Tag: politics

Science budget map

2:16 am

Want to know whose getting what? The journal Science has put together this nice interactive table showing the various proposed budgets for the various science agencies in the federal government.

Though the magazine is undeniably pro-spending for science, the information is useful, as it shows clearly that even if every Republican cut is approved, the amount of money for most of these agencies will not be, on average, much different than what was spent in 2008. And it seems to me that in 2008 there was plenty of money for science in the federal government. Probably too much.

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Update in Wisconsin

10:38 pm

Hotair has this nice summary of today’s madness in Wisconsin. Key quote:

Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald said he decided to adjourn the Assembly this evening because Gov. Scott Walker called minutes before lawmakers took the floor to tell him to get his caucus members and staff out of the building because their safety could no longer be assured.

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House rejects extra $22 billion in additional cuts

9:40 pm

The House today rejected an extra $22 billion in additional cuts, proposed by the tea party members of the Republican party.

Though this is extremely disappointing, especially considering the large number of Republicans who helped defeat these cuts, it really only indicates the long and winding road that lies before us. Getting the federal budget under control is going to take time and determination. And it won’t be a straightforward path, always ahead. There will be defeats along the way. The important thing is to keep up the budget pressure, pushing one cut if another fails.

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Holdren of the Obama administration:
Deniers no, Ignorant yes!

7:14 pm

The following story is why the advocates of global warming are losing the debate: At House hearings yesterday, Obama’s science advisor John Holdren admitted that using the term “deniers” to describe scientists who had doubts about global warming is inappropriate. “It was not my intent to compare them to Holocaust deniers, and I regret it,” he replied. “In the future I will find other terms to use.”

Sounds good, doesn’t it? Shortly thereafter, however, during the same hearing, Holdren then said this about a list of 100 climate scientists [word file] who remain skeptical about global warming:

“I haven’t seen the list,” Holdren began. “But in the past, most of the names on such petitions have turned out not to be climate scientists, and one could assume that they had not spent much time reviewing the literature.”

Without any knowledge, he slams these scientists, accusing them of being ignorant of the science.
» Read more

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Federal judge lowers the boom on the Obama administration on drilling permits

11:12 am

The law is for everyone: A federal judge has lowered the boom on the Obama administration over its refusal to issue permits for drilling oil in the Gulf of Mexico. Key quote:

In issuing the directive to the government, Feldman, who sits on the District Court for the Eastern District of Louisian, noted that “it is undisputed that before the Deepwater Horizon disaster, permits were processed, on average, in two weeks’ time. In stark contrast, the five permits at issue have been pending from four to some nine months.”

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To be a Republican lawmaker in Wisconsin means facing threats of violence

9:11 pm

To be a Republican lawmaker in Wisconsin means facing threats of violence. Key quote:

[Republican state senator Randy] Hopper has received threatening phone calls and e-mails. These are threats of a physical nature. “We are working with law enforcement in my district. They are watching my home and my business.” Other Republicans have had their homes and businesses threatened, too. The unionists have demonstrated outside those homes and businesses.

A menacing old phrase comes to mind (and has been used by others, in talking about events in Wisconsin): We know where you live. [emphasis in original]

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Squeals from the media

4:56 pm

Squeals from the media. Key quote:

Now that budget battles have begun in earnest all around the country, those advocating spending cuts, Democrat and Republican, had better not expect any help in furthering their cause from the mainstream news media. In fact, the news media might be their most formidable foe. How so? Well, now that we know the targets of the cuts, the news media, suckers for a sob story, are already throbbing with carefully orchestrated, heart-rending tales about what devastation those cuts will cause.

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Showdown in Wisconsin

11:35 am

Showdown in Wisconsin. Key quote:

Government school teachers, among others, are not happy and have shut down entire school districts across the state for two days so they can protest.

I have two thoughts on this…

1. Hell yes.

2. About time.

Public employees should not be allowed to unionize or if they are, they should be forbidden to contribute to political campaigns. The current system essentially allows the employees to buy off the managers (politicians) in order to rip off the owners (the public). It’s a system that is corrupt by it’s very existence. The proof of this is the public pension and benefits schemes that threatens to crush the fiscal solvency of many states.

Update and bumped. This New York Times article summarizes the situation nicely. To me, however, the key quote is this:

Scott Fitzgerald, the Republican leader in the State Senate, slipped out of the Capitol Wednesday morning with his sunglasses on, head down. Protesters had gone to his home earlier in the week, forcing his family (including his wife, a school guidance counselor) to go elsewhere for a bit.

You can see some video of the protests here: Union hate rally in Wisconsin: Protests rife with Hitler, gun targets, death threats.

So, another demonstration of how the left tones down the rhetoric: threatening the family of a lawmaker.

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House votes to move money from NASA to local law enforcement

11:19 pm

The House votes to shift $298 million from NASA to local law enforcement.

What idiocy. I can accept the idea of cutting NASA considering the state of the deficit. However, for Congress to instead spend the money for local police work, something that is definitely not the responsibility of the federal government, is plain foolishness. The need now is to cut, cut, cut, until the budget is under control. Only then can we reasonably consider spending money on these programs.

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Why more railroad subsidies make no sense

9:30 pm

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.

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The great wind scam

8:22 pm

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.”

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