Deep Impact?

I've always been ciritical of the space program (NASA in particular) because of $330 million ideas such as this new endeavor - blasting a comet in space. I understand the importance of research and "going beyond where no man has gone before", but when the world we live in is in chaos and is suffering from events such as the Asian tsunami, I can't help but wonder what we can get for $330 million in relief for those poor souls in Southeast Asia. It seems like our priorities is not where it should be. We should be more involved in preserving our own planet before we start investing our resources in outer space.