Bake sale for NASA

Scientists have tried everything else....

NASA gets less than a half of one percent of the federal budget.  That's not too much for exploring the universe... except that public perception is that the budget is far larger, and in fact it's been savaged by cancellations and cutbacks.  That's the reasoning behind the Planetary Exploration Car Wash and Bake Sale to be held by University of Central Florida and other institutions.  Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute puts it this way: "This is being done to attract media attention and to help focus Congress on repairing the damage of the deep cuts planned to NASA's planetary science program," said Alan Stern, the institute's associate vice president for research and development. "It's important these cuts be repaired to maintain U.S. leadership in this area of science, to prevent mission cuts, and to prevent student and research job losses."

COMMENT: I wish he hadn't mentioned jobs: NASA does provide a lot of jobs, but jobs  have become the sole criteria in Congress for shaping the agency (as in, "More jobs to the Center in my district.")  But the idea of giving even half a cent to the one agency focused on the long-term future and the place of humanity in the cosmos would seem to be a no-brainer.  Sigh.....