Not Directions I Would Encourage...

The US Navy is discontinuing its Laser and Magnetic Railgun programs, while Tennessee State University, an HBCU is dismantling its undergraduate physics program due to lack of graduates (23 in the last decade).

In both instances, it comes down to numbers. We cannot invest in infrastructure, recovery of our economy (and thereby, the worlds) when we're campaigning in three different wars simultaneously.

There are budget cuts on Capital Hill because of the continued wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and now Libya. Launching one missile is not on the cheap, and majors are driven by their attractiveness, i.e. "what will I be doing after graduation and what will I be making"? W.I.I.T.-F.M.: "what's in it for me"?

Here, I hope, is a suitable answer:

W.I.I.T.-F.C. - What's in it for the country?

We've been on a war footing for quite a while, and frankly it's costing us in dollars and human capital.