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Senators Demand NASA Continue Spending On Ares

Posted by Soulskill on from the needs-new-rims-for-his-chariot dept.

FleaPlus writes "Senators Richard Shelby (R-AL and ranking member of the appropriations subcommittee handling NASA funding) and Robert Bennett (R-UT) have added an amendment onto an emergency spending bill for military operations in Afghanistan, reiterating that NASA must continue spending its funds on the Constellation program, particularly the medium-lift Ares I rocket. Alabama and Utah have strong ties to Ares/Constellation contractors, and both senators are opposed to the new direction for NASA, with Shelby describing it as a 'death march' for US spaceflight and criticizing the emphasis on commercial rockets."

12 of 152 comments (clear)

  1. Science and Politics by Herkum01 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And this is why the US is such trouble. When politicians are eagerly representing a companies views rather than the country.

    1. Re:Science and Politics by mOdQuArK! · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Let's not forget that pork often produces jobs.

      You'd get more employment (and "stimulate" the economy more) if that same amount of pork was used simply to pay people at the bottom of the economic ladder to work on various things (perhaps even to go to school). But then you wouldn't be able to direct the money to your favorite political donors.

    2. Re:Science and Politics by timeOday · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Well, personally, I'm thrilled they're trying to keep NASA alive.

      NASA'S new direction is not a budget cut. What they are doing is directing money towards unmanned space flight. IMHO it is a simple question of whether to keep pouring money into the failed Ares program, or redirect it to something more promising.

    3. Re:Science and Politics by hey! · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Actually, both parties have a Terry Pratchett-esque gentleman's agreement on the "illegal immigration" issue. The Republicans agree to keep keep cheap foreign labor illegal so long as the Democrats don't try to enforce the law. The Democrats agree to let cheap foreign labor into the country so long as we pretend they aren't supposed to be here.

      The Republicans then rail against the illegality of the cheap labor they crave. The Democrats rail against the inhumanity of the Republicans toward "undocumented workers", while at the same time being complicit in the legal fiction that strips those workers of basic legal protections.

      The poor bastards living in a hole in the friggin' ground with no running water just want a roof of their family's head and drinking water that won't kill their children. They want to work create wealth, and better their lives. And they know blatant hypocrisy when they see it.

      If you want to secure the border, there's two things that you have to do. First, you have to increase the number of legal immigrants so they can provide the cheap labor which our economy is dependent upon. The second is you have to support economic development in the places they come from. You can't keep them out with walls or border patrols, much less laws written down in books they'll never read. You've got to reduce the force that drives them over the border, then reduce the economic incentive for subverting the border.

      --
      Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
    4. Re:Science and Politics by OrwellianLurker · · Score: 4, Insightful

      If you want to secure the border, there's two things that you have to do. First, you have to increase the number of legal immigrants so they can provide the cheap labor which our economy is dependent upon. The second is you have to support economic development in the places they come from. You can't keep them out with walls or border patrols, much less laws written down in books they'll never read. You've got to reduce the force that drives them over the border, then reduce the economic incentive for subverting the border.

      Uh, all you have to do is fine the businesses that hire them severely until hiring illegal aliens is no longer economically viable.

      --
      'Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.' - Mao Tse-tung
  2. Pork! Pork! Pork! by Sponge+Bath · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Budget be damned! Hold funding for the troops hostage to a steaming helping of pork. I thought Republicans where supposed to support the troops and be against deficit spending.

    These actions speak louder than words, and I hope the voters are listening this November.

  3. Yes they are listening by SmallFurryCreature · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Yes they are listening, just through republican ears. These are highly tuned and will hear roughly the following: Democrats who vote against this are against funding our troops, republicans who vote for this are voting for our space program!

    Really, politics is a lot simpler then people think.

    --

    MMO Quests are like orgasms:

    You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.

  4. Republicans have gone space crazy by pedropolis · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What planet did I wake up on today? Republicans criticizing the commercialization of low-orbit space flights? Demanding the return of a gigantic, overbudget, behind schedule rocket to nowhere? Obama for the privatization of space and Conservatives for the continuation of a government monopoly on space? Has everyone gone space crazy?!

    1. Re:Republicans have gone space crazy by znu · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The real motivation here is probably to maintain the flow of money to NASA contractors, who happen to also be politically connected defense contractors. In other words, it's the usual crony capitalism that the Republicans seem to favor over actual market competition these days.

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      This space unintentionally left unblank.
    2. Re:Republicans have gone space crazy by RAMMS+EIN · · Score: 4, Insightful

      ``What planet did I wake up on today? Republicans criticizing the commercialization of low-orbit space flights? Demanding the return of a gigantic, overbudget, behind schedule rocket to nowhere? Obama for the privatization of space and Conservatives for the continuation of a government monopoly on space?''

      I actually think that if you look more deeply into what the Republican party and the Democratic party are really advocating, and where Liberals (in the American sense) and Conservatives (again, in the American sense) fall on various issues, you may be in for a few more surprises. Republican politicians voting for larger government, more government spending, and less room for enterprising individuals and companies is really nothing new.

      Many people _believe_ that the Republican party is for big business, less government control, hard-working people keeping their money, and sane economic policies, and many people _believe_ that the Democratic party is for more government control, higher taxes, taxing hard working people (or even handing out money to those too lazy to work), and running up budget deficits for future governments to clean up after. Many people _believe_ that Republican == Conservative and Democrat == Liberal.

      As far as I can tell, these beliefs are widely held by people all over the political spectrum. In actuality, things aren't quite as clear-cut. In fact, there are many cases where things are the exact opposite of what these beliefs would have you expect. For example, there are many cases where US national debt has decreased under Democratic presidents, and many cases where it has increased under Republican presidents. Also, American liberals largely vote for the Democratic party. They also tend to be wealthy and highly educated. This contradicts some of the things that many people say and believe. The moral of the story? Always check your assumptions, and check the actual program and voting record of the participants in the elections, lest you vote someone into office who is going to do the opposite of what you want ...

      --
      Please correct me if I got my facts wrong.
  5. It's about jobs in this economy by dammy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's those engineers and support personnel who are about to be out of a job in those states are the ones that need Ares funded. Although I do support the commercialization of space and getting NASA out of the manned LEO rides, I can sympathize with those who are about to be unemployed because of the budget reversal. My memories goes back to the mid 1970s when my father and his friends lost their jobs when Apollo 17 completed it's mission.

    Can I blame those GOP Senators for pushing for funding to keep jobs in their state? Nope, sure can't. Do I think it should be funded, nope, sure don't.

    1. Re:It's about jobs in this economy by jfengel · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Can I blame those GOP Senators for pushing for funding to keep jobs in their state?

      You can when they're also pushing for an end to earmarks, reduced government spending, and a generalized "the government can't do anything right" attitude.

      "Small government" is a valid position, but "reduce spending on everybody but me" is an attitude that merits blame.