Tag: politics

Space exploration and the unexpected consequences of government decisions

4:24 pm

On Thursday, December 15, 2011, NASA management announced what seemed at first glance to be a very boring managerial decision. Future contracts with any aerospace company to launch astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS) will follow the same contractual arrangements used by NASA and SpaceX and Orbital Sciences for supplying cargo to the space station.

As boring that sounds, this is probably the most important decision NASA managers have made since the 1960s. Not only will this contractual approach lower the cost and accelerate the speed of developing a new generation of manned spaceships, it will transfer control of space exploration from NASA — an overweight and bloated government agency — to the free and competitive open market.

To me, however, the decision illustrates a number of unexpected consequences, none of which have been noted by anyone in the discussions that followed NASA’s announcement back in mid-December.
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Presenting 2011’s Top 10 Most Corrupt American Politicians

9:21 am

Presenting 2011’s top 10 most corrupt American politicians.

The list is very non-partisan, and includes nine incumbents. And it also includes detailed information about why each is on the list.

For anyone to vote for any of these bums in 2012 shows not only a disgraceful willingness to be screwed, but a desire to bend over and thank the rapist who is screwing you.

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Top 10 Ways Hollywood Can Win Its Audience Back

7:54 pm

The top ten ways Hollywood can win its audience back.

As someone who spent almost twenty years in the movie business, I think Nolte hits the nail on the head. I also think Hollywood will not do any of the things he suggests, mostly because it would require them to abandon their elite, leftwing ideology that for the past thirty years has become the only thing too many Hollywood people care about.

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The new Arctic ozone hole

4:51 pm

An interesting and very informative paper was published by the American Geophysical Union this past Saturday, entitled “Arctic winter 2010/2011 at the brink of an ozone hole.” The first paragraph of the introduction essentially summed up the paper’s key points:

Large losses of Arctic stratospheric ozone have been observed during winter 2010/2011, exceeding observed losses during cold winters over the past decades, characterized as the first Arctic Ozone Hole. Although in general Arctic ozone is expected to recover because of the reductions in ozone depleting substances as a result of the Montreal Protocol and its amendments, the observation that apparently the cold Arctic winters in the stratosphere have been getting colder over the past decades raises some concern that Arctic ozone depletion may worsen over the next decades if the cooling trend continues while concentrations of ozone depleting substances remain sufficiently high. [emphasis mine]

Two important take-aways:
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At the end of 2011, America, like much of the rest of the Western world, has dug deeper into a cocoon of denial.

12:16 am

“At the end of 2011, America, like much of the rest of the Western world, has dug deeper into a cocoon of denial.”

Tens of millions of Americans have yet to understand that the can can no longer be kicked down the road, because we’re all out of road. The pavement ends, and there’s just a long drop into the abyss. And, even in a state-compliant car seat, you’ll land with a bump. At this stage in a critical election cycle, we ought to be arguing about how many government departments to close, how many government programs to end, how many millions of government regulations to do away with. Instead, one party remains committed to encrusting even more barnacles to America’s rusting hulk, while the other is far too wary of harshing the electorate’s mellow.

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Occupy Albany protesters threaten a police officer and his family

9:48 pm

Thugs: After being pepper-sprayed by police during their eviction from an Albany park in which they were camping illegally, Occupy Albany protesters have responded by mounting a campaign threatening a police officer and his family.

A “wanted” poster seeking information including the home address, telephone numbers and “map to home” of Officer Richard Gorleski was posted Wednesday on a Facebook page used by Occupy Albany. Gorleski’s address and telephone numbers are not publicly listed. But Gorleski’s father, a Troy resident who has the same first name as his son, began receiving unsettling telephone calls from blocked numbers this week. Troy police said they have taken measures to keep watch on the residence.

This “Occupy Whatever” movement is not the peaceful expression of freedom of speech. It is instead terrorism, the violent effort of a few spoiled leftwing brats who believe in the use of force and violence to impose their will on everyone else, including the right to destroy anyone who disagrees with them.

Any politician who provides this kind of behavior aid or comfort should be voted out of office at the first opportunity, regardless of party.

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Six tired arguments the energy sector needs to stop using

7:45 pm

In other energy news: Six tired arguments the energy sector needs to stop using.

I like the last best:

Social good alone does not make for a viable business, even if it makes for a darn good trading strategy. For investors, if you’ve been burned, try to remember that feeling good about green energy can still make you feel very nauseous when monitoring your portfolio.

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New Rasmussen poll shows Romney beating Obama 45%-39%

10:49 am

A new Rasmussen poll shows Romney beating Obama 45%-39%.

What is more significant about the poll is how poorly Obama stacks up against every other possible candidate. Though he leads all the others, in no case does he get more than 48% of the vote. Even against a non-entity like Gary Johnson Obama only leads 42% to 27%. These numbers suggest that no matter who runs against Obama, the man is toast.

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