Business, Economics, Political Commentary, Science And Society

A Man-Made Famine

5 Comments

…in America:

Fresno is the agricultural capital of America. More food per acre in more variety can be grown in the fertile Central Valley surrounding this community than on any other land in America – perhaps in the world.

Yet far from being a paradise, Fresno is starting to resemble Zimbabwe or 1930s Ukraine, a victim of a famine machine that is entirely man-made, not by red communists this time, but by greens.

That’s why they call them watermelons. There’s not much difference between green and red these days.

Political Commentary, Space

Rocket To Nowhere

7 Comments

Fox News (not just the on-line edition) has picked up the story now. Tom Jones garbles it a little, though. Congress has in fact passed a law redirecting NASA — the authorization bill that passed in September. The problem is that they haven’t followed through by either passing a new appropriation bill to allow them to implement it, or even do an anomaly on the current continuing resolution that allows NASA to move on to the new track. In fact, Congress has essentially made it impossible for NASA to follow “the law,” because it has two intrinsically incompatible laws in place. The notion that this is either NASA’s or the White House’s fault is ludicrous. While minor compared to the other legislative atrocities of this session (stimulus *cough* obamacare), it’s just one more symptom of perhaps the most dysfunctional Congress in history. The question is, what will the next one do to fix it?

Media Criticism, Political Commentary

Just In Case You Were Still Under The Delusion

9 Comments

…that Ezra Klein is intelligent, I present Exhibit A:

By the way, in case it isn’t clear, the reason these two liberals want people to believe the constitution is impossible to decipher is because they despise the constitution. Liberals want the government to have limitless power and that is in direct contrast with what the founders designed the constitution to do. Of course the constitution allows for its own amendment but liberal policies simply aren’t popular enough to garner constitutional amendments thus simply ignoring the constitution is the next best step.

This is even stupider than when John Conyers said that there was no point in reading the bill, because he wouldn’t be able to understand it. Conyers isn’t competent to legislate, and Klein isn’t competent to pontificate or at least, no one should be giving him such a big soapbox. As Glenn says, he’s credentialed, but not educated.

[Update a while later]

Well, that was quick. But it is Iowahawk, after all.

What the Constitution means to me:

The next part of the Constitution, the middle, is considered by many people to be the main most important part. However, there are other people who disagree with this interpretation, which has led to controversy and conflict. I have to say that I personally side with the people who think it is the most important, because the middle is where the main crux of the Constitution happens. For example, e.g., the middle is the part where we find the Woman’s Right to Choose and the Miranda part, which is a critical issue still today. In the middle you will also various parts about African-Americans, and especially journalism.

Finally there is the last part of the Constitution, which, as many people have noted, can be juxtaposed with the earlier parts. For people who haven’t read the Constitution, I recommend reading it all the way too the end to see how it is juxtaposed in a very important way. I don’t want to give out any “spoilers,” because it’s really amazing.

Because the Constitution is so old, it is written in the “old-timey” language of people of more than one century ago, which leads many modern people to get confused and frustrated by it. “What is this stupid boring thing?” they will ask, then go back to playing Super Mario Cart. These modern people could not be any more wrong, because hidden underneath all the “so-called” confusing words is an exciting story with twists and turns everywhere. Fortunately, and most importantly, the Founding Fathers also invented the Supreme Court which does a good job of translating the Constitution into modern words and juxtaposing them for all of us, the American people of the United States.

Oh, to aspire to be as wise as Ezra Klein. Actually, it sort of reminds me of Anne Elk’s theory about brontosauruses. Which was hers.

[Update on Friday morning]

Heh. Why is it called a Klein bottle?

That’s not really fair, though. I know other Kleins, who are probably embarrassed by Ezra.

Business, Political Commentary, Space

More People Are Noticing The NASA Problem

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Fox News has picked up the story on the rocket to nowhere:

Stifled by legislative bottlenecks, NASA will be forced to continue an already defunct rocket program until March, costing the agency half a billion dollars while adding more hurdles to the imminent task of replacing the space shuttle.

It’s always useful to note that half a billion dollars is about what SpaceX has spent to date on: creating a company, purchasing/leasing/modifying test, manufacturing and launch facilities, developing from scratch and demonstrating engines, two orbital launch systems, and a pressurized return capsule. This is the difference between NASA doing a traditional cost-plus procurement versus a fixed-price one. And it’s not just SpaceX — we’ve seen similar rapid, cost-effective progress from Boeing on their fixed-price commercial crew contract.

And of course, Shelby’s spokesman says that it’s NASA’s fault:

Shelby’s office says that there is no reason NASA can’t move forward.

“NASA is just making excuses and continuing to drag its feet, just as it has done for the past two years under the Obama administration,” Shelby spokesman Jonathan Graffeo said Wednesday.

As I note here, this isn’t NASA’s fault — it’s the fault of a Congress that has set them up to fail. They have two contradictory laws, and they can’t obey one without disobeying the other, so it’s inevitable that they will be acting illegally until Congress fixes it.

Humor, Political Commentary, Weird

Gee, Thanks, Merle

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Merle Haggard helps out the president:

When asked about Obama’s biggest misconception, Haggard, 73, said, “He’s not conceited. He’s very humble about being the president of the United States, especially in comparison to some presidents we’ve had who come across like they don’t need anybody’s help. I think he knows he’s in over his head. Anybody with any sense who takes that job and thinks they can handle it must be an idiot.”

And as we all know, Barack Obama is no idiot. Though Merle Haggard may be.

Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Popular Culture, Science And Society, Social Commentary, Weird

The Reality-Based Community

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“Liberals” are more likely than conservatives to believe in ET.

One of the annoying things about being a space policy and technology expert is that many assume that you are knowledgeable about, and have in interest it, this topic. If you’re doing a call-in show on space, it’s inevitable that someone will call in about it.

Biting Commentary about Infinity…and Beyond!

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