You don't need "tons of BTC" to register a .bit domain, just convert around 1 btc to nmcs via the bitparking exchange and you'll have enough nmc to register the domain (approximately).
That's pretty much the whole point of namecoin: to be able to register a domain name without any fear of seizure.
$20 to register a domain nobody will ever use? That's such a rip-off. It can be seized pretty easily by the makers of namecoin.
Glad to see you have faith in the namecoin system.
I'm sure the makers of Bitcoin can take your bitcoins pretty easily, too.
I agree that at current prices, almost 18$ is a lot, but the price of a new domain registration will drop as the block count increases.