Global hurricane activity at 33-year low
Didn’t Al Gore tell us that we were going to get more big storms? The global hurricane activity is at 33-year low.
Tag: politics
JPL scientists demand correction of White House statements before Supreme Court
JPL scientists demand correction of White House statements before Supreme Court over privacy suit.
Federal government spending rose 9% in 2010
White House arbitrarily gives healthcare law waivers to some companies
The law for some but not for others: Threatened with a firestorm of protest just prior to the election because a number of large corporations were going to drop millions from healthcare coverage because of the new Obamacare regulations, the White House today arbitrarily waived for one year those provisions for 30 large companies.
This action raises three obvious points:
- If the healthcare law was so wonderful, why is the White House suspending its inception?
- Why should these companies get a break, and not others? In fact, if I was the owner of a company that did not get a waiver, I would sue.
- This once again proves false the claim by Obama that the law would force no one to lose their healthcare plan. To me, the words “You lie!” come quickly to mind.
Ed Morrissey at hotair.com makes some additional good points about this absurd situation.
ESA struggles to fund returnable module
Government space faces budget realities: The European Space Agency is struggling to find the funds to both extend ISS as well as upgrade their cargo carrier so that it can also return cargo from ISS.
Bolden’s trip his idea, not the White House’s
According to the website SpaceRef, NASA administrator Charles Bolden’s trip to Saudia Arabia and China this past week was his idea alone, and that the White House did not want him to go.
Layoffs Continue as NASA Slows Constellation Spending
Confusion at NASA: Layoffs continue as NASA slows Constellation spending. This despite a budget in 2010 that requires the program’s continuation, and a Congressional authorization for 2011 that requires NASA to build a comparable heavy-lift rocket.
EPA’s Own Estimates Say Greenhouse Gas Regs Could ‘Slow Construction Nationwide for Years’ — and Take a Century to Reduce Temperature 0.0015 Degrees
The EPA itself believes that its effort to regulate carbon dioxide under its Prevention of Significant Deterioration program could “slow construction nationwide for years”. And what would this accomplish? Global temperatures would be reduced a whopping 0.0015 degrees! Key quote:
“It is clear throughout the country, PSD (Prevention of Significant Deterioration) permit issuance would be unable to keep up with the flood of incoming applications, resulting in delays, at the outset, that would be at least a decade or longer, and that would only grow worse over time as each year, the number of new permit applications would exceed permitting authority resources for that year.”
Treasury Inspector General to Investigate White House Disclosure of Confidential Taxpayer Data of Political Opponent
The headline says it all: “Treasury Inspector General to investigate White House disclosure of confidential taxpayer data of political opponent.”
Gallup’s astonishing numbers
I can see November from my house. New numbers from Gallup are “astonishing.” To quote Michael Barone today in the Washington Examiner: “These two numbers, if translated into popular votes in the 435 congressional districts, suggest huge gains for Republicans and a Republican House majority the likes of which we have not seen since the election cycles of 1946 or even 1928.”
Murder for the sake of climate idealogy
Bumped. Scroll down to see the update.
This video has been making the rounds on the web. Though I warn you that is somewhat graphic, it is essential that you watch it.
When I first saw this about a week ago, I didn’t quite know what to make of it. It was so vile and offensive I could not believe that it was legitimate. It obviously wants to pay some homage to Monty Python, but even Monty Python never went this far. How could anyone possibly think that killing small children in the name of environmentalism was in any way funny? And how could anyone ever believe that this video would persuade anyone to go along with the 1010 environmental campaign? If anything, the video does an excellent job of discrediting this organization and everyone involved with it.
Thus, despite what some bloggers were saying, I held back commenting, just to make sure the video was real and not a terrible prank meant to sabotage.
There is now no reason to hold back. Late last week, the 1010 organization itself issued an apology, admitting that this video was their handiwork. Before I continue, I think it is worthwhile for you to also read their apology, in all its venal glory. In many ways, it condemns them and their allies far more than the video did:
» Read more
Bolden in Saudia Arabia
Solar panels return to the White House
Back to the Carter administration: Solar panels are returning to the White House.
NASA technology chief: We’ll decide what rocket we want to build
NASA’s technology chief said today that despite the specific demands Congress included in its authorization bill, NASA will make its own decision on the kind of heavy-lift rocket it wants to build.
It’s okay to kill suffering children says UK journalist
Seems to be a lot of this kind of genocidal thought going around: A columnist for the Independent in Great Britain admitted in an October 4th interview that she considers it a kind act to kill a suffering child. Key quote:
“[I] think that if I were a mother of a suffering child, I would be the first to want I mean a deeply suffering child I would be the first one to put a pillow over its face, as I would with any suffering thing and I think the difference is that my feeling of horror, suffering is many greater than my feeling of getting rid of a couple of cells because suffering can go on for years,” Ironside said.
NASA Confusion Reverberates Throughout Globe
The confusion at NASA is reverberating throughout the globe. Didn’t someone predict this would happen? More than once?
Saudia Arabia and NASA sign two deals
NASA privacy suit to go to Supreme Court
A suit by NASA contractors over what they think is the agency’s over intrusive efforts to do background checks on their private lives goes to the Supreme Court.
The single most powerful political force in the nation
Want to know what the actual future consequences of the Tea Party movement will be? Read this op-ed by Glenn Reynolds. Key quote:
Both political parties are out of touch, and ordinary Americans are very unhappy about it, as they watch the Treasury being looted, the economy sink, and the political, journalistic, and financial ruling-class figures escaping the consequences of their ham-handed and self-serving actions.
Also:
For now, Republicans are (sort of) the beneficiaries. Though Tea Partiers aren’t happy with the GOP, they’re much less happy with the Democrats. In this election cycle, Republicans will benefit. But Tea Partiers are also taking over the GOP from the bottom up, running for precinct chairs and state committee seats.
This makes sense: There are barriers to entry for third parties, and it makes more sense to take over an existing party than to start from scratch, if that’s possible.
But those establishment GOP figures who think that they’ll cruise to victory and a return to the pocket-stuffing business-as-usual that marked the prior GOP majority need to think again. This election cycle is, in a very real sense, a last chance for the Republicans. If they blow it, we’re likely to see third-party challenges in 2012, not only at the Presidential level but in numerous Congressional races as well.
The layoffs at NASA
More layoffs yesterday at NASA, this time at the Marshall Space Flight Center. Also, this report gives a good overview of all the layoffs so far.
One question: The authorization bill that passed Congress on Wednesday night specifically required NASA to continue construction of a heavy-lift vehicle, quite similar in concept to Constellation. Why then is NASA management laying off all these Constellation workers? Granted, the authorization did not provide Constellation with as much money as previously budgeted, but the layoffs seem greater than necessary at this time, considering the budget differences. Also, the lack of a final budget from Congress might require these layoffs to occur temporarily, pending a new budget, but NASA is not making it clear that this is the case. Instead, they are letting a lot of people go without giving them any guidance about NASA’s future plans.
If the Obama administration was serious about fulfilling Congress’s legal requirement to build a heavy-lift vehicle (as deputy administration Lori Garver said they were on Thursday), I would have expected them to be more forthcoming to these NASA employees, if only to encourage them to remain available for rehiring, for at least a short time. That they have not is very telling.
Do not expect this heavy-lift vehicle to be built.