Feds themselves have created many of the rules that stop us from becoming energy independent.

I almost think it is part of a bigger scheme. Right now the oil in the mid-east is the easiest to get to even though there is as much or more oil in the western hemisphere. The conspiracy theory side of me thinks the Feds have a plan to drain the easy oil while keeping ours in reserve. Once theirs is gone ours will be worth more and we will get our money back with interest. Once this is done we can drop the new tech that doesn't need oil.

 

US optimism at it's finest!

I've thought about that also. As long as we can drain the Middle east without wrecking our economy first.

 

Maybe Bush had the right idea but didn't execute it well. We just need to roll our tanks through the Middle East. Take the whole place over...purge the people and strip its resources.

Gas should be $.99 a gallon then since we don't have to pay anything for it!

 

I'm sensing some sarcasm here.

 

I still think the "algea ethonal/bio diesel" would be the best alternative. Just dedicate a massive and useless area in the desert to producing this stuff and oil will be a thing of the past.

 

Energy independence would be great. We need to completely separate ourselves from the middle east and let them slaughter and kill themselves all they want. Lets keep our military fully funded and strong in case all those muslim radicals want to fight, then we blow them off the face of the earth.

 

Threads like these make me want a Prius

 

Sure, what a fantastic idea! Rob Peter to pay Paul, right? We can take that whole .6% of the Federal Budget and devote it to nothing but oil because everyone is pissed about gas prices and someone needs to pay, why not NASA! I mean, it's not like NASA has given us anything for our tax dollars.

Oh wait...

Satellite TV
Satellite Navigation
Google Earth
Virtual Reality
Artificial Limbs
Dialysis
MRI and CAT scans
Breast Cancer Screening
Ultrasound Technology
Ear Thermometer
ADD Research
85% Reduction in Traffic Accidents
Better Radial Tires
Landmine Removal
Computer Aided Structural Analysis
Water Filters
Temper Foam
Scratch Resistant Lenses
Ribbed Swimsuits
Better Golf *****
Athletic Shoes
Personal Alarm Systems
Pens that work no matter how you orient them to gravity
Cordless power tools

I'm sure there's more, but that's just from a cursory Google Search.

We don't need anything like that stuff... let's get more OIL!!


Sorry. People going after NASA for easy money is a pet peeve of mine. We're not going back to the moon, even fifty years later. We're no longer sending men into space after this year. What else do you people want to take away from space exploration? We're moving slow enough as it is.

Unless of course my sarcasm meter is broken and you don't actually mean what you're saying... but it's hard to tell anymore.

 

Well Duskrider, you say that we're moving slow enough as it is, but what exactly are we moving toward?

 

The argument of stripping NASA of their tiny sliver of cash is about the same as stripping social programs in my humble opinion.

In the whole scheme of things the funds are a small sliver and help those most in danger. Until we are willing to cut into the more sacred cows, we aren't going to have real changes in our deficits.

It is like oil. As long as it is cheaper than what the alternative is, we will keep slurping it up. Why spend $2 to go across town when we can do it for $1?

 

How about we strip the EPA of their annual 10 billion budget? Now theres an idea.