California: Running out of other people’s money
California: Running out of other people’s money.
California: Running out of other people’s money.
Category: Behind The Black
California: Running out of other people’s money
“This is about freedom, full stop.”
A thought experiment: Imagining the Republican majority in the House ran things in Washington.
A thought experiment: Imagining the Republican majority in the House in complete control of Washington.
This is not an altogether quixotic exercise. A thorough review of roll-call votes cast since the 2010 electoral upheaval allows us to approximate the world view that guides the 243-member House Republican caucus. … It would: repeal Obamacare; place a firm limit on how much in taxes Washington can take from our paychecks; require federal bureaucracies to think before they regulate; restore considerable authority and decision-making power to state governments; and alter the structural DNA of two of the Big Three entitlement programs — Medicare and Medicaid. (Fundamental overhaul of Social Security, it seems, will have to wait.).
In a nutshell, the GOP House agenda would place the federal government on a fiscally sustainable path without eviscerating national security. America would reclaim its status as one of the freest and most opportunity-laden economies in the world. There would be real and enforceable limits on the power of the federal government. And our ability to defend America’s interests around the world would be robust and enduring.
Read the whole thing, especially if you have doubts about what a Republican Congress and President might do. Even if you disagree with many conservative goals, nothing described here is unreasonable, and all of it seems necessary, considering the bankrupt state of the federal government.
A thought experiment: Imagining the Republican majority in the House in complete control of Washington.
This is not an altogether quixotic exercise. A thorough review of roll-call votes cast since the 2010 electoral upheaval allows us to approximate the world view that guides the 243-member House Republican caucus. … It would: repeal Obamacare; place a firm limit on how much in taxes Washington can take from our paychecks; require federal bureaucracies to think before they regulate; restore considerable authority and decision-making power to state governments; and alter the structural DNA of two of the Big Three entitlement programs — Medicare and Medicaid. (Fundamental overhaul of Social Security, it seems, will have to wait.).
In a nutshell, the GOP House agenda would place the federal government on a fiscally sustainable path without eviscerating national security. America would reclaim its status as one of the freest and most opportunity-laden economies in the world. There would be real and enforceable limits on the power of the federal government. And our ability to defend America’s interests around the world would be robust and enduring.
Read the whole thing, especially if you have doubts about what a Republican Congress and President might do. Even if you disagree with many conservative goals, nothing described here is unreasonable, and all of it seems necessary, considering the bankrupt state of the federal government.
The Russians celebrate drilling into Lake Vostok.
The Russians celebrate drilling into Lake Vostok.
The Russians celebrate drilling into Lake Vostok.
Cyndi Lauper – True Colors
A transitional budget
There will be a lot of screaming and howling in the coming days about the proposed 2013 NASA budget [pdf], released today by the Obama administration. Though I have many bones to pick about this budget proposal, a longer view of the budget suggests it is merely a reflection of the transitions going on both in NASA and the federal government.
First, some bullet points:
» Read more
Finding the Higgs: what’s next
Finding the Higgs: what’s next.
Finding the Higgs: what’s next.
Europe’s new Vega rocket successfully put nine satellites into orbit this morning on its first flight.
Competition: Europe’s new Vega rocket successfully put nine satellites into orbit this morning on its first flight.
Competition: Europe’s new Vega rocket successfully put nine satellites into orbit this morning on its first flight.
Abraham Lincoln – A tribute to the song Ashokan Farewell
Want to buy a former NASA radio dish? All you need is $4.2 million.
Want to buy a former NASA radio dish? All you need is $4.2 million.
Want to buy a former NASA radio dish? All you need is $4.2 million.
“The longer we go in this presidency, the less relation MSM headlines have to reality.”
Eleven months after the earthquake/tsunami in Japan, a collection of amazing and inspiring before and after pictures.
Eleven months after the earthquake/tsunami in Japan, a collection of incredible and inspiring before and after pictures.
Eleven months after the earthquake/tsunami in Japan, a collection of incredible and inspiring before and after pictures.
Boney M – Belfast
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced Saturday that the nation will reveal “several major achievements in the nuclear domain” within days, state media reported.
Fiddling while Rome burns: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced Saturday that Iran will reveal “several major achievements in the nuclear domain” within days.
Fiddling while Rome burns: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced Saturday that Iran will reveal “several major achievements in the nuclear domain” within days.
For its second attempt to launch the Orbiting Carbon Observatory, NASA has finally decided to dump Orbital Sciences’ Taurus XL rocket, the same rocket that failed on two previous launch attempts.
For its second attempt to launch the Orbiting Carbon Observatory, NASA has finally decided to dump Orbital Sciences’ Taurus XL rocket, the same rocket that failed on two previous launch attempts.
The decision to change launch rockets will delay launch by at least a year. Still, this is better than losing a third research satellite.
For its second attempt to launch the Orbiting Carbon Observatory, NASA has finally decided to dump Orbital Sciences’ Taurus XL rocket, the same rocket that failed on two previous launch attempts.
The decision to change launch rockets will delay launch by at least a year. Still, this is better than losing a third research satellite.
“The villain of the piece.”
LightSquared and GPS: “The villain of the piece.”
The answer emerging from countless legal filings and Congressional hearings is that the government itself is the villain of the piece, the absence of collaboration between agencies allowing one to act without consulting the others. In bypassing its normal processes to expedite approval of LightSquared’s plan to use its mobile satellite service frequencies for a terrestrial broadband wireless network, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) left its fellow Defense and Transportation Departments, Homeland Security and others, scrambling to protect GPS signals on which they now depend.
Actually, saying the “government” is the villain is too vague. Let us name names, highlighted in bold below:
An independent agency, the FCC claimed to be acting in the public interest by boosting the Obama administration’s national broadband plan when it approved LightSquared’s proposal, but in bypassing the normal notice of proposed rulemaking step it short-circuited a technical process that would have addressed the GPS interference issue in an orderly matter. In the subsequent rush to perform tests, critics were quick to point out close personal and political links between President Barack Obama, FCC chairman Julian Genachowski and hedge-fund manager Philip Falcone, LightSquared’s majority owner.
“Substantial federal resources, including over $2 million from the FAA, have been expended and diverted from other programs in testing and analyzing LightSquared’s proposals,” John Porcari, deputy transportation secretary, testified to Congress on Feb. 8. “This level of investment in assisting a commercial applicant to achieve the successful approval of its government application is quite unusual,” he said. [emphasis mine]
Shall we put it more bluntly, as I like to do? Obama and Genachowski attempted to bypass the normal licensing procedures in order to help Falcone (who had given mucho contributions to Obama’s campaign war chest) and in the process wasted millions of taxpayer dollars while simultaneously threatening the operation of millions of GPS units used by the general public and the military.
LightSquared and GPS: “The villain of the piece.”
The answer emerging from countless legal filings and Congressional hearings is that the government itself is the villain of the piece, the absence of collaboration between agencies allowing one to act without consulting the others. In bypassing its normal processes to expedite approval of LightSquared’s plan to use its mobile satellite service frequencies for a terrestrial broadband wireless network, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) left its fellow Defense and Transportation Departments, Homeland Security and others, scrambling to protect GPS signals on which they now depend.
Actually, saying the “government” is the villain is too vague. Let us name names, highlighted in bold below:
An independent agency, the FCC claimed to be acting in the public interest by boosting the Obama administration’s national broadband plan when it approved LightSquared’s proposal, but in bypassing the normal notice of proposed rulemaking step it short-circuited a technical process that would have addressed the GPS interference issue in an orderly matter. In the subsequent rush to perform tests, critics were quick to point out close personal and political links between President Barack Obama, FCC chairman Julian Genachowski and hedge-fund manager Philip Falcone, LightSquared’s majority owner.
“Substantial federal resources, including over $2 million from the FAA, have been expended and diverted from other programs in testing and analyzing LightSquared’s proposals,” John Porcari, deputy transportation secretary, testified to Congress on Feb. 8. “This level of investment in assisting a commercial applicant to achieve the successful approval of its government application is quite unusual,” he said. [emphasis mine]
Shall we put it more bluntly, as I like to do? Obama and Genachowski attempted to bypass the normal licensing procedures in order to help Falcone (who had given mucho contributions to Obama’s campaign war chest) and in the process wasted millions of taxpayer dollars while simultaneously threatening the operation of millions of GPS units used by the general public and the military.
The chief architect of Obamacare now admits — in complete contradiction to what he claimed before the law was passed — that Obamacare will cause medical insurance premiums to rise.
Surprise, surprise! The chief architect of Obamacare now admits — in complete contradiction to what he claimed before the law was passed — that Obamacare will cause medical insurance premiums to rise.
Gruber’s new reports are in direct contrast Obama’s words — and with claims Gruber himself made in 2009. Then, the economics professor said that based on figures provided by the independent Congressional Budget Office, “[health care] reform will significantly reduce, not increase, non-group premiums.”
During his presentation to Wisconsin officials in August 2011, Gruber revealed that while about 57 percent of those who get their insurance through the individual market will benefit in one way or another from the law’s subsides, an even larger majority of the individual market will end up paying drastically more overall. “After the application of tax subsidies, 59 percent of the individual market will experience an average premium increase of 31 percent,” Gruber reported. [emphasis mine]
Surprise, surprise! The chief architect of Obamacare now admits — in complete contradiction to what he claimed before the law was passed — that Obamacare will cause medical insurance premiums to rise.
Gruber’s new reports are in direct contrast Obama’s words — and with claims Gruber himself made in 2009. Then, the economics professor said that based on figures provided by the independent Congressional Budget Office, “[health care] reform will significantly reduce, not increase, non-group premiums.”
During his presentation to Wisconsin officials in August 2011, Gruber revealed that while about 57 percent of those who get their insurance through the individual market will benefit in one way or another from the law’s subsides, an even larger majority of the individual market will end up paying drastically more overall. “After the application of tax subsidies, 59 percent of the individual market will experience an average premium increase of 31 percent,” Gruber reported. [emphasis mine]
Monty Python – Lumberjack Song
The reaction from religious organizations to Obama’s proposed heathcare rule compromise:
The reaction from religious organizations to Obama’s proposed heathcare rule compromise has not been good.
It is an attempt to deal with a matter of religious conviction with an accounting gimmick,
And this:
“The President’s statement today is an insulting affront illustrating a basic lack of understanding that this issue will not be solved by sleight-of-hand word games.
Similarly, the insurance companies have their own objections.
What must be noted is that the language of Obamacare is so flawed that it basically puts us in a situation where one man, Barack Obama, can simply dictate policy hither and yon, based merely on political expediency. Such a situation makes this a country ruled by the opinions of men rather than by the rule of carefully worded law.
The sooner we repeal this horrible legislation the better.
The reaction from religious organizations to Obama’s proposed heathcare rule compromise has not been good.
It is an attempt to deal with a matter of religious conviction with an accounting gimmick,
And this:
“The President’s statement today is an insulting affront illustrating a basic lack of understanding that this issue will not be solved by sleight-of-hand word games.
Similarly, the insurance companies have their own objections.
What must be noted is that the language of Obamacare is so flawed that it basically puts us in a situation where one man, Barack Obama, can simply dictate policy hither and yon, based merely on political expediency. Such a situation makes this a country ruled by the opinions of men rather than by the rule of carefully worded law.
The sooner we repeal this horrible legislation the better.
The White House has confirmed that the Obama budget to be announced on Monday will predict a $1.3 trillion deficit for 2012.
The bigger picture: The White House has confirmed that the Obama 2013 budget proposal to be announced on Monday will predict a $1.3 trillion deficit in 2012, and only try to shrink that to $900 billion in 2013.
Numbers like this demonstrate the need for further budget cuts, even in areas that I think are important, such as space exploration. However, these numbers also illustrate one clear fact: the Obama administration is not serious about balancing the budget. That the administration has applied the knife to the Mars planetary program while allowing other less successful NASA programs to flourish proves this administration’s poor sense of priorities in these difficult financial times.
More thoughts next week.
The bigger picture: The White House has confirmed that the Obama 2013 budget proposal to be announced on Monday will predict a $1.3 trillion deficit in 2012, and only try to shrink that to $900 billion in 2013.
Numbers like this demonstrate the need for further budget cuts, even in areas that I think are important, such as space exploration. However, these numbers also illustrate one clear fact: the Obama administration is not serious about balancing the budget. That the administration has applied the knife to the Mars planetary program while allowing other less successful NASA programs to flourish proves this administration’s poor sense of priorities in these difficult financial times.
More thoughts next week.
Clark Lindsey has posted a quick summary of the proposed NASA budget to be released by the Obama Administration on Monday.
Clark Lindsey has posted a quick summary of the proposed NASA budget to be released by the Obama Administration on Monday.
I will have more to say about this next week, when the full budget is released.
Clark Lindsey has posted a quick summary of the proposed NASA budget to be released by the Obama Administration on Monday.
I will have more to say about this next week, when the full budget is released.
A woman was denied access to her flight because there was no female TSA agent to pat her down.
We’re here to help you: A woman was forced to miss her flight because no female TSA agent was available to pat her down.
We’re here to help you: A woman was forced to miss her flight because no female TSA agent was available to pat her down.
The link between sunspots and climate
In a preprint paper published today on the Los Alamos astro-ph website and accepted for publication in the Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Norwegian scientists have found a strong correlation between the length of the solar sunspot cycle and the Earth’s temperature during the following cycle. From the abstract:
Relations between the length of a sunspot cycle and the average temperature in the same and the next cycle are calculated for a number of meteorological stations in Norway and in the North Atlantic region. No significant trend is found between the length of a cycle and the average temperature in the same cycle, but a significant negative trend is found between the length of a cycle and the temperature in the next cycle. This provides a tool to predict an average temperature decrease of at least 1.0 ◦ C from solar cycle 23 to 24 for the stations and areas analyzed. We find for the Norwegian local stations investigated that 25–56% of the temperature increase the last 150 years may be attributed to the Sun. For 3 North Atlantic stations we get 63–72% solar contribution. [emphasis mine]
You can download a copy of the paper here [pdf].
Their paper finds that if a particular sunspot cycle is longer with less activity, the climate will show significant cooling during the next cycle.
The paper makes several important points:
» Read more
Japan’s space agency is lobbying its government for the funds to develop its own manned space capsule capability.
Japan’s space agency is lobbying its government for the funds to develop its own manned space capsule capability.
Japan’s space agency is lobbying its government for the funds to develop its own manned space capsule capability.
The Dragon/Falcon 9 test flight to ISS has been delayed again, until late April, in order to complete additional software tests.
The Dragon/Falcon 9 test flight to ISS has been delayed again, until late April, in order to complete additional software tests.
The Dragon/Falcon 9 test flight to ISS has been delayed again, until late April, in order to complete additional software tests.
Is Venus’s day getting longer?
Is Venus’s day getting longer?
In the 1980s and 1990s, the Venera and Magellan orbiters made radar maps of the surface of Venus, long shrouded in mystery as well as a dense, crushing and poisonous atmosphere. These maps gave us our first detailed global view of this unique and hostile world. Over its four-year mission, Magellan was able to watch features rotate under the spacecraft, allowing scientists to determine the length of the day on Venus as being equal to 243.0185 Earth days. .
However, surface features seen by Venus Express some 16 years later could only be lined up with those observed by Magellan if the length of the Venus day is on average 6.5 minutes longer than Magellan measured. This also agrees with the most recent long-duration radar measurements from Earth.
Is Venus’s day getting longer?
In the 1980s and 1990s, the Venera and Magellan orbiters made radar maps of the surface of Venus, long shrouded in mystery as well as a dense, crushing and poisonous atmosphere. These maps gave us our first detailed global view of this unique and hostile world. Over its four-year mission, Magellan was able to watch features rotate under the spacecraft, allowing scientists to determine the length of the day on Venus as being equal to 243.0185 Earth days. .
However, surface features seen by Venus Express some 16 years later could only be lined up with those observed by Magellan if the length of the Venus day is on average 6.5 minutes longer than Magellan measured. This also agrees with the most recent long-duration radar measurements from Earth.
John Fogerty – Have You Ever Seen The Rain?
FAA regulations have forced a volunteer pilot program in Alaska to cancel its support of the Yukon Quest International Dog Race.
We’re here to help you: FAA regulations have forced a volunteer pilot program in Alaska to cancel its support of the Yukon Quest International Dog Race.
The rules prohibit private pilots from accepting cost deferments such as fuel, accommodations and food. According to the agency’s regulations, allowing private pilots to accept compensation for costs is commercial activity, and commercial aviation is heavily regulated.
In other words, because these volunteers are simply getting reimbursed for their expenses the FAA forbids them from volunteering. Isn’t it great how the government is so helpful?
We’re here to help you: FAA regulations have forced a volunteer pilot program in Alaska to cancel its support of the Yukon Quest International Dog Race.
The rules prohibit private pilots from accepting cost deferments such as fuel, accommodations and food. According to the agency’s regulations, allowing private pilots to accept compensation for costs is commercial activity, and commercial aviation is heavily regulated.
In other words, because these volunteers are simply getting reimbursed for their expenses the FAA forbids them from volunteering. Isn’t it great how the government is so helpful?
Several Catholic lay organizations have now filed suit against the new Obamacare regulations requiring them to provide contraception services in violation of their religious beliefs.
Several Catholic lay organizations have now filed suit against the new Obamacare regulations requiring them to provide contraception services in violation of their religious beliefs.
“EWTN’s lawsuit is important because the network is not a church. They are a lay-run organization, and they have a right to live by and practice their faith and project the messages they want to project. For the government to say that only churches have religious liberty — but individuals do not — is contrary to what the First Amendment is all about.”
Several Catholic lay organizations have now filed suit against the new Obamacare regulations requiring them to provide contraception services in violation of their religious beliefs.
“EWTN’s lawsuit is important because the network is not a church. They are a lay-run organization, and they have a right to live by and practice their faith and project the messages they want to project. For the government to say that only churches have religious liberty — but individuals do not — is contrary to what the First Amendment is all about.”
Ed Weiler quit NASA over Mars planetary program cuts to be announced Monday
Ed Weiler quit NASA in September because of the cuts to the Mars planetary program that the Obama administration will announce on Monday.
Weiler was NASA’s chief science administrator for most of the past thirty years.
As I have already noted, the programs that NASA shouldn’t cut are its planetary and astronomy programs. Far better to dump the Space Launch System, which eats up a lot more cash and will end up producing nothing. By doing so you would not only reduce NASA’s actual budget — thereby saving the federal government money — you could simultaneously increase the budgets of the planetary and astronomy programs.
Ed Weiler quit NASA in September because of the cuts to the Mars planetary program that the Obama administration will announce on Monday.
Weiler was NASA’s chief science administrator for most of the past thirty years.
As I have already noted, the programs that NASA shouldn’t cut are its planetary and astronomy programs. Far better to dump the Space Launch System, which eats up a lot more cash and will end up producing nothing. By doing so you would not only reduce NASA’s actual budget — thereby saving the federal government money — you could simultaneously increase the budgets of the planetary and astronomy programs.