Thoughts on socialized medicine, and freedom, from Bill Whittle and others.
Category Archives: Political Commentary
Obama’s Failed Gamble
Obama wagered that the deluge of money coming from the Federal Reserve would do the heavy lifting as far as stabilizing the financial sector and keeping the already apparent recession from turning into a real disaster. Voters would, thus, continue to support his policies to assert more government control over healthcare, heavily regulate energy through a costly cap-and-trade program and further intervene into the financial industry.
The gamble appears to have failed miserably, both economically and politically. The terrible tale of the tape: a) the current downturn is arguably the worse since the Great Depression; b) household wealth has fallen by $14 trillion during the past two years, including the first quarter of 2009; c) while the economy may not shrink as much this quarter as it did in the previous three months (-5.7 percent) or the final quarter of 2008 (-6.3 percent), unemployment is soaring; d) Obama himself said the jobless rate will hit 10 percent this year; d) even worse, the Federal Reserve sees it approaching 11 percent next year. (Recall, that the original White House economic analysis of the Obama economic plan never saw unemployment exceeding 8 percent if Obamanomics was passed by Congress.)
While I don’t mind him failing, since his policy goals are disastrous, I’m furious that it’s wrecking the economy anyway.
A Victim Of Obama’s Heavy Hand
The widow of the assassinated fly is suing the president:
“Bob was a wonderful husband and provider,” said the widow, Mrs. Vivian Vvzzvzwwzzz, wiping tears from her compound eyes. “Even though he was always busy at the Rose Garden turd pile, he always flew home in time to tuck in our maggots.”
The 17-day old widow said the grieving process since the murder has taken its toll.
“Although it’s been nearly 48 hours, I still get an empty feeling in my thorax everytime I think about it,” she said. “I feel like I’ve aged an entire week. Mating season is over, and here I am, stuck trying to raise 532 larvae on my own.”
Let’s just hope that the president doesn’t try to intimidate any witnesses this time.
Know One Knows You’re Iranian
…on the Internet. Alan Boyle has an interesting story about the recent explosion of proxy servers in Iran to get around government censorship.
The World’s Recession
It doesn’t look like 1930 here (at least yet), but it does most everywhere else. I hope, as noted there, that at least we’ve learned some lessons from the past over there, even if the current White House longs for a return to the Depression.
Medical Bankruptcy
A horror story from Canada. And of course, it if weren’t for the fact that they can fall back on their friends south of the border, it would be even worse.
But don’t worry, when it comes to socialism, now that The One is in charge, we’ll make the Canadians look like pikers.
More Crazy Cost Numbers
The New York Times has a story on yesterday’s Augustine hearing, and this jumped out at me:
In an interview, Steve Cook, manager of the Ares Project at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., said that the cost estimate for developing the Ares I and seeing it through its first manned flight was $35 billion. Contrary to the claims of critics, he said, costs have not spiraled out of control.
Let’s ignore the tragic hilarity of that last statement, when we consider what the original cost estimate was when it was “simple, safe, soon.” He is admitting that the development cost, for Ares I alone, through first crewed flight, is thirty-five millibaracks. So how can that be reconciled with the Aerospace study which seems to imply that the total life cycle cost for fourteen flights is nineteen billion? If development alone is thirty-five, then using the assumptions I used in that other post, the LCC for fourteen flights would be over forty billion (almost three billion dollars per flight, for people who know how to divide). That compares to a cost of sixteen billion for the Delta option, or a little over a billion a flight (still ridiculous, of course). Why is it that we accept these kinds of numbers as though they’re perfectly reasonable, perfectly affordable? Particularly in light of the fact that SpaceX has gone a long way toward developing both the Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 for (at a guess) a percent or so of forty billion?
Anyway, I find that the most interesting thing about the Times reporting is that there is no mention of SpaceX or commercial alternatives. I guess they’re not worth covering. As for the “dueling power points,” my vote is “none of the above.”
[Update a while later]
OK, I was digging around to try to find what the original promises were for Ares I development costs, and I stumbled on to this. “Safe, Simple, Soon” is still up! And apparently being maintained and updated by someone (no doubt funded by ATK).
And it’s hilarious. It’s like reading Pravda in 1988.
Comrades! All is well!
The potato and beet crops were a record this year! Steel production is exceeding the Gorbachev five-year plan!
I’m going to save that page for posterity.
Anyway, does anyone have a link to an initial Ares I cost estimate, circa late 2005?
[Friday morning update]
“Rocket Man” has the numbers:
“In September 2005, NASA authorized the Ares I project to proceed with the development of a new human-rated crew launch vehicle with a 24.5-metric ton lift capability and a total budget of $14.4 billion for design, development, test, and evaluation (DDT&E), and production.” (GAO-08-51)
So the development cost estimates (including production? Of how many vehicles?) have more than doubled in less than four years. But the program is “under control.” And now the Aerospace numbers make sense. They were using the original DDT&E estimate for their trade, which (as usual) puts a NASA thumb on the scale in favor of Ares. The Aerospace study is now either worthless, or makes Ares look even worse; it does nothing to aid its cause.
War Is Peace
Ignorance is strength. And firing an Inspector General who was exposing the corruption of your good bud is an “act of political courage.”
Ah, the audacity of audacity.
“Confused And Disoriented”
A lot of snark in comments over the Secretary of State’s mishap over at Althouse’s place. Here’s hoping for a quick recovery, anyway.
Memo To The Left
Can you spare a little rage and scorn for someone who is actually oppressing people?
The Iranians just had an election stolen from them by their government. Remember how angry you were when you pretended the election was stolen in 2000? Why, you whined about it for years and years. Some of you still even whine about it today. Again, you guys were only pretending an election was stolen. Now think if the election were actually stolen, and Bush declared himself winner by 63 percent of the vote. You’d be so angry you might actually do something more than whine about it. Well, that is what’s happening with the Iranians, and they’re taking to the streets. If you miss the pretend anger about 2000, maybe you can direct some real anger at what’s happened in Iran.
I think it’s a hopeless cause.
[Early evening update]
Two reactions: (1) I doubt such supportive arguments would be now advanced should a President McCain have urged similar realpolitik; (2) Should Obama have come out a few days ago with ringing endorsements for those who wish free and fair elections, and had he given a Reaganesque embrace of the dissidents’ bravery and idealism, I doubt we would be reading any of what we read today.
So do I.
Indefinite holding of detainees under Bush — Evil, the end of the Constitution. Indefinite holding of detainees under Obama: a well-considered, and in the end, wise and calm decision.