Re: Re: starship-design: It's a bad, bad world out there

[KellySt@aol.com]

In a message dated 10/31/97 7:14:47 AM, stk@sunherald.infi.net wrote:

>KellySt@aol.com wrote:
>> 
>> In a way those signals helped kill the program, but not in the way you'ld
>> thing.  NASA got funding by NEVER mentioning SETI.  
>
>Very interesting. But I recall that there was quite a bit of knowledge
>of the existence of SETI before then...

Knowledge, yes.  Federal funding, no.


>> It was a microwave
>> astronomy survey, period.  But the signals, and the possible SETI
>> implications got a lot of press.  Suddenly congressmen and senators were
>> geting calls about why was NASA wasting money searching for little green
men.
>>  If the feds have so much money to waste on such things... etc.
>
>Perhaps some people didn't like the idea of it, but I suspect the
>majority of it originated with the congress/senators. Really you can't
>even blame them, but their superiors.
>> 
>> The funding was pulled the next year.
>> 
>> You have to remember.  The general public thinks NASA is a MAJOR fraction
of
>> the federal budget.  So surveys have shown that people think DOD and NASA
>> practically split all the federal budget between them (the public is
>> stageringly ignorant about the budget).  They thought META was big bucks,
and
>> wanted it stoped NOW.  Congress obeyed the will of the people.
>
>Just like they obey us now? They rarely do what the people want. I think
>this occasion in which they obeyed was of their own choice, not what the
>people said. I can't remember who said this, but: "When the Government
>does what the 'people' want, be cautious: something is amiss."

On the contrary, the gov always does what we ask.  Pity we ask such shallow
contradictory things.


>Perhaps NASA should have explained that META was cheap. But no, we like
>to pretend we're dismantling nuclear weapons....
>
>Kyle Mcallister

They can't even explain that NASA is cheap!  No it boils down to federal
money (millions probably) being spent on a stupid boondoggle like alien
hunting.  Why do you think things like this kept Sen. Proxmire in office for
so long?  With a bit of spin control it sound like your starving children to
let scientists doing the increadibly stupid.

Truth means little in Washington.

Kelly