Medicare and Social Security are NOT Mentioned in the Constitution, yet the national defense is. If you want to start cutting programs, go for Social Security and Medicare NOT National Defense.
Now, there are problems with the "Military Industrial Complex" that Eisenhower famously warned us of. Much of NASA's woes come from the boon doggle that are Cost Plus contracts. This is why switching to the COTS program is a big step in the right direction. Companies don't get money until they produce results, they can't just suck at NASA's teat.
I think where this is ultimately headed is to require DO-178B like testing for Automobiles, just like we require it for Airplanes.
With raw, uncontrolled capitalism, there would be no patents or copyrights, which means there would be no way for corporations to get the government to be there thugs and stifle competitive efforts.
I don't know, the last time I checked, The History Channel is really The 2012 / Nostradamus Channel...I suspect the closer we get to 2012, the more it will become The 2012 channel.
What the gods would destroy they first submit to an IEEE standards committee.