Why massive Democrat payoffs to their constituencies at taxpayer expense aren’t stimulative.
Category Archives: Political Commentary
Voting “Present”
…is not an option in Afghanistan.
It’s A Quagmire
The White House is bogged down in its war with Fox News:
…while the President drapes his unpopular policies with concern for the well-being of American journalism, more and more editors, reporters, and even unionized janitorial staff are beginning to oppose their commander-in-chief for trying to “win” an unwinnable war with their hands, instead of just using executive powers to ban all dissenting speech.
“I’ve been in the media for a long time, I signed up because I hate this right-wing, knuckle-dragging, imperialist system, and I would gladly sacrifice any number of my fellow Americans to advance my agenda – but this is a dumb war and a rash war,” Keith Olbermann of MSNBC told The People’s Cube outside a congressional office he visited to demand a government crackdown on dissidents. “Why must we in the field put our reputations on the line when this Congress has the power to simply confiscate Rupert Murdoch’s assets and put Beck, Hannity, and Coulter in jail?”
They seem to be losing the battle for the hearts and minds. Of course, in Olbermann’s case, there’s nothing to be won there in the latter case.
I particularly like this: “The dangerous prospect of an informed voter loomed large in the Obama administration’s plans of a pre-emptive strike.”
Mysteriouser
Talking Points Memo has a story indicating that “Country A,” where Stu Nozette reportedly left the thumb drives, was India.
[Via emailer Mitchell Burnside Clapp, who reads TPM so I don’t have to]
Dissecting The Deficit
Most of it is spending. This can’t go on.
Ares 1-X Rolls Out
Clark Lindsey, like me, is severely underwhelmed.
[Update in the afternoon]
Per comments, I don’t know what music they played at the rollout, but what should they have played? The theme from the Titanic?
Sounds Like The Bible
The Augustine Report will be released on Thursday:
According to information from committee insiders, the report will be long, in some cases contradictory, and also be written in a way that could leave the meaning of some of the 10-member committee’s findings open to interpretation.
This may not end well. Based on the history of space policy, that would be the way to bet.
Wow
I’ve known Stu Nozette for over thirty years. This is a shock to me:
…in January of this year, Nozette allegedly traveled to another foreign country with two computer thumb drives and apparently did not return with them. Prosecutors also quote an unnamed colleague of Nozette who said the scientist said that if the U.S. government ever tried to put him in jail for an unrelated criminal offense, he would go to Israel or another foreign country and “tell them everything” he knows.
The complaint does not allege that the government of Israel or anyone acting on its behalf violated U.S. law. In Jerusalem, Israeli government officials had no immediate comment.
The affidavit by FBI agent Leslie Martell said that on Sept. 3, Nozette received a telephone call from an individual purporting to be an Israeli intelligence officer. The caller was an undercover FBI agent.
Nozette agreed to meet with the agent later that day at a hotel in Washington and in the subsequent meeting the two discussed Nozette’s willingness to work for Israeli intelligence, the affidavit said.
Nozette allegedly informed the agent that he had, in the past, held top security clearances and had access to U.S. satellite information, the affidavit said.
The scientist also allegedly said that he would be willing to answer questions about this information in exchange for money. The agent explained that the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, would arrange for a communication system so Nozette could pass on information in a post office box.
Nozette agreed to provide regular, continuing information and asked for an Israeli passport, the affidavit alleged.
According to the court papers, Nozette and the undercover agent met soon afterward in the same hotel, where the scientist allegedly said that while he no longer had legal access to any classified information at a U.S. government facility, he could, nonetheless, recall classified information by memory. Nozette allegedly asked when he could expect to receive his first payment, saying he preferred cash amounts “under ten thousand” so he didn’t have to report it.
Nozette allegedly told the agent, “Well, I should tell you my first need is that they should figure out how to pay me … they don’t expect me to do this for free.”
I didn’t know he was Jewish. And maybe he’s not, but while I wouldn’t be shocked (in retrospect) to learn that he is, it seems more mercenary than ideological. I wonder if he was in financial trouble, or if something snapped after working in frustration for the government for three decades, with little progress in space. I mean, what “other foreign country”? It seems to be more anti-US than pro-Israel.
I hope it’s not true, but at least from the news reports, it’s pretty damning. I got an email from someone earlier tonight saying “First Courtney, now this,” but I think that this is a completely different class of…misjudgement, and I wouldn’t put them in the same box at all.
[Tuesday morning update]
Here’s the story at the WaPo.
[Mid-morning update]
NASA Watch has more links.
We’re All Felons Now
Ayn Rand’s prediction has come true. We really need to take a machete to the federal code.
A Good Word For The Obama Administration
It’s taken months, but they’ve finally done something praiseworthy, and never let it be said that I don’t give credit where it’s due:
the US Department of Justice finally applied some brains to the medical marijuana issue [AP | Politico]. They’re going to stop prosecuting sick people who are complying with their states’ laws, and use those resources for real problems instead. Yes, those laws do get abused by doctors who hand out free passes. On the other hand, they also get used to sensible benefit by terminally ill people, and how mean and stupid can you be to prosecute them? So, at last we have 2 synapses and a neuron wired up in DoJ. They still reserve the right to go after people who are using those laws as a cover for large-scale trafficking or other serious illegal activities. Which is also smart.
Not that it’s worth all the other damage being done to the nation and our national security, and it doesn’t go far enough, as Joe notes. I just hope that the policy will continue under whatever administration is in charge in 2013.