So I Wish I Could've Gone to Space Camp, Wanna Fight About it?

I don’t know how much joe schmo has been monitoring our space program in the last 3 months, but today’s ground breaking announcement from NASA should grab your attention, nerd or not. NASA scientists said Wednesday they had found liquid on Saturn's moon Titan, only the second body in the solar system after Earth to have fluid on its surface. This is the third huge discovery in that time period. It comes on the heels of NASA scientists discovering ice channels near the poles on Mars.

These recent discoveries have ultimately piqued my interest, and made me wonder what do our presidential candidates think about the space program? Obama does not outline a clear position on NASA spending but generally the liberal position on space exploration is that "the money spent on space is wasted; it is better to spend it on things we need here at home." I would imagine that he would keep NASA spending to an absolute minimum. This is in sharp contrast to John McCain whose website says:

"Let us now embark upon this great journey into the stars to find whatever may await us."-John McCain

John McCain is a strong supporter of NASA and the space program. He is proud to have sponsored legislation authorizing funding consistent with the President's vision for the space program, which includes a return of astronauts to the Moon in preparation for a manned mission to Mars. He believes support for a continued US presence in space is of major importance to America's future innovation and security. He has also been a staunch advocate for ensuring that NASA funding is accompanied by proper management and oversight to ensure that the taxpayers receive the maximum return on their investment. John McCain believes curiosity and a drive to explore have always been quintessential American traits. This has been most evident in the space program, for which he will continue his strong support.

I just don’t understand how liberals and anyone else for that matter does not recognize these achievements for what they are… The reason the US is so dominant is because of a vast technological lead over the other “powers”. If we let that go vagrant then we are in serious trouble. The space program has given us the internet, cell phones, satellites, Velcro and tang. Christ what would we do without tang? (not the drink). Maybe once this war is over (July marked the lowest monthly US soldier death toll since we went in, in 03) we can re-direct the spending to space… HA… but still we need to keep moving forward. We are slowly losing our grip on the space and eventually the technological lead that we have over Russia, Japan, the EU and China. The fact is that in the next 10 years the US will be forced to give billions to the Russians and Japanese to shuttle us into space, because we have let our shuttle program lapse. After 2011 (when our current shuttles are set to be retired), we will have a period of 3-5 years before we are able to independently send our astronauts to the international space program. In that time we should be developing the technology to go to Mars. We can’t reproduce status quo. We have to be better. That is the only way to stay on top. And I tell you what, I will be cold and dead before I see some god damn commie calling themselves the world super power. It is time for the cry-baby liberals to choke on it and realize that we are an empire, and we need to act like one. That doesn’t mean we have to always flex our muscles, but it does mean that we have to stay better than the rest of the world.

Your Anus:

-Reed