Privatizing the Space program: The Right Wing Agenda (surreal)

[Zuni]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1054877/posts

[Buffler]

1. I kind of agree

I think private individuals and private interests should be allowed to engage in space travel if they so choose and finance it with their own, or investors money.

Does this mean that NASA should be privatized? No.

[Cleita]

6. Therein lies the problem.

They don't want to raise their own funds. They want to raid the taxpayer's government money.

[economic justice]

7. Actually, they're not getting any

The private space ventures only get money like any other business startup if they qualify. They get NO federal money that would otherwise go to NASA and that is as it should be.

[Cleita]

13. That's a relief to know, however, I am sure BushCo. will

change that. The fact that it was mentioned that a new Moon program would cost billions of dollars a year tells me that this is the direction they are heading in.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

2. they've privatized the WH

why not the space industry?

[economic justice]

3. Bush Is On The Right Side (gasp!!!)

Maybe it's because he's from NASA's home state....but for whatever reason.....Bush is actually (surprise!) on the right side of this debate. He is preparing a major NASA funding proposal that the people in Houston are ecstatic about. The far right are all supporting these independent private ventures. I just read that one of them is announcing today a new training, launch,and landing facility in Oklahoma. These are fine with me (there's no stopping them anyway) as long as NASA continues to get the big bucks. For once, Bush is right in funding NASA for new research, experimentation and space travel.

[HFishbine]

17. Buying Florida? (n/t)

[Sir_Shrek]

4. I don't find too much wrong with that...

The government isn't the most progressive entity on the planet in a lot of ways.

[denverbill]

5. That freeper link is pretty darned funny.

The 4th reply calls CATO communist. Fucking freepers call anyone who disagrees with Bush a commie. I really don't think they have any idea what a communist, libertarian, liberal, or conservative is.

[ramapo]

8. Still that Communist thing?

That is amusing. Bad enough the commie label was applied back when there were communists in power somewhere in the world. I guess it's just their way of calling someone a jerk.

[economic justice]

10. Cato is libertarian free market <eom>

[Rich Hunt]

11. LOL

...how much more un-'commie' can you get than Cato?

Maybe it's because the Cato people smoke too much pot and watch too much porn.

ON EDIT: I went to the page and read the Cato = Communist part, and I'm convinced that the person is engaging in disinformation hijinks. It's just too funny.

Their Party Line is too consonant with the same objectives of the Chinese Communist Party. At this point, I regard the CATO group as an even larger threat than the Ford Foundation, the Carnegie Endowment, and the other leftwing-subverted entities. The reason? Some legitimate conservatives are still suckered in by the CATO communists who craftily maintain their 'cover'.

That said, the CATO piece itself is pretty nutty. "Space tourism"?? This isn't the Jetsons. Ain't much to see out there, either, but maybe after the environment is trashed by the free marketeers, it will be the only place to go. Which would be sad for us but hilarious karma for them. Just try getting a suntan on Pluto.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

9. Read this DU thread...

and ask yourself what prompted Bush's sudden interest in the space program:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=998949

[economic justice]

12. Let's hope that's not the case

I can see why we all might jump to that conclusion. PNAC wants money for a militarized space program, so naturally if Bush wants to increase space funding it must be because of PNAC. Right? Well, not really. Bush's ties to NASA go wayyyy back and he has many friends in Houston. His dad wasn't as big on NASA, but honestly, we can bash Bush on everything else (with full force) but I honestly think he's a supporter of NASA's mission of space *exploration* and doesn't support privatizing space or letting NASA dollars go to what PNAC wants. His announcement next week would indicate the people in Houston won this round.

[Zuni]

15. good points

I think some folk see PNAC everywhere

[Rich Hunt]

14. conservatives and space

I think conservatives are really divided over the space program. Fiscal conservatives think it's a waste of money.

It's becoming clearer to me that the neo-cons are not free market at all, but they will ride the free market / privatization line as long as it helps them. What they really want is for the state to sponsor their own ideology to the exclusion of all others. This appears to be their real policy on the arts & education.

Which makes them very much like.......

[Loonman]

16. The CATO Communists...LOL

Seriously, that article is freaky.