Category Archives: Political Commentary

Business, Culinary, Education, Health, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Science And Society

The Big Fat Latest Review

3 Comments

Ancel Benjamin Keys may be responsible for more premature death and suffering of Americans than anyone in history.

As someone said on Twitter:

[Update a few minutes later]

Here’s probably the ultimate review, from Michael Eades:

I want to write a review so good it inspires everyone to buy the book immediately and read it. Why? Because I think it is one of the most important books on nutrition ever written. Maybe the most important. And I feel a responsibility to inspire as many people as I can to get their hands on it.

…this book is so brimming with valuable information that I was almost paralyzed in trying to figure out which parts to excerpt. A book review always comes with excerpts, and this book presented me with such a bounty of choices, it took me forever to decide which to use.

Considering the source, that’s pretty high praise.

Business, Economics, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Technology and Society

Crony Capitalism

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The GOP needs to fight it by becoming the party of innovation:

This revelation, that new small businesses primarily create jobs and economic growth, demands a complete rethinking of economic policy for the United States. If Republicans understand this and thereby embrace the mantle of innovation, not only will they be expediting a new wave of ingenuity, but they will also share credit with entrepreneurs for the next tech boom.

This requires creating a regulatory and legal climate that fosters “permission-less innovation.” True innovators often can’t afford—either in terms of money or mental energy—to hire lobbyists and change the law. Entrepreneurs should not be wasting their start-up capital on lawyers, consultants, and PAC donations.

Given the stakes—the future of the economy—a political party that is not serious about technology and innovation is a party that is not serious about economic growth and job creation. Thus far, the Republican Party is not serious about technology and innovation. Republicans talk about regulatory reform but in practice do little about it.

Good luck with that, for the Stupid Party.

Media Criticism, Political Commentary

The IRS

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…and its media firewall:

The paper noted that the House was to vote Thursday to create a select committee to investigate the Sept. 11, 2012 Benghazi attack and allegations of a cover-up. Again, the spin:

“Republicans have raised a delicate set of questions and opened themselves up to accusations that they are politicizing a tragedy that cost four Americans their lives and misusing congressional oversight authority for gain in an election year.”

Hear that? It wasn’t the people who got four Americans killed or who covered their own butts with brazen lies for the last two years who are on the hot seat. It’s the ones trying to get to the truth.

They literally can’t handle the truth.

Business, Political Commentary, Space, Technology and Society, War Commentary

Merde Just Got Real

75 Comments

Rogozin is cutting off sales of RD-180s, and threatening to end ISS participation in 2020.

The former is much more concerning than the latter. 2020 is a long way off, and we have time to resolve that one way or the other. But Atlas V is out of business in a couple years if they don’t come up with a solution. Which is bad news for Boeing and Sierra Nevada in terms of commercial crew.

History, Media Criticism, Political Commentary

Truth Seeking In Benghazi

48 Comments

The Democrats need a Howard Baker.

Unfortunately, Democrats with principles (other than political victory) seem to not exist.

I would note that the Republicans took a long time to finally get on the ball, compared to Watergate. This August will be the fortieth anniversary of Nixon’s resignation, at exactly the same time in the presidential cycle that Obama’s in now.

[Update a few minutes later]

Where was Obama?

Americans have a right to know where their president was while a terrorist attack was taking place — and the daily diary will provide that information. There will be a record if Obama held a secure video teleconference (SVTC) with his military commanders in the region or even spoke with them by phone. There will be a record if he met or spoke with his national security adviser to discuss the unfolding attack, and how many times he did so. If properly kept, the logs will show precisely what Obama was doing — whether he was carefully monitoring events on the ground or was otherwise occupied.

…During Watergate, Richard Nixon had his infamous 18 1/2-minute gap. When it comes to Benghazi, Obama has an eight-hour gap. That gap needs to be closed.

If Obama has nothing to hide, then he has nothing to fear.

I think it’s similar to his unwillingness to release his college transcripts. Or let people see the Khalidi birthday-party video. There’s something there they don’t want us to see.

Culinary, Health, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Science And Society

Nutritional Ignorance

4 Comments

On a bi-partisan basis:

The federal government has excluded only one fresh vegetable from the WIC program: the fresh white potato. This makes no sense and, in fact, ignores the latest nutritional science.

Because some people don’t differentiate between french fries and baked potatoes, the potato has gotten a bad rap. We believe a balance can be found that preserves the integrity of programs such as WIC while also ensuring that the most updated facts are being used to determine the best nutrients for Americans — including from the potato.

Sorry, senators, but this is nonsense. The problem with french fries isn’t the fat (particularly if it’s saturated fat, though unfortunately McDonalds got mau maued into ending the use of tallow decades ago): It’s the potatoes themselves, which are high glycemic.