This Is What I Think #1

(From time-to-time, I will be posting thoughts and ideas that I have. Some will be political, most probably not. These posting will be more like after-dinner-talk. I reserve the right to change my ideas, at a later date, without bias or guilt, based upon whim or from learning from others. Feel completely free to comment.)

Anyway you look at it, whether you agree or not, the US is usually at the forefront of world problems, hopefully to make matters better ... not worse. To list just the first ones that come to mind: (The real meat to this Idea comes at the end,)

Iraq: What can I say about that except to repeat what my dad said, shortly after learning about the invasion, "We have no idea what a mess we're getting into." How prophetic! How much money is this costing us? There is NO WAY to really know because money is leaking out all over and further, I simply don't trust the government to ever admit the cost.

Iran: Just a seriously festering boil, one that could rupture at any time. If it comes to a head, the monetary cost to the US will be huge, to say the least. Even if it doesn't end in conflict, the US will probably spend a ton of money appeasing the Iranians by giving them expensive hardware and services.

North Korea: Here's a little cadre of "Leaders," firing off multi-million dollar, multi-stage intercontinental ballistic missiles ... all the while they can't even feed or care for their own people. I'm sure they feel pretty secure doing this because all it would take would be One Word from the Little Ruler to virtually obliterate Seoul, So. Korea ... in about one hour. (It is reliably reported that N. Korea has "thousands" of conventional artillery pointed at - and easily within range - of Seoul.) There would be no way to stop it, short of "scorching" N. Korea in a total obliterating, first-strike attack ... and that ain't gonna happen! What will eventually happen is the US and other countries, (Mostly the US, of course.) will pour millions/billions/terra-illions of US taxpayers dollars into North Korea, to try to topple the little fiefdom and prevent another ridiculous underling from doing the same thing.

US Border protection: We've got to secure our borders. When we secure the south, the north will be "discovered" as porous. Why haven't the borders already been taken care of? Reason One is we "need" the workers ... and they "need" us. What will solve this problem" MONEY ... and a lot of it. Reason Two: We can't afford to do what's needed. Do you think sending caravans of US Dollars to Mexico will help? I don't, but I bet we try it.

Already we are learning of major US programs being cut back or eliminated. Many US agencies are having their budgets cut substantially. The reason is simply that our cost to defend our nation - and it has to be done - is spirally out-of-control.

Also spirally out-of-control are "entitlement" programs such as Medicare.

Now here is the meat of this blog entry: What the heck are we doing spending astronomically high amounts on the "Space Program?" We're still spending more money than the law will allow on the "International Space Station." Yeah ... "International" ... international in concept, but paid for mainly by you and I. To top this off, many say the space station is virtually useless in any further scientific sense and will probably be shutdown shortly after the "save-face" completion. So why are we doing it? The answer, as reported in Aviation Week is so our joint venture buddies can send and attach their equally worthless modules to the station. (We talked them into this giant boondoggle-sink-hole-for-money, so we've got to let them at least get their marbles on the table, before we kick the table over.)

Next in line is establishing a "Moon Station" where astronauts can actually live ... but why? (Think about it: See below!)

We're told that we need to send someone to Mars, also, with the idea of building a "Mars Station." (Think about this, too: See below!)

On one hand, we're told that the space program has developed technology that benefits us all. (The only example that I've heard actually coming directly from the space program is "Velcro.") On the other hand, we're told that the computers in our new automobiles are better than those in the shuttle. So it begs the question of who really is developing new products: The space program or commercial businesses for consumer and industrial users. I submit it ain't the space program!

My sneaky distrust of "government honesty" (an oxymoron) comes from twenty years of first hand experience with a "major user of government provided airplanes." I learned that if something doesn't pass the "smell test," you simply hid it away someplace with a different name.

Does all this expensive and seemingly worthless-to-mankind space program have another, undisclosed, agenda? I wonder: Perhaps some think-tank has decided that the way the world is headed, one day our rosy little planet will suddenly become uninhabitable ... like in nuclear radiation or an unsolvable rampant virus, either of which might be accidental or intentional.

Now: Wouldn't it be nice if there was a nice leather seated rocket all fueled and ready to "ark-away" the key leaders, with a wave and hearty exclamation, Santa Clause like, "Don't worry folks, we're going' for help!"

Bottom line: The Captain goes down with the ship! Any military man knows that if you're in a serious battle, you fight much harder and smarter if there is no way to escape.

With the state of the World and US affairs, we cannot afford to waste money (Think North Korea) shooting rockets to the Moon and Mars. We need the money here at home. Badly!

And that's what I think.

/rd