tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post6218660651018022672..comments2024-03-29T00:39:31.629-07:00Comments on CONTRARY BRIN: So what is on the Congressional plate?David Brinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-72443520460112327402015-01-16T16:21:24.540-08:002015-01-16T16:21:24.540-08:00onwardonwardDavid Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-19968452421313103362015-01-16T15:51:06.478-08:002015-01-16T15:51:06.478-08:00Tacitus you seem to be under the impression there ...Tacitus you seem to be under the impression there has BEEN a "budget." There has not been one, for years. Sometimes the continuing resolutions get tweaked.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-36437040030424499342015-01-16T15:32:14.243-08:002015-01-16T15:32:14.243-08:00According to this:
http://spacenews.com/40883hous...According to this:<br /><br />http://spacenews.com/40883house-and-senate-find-common-ground-on-noaa-budget/<br /><br />Last year the President, the D controlled Senate and the R controlled house all agreed on the budget for NOAA.<br /><br />And I understand they are up for a 3.2% funding increase in 2015. As to the budget year by year that is lost in the miasma arising from Foggy Bottom, but I suspect it has been funded with some generosity in recent years.<br /><br />Yes, I know they have many other functions but as NOAA was mentioned as perhaps a better agency than NASA for climate research I just wanted to throw out what facts I could garner.<br /><br />TacitusTacitushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17007086196578740689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-66409969788381062015-01-16T13:39:20.971-08:002015-01-16T13:39:20.971-08:00AF Rey said...
...But how much you wanna bet that ...AF Rey said...<br />...But how much you wanna bet that one or both of those will be lacking when the bill comes through? ;)<br /><br /><br />Yah. I understand that risk. 8)<br /><br />That doesn't mean I'm supportive of doing it the old way to avoid the risk, though. I'm a liberal who is willing to compromise with the lunatic right if it gets what I want.<br /><br />The way to sell the compromise is probably to argue that bringing it under one agency will make it easier to cut/control next year. Baby steps and tolerance of a small slash would help get NASA refocused. Later in conference committee, one removes the slash.Alfred Differhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01170159981105973192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-37005640601327339892015-01-16T13:11:31.075-08:002015-01-16T13:11:31.075-08:00Here is one for the cognitive dissonance file. Att...Here is one for the cognitive dissonance file. Attorney General Eric Holder has moved to limit civil forfeiture by the Feds.<br /><br /> http://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/holder-ends-seized-asset-sharing-process-that-split-billions-with-local-state-police/2015/01/16/0e7ca058-99d4-11e4-bcfb-059ec7a93ddc_story.html<br /><br />Civil forfeiture is one of the most unjust laws in America. And the Feds aren't playing that game anymore. How long till we hear that Mr. Holder just hates cops? matthewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17757867868731829206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-80504423266246122312015-01-16T12:03:24.701-08:002015-01-16T12:03:24.701-08:00There is a good argument to be made that climate o...<i>There is a good argument to be made that climate observations should not be in NASA's mission. I'm not saying the science shouldn't be done, but I think it belongs with (should be supported by) another agency like NOAA.</i><br /><br />If the climate observation work by NASA was transferred to another agency and fully funded, I would have no problem with that.<br /><br />But how much you wanna bet that one or both of those will be lacking when the bill comes through? ;)<br />A.F. Reynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-3412074224898725522015-01-16T10:42:49.388-08:002015-01-16T10:42:49.388-08:00It's a given that the current and recent Congr...It's a given that the current and recent Congresses were "do-nothings" because of the number of bills passed, committee meetings held, and subpoenas issued. <br /><br />While I share locums distress at Obama not closing Guantanamo, getting the hell out of the Mideast, or fully funding DHS, I would also like to point out that the current Congress is fully responsible for two of three of those failings. Obama cannot close Guantanamo - there was a law passed to prevent him from bringing the detainees onto American soil. Fully funding the DHS is the responsibility of Congress, not the President. And I might add that nobody is saying that Obama is a do-nothing. In fact to most of our red state citizens, the complaint is he is doing too much. <br /><br />And just how much funding do you think "pink fascism" costs us? Last time I looked at the Federal Budget, it was dominated by military spending and corporate handouts. Not exactly PC. matthewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17757867868731829206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-85896217540965026272015-01-16T09:57:22.953-08:002015-01-16T09:57:22.953-08:00There is a good argument to be made that climate o...There is a good argument to be made that climate observations should not be in NASA's mission. I'm not saying the science shouldn't be done, but I think it belongs with (should be supported by) another agency like NOAA.<br /><br />NASA is guilty over the years of trying to make themselves relevant to support a budget that can support their staff. All agencies do this after their initial purpose for existence is met or enough time passes. I have no issue with constraining NASA again AND no issue with supporting the science we need done. <br /><br />I'd rather focus NASA on the far frontier (Luna and outward) and task another agency to purchase what they can in the private sector. If that means moving people around to preserve civil service jobs, I'll tolerate that because the new agencies won't have the history of competing with the private sector on the near frontier that NASA has.Alfred Differhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01170159981105973192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-29673617243058961382015-01-16T09:44:00.961-08:002015-01-16T09:44:00.961-08:00Since Ted Cruz is a 'cum laude' graduate o...<br /><br />Since Ted Cruz is a 'cum laude' graduate of two of the most prestigious educational institutions in the USA (Princeton & Harvard), then any attack on him is an attack on the most prestigious of US educational institutions, most likely the act of a self-involved ingrate who repudiates the very educational system that has given him suckle (this argument being most representative of our host's 'logic' rather than my own).<br /><br />For, if it is a given that the current Republican-dominated US Congress is the most 'do-nothing' congress in history, then it also a given the current US Democrat-dominated administration is also one of the most 'do-nothing' administrations in history as evidenced by its failure to (1) close the Guantanamo detention center, (2) withdrawl from Iraq & Afganistan and (3) institute a functional NHS as promised despite an overwhelming electoral mandate at the time of its inception.<br /><br />It appears that Krugman's dire warnings about rising economic inequality (and fascism) have fallen on ears deafened by a bipartisan commitment to a poorly-functional status quo, one supported by a monied political class at the expense of an increasingly impoverished majority who are still expected to fund the Soft Fascism of the PC variety (aka 'progressive' policies) which has been an insidious fixture in the West for quite a while.<br /><br />All said, it makes no difference, really, if our forth-coming fascist overlords prefer their jackboots to be pink rather than black. We will all be slaves, as it were, if we passively accept our currently predestined future history, and it appears that we have already done so by choosing the form of our own destroyer. <br /><br />All Hail Marshmallow Fascism: Make my PINK !!<br /><br /><br />Bestlocumranchnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-19880377738618058222015-01-16T09:23:40.435-08:002015-01-16T09:23:40.435-08:00David,
RE: "Koch-Adelson controlled Americans...David,<br />RE: "Koch-Adelson controlled Americans for Prosperity has as its top priority an end to the Inheritance tax. Now I wonder why that would be! Could, perhaps, Brin’s oligarchic putsch model be valid?"<br /><br />I totally agree! But let me address how what I believe a lack of heat from the bottom will overtime skew the debate in favor of oligarchy even if their attempt to eliminate the tax fails:<br /><br />Its about setting the parameters of the debate.<br /><br />As it stands now we get "Shall we eliminate the tax as opposed to leaving it the same (or raising or lowering it a bit)?"<br /><br />And we get a compromise like "Well, we'll just reduce it a little... because that's how bi-partisan compromise works."<br /><br />Now in my opinion... with this level of wealth concentration an income tax alone will never be able to bring us to a healthy level... and a direct wealth tax is needed (a Helvetian War Light)...<br /><br />SO the parameters of the debate need to be expanded to "Okay... on one side eliminate it... on the other side... raise it to 100% and tack on a wealth tax before you're even dead!"<br /><br />And THEN we can start talking about a wise compromise between both of those extreme views.<br /><br />But w/o significant heat from the bottom you won't get there and the slow evolution of the debate leads us to the same dark end.<br /><br />We need peaceful but viable heat from the bottom and in a strange way we may NEED the STUPID heat from the bottom as well as the wise to counteract the stupid heat from the top.<br /><br />And over time then we can hope for a wiser public. Though I admit is may be too late.<br /><br />New post up... Old topic but I hope with a better 'biz' focus. If I don't know what I"m talking about I hope someone tells me soon what I"m missing.<br /><br />Scale and the Micropayment: The Missing Lever<br />http://culturalengineer.blogspot.com/2015/01/scale-and-micropayment-missing-lever.htmlTom Crowlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04444476865484424912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-47147883562047502012015-01-16T06:52:09.580-08:002015-01-16T06:52:09.580-08:00Was afflicted yesterday evening with Sam Brownback...Was afflicted yesterday evening with Sam Brownback's state of the state address, aka, the plan to be Orthanc to Rick Perry's Mordor. Now my head's done a bad thing to the memory of Rodgers & Hammerstein, "Won't you come and vote for the party, come on down and vote for the party with the fringe on top?".<br /> Tim H.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-35508433792779246522015-01-16T06:13:32.655-08:002015-01-16T06:13:32.655-08:00Paul S-B
I hope we have a chance to carry on a lo...Paul S-B<br /><br />I hope we have a chance to carry on a longer discussion on the shortcomings of our current educational system. <br /><br />I think it is fair to say that the causes are multiple and the solutions applied thus far have been ineffective.<br /><br />Another day...<br /><br />TacitusTacitushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17007086196578740689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-39013236902420803632015-01-16T05:39:16.835-08:002015-01-16T05:39:16.835-08:00Bob Lazeski is the most insightful student of heal...Bob Lazeski is the most insightful student of health care reform on the national scene (imho). His USA Today editorial is worth a read:<br /><br />http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/01/14/rethink-repeal-obamacare-replace-bipartisan-fixes-customers-ideology-reform-column/21777201/<br /><br />He excoriates Republicans who want to "repeal and replace", and I think rightly so. He says Obamacare is built "on a Republican chassis" which seems fair and goes on to say that the Democrats have created on same an "over regulated monster" that produces "lousy insurance products".<br /><br />Various suggestions for repair ranging from smiley face bandaids to major amputations and transplants follow.<br /><br />A sensible fellow whose thinking is clean and untainted by invective.<br /><br />TacitusTacitushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17007086196578740689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-50441969299683846262015-01-15T22:09:45.798-08:002015-01-15T22:09:45.798-08:00Dr. Brin, that does not lessen the need for facts ...Dr. Brin, that does not lessen the need for facts to back up your assertions. Without facts, you end up no better than people who believe in magic or homeopathy or conspiracy theories. There are plenty of things wrong with Cruz. So why spread lies? Specify the things Cruz has said. Don't put words in his mouth.<br /><br />Rob H.Acacia H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07678539067303911329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-4992454383107991102015-01-15T21:51:09.442-08:002015-01-15T21:51:09.442-08:00Tacitus, it is nonsense to demand examples when th...Tacitus, it is nonsense to demand examples when the side in question is so utterly uniform and disciplined in their tight obeisance to a particular party line.<br /><br />Your effort to somehow imply that one of the MOST party-line anti-science demagogues should NOT be associated with a core plank of an utterly rigid platform and catechism? By formal logic you may be right but it is utter nit picking and part of a delusion that there is some individual complexity on the right.<br /><br />Yeah... right.<br /><br />Paul, the huge DIFFERENCE in the US education system has been its aversion to memorized skills and knowledge and the associated testing. The result was that our top-half students mostly ARGUED in class and developed very agile minds... containing very little knowledge. The bottom half were utterly betrayed by such a system, since education never equipped them with EITHER agility or facts.<br /><br />NCLB specifically addressed that problem. Bottom half students started at least getting some basics drilled into them, as is done to ALL students elsewhere across the planet...<br /><br />...but this betrayed the upper half US students, who were being asked to memorize, something they hated. And that betrays the core essence of our way -- encouraging rambunctious individualistic creativity. ( Something that BTW the oligarchs don't want, over the long run.)<br /><br />David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-69112347513451109302015-01-15T21:31:34.323-08:002015-01-15T21:31:34.323-08:00On another subject completely, the opening post me...On another subject completely, the opening post mentioned the No Child Left Behind Act, and I thought I might say a word or two about that. I served on a panel a couple years ago to guide my school district in adapting to the new Common Core standards that most US states have adopted, and some of what I learned from that experience is pretty interesting.<br /><br />For one, the reason the new standards are being eagerly adopted by many states is the utter failure of NCLB to get the results they were intended to get. It is not just in Red states where it has failed. College councillors across the nation have been stymied by the extremely poor quality of incoming freshmen for the last decade. They know what the problem is, and so do most teachers. When you place heavy emphasis on tests and threaten severe punishment for failing to score sufficiently on high-stakes tests, teachers and school administrators are forced to shift from good pedagogical practices that lead to deep understanding to shallow, rote memorization of the "drill and kill" variety. This has left much of the younger generation with virtually no critical thinking skills, needed for success in higher education, and at a time when record numbers of people are applying to higher education. One result of this is that 50% of students who enter a 4-year university drop out by the second year. <br /><br />The new standards were created by a coalition of state governors and departments of education a few years ago precisely because the damaging effects of NCLB were becoming pretty obvious, but it was clear that Congress was going to do nothing about the situation. Right-wing lunatic talk show hosts have been trying to paint the Common Core as a take-over by the Obama Administration, but they are lying outright. One of the ironies of this is that both the NCLB and the Common Core were bipartisan creations. Bush took credit for NCLB, but Ted Kennedy was a co-author of the bill.<br /><br />This is part of why I have little faith in politicians generally. I have mentioned before the problem of specialization. Politicians are almost universally drawn from business and law. None of them know Jacques Merde about education, child development or brains. All they seem to know is that they made it through school so it can't be all bad (I could write a book about how public schools are so contrary to human nature they inevitably fail a majority of our children). They hire advisors, but the advisors they hire seem to mostly come from ivy league universities who share their highbrow assumptions and agendas, so that is no help.<br /><br />I know about these issues because I have been embroiled in them professionally for the last 14 years. It is difficult for me to imagine, having seen how terribly wrong they have gone in a field I am familiar with, to expect them to fare better in areas about which I know little. While I agree with Dr. Brin that the right wing is far more blatantly, blitheringly lunatic than the left, I still find little to inspire confidence in any of our leaders. Even those who go into the business with good intentions likely find themselves trapped in a system that is so mired in factionalism and bureaucratic inertia that they either have to jettison the years they dedicated to a political career or become part of the problem. This sounds like what old Tom Jefferson was talking about when he wrote that it is the right of the citizenry to overthrow their government if it stops serving the needs of the people. Paul Shen-Brownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1489878751210799712015-01-15T20:06:50.600-08:002015-01-15T20:06:50.600-08:00I agree with Tacitus here. I'm no fan of Cruz....I agree with Tacitus here. I'm no fan of Cruz. But as the crew at Wikipedia is fond of saying: Citation Required.<br /><br />Stick with the facts. They are more than enough to damn Republicans. Don't paint all Republicans with a wide brush, however; there are differences with each. If there weren't, we'd not have had the Tea Party rebellion which ended up screwing up Republican efforts more than once.<br /><br />Rob H.Acacia H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07678539067303911329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-4469712202179093112015-01-15T19:38:47.306-08:002015-01-15T19:38:47.306-08:00Uh, David..
Cruz was not in Congress during the B...Uh, David..<br /><br />Cruz was not in Congress during the Bush administration. He was elected in 2012. He did have what look like mid level jobs in the FTC and the Justice Department. <br /><br />So beyond general disapproval I am not sure how you are pinning on him the specific charge of removing "Earth" from NASA and NOAA's mission statements.<br /><br />I respect your passion. But sometimes it gets the better of you and weakens the strength of your discourse.<br /><br />TacitusTacitushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17007086196578740689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-48246059477334420482015-01-15T18:06:34.696-08:002015-01-15T18:06:34.696-08:00Tacitus, the Bush admin relentlessly tried to remo...Tacitus, the Bush admin relentlessly tried to remove "Earth" from all mission statements, with huge support from Congress, when it was in GOP hands. Your own words express this position by Cruz in the very very mildest of tones, but exactly the same direction...<br /><br />... to which I ask, if we are debating whether human activity is making no difference in the atmosphere... or causing disruptions that could KILL OUR KIDS... don't you think it would be good, an honorable, to find out?<br /><br />This is fundamental. The denialist cult not only claims "there's not enough science" to justify even negotiating mild, win-win, TWODA efficiency measures...<br /><br />... but that no science should be funded to actually find out!<br /><br />THAT is your side, my friend. And no, under those conditions, moon bases are obviously and spectacularly less important than Earth observation. <br /><br />And these men are staggeringly evil.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-54037232734899665782015-01-15T17:59:09.805-08:002015-01-15T17:59:09.805-08:00David
I am having a hard time finding a reference...David<br /><br />I am having a hard time finding a reference to:<br /><br />"Cruz was one of the group, for example, that tried to remove all reference to “Earth” not only from the NASA mission statement but from NOAA’s!"<br /><br />Can you help out there?<br /><br />Cruz is not a particular favorite of mine, but I do try to actually pay attention to what he is saying and in what context. He certainly has said that NASA resources would be better applied to space and that climate research is not their main mission.<br /><br />Tacitus Tacitushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17007086196578740689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-11419131028067692332015-01-15T17:37:13.967-08:002015-01-15T17:37:13.967-08:00Tacitus, if you are bent on defending maniacs like...Tacitus, if you are bent on defending maniacs like Ted Cruz, by pointing anecdotally to this or that particular segment of his statements that is NOT insane, then fine. Just know that it is no longer an effective tactic. Tell me how pro-science these fellows are, when ONE consistent and carried through and difficult endeavor that promotes science instead of smashing it. Cruz was one of the group, for example, that tried to remove all reference to “Earth” not only from the NASA mission statement but from NOAA’s! And to zero out the carbon and other Earth facing satellite programs. Now you think about that and tell us how that was anything but a declaration of war on all of us. Or how any of the GOP members of the House Science Committee are anything other than troglodytic culture warriors of whom YOU should be ashamed.<br /><br />Tom C, the Koch-Adelson controlled Americans for Prosperity has as its top priority an end to the Inheritance tax. Now I wonder why that would be! Could, perhaps, Brin’s oligarchic putsch model be valid?<br /><br />Robert, do not underestimate the ability of the GOP to “not do stuff.” There are their priorities… remove constraints on Wall Street gambling, wage huge and futile “wars” that only benefit Iran and some major oligarchic companies, slice taxes on the rich, elim the inheritance tax so we can have feudalism… <br /><br />…and then there are the things you say to the shock troops… reduce government, reduce deficits, deregulate, ban abortions, control the border… NOT ONE of which they have ever ever delivered even an iota. I ask you, why would they change. Dig it, the GOP health plan which became Obamacare is LOVED by Insurance Companies! They will not let it be repealed, but will allow it to be tweaked to hurt poor people and increase deficits, like Medicare Part D.<br /><br />Finally, for an anonymous hit and runner -screecher to chide me about courtesy or leaping to conclusions is hilarious! Indeed, his latest was effecting at changing my mind! Fellah, you are welcome back here, any time. I had a great chuckle.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-21357796141434377272015-01-15T17:07:06.736-08:002015-01-15T17:07:06.736-08:00Robert:
Pretty much their one hope is for Hillary...Robert:<br /><i><br />Pretty much their one hope is for Hillary to run and then after she's won the Primary and is a week or so away from the General Election to suddenly drop dead, preferably peacefully in her sleep so there is just sorrow at her passing rather than anger at an assassination which could motivate Democrats to vote out of spite.<br /></i><br /><br />Everyone knows the preferred method of accidental death for Democratic candidates is the "mysterious plane crash".<br /><br />Airplanes are to Democrats as plastic bags are to babies.LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-69640520870123454392015-01-15T11:28:20.003-08:002015-01-15T11:28:20.003-08:00Cruz's comments appeal to the old space indust...Cruz's comments appeal to the old space industry folks and the NASA civil service types. It's good politics.<br /><br />Be wary, though. We are already on a path to end our dependence on the Russians. He can help screw that up by returning NASA to business as usual. The tightness associated with manned space budgets is driving the business out into the non-contractor business sector. There is potential over there for much more (and cheaper) access to low-orbit space than the old way.Alfred Differhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01170159981105973192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-14729057930561802192015-01-15T10:51:41.225-08:002015-01-15T10:51:41.225-08:00"Anonymous Bush supporter…. you are a raving ..."Anonymous Bush supporter…. you are a raving loony but also LAZY as your co-cultists."<br /><br />So... one link to a usefully on-topic wikipedia page and 3 friendly words, and you believe you can identify a someone's political affiliation, mental health and level of motivation?<br /><br />Congratulations! You just took the gold in the blogger olympics "long jump to false conclusions" event.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-27692051211348707022015-01-15T07:26:29.285-08:002015-01-15T07:26:29.285-08:00Dr. Brin, I respectfully disagree. Of course it...Dr. Brin, I respectfully disagree. Of course it's a moot point as current demographics make it nearly impossible for the current group of Republican politicians to run for President and win. Pretty much their one hope is for Hillary to run and then after she's won the Primary and is a week or so away from the General Election to suddenly drop dead, preferably peacefully in her sleep so there is just sorrow at her passing rather than anger at an assassination which could motivate Democrats to vote out of spite.<br /><br />That said, IF Republicans won the Presidency and kept the House and Senate, they WOULD destroy Obamacare by repealing it entirely. They can't not do this. They have sworn to do this over and over again. If they don't? Then the Tea Party candidates will in 2018 overthrow many of the Republican candidates out there.<br /><br />You also underestimate the sheer hatred of the "Republican" politicians for Obama and everything he's touched... and the hatred of their voting base toward Obama due to the vitriol coming from the politicians and Fox News. They are completely screwed over if they don't repeal it entirely.<br /><br />Rob H.Acacia H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07678539067303911329noreply@blogger.com