So it would appear that the Flightsuit-in-Chief now wants to send humans back to the moon — and then send others onward to Mars. Take that, JFK/LBJ.

The question is, on whose dime? What with an 87 billion dollar quagmire in Iraq to fund, and WMDs to find… oops, never mind that last part.
At least the Times gets the reason for this BS announcement right:

Both new policy directives would allow the president to be portrayed as an inspirational leader whose vision goes beyond terrorism and tax cuts.

They also would have the added political benefit of diverting attention from the Democratic presidential candidates trudging through the retail politics of the Iowa caucuses.

Shrub has made a grand show of proposing such visionary or humanitarian programs, like the one to fight the AIDS epidemic in Africa, or to help New York City in its recovery from the horror of 9/11, (especially when such announcements can help deflect attention to bad news) only to let them wither from lack of funding once the news cycle has moved on. I guess the gesture is all that counts in a year when his top four Democratic opponents are all within statistical striking distance of Dear Leader in head-to-head polls.

Another cause for alarm is that President aWol has been looking for support for his program to establish a military base on the Moon, with weapons that he can train on any perceived “enemy“ nation, thus extending his handlers’ dreams of empire off-planet.

Actually, I’m all for sending a manned mission to Mars, provided Bush, Karl Rove and John Ashcroft are named as the crew. And since Richard Perle is looking for new territory for his PNAC buddies to conquer, let him go, too. Preferably on a one-way ticket.

All this talk about space reminds me of a classic bit from the Conception Corporation’s satirical album A Pause in the Disaster called “First Man on Mars.“ Given BushCo’s allergy to free speech, it is truer now than ever:

Announcer #1: Well, Dick, this is the moment. Astronaut John West, just a few brief seconds from now, will become the first human being to set foot on the sands of Mars. The whole world is waiting. The President is here at the Manned Spacecraft Center so he can speak to Astronaut West as soon as he lands.

Mission Control: [Unintelligible static and voices]

Announcer #1: That was Astronaut Max Conrad in the MREV, or Mars Reconnaissance Excursion Vehicle, who will follow Astronaut West to the surface.

Announcer #2: Right, Frank. This landing is very similar to the landing of Eagle on the moon, just a few short years ago.

Announcer #1: It seems like yesterday when —

Mission Control: Ah, roger, Commander, you may proceed.

Announcer #1: That was Houston telling West that he may proceed. All signals are go on this second attempt at a manned Mars landing. There has been no mention on board the Vulture of the ill-fated voyage of its predecessor, the Turkey. That was–

Astronaut West: The sands look very red from here. Just one more step, and —

Announcer #1: The first words from the first man on Mars! Nearly four hundred million people are listening! I —

Announcer #2: SSSSSHHHHHH!

Astronaut West: [slowly, deliberately] I would like to take this opportunity to publicly apologize to the world for the crimes committed by my government.

Mission Control: John? What are you saying? [confused voices in background] John — get back into the module and lie down, just relax and take it easy —

Announcer #1: This is unprecedented! West must be confused and upset! Wait — the President has just grabbed the microphone!

The President: Uh, cut off his oxygen!

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