Mars, Bitches.

So we all had a laugh at President Bush's vow to stamp out the great distress of our time, human-animal hybrids, at this week's State of the Union Address. But Matthew Yglesias notes that the last time Bush made a wild, silly charge like this in the State of the Union, every lawmaker made fun of it and had a good old time - and then they funded it anyway:

What nobody seems to realize is that the mission to Mars is still on. The plan was met with immediate derision from commentators on all sides, and massive initial skepticism in Congress, but thanks to timely lobbying by aerospace contractors, the money's been appropriated anyway. Meanwhile, funding for NASA's basic science and educational programs is vanishing, sucked up by the pointless and absurd Mars plan.

The agency goals set out in this document are very specific:

Recognizing the need to reinvigorate the Nation’s civil space program and keep NASA focused on compelling and inspiring goals, President Bush outlined a bold, new vision for human and robotic space exploration on January 14, 2004. NASA will develop the necessary capabilities to move humans beyond Earth orbit, where we have been confined for more than 30 years, and on to the Moon, Mars, and destinations beyond. Both human and robotic explorers will help broaden scientific understanding of the universe and the possible existence of life beyond Earth...

The President’s vision for space exploration calls for a series of robotic spacecraft to explore the Moon starting in 2008 to advance lunar science, provide detailed maps of the Moon’s physical geography and natural resources, and identify the best locations for humans to visit. NASA plans to return humans to the Moon by 2020 to learn how to live and work over the long periods of time that will be required for human visits to more distant locations. All the while, NASA will build on the success of spacecraft currently orbiting Mars as well as the Spirit and Opportunity rovers to develop and launch a series of increasingly capable spacecraft to orbit, land, and travel on Mars to sharpen our scientific understanding and test many of the technologies necessary to support future human exploration of the planet.

These aren't just rovers. These are plans to put a human being on Mars at a time when the greatest scientific and engineering minds in the country should be focused on increasing fuel efficiency and renewable resources.

So here's what happens... 1) The President announces a ridiculous initiative designed to pull focus from nefarious activities... 2) The Congress, the punditocracy, everyone lines up unanimously in opposition to this initiative... 3) Quietly, behind the scenes, the White House puts the intiative into motion, generously funding whatever narrow interest group will benefit from it.

Animal-human hybrids better watch out... a whole group of hunters are about to get rich!