Jimmycog

What is the deal with Mars? Go to the moon and make money. Oh hell no lets go to Mars and Bill the tax payers.

Tallest_Skil

He's fucking old, man. He has also had to suffer through the last 40 years of utter disappointment like the rest of us. I think that he would be able to die happy simply if a president so much as announced a 10 year plan to get to Mars.

golgotham

LOL yes, they forced him to attend the promise of fulfilling his lifelong pursuit, occupation, and dream. Nice work!

abc_xyz

When you consider that scientists within government agencies are forced to sign NDAs with penalty of ruin (not explicitly worded in the contract), you might start seeing that they are highly controlled.

When you have a politician, they are literally hand held and told where to go and what to say (word for word).

Astronauts are political figures in addition to highly accomplished scientists, physicists etc. In addition, they have a very high profile in the public's eye, (I. E. Representing hopes and dreams) so the argument should be made that an astronaut will have signed "above top secret" contracts and related NDAs. They are hand held, told where to go and what to say by various government departments and agencies for all events.

So to answer your sarcastic quip, yes in all seriousness, they did in fact force him to attend.

golgotham

My sarcasm is also based on my humble belief that it may be BOTH our takes on the subject that are true, and then some... things are always simple to the young.