McCain lied about the "$3 million overhead projector"

I am an Associate Professor of Astronomy at the University of Chicago
(the University that today has added yet another Nobel Prize winner in
the sciences for the US). I would like to comment on Sen. McCain's
statement during the today's debate that Sen. Obama has earmarked "$3
million for an overhead projector at a planetarium in Chicago, Ill. My
friends, do we need to spend that kind of money?"

The way Sen. McCain has phrased it suggests that Sen. Obama approved
spending $3 million on an old-fashioned piece of office equipment
(overhead projector).

The 3 million is actually for an upgrade of the SkyTheater - a full
dome projection system, which is probably the main attraction of the
Adler Planetarium and is quite sophisticated and impressive piece of
equipment.

I find it appalling that Sen. McCain would call a science education
tool for public (largely children) for a historic planetarium with
millions of visitors a year a wasteful earmark. The planetarium's
focus, as stated on their website (http://adlerplanetarium.org) is "on
inspiring young people, particularly women and minorities, to pursue
careers in science." Is an investment in such public facility at the
time when US competitiveness in math and sciences is a constant source
of alarm a waste?

"American's ability to compete in a 21st Century economy rests on our
continued investments in math and science education," said Rep. Brian
Baird, Chairman of the Research and Science Education Subcommittee in
Congress, after the passage of The 21st Century Competitiveness Act of
2007.

Considering such investments "wasteful earmarks" today, even in the
face of the financial crisis, will severely cripple US economic
competitiveness in the increasingly high-tech world down the road.

— Andrey Kravtsov, Chicago, IL

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Anyone who would call a full-dome planetarium projection system an
"overhead projector" is totally ignorant of even basic science. Oh,
wait -- I forgot -- McCain's a Republicon -- they have no use for
science -- according to their one and only science text, the Earth was
created 6,000 years ago.