Some interesting thoughts from Neil Stephenson. I think he’s a little to sanguine about the prospects for using ETs, though.
Category Archives: Media Criticism
More Shuttlyndra Thoughts
…over at Open Market.
[Update a few minutes later]
Mike Griffin inadvertently explains why we don’t need a heavy-lift vehicle.
The Smart
…and the dumb:
The president’s reaction? “He turned to me and said, ‘Oil and gas will be important for the next few years. But we need to go on to green and alternative energy. [Energy] Secretary [Steven] Chu has assured me that within five years, we can have a battery developed that will make a car with the equivalent of 130 miles per gallon.’” Mr. Hamm holds his head in his hands and says, “Even if you believed that, why would you want to stop oil and gas development? It was pretty disappointing.”
I guess I’d be disappointed, if I had had any expectations of brilliance on his part. But I never had any reason to, other than the bien pensant telling me I should.
Shuttlyndra
My thoughts on the latest (or repeating) crony-capitalism boondoggle, over at Pajamas Media.
The Telephone Transcripts For “Fast And Furious”
Iowahawk has found them:
Now… now Juan… let’s just calm down here a minute. Just, okay.. okay… let me please explain, okay? See, the funny thing is, it turns out, a couple years back there was, well, this stimulus program money, and then there were these brainstorming sessions, where, well, there were some ideas what to do with it. So, anyhoo, one of the ideas that happened was, ‘hey, what if there were, say, 2000 machine guns that got sent to Mexican drug lords?’ and so forth.
Well no, of course we couldn’t tell you. It would have ruined the surprise.
Well, okay, I guess the gato is out of the ol’ bag-o. You know that drug cartel war problem you’ve been having? So, well, the idea was, hey, wouldn’t it be great if somehow we could put a trace on the machine guns, and then, surprise! It’d be a like a whole pinata full of drug lord information.
Mmhm.
Why? Well see, if we traced all the machine guns we gave to your drug lords, then we could all learn how your drug lords get their machine guns.
Well, Juan, yes, certainly, that’s one hypothesis. But I mean besides from us.
Tracers?
Oh, those tracers. See, the funny thing is – and this is such a hoot – someone forgot to buy batteries for them. You know how it is when you buy those Christmas presents, and it’s like “batteries not included,” and…
Now, Juan – Juan – now, just a minute here, you don’t have take that tone of voice. This isn’t all about you.
Well, come on now, Juan, imagine how terrible I feel about this whole situation! And not just me. Eric, and all the bureau heads, all down the line. Look, I didn’t want to spoil another surprise, but we were all planning to chip in and get you a comprehensive immigration reform package to help cheer you up.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, there amigo! Let’s not get carried away there with the blamestorming. Just because I feel bad about this, don’t go trying to pin this one on me!
Huh?
Well, frankly, I don’t know. I mean, in the grand scheme of things, can anybody say that anybody else is to blame? Even if that were possible, would it bring anybody back to life? Believe me, if I could build some magical time machine and go back to 2009 and say, ‘hey guys, let’s stop this thing,” I would. But both of us need to stop living in fantasy world.
Let’s not bicker and argue over ‘oo killed ‘oo.
Thoughts On “Soft” America
An open letter to the president.
[Update a few minutes later]
The Obama brand of liberalism not only is likely to contribute to a “softer” America, but a soft-headed America as well. We condemn tea-partiers and veterans as racists and potential terrorists but we release actual terrorists from Guantanamo because the evident cruelties of that country-club facility are too terrible to bear. We demonize the hard-won, self-made success of risk-takers, but shovel millions of their hard-earned dollars to prop up the uncompetitive but politically correct enterprises of the well-connected. Government policies proliferate that punish effort, risk, and success but reward sloth, identity, and failure.
Soft America calls a 26-year-old a “child” under Obamacare, but court martials him if he’s a Navy SEAL who slaps a vicious terrorist in the course of capture. Soft America promotes the expansion of speech codes on college campuses so as not to give offense to anyone or anything but the First Amendment. Soft America spends $4 trillion to no effect and then asks for more. Soft America works diligently to turn the societal safety net into a hammock. Soft America bows to tyrants but lectures allies. Soft America waters down our history to give minor or even inconsequential figures as much play as giants. Soft America eschews absolutes, derides standards, ridicules heroes, and scoffs at virtue.
Say, didn’t Michael Barone write a book about this? I think he did
Here There Be Dragons
Live Free
…or die. The latest Afterburner from Bill Whittle. Should the Reno Air Races be ended? Are we a nation of adults, or overgrown children?
Slowing The Economy
Jennifer Granholm’s Perfect Bad Example
It’s easy to blame her for Michigan’s woes, but my home state has to own up to the fact that they voted for her:
With this kind of record, most politicos might take refuge in prudence. Not Ms. Granholm. Today she is running around the nation selling a book and a message. The book is called “A Governor’s Story: The Fight for Jobs and America’s Economic Future.” Her message—that Granholm’s Michigan shows the way forward—has been taken seriously in all the places you might expect: the New York Times and Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.”
At the top of Ms. Granholm’s claims is that she knows that low taxes and lean government are no prescription for growth because she tried supply-side and found it wanting. To prove her point, her appendix lists 99 business and 17 individual “tax cuts” she approved. She notes likewise that both state spending and the number of state employees dropped during her time.
In fact, almost all Ms. Granholm’s “tax cuts” are tax credits or other forms of tax preferences. A less delicate way of saying this is that far from reducing rates for everyone, Ms. Granholm played favorites. That meant a more complicated tax code where trendy businesses (green jobs, anyone?) that would fail without subsidies are effectively underwritten by non-favored businesses and other taxpayers.
A good plan, as always. Not.