A discussion over at Slashdot. As a commenter notes, it’s not very smart politics to go against the wishes of the incoming chairman of the appropriations subcommittee. I’d really like to know what the White House thinks. I think that it’s time for Charlie Bolden to go, though, as I’ve said, it will be tough to replace him, particularly in the current heated political environment.
Category Archives: Political Commentary
Heretic
Why Hal Lewis resigned from the American Physical Society.
Was it always this politicized?
Narcissist Alert
It’s always about him:
At one point, he warned his crowd of supporters to get out to vote in order to prevent his own embarrassment in November: “Don’t make me look bad, now.” Since he is not up for reelection, apparently the president means that the slaughter of perhaps 50 Democratic congressional representatives and 8-10 senators will reflect poorly upon himself. Of course it will, but he might have instead phrased his dilemma in terms of worry about his supporters’ fates rather than his own, inasmuch as most all voted for his agenda, despite the fact that almost all elements of it polled poorly with the American people. After November, many will be out of a job, not he — and yet his concern seems to be the public perception of his own godhead, not their unemployment.
Have we ever had a president so self absorbed? Since Bill Clinton, that is?
Leftist Misogynists
Kirsten Powers has noticed who really hates women. It’s nothing new. Seventies feminism was largely a reaction to the male chauvinist pigs among the campus left.
More Lost Moon
Paul Spudis isn’t very happy with the NASA authorization bill. I don’t think it’s great, myself, but it’s much less disastrous than the House version would have been. I agree with Clark Lindsey’s critique of Paul’s post (and not just because he quoted me).
The Latest Licensing Outrage
…from the IRS. Just typical rent seeking by big business, which doesn’t generally have any interest in free markets when it can bribe the government to shut down the competition.
This is the reason why the Founders wanted limited government.
What Are The Tea Parties About?
Bill Whittle (apparently no longer at PJTV) explains. The first of a series.
Green Fervor
Red blood. More thoughts on the ecofascist snuff film, and the insularity of the politically correct:
This isn’t a joke for the benefit of you and me. No, this is a knee-slapper for those already committed to the cause. The subtext is, “Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could just get rid of these tiresome, inconvenient people?” That’s why they’re blown up without anyone trying to change their minds. That’s the joke: “Enough with these idiots already.”
How else to explain the fact that this thing went through the entire pre-production and filming process, was undoubtedly screened by any number of people — most likely including sponsors and PR people — and none of them said, “Are you nuts? We can’t go public with this.”
That’s the outrage here: not that they thought normal people would find it funny, but that the producers and sponsors clearly did think it was funny. It’s like one of those ugly inside jokes high-school cliques share that instantly become horrendous when outsiders find out about them. In their arrogance and insularity, they didn’t realize that their inside joke wasn’t appropriate for mixed company. Imagine Curtis’s horror when he discovered no one was laughing outside the green bunker.
One wonders if he’s learned anything from it.
A Warning Letter To America
An interesting interview with Daniel Hannan, who is clearly American in spirit, and much more so than the current resident of the White House.
Carbon Action Day
Iowahawk has a contest to increase your carbon footprint. I’m going to go for heavy breathing, myself, though if I had the money, I’d hire a private jet.