Le 02/08/11 19:12, John Savard a écrit :
On Tue, 02 Aug 2011 07:56:11 -0800, Pat
wrote, in part:

Saying that space exploration costs only 15 billion a year misses the
point; it's a whole pile of things that cost only a few billion each
year that make up the budget shortfall.

Well, no, not really. National defense, Social Security, Medicaid...
there are a *few* things which cost many billions that match and exceed
the budget shortfall.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/03/bu...plane.html?hpw

quote
The Air Force decided last month to stick with its $12 billion Global
Hawk program, betting that the unmanned drone can replicate the aging
U-2’s ability to sweep up a broad mix of intelligence from commanding
heights, and do it more safely and for much longer stretches than the
piloted U-2. The Navy is also onboard, with plans to spend $11 billion
on a version that could patrol vast ocean areas.
end quote

12+11=23 billion. This SINGLE weapons program costs more than ALL
the space exploration program. NASA's budget is around 19 billion.

National defense?

Defense from whom?

I repeat: no single country is challenging the
U.S. dominance. They have no enemy but a powerful mililtary
industrial complex that is eating them alive.