NASA is BS

[JosephTheLibertarian]

As some of you may or may not already know, the new season of Penn & Teller: Bullshit has started. I thought some of y'all might like their episode on NASA, which addresses NASA's inefficiency and expense.

Part 1: http://youtube.com/watch?v=HUbogc801OA
Part 2: http://youtube.com/watch?v=G1npYrWH_y8&feature=related
Part 3: http://youtube.com/watch?v=0vujklvUkUs&feature=related

Good stuff.

ha cool. I think what we should do is sustain a dual system. We should keep NASA, but we should not restrict the free market from competing.

NASA hitch hiking to space? haha

NASA does do SOME good. The problem is, imo, we have a government that is restricting people from starting their own, prvate space programs. It's stupid.

To fund NASA, we should have a system of voluntary contributions in order to fund government. example: your town asks for donations on the local tv access. your state advertises for funds. NASA advertises for funds, etc. people are free to send donations. Americans would keep 100% of their money, so there would be alot of money available for donations. It's a way for people to "vote" with their money.

 

[AmericaFyeah92]

i think Penn still endorsed Paul despite the newslettters, BTW.

Torchbearer, Bush (and soon Obama) already have the power to end all human society with nuclear weapons, so why not give them the power to do it from space? (i'm not being facetious, i'm just saying why wait to go up there and make NASA useful?)

 

[torchbearer]

i think Penn still endorsed Paul despite the newslettters, BTW.

Torchbearer, Bush (and soon Obama) already have the power to end all human society with nuclear weapons, so why not give them the power to do it from space? (i'm not being facetious, i'm just saying why wait to go up there and make NASA useful?)

What my real fear is.. we start a star wars in the process.
USA and Russia.
Two guys in the room with guns in the holsters. They don't trust each other, and were former enemies.
One guy pulls his gun from his holster, what will the other guy do?

 

[AmericaFyeah92]

What my real fear is.. we start a star wars in the process.
USA and Russia.
Two guys in the room with guns in the holsters. They don't trust each other, and were former enemies.
One guy pulls his gun from his holster, what will the other guy do?

that's why we need to beat them to it and monopolize space weaponry before someone else (Russia/China) does, in my opinion

 

[torchbearer]

that's why we need to beat them to it and monopolize space weaponry before someone else (Russia/China) does, in my opinion

You may be right, but this is something very serious, and should take some serious thought before the trigger is pulled.
We may have to disguise our star platforms as science/commercial, but this is all very risky.
If russia finds itself helpless against the US it may choose death over enslavement.
The rest of the world could end up uniting against us... who knows with propaganda and what our past history recently will lead to...

 

[JosephTheLibertarian]

that's why we need to beat them to it and monopolize space weaponry before someone else (Russia/China) does, in my opinion

lol. beat them? in what way? with space technology? We can, but isn't NASA being gutted every year? That's what my sources have told me.

We could easily slash the budget and give NASA all the money it wants. Just end this silly war.

 

[Fox McCloud]

We should be "prepared" to weaponize space, but i don't think we should be the first to initiate it.
Not under the current regimes that run this country. Imagine Bush or Obama with that much power?

note that I said with a more humble foreign policy and neutrality towards most/all nations

The very reason you have brought forth is why I don't think space should be weaponized at this point in time.

 

[AmericaFyeah92]

lol. beat them? in what way? with space technology? We can, but isn't NASA being gutted every year? That's what my sources have told me.

We could easily slash the budget and give NASA all the money it wants. Just end this silly war.

that's what i'm saying. private companies should handle actual space exploration in my opinion, and NASA should become an"official" military branch. That would make it constitutional, as well.

And i agree, torchbearer, that it should be weighed carefully. But time is of the essence.

(BTW:did u get the "death over enslavement" from Watchmen? The book makes a similar point, and it's pretty interesting. But i doubt someone like Putin would willingly sacrifice himself)

 

[JosephTheLibertarian]

that's what i'm saying. private companies should handle actual space exploration in my opinion, and NASA should become an"official" military branch. That would make it constitutional, as well.

And i agree, torchbearer, that it should be weighed carefully. But time is of the essence.

(BTW:did u get the "death over enslavement" from Watchmen? The book makes a similar point, and it's pretty interesting. But i doubt someone like Putin would willingly sacrifice himself)

that's the name of the book? I looked it up but I don't see it lol..

NASA acting as the space military branch? hmm. why would we need a military in space? we don't even know if there's life out there. or do you mean so that we can defend our stuff from other countries? like china

 

[torchbearer]

that's the name of the book? I looked it up but I don't see it lol..

NASA acting as the space military branch? hmm. why would we need a military in space? we don't even know if there's life out there. or do you mean so that we can defend our stuff from other countries? like china

if we are mining helium-3 from the moon, what would stop any nation from taking over that facility? especially if we were at war, here on earth. we'd need space weapons,ships. yes.

 

[AmericaFyeah92]

that's the name of the book? I looked it up but I don't see it lol..

NASA acting as the space military branch? hmm. why would we need a military in space? we don't even know if there's life out there. or do you mean so that we can defend our stuff from other countries? like china

i was talking to Torchbearer, lol. The thing he said about the Russians choosing "death over enslavement" sounded like something that was said in "Watchmen."

I mean for defense against other nations, yes. But it wouldn't hurt to have against aliens either

 

[torchbearer]

i was talking to Torchbearer, lol. The thing he said about the Russians choosing "death over enslavement" sounded like something that was said in "Watchmen."

I mean for defense against other nations, yes. But it wouldn't hurt to have against aliens either

I said it that way, because that is how they will perceive it.
Think about it. If China announced today they had secretly created a global array of military platforms in orbit around earth. What would we do?