Category Archives: Political Commentary

Media Criticism, Political Commentary, War Commentary

Cantor Versus Obama

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Ron Radosh reports on another speech at AIPAC:

To great applause, Cantor said:

It is not okay to vilify Israel. It is not okay to demonize Jews. And it’s time to stop scapegoating Israel.

And to those who equate Palestinian refusal to negotiate with Israel’s necessary measures it takes to defend itself, the majority leader added:

In order for us to win this great struggle, we must have the courage to see the world not as we wish it to be, but as it truly is. It is not morally equivalent when the offenses of terrorists are equated with the defenses of Israel.

Undoubtedly, his most well-received moment was when he addressed the president’s own illusions. Cantor first noted that Palestinian culture — which Obama omitted criticizing — is laced with “resentment and hatred.” Cantor then shrewdly rebuked Obama:

[Palestinian culture is] the root of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. It is not about the ’67 lines. And until Israel’s enemies come to terms with this reality, a true peace will be impossible … If the Palestinians want to live in peace in a state of their own, they must demonstrate that they are worthy of a state.

I predict that the president is not going to raise as much Jewish money this cycle as he did in 2008, and he’s going to get a lot fewer votes.

Business, Economics, Political Commentary

In Which My Respect For Pawlenty Increases

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He’s willing to tell Iowans that we must end not only ethanol subsidies, but farming subsidies in general.

[Update a few minutes later]

That’s not all:

“Later this week, I’m going to New York City, to tell Wall Street that if I’m elected, the era of bailouts, handouts, and carve outs will be over,” Pawlenty said. “No more subsidies, no more special treatment. No more Fannie and Freddie, no more TARP, and no more ‘too big to fail.’”

He’s also planning to go to Florida tomorrow and tell affluent seniors that “we will means test Social Security’s annual cost-of-living adjustment.”

“Conventional wisdom says you can’t talk about ethanol in Iowa or Social Security in Florida or financial reform on Wall Street,” Pawlenty said. “But someone has to say it. Someone has to finally stand up and level with the American people. Someone has to lead.”

I just hope this goes over better than Fritz Mondale’s promise to raise our taxes in 1984. I think, though, that if he can survive Iowa with the ethanol stand, these positions will stand him up well with the Tea Party.

Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Space, Space History

Apollo Thoughts From The Economist

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There will be many retrospectives this week on the half-century anniversary of Kennedy’s speech. Here’s one from The Economist, that reads like they’ve been reading me for a while:

To many Americans, neglecting human space flight this way looks like a sorry end to the glorious chapter Kennedy opened half a century ago. He set out to make America’s achievements in space an emblem of national greatness, and the project succeeded. Yet it did not escape the notice of critics even at the time that this entailed an irony. The Apollo programme, which was summoned into being in order to demonstrate the superiority of the free-market system, succeeded by mobilising vast public resources within a centralised bureaucracy under government direction. In other words, it mimicked aspects of the very command economy it was designed to repudiate.

Exactly. Well, not exactly. One of the reasons that they did it this way (as I pointed out in my recent debate with Bob Zubrin) was that it wasn’t intended to be a demonstration of the free-market system:

There was a reason that Apollo ended over forty years ago. It had accomplished its mission, which was not to go to the moon, but to demonstrate that democratic socialism was superior to totalitarian communism in terms of technological prowess, which it did when Apollo 8 flew around the moon in 1968, and the Soviets gave up and pretended they had never been racing.

In any event, few people have any conception of how much Apollo warped our perception of how to explore and develop space, because they have no other framework in which to think about it. But that will change over the next few years as private entities start to show how Americans do space in a more traditional American way.

Political Commentary, War Commentary

The President’s AIPAC Speech

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Meryl Yourish live blogged it.

[Update a while later]

More thoughts from Ron Radosh:

So the question is, as I conclude, whether or not the president means it, whether or not he will backpedal in the other direction, and whether he will seek to mend matters with Prime Minister Netanyahu, rather than push him in directions Israel does not want to go. We now have evidence that in a few short days, the pressure moved the President away from the contentious trap he set before meeting PM Netanyahu. Will he now change again facing pressure from the “realists,” the anti-Israel left-wing, and the Arab nations—including those of the Arab Spring that are turning out to be vigorous enemies of Israel. Time, as usual, will tell.

All of his statements come with expiration dates.

Political Commentary, Space

The Great Space Debate

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Bob Zubrin and I rhetorically duke it out over at Pajamas Media. This exchange actually occurred several weeks ago, but it was only published this weekend.

[Update a while later]

Unfortunately, since I went first, Bob got the last word, but that’s why I have a blog. I’ll note that I find it utterly bizarre that he sees no value in orbital propellant storage (today was the first time I’ve seen his final response). Does he really think that all missions to Mars will originate from the surface of the earth, forever more? I’ll note also that he vigorously kicks the stuffing out of a strawman with talk of the problems of the orbital mechanics. It sort of reminds me of the arguments that missile defense proopponents used to make in places like Scientific American, coming up with some ridiculous way of accomplishing the thing, pointing out how ridiculous it was, and implying that there are no sensible alternatives. He doesn’t even mention Lagrange points, which obviate most of the plane-change issues.

One other thing. I think that his ad hominem attack on Jeff Greason was both gratuitous and laughable. Does he really believe that a) no one else on the Augustine panel favored propellant depots and b) that the only reason Jeff supports them is because they provide a market for a vehicle that he might build some day? Really?

[Update a couple minutes later]

In rereading his final rebuttal, I notice that he didn’t respond to much of what I had to say, particularly with regard to ending Apollo and the difficulty of doing what he wants to do, and making long-term space plans in a representative republic — he just repeated the same things he always writes.

Business, Economics, Political Commentary

Waiver Corruption

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I completely agree:

The priorities of the Obama administration and its Democratic allies are on display with every waiver granted. The list of beneficiaries in Mrs. Pelosi’s district, for example, belongs in an episode of “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.” Mrs. Pelosi, champion of the unions and no stranger to hypocrisy, has amassed a fortune as part owner of Napa Valley Auberge du Soleil resort – a luxurious nonunion shop. Now her luxury boutique colleagues also can benefit from her “do as I say” politics. The “four-diamond luxury” hotel Campton Place; Tru Spa, Allure magazine’s “best day spa in San Fransisco”; Boboquivari’s and its $59 porterhouse steaks; and Cafe des Amis, “a timeless Parisian style brasserie,” are among her beneficiaries.

The depth of corruption and mendacity of these people is unfathomable.