Pardon me the schadenfreude, but I just can’t stop laughing at these links.
Don’t pull on Superman’s cape, and don’t…mess…with the Mickey. And I don’t mean mouse.
Category Archives: Political Commentary
Banning Guns By Zip Code
You know, if we were to follow the logic that people use against the high penalties for crack cocaine, this law would be racist. Of course, as Glenn points out, that would be nothing new in gun-control laws. It has a long-established history of being employed to keep the “negras” from being too uppity.
And of course, it’s also, historically, the basis for things like the minimum wage and Davis-Bacon — to keep people of darker hue from competing for white folks’ jobs. Amusingly, it is another demonstration of Jonah Goldberg’s thesis that so-called progressives are unfamiliar with their own intellectual history.
One other point. Ironically, Barack Obama no doubt supports such laws, since he has talked about how laws for places like Iowa aren’t applicable in Chicago. But I doubt that he sees the irony.
One Gaffe Off The Score
The Irish teleprompter “gaffe” by President Obama wasn’t.
Yes, It Is Creepy
Once again, the Repubicans have let us down. I had hoped that the Senate would block this authoritarian expansion of Americorps.
Gee, Ya Think?
The Obama/Geithner plan could rob the taxpayers to pay off the banks.
Of course, “robbing the taxpayers” seems to be the general theme of this administration.
Heresy
Did Natasha Richardson die of Canadacare?
But it’s so much more “efficient.”
Hillary?!
The most beautiful politicians in the world.
As Glenn Reynolds notes, for some reason, neither Barney Frank or Chris Dodd made the list. Not even John Edwards. Of course, the contest may have been restricted to the distaff. And as one commenter notes, the fact that Sarah Palin came in 24th may be a result of nationalized eye care in Spain. But the real shocker is Hillary Clinton coming in ahead of Kirsten Gillebrand. Some might wonder why she’s even on the list. I think that the fact that she is, and that Palin is so low, is a reflection of political prejudices.
Also, amusingly, if one links to the original article, it lists Palin as “vice president elect.” Would that she had been. Especially if Senator McCain’s health was sinking. And I suspect a lot more people wish that now than did a few months ago.
Space Access Agenda
In case you haven’t been checking the web site (graphic link also over to the left), Henry Vanderbilt has updated it with the current list of speakers, and the conference starts a week from today. It’s really the best conference to go to all year if you want to find out what’s going on in the world of private space launch. I’m looking forward to seeing Henry Spencer’s awaited exposition on how we get to orbit from suborbit.
I usually miss the beginning of the conference in the afternoon, still being on the road from LA, partly because Henry has a stock discussion on general orbital mechanics and space access issues, but this will be a new talk, at the request of several people. It is a contentious issue, and it’s one that’s often thrown back at proponents of suborbit (“You need orders of magnitude more energy! It’s a distraction and a waste of time!”). I fully expect Henry to compellingly explain why it’s not, even if some skeptics will remain forever unconvinced (even after we do it).
Oh, and I’m not specifically slated to talk, but Henry has made great efforts to get me to come, so I assume that he’ll want to do something with me (perhaps on the wrap-up panel, if nothing else occurs to me in the interim).
Alan Stern Defends Himself
The comments section in this post over at Space Politics has certainly gotten lively, with an ad hominem attack on me (after which Ferris Valyn of all people rises to my defense) and Alan Stern weighing in on his New Horizons program overruns. Not to mention that he clarifies why he left NASA, and takes himself out of the administrator race (not that his name has been floated anywhere other than by some wishful thinkers).
Heckuva Job, Timmy!
He managed to talk down the dollar. It’s like he doesn’t even care about it, or US sovereignty in general.
Can someone remind me again why this tax cheat (who is now in charge of the IRS) is “indispensable”?
[Thursday morning update]
More thoughts from Jim Lindgren.
[Bumped]
[Update a few minutes later]
“I wish the Admin could bring back the days when Joe Biden had sole possession of the gaffe-o-matic.”
A commenter makes the point of what is so worrisome about this:
I’ve been following the currency issue for years, and repeatedly over the past 10-15 years, the Saudis, Iranians, Russians and others have been pushing for an alternative reserve currency. The prime reason is mistrust of the United States fiscal policy.Now the Chinese, our largest creditor, have joined the chorus. Frankly, the only thing saving the dollar right now is that no one trusts any of the other major currencies.
It really doesn’t matter what Yglesias says or does, the global markets are speaking. Obama and Geithner are now “welcoming’ such a discussion. Basically we are looking at the downfall of the dollar similar to that of the Pound Sterling back in the 1970’s. The sun is setting on American economic leadership unless the grown ups act responsibly. To me, this is economic treason.
And the treason is not in going along with a second reserve currency per se, but in making it seem necessary to much of the rest of the world due to insanely reckless fiscal policies that are debauching the dollar.
[Update late evening]
Welcome, Instapundit readers. I’m glad that Glenn linked this post, but it’s not the one that I sent him (which means that he looked over the rest of the site and picked it out). Anyway, you might want to do the same.