Transterrestrial Musings

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Not to mention the fact that as a former UN ambassador, he was unaware that France was a permanent member of the Security Council.

The statement in the link is ambiguous, saying only that an audience member reminded him of it. Had he said anything to indicate ignorance of the fact, surely it would have been quoted.

But it's hard to take his campaign seriously, when you read about things like this.

What's wrong with it?

If you can't develop a coherent policy position on arguably the most important issue facing the nation

Has anyone in the race other than Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich articulated a coherent policy on Iraq?

or manage a campaign properly, why should we trust you to run the country?

Isn't that a little fallacious? New Mexico seems to be doing pretty well, and he clearly knows how to handle himself in office. On the other hand, perhaps it wasn't wise to pick this particular election to make his move, taking on both Lady Macbeth and John F. Kennedy's ghola.

Posted by Brian Swiderski at June 20, 2007 09:59 AM

For the record, here is Rudy Giuliani's position on what Rand say may be "the most important issue facing the nation"

Link

“What I was trying to do was to look at the things, as best as you can predict it now, that are going to be there a year and a half from now,” he said. “Iraq may get better; Iraq may get worse. We may be successful in Iraq; we may not be. I don’t know the answer to that. That’s in the hands of other people. But what we do know for sure is the terrorists are going to be at war with us a year, a year and a half from now.”

Shorter Rudy: "Iraq? Not my problem. I'm too busy play-acting Jack Bauer."

No one has a coherent policy on Iraq and that is a bi-partisan statement.

Posted by Bill White at June 20, 2007 10:30 AM

Bill,
I'm kind of with Brian. There are candidates with coherent policies on Iraq. They're just coherent policies that Rand and many others disagree with.

~Jon

Posted by Jonathan Goff at June 20, 2007 12:26 PM

And also, if you could have a certified Space Nut in the White House, why care about anything else? If the fascists had been serious about the "Vision," I would have emulated von Braun and kept my mouth shut, but unfortunately (like everything they say) it was just intended as a sick joke.

Posted by Brian Swiderski at June 20, 2007 01:30 PM

If the fascists had been serious about the "Vision," I would have emulated von Braun and kept my mouth shut, but unfortunately (like everything they say) it was just intended as a sick joke.

Whenever I read frothing from leftist whackos about "the fascists," I imagine them red faced and prone on the floor, pounding and kicking it in incoherent rage.

Posted by Rand Simberg at June 20, 2007 01:37 PM

It always strikes me that there is no investigation into the cost of Richardson's
shuttle diplomacy in N. Korea, Cuba, Sudan, &
Iraq in the mid 90s. What was promised to elder
Kim, Turabi, & Saddam; for their release of prisoners. What did Richardson agree to in regards
to Castro in the monthes before the BTR shootdown

Posted by narciso at June 20, 2007 02:15 PM

Bill White shoudl know that on 9/11, Rudy was not play acting.

Posted by MarkWhittington at June 20, 2007 03:01 PM

Rudy will milk 9/11 until his hands bleed. Unlike Bloomberg, Rudy isn'r thought of very highly in NYC. The man gets quite a lot of undeserved praise.

Posted by Offside at June 20, 2007 03:14 PM

Unlike Bloomberg, Rudy isn'r thought of very highly in NYC.

Says who? I know that a lot of liberals profess to hate him, but they also have to admit that he cleaned the place up.

The man gets quite a lot of undeserved praise.

He didn't clean up the city?

I'm not a big Rudy fan, but I do think that if he'd run against Hillary in 2000, he'd have won, and not in a squeaker.

Posted by Rand Simberg at June 20, 2007 03:19 PM

Whenever I read frothing from leftist whackos about "the fascists," I imagine them red faced and prone on the floor, pounding and kicking it in incoherent rage.

LMAO! Imagine away, Rand. But I was making a point here that apparently went right over your head: Space, politically speaking, should trump everything if we are serious about it. Now, that doesn't mean voting for whoever is least unsupportive by some marginal increment; but if choices ever come down to a certified Space Nut whom we know will deliver vs. someone who isn't or won't, we should ignore all other issues.

Even though I think Newt Gingrich is a lying, two-bit Joe McCarthy clone with the ethics of a Turkish prison warden, I would vote for him against Hillary Clinton IF I were convinced he wouldn't chicken out like he did as Speaker. That's a moot point, of course, since he won't be nominated, but we should all be more serious about this. Richards isn't going to be nominated either, but if there was a chance that he could, I would pick him and forego the pleasure of enraging Southerners with a black president.

A lot of people agree in theory that space is an imperative, but most don't reflect that in how they go about promoting it. There's no sense of urgency whatsoever, and those who are dedicated enough to be activists approach the issue like devoted hobbyists rather than serious people. Look at how fractured and marginal the activist community is--we may agree rhetorically on the broad strokes, but we don't act like people going about the business of the species. Look how worked up people get over nothing--abortion, gay marriage, celebrity scandals--and we don't even show that kind of passion for something we know to be more important than all the wars, religions, and social struggles on Earth put together. The few who do show that kind of seriousness, e.g. Zubrin, can barely convince a few dozen people to visit Congress once a year. It's bloody demoralizing, and space advocates should recognize that most of us are poseurs and get serious.

Posted by Brian Swiderski at June 20, 2007 04:55 PM

... I would pick him and forego the pleasure of enraging Southerners with a black president.

Swiderski the King-maker! Controller of All Votes!

A lot of people agree in theory that space is an imperative

I'm not sure many would agree that it is THE ONLY imperative, and that every other issue is so miniscule and subordinate that they don't even count.

Space as merely AN imperative, to be balanced against bagatelles such as national security, may be seen as either 'unserious', or 'realistic'.

Posted by Crispytoast at June 20, 2007 05:48 PM

A lot of people agree in theory that space is an imperative

I'm not sure many would agree that it is THE ONLY imperative, and that every other issue is so miniscule and subordinate that they don't even count.

And even people who think it's the only imperative might want to see a viable plan rather than simply throwing money at the issue like a monkey through feces at visitors.

Neither Gingrich nor Richardson support the Swidey plan (cancel the Defense Department and increase NASA's budget to $360 billion a year).

So far as I can tell, there's only one person on this planet who thinks that's a good idea.

Posted by Edward Wright at June 20, 2007 06:11 PM

"... I would pick him and forego the pleasure of enraging Southerners with a black president."

Yeah, we hate black civic leaders down here in Klanville. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get my hoods out of the dryer before they wrinkle. I hate ironing, don't you? (I love it when Yankees sneer about the "South" as if no black people lived here.)

Posted by Andrea Harris at June 20, 2007 07:04 PM

Don't mind Swiderski, Andrea. He's the village bigot. And idiot.

Posted by Rand Simberg at June 20, 2007 07:08 PM

Mark -

Rudy was "too busy" fundraising to bother joining the Iraq Study Group.

If Rudy were serious about "the most important issue facing America" perhaps he could have spared a little time to actually gather some facts and insight, whether or not he ended up in agreement with James Baker.

Maybe he could have influenced the ISG report in a manner more acceptable to the Administration.

But, he was "too busy" and even noted leftie Jonah Golberg agrees his excuses are lame.

Posted by Bill White at June 20, 2007 07:32 PM

Bill, why are you so obsessed with Rudy Giuliani that you have to hijack a thread to whine about him?

I'm used to your hijacking threads, having endured years of it, but Giuliani? What's up with that? Don't you think you ought to get a life? We know that Swiderski has nothing better to do than troll my comments section, but you're supposed to have a job.

Posted by Rand Simberg at June 20, 2007 07:38 PM

To demonstrate that Bill Richardson is not unique in being clueless about Iraq. Every current POTUS candidate is clueless about Iraq.

And it was Mark who continued the tangent. Let him open up comments and I could have gone there.

Posted by Bill White at June 20, 2007 08:50 PM

"Let him open up comments and I could have gone there."

Bill, is that threat supposed to motivate me to allow comments? (g)

Posted by MarkWhittington at June 20, 2007 09:24 PM

Crispytoast: Swiderski the King-maker!

Barack Obama would win if nominated, period. The RNC sleaze legion can defeat a mediocrity like John Kerry is and Al Gore was, but Obama wields a personal magnetism that exceeds even Bill Clinton. Republicans would be driven to frenzy by it, and utterly destroy any chances they have.

Space as merely AN imperative, to be balanced against bagatelles such as national security, may be seen as either 'unserious', or 'realistic'.

Right. Survival of the human species must be balanced against national security, tax policy, and a candidate's position on Jeeeeeeezus.

Ed Wright: And even people who think it's the only imperative might want to see a viable plan rather than simply throwing money at the issue like a monkey through feces at visitors.

We're all aware of your theory that zero money = infinite return on investment, Ed.

Neither Gingrich nor Richardson support the Swidey plan (cancel the Defense Department and increase NASA's budget to $360 billion a year).

Nobody's perfect.

So far as I can tell, there's only one person on this planet who thinks that's a good idea.

How many did you ask?

Andrea: Yeah, we hate black civic leaders down here in Klanville.

I've been to Georgia, Andrea. Don't play the game of trying to pass off Atlanta as representative.

Rand: He's the village bigot. And idiot.

Hey, the job was open when you went pro.

Posted by Brian Swiderski at June 20, 2007 09:58 PM

"I've been to Georgia, Andrea. Don't play the game of trying to pass off Atlanta as representative."

And I lived in South Carolina for 4 years, so I'll offer you a nice cup of STFU.

Posted by Rick C at June 21, 2007 08:19 AM

I see your 4 years in SC Rick and raise with 45 years living in SC.
BS is a frigging idiot, he obviously has no idea that even in the South it is the year 2007 and not 1957. "I've been to Georgia", what a moronic statement as if visiting a state once makes him an expert.

Posted by Cecil Trotter at June 21, 2007 09:18 AM

Rick: And I lived in South Carolina for 4 years

Then why aren't you still there? Must have been hard to leave all that "hospitality."

I'll offer you a nice cup of STFU.

That seems to be a popular drink in the South.

Cecil: BS is a frigging idiot, he obviously has no idea that even in the South it is the year 2007 and not 1957.

I was there in 2003, and it's you folks who need to consult a calendar. Because the Klan isn't riding around hanging people anymore, you think you're cosmopolitan? I heard the N word more from white people in their '20s and '30s just walking past on the street, in restaurants, in bars, and in grocery stores than from black people in California. At first I was concerned about who would overhear, but no need to worry--never saw any black folks in those parts of town.

I've been to Georgia", what a moronic statement as if visiting a state once makes him an expert.

Never claimed to be an expert, but you know a lot more about the ocean swimming in it than drowning in it. But for some reason your logic doesn't apply when you want to make a statement about countries you've never visited or even researched, and then accuse me of bigotry for telling the truth about places I have been. That too is typical Southerner, Cecil.

Posted by Brian Swiderski at June 21, 2007 10:54 AM

Hey, the job was open when you went pro.

Stupid troll, can't even come up with a good come back after being called an idiot.

Posted by Leland at June 21, 2007 11:20 AM

BS: "I was there in 2003"

Wow! Another visit, another entire state categorized by your astonishing powers of observation!

BS: "I heard the N word more from white people in their '20s and '30s just walking past on the street, in restaurants, in bars, and in grocery stores than from black people in California. "

I'll just call you liar on that one. I've lived in SC my entire life and I've never experienced that.

BS: "make a statement countries you've never visited"

There you go assuming again.

BS "That too is typical Southerner, Cecil."

How "progressive" of you to paint an entire region with such a narrow brush.

With your every post here you continue to prove what a hypocrite you truly are. I would never assume everyone in your state were an asshole just because you are.

Posted by Cecil Trotter at June 21, 2007 11:48 AM

Leland: Stupid troll, can't even come up with a good come back after being called an idiot.

I'm not insulted when an infant pees on me, Leland. I just deal with it.

Cecil: Wow! Another visit, another entire state categorized by your astonishing powers of observation!

No amount of credibility would be enough for you on this, Cecil. I could tell you about my friend of Chinese descent who had spent a year of high school in Atlanta, but you would call him a bigot too. Or my relative who tried to set up a business in Alabama, and his experiences, but I guess his optimism and naivete were also "bigotry." Then my own experiences, across 500 miles of Dixie, were all just coincidences and unfair judgment. Everyone is a liar or godless Yankee who doesn't grasp the Southern concept of "shut ya mouth" that's served their culture so well for so long.

I'll just call you liar on that one. I've lived in SC my entire life and I've never experienced that.

I've never been to South Carolina. The remark I responded to only regarded the South in general, and I was talking specifically about Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia.

There you go assuming again.

Oh, so you make it a point to personally live in a foreign country for years before you utter a single negative thing about it? That's quite admirable, Cecil.

How "progressive" of you to paint an entire region with such a narrow brush.

The region paints itself with a narrow brush with its endemic intolerance and rigid culture. It teaches people to look for excuses to degrade anyone who deviates in the slightest from the narrow parameters of what's acceptable, but corruption, ignorance, racism, and laziness won't get you ostracized down there. No, you have to not believe in God; or believe in a different God; or look like a "furrener"; or be an intellectual; or liberal; or conspicuously tolerant of people you're not supposed to associate with. That's the Southern idea of immorality.

With your every post here you continue to prove what a hypocrite you truly are. I would never assume everyone in your state were an asshole just because you are.

Even now, you still haven't learned a damn thing. I could explain to you the difference between honesty and dishonesty, prejudice and fairness until the cows come home, but you would just get angrier and more resentful, and find more excuses to feel insulted like every Southerner is taught. The closest thing to criticism of the South you will accept is silence, but I don't give a shit. You chose to take umbrage at a simple remark and make this an issue, so now you eat the truth whether you like the taste or not.

Posted by Brian Swiderski at June 21, 2007 03:50 PM

Isn't that a little fallacious? New Mexico seems to be doing pretty well,

You obviously don't live here.

Posted by Frantic Freddie at June 21, 2007 04:40 PM

BS: "I responded to only regarded the South in general"

Yeah, I noticed that. You should run for "Mr Sweeping Generalization" or maybe " Mr Stereotype".

BS: "so you make it a point to personally live in a foreign country for years"

So I take it that since you run your mouth about Iraq a lot you must have lived there, right moron?

BS: "The region paints itself..."

You know NOTHING about "the region".

BS: "you still haven't learned a damn thing"

Not from you, that is sure. Other than the fact that you're an idiot. We have all learned that.

Posted by Cecil Trotter at June 21, 2007 05:05 PM

My, one visit to Georgia and he knows everything about the south. And he swears he heard white people saying "nigger" in the streets -- though he doesn't say where this is, just "Georgia." Well, I've lived in Florida my entire life and have been through Georgia more times than I can count (no, not just to Atlanta), and used to spend every summer at my grandmother's place in North Carolina, when we took regular trips to see her friends in South Carolina, and my parents were from Tennessee and Washington DC (when it was a southern town, before it became the cosmopolitan place it is today).... and I can tell you that even back in the days of my parents' childhood, only white trash would dare say "nigger" openly in the streets. So I wonder just what sort of Georgian establishment Mr. Swiderski was patronizing.

On the other hand, the n-word is as ubiquitous as "hello" in the black community. It's used as a greeting, a nickname for friends ("along with "dawg") and a pejorative. But no white person, no matter how into the thug-lifestyle he was, would dare say the word where another black person would hear him.

By the way, the most prejudiced people about race that I've met have tended to be from up north. Communities in the northern states seem to be more insular -- I can't tell you how many native New Yorkers I've met who tell me that while they lived in the city they only associated with their own kind (there is a girl of Colombian/Puerto Rican extraction who never met a "white person" until she joined the army, and there is another coworker who can't get over all the interracial marriages she's seen since she moved to Florida -- she's from Pennsylvania, where it's apparently the mark of a real avant-garde, daring sort of person to marry someone from another race.)

Posted by Andrea Harris at June 21, 2007 06:48 PM

Cecil: You should run for "Mr Sweeping Generalization" or maybe " Mr Stereotype".

AKA the Republican presidential primary.

So I take it that since you run your mouth about Iraq a lot you must have lived there, right moron?

That's your standard, Cecil. You're telling me that my views and experiences are irrelevant because they aren't on the timescale of years, so either you've spent years living abroad or you're engaging in flagrant hypocrisy. Moreover, we both know your objections are dishonest--you wouldn't accept what I'm saying if I had lived in the South for a decade.

You know NOTHING about "the region".

Alright then, Stonewall. Educate me about your adventures in Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. Tell me all about how I've got it all wrong, it's really a very sweet, lovable, humanistic region where confident, assertive, hardworking people see past their differences and solve problems. Then tell me why the only people who seem to think so are bitter, umbrageous conservatives exactly fitting my impression of the place.

Andrea: My, one visit to Georgia and he knows everything about the south.

Burn all the straw men you wish, it won't make a dent in my experiences or those related to me by others. You go on to describe some of your own, but how do they change or mitigate mine or those of people I know personally? I had listened to remarks like yours in deciding to go there in the first place, thinking maybe it had changed since my friend and cousin had been there.

And he swears he heard white people saying "nigger" in the streets -- though he doesn't say where this is, just "Georgia."

Most of it was in Alabama, but in Georgia I was mainly in Douglas County. It wasn't constant, and certainly not a general thing, but it kept popping up in multiple places over a short period of time. If I described the people who said it, you could easily think I was just reciting stereotypes, but they were all over the place.

and I can tell you that even back in the days of my parents' childhood, only white trash would dare say "nigger" openly in the streets.

If I had used the term "white trash" to describe these pricks, I don't think your reaction would have been more positive.

So I wonder just what sort of Georgian establishment Mr. Swiderski was patronizing.

I didn't go on a freak show tour in search of Billy Ray's Confederate Redneck Joint, if that's what you mean. These places were mainstream businesses frequented by families and/or the expected clientele.

On the other hand, the n-word is as ubiquitous as "hello" in the black community.

I was referring to black Californians in general, not teenagers. Most frown on it.

By the way, the most prejudiced people about race that I've met have tended to be from up north.

I know what you're talking about, and it's a totally different problem. New Yorkers are extremely cliquish, but there are (a)dozens of different ethnic and class cliques, and (b)a massive amount of overlap anyway. And no matter how rude they are on the street, how much they complain, or how much trash they talk, I've always noticed between New Yorkers a sense of kinship that crosses all boundaries. I've never seen or heard evidence of anything similar in the South, or indeed anywhere else in America.

and there is another coworker who can't get over all the interracial marriages she's seen since she moved to Florida

Yes, and California is even more that way, but that's simply a reflection of nonchalance. People in California and Florida aren't crammed into a small area, competing for scarce jobs to pay exorbitant living expenses. As there are even fewer social stressors at work in the South, there's no excuse whatsoever for the way people are treated. The resentments of white Southerners come from absolutely nowhere, have no reason for existing at all, and are kept alive only for their own sake. Nor do they seem mitigated by any sentiment of mutual struggle as in the Northeast. New York wouldn't be itself without the blacks, Italians, Irish, Jews, Puerto Ricans, etc., and most New Yorkers recognize that, but there's none of that sentiment in the South. "Southern" means WASP, and everyone else is just extraneous to that identity.

she's from Pennsylvania, where it's apparently the mark of a real avant-garde, daring sort of person to marry someone from another race.

Whereas, in many parts of the South, it remains potentially dangerous. Alabama changed its constitution just a handful of years ago to permit interracial marriage, and forty percent of its citizens were against the change. In the 21st century, forty percent of Alabamians thought it should be illegal to marry outside your race. And while the rest of the South may not be quite so histrionic about it, interracial marriages remain highly unusual down there. BTW, I don't consider Florida to be a Southern state, though much of it conforms to that cultural bloc.

Posted by Brian Swiderski at June 21, 2007 11:38 PM

Alabama changed its constitution just a handful of years ago to permit interracial marriage, and forty percent of its citizens were against the change. In the 21st century, forty percent of Alabamians thought it should be illegal to marry outside your race. And while the rest of the South may not be quite so histrionic about it, interracial marriages remain highly unusual down there. BTW, I don't consider Florida to be a Southern state, though much of it conforms to that cultural bloc.

Heh. Impartial observer says Brian won this one. Can't argue with the stats as an indicator of prejudice. Man, they must hate Tiger Woods.

Posted by Offside at June 22, 2007 07:44 AM

Man, they must hate Tiger Woods.

No. They hate Jeff Gordan, a white guy who drives fast cars and married a white woman.

Speaking of statistics, how's integration going in New England? Vermont is down to what, 97% white and .5% black. That's like a multi-cultural rainbow, isn't it. I hope when Vermont drops down to 95% like West Virginia, the whites don't state electing klan leaders to public office.

Posted by Leland at June 22, 2007 08:16 AM

Vermont is down to what, 97% white and .5% black.

down, as in from when it was much higher before we drove the blacks South? Forgot about that.

Heh.

Posted by Offside at June 22, 2007 08:53 AM

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