Slashdot Mirror
MAVEN Mission To Mars Will Proceed, Despite Shutdown
necro81 writes "Due to the ongoing shutdown of the U.S. Government, NASA is largely grounded. This is bad for all kinds of reasons, but one particularly bad outcome would have been missing the launch window for the MAVEN spacecraft, due to launch 18 November. The next launch window would not have been until 2016. MAVEN, thankfully, has been given the go-ahead, in large part because this orbiter will serve as a vital communications link for the Opportunity and Curiosity rovers currently on the surface. Currently, these rovers are served by two aging orbiters: Mars Odyssey (launched 2001) and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (launched 2005). Maintaining communications with the rovers is considered essential, hence the preparations and launch will proceed. (NASA's official mission website is currently offline.)"
But but but I never grew up so I am naive and I have childish hopes so I believe the liberal idea of gov't as a santa claus that should provide everything I want. If I just get upset enough and insulting enough to people who tell me that can't happen, and wish really really hard on a star, it'll all work out somehow and we can ignore the debt and gov't doesn't need strict limits since it will never turn into a tyranny because it just Can't Happen Here!.
It's also known that Obamacare violates several parts of the US Constitution, namely, the Ninth and Tenth Amendments. And the US Supreme Court similarly illegally severed portions of the Obamacare law even though the Constitution didn't grant them the authority to do so. That latter point means that when the US Supreme Court found a portion of the law was unconstitutional, it should have overturn the entire law.
You speak of LAW when it suits you. It is legal to hold the REST OF THE GOVERNMENT hostage in order to block implementation of a law. It is not legal to violate the constitution.