Mean Mary James – I’ve Been Down
An evening pause: An original song from Mean Mary James. And damn good, too!
Category: Behind The Black
The Dearborn, Michigan Christians who were arrested for handing out Christian literature at a Muslim event have won a $100,000 settlement from the city.
A victory for free speech: The Dearborn, Michigan Christians who were arrested for handing out Christian literature at a Muslim event have won a $100,000 settlement from the city.
A victory for free speech: The Dearborn, Michigan Christians who were arrested for handing out Christian literature at a Muslim event have won a $100,000 settlement from the city.
The highway is the tenant … and actually pays rent.
“The highway is the tenant … and actually pays rent.” With pictures.
“The highway is the tenant … and actually pays rent.” With pictures.
A Republican has announced he is running for the Congressional seat in Arizona being vacated by Gabrielle Gifford.
A Republican has announced he is running for the Congressional seat in Arizona being vacated by Gabrielle Gifford.
As it turns out, I moved from Steny Hoyer’s (D-Maryland) district in Maryland to Gifford’s district in Arizona, so this is an election I will have a say in. Time to start learning something about the candidates, as the primary is now set for April 17 and the special election for June 12.
A Republican has announced he is running for the Congressional seat in Arizona being vacated by Gabrielle Gifford.
As it turns out, I moved from Steny Hoyer’s (D-Maryland) district in Maryland to Gifford’s district in Arizona, so this is an election I will have a say in. Time to start learning something about the candidates, as the primary is now set for April 17 and the special election for June 12.
New York to get new … typewriters!
Government in action: New York to get new … typewriters!
Government in action: New York to get new … typewriters!
Six former and current employees have sued the FDA agency under the Obama administration over its secret surveillance of their private emails.
How Obama encourages transparency: Six former and current employees have sued the FDA agency under the Obama administration over its secret surveillance of their private emails.
According to a release by the law firm representing the group, the FDA targeted the employees with a “covert spying campaign” that lasted for two years after it learned they had written a letter to President-Elect Obama in early 2009. … The plaintiffs allege the agency used spyware to read the their personal emails and take screenshots while they used government computers. But whether such reconnaissance is illegal is not quite clear. According to the Washington Post, “the startup screen on FDA computers warns employees, ‘you have no reasonable expectation of privacy,’ ” including any communication accessed or sent from the machine.”
According to the law firm representing the current and former FDA employees, the monitoring continued even after the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General “denied the FDA’s request to take any criminal and/or administrative action against the whistleblowers” and noted the whistleblowers’ communications with Congress were protected under law.
How Obama encourages transparency: Six former and current employees have sued the FDA agency under the Obama administration over its secret surveillance of their private emails.
According to a release by the law firm representing the group, the FDA targeted the employees with a “covert spying campaign” that lasted for two years after it learned they had written a letter to President-Elect Obama in early 2009. … The plaintiffs allege the agency used spyware to read the their personal emails and take screenshots while they used government computers. But whether such reconnaissance is illegal is not quite clear. According to the Washington Post, “the startup screen on FDA computers warns employees, ‘you have no reasonable expectation of privacy,’ ” including any communication accessed or sent from the machine.”
According to the law firm representing the current and former FDA employees, the monitoring continued even after the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General “denied the FDA’s request to take any criminal and/or administrative action against the whistleblowers” and noted the whistleblowers’ communications with Congress were protected under law.
Newt and Scientists: A Long, Complicated Love Affair
Newt and scientists: A long, complicated love affair.
The article gives you the science community’s take on Gingrich. And since that community is almost entirely Democratic in make-up and routinely hostile and almost bigoted in their hatred of Republicans, it is not surprising that this take has a certain schizophrenic air about it. They want to like him because of his passionate interest and support of science, but how can they? He’s a Republican (whispered softly like one was saying a curse word.)
Newt and scientists: A long, complicated love affair.
The article gives you the science community’s take on Gingrich. And since that community is almost entirely Democratic in make-up and routinely hostile and almost bigoted in their hatred of Republicans, it is not surprising that this take has a certain schizophrenic air about it. They want to like him because of his passionate interest and support of science, but how can they? He’s a Republican (whispered softly like one was saying a curse word.)
Identifying our galaxy’s next supernova
“We cannot—we will not—comply with this unjust law.”
“We cannot—we will not—comply with this unjust law.”
Not surprisingly, the law is Obamacare, as now being imposed by the Obama administration.
“We cannot—we will not—comply with this unjust law.”
Not surprisingly, the law is Obamacare, as now being imposed by the Obama administration.
It’s not about Newt
GOP voters are sending a clarion call to the party establishment, but it seems GOP leaders are not getting the message. The statement being sent to the GOP elite isn’t about Newt, and it goes beyond even Romney. It is about a deep dissatisfaction that has been building for years within the Republican rank and file.
GOP voters are sending a clarion call to the party establishment, but it seems GOP leaders are not getting the message. The statement being sent to the GOP elite isn’t about Newt, and it goes beyond even Romney. It is about a deep dissatisfaction that has been building for years within the Republican rank and file.
The government will have no rivals
Global warming activists seek to purge ‘deniers’ among local weathermen.
The inquisition is alive and well: A campaign by global warming activists is seeking to purge ‘deniers’ among local weathermen.
So far, the campaign has identified 55 “deniers” in the meteorologist community and are looking for more. They define “deniers” as “anyone who expressly refutes the overwhelming scientific consensus about climate change: that it is real, largely caused by humans, and already having profound impacts on our world. … We track the views of meteorologists through their on-air statements, blog posts, social media activity, public appearances, interviews, and interactions with viewers,” the campaign explains.
In other words, they should be fired because of their opinions.
The inquisition is alive and well: A campaign by global warming activists is seeking to purge ‘deniers’ among local weathermen.
So far, the campaign has identified 55 “deniers” in the meteorologist community and are looking for more. They define “deniers” as “anyone who expressly refutes the overwhelming scientific consensus about climate change: that it is real, largely caused by humans, and already having profound impacts on our world. … We track the views of meteorologists through their on-air statements, blog posts, social media activity, public appearances, interviews, and interactions with viewers,” the campaign explains.
In other words, they should be fired because of their opinions.
Investigators now think that MF Global, the company run by Jon Corzine, Obama adviser and fundraiser, lost its customers’ money in “a labyrinth of shady trading and raids.”
Investigators now think that MF Global, the company run by former Democratic governor Jon Corzine, Obama adviser and fundraiser, lost $1.2 billion of its customers’ money in “a labyrinth of shady trading and raids.”
In the end, Jon Corzine faces the serious possibility of prison time for his part in this scandal. And he was the go-to guy of the Obama administration for economic advice.
Investigators now think that MF Global, the company run by former Democratic governor Jon Corzine, Obama adviser and fundraiser, lost $1.2 billion of its customers’ money in “a labyrinth of shady trading and raids.”
In the end, Jon Corzine faces the serious possibility of prison time for his part in this scandal. And he was the go-to guy of the Obama administration for economic advice.
How crayons are made
National Park officials are considering plans to limit the number of hikers per day on the Half Dome hike in Yosemite.
Better go while you can: The National Park Service is considering several plans to limit the number of hikers per day on the Half Dome hike in Yosemite.
Better go while you can: The National Park Service is considering several plans to limit the number of hikers per day on the Half Dome hike in Yosemite.
Data issued last week without fanfare by both the UK’s Met Office and the University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit has confirmed that the rising trend in world temperatures ended in 1997.
Data issued last week without fanfare by both the UK’s Met Office and the University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit has confirmed that the rising trend in world temperatures ended in 1997.
The article also discusses at great length the additional influence the sun and its sunspot cycle might have on the climate, something I have discussed here at great length. However, the above factoid is the article’s most important data point.
Data issued last week without fanfare by both the UK’s Met Office and the University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit has confirmed that the rising trend in world temperatures ended in 1997.
The article also discusses at great length the additional influence the sun and its sunspot cycle might have on the climate, something I have discussed here at great length. However, the above factoid is the article’s most important data point.
Guns N Roses – Sweet Child O’ Mine
Why is the answer always a new law?
Romney puts forth his space plans at a rally in Florida
In a campaign rally Friday in Florida, Mitt Romney put forth his perspective on the state of the American space program, and what he plans to do about it.
The speech is about 16 minutes long. It is worth listening to it in its entirety.
In it, Romney outlined the reasons he thinks a robust space program is important: defense, innovation, exploration, and the ability to respond to potential natural threats from space. Having done so, however, he then refused to outline any specific actions he would take to address these issues, saying instead that once in office he will bring together the right kinds of space experts who will then advice him on the right kind of plan to achieve all these important goals.
I appreciate his refusal to pander. At the same time, his vagueness does not make me enthusiastic. Moreover, he is only offering us the same thing we have seen numerous times before, another blue ribbon panel study outlining a plan. It would make me far happier if he already understood better the problems of the space program, and could articulate the actions he wishes to take, as Gingrich did.
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Robert Goulet and Julie Andrews – My cup runneth over
“This re-entry capsule now cannot be used for manned spaceflight.”
“This re-entry capsule now cannot be used for manned spaceflight.”
This postponement of the next two Russian manned missions to ISS looks like a serious problem. For cracks to form in a finished capsule when tested under pressure suggests significant production failures that had gone unnoticed during assembly. In fact, this problem is far more serious than the launch failure that occurred last year. The Russians have to not only find a capsule they can trust to use on the next flight, they have to track down the errors that allowed a capsule to be built that is so obviously flawed it cracked when put in use.
“This re-entry capsule now cannot be used for manned spaceflight.”
This postponement of the next two Russian manned missions to ISS looks like a serious problem. For cracks to form in a finished capsule when tested under pressure suggests significant production failures that had gone unnoticed during assembly. In fact, this problem is far more serious than the launch failure that occurred last year. The Russians have to not only find a capsule they can trust to use on the next flight, they have to track down the errors that allowed a capsule to be built that is so obviously flawed it cracked when put in use.
A cargo ship with rocket parts crashed into a bridge in Kentucky yesterday
Fender bender: A cargo ship carrying rocket parts crashed into a bridge in Kentucky yesterday.
No serious damage to the ship or cargo, but the bridge has collapsed.
Fender bender: A cargo ship carrying rocket parts crashed into a bridge in Kentucky yesterday.
No serious damage to the ship or cargo, but the bridge has collapsed.
The North Star may be wasting away
The North Star may be wasting away.
The North Star may be wasting away.
Persecution for the sake of global warming
Persecution for the sake of global warming.
Although the number of publicly dissenting scientists is growing, many young scientists furtively say that while they also have serious doubts about the global-warming message, they are afraid to speak up for fear of not being promoted—or worse. They have good reason to worry. In 2003, Dr. Chris de Freitas, the editor of the journal Climate Research, dared to publish a peer-reviewed article with the politically incorrect (but factually correct) conclusion that the recent warming is not unusual in the context of climate changes over the past thousand years. The international warming establishment quickly mounted a determined campaign to have Dr. de Freitas removed from his editorial job and fired from his university position. Fortunately, Dr. de Freitas was able to keep his university job.
The quote is part of an op-ed signed by sixteen prominent scientists describing why there is no need to panic over global warming.
Persecution for the sake of global warming.
Although the number of publicly dissenting scientists is growing, many young scientists furtively say that while they also have serious doubts about the global-warming message, they are afraid to speak up for fear of not being promoted—or worse. They have good reason to worry. In 2003, Dr. Chris de Freitas, the editor of the journal Climate Research, dared to publish a peer-reviewed article with the politically incorrect (but factually correct) conclusion that the recent warming is not unusual in the context of climate changes over the past thousand years. The international warming establishment quickly mounted a determined campaign to have Dr. de Freitas removed from his editorial job and fired from his university position. Fortunately, Dr. de Freitas was able to keep his university job.
The quote is part of an op-ed signed by sixteen prominent scientists describing why there is no need to panic over global warming.
The Vintage Computer Festival
Want to play with some old computers? You can, at the Vintage Computer Festival East 8.0.
Want to play with some old computers? You can, at the Vintage Computer Festival East 8.0.
DNA research suggests that “Native Americans” actually came from a tiny mountain region in Siberia.
DNA research suggests that “Native Americans” actually came from a tiny mountain region in Siberia.
I added the quotes above. It is really hilarious to see the headline’s use of the politically correct term “Native Americans” while simultaneously describing proof that the American Indians were as much immigrants to the New World as everyone else.
DNA research suggests that “Native Americans” actually came from a tiny mountain region in Siberia.
I added the quotes above. It is really hilarious to see the headline’s use of the politically correct term “Native Americans” while simultaneously describing proof that the American Indians were as much immigrants to the New World as everyone else.
The Soviet Union’s gigantic nuclear equipped Ekranoplane
The Soviet Union’s gigantic nuclear equipped Ekranoplane, rusting on the shores of the Caspian Sea. With pictures.
Equipped with nuclear warheads and able to blast across the sea at 340 mph, the Lun-class Ekranoplane; part plane, part boat, and part hovercraft — is a Ground Effect Vehicle (GEV). A GEV takes advantage of an aeronautical effect that allows it to lift off with an immense amount of weight, but limits its flight to 16 feet above the waves. Its altitude can never be greater than the length of the wings.
The Soviet Union’s gigantic nuclear equipped Ekranoplane, rusting on the shores of the Caspian Sea. With pictures.
Equipped with nuclear warheads and able to blast across the sea at 340 mph, the Lun-class Ekranoplane; part plane, part boat, and part hovercraft — is a Ground Effect Vehicle (GEV). A GEV takes advantage of an aeronautical effect that allows it to lift off with an immense amount of weight, but limits its flight to 16 feet above the waves. Its altitude can never be greater than the length of the wings.
Because of technical problems with the Soyuz spacecraft it appears the Russians are going to postpone the next two manned launches to ISS.
Because of technical problems with the Soyuz spacecraft it appears the Russians are going to postpone the next two manned launches to ISS.
So, in one breath Americans whine about how we are dependent on the Russians to get into space, while in the next breath they lambast the only Presidential candidate (Gingrich) willing to aggressively do something about it without spending billions of dollars. You would think they’d at least be interested in what he had to say.
Because of technical problems with the Soyuz spacecraft it appears the Russians are going to postpone the next two manned launches to ISS.
So, in one breath Americans whine about how we are dependent on the Russians to get into space, while in the next breath they lambast the only Presidential candidate (Gingrich) willing to aggressively do something about it without spending billions of dollars. You would think they’d at least be interested in what he had to say.
The full Gingrich speech on space
As noted by one commenter, the full Gingrich speech on space is available here on C-SPAN.
I have now listened to the whole speech, and can say without hesitation that everything I wrote in my previous post was correct. Gingrich is knowledgeable about space, science, and history. He is basing his proposals on past successful models where the U.S. government did nothing but buy the product developed by private individuals or companies. These proposals actually continue as well as accelerate the Obama administration’s efforts. And he is not proposing a giant pork program.
His proposal to have a moon base by 2020 is unquestionably campaign talk that won’t happen. Nonetheless, this proposal is aimed at energizing the American aerospace industry by focusing the government’s goals, which will then need to be purchased by the government from private companies. He also made it very clear he wants to shrink the NASA bureaucracy, reducing its budget while devoting ten percent of that savings (equal to billions of dollars) for prizes. The example of a $10 billion tax-free prize for the first to get to Mars was only for illustration. As he said,
The model I want us to build is largely is the model of the ’20s and ’30s, when the government was actively encouraging development but the government wasn’t doing anything. The government was paying rewards, it was subsidizing the mail. … We had enormous breakthroughs in aviation in the ’20s and ’30s at very little cost to the government because lots of smart people [outside the government] did it.
I beg everyone to listen to this speech, in its entirety. It illustrates a thoughtful man who understands history. Gingrich might not be a perfect man, and he certainly is not the perfect candidate for President, but don’t tell me what you think of him if you refuse to listen to him. For two decades too many people have eagerly expressed opinions about him without really listening to what he has actually said or done. And what he says here is reasonable, intelligent, and certainly worthy of consideration.
Getting to know Dream Chaser
Getting to know Dream Chaser.
Getting to know Dream Chaser.