Line’s up again. Let the world tremble as I return to my mighty keyboard.
He’s Baaaaaccckkk
Line’s up again. Let the world tremble as I return to my mighty keyboard.
Off The Air
Heavy aftenoon thunderstorms knocked out my phone line yesterday, along with DSL. I’m posting this from my Treo, but it’s too slow to allow blogging with any facility. It’s supposed to be fixed sometime today. We’ll see…
Too Entrenched
This is interesting:
The fact that our state’s code is thoroughly woven with references to two specific political parties is evidence that the parties themselves act like a single, two-pronged special interest group, one that is more powerful than any labor union or trade association could hope to be. And furthermore, when one party is able to establish dominance for a period quite a bit longer than a lifespan, the probability factor for un-democratic malfeasance nears 1 (as in 100%).
I’d like to see some sort of constitutional amendment that would open things up to more parties. Of course, the chance of such a thing passing is epsilon squared, given the current power structure.
On the other hand, I wonder if we need one? It might be worthwhile to set up a foundation to look for laws like this, and challenge them in the courts on the grounds that the Constitution is silent on the very notion of political parties? It seems like, at a minimum, that you could strike down laws describing “two” or any specific number.
[Via Instapundit]
Not As Secret As They’d Like
It’s interesting how much you can figure out about a classified satellite from ground observations. And these are amateurs. Governments can do a lot better (though with some of the new telescopes available to amateurs, the distinction is getting blurred).
Not As Secret As They’d Like
It’s interesting how much you can figure out about a classified satellite from ground observations. And these are amateurs. Governments can do a lot better (though with some of the new telescopes available to amateurs, the distinction is getting blurred).
Not As Secret As They’d Like
It’s interesting how much you can figure out about a classified satellite from ground observations. And these are amateurs. Governments can do a lot better (though with some of the new telescopes available to amateurs, the distinction is getting blurred).
Garden Weeding And Planting
I’ve finally gotten around to adding some long-overdue space blogs to the blogroll. I’ve also moved some of the dead links to the AWOL list. Finally, I created a new category, called “Futurism/Transhumanism.” The only blogs I have there now are The Speculist and Future Pundit, but if anyone can think about others (or space blogs I’ve missed) let me know.
On The Radio
I’m going to be on The Space Show this evening, along with my webmaster, Bill Simon, talking about the July 20th ceremony, and other space-related topics. It starts at 7 PM Pacific, 10 Eastern, for an hour on the radio, and some additional time streaming, until 8:30 Pacific.
“2006 Was 1943”
The success of the surge. And the continuing efforts of the Dems and the media to make Iraq into another Vietnam.
[Afternoon update]
Max Boot has to educate Henry Kissinger on the fact that Iraq is not Vietnam:
Skilled diplomacy can consolidate the results of military success but can seldom make up for its lack. In Iraq, there is scant chance that any American legerdemain can convince internal factions like the Jaish al Mahdi or Al Qaeda in Iraq, or outside actors such as Iran and Syria, that their interests are congruent with ours. While the U.S. pursues stability and democracy, our enemies are merrily capitalizing on mayhem to carve out spheres of influence and bleed us dry.
The only thing that could conceivably alter their calculations is a change in the balance of power on the ground. That is what Army Gen. David Petraeus is trying to achieve. But he is being undermined by incessant withdrawal demands from home, which are convincing our enemies that they can wait us out. Only if the other side faces the probability of defeat — or at least stalemate — can negotiations produce a durable accord.