Capt. Picard says no to space travel

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2004-02-05 12:35pm

http://www.nypost.com/news/worldnews/17284.htm

Hamel · Post by **Hamel** » 2004-02-05 12:46pm

He's saying, essentially, that we should get our shit straight before doing it.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2004-02-05 12:46pm

He's right and wrong as most are on the matter. We need to put more effort into fixing Earth, it is afterall our only planet for now and a long time in the future. But we'll never fix the planet 100%, so we do need to spend cash on space exploration which aids our technology on the whole.

Alex Moon · Post by **Alex Moon** » 2004-02-05 02:00pm

I love Lileks take on Stewert'c comments.

Hamel · Post by **Hamel** » 2004-02-05 02:16pm

Alex Moon wrote:I love Lileks take on Stewert'c comments.

I don't know if Lilek's thinks he's actually funny, but I did grin at the prospect of conservatives shitting their panties over every little thing a hollywood actor says.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2004-02-05 02:26pm

meh. it's funny how some morons actually can't seem to separate the actor from the character, as this article with lileks seems to show. hell, even i agree with what most of what stewart said, that we should fix up our bigger problems here on earth before trying to colonize things.

Darth Raptor · Post by **Darth Raptor** » 2004-02-05 02:29pm

Nice to see actors' opinions still outweigh those of Hank the forklift driver.

Someone should ask him about all the gigantic Earth-crossing asteroids that could interupt his little planet-wide cleanup.

Hamel · Post by **Hamel** » 2004-02-05 02:32pm

Lazy Raptor wrote:Nice to see actors' opinions still outweigh those of Hank the forklift driver.

Someone should ask him about all the gigantic Earth-crossing asteroids that could interupt his little planet-wide cleanup.

Show me the part where Stewert said his opinions mattered more than your "forklift driver".

Darth Raptor · Post by **Darth Raptor** » 2004-02-05 02:34pm

Stewert doesn't think that. But yet again, when an actor has an opinion, the newsmedia scrambles to give it undue publicity. As if the likes of Reese Witherspoon are an authority on anything.

Hamel · Post by **Hamel** » 2004-02-05 02:37pm

Lazy Raptor wrote:Stewert doesn't think that.

Then don't bust his balls for merely having an opinion that he's not forcing on you.

But yet again, when an actor has an opinion, the newsmedia scrambles to give it undue publicity. As if the likes of Reese Witherspoon are an authority on anything.

I await your grilling of Dennis Miller, then.

Darth Raptor · Post by **Darth Raptor** » 2004-02-05 02:44pm

Hamel wrote:Then don't bust his balls for merely having an opinion that he's not forcing on you.

I wasn't.

I await your grilling of Dennis Miller, then.

I just find it slightly tiresome that celebraties can say whatever they want and the media will be all over it like flies on shit. While reals scientists who have informed opinions on the matter can barely get 30 seconds in on CNN. And what the hell does this have to do with Dennis Miller?

Knife · Post by **Knife** » 2004-02-05 02:46pm

Hahaha. I like this response,

Making movies takes up many resources which could be directed at our own planet. For that matter, millions of pounds are spent in England annually for theater productions – I propose a ten-year moratorium on all stage shows, with the money distributed directly to our own planet. And after we have gotten things right on this planet we can get back to such frivolous luxuries as theater. What’s that, you say – theater employs many people? Theater inspires imaginations, adds to our store of knowledge, helps us define what it means to be human?

Perhaps, if the interviewer was on the ball, the person conducting the interview could have followed up on Stewards answer and asked what big problems he felt would need to be solved before a country could invest in a space program.

Alex Moon · Post by **Alex Moon** » 2004-02-05 02:54pm

Hamel wrote:
But yet again, when an actor has an opinion, the newsmedia scrambles to give it undue publicity. As if the likes of Reese Witherspoon are an authority on anything.
I await your grilling of Dennis Miller, then.

Dennis Miller has made political and social commentary a part of his comedy routine for years. We expect him to say things, and that's why people listen to him. That's different than some actor who simply spouts off in an interview with his political views, which people aren't interested in hearing.

Knife · Post by **Knife** » 2004-02-05 03:02pm

Alex Moon wrote:
Hamel wrote:
But yet again, when an actor has an opinion, the newsmedia scrambles to give it undue publicity. As if the likes of Reese Witherspoon are an authority on anything.
I await your grilling of Dennis Miller, then.
Dennis Miller has made political and social commentary a part of his comedy routine for years. We expect him to say things, and that's why people listen to him. That's different than some actor who simply spouts off in an interview with his political views, which people aren't interested in hearing.

I might add, as well, that there is no end to people who slam Miller for his views when Miller expresses them on his show or some other veneu. I don't see why Steward should be immune from critisim. Thats the other side of 'freedom of speach', you have the right to say it and others have the right to think your a dumbass for saying it.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2004-02-05 03:10pm

Fuck Earth. It's time we abandoned this Hell and rose into space, our true home.

Durandal · Post by **Durandal** » 2004-02-05 09:36pm

I don't get it. Do people saying this mean we should fix every problem on Earth before doing anything? That'll never happen.

Sriad · Post by **Sriad** » 2004-02-05 09:37pm

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:Fuck Earth. It's time we abandoned this Hell and rose into space, our true home.

In any case we'd better get there before the super-squids beat us to the punch!

The Duchess of Zeon · Post by **The Duchess of Zeon** » 2004-02-05 10:12pm

Durandal wrote:I don't get it. Do people saying this mean we should fix every problem on Earth before doing anything? That'll never happen.

It's a trickle-down version of the philosophy that basically argues that human endeavour harms the Earth, so we shouldn't engage in it. Ignoring that, based on historical evidence, if we continue to innovate we will probably reduce our footprint on the planet considerably than if we stay at our current levels. (The first kind of agricultural land clearing, for example, was slash-and-burn.)

h0rus · Post by **h0rus** » 2004-02-07 08:55pm

Lazy Raptor wrote:Nice to see actors' opinions still outweigh those of Hank the forklift driver.

Someone should ask him about all the gigantic Earth-crossing asteroids that could interupt his little planet-wide cleanup.

Hank the fat motherfucking bigoted asshole would probably be too stupid and jaded to have any view outside of the superbowl, and fucking his ugly assed wife along with drinking himself to death. Let's not forget the daily beatings of his children under the guise of discipline. Christian+

Post by **Vympel** » 2004-02-07 09:29pm

At the very least, put the budget in order before you try.

Knife · Post by **Knife** » 2004-02-07 10:16pm

Vympel wrote:At the very least, put the budget in order before you try.

Lol. I guess then we won't go to space until Social Security goes belly up.

Darth Raptor · Post by **Darth Raptor** » 2004-02-08 12:47am

h0rus wrote:Hank the fat motherfucking bigoted asshole would probably be too stupid and jaded to have any view outside of the superbowl, and fucking his ugly assed wife along with drinking himself to death. Let's not forget the daily beatings of his children under the guise of discipline. Christian+

Uh huh. I was illustrating a point that seemed to do a complete flyby over your head. I was griping about celebrities recieving undue credit for their opinions. I wasn't insinuating the average citizen had anything to contribute.

RedImperator · Post by **RedImperator** » 2004-02-08 01:15am

I love people whose criticism of the space program consists of "We need to fix our problems on Earth, first." Really? Do you have a timetable for that? Do you have a rough idea of when every single problem on Earth will be fixed to everyone's satisfaction? Do you actually want this species' epitath to be "We would have gotten around to leaving eventually"?

That's what it's ultimately about. New technology is nice, resources from space are nice, human achievement and endeavor and the sheer thrill of exploration are just super, but the bottom line is that expanding is the only way to ensure the survival of the species and it always has been. Going back to the moon and exploring Mars won't result in colonies right away, but they will hopefully teach us a lot of things we're going to need to learn someday anyway. Either we learn how to get off this planet and eventually out of this solar system, or we wait for some comet's orbit gets disturbed or the Sun to throw a temper tantrum and close the book on humanity.

Hethrir · Post by **Hethrir** » 2004-02-09 05:14am

I know, kill two birds with one stone! Let's build a space programme and ship all the problems to Mars!

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2004-02-09 05:21am

Mars is yet another Hell. Space is the only place we should allow Man to live.