Will Grigg?s Liberty Minute

July 20, 2009

The first manned landing on the Moon forty years ago today was a bold and inspiring accomplishment.

While the benefits of the space program ? however one assesses them ? are seen, what we don?t see are the opportunities for progress that were missed because of the government?s forcible seizure of money and resources for use in the space race with the Soviets ? or what amounted to a grand propaganda campaign.

Washington recently announcedplans to ?de-orbit? ? that is, crash ? the $100 billion International Space Station in 2016 . This makes no sense if NASA is serious about returning to the moon via the proposed $30 billion Ares launch vehicle, which would require the aid of a space station and will not be ready until at least 2015.

Exciting as the space program is, nothing in the Constitution authorizes the federal government to spend money for that purpose. Surely there are better private uses for such astronomical sums.

Let us take back the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.