NASA slaps Stephen Colbert

So I wonder how Stephen Colbert is enjoying the Government slap in the face he just got. It all stems from his recent push to have a new node on the new space station named after him. NASA placed the name of the node up to the decisions of the public, via a poll. Colbert won hands down by a 5-1 margin.

But like the current Administration, what is promised is not exactly what you get. The name of the station will not bear Colbert’s name, instead being called Tranquility. By the way, the 2nd most popular name was Serenity (likely due to fans of the television show and movie). So it seems NASA never had any intention of living up to the projected offer they made to the public.

I find this to be yet another example of the liberal mantra,

“You can say and do anything you want, if it matches what I believe.”

It’s one more example of a Government that really doesn’t care what the public wants. Instead they prefer to steamroll ahead with plans they already have in place. It’s an insult to Colbert, and all the people that got involved in an unpopular attempt by NASA to drive interest into the hundreds of millions they are spending of the public’s money.

I’m not against Colbert, liberals (sometimes), or NASA. I just think that when a Government Agency reaches out to the public, they should stand by their word and the public response. Since we are paying for the space station, and everything in or on it, given the opportunity to make a choice of a name it should be used.

Ultimately NASA has shot itself in the foot. Had they lived up to their word, they would have gained popularity with the next generation of taxpayers that will ultimately fund, or stop funding, their programs. Colbert has influence with this generation; a generation that is more interested with visions of space in the future than the limited reality of just circling the Earth. This will come back and bite them, down the road when NASA asks for more money and this generation will recall that what NASA provides is not what they promise.

There was a saying that I grew up with

“My word is my bond.”

You don’t hear it much these days. NASA apparently never heard it at all. The space station node should be named Colbert. Anything less is unacceptable.