There’s a case to be made that manned spaceflight is a waste of money. A very strong case. But Dennis “The Dennis Miller Ratio” Miller does not make that case. Instead, he claims that NASA’s entire budget should be reduced to zero.
Reasons why this is idiotic:
(a) NASA’s entire budget, in the grand scheme of things, is peanuts
(b) much of what NASA does has immediate practical implications… GPS, Weather Satellites, etc.
© much else of what NASA does has somewhat less immediate, but still practical, implications… scientific and medical research of various sorts
(d) while I agree that some of what NASA does has tangible benefits only in abstract science, there’s still something about it which appeals to our national will and spirit. If we, the nation which banded together in a rare moment of national solidarity and pride and put a man on the moon, cut funding for NASA to zero, how would that make us feel as a nation?
Grrrrrrrr.
