Morning Reads for 2-15-17

Shuttle program died in 2004 after it was extended well beyond the retirement date. it was even given one last mission to fix the Hubble in 2008 that happened in 2009. Congress has a habit of wanting to fund the extension of a project then develop new ones. Research and science funding are bad words. If Obama had not cut NASA funding in 2009, every house GOP member would have accused him of raising the debt. I didn’t see congress adding to the budgets in 2011 when they took control of writing the budget again.

I frankly don’t care who cut what or when. My point is we as a country sit on our collective assets and don’t do anything because – you know -TAXES. We devalue science and technology unless someone can make a profit off of it. Public works only become important when they effect some large corporations bottom line, cause too many people to sit in traffic, or create as catastrophic event. We don’t want to pay for things that don’t effect us directly unless we fear what would happen if we don’t do something.

So how do we ‘make America great again’? We build a wall that will make the frighten feel better. We forget the only thing Americas have to fear is fear itself, cause… well a Dem said it is the best excuse I have heard so far… We are now asking what America can do for us. We assume the shining city on the hill will always be bright, forgetting we need to pay for it to be polished every once in awhile and the glass re-glazed. We forget that some of the great advancements in 20th century American science and technology were done by immigrants and political refugees.

All while being proud of a wall. Meanwhile, bridges collapse, damns fail, and airports become out dated. We have become Nero playing fiddles.