Comments on: House loyalties

By: SpaceMan

SpaceMan — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 18:00:46 +0000

Real American >”…Have you ever had a rational thought in your life? People like you are the real problem in America, not the solution…”

Come on now, give him a break. Mr. Simberg hasn’t yet learned to talk out of the correct end of his alimentary canal. Sooner or later he will.

By: Real American

Real American — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 15:51:45 +0000

civil war turncoats

That seems to suit you. The first civil war was also a wonderful sporting event for all those involved too, well over a half a million dead if I recall correctly.

Have you ever had a rational thought in your life? People like you are the real problem in America, not the solution, trust me. Now get back to your civil war reenactments and be sure to polish up that confederate flag on your truck.

By: Kevin Parkin

Kevin Parkin — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 08:53:02 +0000

“So $450 million will only accelerate Ares I/Orion by less than one and a half months, at best”

Ah yes, but once we factor in a deflationary spiral, it may shrink a few times closer to cost price if we wait

By: Major Tom

Major Tom — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 03:45:32 +0000

If the goal is really still stimulating the economy — getting more money flowing through the economy in the next few months — then Kosmas should pick education funding over Constellation. Localities around the country are facing teacher layoffs due to declining real estate values and tax income. Whether one thinks additional education funding is good or not, keeping teachers (or anyone else) employed will keep more money circulating in the economy in the short-term. Taxpayer dollars spent on Constellation, by contrast, will take NASA many months up to a couple years just to get obligated (i.e., on contract), and even more time after that to get spent and into the economy. Even if Constellation had merit on its own, it’s not relevant to the bill’s actual economic stimulus goals.

Also, contrary to Kosmas’s statement, it’s important to point out that the amount of Constellation funding in the Senate bill, only $450 million, will not “help minimize the gap between the Shuttle Program and Constellation” by any appreciable amount. At the time he was leaving the Administrator’s office, even Griffin admitted that it would take an additional $4 billion to accelerate Ares I/Orion readiness by just one year. So $450 million will only accelerate Ares I/Orion by less than one and a half months, at best. Forget Constellation… a half billion dollars of my children or grandchildren’s taxes is not worth a lousy one-and-a-half month acceleration of any imaginable NASA civil space project.

And until the Obama Administration has decided whether it will continue pursuing Constellation, throwing money at the program risks completely wasting taxpayer resources. Even assuming a new NASA Administrator is identified and confirmed and the White House assesses its civil space policies in the coming weeks, the earliest that we’ll have an indication of the Obama Administration’s direction on Constellation is the President’s FY 2010 Budget, and that won’t be released until at least May. Until then, Congress should stand down on Constellation funding augmentations.

FWIW…

By: Rand Simberg

Rand Simberg — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 03:13:45 +0000

It’s going to be interesting to watch the Democrat civil war over this atrocity of a bill, because the Republicans, other than the turncoats in New England and Pennsylvania, are sitting on the sidelines.

Get out the popcorn.