Economics, Political Commentary, Science And Society, Technology and Society

Energy Wedgists Versus Breakthroughists

3 Comments

Put me in the latter camp.

Although the Climate Security Act does direct some spending towards low-carbon energy research, it is basically a wedgist scheme. If something like it is adopted by the next presidential administration, we will find out which side is right. If the wedgists are correct, cutting carbon dioxide emissions will produce a modest increase in energy prices resulting in the deployment of a wide variety of readily available low-carbon energy sources over the coming decades. If the breakthroughists are right, energy prices will soar provoking a political backlash. In which case, perhaps one need only peer across the Atlantic to the spreading protests against higher fuel prices in Europe to see the future.

Yup.

One of the most disturbing things about McCain is that he has bought completely into the hysterical climate-change claptrap, and is unamenable (so far at least) to reason.

General, Space

Memorial Service Arrangements

Note: I’ve bumped this post to the top, with an update. It will stay at the top for a couple days, so if you see it first, continue reading past–I’ll still be posting new stuff.

For any of my Huntsville area readers who wish to pay their respects to Darren Spurlock, David Alan Smith of Boeing passes on the following information:

Kelly and her family is planning for a service this Tuesday and Wednesday as shown below:

Tuesday, June 3
Berryhill Funeral Home
2035 Memorial Parkway North
Huntsville, AL
Visitation: 12:00 p.m.
Funeral: 2:00 p.m.

Wednesday, June 4
Hermitage Memorial Gardens
535 Shute Lane
Old Hickory, TN
Graveside service and burial: 11:00 a.m.

We talked further about those who knew him sharing some remembrances at his service. She and her ministers are very happy to have us do that. Since we don’t have much time I offer the following approach. If you will be able to physically attend and want to say something, please tell me and give me an idea of how long you need. If you have something you would like to share at his service but can not come, I will be glad to act as your surrogate. If you have something you would just like Kelly, Ben (6) and James (3) to have I will compile them electronically. I need those items you would like shared Tuesday by COB Monday. As these boys grow older, it will help them know Darren as the man he was.

Kelly’s public notice on Darren’s death will include the following:

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Mayfair Church of Christ:

1095 Carl T. Jones Dr.
Huntsville, AL 35802

However, she very much appreciated our thought to honor Darren through supporting Ben and James education. So as a “work” friend, if you feel moved you can send her a check in her name with the reference to the “Darren Spurlock Education Fund”. She can deposit these in Ben and James college savings accounts.

Kelly Spurlock

[Address deleted because I don’t want to blast her home address on the Interweb, the world being the sad place that it is these days in that regard. Anyone interested can contact me at the email address in the upper left corner of the blog, and I’ll relay it. Actually, I’d suggest that Kelly establish a trust with a PO Box, and a web page to take donations via Paypal–perhaps someone else can help her with this. –rs]

And finally, I can not stress how much a card, note and/or remembrance means to her. Darren touched many lives. Let us show that as a monument to his life with us. Your support, thoughts and prayers for Kelly and the boys are very much appreciated.

David Alan Smith
Advanced Programs, Exploration Launch Systems
Space Exploration, The Boeing Company

If anyone wants to get hold of David and doesn’t have his contact info (which again, I didn’t want to display), again, email me.

[Update, per my comment about not wanting to post Kelly’s home address]

For those of all called to honor Darren’s memory in a way that will positively affect his family’s future, we have established the “Darren Spurlock Memorial Education Fund” for his two boys Ben and James via 529 college savings accounts. To contribute to this account you may:

Make check payable to: College America.

In memo field: Spurlock Education Fund.

Mail to:

First Financial Group
400 Meridian Street, Ste.100
Huntsville, AL 35801

Any contribution you send will divided equally into an account for Ben and account for James. And thank you for honoring a beloved colleague and friend.

Political Commentary

Democrats Against Obama

20 Comments

The election will partly, perhaps largely hinge on how many people feel this way.

Along those lines, Bill Bennett (not someone to whom I usually pay much attention) had some useful words this morning:

Whatever it was the Republicans and so many independents did not like about the Clintons, we’ve learned the Democrats have had enough as well.

And thus the Democratic party is about to nominate a far left candidate in the tradition of George McGovern, albeit without McGovern’s military and political record. The Democratic party is about to nominate a far-left candidate in the tradition of Michael Dukakis, albeit without Dukakis’s executive experience as governor. The Democratic party is about to nominate a far left candidate in the tradition of John Kerry, albeit without Kerry’s record of years of service in the Senate. The Democratic party is about to nominate an unvetted candidate in the tradition of Jimmy Carter, albeit without Jimmy Carter’s religious integrity as he spoke about it in 1976. Questions about all these attributes (from foreign policy expertise to executive experience to senatorial experience to judgment about foreign leaders to the instructors he has had in his cultural values) surround Barack Obama. And the Democratic party has chosen him.

I think he’s all of them rolled into one, but admittedly, he has a lot more charisma than any of them, if not combined. But I don’t think it will be enough. Generally, the more people learn about him, the less they support him. Now that the campaign has been unofficially joined, they’re likely to learn a lot more.

Media Criticism, Political Commentary

“Fairness”

Andrew Coyne continues to liveblog the witch hunt in Vancouver. I loved this bit:

We’re going through an interview Awan gave on Mike Duffy Live. He tells Duffy that this isn’t a case of free speech versus minority rights. Rather, he says, Maclean’s can go on publishing what it likes, Steyn can write whatever he likes, just so long as “the Muslim community” gets a right of reply. (I’m paraphrasing. The video of the interview is here.) So really, what they’re proposing (he explains in the interview) is an extension of free speech.

I think I see his point. Every time Maclean’s wants to publish an article some group doesn’t like, they just have to give them an equal amount of space in the magazine. Double the space, at twice the cost to Maclean’s – but zero cost to the complainants. That is “free” speech.

That is also the “Fairness Doctrine” in a nutshell. It’s why, if we have a Democrat president with a Democrat Congress, one of the first things they will attempt to do will be to resurrect that atrocity against free speech, in the hopes that it will shut down “right wing” radio.

Of course (and fortunately), the Fairness Doctrine only applies to over-the-air broadcast of television and radio (with the excuse that the spectrum is limited, and therefore ultimately owned by the public). What would probably happen if it were back in force is that Limbaugh and others would just get chased off the air waves to satellite (as has happened with over-air- television politics shows, to satellite and cable), and a lot more people would buy XM so they could continue to get a vigorous discussion of politics.

What is being proposed in Canada is to not just institute a fairness doctrine, but to extend it to print. Which, as Coyne points out, is utterly inimical to free speech, and would shut down any publication whatsoever that was “controversial.” Which means any publication that goes against the politically correct consensus of the day.

Media Criticism, Political Commentary

“Fairness”

9 Comments

Andrew Coyne continues to liveblog the witch hunt in Vancouver. I loved this bit:

We’re going through an interview Awan gave on Mike Duffy Live. He tells Duffy that this isn’t a case of free speech versus minority rights. Rather, he says, Maclean’s can go on publishing what it likes, Steyn can write whatever he likes, just so long as “the Muslim community” gets a right of reply. (I’m paraphrasing. The video of the interview is here.) So really, what they’re proposing (he explains in the interview) is an extension of free speech.

I think I see his point. Every time Maclean’s wants to publish an article some group doesn’t like, they just have to give them an equal amount of space in the magazine. Double the space, at twice the cost to Maclean’s – but zero cost to the complainants. That is “free” speech.

That is also the “Fairness Doctrine” in a nutshell. It’s why, if we have a Democrat president with a Democrat Congress, one of the first things they will attempt to do will be to resurrect that atrocity against free speech, in the hopes that it will shut down “right wing” radio.

Of course (and fortunately), the Fairness Doctrine only applies to over-the-air broadcast of television and radio (with the excuse that the spectrum is limited, and therefore ultimately owned by the public). What would probably happen if it were back in force is that Limbaugh and others would just get chased off the air waves to satellite (as has happened with over-air- television politics shows, to satellite and cable), and a lot more people would buy XM so they could continue to get a vigorous discussion of politics.

What is being proposed in Canada is to not just institute a fairness doctrine, but to extend it to print. Which, as Coyne points out, is utterly inimical to free speech, and would shut down any publication whatsoever that was “controversial.” Which means any publication that goes against the politically correct consensus of the day.

Media Criticism, Political Commentary

Canadian Journalism

5 Comments

This is appalling, but predictable:

I was astonished by their absolute lack of any background on the story they were sent to cover.

More astonished that a journalist would not know who Mark Steyn was, or that, depending on its outcome, the case they were covering could have very real ramifications on their ability to practice their trade in the future, and impact the right to free speech for all Canadians.

They knew nothing about the AHRC case against Ezra.

They did know about the Western Standard but were unaware that it was no longer being published.

They knew nothing about the Richard Warman Vs Levant, Shaidle, McMillan, Kay and Free Dominion. In fact, they had never heard of Mr. Sec. 13 Richard Warman.

They were aware that a similar charge agianst Steyn had been thrown out by the OHRC, but nothing beyond that.

I tried to provide some background on each of these cases but could see that there was not a lot of interest.

I wonder what kind of reports will be filed by each of these journalists for CBC radio? I also wonder how many other journalists sent to cover this remarkably important case, are so poorly informed.

No wonder the government and the “Human Rights” Commissions get away with so much there.

Political Commentary

The New Politburo

33 Comments

Ronald Maxwell has some thoughts on the Democrat nominating process:

Hundreds of thousands of voters from Florida and Michigan had their votes canceled out, divided up, and reapportioned. Why should it matter what conflicting Democratic committees said at the time or what any of the candidates said at the time? The irrefutable fact of the matter is that neither election was canceled. Both elections were held and the citizens of both states went to the polls in an open, fair, and democratic election fully believing they were casting votes to decide who the Democratic nominee for president would be. These voters, and by extension the entire American electorate, were deceived, betrayed, and disenfranchised.

MSNBC may disagree, but this is no insignificant matter. It is not, as they would have us believe, a trivial matter of arcane rules and regulations. It is a direct assault on our liberty.

We’ve seen and heard it all before — the commissars in the Soviet Union interpreting election results. “Well,” they say, “there was bad weather in the Ukraine and the miners couldn’t get to the polls that day. Should we penalize the miners? Of course not. The miners, had they shown up, would have voted for Vladimir. Everyone knows that. To say otherwise is to be against the miners. It is to be against the true Will of the People, which only we can devine. So, we’ll assign their votes to Vladimir.”

How many times on Saturday did we hear the phrase that should make every free citizen shiver, “The true Will of the People.” “We know what the voters of Michigan or Florida intended to do, because we have the exit polls, or we have the MSNBC poll, or we have the anecdotal evidence.” Instead of simply counting votes, which is the only fair thing to do with votes in any election anywhere — the members of the Democratic-party rules Committee deem it in their purview to decipher votes, interpret votes, translate votes — anything but count them! Then, to add fantasy to falsehood they insisted on conjuring votes that were never even cast. After all, so goes their illogic, if voters didn’t show up who otherwise would have, its up to the Committee members to discern how they would have voted if they did.

As he points out, there is no nominee until votes are cast at the convention, and Obama still doesn’t have a majority of the pledged delegates. The Central Committee Memberssuperdelegates are flocking to him now (like lemmings?), but they aren’t committed to vote for him, and can change their minds at any time up until August. As has been pointed out before, Ted Kennedy went into the 1980 convention with a much smaller proportion of delegates than Hillary! has, fighting all the way until his concession speech.

Of course, given the results then, it’s understandable that the politburo wants to resolve this now. But that doesn’t make it right. Or…democratic. But I hope they get their way–Obama is by far the weaker candidate, though both are unelectable.

Space, Space History

Losing A Champion

4 Comments

I didn’t see Len Cormier at Space Access in March, though he has rarely missed one in the past. Now via an email from Pat Kelley, I learned why:

I’m sad to announce that Len Cormier is losing his battle with cancer. I spoke with him today, and he’s in a hospice awaiting the end. I’ve had the privilege of his friendship and professional partnership for over ten years, and I hate to see this come to an end before my goal of at least giving him the satisfaction of seeing a project birthed from his incredible intellect at least get started.

Len is not terribly religious, but I know he would not be offended by good wishes, prayers, or whatever means you may choose to honor him. I will miss him.

I don’t know how far from the end it is, and where there’s life there’s hope, so I won’t talk about him in the past tense. But if he doesn’t make it, it will be a damned shame. No one living has been talking about affordable access to space, and worked as hard at it as Len, having been an advocate for almost half a century. He was also one of the gentlest men, in the gentleman sense, that I’ve ever met, always gracious, even in the face of unreasonable criticism and often vituperation.

It’s a tragedy that he is leaving us just as the funding dam is starting to break on the kinds of projects that he has been advocating for so long, and that he won’t see the results. He should go knowing, though, that he played a significant role in laying the ground work for it, and inspired many who will carry on in his stead. Despite his failure to achieve his audacious goals, I think that he’ll be far more than a footnote in the history of astronautics.

[Update a few minutes later]

Another email comment from Rick Jurmain:

Len’s a man with dreams too grand for a single lifetime. That’s as it should be.

Or, to paraphrase Sunset Boulevard: He is big. It’s the space program that got small.

It’s been an honor to work with Len. I’ll remember him.

Humor, Political Commentary, Satire

The Next Star Chamber Defendant

Iowahawk has dug up an old Canadian radio program that is sure to be banned in the Great White North. Warman, of the Mounted:

From the Maritimes to the Yukon, the Great White North was once a lawless land where cruel and offensive opinions roamed free – until one man stood up and brought them to justice. One mighty masked man, clad in the scarlet breechcoat of the Royal Canadian Mounted Human Rights Police, astride a golden disabled lesbian steed, with his faithful transgender Indian scout at his side. Together they rode from Yellowknife to St. John’s, keeping Canadians safe from the spectre of multicultural insensitivity.

The Canadian Broadcast Corporation invites you to return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear as we tell the tales of that legendary singing Human Rights Mountie. It’s time for excitement – it’s time for lawsuits – It’s time for… Warman of the Mounted!

It’s a particularly exciting episode. I expect we’ll see him in the HRC docket presently.

Biting Commentary about Infinity…and Beyond!