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Comment Re:libertarian (Score 1) 433

Agreed:

1) Scientific/technical research in general, and the exploration of space in particular, not only aren't the core responsibility (or competence, for that matter) of government, they aren't a legitimate government function. Government has only one purpose, one motivation for its existence, and one moral justification for its operation: Defending the rights of individuals against those who would violate them, whether foreign or domestic. So, unless such activities can be justified on that basis (and that can be done in some cases!) it is morally evil to use money extracted from taxpayers by force of law for any such purpose.

2) At this point in time, it would be a far better use of available funds to do research and development work in the domains of nanotechnology and biotechnology. With a mature nanotechnology, space exploration can be accomplished far more effectively, and at far less cost (relative to world income/wealth.) And there are many fundamental issues affecting manned space travel that await advances in biotechnology for acceptable solutions.

Comment Re:So did the jury ... (Score 1) 918

Sorry, but you're quite wrong. The main purpose of a jury is to decide whether the law is just. Deciding whether the law has been broken is only a secondary responsibility:

"I consider trial by jury as the only anchor yet imagined by man by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution." --Thomas Jefferson

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