Obama hates science

[Quantum Windbag]

This again?

What is it you people on the right find so bad about shifting space programs from the public to the private sector?

There's just no pleasing you people, is there?

I have always supported NASA. Maybe you should stop trying to fit me into your neat little box and have an opinion of your own for once in your life.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

I guess you hate private business, and love government programs.

A private spaceship is preparing to link up with the International Space Station for the first time Friday in a historic step for commercial spaceflight.
The unmanned Dragon capsule, built by Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, is due to arrive at the station early Friday and be attached to an open docking port, becoming the first spacecraft built by a company — and not a national space program — ever to do so.

Dragon is one of two commercial vehicles being nurtured by NASA to replace the cargo-carrying duties of the retired space shuttles (the other spacecraft is the Cygnus, built by Orbital Sciences Corp., of Dulles, Va.). This flight is a test mission sponsored by the agency's COTS program (Commercial Orbital Transportation Services).
If the current mission goes smoothly, SpaceX will be cleared to begin flying delivery missions to the space station starting this fall. The company is contracted for at least 12 of these flights for a total of $1.6 billion.

Private space capsule 'go' for space station arrival - Technology & science - Space - Space.com - msnbc.com

I guess you don't understand the difference between basic science, which is what Obama is cutting, and development. Would you like me to link to stuff Phil Plaitt has written talking about how stupid Republicans are about science and how they hate poor people to prove this is not a right/left issue?

 

[Quantum Windbag]

This again?

What is it you people on the right find so bad about shifting space programs from the public to the private sector?

There's just no pleasing you people, is there?

Shifting parts of the space program to the private sector ( transportation of cargo/crew) is fine and I approve completely. But that's all that has been shifted. The rest is simply being underfunded into hibernation.

Right now I would rather pay for other things than a mission to mars.

Right now i would rather pay for other things than the war in Afghanistan, that doesn't mean we should stop paying for defense entirely.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

I expect rdean will come in here and blame Bush, but the rest of us can call up our congresscritters and let them know we support NASA.

FACT: NASA’s total budget is less than 1% of the Federal spending. Way less than 1%. FACT: The proposed fiscal year 2013 budget out of the White House has huge cuts to NASA. Planetary sciences alone has $300 million slashed from it.
FACT: If this cut stays in the budget, NASA will have to pull back from some big and exciting planetary missions. It’s already made NASA back out of an agreement with the European Space Agency on two ambitious Mars probes.
FACT: This sucks. A lot. America leads the way in scientific planetary missions, and this cut will hurt that, significantly.

Shining shoes for NASA | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine

Right on comrade! Private business shouldn't handle something that the government can obviously do better. Big government is best, right?

NASA is about as far from big government as you can get. I think we can afford $20 billion to do some basic research that is not going to happen otherwise. Unless, of course, you actually hate science.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Shifting parts of the space program to the private sector ( transportation of cargo/crew) is fine and I approve completely. But that's all that has been shifted. The rest is simply being underfunded into hibernation.

The private sector is stepping in to fill the gap.

And there has been a bunch of recent government funding devoting to helping this along.

So, help me out here...

Is it that the private sector isn't moving fast enough?

Or is it that you feel the government does a better job than the private sector?

That funding comes from NASA, which is being cut. Do you understand just how stupid that makes you look?

 

[Quantum Windbag]

It's official. "Conservatives" simply hate anything Obama does.

Even when he does something they ask for.

And, by contrast, you just love anything he does, even when he does things you think are stupid.

 

[Conservative]

define 'a lot', and link please.

Asteroid miners get more than 2,500 investment inquiries - GeekWire

Planetary Resources is a private company run by commercial space veterans and backed deep-pocketed investors including Google’s Larry Page and Eric Schmidt, and Ross Perot Jr.

Tech Billionaires Plan Audacious Mission to Mine Asteroids | Wired Science | Wired.com

A group of wealthy, adventurous entrepreneurs will announce on Apr. 24 a new venture called Planetary Resources, Inc., which plans to send swarms of robots to space to scout asteroids for precious metals and set up mines to bring resources back to Earth, in the process adding trillions of dollars to the global GDP, helping ensure humanity’s prosperity and paving the way for the human settlement of space.

Tech tycoons in asteroid mining venture | Science | guardian.co.uk

A group of hi-tech tycoons including Google's Larry Page and Eric Schmidt have teamed up with explorer and film-maker James Cameron in a venture to mine nearby asteroids, hoping to turn science fiction into real profits.

you realize all those links are about the same company, right? Also, that they have nothing even in the design stages now, right?

 

[Vast LWC]

This again?

What is it you people on the right find so bad about shifting space programs from the public to the private sector?

There's just no pleasing you people, is there?

I have always supported NASA. Maybe you should stop trying to fit me into your neat little box and have an opinion of your own for once in your life.

In that case, I'm assuming that you're even more angry at the GOP house that proposed even larger cuts in NASA than those Obama bargained for?

 

[Conservative]

Personally I can't wait for SpaceX to go public.

I'll be one of the first people in the queue for buying some of that stock.

on that, we agree. Additionally, if I have the money, I'd be on the waiting list for a ride with Virgin Galactic.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

I agree with moving this to the private sector, private sector handles pretty much everything better.

I don't want to speak for him, but I'm getting the impression that QW made this thread to point out the hypocrisy of Obamabots. If Bush did this, they would all have their torches lit and pitchforks in hand marching at the White House saying he hated science. Imagine Bush cutting a science-based gov't program, they'd be grinding their teeth to the jawbone.

I made this thread to try and get people to support NASA. If I thought it would prove that Obamazombies are as stupid as they proved themselves to be I would have put it in the Romper Room. I overestimated their intelligence.

 

[Vast LWC]

you realize all those links are about the same company, right? Also, that they have nothing even in the design stages now, right?

And? That's a crap-load of capital invested. Why would it matter if it's one big company doing it, or 50 little companies doing it, in the context of our conversation?

And of course they're not in the design stages yet, they just started the damn thing.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

I expect rdean will come in here and blame Bush, but the rest of us can call up our congresscritters and let them know we support NASA.

FACT: NASA’s total budget is less than 1% of the Federal spending. Way less than 1%. FACT: The proposed fiscal year 2013 budget out of the White House has huge cuts to NASA.

FACT: Obama's cuts are less than the GOP House budget cuts for NASA.

NASA Budget Cuts Draw Threat of Presidential Veto | Commercial Crew | Space.com


As they say at NASA, "Back to the drawing board..."

Did you miss the part where I said I want people to call up their congresscritters and let them knw we support NASA?

Fact: We need to increase NASA's budget, not cut it.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

You people really need to pay attention.

President: I need ten dollars for science.

GOP: We'll give you six.

President: I will settle for eight.


RUBE: OBAMA HATES SCIENCE!!!! HE ONLY BUDGETED 8 DOLLARS FOR SCIENCE!!!

Funny, the guy who wrote the blog I linked to is about as far left as you can get. I have actually argued with him over his politics, and find him as thick headed as rdean. Yet, somehow, this is part of a right wing conspiracy to make Obama look bad.

Get a fracking life.

 

[Conservative]

you realize all those links are about the same company, right? Also, that they have nothing even in the design stages now, right?

And? That's a crap-load of capital invested. Why would it matter if it's one big company doing it, or 50 little companies doing it, in the context of our conversation?

And of course they're not in the design stages yet, they just started the damn thing.

Like you said, in 10-20 years, maybe they will have something. I wish them well. But they are simply NOT an example of the private sector taking over for NASA.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

This again?

What is it you people on the right find so bad about shifting space programs from the public to the private sector?

There's just no pleasing you people, is there?

I have always supported NASA. Maybe you should stop trying to fit me into your neat little box and have an opinion of your own for once in your life.

In that case, I'm assuming that you're even more angry at the GOP house that proposed even larger cuts in NASA than those Obama bargained for?

Obama did not bargain for these cuts, he came up with them all on his own. I want NASA's budget to be bigger.

PERIOD.

 

[Vast LWC]

That funding comes from NASA, which is being cut. Do you understand just how stupid that makes you look?

They cut funding to NASA, not funding for private space initiatives.

NASA has shifted their long term strategy from funding their own projects to funding private programs.

Thus, even though NASA funding is being cut, their support for private industry continues to grow, with the long-term goal of having those businesses no longer require government funding at all, as they grow profitable in their own right.

But hey, you keep on going in your crusade to increase government spending. I'm just "stupid" I guess.

 

[Conservative]

Personally I can't wait for SpaceX to go public.

I'll be one of the first people in the queue for buying some of that stock.

on that, we agree. Additionally, if I have the money, I'd be on the waiting list for a ride with Virgin Galactic.

especially if they throw in an actual virgin

(did I say that? I meant to think it)

 

[Vast LWC]

Like you said, in 10-20 years, maybe they will have something. I wish them well. But they are simply NOT an example of the private sector taking over for NASA.

As far as I know, NASA didn't have the ability to mine asteroids either. And had no plans to do so in the foreseeable future.

Unless there's some secret program they're not telling us about...

 

[Quantum Windbag]

That funding comes from NASA, which is being cut. Do you understand just how stupid that makes you look?

They cut funding to NASA, not funding for private space initiatives.

NASA has shifted their long term strategy from funding their own projects to funding private programs.

Thus, even though NASA funding is being cut, their support for private industry continues to grow, with the long-term goal of having those businesses no longer require government funding at all, as they grow profitable in their own right.

But hey, you keep on going in your crusade to increase government spending. I'm just "stupid" I guess.

Damn, you really are loosing it.

NASA has not changed their strategy, that strategy has been imposed on them by Obama. Personally, I think that there should be private sector development of space, but we need to be in space even if the private sector doesn't develop it. NASA should not be used to fund private sector development of space because it is about science, not building hotels for rich people.

Try to get your head out of the idea that I am a wingnut and think.

 

[Conservative]

Like you said, in 10-20 years, maybe they will have something. I wish them well. But they are simply NOT an example of the private sector taking over for NASA.

As far as I know, NASA didn't have the ability to mine asteroids either. And had no plans to do so in the foreseeable future.

Unless there's some secret program they're not telling us about...

true, but completely not the point. The point was about NASA budgets getting cut, and private industry taking over. Well, the only thing private industry is taking over from NASA is the ferry duties for crew and supplies to ISS. That's it. Oh, and satellite launches as well. Anything NASA was working on other than those two areas is over for the foreseeable future, as private industry is not getting involved in the moon, mars, etc.

I am all for and heartily support ANY area private industry steps into in space. However, there role is currently limited... and speculative.