2011-11-07-3
Explanation
This comic satirizes the frustrating disconnect between humanity'''s lofty ideals about science and exploration versus the political reality of how funding decisions are actually made. A politician stands at a podium giving an inspiring speech about wishing humanity could go beyond tribal politics, build machines without weaponizing them, rise above our animal nature, and reach for the heavens. It'''s the kind of aspirational rhetoric often heard in speeches about space exploration and scientific progress.
A scientist then proposes exactly what the politician described: a telescope whose sole purpose is to see what'''s out there in space -- pure exploration, no military application. The politician immediately dismisses it as "too expensive." But when the scientist suggests they could mount a gun on the telescope, the politician instantly responds "Sold!" The joke captures a cynical but recognizable truth: despite grand rhetoric about peaceful exploration, government funding for science often requires a military or defense justification.
The votey panel extends the satire further, with someone suggesting they could save money by removing the half of the telescope that points outward -- meaning they'''d keep only the gun, completely abandoning the scientific purpose. This underscores the comic'''s point that the military application was always the real selling point, and the science was just window dressing.