Newt Gingrich’s moon base plan a ‘cheap trick’ to get votes

[TommyGunn]

We need a moonbase for the early detection of UFOs!!!!!.

[Blakenzy]

Without a moon base, how the hell are we suppose to launch a preemptive strike to get rid of the UFO space folks' WMD's?

[RevDisk]

A NASA moon base would be a financial boondoggle. 

Best would be to have NASA shoot a bunch of probes at the moon, Mars, Europa and any other worthwhile targets. Open source the data, offer an XPrize for milestones. Biggest payoff being X folks on at least semi self-sufficient colony. Cheap, and you only pay out (past the probes) for success. Make all profit from space exploration, colonization, manufacturing, et al to be tax exempt for X years. 

I can imagine that no politician or government will EVER be keen on a completely self-sufficient colony off-Earth.

[MicroBalrog]

A NASA moon base would be a financial boondoggle. 

Best would be to have NASA shoot a bunch of probes at the moon, Mars, Europa and any other worthwhile targets. Open source the data, offer an XPrize for milestones. Biggest payoff being X folks on at least semi self-sufficient colony. Cheap, and you only pay out (past the probes) for success. Make all profit from space exploration, colonization, manufacturing, et al to be tax exempt for X years. 

I can imagine that no politician or government will EVER be keen on a completely self-sufficient colony off-Earth.

Best argument for anarchy.

[RoadKingLarry]

I can imagine that no politician or government will EVER be keen on a completely self-sufficient colony off-Earth.

He that holds the high ground...

[kgbsquirrel]

Without a moon base, how the hell are we suppose to launch a preemptive strike to get rid of the UFO space folks' WMD's?

We can't have a moon-base gap!

[Lee]

I'm for it, if Newt is the first to go to the moon.  They better start working on a helmet to fit that head of his.  That could generate a few thousand jobs alone.

[Terpsichore]

I think a moonbase is a decent idea, just not at this time, due to financial issues. I suspect that Newt is a true blue Keynesian, and thinks that a few billion-dollar projects will fix our economy.

Have to agree to this somewhat, if I'm understanding you correctly:
So government should look inwards first and fix the issues here before looking to the moon at this time?  Fix the educational system, weed out the welfare frauds and get them back on track (someone mentioned launching them into orbit) etc.  Once these are all stable, then branch out "to infinity and beyond"?  I think this would make the most sense.  We can't think of going to the moon with all the issues we have right now, it would be like running away from a problem or distracting a small child with a shiny new toy.

[Perd Hapley]

Have to agree to this somewhat, if I'm understanding you correctly:
So government should look inwards first and fix the issues here before looking to the moon at this time?  Fix the educational system, weed out the welfare frauds and get them back on track (someone mentioned launching them into orbit) etc.  Once these are all stable, then branch out "to infinity and beyond"?  I think this would make the most sense.  We can't think of going to the moon with all the issues we have right now, it would be like running away from a problem or distracting a small child with a shiny new toy.

Toy? I wanna toy!

[rcnixon]

Could we send Newton and Willard and all of the rest of the politicians there if we build it?

Russ

[MicroBalrog]

So government should look inwards first and fix the issues here before looking to the moon at this time?  Fix the educational system, weed out the welfare frauds and get them back on track (someone mentioned launching them into orbit) etc.  Once these are all stable, then branch out "to infinity and beyond"?  I think this would make the most sense. 

This is a very dangerous statement I think.

Society always has problems of some kind - certainly crime was worse in the 1960's, there was the USSR as a threat to America's safety, and so forth.  If we wait until all our problems are solved, we'll never go to the moon. Or much anywhere.

But I think Newt hit it on the head - going to the moon isn't just a solution to a scientific problem, it's a solution to many social problems.

The deepest social and cultural problem Western civilization currently faces is the lack of aspiration, the total belief, from left to right, that we are teetering only on the verge of collapse at the best of time, that we can no longer achieve greatness, that we are "unsustainable" or "in decline" what-have-you. This is a self-fulfilling fiction.

There's no better way to break this than to achieve something visible and truly great.

[Terpsichore]

I don't think so.  Leaning towards one sector of the spectrum, perhaps, but it was just inquiring as to a previous poster's line of thought.

Society will always have a problems of some kind, nothing will ever truly go away, but they can improve with each generation.  Waiting until all the problems are solved will put us behind on other chances for opportunities, that I will agree with you on.  However, aren't several things linked together in some form?  A good education will open up more chances for those that aspire to go on to use their talents towards things like a station on the moon, or programs like getting people off welfare and help them achieve their goals or get a start in the right direction to help get the country back on a better track.  In all things, there must be a balance...open the mind to all the possibilities, try the puzzle pieces in another spot to see if they fit better.  We will figure out the balance.....hopefully in a time where we all can see the outcome.

[MechAg94]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py_IndUbcxc

Newt is worried about these guys.

[Zardozimo Oprah Bannedalas]

Have to agree to this somewhat, if I'm understanding you correctly:
So government should look inwards first and fix the issues here before looking to the moon at this time?  Fix the educational system, weed out the welfare frauds and get them back on track (someone mentioned launching them into orbit) etc.  Once these are all stable, then branch out "to infinity and beyond"?  I think this would make the most sense.  We can't think of going to the moon with all the issues we have right now, it would be like running away from a problem or distracting a small child with a shiny new toy.

More or less, yes. My take on it is that only the government would be dumb enough to pour billions into something which would require multiple decades to see any return on investment - private industry that had the wherewithal to earn billions of dollars would be sensible enough to never bother to attempt it. If memory serves, the English New World colonies were a money hole for a very long time - and I don't see why a moonbase would be any better for the first 50 years or more.

[Terpsichore]

Agreed.  There would be tests on equipment and such before anything even got launched.  Not even counting the time to design everything to everyone's satisfaction,  (or as close as people can get without throwing paper balls at each other) training down here for out there, etc.  So much would have to be done here, first, before we would see actual physical results.  Even then, there is no sure thing plans would work out and the project could get shoved in the wastebasket.