Category Archives: Political Commentary

Economics, Political Commentary

Which Is A Greater Environmental Risk?

14 Comments

Off-shore drilling, or oil tankers? Of course, many “environmentalists” would like to ban both. And have us go back to chopping wood, and forty acres and a mule. As long as we aren’t too cruel to the mule.

But it’s pretty clear to me that off-shore drilling with modern technology is much lower risk, in terms of oil spills, than having foreign-flagged tankers operating in our waters. This kind of false sense of safety, and misplaced priority is common. For instance, some people avoid flying, because they fear it, and drive instead, vastly increasing their risk of being killed on the trip. I don’t know whether people who oppose oil drilling are being similarly irrational, or if they simply recognize it as an easier target than ending oil imports, so they grab whatever low-hanging fruit they can to minimize our oil consumption (and drive up the price, which is perhaps part of the goal).

Also, as noted here, banning drilling off US shores doesn’t eliminate the risk of spills from drilling. It just moves it to other (and perhaps even more environmentally sensitive) places.

Business, Economics, Political Commentary, Space

The Rough Road To Space

2 Comments

I have a new piece up over at Pajamas Media on space transportation and the Interstate Highway System.

Hey, it was Mike Griffin who made the analogy, not me.

I should also note that while the title is mine, the subheadline is theirs.

[Late afternoon update]

Only Mark Whittington would have the native talent to so misread this piece as to think that I was “expressing astonishment.” Of course, it’s not the first time that he’s fantasized about my views.

[Another update]

Now Mark is fantasizing that I actually want, or expect NASA to build the Interstate to space.

Well, it’s totally in character for him.

I sure wish he’d learn to read for comprehension.

Political Commentary

Fight The Smears

The smears against Muslims, that is:

Apparently, it is OK for Mr. Obama to be associated with terrorists like William Ayers or racists like Jeremiah Wright, but God forbid somebody would call him a Muslim! No, he won’t stand for that kind of smear! We admit that most terrorists are Muslims, but most Muslims are not terrorists and the statement on Mr. Obama’s website is insulting to hundreds of millions of people.

How could a man who discards his family heritage in favor of political expediency be even considered for presidency of the United States? Where are all the so-called “Islamic civil rights groups” like CAIR, MPAC, ISNA, MAS, etc. who are quick to defend every Islamic terrorist, but are silent when Muslims in general are being denigrated? Would Mr. Obama have the same reaction if someone claimed that he was raised as a Jew? We sincerely doubt that.

Muslims Against Sharia demand immediate removal of “SMEAR: Barack Obama is a Muslim” statement from the official Barack Obama’s website as well as an apology for giving the word “Muslim” a negative connotation.

They’re right. This is delicious.

Maybe Obama should take the Seinfeld approach. “I am not a Muslim. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”

Media Criticism, Political Commentary

He’s No Jimmy Carter

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Unlike Jimmy Carter, Obama apparently will lie to us.

Of course, I’m not aware that Obama has ever made a Carter-like pledge.

By the way, I don’t mean to imply that Carter doesn’t speak falsehoods. I just think that he’s delusional enough to believe them.

[Update in the early afternoon]

Here’s more on Obama’s campaign-finance hypocrisy.

…public financing and lobbyist money are yet additional examples of how Obama is on both sides of every issue — Iraq, the Cuban embargo, a divided Jerusalem, NAFTA et al. Is the press at all interested in pointing this out?

That was a rhetorical question, right?

[Update a few minutes later]

Just to be clear, I’m not criticizing Obama for declining public financing per se. I think that public financing is an ugly chancre on the body politic, and I cheer when it’s foregone. I wish that McCain would do the same thing. Unfortunately, he’d look even more hypocritical if he did so, due to his having become the point man for all of these idiotic and unconstitutional campaign finance laws. He could use this as an excuse to follow suit, saying that he had no choice, given Obama’s going back on his word, but we all know that if he did, the howls from the media would be deafening.

Well, according to the BBC, he didn’t lie. He just “reversed his promise.”

Well, that’s all right then.

It’s only fair to note that technically, they’re correct. If Obama said it while having no intention of doing it at the time, it would be a lie, but we can’t get into his mind. Sometimes promises aren’t kept, but that doesn’t mean that they were a lie at the time they were made. I was always annoyed when people told me that George H. W. Bush lied when he said “read my lips, no new taxes.” A broken promise is, in fact, not the same as a lie. But it’s a reason to not consider voting for someone.

Media Criticism, Political Commentary

He’s No Jimmy Carter

Unlike Jimmy Carter, Obama apparently will lie to us.

Of course, I’m not aware that Obama has ever made a Carter-like pledge.

By the way, I don’t mean to imply that Carter doesn’t speak falsehoods. I just think that he’s delusional enough to believe them.

[Update in the early afternoon]

Here’s more on Obama’s campaign-finance hypocrisy.

…public financing and lobbyist money are yet additional examples of how Obama is on both sides of every issue — Iraq, the Cuban embargo, a divided Jerusalem, NAFTA et al. Is the press at all interested in pointing this out?

That was a rhetorical question, right?

[Update a few minutes later]

Just to be clear, I’m not criticizing Obama for declining public financing per se. I think that public financing is an ugly chancre on the body politic, and I cheer when it’s foregone. I wish that McCain would do the same thing. Unfortunately, he’d look even more hypocritical if he did so, due to his having become the point man for all of these idiotic and unconstitutional campaign finance laws. He could use this as an excuse to follow suit, saying that he had no choice, given Obama’s going back on his word, but we all know that if he did, the howls from the media would be deafening.

Well, according to the BBC, he didn’t lie. He just “reversed his promise.”

Well, that’s all right then.

It’s only fair to note that technically, they’re correct. If Obama said it while having no intention of doing it at the time, it would be a lie, but we can’t get into his mind. Sometimes promises aren’t kept, but that doesn’t mean that they were a lie at the time they were made. I was always annoyed when people told me that George H. W. Bush lied when he said “read my lips, no new taxes.” A broken promise is, in fact, not the same as a lie. But it’s a reason to not consider voting for someone.

Political Commentary, War Commentary

McCain’s Infant Strike Force

Malicious and mendacious propaganda from Moveon.org? Say it ain’t so!

This reminds me of that idiotic interview that O’Reilly did with Michael Moore a few years ago, when Moore kept asking O’Reilly if he would send his child to Iraq. If O’Reilly had been on his toes, he would have pointed out that a) no “children” are sent to Iraq and b) that the adults who do so have signed up for the service voluntarily, and don’t need their parents permission, and are not “sent” by their parents, unless their parents happen to be their commanding officers. But this mindless trope of the left will never die.

[Afternoon update]

This is a pretty funny comment, over at Maguire’s place:

Don’t be misled by the name, lady: the 3rd Infantry Division is not made up of infants.

Hey, you can’t expect them to know about this stuff.

Political Commentary, War Commentary

McCain’s Infant Strike Force

2 Comments

Malicious and mendacious propaganda from Moveon.org? Say it ain’t so!

This reminds me of that idiotic interview that O’Reilly did with Michael Moore a few years ago, when Moore kept asking O’Reilly if he would send his child to Iraq. If O’Reilly had been on his toes, he would have pointed out that a) no “children” are sent to Iraq and b) that the adults who do so have signed up for the service voluntarily, and don’t need their parents permission, and are not “sent” by their parents, unless their parents happen to be their commanding officers. But this mindless trope of the left will never die.

[Afternoon update]

This is a pretty funny comment, over at Maguire’s place:

Don’t be misled by the name, lady: the 3rd Infantry Division is not made up of infants.

Hey, you can’t expect them to know about this stuff.

Political Commentary, Space

Nothing New About That

Keith Cowing thinks that the Coalition for Space Exploration is asking the wrong questions.

If the Coalition for Space Exploration really wants to further the notion of a robust taxpayer-funded program of space exploration – one based on a solid footing of public support – then they need to start paying attention to what their polls actually say and stop trying to skew the results to say something that the numbers do not support. If, however, they want to support space exploration – regardless of how it comes about – then they need to re-examine their motives – and ask different questions.

People might not want to pay more taxes for space exploration, but they might be interested in buying a ticket.

Indeed.

As usual (and perhaps inevitably), an organization ostensibly set up for the purpose of supporting space exploration in general ends up being a NASA cheerleader. That’s partly because a lot of the funding for it comes from the space industrial complex. In any event, these polls should always be taken with a grain, if not a whole shaker of salt. They’re based on public ignorance, and once again demonstrate that support for the current plans are a mile wide and an inch deep.