Buster writes:
As much as I'd love to believe that what you have written was a conspiracy theorists gibberish, I sadly believe that you may be right on the money here. It was one of the first things El Presidente did after the event, get mo' money from Congress. Perhaps throwing money at NASA isn't the only solution & the real problems are inherent, as you stated. (Again, I don't wish to diminish what's happened, but I'm assuming the problems at NASA were there all along)
I'm not sure what you mean about 'conspiracy' theory, but since 'conspiracy' is a serious legal accusation, I must take exception to your comment.
I do not claim to be aware of any 'conspiracy' at NASA in regard to this particular matter, nor do I contest the integrity of any specific individual. My contention was and is that NASA has become ever more lethargic due to bureaucracy and the unique problems of reinventing its financial raison d'etre each year.
The politics of it are about money and power, much like ancient Rome, but with different hats. Politics is a sanctioned form of conspiracy that always involves some degree of intrigue and rapacity. Certain military programs, NASA, and the 'Federal Labs' are great patronage honeypots that each Presidential administration inherits to manipulate for political purposes - both in terms of the money they can spend directly and for the potential that focussed scientific research has to boost some industries at the expense of others. The elected representatives in Congress are not oblivious to this process and actively maneuver to benefit their constituents from it during the push and pull of legislative negotiations.