[To Enrico:] Thanks. The life of Galeleo is a good example of how government can kill science if it has the power. One of my main interests in Meta Science is this very dilemma. The big "what's wrong with science" that TVF, Arp and others complain about may boil down to the same issue; vis. too much government involvement. But that's a thread for another time.
[To Jeremy:] Like I said, it's not a question of either - or. NASA can continue to do as much research as it can muster taxpayer funds for. It's a question of keeping competition free. But even in the theoretical areas, governments have the knack of shutting down those they don't agree with. Look at how hard it was for Arp to get telescope time once his theories became known. So in an unfriendly environment it may take a very long time for the paradigm shift to go over to the correct cosmology--if ever. The Mideaval church was considered the wisest organization in the world for around a thousand years, and the world stagnated 'cause they burnt the competition.<img src=icon_smile_shock.gif border=0 align=middle>
