As philosopher and astrophysicist Yogi Berra once said, "The future ain't what it used to be."
NASA, which used to do interesting things like, oh, building rockets and putting men on the freaking moon has seen a significant change in its goals and activities under Barack Hussein Obama.
Back in 2010, it was revealed that the president told the new head of NASA that their "foremost mission" was outreach to Muslims "to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science and math and engineering." Not to mention their tremendous advances in kinetic building demolition.
But now, the government has bizarrely asked NASA to determine what could possibly cause the complete and utter distruction of our civilization, wink-wink nudge-nudge, and after spending a vast amount of terrestrial taxpayer dollars, the alleged space agency has come up with an answer: not an asteroid strike, not a massive solar flare, not even an invasion of googly-eyed aliens (from space, that is, as opposed to the googly-eyed aliens who already mow our lawns).
Nope, the big intergalactic menace turns out to be income inequality and inefficient use of our natural resources!
Frankly, Hope n' Change is more than a little confused about what any of this has to do with NASA. The president could be ordering them to invent a satellite capable of finding missing jets, or tracking incoming Russian missiles. But nooOOoooo.
NASA is now only in the business of advancing Barack Obama's political pronouncements and goals. Next, they'll probably claim that they've found evidence that the universe was formed when God said "Yes We Can."
NASA is now utterly incapable of putting a man on the moon, but our government shows no limitation in its ability (and willingness) to moon the rest of us.
17 comments:
Space, the final frontier. Of which, an over abundance lies between the ears of our glorious leader.
My dad spent his career in aerospace. He worked on the Earth Resources package in Skylab. He spent many years working in the Titan program, and designed the parachute that put the first Viking lander on Mars. Thank God he is not here to see what has become of a once great space agency and a country that had the moxie to put a man on the moon.
With each day come a new outrage or some Alice In Wonderland development that stretches credulity far beyond the elastic limit.
We are so, so screwed.
Many NASA engineers said that the Space Shuttles had years of service left in them before Barry decided to retire them. So now what do we do to get our astronauts up to the ISS (of which the U.S. taxpayer funds a huge portion)? Why let's pay the Russkies 70 million bucks a pop! It's only a matter of time before Comrade Putin decides to REALLY put the screws to our dear leader and either start charging more, or just leaving our people behind and "annexing" the ISS, too.
SJ - how do you continue to write about all of this? O gives you plenty of fodder, but it is ever so disturbing - every day. When the muslim outreach became NASA's purpose, I didn't think it could get worse - but of course, knowing these characters who now run the country, I underestimated them. Thanks for all you do in getting the word out for us.
I remember as a kid in grade school, they would wheel a big black and white TV into a crowded room so we could all watch the latest Mercury or Gemini launch. Then in high school, we'd watch the Apollo missions. And we were always glued to the TV at home when one of these spectacular events would happen. I remember to this day standing outside staring at the moon the summer of '69, and being so proud and amazed that there were two Americans walking around up there.
For decades, the USA's space program was a HUGE source of American pride and a fantastic icon of American exceptionalism. No small wonder O'Liar has destroyed it, as American pride and exceptionalism are two things he can not abide.
We all know that the days of piling enormous amounts of cash like we did in the 60's and 70's into space exploration are over, but there was no logical reason for O'Liar to end our shuttle program, other than he probably didn't like it because he couldn't take credit for it. So now we have yet another reason we can't get tough on Putin. Hey, our president has flexibility, though!
And of course, the Taliban did their usual uplifting thing, in response to this change of mission at NASA; they slaughtered nine in a hotel in Kabul that was supposed to be Taliban safe.
Yes they have contributed much to science and are now spearheading the assault on civilization - but NASA will be too stupid to see that.
There is a certain community that doesn't want NASA pissing away millions shooting it into empty space when we should be passing out more obamaphones and EBT cards.
Also, a REAL president would say F U Putin, we ain't going to subsidize your space program any more, we'll build our own freakin' rocket!
First, greetings people. In case you've wondered where I've been - ah, only the NSA knows! Or do they? Anyway, life does interfere with fun. But, things have calmed again.
Second, Muslims did have some contribution to math and science -- but it was mostly over by the year 1000 AD -- for during the "Dark Ages" (they were pretty bright, actually, I'm teaching a course on it soon,) Muslim scholars did save a lot of ancient scientific writings, and did bring Hindu numbers (our numbers are not "arabic," they're from India,) to the western world, and did stunning stuff in astronomy (how apropos of today's post) and optics, medicine, math (algebra and algorithm after all, come from Arabic,) and such stuff - but, about 1000 AD they shut it down and moved to recalcitrant fundamentalism. Surely by 1400 AD not a shred of new anything came from the culture. But you can't just sweep away the history. Not that much of what they did is applicable today, modern science being what it is ... still, for several centuries Muslims did more than Christian Europe -- however much no one wants to hear it.
Ah, but third -- I feel we are actually entering a Dark Age -- where faith trumps all. Where illogic, wrong assumptions, lack of knowledge, superstition and a general lack of thinking has permeated our culture -- and certainly our political class.
For it is so odd, as I prepare my course, I notice today the same things that went on back then. And this is the idea that a few, pretending to be anointed by "god" of their own devising, can decide the fate of mankind as if every other sentient being on earth hasn't a clue what to do.
Putin, for instance, is intent on recapturing Kievan Rus, which is where Russia started. For Kiev (capital of the Ukraine) is much older than Moscow. That the "Rus" were really Normans protecting their global trading empire escapes the man. The Norse traded with Byzantium, and Kiev is a midway point between the two.
Obama, having "studied" community organizing, I don't think has a clue about the great sweep of history, science, economics, or really anything other than a childlike wonderment about the advance of human thought -- and how "the community" did it -- instead of the quirky loners who really drive the advancements of our world. In some ways, he's akin to a Medieval pope -- he wants the power -- but has no idea what the levers or buttons do. Megalomania is the word for him. Sad to see our society, and not just in America, but Russia, Venezuela, France even, return to times long discredited -- when rulers ruled and the rest of us hoped for change at the top.
As for "income inequality" -- Philip the Fair of France thought the Knights Templar had too much money, and his government might better use that money to help the poor and society. So he had them all slaughtered on Friday, October 13th, 1307 (hence unlucky 13) and then found little wealth -- for wealth is more in the mind than in shiny object. Oh well, sadly, history repeats.
It seems that BO is making NASA into the National Association of Scientific Airheads! I could have used a stronger word in the end (get it?), but I want to keep this family friendly. ☺ The bottom cartoon brought me to tears simply because of its accuracy.
@Geoff King- I'm just glad you didn't make a black hole joke.
@TrickyRicky- It sounds like your Dad was amazing. And the contributions he made to those accomplishments still stand. But how it saddens me to see what's befallen our space program.
@FlyBoy- Once, American astronauts were trailblazers. Now they're passengers. Which is not the fault of those brave men and women.
@Irene Peduto- Truth to tell, writing about all of this is pretty hard much of the time. For the first four years of this strip, I was on a mission to help toss Obama out of office after one term. But after the 2012 election, Hope n' Change inevitably transitioned to documenting the ongoing downfall of our nation and values. Granted, I try to do it with style, humor, and a tasty drop of venom, but I sometimes wonder if I should simply choose to spend my days concentrating on happier projects. (Note to the Koch brothers: continuing to write Hope n' Change for actual money would also make me happier!)
@Colby- Great description of the "good old days," exactly as I remember them. And I agree that one of the reasons Barry wants to diminish NASA is to help destroy evidence of American exceptionalism.
@Chuck Ef- I'm pretty sure the Taliban are only killing people because they're upset about income inequality.
@Karen-n-Bill Hart- The space program, like any other government program, should have to make a logical case for their investments. And I still believe that they could, if given a chance.
I'm old enough to remember when America was frightened and angered that Russia put a satellite into space before we could. Now, we've ceded the Space Race to them by choice.
@Jim Hlavac- Hi, stranger - nice to see you back! The Muslims absolutely contributed a lot to math and science, but unlike Barack Obama, I don't think a whole helluva lot of those things can still be given credit for our space program. I mean, it's great to invent the "zero," but it's hardly an Atlas rocket.
I agree with your assessment that things are going downhill fast because of illogical faith in the wrong things (and I'm not just talking religious dogma here, but all kinds of beliefs).
I also agree with your summary of Barry's lack of vision about world history.
Finally, the story of the Knights Templar is a good one...but for the low information types who support Obama, maybe we should just substitute the story of the Goose Who Laid The Golden Egg. (I miss the days when stories, and politicans, had morals).
@Cookie- I'm really saddened to see NASA turned into a political tool. It's degrading.
@Readers- I'd also like to call everyone's attention to this article, which talks about a REAL danger which NASA actually should be working on: the possibility of a major solar eruption wiping out our electric grid and, oh yeah, our civilization.
In July 2012, there was just such a blast which roared through the path of Earth's orbit...and missed us by only nine days. That's right - we were only nine days from losing everything.
We have the technology to harden our electrical grid (which, by the way, would also protect us from enemy EMP attacks), and doing so would create real jobs for Americans at a very reasonable cost (about two Solyndras).
Isn't it odd that the politicians have made it mandatory for citizens to buy insurance, but those same politicians refuse to insure the well-being of our nation from a known threat?
As I read the article linked about the solar flare I couldn't help thinking that maybe that is why Øbama seems to have that look of perma-constipation on his face. He missed the chance to blame President Bush for something else, by only nine days.
You are very gifted and skilled at your craft, which is writing, Stilt...it is too bad you can't cash in on your patriotic efforts in some way. But, anyone who reads your stuff really enjoys and is enlightened by what you have to offer. Just wanted to say thanks for what you do, and we all really appreciate it!
I also remember a couple of years ago about this time, we were all pretty sure BO would soon be history, only to be devastated beyond description. That vibe is pretty strong again this year...I'm hoping and praying that common sense can be brought back to our country this November, then finish the job in 2016! God bless you, man.
Laughed so hard the #Progressives shuddered & I'm still laughing :o)
An interesting fact: if an asteroid were to crash into the earth and wipe out all life, leaving the moon intact, almost the only evidence we were ever here would be pieces of SIX AMERICAN moon landings (except for a Chinese and a Russian lander). If something were to happen to the moon AND the earth, the only evidence we were ever here would be some AMERICAN deep-space probes. Barack Hussein might get all whiny about it, but there it is. It's so sad, though, to think that America could and would still do those BIG things if it weren't for--that's right--a bunch of Demo_Rats. Apparently, the last Democrat with any imagination was JFK. (The real JFK, not JFK Lite. I'm talkin' about YOU, John Kerry!!)
@FlyBoy: If the US is paying the Soviets 70 million per person to hitch a ride to the ISS; are we then, in effect, funding Putin's invasion of the Ukraine? Would that be Irony, Coincidence, Stupidity, or 'D', all the above?
My head almost exploded when I came across this topic last week. But considering what Obama has already done to what was formerly the pinnacle of America's technological and scientific establishment, I should not have been surprised.
So instead of launching humans into space, NASA is now just another arm of the Democrat-Marxist propaganda machine. So my question is, are there any Federal agencies left that aren't wholly owned agencies of the Progressive left?
Welcome back, @Jim Hlavac. "Obama, having "studied" community organizing, I don't think has a clue about the great sweep of history, science, economics, or really anything other than a childlike wonderment about the advance of human thought -- and how "the community" did it -- instead of the quirky loners who really drive the advancements of our world. In some ways, he's akin to a Medieval pope -- he wants the power -- but has no idea what the levers or buttons do." Concise and brilliant.
As for the inevitable solar storm that might possibly send us back to the dark ages, there is an up side. It would ultimately mean the literal death liberalism (and liberals) as we know it today. A sustenance economy has no slack for otherwise useless pajama-boys and community organizers. Only those with hard skills will survive and breed. Perhaps that's just part of the ecology; every so often the gene pool needs to be cleaned.
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