Political Commentary

Another Political Shift?

I’m hearing that Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) has suffered a stroke. No word yet on how serious it is, and here’s hoping that it’s minimal, and that he recovers soon.

But if it’s serious, and he dies or has to step down for health reasons, Republican Governor Mike Rounds would almost certainly appoint a Republican in his place, giving control of the Senate back to them (or rather, if it happens before new Senators are sworn in in January, allowing them to retain control, since the new leadership hasn’t been elected yet).

[Evening Update]

Good news for the Senator and his family (and yes, incidentally, for the Dems)]

It appears that it wasn’t a stroke. Glad to hear it, Senator. Get well soon.

[Morning update]

Not so good news. Sounds like it was an aneurysm, or some other kind of brain hemmorhage. He just had surgery, which was reportedly successful. No word on the prognosis, but right now he’s in critical condition.

Space

Another Chicken Comes Home To Boeing’s Roost

This looks like it’s going to be a tough team to beat:

ATK Launch Systems, Lockheed Martin Inc. and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne have formed Team Ares and said they will bid to develop the upper stage of the Ares I rocket.

On top of their loss of the CEV contract, and in the wake of Lockheed Martin’s aggressive marketing of the Atlas V, this will be another blow to Boeing’s human spaceflight business prospects if they can’t win (or decide not to bid) the Ares upper stage. And this one can be chalked up to the fact that they decided they didn’t want to own Rocketdyne any more. That decision to sell it to Pratt a couple years ago isn’t looking so smart now.

Space

Another Chicken Comes Home To Boeing’s Roost

This looks like it’s going to be a tough team to beat:

ATK Launch Systems, Lockheed Martin Inc. and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne have formed Team Ares and said they will bid to develop the upper stage of the Ares I rocket.

On top of their loss of the CEV contract, and in the wake of Lockheed Martin’s aggressive marketing of the Atlas V, this will be another blow to Boeing’s human spaceflight business prospects if they can’t win (or decide not to bid) the Ares upper stage. And this one can be chalked up to the fact that they decided they didn’t want to own Rocketdyne any more. That decision to sell it to Pratt a couple years ago isn’t looking so smart now.

Space

Another Chicken Comes Home To Boeing’s Roost

This looks like it’s going to be a tough team to beat:

ATK Launch Systems, Lockheed Martin Inc. and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne have formed Team Ares and said they will bid to develop the upper stage of the Ares I rocket.

On top of their loss of the CEV contract, and in the wake of Lockheed Martin’s aggressive marketing of the Atlas V, this will be another blow to Boeing’s human spaceflight business prospects if they can’t win (or decide not to bid) the Ares upper stage. And this one can be chalked up to the fact that they decided they didn’t want to own Rocketdyne any more. That decision to sell it to Pratt a couple years ago isn’t looking so smart now.

Education

Abolish The Education Degree

That’s been my position for years, and Andrew Ferguson agrees, in this piece on the miserable state of math education in the US:

Mr. Levine’s research shows that even the students themselves know how weak their programs are. Sixty-two percent of ed-school alumni say their training didn’t prepare them to “cope with the realities of today’s classrooms.” Surveys show that school principals agree.

What’s to be done? A constructive fellow, Mr. Levine spends considerable time showing what works in the nation’s exemplary education schools. There are some. The examples are so compelling they just might shame other universities into following their lead, removing a major obstacle to educational improvement in America.

Education schools, for example, shouldn’t treat “education” as a major in itself. Good education schools, Mr. Levine finds, require their students to master a given subject

Biting Commentary about Infinity…and Beyond!