I cannot believe they are going to scrap the Hubble

[Skip Intro]

How tragic is this?

The farthest we've ever peered into what surrounds us, into our own neighborhood, into what is - and we will look no more, says bush.

I have to wonder if there's some fundie/killer evangelical influence here. Would they be threatened if Hubble doesn't find God/Heaven out there? Just a thought.

It certainly can't be a decision on scientific value - could there be a more scientifically valuable thing we will be doing instead? This is huge - history making - self-defining stuff.

And its over, for now.

I keep picturing the images of the intolerant Taliban demolishing ancient statues of Budda, despite pleas from the "world community."

What the hell are our priorities as a nation when one of the most significant human efforts in history is ended so easily.

I would love to see a more stable nation offer to buy and repair and maintain the Hubble.

What a giant step backwards for us.

[vpigrad]

1. Repukes hate things they don't understand!

And, since they also hate education, there's a lot they don't understand.

I'm glad those idiots are ignoring space. That's better than trying to destroy it.

[Swede]

2. But we're still going to Mars,right?

Bush has the attention span of a brick.

[smoogatz]

3. Hubble got too close to seeing the Big Bang

It made the fundies very nervous.

[SHRED]

4. I agree

This is the one space program I am for.

[Seldona]

5. Agreed.

I think it is a tragedy that we are letting what I believe to be the single most prolific scientific tool man has ever created simply burn up.

I am absolutely awed by the images I have seen from Hubble.

Oh well, got to install our non-working missle defense system I guess.

We all know that terrorists are going to be using Intercontinental Ballistic Missles against us soon.

It is only a matter of time.

Pfft

[Dudley_DUright]

11. Perhaps if we agree to rent it out to the NSA as a spy satellite

part time they will let us fix it and keep it in orbit. This kind of idiotic decision is why scientists (like me) were so passionate about getting Bush out of office. This guy is not only trying to overturn the New Deal, but also the Enlightenment.

[Seldona]

17. Sad thing is,

I am sure there are at least several Hubble type spy satellites turned the other way as we speak.

And they are in absolutely no danger of lack of funding.

[leveymg]

19. Actually, it's a KH-11 "Keyhole" Spy Satellite Pointed the Wrong

way. Or, is it the other way around. Goes to show how ass backwards our priorities are.

[Az]

6. Hubble brought light to darkness

Knowledge to ignorance. And worst of all enthusiasm to science.

Science teaches us critical thinking. It gives us tools to question authority. It is a threat to dogma and authority. It must be toppled.

[Fovea]

7. Hubble was about the expansion of knowledge

the perfection of truth.

In PNAC aMurka, space is put in its proper place, the centerpiece of our glorious mayday parades. Let's hoist Limbaugh to Mars, where
he can broadcast the daily Oxy-Rush news of the Universe.

[Swamp Rat]

8. Very sad n/t

[prairierose]

9. Hey, this amerika under *

we don't do science anymore..we don't need it. Just as we don't need public education anymore.

[Dookus]

10. I'm so pissed about this

scrap the ISS and build 4 more Hubbles. We'd get more out of it.

[johncoby2]

12. REMEMBER: Freedom isnt Free!!!

And we are paying for it through our hubble ass.

[mike_c]

13. aren't those awesome pictures?

Those are GALAXIES.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

14. They have increased the socalled "defense budget" while

canning this... now really, which picture do you find more exciting?? Yours or theirs??

[karlrschneider]

15. I read somewhere today they are planning to retrieve it....?? Or maybe it

was on the radio, been a hectic day here...
:eyes:

[Az]

20. There are countless scientists desperate to save it

They have many plans ready to put into action to save it. They just need a green light.

[Rex]

16. Who needs science when you have God?

Besides, the concept of the Universe is foreign to Bush and his Fundamentalist brethren. Much easier to believe in an Alpha/Omega being who created everything in a week, and thereafter spent most of his attention on one small planet. Sure.

[Cleita]

18. Knowing the truth could be dangerous to their bottom lines, or

could it be that the sciences of destruction are trumping the sciences of enlightment. Apparently none of the oil crowd must own any significant shares in the industries of space exploration that doesn't involve a Buck Rogers spaceship to Mars.

[Democrat Dragon]

21. The 11th characteristic of Fascism is...

11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts. Intellectuals and the inherent freedom of ideas and expression associated with them were anathema to these regimes. Intellectual and academic freedom were considered subversive to national security and the patriotic ideal. Universities were tightly controlled; politically unreliable faculty harassed or eliminated. Unorthodox ideas or expressions of dissent were strongly attacked, silenced, or crushed. To these regimes, art and literature should serve the national interest or they had no right to exist.

[super simian]

22. There is only one priority here

Chimp needs to fund his pet war. His base "the have mores" won't have to fund it since he has favored them with major tax breaks.

So, in the end, there is only so much that they can bleed out of the working classes, and believe you and me they will go to every extreme (vampires that they are) to suck the blood out of us.

Every social program in this country will be disabled in order to fund Chimp's pet war. And this suits their neocon purposes since they believe that social programs (including anything that doesn't offer a profit incentive) cater to people who are dedicated to mooching off the government.

If they destroy the infrastructure of this country in the meantime, then so much the better. With massive wealth at their disposal, they are all so well situated to weather Armageddon.

[Heyo]

23. The Hubble....

The Hubble is the greatest of it's kind, and the best view we have in the visible light specturm. The Spitzer space telescope, and that other one.. the Webb, will be looking at other wavelengths than visible light.

The Hubble is a great success story after an initial almost-failure and is stil working years past it's designed lifetime.

I really think they should save the Hubble, and just for the sake of fairness, I have to say a large number of people on the right want Hubble saved. I don't think it has anything to do with the religious right, I think it has to do with diverting the money to other NASA projects (moon/Mars) since I believe NASA's overall budget has gone up. (I could be wrong)

This is part of a larger issue. I realize the Hubble's loss may be for the sake of manned missions to the moon and Mars. There needs to be money for both!!

We are such a wealthy nation, and I can think of very few things as worthwhile as space exploration for a GDP like ours. This is our destiny, to explore. For Pete's sake already!!

It pisses me off every time I think about it, what we COULD be doing versus what we ARE doing. If it was up to me I would massively cut government spending for billions of dollars worth of worthless crap, and I would submit a budget for space exploration that would make the NASA engineers cream their pants. We'd have a colony on the moon and a man on Mars in 12 years. I would set it out the way Kennedy did. Ahh, to dream. If I could snap my fingers and put myself in charge, the DEA would disbanded by MIDNIGHT tonight and their budget diverted to NASA, in it's entirety.

Heyo