If you don't feed your dog, don't be surprised when he looks elsewhere for food. This is what happens when the government fucks over the space program a million times. Maybe partnering with corporate ventures would be better for national security, but those are inherently driven by money. A government truly comitted to the idea of manned spaceflight though is more likely to be results oriented.

Good for him.

Here is the thing: society that loses manufacturing jobs, loses the manufacturing sector, it then pretty much loses the need for engineering, and in reality in most of realities, engineering is what drives progress forward and it even drives the need for scientific advancement forward.

So society that stops making stuff, stops thinking of stuff as well. You can't be thinking without actually producing, even though those who really build/engineer and those who do basic science are different people and working in different institutions.

Lose your manufacturing economy and you'll lose your knowledge economy, or did you think you could have the cake and eat it too?

--
So this NASA move is basically a survival move, it's smart.

They had the money and they chose to blow it on Constellation

So, Tough.

but you're probably right as only "Conservative Republicans" still care about separation of powers in our federal apparatus

You say that after eight years of Bush executive expansions and abuses cheered on by the republican party and voters and your head *doesn't* explode from the cognitive dissonance!!?

Lose your manufacturing economy and you'll lose your knowledge economy, or did you think you could have the cake and eat it too?

Google, Apple, Microsoft, Oracle, Red Hat, etc. would all disagree with you. I mean, dude, you're posting on slashdot.

Except that NASA is paid for by taxpayers, and answers to the taxpayers via their elected representatives.

If the head of NASA wants to quit and work elsewhere that is his right. If every employee of NASA decides to emigrate to China, that is their right as well (though they are still bound to maintain confidentiality).

However, for the head of NASA to spend tax dollars on something that the elected leadership has instructed them not to do is insubordination.

NASA isn't a private company, and it doesn't have the luxury of dictating what its priorities are.

Imagine if the UK National Health System decided that doctors aren't being paid enough so they're going to start charging a fee to get priority service? As long as they're accepting government paychecks, they have to do what their supervisors tell them to.

Don't like your boss - then quit or be your own boss. However, you can't accept money from somebody and then tell them that they have no right to dictate your actions.

You mean the way that consultants in the NHS have their own private practice, where they take paying customers who don't want to wait on the NHS list? Or the fact that they take on patients from Private practice where private doesn't have the infrastructure or skill to do the work themselves, so they pay the NHS to do the hard part?

Because when I think of pushing the boundaries, of reaching into space, exploring new techonolgies. I think google...

Someone here sees the web as FAR to important.

The INTERNET was a major technological development. Google is NOT. Oracle and Red Hat and Microsoft, none of them make anything real or research anything real. Producing another database is NOT what the knowledge economy should be about. Knowledge is stuff like new solar cells, bacteria that can produce oil, silkworms that poop spider thread. Not a new video codec.

The space race isn't going to be won by who has the best search engine but who can create the next generation rocket engine.

This research STILL happens in the US, but then turning it into production, the job of NASA, is being thrown away.

You are basically the same as the people who think: Banking is a large part of the economy, oh therefor it must be THE economy, ergo Wallstreet is all we need.

Honestly, if you think these companies are proof the US still has plenty of intellectual might (I think it does, but not because of these companies) then you are sadly mistaken.

I'm with you so far...

you don't need "entire new technology" for LEO, MEO, GEO, get to the moon or mars. If it was needed, nobody would have done these things.

Problems created by reinventing the wheel for the nth time...

Because I want to reinvent the wheel and spend money on solving already solved problems?!

It's ok to 'refresh' the technology, my money is on Falcon launchers, and NASA should have gone DIRECT.

Then there's money to spare for the real important things: new experiments, space probes, space telescopes, etc

Yep. I also love how the headline conflates "Congress" with "a single Congressman". It's nearly impossible to do anything that doesn't piss off at least one of the 435 members of congress.

Honestly, it sounds like Wolf is a blowhard how has his vendetta against China and doesn't care who he hurts pursuing it.

Can't we just cooperate with everyone?

I've often made fun of the ACLU for being a little over the top on some things, but they are one of the few outspoken groups fighting the infringements against our freedoms and I am grateful for that. Except that second amendment one, they won't go near it. They will defend the rights of a violent felon, but not the man who shot him in defense of himself or his loved ones. So we are forced to look to a gun-manufacturers lobby to protect that right, and no matter how much individuals contribute, they won't match the manufacturers' contributions. If the ACLU stood up for all of our civil liberties and not a hand picked list, the NRA would fade to become a normal lobby group like orange growers or car makers. Hopefully that would lead to legislation that lined up more with the individual's best interest instead of the manufacturers.

Who said anything about best interests? As a nation we clearly want cheap, toxic plastic crap, and China supplies it. From where I'm sitting it looks like an equitable relationship to me. It's not like the first time was free or anything.

Really, other than the British government (not the people), who's interest intersects with that the of US? I don't know if anyone paid attention to the International Monetary meeting this weekend, but over here in the EU the general consensus is that the US is less and less relevant due to its complete lack of competent leaders, massive debts, and lazy, uncaring masses.

It’s simply amazing how your douchebag leaders can consistently complain about China’s growing aggressiveness to thwart direct US control over their country when no other country in the world has the audacity to stomp on others sovereignty as the US government has.

You people better get your shit together before you end up like all the other has been empires throughout history. Did I mention your leaders are D-Bags? So are our of course, but at least here, the people still can control them. ;)

Well, he's the normal "establishment republican," not the tea party kind of guy, at least from the dealings I've had with him (I'm sorry to say, I'm a former lobbyist). I think a lot of the tea party folk actually, honestly believe they could cut pork. Of course, that's mostly a delusion they'll be quickly disabused of if any of them actually win next month.

Keep your friends close, your enemies closer. We're more likely to get better intel on what the Chinese are really doing by teaming up with them than being isolationist about it.

If you had been awake in your Civics class you would know that NASA is under the executive branch. Congress does not lead NASA, its role is to raise money and pass laws. Telling NASA what to do is overstepping its bounds.

Typical American arrogance. You make it sound like Wal-mart is doing charity in China. On the other hand, they went there for cheap labors.

For the same reason, many seem to imply that cooperation or trade with China is just a favor to China. Time to look in the mirror with the US accuses others of not having an open and free market.