Category Archives: Media Criticism

Business, Economics, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Social Commentary, Space, Technology and Society, War Commentary

A Space-Socialist Republican

22 Comments

Greg Autry is sort of singing my tune:

If NASA were compelled to “downselect” Commercial Crew to a single vendor, Washington power politics would clearly favor Boeing’s CST-100 capsule, a luxurious spacecraft, that while it has never flown, is on track for some unmanned flights to the ISS in about three years. This leisurely development schedule puts no pressure on SLS. While it is surely coincidently that both the SLS and CST-100 programs are headquartered in Houston, we are lucky to have Messrs. La Branche and Culberson standing between us and the utter chaos of free market competition.

…Frankly, DragonRider could fly to the ISS next month if it were subject to the same expectations of safety as NASA’s Space Shuttle. A truly conservative response to Mr. Rogozin would be to announce that the United States is ready to move a DragonRider launch forward without further testing, send eight Navy Seals to the ISS and “liberate” our space station from Russia’s state capitalist squatters.

Well, I wouldn’t go quite that far. But that’s Greg.

Business, Culinary, Education, Health, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Science And Society

The Big Fat Latest Review

3 Comments

Ancel Benjamin Keys may be responsible for more premature death and suffering of Americans than anyone in history.

As someone said on Twitter:

[Update a few minutes later]

Here’s probably the ultimate review, from Michael Eades:

I want to write a review so good it inspires everyone to buy the book immediately and read it. Why? Because I think it is one of the most important books on nutrition ever written. Maybe the most important. And I feel a responsibility to inspire as many people as I can to get their hands on it.

…this book is so brimming with valuable information that I was almost paralyzed in trying to figure out which parts to excerpt. A book review always comes with excerpts, and this book presented me with such a bounty of choices, it took me forever to decide which to use.

Considering the source, that’s pretty high praise.

Business, Economics, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Technology and Society

Crony Capitalism

10 Comments

The GOP needs to fight it by becoming the party of innovation:

This revelation, that new small businesses primarily create jobs and economic growth, demands a complete rethinking of economic policy for the United States. If Republicans understand this and thereby embrace the mantle of innovation, not only will they be expediting a new wave of ingenuity, but they will also share credit with entrepreneurs for the next tech boom.

This requires creating a regulatory and legal climate that fosters “permission-less innovation.” True innovators often can’t afford—either in terms of money or mental energy—to hire lobbyists and change the law. Entrepreneurs should not be wasting their start-up capital on lawyers, consultants, and PAC donations.

Given the stakes—the future of the economy—a political party that is not serious about technology and innovation is a party that is not serious about economic growth and job creation. Thus far, the Republican Party is not serious about technology and innovation. Republicans talk about regulatory reform but in practice do little about it.

Good luck with that, for the Stupid Party.

Media Criticism, Political Commentary

The IRS

4 Comments

…and its media firewall:

The paper noted that the House was to vote Thursday to create a select committee to investigate the Sept. 11, 2012 Benghazi attack and allegations of a cover-up. Again, the spin:

“Republicans have raised a delicate set of questions and opened themselves up to accusations that they are politicizing a tragedy that cost four Americans their lives and misusing congressional oversight authority for gain in an election year.”

Hear that? It wasn’t the people who got four Americans killed or who covered their own butts with brazen lies for the last two years who are on the hot seat. It’s the ones trying to get to the truth.

They literally can’t handle the truth.

History, Media Criticism, Political Commentary

Truth Seeking In Benghazi

48 Comments

The Democrats need a Howard Baker.

Unfortunately, Democrats with principles (other than political victory) seem to not exist.

I would note that the Republicans took a long time to finally get on the ball, compared to Watergate. This August will be the fortieth anniversary of Nixon’s resignation, at exactly the same time in the presidential cycle that Obama’s in now.

[Update a few minutes later]

Where was Obama?

Americans have a right to know where their president was while a terrorist attack was taking place — and the daily diary will provide that information. There will be a record if Obama held a secure video teleconference (SVTC) with his military commanders in the region or even spoke with them by phone. There will be a record if he met or spoke with his national security adviser to discuss the unfolding attack, and how many times he did so. If properly kept, the logs will show precisely what Obama was doing — whether he was carefully monitoring events on the ground or was otherwise occupied.

…During Watergate, Richard Nixon had his infamous 18 1/2-minute gap. When it comes to Benghazi, Obama has an eight-hour gap. That gap needs to be closed.

If Obama has nothing to hide, then he has nothing to fear.

I think it’s similar to his unwillingness to release his college transcripts. Or let people see the Khalidi birthday-party video. There’s something there they don’t want us to see.

Culinary, Health, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Science And Society

Nutritional Ignorance

4 Comments

On a bi-partisan basis:

The federal government has excluded only one fresh vegetable from the WIC program: the fresh white potato. This makes no sense and, in fact, ignores the latest nutritional science.

Because some people don’t differentiate between french fries and baked potatoes, the potato has gotten a bad rap. We believe a balance can be found that preserves the integrity of programs such as WIC while also ensuring that the most updated facts are being used to determine the best nutrients for Americans — including from the potato.

Sorry, senators, but this is nonsense. The problem with french fries isn’t the fat (particularly if it’s saturated fat, though unfortunately McDonalds got mau maued into ending the use of tallow decades ago): It’s the potatoes themselves, which are high glycemic.

Business, Economics, Mathematics, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Science And Society, Social Commentary

The Antarctic Ice Sheet

19 Comments

OK, there seems to be a Twitter panic going on, so I went and read Alan Boyle’s story about it. That was the first time I heard that (even if the models are valid) the problem is two hundred years off.

Isn’t there anyone out there who understands discount rates?

[Update a while later]

Here’s more detail from John Timmer:

Even in the short term, the new findings should increase our estimates for sea level rise by the end of the century, the scientists suggest. But the ongoing process of retreat and destabilization will mean that the area will contribute to rising oceans for centuries.

Sorry, but I’m not going to worry about “rising oceans for centuries” today. Even the end of the century is effectively discounted to zero. It’s economically insane to reduce economic growth now to prevent something that won’t happen for decades.

[Late afternoon update]

As I noted on Twitter earlier: