To the moon

Buzz Aldrin on the moon during Apollow 11Bush Outlines Plan for 2015 Moon Landing is the first thing that President Bush has proposed that I'm actually in agreement with (well that's not true, I supported his State of the Union proposal to send millions to Africa for AIDS, but last I heard, that money still hasn't been sent). I've always been sad that we haven't returned to the moon since December 1972 — nearly my whole life! And the thought of renewed exploration of the moon and then Mars thrills me, maybe I can even go! But, I can't help but wonder a) where the money will come from for all this and b) how the heck Bush can actually think he's for smaller government when, according to the Cato Institute, "based on his first three budgets, President Bush is the biggest spending president in decades."

And of course, with Americans carrying record amounts of consumer debt, 17 percent of American children living in poverty, and millions of Americans going without health insurance, returning to the moon doesn't seem like the highest priority.

Meanwhile, on Mars, Sprit's rolled off its landing platform and is ready to begin its roving exploration of the Martian surface. Woo hoo!