Obviously election time. Bush is shooting for the Hispanic vote by suggesting that illegal aliens become legal aliens. He's shooting for the intellectual vote by suggesting we return to the moon and send manned voyages to Mars. What next? The tree-hugger vote by declaring the Pacific Ocean a National Wildlife Refuge? The American Motorist vote by declaring that Fords and Chevys are now the Official Cars Makers of America? Will he go after the overweight persons vote by declaring all calories and consumption thereof not only American but morally correct and acceptable to God?

It just doesn't end.

But I meant to talk about Mars, the Planet, not the Mythological figure. A manned mission to Mars sounds great - sci-fi brought to life. But realistically it's a long way off. Even now sending robots, we're running about a 60% success rate of even reaching the planet. That's getting there. We've yet to get there and come back. Figure a long time until that process is worked out and expect a very low success rate at the start. In short, sending people to Mars any time soon will be a suicide mission - plain and simple.

And there's the expense of sending people. You have to send everything - food, clothing, entertainment, work - with them in a reliable environment. You have to process and recycle as much as possible and have systems to do the recycling. And the systems have to be redundant as much as possible. In short again, very expensive.

As neat as it sounds to send humans to Mars there is no real reason any time soon. Exploration can be done cheaper, faster, and with far less risk by using robots. The only things robots can't do is deliver votes during an election year.

Dean and Religion

The local paper has had articles about Howard Dean and his wavering position on Religion. That is, his religious beliefs and how they factor into his Political beliefs. It's a perfect Republican setup. The Republicans think they hold the Moral high ground, what after Clinton's sexcapades. Never mind the lies and illegalities regarding Iraq, the Republicans think that their every move is morally in the right and clear. They attack the Democrats from this snooty highpoint and the Dems don't know what to do.

If any of them had any cajones (balls for you gringos) they'd turn it around and shove it back at the Republicans. By simply holding the correct American position that Religion has *NO* business in Politics, that our Founders specifically stressed a separation between Church and State and anything else in un-American, the Democrats could launch a political offensive and drive the Republican back into their gold-gilded whorehouses. Shove the Republican Morality right up their behinds from whence it came. Put them on the defensive. Make them explain why the Constitution should be trampled, why Civil Liberties should be discarded, why our Environment should be ruined, why our future should be hocked.

And if the Democrats won't do it, perhaps a third party will take up the cause and put both Parties on the burner. Heck, the Democrats aren't that much better and are in many ways as bad as the Republicans.

Where's my ulcer medicine?

Religion and Prisons

Florida now has a faith-based prison. That is, the prison will offer religious counseling to the inmates. Fall on the ground, speak in tongues, pass Go, and get out of jail. Yes, the Lord is an easy path out of Hell.

But there's more to it. Consider this scenario:

I live in Florida. My religious convictions are such that I am firmly against abortion, deadly firm against it. An abortion clinic operates blatantly nearby and that's an abomination accroding to my religious beliefs. I blow it up and am caught. No one was injured. I get sent to the Jeb Bush "Die Religion Macht Frei" Prison for Rehab. Mind you, I am a fervent believer. Now, what are they going to tell me in prison that I don't already know? My actions are bad? No, my actions are justified by my Biblical beliefs. And there - right there - is the problem. Religion is a matter of faith and interpretation. The Bible (and near every religious text) can and has been interpretated to justify every action that humanity has inflicted on fellow humanity.

When you have something like the Bible that says "Thou shalt not kill" and then somewhere else has God demanding that tribe be destroyed, you essentially have justification for polar opposite types of behavior. The direction of action is our choice but who's to say what is a good choice. To the bomb-throwing anti-abortionist their actions are justified, correct, and likely supported by choice selections from the Bible. Send them to Religious Prison and get what?

A prisoner "getting" Religion in no way guarantees that they will become non-threats to Society. Instead, they may become different forms of threats.

Why do we so desperately need to reinstate and reinforce the separation between Church and State? Because if the Religion enters Politics it's a small step to place them as equally important to the being of a country. From there it's a small step to place Religion as more important than Politics. And from there the great nation of the United States of America reduces itself to the level of its enemies - those run by clerics screaming for blood. It becomes a small step to consider those people not of the proper American religious backgrounds as enemies of the State, as National Security risks. And we're back to wearing stars on our clothes, tattoos on our wrists, and re-opening Manzanar.