@StupidSystemus - I can't access that file. Is your evernote account password protected?

Who gives a shit where the money gets spent? It's still getting spent regardless, and as a result, no matter where the money spending falls, our economy is still in a big fucking shithole. 

There are many ways to improve the economy. I don't think cutting NASA will help more than it will hurt, though.

@StupidSystemus - Ah yes, I've read that study. Interesting, but not as interesting as some of the studies I'll be posting in the next week on this topic.

When they bring back the marshmallow you'll change your tune!

@StupidSystemus - Or, it might be more accurate to say that when people are drunk they have less inhabitions so their true opinions come out more.  Anyways, I'm not impressed with the thought process of liberals, which seems to be based more on regurgitating the talking points of liberal politicians rather than independant reflection.

Anti-science conservatives vehemently defend the Mars landing because they can latch onto it as a sign of American exceptionalism. That being said, it's difficult to calculate what the "value" or "return" on the landing will be to the American people. The most direct value of previous space exploration missions has been the technology they produced, which have bettered everything from medicine to air plane travel.

Alright, so, these are the things that have been accomplished by Obama or the federal government since Bush left office: (1) stabilized the economy; (2) killed Bin Laden (which most conservatives would have heralded as an affirmation of Bush's presidency in and of itself had it happened under his watch); (3) health care reform; (4) the mars landing; (5) completely reconstructed the student loan system (demonstrably better than what it once was); (6) legalized and promoted stem cell research; (7) created regulations that allow EPA to issue climate change rules; (8) passed a stimulus package that is unprecedented in the last 100 years; etc. This has all occurred despite having the most obstructionist Congress in the history of American politics. 

It's also $2.5 billion dollars that's been spent over the course of several years, if not a decade.

Not just the money spent but you have to look at the advances made over time when we as humans explored and took on greater challenges.

@UTRow1 - First of all, I don't see what basis you have for calling us "anti-science" when we are the only ones who support government spending on scientific endeavors.  By that I am of course talking about military tech and space exploration, which are two fields that you liberals are always wanting to axe in favor of social spending, which produces a good deal of debt and no tangible fruits.  As a conservative I disagree sharply that the primary reason behind wanting to see science progress is for American exceptionalism, although even if it were I see nothing wrong with that.  If it produces good results then it's a good thing, regardless of the motivations behind it.  That being said, I could say in return that the primary reason why the left hates space exploration is because they hate the idea of American exceptionalism.  It's not hard to find plenty of speakers on the left who openly admit to hating America and want to see it fail.  Similarly, I believe that many of the policies of the left wing politicians are to drag the US down to the level of less advanced countries in order to 'level the playing' field as it were.  The left has a long and grisly history of punishing achievment.

Here are some very direct benifits will come out of space missions of things are done properly:  Better computers, better sensors, better means of propulsion, finding and/or creating new places to live, harvesting new resources, and last but not least, knowing more about the universe.

I agree with you part way, he has done more damage in 4 years than Bush has in 8.  For example, Obama's NDAA is a good deal more draconian than the much criticized Patriot Act which Bush passed.  In any case, they were both terrible presidents.  Bush was a neo-con who undermined the Republican party while eroding American freedoms on the homefront, and Obama has continued all of the worst Bush ideas and added other calamities to them.  We have Obungle to thank for quadrupeling the national debt, and I hold his economic policies to blame for my not being able to get a job in my field.  Even though I have been through college twice, have a 4.0 average, academic honors EACH year, and positive professional reccomendation letters from previous employers and university professors.  It's bunk to say Obama has done any good for the economy.  He has most likely put us into a permanent rut.

Also, it is dubious whether or not Obungle killed Bin Laden, or whether or not Bin Laden was even killed.  We have nothing to go on for that but his word.  Normally I don't care for Bollywood, but there is a humorous movie that came out about a scenario like that when Bush was president.  They were joking about staging a fake killing of Bin Laden so that the US could sell it as a victory and go home, and at the time I thought "this is so stupid, no one would ever believe that, and it would never work."  Then out comes the news that Bin Laden was supposedly killed, but the body was conveniently dumped in the ocean (why?), there are no photos, and of course no video footage.  What rubbish is that?  Showing the footage or at least the body would have been great PR for Obama if he and his people actually had anything to do with it.  I would have shown them if I were president, and it would have guaranteed my reelection.  We can find videos and photos of Saddam being excecuted, and he was not as much of an enemy for us as Bin Laden. 

As for the Mars probe curiosity.  What is your basis for giving credit to Obama for that other than the fact that he was occupying the white house at the time.  Was he part of the planning team?  Did he order them to do that specifically?  Even if he did that does not excuse him from cancelling the Constellation program, and because of that I will always associate him with a curse in my mind.

@UTRow1 - it was announced, people responded, it was forgotten about with nothing coming out of it. It certainly didn't hit the popular media as much as Curiosity has.