I've always been a fan of space exploration. While I'm a few million dollars short of getting a seat on any space shuttle, the fact that we keep sending more qualified folks out into the nether world to figure out what's going out beyond our own tiny ball is encouraging. The more we learn about the universe, the more we learn about ourselves. The technology we create to propel massive vessels eventually comes back in the form of creations that make everyday life easier. That's a trickle down theory I believe in. In short, I'm a space case.

When our president said he wanted a space station on the moon and missions to Mars, I had a glint of hope that ol' W and I finally saw things the same way. Right on, Prez, let's get this show on the road! Interstellar space travel is right around the corner. Unfortunately, like with many things with our president, there aren't too many facts to back up his statements. Just like weapons of mass destruction, his space proposition lacks any tangible evidence.

An extra billion spread out over five years will be given to NASA, so we can go on missions by 2015 or 2020. While a billion dollars goes a long way for the average citizen, it does little more than let space program splurge on premium gas for the shuttle and long lasting batteries for the Mars rover. In the long run, it's not going to cause anything to happen.

Don't get me wrong. I think that despite the recent Shuttle Columbia disaster, the space program trudges on and perseveres. The rover picture from Mars are super cool, and the dead planet never looked more vivid and lively. With cuts in their budget in the last few years, NASA carries on the best it can. An extra billion will help with some long needed upgrades, but it will not spur rapid development.

Unfortunately, the current administration has blown its wad and then some on its first pet project: the War in Iraq. There just isn't any throw around money left for other whims like the space program. With over one hundred billion dollars allocated to "nation building" in the Middle East, throwing a billion dollar bone (chopped up over several years) to the space program doesn't really amount to anything.

So the president can say what he wants, but it's really sad that by the time he actually gets around to a pet project I believe in, there's no money left to Make It So. It's all just talk. While he's at it, he might as well say he's starting The War on Hunger or The Intelligence Initiative. When you put yourself in a long term war and rebuilding process, it doesn't leave a lot of room to follow through on much else. 2015 to 2020? I'll be pushing fifty and looking way too much like William Shatner does these days: pooped.

I sure wish there was some oil on the moon or Mars. You better believe some serious funds would be allocated to the space program then. Hey, isn't that Osama hanging out with Marvin the Martian? They've got weapons of mass destruction! Send inspectors! Send troops! Send me! Sign me up for the Interplanetary War on Terror!

So thanks, Mr. President, for getting my hopes up for a moment. It was one of the few times you lifted my spirits in your entire administration. Reality has set in again, and I'll have to settle for nights gazing up at full moons and pictures from little robots of the red planet. Jackie Gleason is still dead, and my dream of buying a coach ticket to the moon diminishes with every passing year. Pow! Zing! To the Moon...someday...maybe.

Chris Jungle is spaced out much of the time.