I like his choice of books.
[Via Virginia Postrel, the author of one of them]
[Update later morning]
Daniels thinks that he could beat Obama if he runs.
Category Archives: Business
The US Corporate Tax Rate
Yes, it is high. The corporate tax should be abolished.
When Light Bulbs Are Outlawed
…only outlaws will have light bulbs:
The Incandescent Light Bulb Freedom Act, which unanimously passed South Carolina’s Senate panel, would allow South Carolina manufacturers to continue to sell incandescent bulbs so long as they have “Made in South Carolina” on them and are sold only within the state. Other states have floated the idea, and last year Arizona passed a bill that would have done the same thing, but Governor Jan Brewer (R) vetoed the legislation.
Whether the legislation becomes law remains to be seen, and even if it does become law, lawsuits will likely ensue. Regardless, South Carolina’s efforts demonstrate the will to remove the federal government’s ability to restrict individual choice. If the compact florescent light bulb (CFL) is a better choice, consumers will make that choice without the government’s push.
But it isn’t, and they won’t, so the energy nazis must push.
Combining The Flights
NASA appears to be close to making a decision as to whether or not SpaceX will be able to take Dragon all the way to the ISS on its next flight, now tentatively scheduled for November 30th. That would be almost a year since the last flight. From the article, it’s not clear what the long pole in the tent is, but it looks like it could be problems on the NASA side, and not just development and teething issues for SpaceX. Allowing them to combine test objectives would save SpaceX on the order of a hundred million bucks, but more importantly, it will accelerate the schedule to make us less dependent on the Russians, and potentially expand ISS crew size. Once they’ve demonstrated rendezvous and docking capability, combined with the landing demonstration, all they would need to use the system as a seven-person lifeboat would be a rudimentary life support system.
Moore’s Law
The Great Irish Hunger
Lessons learned. Hint: it wasn’t a failure of the free market.
Houston, We Have An Earmark Problem
Over at Tea in Space web site, the Senate Launch System earmark is explained:
Do the senators who authored this language have more knowledge about systems engineering than NASA employees and contractors? Do the senators who authored this language have more knowledge about acoustical flight dynamics of SRBs than NASA employees and contractors? Do the senators who authored this language have more knowledge about the inherent risks and safety of SRBs than NASA employees and contractors?
They’re no rocket scientists.
How Far Is Egypt…
…from starving?
This isn’t going to end well. Revolutions in countries with large masses of illiterates rarely do, and the naive coverage of the situation, with hopeful talk of an “Arab spring,” has been appalling.
[Early afternoon update]
Things are falling apart in Egypt pretty rapidly. As Michael Totten says, the good guys are vastly outnumbered. And this administration has no plan.
Europeanizing American Space Policy
…by stealth. I have a column over at Pajamas Media this morning on the space “code of conduct.”
A Surreal Depression
Thoughts from Victor Davis Hanson. I think we’re about the same age, and I have similar memories of being told about the Depression by my parents and grandparents who lived through it. I don’t know what we’re in, but it isn’t (at least yet) a depression, though it seems as though the government is doing everything possible to get us there.