NASA's Republican Blowhards Unite!

There is no argument for moon missions I find less appealing than the "we must go there or [insert foreign nation name here] will beat us there." The fact that we are the sole country that has been to the moon in the entire history of humanity means nothing to these people, someone could still beat us there!
So when I received my April issue of Popular Mechanics, and saw Tom Jones article entitled "Don't Kill NASA!" I was a little irritated.

I was also less than surprised that Jones, a FoxNews contributor, glossed very weakly over the fact that President Bush slashed science funding with a zeal known only to crusaders. Nor was I surprised that he barely mentions that President Obama actually increased funding for NASA by $1 billion dollars a year.
Instead he makes vague arguments like "$787 billion was available for stimulus but finding $3 billion for NASA was impossible?"

But what really galls me about this type of thinking is the obscene nationalism that people seem to exhibit when it comes to space. Jones does it in his article; he basically rewrites history and argues that the ISS was built by Americans. He argues that American dominance in space should be a national priority.

Why?

Name a single science fiction novel in which a single nation controls space? In virtually every science fiction series, a global conglomerate has conquered space, and nations are history. For example, in Larry Niven's Ringworld series, the "UN" is the dominant democratic entity that governs all the human worlds in known space.
The building of the ISS was a huge step forward in human spaceflight. For the first time ever, nations came together for the common goal of increasing knowledge of space, and built an international entity, neutral to the conflicts below, where astronauts of many nations could go to conduct experiments. Why not more of that? Why not put this America First bullshit away and concentrate on humanity?

These people huffing and puffing about NASA's budget cuts are the same people who want the government to stay out of health care. "Let free enterprise do its work! The government should stay out of the private sector!" they trumpet, but when President Obama signals that he wants to open space up to the private sector, and pursue other avenues with NASA, they scream and holler.

I can imagine Karl Rove helping Jones with this hilarious tripe:

With no ability to launch humans past the ISS, we will watch, helpless to follow, as China pursues its determination to be the next nation to send its explorers into deep space.

Fearmongering at its finest. God help us if those dirty communists manage to land on the fertile, resource-laden rock that orbits us and begin to extract deuterium and helium for their hyperdrive Bussard ramjet reactors on their cloaking device-equipped Klingon Birds-of-Prey.

One final note: when Obama signaled that moon missions weren't going to happen, and gave NASA a fiscal slap on the wrist, it actually increased my interest in space. Responsible, goal-oriented project management (and a little fiscal conservatism?) is what NASA needs, not some vague plan and a cavernous budget. NASA could divert Constellation program funds into education programs, to get youth interested in robotic exploration of space, which anyone with a brain acknowledges is cheaper and easier than manned exploration (why is Afghanistan full of UAVs?).
Jones disagrees:

The president's rejection of a clear goal to send humans into deep space by a certain date eliminates a future in space for the brightest of our young scientists and engineers. The space talent pool began emptying Monday, as promising innovators turn to careers in other industries. What student would pursue a career in space science or astronautics with the knowledge that the country deems leadership in space unimportant?

It has been made clear that in early April President Obama will announce his new plan for NASA. What will Jones say if that plan includes education programs and incentive programs aimed at increasing young person's interest in space?


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