Buzz Aldrin's Take On What Needs to be Done – Update

My Word by Buzz Aldrin: Let shuttle do heavy lifting, Orlando Sentinel
“I have proposed that the heavy-lift rocket, which nearly everyone involved in space policy agrees we will need, be based upon the existing space-shuttle architecture. That means the heavy lifter uses the four-segment solid-fuel boosters, external tank and shuttle main engines, existing shuttle facilities, and, equally as important, the existing shuttle work force. Only the winged orbiter is replaced with a payload canister with the three engines mounted at its base.”
NASA Needs a Clear Destination for Space Exploration, Experts Say, space.com
“I think we need to consider the attention span of the public, and the term limit of people in Congress that want to get reelected,” said Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon. “We want to keep activity going that is inspirational for the young people, that is something that happens within term limits.”
Why We Should Keep Flying the Space Shuttle, Buzz Aldrin, Huffington Post
“America has invested 30 years in the Shuttle system. Instead of retiring it and beginning with a new “clean sheet of paper” approach that will take extra time and money, I propose we follow the Russian example and make the basic Shuttle the foundation of a space program that can take us literally to Mars. Use the boosters, engines and big tank as the backbone of a new heavy lift rocket. Fly that rocket from the same facilities as the current Shuttles use. Keep much of the existing workforce working, because the only thing you will change is older designs and engines, making way for a heavy lift launcher derived from the Shuttle basics and capable of carrying large new spacecraft to the station or destinations beyond.”