The NASA tax -- a running-dog capitalist technocrat's rant

[kespernorth]

(warning: sheer, unsupported, blatantly opinionated ranting ahead)

The Huntsville Times is reporting (via Slashdot) that a Republican congressional candidate will, if elected, propose a 1% tax on all scifi-related products -- books, games, movies, novelty condoms, and so on -- the entirety of which would be the sole source of funding for NASA. The idea is to make it so that only people who give a damn about space (most, if not all, of whom tend to be fairly avid consumers of SF-related products) are the ones to actually pay for it.

I have two problems with this.

1) That means legally defining science fiction. Ha!
2) I'd be happy to give money to NASA, if NASA was worth a damn. To quote icebluenothing: "Where's my fucking moonbase?"

Where's my manned Mars mission? Where's my orbital factory, and where is my asteroid mining operation? NASA is the dotcom of government agencies -- all vaporware, no product. Sodding hell. I fail to see how sending people up in a space shuttle to run painstaking experiments to determine the quark content of cosmic rays is more interesting than trying to exploit the tremendous opportunities for immediate technological advancement that space offers us... not to mention the fact that I WANT MY SODDING MOONBASE, GODS DAMN IT! I want societies in the Belt. I want orbital habitats that don't look like tin cans and have loud air conditioners. I want big fucking spaceships. I wand grandeur. I want majesty. I want epic tales of adventure among the stars. I want a proper ground-to-orbit craft that doesn't drop bits off on the way up!

I say we just sell the NASA equipment and facilities lock, stock and barrel to Lockheed-Martin and Boeing, myself. Feh.

Comments

[inevitability.livejournal.com]

"sodding hell"?

Who taught you that word? And who taught you to misuse it like that? Tsk tsk.

[kespernorth.livejournal.com]

I don't know. I think I read it in "Good Omens", but maybe somewhere else.

What's the correct usage?

[inevitability.livejournal.com]

"Sir, the polls just came in. They say that 85% of the state hopes you die of rectal cancer."
"Sod the polls!"

"Sir, Ms. Thatcher just took office."
"I can't believe that sodding woman managed to beat me in the election."



It doesn't always replace the word "fuck", it's a separate word. "Sodding hell" isn't used, as far as I know.

[kespernorth.livejournal.com]

Oh, that explains it. I knew it was sometimes a replacement for "fuck", so I subconsciously took the American curse "fucking hell" and stuck "sodding" in there, because I guess I like the rhythm better.

[inevitability.livejournal.com]

I'm always happy to help you enhance your foul language. ;)

Next week I'll teach you of the wonders of using the word "Twat" in polite society.

[wanderingfey.livejournal.com]

Only you could slip it into a polite conversation, and not get a drink or a fist thrown in your face.

Re:

[inevitability.livejournal.com]

>:)

I think doing things like that is why people always think I'm up to something. It's like I have "serial killer" written on my forehead. ::snicker::

[01flux.livejournal.com]

Nah, we just chalk you up to a very eloquent case of Tourette's syndrome.

Re:

[inevitability.livejournal.com]

HEHEHEHEHE!

[wendolen.livejournal.com]

The Huntsville Times is reporting (via Slashdot) that a Republican congressional candidate will, if elected, propose a 1% tax on all scifi-related products

That's fucking hilarious. I wonder how big the sci-fi geek constituency in his district is? I wonder if they came up with this idea at an all-night booze-and-brainstorm session?

[kespernorth.livejournal.com]

He doesn't *have* a constituency at the moment -- this candidate is currently working at a grocery store...

[wendolen.livejournal.com]

That's why I referred to his district's constituency. I saw that he has not yet been elected.

If I won't take slurs on my reading comprehension from chiaspod, I sure won't take them from you, Lawnboy. ;P

[kespernorth.livejournal.com]

Hey! What does chiaspod have that I don't?

[kespernorth.livejournal.com]

I mean, he would have slurred your reading comprehension, called you a slut, told you to get off the list, and tried to run you over with his Geo Metro.

I at least was almost polite about it. :)

[kespernorth.livejournal.com]

You'd rather trust Lawnboy over a horrible little gnome, wouldn't you?

[wendolen.livejournal.com]

Of course.

It's just that nobody, but nobody, gets to slur my reading comprehension unwarrantedly. ;P

[inevitability.livejournal.com]

They should extend this theory to farms. If you have a farm, then you should pay taxes on farm subsidies. And then to schools too. If you have a kid, you have to pay for education taxes. OOOO! And government in general. If you voted the fucker in, you have to pay his salary.

::snicker::

That would be rad.

[ex0teric.livejournal.com]

eek! i didn't know he proposed to make it the sole fundage for nasa. i'd be all for a 1% tax on sci-fi stuff to go to nasa, in the hopes that they would actually do something with it... but if we're gonna liquidate nasa, let's sell it to someone like xcor (http://www.xcor.com).

[chaneecat.livejournal.com]

Tsk, tsk, tsk... My friend, you think that NASA has not shown us proof of any discoveries, & technology? You want to see what they have helped us become? Let's see, where shall I begin?? They have developed Super plastics = silicon = computer chips. Also they have invented New
Advanced medical techniques, DNA, Computers, Cameras the size of a fly= minature technology, JPL technology;(Jet Propulsion), In fact, just for JPL Alone, this has bettered the earthlings by Communications, Education, Health Care, Computer Tech., People, Transportatio, Robotics, Environmental Protection, & Special Interest. And as for your shuttles & space crafts landing on other planets, etc... Check out these sites: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/solar_system/solar_system_index.html http://spacelink.nasa.gov/NASA.Projects/
Now, tell me a better argument. (P.S. I like to debate)

[kespernorth.livejournal.com]

My argument is:

They accomplished all of those things before 1978. What have they done for us lately?

[wanderingfey.livejournal.com]

The original specs for the shuttle would have let it take off, and land w/o the boosters and fuel tank that it now requires. Budget cuts in the Reagan and Carter era led to its efficiency being scaled back to the horrid thing we are now using. (I remember reading that most of cape canaverals legacy systems use something like 128 K of Ram...) A lot of their tech is outdated, to put it mildly.

...

..

.

!?

Ok, I just looked at their budget... They're getting a little over 6 billion annually... I'm now agreeing with Kespernorth on this, WTF is our Moon Base!?

[kespernorth.livejournal.com]

Actually, that's the part that *doesn't* suprise me. When you consider that there are *airplanes* that cost two billion dollars per (the B-2 stealth bomber instance), a six billion dollar budget isn't very much.

[chaneecat.livejournal.com]

Give ne a better arguement...http://nctn.hq.nasa.gov/spotlight/articles/article_145.htm

[01flux.livejournal.com]

NASA just needs better marketing. If there was more general interest and they had a reputation to fight for like during the Space Race, you can bet they'd be busting their ass for bigger & better invovation. As it is, they're the victims of pragmatism - We put a man on Mars. So how does that make my Big Mac faster and tastier?

But sell it to anyone but Boeing. My mom did a stint doing accounting advising for them, and financially they're one of the worst managed Fortune 500 in existance. They just happen to be lucky and conered nearly an entire market.

[kespernorth.livejournal.com]

Heh. You've a point, there. The American aerospace industry as a whole is ugly as sin and still stuck in the 50s.