Obama Talks the Talk, But Sends NASA Walking...

Neoavatara ^ | April 16, 2010 | Neoavatara

[Neoavatara]

President Barack Obama visited Cape Canaveral this week to provide more details on his restructuring of the space agency.

What clarity came out of it, I have no idea.

Obama, as usual, used nuanced and nonspecific grand speech to cloud the fact that his space policy is basically the lack of a space policy.

In traditional Obama-speak, Obama boldly predicted Thursday his new plans for space exploration would lead American astronauts on historic, almost fantastic journeys to an asteroid and then to Mars, relying on rockets and propulsion still to be imagined and built. Obama did not predict a Mars landing soon. But he said that by 2025, the nation would have a new spacecraft "designed for long journeys to allow us to begin the first-ever crewed missions beyond the moon into deep space."

[Vaduz]

Obama-speak if you can’t tax it kill it.

[poobear]

“Obama, as usual, used nuanced and nonspecific grand speech to cloud the fact that his space policy is basically the lack of a space policy.”

Yeah, to a hand picked group of 200 while the soon to be laid off workers were asked to “take the day off”. It was sickening to hear him boast creating 2,000 jobs. Right after laying off 10,000. These are not just Shuttle jobs either.

[combat_boots]

He wants to give our edge away to the ChiComs, Russians & Muslims. It won’t be skynet that strikes the US....at least, not ours.

[Talisker]

Liberals are at their happiest when they can inflict massive destruction through NOT doing something.

Cutting off NASA funding, therefore, is a joyous experience for Obama, because he can do it while claiming to be 100% behind space exploration - which, in fact, is exactly what he did.

[Soothesayer]

Obama could care less about technological progress. As long as desperate people are voting Democrat and glorifying his name, Barack is a happy boy.

[combat_boots]

“after laying off 10,000.”

I wonder if they got space blankets or energy bars as souvenirs.

[gathersnomoss]

Captain Destructo!

[Cincinatus]

What clarity came out of it, I have no idea.

In general, a very good piece, but let me comment on the "clarity" provided.

By deliberately designing a policy that feeds on and emphasizes NASA's innate and natural bureaucratic inertia (research now, missions later), Obama has set the stage for the termination of American government spaceflight. A few years of "technology development" and "study" of mission architectures and it will be announced tearfully that "try as we might, we just can't figure out how to get from here to there." Then, with the country hurtling off an economic cliff, the human space prorgam will be a ripe target for elimination.

This also explains why some Republican/conservatives/libertarians (like Newt) favor this policy -- they see within it the forthcoming destruction of the agency.

[Beckwith]

...I am not a big government proponent. But if you want the private sector to be the backbone of the space industry, you also have to have a space agency...

That's how it works now. NASA is an administrative entity that hires and manages the thousands of private sector contractors and subcontractors that do the actual work.

[jiminycricket000]

"Obama Talks the Talk, But Sends NASA Walking..."

I saw a special on CNN two days ago about Obama's plans for NASA. It wasn't good for Obama either. Basically, the talking head said that many thousands of people were going to lose their jobs at NASA and would find job replacement difficult given their specialties. When even CNN drops the truth bomb on Obama you know he's not popular in the media anymore. And that's saying something because the media is the alpha and omega of his Presidency, without their daily adoration he can't survive.

[Mouton]

I guess the only way to go then is to abrogate the treaty about weapons in space and give the space program to the military where it belonged in the first place.

[Fido969]

I loved his line:

“The bottom line is that no one is more committed ... to human spaceflight than I am”

lol. I just had to laugh out loud. This guy is a sociopath. He has no conscience at all.

[Always Independent]

He must have gotten his inspiration from watching all those splashdowns in Florida with his grandfather. I’m still wondering just how he was able to see those events from land. Even more, why nobody challenged it.

[Dallas59]

We can go to Mars only if we help Muslims countries and save the climate.

[equalitybeforethelaw]

I think we are going to get to Mars on windmills, solar cells and unicorns. All hail obamacus spoilatii - “We Won”!!! Whitey on the moon - kill my landlord...

[rebapiper]

Hitlary goes to Russia to continue doing the work of Bill Clinton, his deals with Russia, he gave the space station technology to Russia. He also was leasing out the Naval Base in California, Joseph Farrah exposed that deal, and a Repulican congress stopped it. Hitlary is doing Willeys dirty work, was that the deal for her to get the Secry.of State title, just like Bidens deal for Vice President, Treasen got him that title.
JUST VOTE THEM OUT, GUESS WHATE, IT THE SPACE STATION GOES WE ARE DEAD,DEAD,DEAD. RUSSIA USING IRAN TO DO IT'S DIRTY WORK, GET RID OF ISRAEL. HITLARY IS SELLING US OUT AND OBOZO IS SIGNING THE DEALS.
WHERE ALL BUSY WITH OBOZOCARE WHILE HITLARY IS MAKING DEALS TO GET US ALL KILLED.
WE WON'T LAST TO VOTE THEM OUT.
FOR GOD SAKE CAN'T ANYONE SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING?
THIS IS TREASON AND IF WE WAIT MUCH LONGER MILLIONS OF AMERICANS WILL DIE, THEY WILL SLAUGHTERS US.