To infinity and beyond

Buzz Lightyear demonstrated more vision in Toy Story than President George W. Bush could. However, at least Bush is looking partway to infinity. He has called on NASA to take an astronaut to our moon and Mars. NASA's plans are spectacular, reading like a science fiction novel. It would make America feel great to accomplish all of this.

Unfortunately, these grand plans leave out one small detail: what tangible benefit they will bring America. As usual, Bush has no qualms about constantly increasing spending of our tax dollars (in contradiction to one of the basic principles upon which his GOP is based). Also true to form, he plans to pay for it by ... cutting taxes?!? National debt be damned!

I'll be the first to admit that it would be "kewl" to do all this space exploration. But unless NASA can tell us how everyday Americans will benefit from it, I'd prefer we all stay on this planet. Furthermore, until we could explore space and still run a budget surplus, my tax dollars would be better spent here in America, feeding the poor who go hungry in Appalachia and providing medical care to children across this country without insurance.