by Thomas Keister

Not only are NASA's space shuttles up for sale, at the bargain price of $28 million and change, but here's the kicker- the main engines are FREE, save for the cost of shipping and handling. The AP article adds the cute little throwaway sentence "Assembly will be required, however."

That's so unbelievably funny I am frankly astonished that Jay Leno hasn't bumped Marcia Dunn from her gig writing about stuff like this for the Associated Press. My only question? With all the lip service being paid to the state of our "Homeland Security" (with the results we get, trust me, lip service is all it is), why would anyone think its a good idea to give away engines of that strength, and to someone who might actually be able to put it the hell together? The fiasco that was Cash for Clunkers made auto dealers junk perfectly good engines, save for 1970s gas mileage, and yet, these engines are A-OK to just hand off for nothing? I can't wait for the footage on YouTube of some part-time genius trying to win the Google Lunar X Prize with his recently modified Honda Civic. Sure he had to take off the fruity-looking spoiler, but think about a Civic that can go from 0-17,000 MPH in just 510 seconds...