Please tell me the flags I see flying at half mast, in the most conservative county in the nation, are not for Teddy Kennedy. If I had a flag pole I would be finding a way to extend it as high as possible. The absolute last thing we should be doing right now is celebrating the life of that man. This isn’t a political thing. I don’t celebrate the life of Richard Nixon. Both men were two peas of a pod. Their lives were about power and nothing else.
I haven’t seen any public opinion polls on the possibility of a Moon or Mars shot by NASA. I don’t know if I’m in the minority or majority but I am completely against it.
I believe we need to focus our space program on practical programs; items that principally involve this Earth. I’m ok with NASA providing a supporting role with educational programs such as space telescopes like Hubble or exploration craft like Voyager.
Seriously what is there to gain from going to Mars? Sure you can dream up value but it’s not just that–dreams. Our tax dollars are precious and they need to be considered such.
I hear people making statements about velcro and ear thermometers but let’s be realistic. Americans have invested almost half a trillion dollars in NASA. That’s a lot of money.
As individuals we are generally pretty good at highest and best use analysis. If we spend fifty bucks on dinner we will evaluate whether or not it was worth the money. Government simply doesn’t do that. When they spend a million dollars in a project, they will rarely pull the plug regardless on its success. If it isn’t a success they will put more money into it. I think there are two main reasons. 1-labeling a project as a failure reflects badly on those who supported it. 2-Jobs are associated with projects and they want to project jobs.
Some may call the second a worthy thing. I call it ludicrous. If you go eat at a restaurant and don’t like it would you go back because you don’t want the waiter to lose their jobs? Heck no!
I’m not for killing NASA but we can’t justify the money spent when we perform a serious analysis of the opportunity cost of resources committed. We need to refine our list of NASA projects and budget accordingly.
Right now on Facebook you have people associating themselves with dozens of groups and associations that support this or that cause. It seems harmless enough but I see an issue. In normal social circles we have Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians and other “ats” and “ans.” Respectable people, who I’m sometimes not, adjust their discussions based on their company. For instance, if five conservatives are sitting together they may have a massive Obama slam fest. But guess what? If one friend in the group is a Democrat, they will avoid political discussions. I have friends that are liberal and friends that are conservative. I’m proud to know both and don’t want to offend either. Facebook however puts friendships in jeopardy.
Facebook is a great tool. I love its ability to rekindle friendships. I enjoy seeing pictures of their vacations and hearing about their hobbies. However, I’m not a fan of the myriads of political or social groups. They tend to alienate and offend rather than bring people together.
When people add these groups to their Facebook page they risk damaging friendships. I’m not saying people shouldn’t put their party affiliation on their page. But loading up with highly charged Facebook groups serves no good purpose. Nobody is going to be convinced or change their mind based on a weak association with a Facebook group. However, when you associate yourself with a group named “Obama is a Retard” or “I hate George Bush”, nobody benefits.
This article and video show how debased we can become when exposed to narcotics. Drugs seem to take your heart from you and leave a shell with no emotion, feeling or conscience.
MSNBC just posted an article titled, “Drugmakers Ready $150 Million for Obama Plan”. I’m chapped about a particular line in the article. “…given the drug industry’s recent history of siding with Republicans and the Democrats’ disdain for special interests.” What? “Democrats’ disdain for special interests.” That’s not just a lie–it’s propaganda. No reasonable person, Democrat or Replublican, would say their party has a disdain for special interests. Both parties are completely owned by special interests. Frankly, I’m not sure it’s a bad thing. Special interests are just a group of people who feel strongly about something and seek to support it. What’s wrong with that?
Nevertheless, “special interests” clearly has a negative connotation. Suggesting that common sense and working for the public good is hijacked for a particular group. It is a constant source of aggravation when journalists who portend to be unbiased, constantly puppet a particular party.
Journalism a necessary evil but it is evil. Journalists treat their occupation like it is a religion. They are fierce defenders that go beyond it being a job. They see it as a high and noble calling.
I’ve never been able to figure two things out. 1- Why does the work push people towards liberalism? 2- Why do they hold claim that they are unbiased when they so clearly promote the liberal way?
I guess it is a question for the ages.
I read a recent AP article called, “No More Opium, No More Money for Afgan Villagers.” In this article Afghan’s make a pathetic attempt to get the pity of the world. Here are some of their statements:
“Now we don’t even have 10 Afghanis ($0.25) to give our children to buy bubble gum,” says opium farmer Abdul Hay. “Before they would go into the field and collect the money themselves.”
“See this mustard? It can take care of my family for one month,” says 25-year-old farmer Abdul Saboor, pulling up a shoot of the green plant and snapping it open with his teeth. “When we planted opium in this same plot, it took care of all our expenses for an entire year.”
“We open in the morning and go back at night. No money comes in. No one buys anything,” says Ahmed. “There is no money left in this village. Opium is the only income we had.”
“If we plant two bags of wheat, then we’ll have just enough money to buy the seeds to plant another two bags of wheat,” says the gray-bearded farmer. “We’re going backwards. Of course we’re angry at the government.”
Here is a classic Middle Eastern comment.
“We are getting poorer day by day,” says Abdulhamid, in the village of Pengani. “What should I do? Kill my children so that I don’t have to feed them?”
Here is another shocker.
“I didn’t plant this for my own pleasure,” he says. “I planted this so that my family could eat. All the rest of this is worth nothing,” he says, waving at the wheat. “The choice I have to make now is either kill myself. Or leave the country.”
Does someone have to die every day? “Who spilled my goat’s milk, they must die.” Just freaking relax. Life is tough and killing doesn’t make it any easier.
How are these people different than the other billions on this earth who find their livelihood in jeopardy? I’ll tell you how their different. They deserve no pity because they’ve know for a thousand years that they were selling contraband. Many others lose their living because of volcano’s, tsunamis and floods.
If a member of the mob had said, gave excuses why racketeering was being cracked down on would you be weeping for him?
The only ones I feel sorry for are the children. The children with parents too stupid and corrupt to take a proper course in life. Illigal drugs are not a way to raise a family. Muslims don’t believe in drinking alcohol. These knot heads in Afghanistan know full well they are doing wrong. They just don’t care. Well, don’t come looking to me for sympathy.
BTW-I feel the same for those in Detroit who were too stupid to see and respond to the auto crisis.
If you are for the Obama health care plan; you are 100% nuts.
In making that statement I’m really restraining myself.
