Freedom of speech alert: The federal government shut down 83,990 innocent websites this past weekend, mistakenly labeling them as child porn traffickers.
It was a mistake, I know, but think about how this power can so easily be misused.
Why high-speed rail makes no sense. Key quote:
High-speed rail would transform Amtrak’s small drain [on the government] into a much larger drain. Once built, high-speed rail systems would face a dilemma. To recoup initial capital costs — construction and train purchases — ticket prices would have to be set so high that few people would choose rail. But lower prices, even with favorable passenger loads, might not cover costs. Government would be stuck with huge subsidies. Even without recovering capital costs, high-speed rail systems would probably run in the red. Most mass-transit systems, despite high ridership, routinely have deficits.
China on the march! The next flight of their Shenzhou manned spacecraft could be a three week unmanned mission designed to test rendezvous and docking with their soon-to-launch Tiangong 1 space laboratory.
The delay yesterday of the launch of the European cargo ship to ISS might also delay the next Shuttle launch.
This is how we rationally debate the budget? Democratic Congressman Jay Inslee (D-Washington) today accused Republicans of wanting kids to get asthma by their effort to trim the budget.
The great wind scam. Key quote:
“With demand for power at record levels because of the freezing weather, there have been days when the contribution of our forests of wind turbines has been precisely nothing,” wrote Richard Littlejohn in the Daily Mail Dec. 27. “It gets better,” Mr. Littlejohn continued. “As the temperature has plummeted, the turbines have had to be heated to prevent them from seizing up. Consequently, they have been consuming more electricity than they generate.”
Right on! New Jersey Governor Chris Christie slammed both Democrats and Republicans yesterday over out-of-control spending.
The governor of Florida has joined two states in rejecting Obama’s proposed $53 billion federal high-speed rail program.
This is beyond belief: The White House has decided to make believe the interest payments required to pay back the federal debt do not exist in their claim that their budget is reducing that debt. Key quote from Senate hearings yesterday:
To justify the administration claim, [White House Budget Director Jack] Lew said the administration was merely referring to “primary balance” — or federal spending minus interest payments. Lew sought to forgive the public for their confusion. “The terminology that we use in Washington of primary balance is a little confusing,” Lew said.
“It’s because I believe it’s dishonest,” [Senator John] Ensign (R-Nevada) shot back.
An evening pause:
Australian space beer ready for micro-gravity test.
