Even on its own terms.
No one who was really paying attention should be shocked.
Thieves.
Category Archives: Political Commentary
The Alliance Between The Left And Islam
More (chilling) observations from Bruce Bawer. Earlier post here.
[Via Jay Nordlinger]
So Who Is The Liar?
John Kyl, or Barack Obama?
I know where I’d put my money. It’s pretty obvious that it’s the Democrats’ policy to keep the flow of immigrants over the border going, to provide pressure for amnesty. But it’s backfiring, as the polls indicate.
[Update early evening]
OK, the White House, in the form of Bill Burton, says that Kyl’s account is untrue. But Bill Burton wasn’t in the meeting, so how does he know?
Do you know what this reminds me of? It reminds me of the time that Bill Clinton didn’t deny (and never denied) raping Juanita Broaddrick, but sent out his lawyer (who presumably wasn’t at the event) to deny it.
As I said, I know where I’d put my money.
How, Not Where
Over at The Space Review today, Dan Lester says we won’t make any progress unless we end our Apollo-driven focus on destinations, and pay more attention to capabilities (as I’ve been preaching for years). I found this interesting:
…how do we get taxpayers to buy into that grand goal of being able to leave, which is a truly unarguable and completely unique justification for human spaceflight? It’s not a matter of just telling NASA to do it. The Space Act that defines the agency says nothing about species preservation, and actually doesn’t even say anything about human spaceflight!
I’m working on a book, and this is an excerpt from the first chapter, a history of the early years:
When it was first formed in 1958, nothing in the NASA charter required that the new agency do more [than the NACA], except to extend the process to space technology development.
And in fact, in light of that, it’s interesting to do something that few (including space enthusiasts) have ever done – to go back and read it. Note that it actually bears little resemblance to the agency that was suddenly morphed into the manned-space behemoth that it became in the wake of the decision to race the Soviets to the moon:
(a) The Congress hereby declares that it is the policy of the United States that activities in space should be devoted to peaceful purposes for the benefit of all mankind.
(b) The Congress declares that the general welfare and security of the United States require that adequate provision be made for aeronautical and space activities.
The Congress further declares that such activities shall be the responsibility of, and shall be directed by, a civilian agency exercising control over aeronautical and space activities sponsored by the United States, except that activities peculiar to or primarily associated with the development of weapons systems, military operations, or the defense of the United States (including the research and development necessary to make effective provision for the defense of the United States) shall be the responsibility of, and shall be directed by, the Department of Defense; and that determination as to which such agency has responsibility for and direction of any such activity shall be made by the President in conformity with section 2471(e).
(c)The Congress declares that the general welfare of the United States requires that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (as established by title II of this Act) seek and encourage, to the maximum extent possible, the fullest commercial use of space.
(d) The aeronautical and space activities of the United States shall be conducted so as to contribute materially to one or more of the following objectives:
(1) The expansion of human knowledge of the Earth and of phenomena in the atmosphere and space;
(2) The improvement of the usefulness, performance, speed, safety, and efficiency of aeronautical and space vehicles;
(3) The development and operation of vehicles capable of carrying instruments, equipment, supplies, and living organisms through space;
(4) The establishment of long-range studies of the potential benefits to be gained from, the opportunities for, and the problems involved in the utilization of aeronautical and space activities for peaceful and scientific purposes;
(5) The preservation of the role of the United States as a leader in aeronautical and space science and technology and in the application thereof to the conduct of peaceful activities within and outside the atmosphere;
(6) The making available to agencies directly concerned with national defense of discoveries that have military value or significance, and the furnishing by such agencies, to the civilian agency established to direct and control nonmilitary aeronautical and space activities, of information as to discoveries which have value or significance to that agency;
(7) Cooperation by the United States with other nations and groups of nations in work done pursuant to this Act and in the peaceful application of the results thereof;
(8) The most effective utilization of the scientific and engineering resources of the United States, with close cooperation among all interested agencies of the United States in order to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort, facilities, and equipment; and
(9) The preservation of the United States preeminent position in aeronautics and space through research and technology development related to associated manufacturing processes.The emphases are mine. Note that nothing whatsoever about Apollo either sought or encouraged to even a minimum extent, let alone the maximum one possible, commercial use of space.
Note also that while (d)(3) authorized the agency to “develop and operate” vehicles carrying “living organisms” (including humans) through space, it says nothing about how they get there. The development of the giant Saturn V was not driven by the NASA charter – it was driven by the need to kick up lunar dust before the Russians did. And take away that clause, and there is little difference between NASA’s charter and what its predecessor, the NACA, did, other than the addition of “space” to aeronautics. The 1961 Apollo decision, in a very profound way, perverted the original intent of the founding of the agency two years earlier. And it’s interesting to point out that the controversial policy change of the Obama administration in early 2010 – to have astronauts delivered to low earth orbit (LEO) on commercial launchers while NASA focused its resources on the “development and operation of vehicles capable of carrying instruments, equipment, supplies, and living organisms through space” is nothing more than returning the agency to its original charter of half a century before (and prior to the wrong turn taken with Apollo).
It could have continued on in the NACA model, with private industry developing space vehicles to provide services, for government or commercial markets, and the new agency providing it with the key basic technologies to make it successful. But that approach, while more in keeping with our nation’s successful history of affordable technology development, wouldn’t have achieved the president’s stated objective, or at least couldn’t be relied upon for it.
So with the new rush to get humans to the moon and back, decision makers relied on their own recent experience from the war, in which there had been a massive crash government effort funded by the taxpayer to achieve a critical national goal: the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb. Given the perceived urgency of the space race in an existential Cold War, it seemed appropriate to set up a similar centralized command structure to achieve this new stretch technological objective. As a result, in essence, we established our own state socialist enterprise to compete with that of the Soviets.
We need to break out of that trap in which we’ve been stuck for the past half century.
You Go First
I don’t have time to fisk it properly, but here’s yet another jeremiad against life extension. And note what is missing (as usual). Hint: it’s a very terracentric viewpoint. These people are the new Ptolemists.
Orangutans
Are they people? If so, what rights do/should they have?
Medvedev For President
Russia is getting rid of the capital gains tax. But President Obama doesn’t think that’s fair.
Great Schemes Don’t Work
Some thoughts on the impending collapse of the euro, and how much the UK may end up on the hook regardless of the fact that they kept sterling. I found this part interesting, though:
Again and again in politics, great schemes don’t work – Soviet Communism, for example, and now the euro. Rational people tend to conclude that, because a scheme doesn’t work, it will quickly stop. Unfortunately, rational people are wrong. Bad political schemes are usually given up only when they have been tested literally to destruction. It would be much better for Europe if the euro had never happened, and I long for it somehow to fade away, but the process of destruction will be horrendous, and it is only just beginning.
I think that we were seeing the same thing with Constellation and NASA’s five- and ten-year plans. Interestingly, the Founders didn’t have a great scheme, because they understood that they don’t work. That’s why they wrote a constitution of limited government. Unfortunately, the great schemers have managed to circumvent it over the past two and a third centuries. Their great scheme is on the verge of collapse, as well, and as usual, all will pay, guilty and innocent alike.
Our Incompetent Government
Some thoughts:
One of the reasons Big Government is so helpless in the face of an actual crisis is that it never learns anything, because it evades blame and consequence for its failures. The politicians who brought you the subprime crisis are richer and more powerful than ever before. The Gulf oil crisis may well end the same way, if the Democrats use a lame-duck session of Congress, plus resources from their new minions at BP, to shove cap-and-trade legislation down America’s throat. Like ObamaCare, such a bill can inflict serious wounds to American liberty during the two years it will take to replace a President determined to veto repeal attempts.
Indulging the urge of politicians to increase their power and wealth produces a government that spends all its time feeding, instead of doing the things it’s supposed to be doing. It is blinded by hunger, and uninterested in duties that yield no direct political reward. The lavishly funded agency in charge of regulating offshore drilling scarcely bothered to inspect the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. It’s painfully obvious that the Administration didn’t notice the Gulf crisis until it became a political problem. Our vast government apparatus was completely unaware of a large supply of containment boom until Jake Tapper, an ABC reporter, told them about it.
This is what comes from a government that tries to do too many things that aren’t its business, and neglecting the ones that are.
Is This A Gag Book?
Good lord, I think it’s serious
In his historic rise to the most powerful position in the world, Barack Obama single-handedly altered the concept of leadership around the world. Now, Shel Leanne—the expert on the Obama way of leadership—explains how to thrive in any business setting by adopting the same skill set.
Leadership the Barack Obama Way examines the ins and outs of the leadership style the President of the United States rode to heights of power nobody dreamed possible just a short time ago. Leanne breaks down Obama’s style into easily digestible pieces that you can apply in any situation.
Actually, I think that the pieces have already been digested.