Thanks, p. Your point about Powell and Rice is well taken.

I think, though, that as far as govt taking the taxpayer's money and doing with it as they please, well...that's the society we live in.

There are those, as we know all too well, who place no value on space exploration, yet their tax dollars support NASA. There are those who fiercely opposed the war in Iraq, yet their tax dollars were spent on the effort. I'd bet you could opposing voices for everything the government is involved in.

So the govt already takes tax dollars and decides--very often without a taxpayer's direct input--which roads to fix, how many fighters to buy, when to wage war, who gets funding and who doesn't. As things are, the govt already "forcibly take[s] my work product and give[s] it to 'someone more deserving.'"

I guess it's a question of priorities. And I don't think it's a matter of who is more "deserving," but rather who is in more need...who can't feed their family, who needs medical care but has no insurance, etc.