NASA to pay publisher to produce inspiring fiction about...NASA!

With the space shuttle having flown its last mission, NASA has lost the capability of launching men into space and thus is facing likely downsizing.

Since the number-one goal of bureaucrats is power, which is roughly proportional to the number of people in your organization, the agency has been desperate to find ways to avoid the reductions.

One way is to get the public to see you as absolutely essential.

Solution? The agency has signed an agreement with a publisher to create a series of "NASA-inspired works of fiction"--stories relating to current and future missions and operations.

"Ultimately this agreement will benefit the public, as we look for innovative ways to communicate our past and current achievements, while focusing on the needs of the future," said a NASA spokesperson.

Yeah. I can see all kinds of benefits to the public from paying PR flacks to write glowing fictional works mentioning NASA. Sure.

Actually, if the government ever does get serious about cutting spending--try not to die laughing--this may turn out to be a popular bureaucratic tactic. Imagine how the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (yeah, I know they changed the name) could polish its image by paying some flack to write glowing fiction about tracking the thousands of heavy weapons the agency allowed drug cartels to buy and smuggle into Mexico.

In a recession-hammered economy, a few dozen of these deals could create jobs for literally hundreds of out-of-work writers and PR flacks.

It's a win-win.