Comments Posted By allen
Displaying 41 To 50 Of 74 Comments
WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO OBAMA'S 'WELL OILED MACHINE?'
If true, the reported riff between the President and the Pentagon is a classic rookie error. Sometimes events obviate the need for doing something.
There will be a referendum held in Iraq by July 31st that will determine the status of our forces. Either way it goes he gets cover. If they say "see ya" he has to have all the forces out of Iraq in 16 months any way. If they say "not so fast" then he can claim he's following the mandate of the Iraqi people and our agreements with them. Even in that case the majority of the forces can be pulled in the subsequent 16 months.
Besides which, Iraq is way below the radar for most folks during the current economic mess.
Comment Posted By Allen On 4.02.2009 @ 13:10
KEPLER MISSION WILL TAKE A GALACTIC CENSUS OF EARTH-LIKE WORLDS
Imteresting timing for your post; I just finished re-reading Shklovskii's and Sagan's book, "Intelligent Life in the Universe." I'm sure Sagan would have loved to see this program.
Funding from the Federal government for science continues apace. It is the nature of that funding that is changing. It's all about return on investment now. "When will it be ready," "how many lives will this help," and so on. This is becoming a bad precedent, as the funding agencies are constantly being pushed by Congress for the "right" kind of research. There aren't many scientists on the Hill, but they like to pretend that they are.
Very good points - and reminiscent of the science advisor in Sagan's "Contact" who cut basic research in favor of funding projects with a return on investment.
ed.
Comment Posted By Allen On 25.01.2009 @ 16:53
I think there is no requirement in the Constitution of who administers the Oath of Office. Which begs an interesting question: who did Washington swear the oath to, and in what forum? There was no tradition, and no Chief Justice, when he first took office.
An interesting bit of Americana indeed. I now find I have the need to find out about when it became tradition to have the Chief Justice do the honors. Thanks for the prompt.
The chief justice administering the oath has a long history but there are numerous exceptions. As for Washington, if I remember my Flexner, his good friend Robert Livingston administered the oath. I believe Livingston may have been the governor at the time but I may be wrong.
ed.
Comment Posted By Allen On 21.01.2009 @ 20:25
IT'S JUST A LITTLE STAB IN THE BACK
You are asking for coherency from the incoherent. The left has been at it longer then the right, but the right is learning. To wit: gaining votes is the truth of a thought.
The current political platform of some on the left is anti-Israel. Regardless, of the facts on the ground, sticking to the platform prevails. Thus, the convoluted explanations for what is actually happening. To maintain an ideology, in the face of reality, always requires an enormous expenditure of strawmen.
Comment Posted By Allen On 4.01.2009 @ 15:28
Throwing shoes at power. The new political rebellion.
Comment Posted By Allen On 15.12.2008 @ 17:56
SUCKLING THE GOVERNMENT SUGAR TIT
I suspect the next few generations are not going look at ours in a good light. No, let me ammend that, they will be royally pissed off. Their questions will fall into three basic categories:
1. How many mortgages did you take out on the place?
2. What the hell did you do with all the equity?
3. Did it ever cross your minds that we have to pay that debt?The greatest generation is not what we will be known as.
Comment Posted By Allen On 13.11.2008 @ 01:00
The greatness of America is our willingness to experiment. We test this, we test that, then we take stock. I have no essential fear for our nation, as long as we recognize when things work and when they don't. Then try something else.
Comment Posted By Allen On 3.11.2008 @ 20:35
I don't run my own polls, but I do run my own statistical models based on data I get from various polling agencies. I also include economic data on a state by state basis. My conclusion: who the hell knows. My hunch: Obama by 2%.
This election is certainly transformative in one way. The previous polling models might be washed up.
Comment Posted By Allen On 29.10.2008 @ 21:51
BLACK NIGHT RIDERS TERRORIZING OUR POLITICS
Indeed they are playing with fire. In my lifetime I have observed the change in the country where being a racist carried no real social stigma to today where it most certainly does.
My cheif concern is that this might diminish the sting of the stigma. If one is labeled as a racist for calling him a socialist is there any further downside to being a real racist? That's my worry.
Comment Posted By Allen On 14.10.2008 @ 14:45
IF ELECTED, OBAMA WILL BE MY PRESIDENT
Rick, I agree with your basic sentiment, but I don't see it happening. First, if Obama wins you will not see gracious winners. Second, you will hear a continuous drumbeat of how conservatives are evil, and have been repudiated by the American people. You might wish to reach across the aisle, but many on the left don't give a damn if you do.
The idea that partisanship ended at the water's edge died long ago. We might argue about how that came about, and who started it, but it is a fact that it's dead. So, personally, I don't see any upside with even engaging with folks on the left. I know what they think of me, and it's not good.
Comment Posted By Allen On 13.10.2008 @ 14:38
