So many argument tactics used by FE proponents are so blatantly dishonest and diversionary.
Really? Prove it. Point out a topic in our Wiki that is blatantly dishonest - https://wiki.tfes.org/
The issue is missing context. Lots of things seemed to be plucked from their original context and used as a soundbite to support something that was not intended. Take “The Conspiracy” page,
https://wiki.tfes.org/The_ConspiracyThere’s a quote featured prominently:
"All government agencies lie part of the time, but NASA is the only one I've ever encountered that does so routinely.''
—George A. Keyworth, Science Advisor to President Regan in testimony before Congress, March 14, 1985
The quote has nothing to do with ’
The Conspiracy’ in terms of how the wiki puts it, “
The purpose of NASA is to fake the concept of space travel to further America's militaristic dominance of space.”, the bolded part, as in “fake”, but everything to do with “America’s militaristic dominance of space”. Not to mention, there's no record of that exact wording, no source. There's no mention in the Congressional records for the Senate or House on 3/14/1985:
https://www.congress.gov/bound-congressional-record/1985/03/14https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1985-pt4/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1985-pt4-6.pdfFrom an LA Times article where a similar quote is mentioned:
Why Challenger Was Doomed : The story of the ill-fated space shuttle goes far beyond O-rings, say the officials who were involved. Politics, economics, egos and ambition were also to blame.“
George C. Keyworth, the President’s science adviser and a former weapons designer at Los Alamos, was openly trying to force Beggs to relinquish control of the shuttle to the Air Force, which Keyworth and others thought was better suited for operational responsibilities. Keyworth--a somewhat nervous man who loves slogans and considered himself an important part of Reagan’s White House team--attacked the space station plan as a “motel in the sky for astronauts.”
Keyworth was a huge Reaganite-Hawk and wanted the “Star Wars" (Strategic Defense Initiative) program to happen in full, at the expense of funding for a Space Station (ISS).
“
Keyworth--a somewhat nervous man who loves slogans and considered himself an important part of Reagan’s White House team--attacked the space station plan as a “motel in the sky for astronauts.”Reagan gave NASA $150 million for the ISS in the 1985 budget. Keyworth was not happy.
Hence the context of the quote:
"That lingering bitterness would have dramatic consequences for both the shuttle program and for (James) Beggs.(NASA head)
“Of all the organizations that I have dealt with . . . I have only seen one that lied. It was NASA,” science adviser Keyworth says today. “The reason they lie, of course, is because they are wrapped up in a higher calling. In their eyes these are white lies. They tell lies in order to do what has to be done. Because in the end the result will be for the betterment of the public. So they are not lying from evil. But, nevertheless, they are lying.”In short, the quote in the wiki is placed into a manufactured context that NASA “lies”, “fakes” Space Travel. When, in actuality, the quote is in regard to budgeting for one form of “space travel” over another. It literally has nothing to do with “lying” about or "faking" the existence of Space Travel - Which is the context of the entire wiki entry.
The context of the quote in no way supports the wiki's description of "The Conspiracy".