NPR says it’s ‘imperative’ that its federal funding not be cut
Will the squealing never stop? NPR says it’s ‘imperative’ that its federal funding not be cut.
Tag: politics
Commercial space advocates fight proposed spending cut
The Bashing of American Exceptionalism
Senate to hold hearings on NASA’s budget
I’m a denier!
An evening pause: Global warming, from a somewhat different perspective. Those who remember the 1960s TV show, The Monkees, will especially appreciate the humor of this video.
Deficit panel is recommending eliminating NASA funds to private space
Am I clairvoyant? Clark Lindsey notes how Obama’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform is recommending a $1.2 billion cut from NASA’s private commercial space budget.
EPA sued over ethanol increases in gasoline
The EPA is being sued by oil and grocery organizations over its decision to allow more corn-based ethanol in gasoline. Too bad the EPA didn’t listen to environmental organizations like Greenpeace, who say ethanol in gasoline is bad for the environment.
New airport security checks causing protests
And people wonder why I now drive from Maryland to Chicago: It appears that no one is happy with new TSA airport security checks, requiring either a full body scan or a full body pat down. Protests are coming from pilots, flight attendants, passengers, and the airlines. Key quote from the “passenger” link above:
The aggressively enhanced TSA pat down involves over-the-clothes searches of passengers’ breast and genital areas. You can opt not to go through the backscatter body scanners, and thereby keep your genitalia private from pictures, but then a TSA screener will use a front-of-the-hand, slide-down body screening that Ars Technica called “nut-busting pat-downs.”
And there’s National Opt-Out Day, November 24, 2010. (I wish I could participate, but as I said, I will be driving to Chicago for Thanksgiving, mostly to avoid the police-state of the TSA.)
Leftist cartoonist calls for armed revolution against the right
Feel the hate: Leftist cartoonist Ted Rall calls for armed revolution against conservatives. The quote below from Rall’s writing nicely summarizes what he thinks of people who disagree with him:
The millions of partisans who follow Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, and right-wing televangelists happen to be the best-armed people around, and they despise just about everyone who doesn’t think and pray like them. They will see collapse as affirmation of their beliefs that secular liberalism is destructive. They will also see it as an opportunity to create a new, ordered world atop the ashes. They will act to stop teenage sluts from getting abortions, teach niggers a lesson, and slaughter those spics, dots, and everyone else who doesn’t fit into their vision of what and who is right. [emphasis mine]
The space program is dead, long live the space industry!
The news following the midterm election results have not sounded good for NASA. Two stories on Monday alone signaled the bad news:
- Election Results Could Put NASA’s Future Under Fire
- Election could spell trouble for NASA spending plan
Earlier stories last week were no more encouraging:
- NASA could be in budget limbo for months after Tuesday’s election
- Election Result Could Increase Pressure on NASA Budget
While Republicans have, since the 1970s, generally been more enthusiastic than Democrats about NASA and manned space exploration, the new Republican Congress has a tone that seems decidedly different from past years. Above all, it appears the public is finally becoming aware of the recent explosion in the federal debt, as illustrated by the graph below. (hat tip to Gateway Pundit and The Captain’s Comments.)
The public’s growing concern about these numbers was clearly reflected in the election results. First, there was the success of many tea party candidates advocating fiscal responsibility and a radical shrinking of government. Even in cases where conservatives lost, the closeness of the election in districts or states where liberals have rarely in the past been challenged suggests the mood of the electorate is decidedly shifting in a direction against federal spending.
Second, the electorate seemed surprisingly hostile to pork, expressing little interest in being brought off with baubles for their home districts. Thus, candidates who ran against pork seemed to get far more enthusiastic attention and positive publicity than those elected officials famous for “bringing home the bacon.”
In such an atmosphere, the priorities of Congress will be forced to change. The outlook therefore does not look good for the type of pork funding represented by the NASA authorization bill passed on September 29, with its billions of subsidies for the aerospace industry.
We can see an indication of this new tone by some of the initial plans announced by the Republican leadership. As a first step, the Republicans have proposed cutting the federal budget back 2008 levels. This change alone would reduce NASA’s annual budget by about $2 billion, or 10%.
This solution, however, will not close the budget gap, only shrink it slightly. The Republicans will still be faced with massive amounts of red ink and a public demanding that they deal with it. To prove they mean what they say, the new House leadership will be forced to propose some additional draconian cuts.
Unfortunately, the circumstances at this moment has made NASA a prime budget-cutting target. » Read more
UN panel calls for more taxes in the name of climate change
Why does this sound fishy? A UN panel on Friday called for new taxes — on carbon emissions, air and sea transport, and international bank transactions — for a UN fund to help poor nations combat climate change.
NPR chief fears defunding
More squealing! The chief of NPR (who fired Juan Williams because he spoke honestly about Islam) said Sunday that the threat by Republicans to defund NPR would be “devastating to public broadcasting.”