At 03:04 PM 9/8/2004, you wrote:

>get science out of the bits and pieces - perhaps not all the science, but at
>least some of what they were looking forward to.  To claim that NASA is a
>joke is rediculous and short sighted.

I have just returned from Denver where I only had dial-up access while in 
my hotel.  I have read some of this thread, and catching up on the rest now.

I wouldn't say that NASA is a joke, but I do think that they might fall in 
the same problems that almost all government agencies have.  Of course you 
want some oversight when tax dollars are being spent, but when budgets are 
either increased, or most likely severely decreased due to political whims, 
you have to wonder what the motivation for NASA really is.  While I think 
the scientists are great, the administrations major motivation is most 
likely keeping the budget large as possible each year.

I would love to see more and more space exploration privatized.  I was 
ecstatic recently with the success of Space Ship One.  I also have great 
interest in companies like SpaceDev.