I would have loved it if the Bush Admin had gone to the moon or mars about "8 years ago". I would have packed him a lovely lunch for his trip. And wished him the best of luck. With a smile, I would have said "don't come back too soon, little bush!".

Infact, in retrospect, I would have told him that that there were WMD on the Moon, and that he needed to go and investigate.

@jabailo
But, that's just silly.

is higher than this article gives credit starting a plan for an escape pod is a good idea

With all due respect to the troll and the sky-is-falling alarmist, I believe that any additional expenditures for manned space exploration would cross over into the realm of immorality. To my mind, it all is just a boondoggle for the usual suspects: the supra-national defense contractors which also make billions by developong weaponry which has the capability to kill hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of our fellow human beings. The costs just to put a crew on the moon will be immense. Multi billions of dollars. Going to Mars, while a laudable goal, would cost at least 500 BILLION/USD, according to some estimates. That doesn't include overruns. Considering the substantial challenges to our survival we as humans face as a species, it  seems not only illogical, but self-destructive, and, well, just plain stupid to engage in this folly. Oh, sure, you will hear all the associated platitudes about how we as human beings are explorers, we have a wanderlust, we were meant to leave this planet and "explore the stars". Well, I hate to tell ya' folks, there ain't no "hyperdrive", nor "warp-speed, cap'n", and the physical deterioration and atrophy which will CERTAINLY occur during the long space flight to and back from Mars will render the crew incapable of unassisted locomotion. I have no objection to exploring our solar system and our universe(s), but sometimes one must draw the line between what we could do and what we should do. I say we continue to use automated satellites to do our exploring for us, and devote any resources ($$$$$) which may have gone to manned exploration to saving our necks right here on Earth. Sorry, people, but gleaming, technologically-advanced spacecraft don't grow on trees. They cost you and I nearly incomprehensible amounts of money to bring to fruition. The next Prexident should cancel the moon and Mars programs(this, of course, will not happen) and instead bring this country back to spending its' money wisely and prudently, not on fantasies and sci-fi pie in the sky(In other words, we are fucked). To me, buying our way to the moon and Mars is like putting 22' chrome wheels on a POS beater before you fix the engine, the tranny, interior, body/paint, upholstery, etc. This country and this planet are, for reasons too numerous to mention, suffering. Take care of the important stuff before you go buying a bangin' stereo for the ride. Or, to put it yet another way, buying our way to the moon and Mars is like a young father buying a 50" plasma screen TV, on credit, while his children are cold and starving and his wife has to work two jobs juat to keep a roof over their heads. Oh, and there's a gang war going on outside in their neighboorhood. And his elderly mother lives with them and is suffering from a degenerative disease. I could go on...  

The mellotron is your friend.