Blew the budget...
Sorry I can't quote the Bill but the persciptions for seniors and modifications for medicare don't even appear on anybody's radar screen!
Think of it: baby boomers start retiring in 2006. That will become an enormous burden on the medical system. And who will have the veins of ice to say: Sorry: we have to cut medical support???
How about the Mars colony idea? talk about dependents!!
The whole world will be caught up in the trauma if someone is stranded...losing power, or oxygen...how many billions will be rushed through NASA to save the dying colony? How about a space pebble the size of a golf ball colliding with a multi billion dollar orbiter/lander 2 months away from earth bring back a few precious ounces of Mars dirt?...put another sticker next to the project board that says" No Response, project terminated."
Mr Bush: Our parks are undermanned, underfunded, our bridges are past repair, our borders are 10% more secure since 9/11, our farmers are caving in to developers at the rate of 2 square miles a day, and millions have 0% health coverage....and you want a thimble of Mars dust.
Our border with Mexico is 2000+ miles....
we just spent $820,000,000 on 2 Mars probes....
That means: we could have spent over $40,000 per mile of border to put up fences, search lights, heck even mine fields and stopped the flow of illegals down to a trickle and had enough left over to double our Border guards...but no, we needed two thimbles of Mars dust and pictures of a wasteland.
Are we out of our minds with stupidity or what????