Business, Political Commentary, Space

The Potemkin Rocket

17 Comments

Well, OK, Potemkin missile. I had a brief email exchange with Patrick Peterson over at Florida Today a couple weeks ago, and he apparently used it in this article on next week’s planned Ares-1X test. I should sit down and put together a list of things that half a billion dollars could have gone to that would have advanced us in space much farther than this flight.

I’m guessing that this article isn’t going to result in a flurry of consulting requests for me from Marshall and its contractors…

[Update a few minutes later]

As is often the case with newspaper comments sections, the comments are pretty uniformly idiotic. Except the one that agrees with me, of course. 😉

Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Science And Society, Social Commentary, Technology and Society

Whales, Fish And Minnows

5 Comments

Roger Pielke explains how the left-blogosphere works. I would note this in particular:

In the case of Romm and Delong they also engage in outright lies and character assassination. Neither links to my own words on my blog, apparently afriad of what might happen if people view what I have to say directly, rather than their cartoonish caricatures. Gavin Schmidt of Real Climate contacted my university once and demanded that they sanction me for opinions that he did not like on my blog, under a vague threat of harm to reputation. Joe Romm has ordered the media not to talk to me (given the response, I assume that the folks who listened to him were the same folks who feed him quotes;-). What is even more disturbing is how these folks interact on a personal level. I was completely taken aback by the unprofessional email responses I received from Brad DeLong yesterday. I have occasionally seen faculty members throw hissy fits in a faculty meeting, but never have I seen the degree of unprofessional behavior displayed routinely by professionals in the liberal blogosphere. What is with these guys?

I’ve noticed this, too. While obviously the exceptions are many, I’ve noticed in general that leftosphere bloggers are much less professional and much more incivil in both public and personal communications than those on the so-called “right,” who tend to be more courteous even in disagreement. For example, some have done studies that found use of the F-word and other crudities much more prevalent to port than starboard. And I (and Roger) are not the only people who have noticed this, which makes me think that it’s something more than anecdotal. As to theories of why that may be, I’ll let others speculate.

Media Criticism, Popular Culture, Social Commentary

End The Tyranny

29 Comments

What kind of man would think that this is attractive?

Answer: a gay fashion designer.

How much longer are women going to allow some Paris pouf who doesn’t find women attractive to dictate what they should wear and how much they should weigh? How much longer are they going to put up with being forced to look like skinny boys with long hair (and sometimes without the long hair)? What will it take for them to rebel against the schmecker-in-a-concentration-camp look, and demand that actual voluptuous women, the kind that heterosexual men like, be considered alluring again, as they once were in the fashion world and Hollywood?

And yes, before you comment, I know that Ralph Lauren has a wife and kids. But I wouldn’t be shocked to learn that he likes guys, too. And even if he doesn’t, he goes with the anorexic flow because he thinks that’s how you make money in this sick business.

[Update a few minutes later]

How did we get from Marilyn Monroe to Kate Moss? I’m wondering if this had something to do with it. Has the pill made women want their men to look more like women, and for themselves to look more like boys? There’s a lot we don’t know about hormones.

Humor, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Satire

It’s A Quagmire

7 Comments

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.”

Biting Commentary about Infinity…and Beyond!