re: Dark Horse and CAPS
Black Horse (not Dark Horse--I've made the same mistake myself) was a damned good idea, although the concept has evolved a bit since it first came out (early designs were a bit optimistic.) I've worked with Mitch Clapp off and on, and he has a lot on the ball. Pioneer Rocketplane was the head of the team I worked on to bid on the RASCAL project.
As for asteroid detection, I think we could spend more NASA money on this, but a considerable improvement in detection could be accomplished by simply spending more on opening and operating more Earth-based facilities.