Businessmen. Makes sense to me.
Site Update
You may not notice anything, but I just updated WordPress to the current version.
Unfortunately (and this is kind of a disaster), I can’t see to type new posts. The text in the text box is white on white. Anyone know what the problem might be?
[Mid-afternoon update]
OK, per a comment, I fixed the stylesheet for the administrator, and I can now see these words as I type. That’s a dumb bug. You’d think they’d have fixed it by now.
We Can’t Afford It, Bill
Bolden is finally speaking truth to foolishness:
“I can’t pay for an Ares I today. It’s too expensive,” said Bolden, speaking after a meeting of the Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee.
“That’s an easy decision for me because it wipes out everything. My friend Sen. Nelson, and he is my friend to be quite honest, we respectfully agree to disagree on this. It is incredibly costly for me to go off and try a series of Ares I tests to support a heavy-lift at the present cost of solid rocket motors. Now, there is an answer. Get the cost down. And ATK (prime contractor for the Ares I) says they can do that. But we’re not there right now.”
Right before that statement, Bolden elaborated: “Ares I is not important to the continued development of heavy-lift unless the nation decides that it needs to preserve the capability to develop large segmented solid rocket motors. And that decision still has to be made. Right now, we’re leaning toward liquids. And if you’re leaning toward liquids, why would you spend a lot of time using Ares I as a development vehicle if that’s not going to part of the mix?”
I would have gone farther and pointed out that the only reason to do this is pork for KSC, but then, that’s why I’m not a high government official. And they are friends.
The Meek May Inherit The Earth
…but he doesn’t have a prayer in Florida:
With reports that President Obama’s support among Jewish voters has dropped by half, one can’t help but think that poor Kendrick Meek is paying the price for the buyer’s remorse over Obama that some Democrats are experiencing these days. In a private discussion about condo Democrats supporting Crist, one highly placed and in-the-know Democratic strategist put it to me this way: “The disenchantment that community privately feels towards Obama makes it very unlikely they will support another black Democrat anytime soon.”
As evidenced in the latest Rasmussen poll, moderate Republicans are coming home, and Marco Rubio is again leading a three-way race between Rubio, Crist and Meek by a significant margin, leaving the Democrats alone to kill one another.
What kind of an idiot would vote for Charlie Crist at this point?
A Florida Democrat.
Our Gain Is The Dictators’ Loss
Some thoughts on Arlen Specter’s foreign-policy legacy.
The “We’re-Not-Europe” Party
This should be a major theme for the Republicans in the fall.
Hansen’s Promotion
Some clueless Canadian reporters think that James Hansen is the head of NASA. Probably wishful thinking on their part, but I find it a frightening thought.
He Shoots, He Scores
Mickey Kaus, on Barbara Boxer’s pop gun:
“Fine,” he said today. “If I’m out of the mainstream, then Boxer has nothing to fear from debating. Let’s both present our views and see who is in what stream. Let the voters decide. That’s what democracy is supposed to be about.”
Kaus noted a debate would also give Boxer a valuable chance to respond to the L.A. Times editorial board’s observation that “she displays less intellectual firepower or leadership than she could.”
“If the Times is right, this is a chance for her to unleash the intellectual firepower she’s been holding in reserve,” Kaus said.
I may run out of popcorn.
I’m guessing there’s at least a forty-point difference in IQs. I’d pay quite a bit to see that debate.
What A Weird Name
How could anyone go to the Senate with a name like “Rand”?
[Wednesday morning update]
I’ve had to shut down comments on this post. It was hit with two hundred spams overnight, for some reason.
Blaming the Norks
Isn’t this, kind of, you know, an act of war?
The navy ship Cheonan sank on March 26 after an explosion on the vessel as it sailed in the Yellow Sea off South Korea’s west coast.
The Post said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because South Korea had not yet disclosed the results of the investigation, said analyses showed the torpedo was identical to a North Korean torpedo previously obtained by South Korea.
The formal accusation is expected to be announced on Thursday and South Korea will ask the U.N. Security Council to take up the matter, Post sources said.
Do they seriously expect the Security Council to do anything about it? Especially with this White House?