from shining beacon to circus freak show
slouching towards Bethlehem to be scorned
it's become quite evident that the myth of the U.S. being some sort of lighthouse in the fog is kaput. this once promising country has surpassed any grotesquerie that Jonathan Swift's fertile imagination ever conjured up. Elon Musk (aka the Billionaire Bankroller) will now undoubtedly secure the funds necessary to outfit a $250+ billion project to transport 6 earthlings to the vast sterile wasteland that is Mars. for what noble purpose (if by some miracle the crew manages to survive the round-trip journey)? to execute the first steps in the long process that would culminate in colonization? at what expense, that? let's say one trillion dollars per every 50 humans eventually relocated... and another 20 or 30 trillion dollars to terraform that very distant planet. why not? makes perfect sense. then again, why stop at Mars? there are other equally inviting destinations. I nominate Mercury! there you wouldn't have to supply an artificial heat source. just think of the commercial possibilities: a planet-sized tanning salon! (Trump would love it.)