Outsourcing?.........It seems Obama has outsourced our space program.

[Guest]

We can still go into space if the Russians now, and maybe even the Chinese will take us. Please...........may we ride your rocket??

The International Space Station about to get three more crew members by Andrew Malcolm - Investors.com (http://news.investors.com/article/618205/201207150914/russian-soyuz-launch-carries-another-nasa-engineer.htm)

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57472503/soyuz-rocket-launches-on-mission-to-space-station/

[Guest]

Get Moonbeam Gingrich into the White House and he will put an American colony on the Moon. Rick Santorum could be Mayor and Sarah Palin could be Governor - except that she would quit halfway through her term - again. Two space cadets, for sure!

[Guest]

Get Moonbeam Gingrich into the White House and he will put an American colony on the Moon. Rick Santorum could be Mayor and Sarah Palin could be Governor - except that she would quit halfway through her term - again. Two space cadets, for sure!






LOL - certainly can't refudiate that.

[Guest]

What would a President Mitt Romney do with the space program? Probably the same thing that President Barack Obama has done. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Mitt_Romney

And, I do not mean what the candidate Mitt Romney said he would do when trying to get votes here in Florida back in January from the Space Coast.

[Guest]

I'm always really pleased when what I write causes you to defend Obama AGAIN. You rarely disappoint.

I've always been proud of our nation's space program, and it only took this anti-American president to practically shut it down.

But, I posted this aiming at a sense of ironic humor, considering all the outsourcing charges made by "The Amateur" in recent days.

You really need to make up your political mind, and also rediscover some semblance of humor.
I've always liked Social Security, Medicare, VA benefits, public TV, the national parks, the FDA, FBI, SEC, EPA and lots of other three-lettered government departments. I like being protected by the most powerful, most technologically-advanced military in the world. I even like the lower Bush tax rates.

But guess what, Richie? All that stuff is going to change. Our lives are going to change. It has to. We can't afford all the stuff government provides and continue not to pay for it. Either a president and Congress will decide to make the cuts and change the taxes...or the Chinese will!

NASA was just the beginning.

[Guest]

I would have expected Obama could have easily offset any amount needed to fund our American space program by merely going after the pork, special interest and lobby programs that ALWAYS remain untouchable.

To emasculate the American space program without describing what America will need to do to maintain it's position in space exploration is a typical lack of leadership.

Why aren't there more demands for the reduction of the frivilous spending? The known waste programs? The elimination of known fraud within many, many MANY spending programs?

Re-election that is why and they know the constituency will just follow along with the business as usual.

The space spending reduction was and continues to be a joke while bigger savings continue with the voter allowed business as usual.

Shame on we the people.

btk

[Guest]

Everyone has the right to have an opinion on what our national priorities should be. This list of possibilities is a very long one. What we do know for sure is that we can't afford to do everything that everyone wants.

Looking at just two spending items--spending to assure broader and better healthcare for all Americans, or continuing to explore space--it's an easy choice for me. We can't afford to continue the space program.

[Guest]

I would have expected Obama could have easily offset any amount needed to fund our American space program by merely going after the pork, special interest and lobby programs that ALWAYS remain untouchable.

To emasculate the American space program without describing what America will need to do to maintain it's position in space exploration is a typical lack of leadership.

Why aren't there more demands for the reduction of the frivilous spending? The known waste programs? The elimination of known fraud within many, many MANY spending programs?

Re-election that is why and they know the constituency will just follow along with the business as usual.

The space spending reduction was and continues to be a joke while bigger savings continue with the voter allowed business as usual.

Shame on we the people.

btk

Herein lies the problem with politics and cost-cutting. The cost cutting is, for a segment of the electorate, always the wrong place to cut. It could be done to somebody elses favorite program, not mine. The reality is that some cost cutting is going to forced upon us and most, if not all, are not going to be well accepted. We the people have encouraged the spending binge by continually reelecting those politicians who have brought home the most pork.

[Guest]

One of these fine Florida morning we are going to wake up and find that the United States Dollar has been replaced as the Worlds Reserve currency. When that happens we will not have to worry about reducing spending. It will be done for us. Read what happened to the UK when the pound sterling was dropped as the WRC. It does not look as if it could happen, but when will it happen. Yours, mine and everyones life style will take a big hit.

[Guest]

Herein lies the problem with politics and cost-cutting. The cost cutting is, for a segment of the electorate, always the wrong place to cut. It could be done to somebody elses favorite program, not mine. The reality is that some cost cutting is going to forced upon us and most, if not all, are not going to be well accepted. We the people have encouraged the spending binge by continually reelecting those politicians who have brought home the most pork.
I agree with you, Coach. But it's going to have to be more than just "some cost cutting". It'll have to be huge spending cuts, cuts that will effect, hurt in fact, each and every one of us. That goes for increased taxes too. We won't skate by without having to open our pocketbooks. More than just the rich too.

[Guest]

One of these fine Florida morning we are going to wake up and find that the United States Dollar has been replaced as the Worlds Reserve currency. When that happens we will not have to worry about reducing spending. It will be done for us. Read what happened to the UK when the pound sterling was dropped as the WRC. It does not look as if it could happen, but when will it happen. Yours, mine and everyones life style will take a big hit.

We can always go to bartering. :laugh:

[Guest]

Let me get this straight its better to continue to provide food stamps/welfare so people can go out and purchase $42.00 ice cream cakes then it is to provide an effective budget for our military defense and space program

As richielion pointed out the space program is the reason we can blog here today. Something as commonplace as the performance evalution sprang from the military. The research and development created by the military and space program has been a plethora of innovations capitalized by private industry. The well paying jobs lost by Obama's shortsightedness is well documented

The lack of vision by some who chide Gingrich's Mars/moon colonies is also shortsighted. I can recall as a kid the notion that a Dick Tracy watch was just plain fiction. Is ther a need to expand further?

However what is not a surprise is Obama's actions toward our space program. As he has made clear we are not exceptional and he is making every effort to prove that point.

I would not want this guy mentoring my children, educating students or advising corporations.

As the old saw goes: "We are the total sum of our experiences" well what does that say about Obama? I made my choice you make yours

[Guest]

Let me get this straight its better to continue to provide food stamps/welfare so people can go out and purchase $42.00 ice cream cakes then it is to provide an effective budget for our military defense and space program

As richielion pointed out the space program is the reason we can blog here today. Something as commonplace as the performance evalution sprang from the military. The research and development created by the military and space program has been a plethora of innovations capitalized by private industry. The well paying jobs lost by Obama's shortsightedness is well documented

The lack of vision by some who chide Gingrich's Mars/moon colonies is also shortsighted. I can recall as a kid the notion that a Dick Tracy watch was just plain fiction. Is ther a need to expand further?

However what is not a surprise is Obama's actions toward our space program. As he has made clear we are not exceptional and he is making every effort to prove that point.

I would not want this guy mentoring my children, educating students or advising corporations.

As the old saw goes: "We are the total sum of our experiences" well what does that say about Obama? I made my choice you make yours
I agree, Rubi. Our national priorities are all screwed up. But our Congress has one overriding priority...getting themselves re-elected.

Read the following article about how the House can't agree on how or even whether to cut the Farm Bill that's been bouncing around the House and Senate for weeks now. You suggest that the food stamp program be cut. I did too--I suggested it be eliminated over ten years. But what can't our "fiscally conservative" Republicans agree on? Whether or not to cut $16.5 billion out of $750 billion in proposed food stamp spending. As a percentage what's that, a couple less moon pies and RC colas?

What do they seem to agree on? Gutting the school lunch program...cutting payments to farmers for not growing crops a bit (remember that increasingly farms are getting bigger and are corporate-owned). Not many lost votes there.

What don't they want cut in the bill? Subsidies to the sugar beet industry, corn, peanut, soybeans, cotton and other crops. Why, I wonder? Do you think the farm lobby money has anything to do with it?

But the House didn't have the cajones to vote on the bill and offend anyone before the election. The Republicans kicked the can down the road and tabled the bill until sometime after the election!

Remember all you committed conservatives out there. The GOP absolutely controls the House. They can pass whatever they want, whenever they want. They sure don't want to take a whack at the food stamp program, but they've wasted two weeks of time and millions of dollars voting to repeal ObamaCare thirty-three separate times? But they don't want to vote on anything if by voting they don't meet their top priority...getting re-elected. Until they have the boldness to do what really is necessary, we'll just keep speeding towards the financial cliff that's coming up. This is the party that you all say is our hope for the future? Baloney...they're no different than the Democrats.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/13/us/politics/house-agriculture-committee-agrees-on-farm-bill.html

[Guest]

The sorry state of our manned space program is not the result of any decision made in the last 8 years. George W. terminated the Shuttle program in 2004 and then encouraged private industry to develop a space program. After all, the private sector can always do it better and cheaper. It may yet happen, but while we wait the Russians are using their technology which is nearly unchanged from the 60's to get the job done. In the meantime NASA is trying to meet the challenge of unmanned exploration and the dream of an eventual Mars mission without a moon stopover.
The cost per person to fly to the International Space Station on a Russian craft is about 63 million USD, which is cheaper than the cost to fly on the retired shuttle.

[Guest]

The sorry state of our manned space program is not the result of any decision made in the last 8 years. George W. terminated the Shuttle program in 2004 and then encouraged private industry to develop a space program. After all, the private sector can always do it better and cheaper. It may yet happen, but while we wait the Russians are using their technology which is nearly unchanged from the 60's to get the job done. In the meantime NASA is trying to meet the challenge of unmanned exploration and the dream of an eventual Mars mission without a moon stopover.
The cost per person to fly to the International Space Station on a Russian craft is about 63 million USD, which is cheaper than the cost to fly on the retired shuttle.

Just for the sake of being accurate, Bush did not simply cancel the program but with a replacement program that the Obama administration would not fund. I think the replacement program was Constellation Program, but to say he cancelled is not correct.

[Guest]

Just for the sake of being accurate, Bush did not simply cancel the program but with a replacement program that the Obama administration would not fund. I think the replacement program was Constellation Program, but to say he cancelled is not correct.

Bingo!!!; we have a winner.

You are absolutely correct. a replacement system for the aging shuttle program was in the works and eliminated by The Amateur.

[Guest]

Obama has OUTSOURCED to China, Finland, Mexico, Canada, Denmark to name a few and even to Brazil to drill for OIL and he has the AUDACITY to talk about Romney!! He needs to keep his mouth shut and get out of the White HOuse so we can bring some hope and change in. He's a laughing stock.

[Guest]

Just for the sake of being accurate, Bush did not simply cancel the program but with a replacement program that the Obama administration would not fund. I think the replacement program was Constellation Program, but to say he cancelled is not correct.

You are correct that Bush proposed a replacement program, Constellation. But Bush did cancel the Shuttle program, and I believe properly as it had achieved its mission of building the ISS. However he never fully funded the NASA request for Constellation and it was behind schedule when the Obama administration did their space planning review. From the Wikipedia page on the shuttle program:

"In an internal e-mail apparently sent August 18, 2008 to NASA managers and leaked to the press, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin stated his belief that the Bush administration had made no viable plan for U.S. crews to participate in the International Space Station beyond 2011, and that Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) were actually seeking its demise"
The full interview can be read at

An Interview with NASA Chief Mike Griffin | Space.com (http://www.space.com/5813-interview-nasa-chief-mike-griffin.html)

We are in agreement that our manned space program is in serious decline. I simply wished to point out that the termination of the Shuttle was not done by Obama, nor is the fact that we do not now have an operational Constellation or any other governmental program due to any act by Obama. At the earliest, with full funding the Constellation program would not have been ready until 2015. With the underfunding those targets had slipped. Those decisions were made during the Bush administration. There is nothing Obama did that resulted in our astronauts now having to use the Russian program. Obama did not Outsource the space program. He did cancel the Constellation program when a review felt that there is a better, cheaper, sooner available alternative. The decision to scrap Constellation is explained in an article in Scientific American, hardly a political journal and can be read with additional links at:

Phased Out: Obama's NASA Budget Would Cancel Constellation Moon Program, Privatize Manned Launches: Scientific American (http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=nasa-budget-constellation-cancel)

[Guest]

Obama has OUTSOURCED to China, Finland, Mexico, Canada, Denmark to name a few and even to Brazil to drill for OIL and he has the AUDACITY to talk about Romney!! He needs to keep his mouth shut and get out of the White HOuse so we can bring some hope and change in. He's a laughing stock.

No, it has been Mitt Romney outsourcing jobs through his time at Bain Capital as a way of business. Maybe Romney's outsourcing of jobs is YOUR version of capitalism that you want to see Romney do more of in the future.

[Guest]

No, it has been Mitt Romney outsourcing jobs through his time at Bain Capital as a way of business. Maybe Romney's outsourcing of jobs is YOUR version of capitalism that you want to see Romney do more of in the future.

Outsourcing is a way of life in business to maximize profit, and that is why the government does it. Obama outsources with abandon.

[Guest]

serving the needs of a government is entirely different from serving the needs of a private enterprise. romney has experience in both roles - unlike obama who doesn't have a clue about private enterprise and does nothing but demean it and has shown that he is not very good at leading a government.

[Guest]

MrMark. You are upset because Obama was called the amateur?? Do you remember the vile names Bush was called. Good grief!!!

[Guest]

The "amateur" defeated Hillary Clinton and John McCain by ten million votes.

[Guest]

MrMark. You are upset because Obama was called the amateur?? Do you remember the vile names Bush was called. Good grief!!!

Not by me! Simply a matter of respect.

[Guest]

I agree, Rubi. Our national priorities are all screwed up. But our Congress has one overriding priority...getting themselves re-elected.

Read the following article about how the House can't agree on how or even whether to cut the Farm Bill that's been bouncing around the House and Senate for weeks now. You suggest that the food stamp program be cut. I did too--I suggested it be eliminated over ten years. But what can't our "fiscally conservative" Republicans agree on? Whether or not to cut $16.5 billion out of $750 billion in proposed food stamp spending. As a percentage what's that, a couple less moon pies and RC colas?

What do they seem to agree on? Gutting the school lunch program...cutting payments to farmers for not growing crops a bit (remember that increasingly farms are getting bigger and are corporate-owned). Not many lost votes there.

What don't they want cut in the bill? Subsidies to the sugar beet industry, corn, peanut, soybeans, cotton and other crops. Why, I wonder? Do you think the farm lobby money has anything to do with it?

But the House didn't have the cajones to vote on the bill and offend anyone before the election. The Republicans kicked the can down the road and tabled the bill until sometime after the election!

Remember all you committed conservatives out there. The GOP absolutely controls the House. They can pass whatever they want, whenever they want. They sure don't want to take a whack at the food stamp program, but they've wasted two weeks of time and millions of dollars voting to repeal ObamaCare thirty-three separate times? But they don't want to vote on anything if by voting they don't meet their top priority...getting re-elected. Until they have the boldness to do what really is necessary, we'll just keep speeding towards the financial cliff that's coming up. This is the party that you all say is our hope for the future? Baloney...they're no different than the Democrats.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/13/us/politics/house-agriculture-committee-agrees-on-farm-bill.html

VK: I just read Ann Coulter's column. It usually appears in sunday's Edition of the Daily Sun. I predict there will be a masive assualt on this woman for speaking what she sees as the truth. If she is correct, and frankly much of what she says describes today's america then it will answer the question you pose as to why hasn't that happened. I suspect the Daily sun will do some editing as they usually do

[Guest]

"Amateur"! How damn disrespectfull can you be in your flair for drama! Even G.W. Bush deserved to be addressed as "The President", although I think he stunk at the job. Sounds like a Jerseyite!

You don't want to know what I call him,That name was given to him by Bill Clinton,Maybe you might want to call him

[Guest]

No - Junior decided to call himself "The Decider".

[Guest]

Thread closed due to the disrespect among users.