As for “some dimwit says that building a viable lunar lander would be way too expensive”.. that would be just about everyone, including me. The cost of Altair was comparable to the cost of Ares-V, that’s why it is being delayed until the end of the program. You *need* a booster.. You *need* a capsule.. You *need* a lander to go to the Moon. That’s the order you should develop them in. While you’re developing the landers there’s plenty of places you can go to support the real goal.

Of course, it could be done for cheaper.. but it might involve some things you dislike, such as actually engaging the private sector and commercializing each step of the way..

How do you know that? And so what? Did you read the link that debunked this illogical argument?

“This is getting way OT,”

Indeed.

” but I’ve always found the “chicken hawk” argument to be silly and fallacious. It in fact is in defiance of the American tradition of civilian control over the military, so it seems like a very strange argument to come from the left, which supposedly is opposed to militarism.”

Nope. All I am saying is that the very people who argue for war most of the time never saw what war is. And I don’t mean to say I did but I am not calling for war. The stupid argument is to solve everything with conflicts. That is a stupid argument be it from the left or the right. Your notion of the “left” seems to me very passe. This WH is accused to be of the left yet they increased the conflict in Afghanistan.

Anyway. Enough.

–> that’s definitely the right thing to do!

If he believes that the Iraq war was fought because Saddam wanted Euros for his oil, I’d say pretty much, yeah. Not that I had a high opinion of him previously.

I’m ignoring all of your other unsubstantiated insanity and slander against American troops.