NASA has reportedly eliminated the promise “to understand and protect our home planet“ from its mission statement.
That statement was repeatedly cited last winter by NASA climate scientist James Hansen, who said he was being threatened by political appointees for speaking about the dangers posed by greenhouse gas emissions.
But NASA officials told The New York Times the elimination of the phrase that was used by Hansen was “pure coincidence.”
Hansen told The Times: “They’re making it clear that they … prefer that NASA work on something that’s not causing them a problem.”
You’d think the Klowns in Washington would prefer to work on problems that were rooted in something other than political tomfoolery and Dark Ages mythology. I guess ignoring real problems is the way to go.
of course, they left off the truly stunning thing, that part of the slogan is being replaced with “to spread beyond our home planet the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
What’s next? The conversion to Catholithism of aliens?
WERE BEING ATTACKED BY ALIENS!!!
Wheres NASA? They are supposed to be protecting our home planet!
Nope they don’t do that any more. They are no longer interested in understanding OR protecting our home planet.
Not space aliens you idiots! ill…
It is rather lame on the surface, but there has to be some respect from governmental employees to their bosses ideas, opinions and strategy.
Every department in the government (including ‘scientific’ depts) will have a variety of opinions on any given subject and the administration has a right to control what is said as a spokesperson for the department and government, especially for controversal issues.
– Are there inate intellectual differences between the sexes?
– Why should we be spending billions of dollars to fight a disease (AIDS) that would be pretty much eradicated if people exercised self control of their sex lives?
Both of the above issues have rational supporters on both sides, but the administration has a right, ne’ responsibility to speak with one voice on it.
Cripes, Lou. Are you really that much of a wimp or just on the payroll.
Bush’s first choice for NASA’s new mission statement was “To boldly go where no man has gone before.” So you see, he doesn’t always get his way.
#5 – neither wimp nor on the payroll. Just a libertarian realist.
Regardless of the scientific merit of global warming (which I heartily believe has a major human influence factor), the government/administration has a right to control spending and policy as it sees fit. People in the government have a limited (see recent supreme court decision) right to disagree.
And we have the right to vote the a-holes out. We have the right buy fuel efficient vehicles. We have the choice to not stick an air conditioner in every room of our homes.
Basically, pretty much every human activity affects this earth negatively (in terms of supporting life in general), and everything we do should be thought out with a cost and benefit ratio in mind. Personally, I would like the actual current and estimated future costs of things to be built into the prices we pay (like including the cost of the Iraqi war directly in gas/oil prices). These market forces will be much better than any governmental regulation of things.
Lou, I don’t think you have seen the larger picture. Whenever scientific truths got in the way, the Bush Administration either got rid of the scientists or buried them into irrelevancy. This is just another excuse for the Administration appointed lackeys to push the corporate welfare / religious extremist agenda.
I gotta like your suggestion about adding the true cost to the price of a product. How much would a jail cell be for a former President doing time for war crimes divided by 300 million people?
The fact that NASA is no longer protecting our home planet accounts for the spike in the number of aliens becoming bloggers.
It’s not just global warming. Meteor impacts also count. It’s amazing how Bush is bringing America down… I mean, all that took so long to build… is being destroyed in just a few years… Really amazing…
I hereby state that if my home planet becomes a smouldering blaze of lava due to impact of a large heavenly body, I’ll personnaly will hold Prez. Bush responsable.
And Miguel, please don’t despair. This president will have direct responsability on the fact that the next President, will be down in history as a hero, because, just by not making mistakes, he will bring USA from the dark ages.
That just means that there is going to fall a meteorite and they’re already making a bunker to save all the important people which are:
Redneck soldiers that will shoot anything not str8t (unless they’re alone with you); Rich, old white preachers like Falwell and Robertson; 14yo girls with wide hips and cheap construction workers.
#13 “they’re already making a bunker to save all the important people”
Angel, I guess I sometimes forget how unimportant I really am until things start falling from the sky and there’s suddenly no room for me in the bunker 😉
#14, Gary, I understand they will phone all the ugly people first to let them know which shelter to go to. So if you don’t talk to them on the phone, it might just be a good sign.
“14yo girls with wide hips…”
Those were not the heavenly bodies I was talking about.
… but make them 18 and I can become a smouldering blaze too…