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Romney-Ryan Release Space Policy Paper

RocketAcademy writes "The Romney-Ryan campaign has released a white paper on space policy, which observers find to be long on criticisms of the Obama Administration but short on specific recommendations. The policy promises 'a robust role for commercial space,' but it's clearly a supporting role: 'NASA will set the goals and lead the way in human space exploration.' When it comes to space, both parties put government ahead of private enterprise. Some see a parallel with the policies which are driving space companies out of California. Newt Gingrich, one of the few politicians who thinks seriously about space, says the policy is a step in the right direction but not enough."

378 comments

  1. Long on this, short on that by ackthpt · · Score: 1

    Seems I've been hearing that for the last month or so.

    I keep expecting Mitt and Paul to get elected, then slip out of their disguises as Kang and Kodos.

    I for one ... ah, bugger it.

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    1. Re:Long on this, short on that by Antipater · · Score: 1

      "As a young boy, I dreamed of being a baseball" is something I would be utterly unsurprised to hear coming out of Romney's mouth.

      --
      Everything is better with chainsaws.
    2. Re:Long on this, short on that by Infernal+Device · · Score: 1

      Seems I've been hearing that for the last month or so.

      I keep expecting Mitt and Paul to get elected, then slip out of their disguises as Kang and Kodos.

      I for one ... ah, bugger it.

      I think Kang and Kodos had more definite plans than these jokers.

      It's like the Romney campaign read The Complete Opposite Of Getting Elected. They're politicians, I get that - a politician who doesn't leave himself room to maneuver gets eaten alive when the wind changes. But these guys are bringing new meaning to the word "vague".

      --
      "My God...it's full of trolls!"
    3. Re:Long on this, short on that by rtb61 · · Score: 2

      There is a reason for that vague. From the own mouths they said, in the majority they do not get the votes of the educated elite. So, they with their second rate election team, spend the appropriate amount of time on creating illusionary policies. The amount of effort results in the simplest and vaguest nothings. Now if we were part of the more likely to vote for them crowd, then their corporate public relations teams would spend more time coming up with more accurate nothings to vote for them.

      As far as they are concerned you are not going to vote for them, so they are not going to waste time with you, how ever as we are a bunch of smart arses they will also not go out of the way to offend us prior to election time. The from the gut bullshit, the educated elite always trying to tell everyone what to do bullshit, the liberal elite bullshit, the being smart is un-American bullshit and, the smart specialists cost to much let's import cheap third worlders bullshit that's all post election or behind closed doors. Make no mistake they hate us, they did so since high school, the remorselessly picked on the physically weakest of us, the toughest they avoided completely as we were doubly threatening. That hate and jealously they have carried with them into an immature adult hood, surely you must have noticed by now.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    4. Re:Long on this, short on that by craigminah · · Score: 1

      All politicians are vague so they don't have to flip-flop...the public/we are way to critical of everything they do so we need to STFU sometimes and do you really think they listen after they're elected?

    5. Re:Long on this, short on that by mcgrew · · Score: 1

      "As a young boy, I dreamed of being a baseball" is something I would be utterly unsurprised to hear coming out of Romney's mouth.

      Mitt strikes again: Romney wonders out loud why airplane windows don't open

    6. Re:Long on this, short on that by mcgrew · · Score: 1

      I keep expecting Mitt and Paul to get elected, then slip out of their disguises as Kang and Kodos.

      More like Quark and Zak if you ask me. They don't seem to be warriers (not good ones anyway) but they sure follow the Rules of Acquisition.

  2. Re:The Short Version by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    47% of space is lazy...

  3. No flip-flop jokes please by fm6 · · Score: 1

    Even us die-hard Obamatrons are tired of them!

    1. Re:No flip-flop jokes please by ackthpt · · Score: 1

      Even us die-hard Obamatrons are tired of them!

      This is the Etch-a-Sketch crowd, haven't you been keeping up?

      I'm waiting for the Lego candidate, myself.

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    2. Re:No flip-flop jokes please by LordLimecat · · Score: 1

      Block Obama is your man.

  4. Nope by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No space. There are poor people. Give all money to them. kthxbye.

    1. Re:Nope by goodmanj · · Score: 2

      If you give all of NASA's budget to them, they'll still be poor. Still poor, but their kids will have one less reason to stay in school. It's really hard to buy people up from poverty, but you can teach their kids up from it.

    2. Re:Nope by weakref · · Score: 1

      You are wrong! Space is a series of vacuum (tubes)!

    3. Re:Nope by Asmodae · · Score: 1

      More appropriately you can inspire them up from it. After a certain point you can't teach if they aren't willing to learn, and if they are willing to learn, they'll soak it up. Creating that willingness, that desire... that's the real trick. It is, appropriately, one trick NASA has actually pulled off more often and better than any other organization I know of.

  5. What NASA needs. by camperdave · · Score: 3, Interesting

    What NASA needs is a specific goal (moon in this decade), and the money to achieve it, free of political constraints. None of this "No ATK, no $$$" garbage.

    --
    When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    1. Re:What NASA needs. by kiriath · · Score: 2

      I agree, I feel like we should make a our goal creating a base on the moon from which to launch further expeditions to Mars, perhaps even construct the ships out there, so that we can make them larger, and more habitable.

      It's all sci-fi sounding I agree, but It could be a step in the right direction... anything would be a step in the right direction.

    2. Re:What NASA needs. by ackthpt · · Score: 2

      I agree, I feel like we should make a our goal creating a base on the moon from which to launch further expeditions to Mars, perhaps even construct the ships out there, so that we can make them larger, and more habitable.

      It's all sci-fi sounding I agree, but It could be a step in the right direction... anything would be a step in the right direction.

      The latest step appears to be, "Let's watch and see what China and India do."

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    3. Re:What NASA needs. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe we could do something similar with the DoD. Here's the $500 billion for your new fighter plane. Spend it wisely, and don't come back here looking for more because that's your budget.

      I mean, if we can ask NASA to land a robotic truck on mars with like $14 and a pack of chewing gum, I think the DoD should be able to get its projects done the same way, with no actual deadlines and 1,000x's the budget.

    4. Re:What NASA needs. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What NASA needs is to be scrapped and started over.

    5. Re:What NASA needs. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...which leaves some people watching, and some people doing.

    6. Re:What NASA needs. by HornWumpus · · Score: 2, Interesting

      No. South pole of the moon is a potential fuel base. Build the ships on earth, assemble in orbit, fuel from the moon. Skip mars mission and fetch the nearest earth crossing small to medium nickle-iron asteroid to L5. People only in LEO and maybe at the lunar fuel base. Everything else robotic.

      Then build/invent orbital metal refinery with intention of blowing or sputtering onto foil a nickle iron barrel shape. Move that to LEO as new habitat. Also refuel and refurb asteroid tug and send it for the next asteroid.

      Be fucking careful, an asteroid tug is a serious potentially planet destroying weapon. Use very strong crypto. Build hard restrictions into navigation computer.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    7. Re:What NASA needs. by murdocj · · Score: 4, Insightful

      yeah... because since the 60s, all NASA has done is launch probes to all of the planets, orbiters to a bunch of them, rovers on Mars, interstellar probes at the boundary of the solar system, ion drives, missions to asteroids... gee I sure wish we were still trying to put a couple of guys into low earth orbit.

    8. Re:What NASA needs. by camperdave · · Score: 1

      You can't build rockets on the moon. There are no sources of refined metals, or plastics, or electronics. There are no machine shops, nor tool and die fabricators. There are no people to operate anything either. There are no launch facilities, no way to fuel the rocket, even if you managed to get it built.

      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    9. Re:What NASA needs. by ackthpt · · Score: 2

      yeah... because since the 60s, all NASA has done is launch probes to all of the planets, orbiters to a bunch of them, rovers on Mars, interstellar probes at the boundary of the solar system, ion drives, missions to asteroids... gee I sure wish we were still trying to put a couple of guys into low earth orbit.

      The James Webb Space Telescope (with it's awesome infra-red capabilities!) is a definite posibility of getting axed. Lots of other astronomy projects are threatened by the budget axe, too. Some great work being done from the ground, but there's getting to be a lot less support for keeping it going.

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    10. Re:What NASA needs. by Teancum · · Score: 1

      I mean, if we can ask NASA to land a robotic truck on mars with like $14 and a pack of chewing gum, I think the DoD should be able to get its projects done the same way, with no actual deadlines and 1,000x's the budget.

      Considering that the Mars Curiosity Rover cost American taxpayers about 2 and a half billion dollars, I would say that must be one very expensive pack of chewing gum.

      What Curiosity is going to do with $14 on the surface of Mars is something else I'd like to figure out as well. Real estate development? Testing new currency for the Bureau of Printing and Engraving?

    11. Re:What NASA needs. by Sulphur · · Score: 1

      You can't build rockets on the moon. There are no sources of refined metals, or plastics, or electronics. There are no machine shops, nor tool and die fabricators. There are no people to operate anything either. There are no launch facilities, no way to fuel the rocket, even if you managed to get it built.

      Worse there is nowhere to spend money.

    12. Re:What NASA needs. by Sir_Sri · · Score: 1

      All major spending projects are a bit of a sham, and everyone, the people paying and the people being paid know the game, that's on top of legitimately different views on how to count things (e.g. do you mean in year 2000 dollars, 2009 dollars, or total nominal dollars for the lifetime of the programme?).

      Think of it this way. You and I agree to a billion dollar project. I spend 750 million and come back to you and say 'look, the last 250 million isn't going to be enough, and if I don't get more money you'll be left with nothing, because what I've spent so far won't work, it won't fly, won't go to space, won't be a completed tunnel, whatever'. So I ask for an extra 300 million dollars. Now you've already committed to a billion. And you've thrown away 750 million, that's basically a pile of garbage in a room right now. So you either pay more, and hopefully get something, or pay nothing and get accused of throwing away tax payer money.

      Now lets say you and I have been doing this for the last 50 years. I'm the only guy who makes this thing you want. So you have to do business with boeing, er, sorry, me. When I ask for money I ask for less than it will cost, to lowball and get the contract, and you know full well that I'll take more money to do the project, because I haven't once managed anything on budget in the last 50 years, there's no reason to think I'm about to start now. But you also know the less money you offer now, the less you're likely to be asked to pony up in the future.

      In this case both parties have a reasonable estimate of the 'real' cost for both sides, they just don't actually agree to pay that, because you always want to be pleasantly surprised when the other guy comes in on time and on budget, or offers to pony up way more money than it will actually take. It's a stupid system, but it has worked surprisingly well for basically the entire history of government.

      And as I say, on top of all that is the legitimate accounting issues of different people counting things in different ways. With the F35 some people talk about the flyaway cost in 2009 dollars, some people talk about the total lifetime cost of the aircraft in nominal dollars (i.e. adjusting for projected inflation), other people talk about the total cost of operating the fleet of fighters, including pilots, training, bases, munitions etc. All of which are different things, and all of which can be cherry picked by politicians to make the other guy look bad.

    13. Re:What NASA needs. by Capt.DrumkenBum · · Score: 1

      What Curiosity is going to do with $14 on the surface of Mars is something else I'd like to figure out as well.

      Blackjack and hookers obviously. Where have you been?

      --
      If I were God, wouldn't I protect my churches from acts of me?
    14. Re:What NASA needs. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Moon is not a goal, it's a destination.

      Saying "NASA should go to the Moon in this decade" is like saying the US Geological Survey should go to Wyoming in this decade.

      NASA does not need a single destination, anymore than the US Geological Survey needs a single destination. What NASA needs is a *purpose*. Once we've decided what purpose NASA serves, we can decide what destinations it should go to. (There may be lots of destinations, once we bring down the cost of access to space.)

      NASA will never be "free of political constraints." All government agencies operate under political constraints. Quite rightly. Since they are spending taxpayers' money, they should be accountable to the taxpayers, through our elected representatives. As imperfect as that system is, it beats the alternatives.

      If you want a space program to be free of political constraints, you need to look outside the government.

    15. Re:What NASA needs. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Awesome infra-red capabilities? The astronomer I had lunch with last week used different words. He told me that JWST's infrared capabilities are becoming less valuable because it's been in development too long and ground-based infrared has been making great strides in the meantime.

      The reason those other projects are being axed is to pay for JWST's budget overruns. NASA does not have an infinite supply of money.

      What many astronomers would really like is an orbiting optical interferometer for exoplanets. There's no money for that right now, because of JWST.

      NASA really needs to get its science projects under control. The fact that Congress rewards overruns on projects like JWST is not helpful.

    16. Re:What NASA needs. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      What Curiosity is going to do with $14 on the surface of Mars is something else I'd like to figure out as well.

      Blackjack and hookers obviously. Where have you been?

      That must be some butt ugly hooker. Someone traveling a hundred million miles and only charging $14 to obvious billionaires must be one very desperate prostitute.

    17. Re:What NASA needs. by Teancum · · Score: 2

      The James Webb Space Telescope is an abomination that is killing the exploration of the Solar System and beyond. Just as Constellation was killing manned spaceflight, the same could be said about the JWST. There have been some very well thought out science missions that are getting axed because of the cost overruns of the JWST and other projects including the commercial crew program are starving for fiscal oxygen as it were because that already incredibly late and hugely over budget project simply won't die.

      If there was a project that ever should be cancelled due to mismanagement and lack of planning as well as simply being a complete waste of tax dollars, that would be the project. I'm not condemning NASA by any means other than NASA administrators should have fired the management teams of that project a long, long time ago and been very blunt to Congress about why that was done along with recommendations to kill the project back elsewhen. It still isn't too late.

      For the price of the JWST in the current fiscal year budget, I bet we could get a couple space-based telescopes built that would end up doing far more actual science and could be routinely replaced. This would be especially true if they would make building those telescopes a part of the Centennial Challenge program and just hold a billion dollars or so out for any team that would put up a telescope that would meet or exceed the claimed properties of the JWST. I'm just calling everything spent so far on that monstrosity as sunk costs and written off completely.

    18. Re:What NASA needs. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      gee I sure wish we were still trying to put a couple of guys into low earth orbit.

      OK big-shot, do it. Right now. Tell NASA to put two guys into low Earth orbit.

    19. Re:What NASA needs. by Teancum · · Score: 4, Insightful

      What NASA needs is to be scrapped and started over.

      I think you could say the same thing about the whole of the U.S. federal government. It was less than a hundred years ago (in the beginning of the 20th Century) that the Post Office Department was the largest federal agency.... not because the post office was necessarily all that huge but because the rest of the federal government was practically non-existent. That even including the U.S. Army, Navy, and Marine Corps, which combined was still smaller than the Post Office.

      America wasn't exactly a wimpy nation a hundred years ago either and had 48 states plus a dozen territories, including the Philippines and Cuba. That the whole "empire" could be managed with under a couple hundred thousand bureaucrats speaks volumes about what the federal government could be doing today.

      Then again I blame Herbert Hoover for the mess that the federal government became, and FDR only made it worse.

    20. Re:What NASA needs. by fm6 · · Score: 1

      Gee, you don't want anything easy, do you?

      The Apollo program ended up costing $109 Billion in today's dollars.If you think you can get Congress to allocate that much money "free of political constraints", then you're either very naive or you're a super-magician who needs to start his run for President immediately.

    21. Re:What NASA needs. by camperdave · · Score: 1

      The Moon is not a goal, it's a destination.

      ... What NASA needs is a *purpose*. Once we've decided what purpose NASA serves, we can decide what destinations it should go to.

      I agree totally. That's what I was trying to get at. Back in the 1960s, NASA had a purpose, a mission, a goal: "... to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth." (Actually, to be fair, that goal was part of a larger purpose: "Those who came before us made certain that this country rode the first waves of the industrial revolutions, the first waves of modern invention, and the first wave of nuclear power, and this generation does not intend to founder in the backwash of the coming age of space. We mean to be a part of it--we mean to lead it. For the eyes of the world now look into space, to the moon and to the planets beyond, and we have vowed that we shall not see it governed by a hostile flag of conquest, but by a banner of freedom and peace. We have vowed that we shall not see space filled with weapons of mass destruction, but with instruments of knowledge and understanding.")

      NASA will never be "free of political constraints." All government agencies operate under political constraints. Quite rightly. Since they are spending taxpayers' money, they should be accountable to the taxpayers, through our elected representatives. As imperfect as that system is, it beats the alternatives.

      If you want a space program to be free of political constraints, you need to look outside the government.

      Accountable, yes. Dictated to in terms of means and methods in order to bring Federal tax dollars to a particular Congressman's state, no. Congress has no knowledge of what it takes to build a rocket, and has no business compromising astronaut safety, or NASA effectiveness just to bring pork funding to a region.

      I guess this goes back to NASA's purpose. Is it to explore space, or is it to provide jobs.

      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    22. Re:What NASA needs. by camperdave · · Score: 1

      Gee, you don't want anything easy, do you?

      The Apollo program ended up costing $109 Billion in today's dollars.If you think you can get Congress to allocate that much money "free of political constraints", then you're either very naive or you're a super-magician who needs to start his run for President immediately.

      The constitution will not allow me to run.

      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    23. Re:What NASA needs. by LordLimecat · · Score: 1

      Dont forget to use 7 proxies.

    24. Re:What NASA needs. by fm6 · · Score: 1

      Hey, you're the genius, push through an amendment!

    25. Re:What NASA needs. by Kell+Bengal · · Score: 3, Interesting

      *ring ring*
      "Hello, Baikonur Cosmodrome? Yes? Oh good - yes, hello. Ah, well, you see, we have a couple of astronauts we'd like to send up. Yes. As soon as possible. No, next month will be fine. 50 Million? Sure, no problem. Ok, great, we'll send them over. Yep. Yep, ok. Thanks. Yes, dasvidanya to you too. Great, thanks, bye!"
      *click*

      --
      Scientists point out problems, engineers fix them
      altslashdot.org: The future of slashdot.
    26. Re:What NASA needs. by im_thatoneguy · · Score: 1

      Great idea. Of course that assumes that we stop regulated nuclear reactors. We don't have an interstate highway system. We stop managing our airspace. You're happy with interferences from any old joe who wants to use any old piece of spectrum. You don't mind our nuclear weapons going unprotected. You don't want any satellites. You don't check the weather forecast. You don't mind millions of old people dying hungry and impoverished on the street. You don't want universities. You are happy to take a pharmaceutical company's word for the safety and efficacy of their new drug. You don't think the military should be employing these new fangled aeroplanes.

      I could go on but what's the point, you seem to think a 19th century government can manage 21st century technology and reality so why bother.

    27. Re:What NASA needs. by mjwx · · Score: 3, Interesting

      yeah... because since the 60s, all NASA has done is launch probes to all of the planets, orbiters to a bunch of them, rovers on Mars, interstellar probes at the boundary of the solar system, ion drives, missions to asteroids... gee I sure wish we were still trying to put a couple of guys into low earth orbit.

      Because NASA GISS and JPL have done nothing in the last 40 years.

      If it weren't for JPL, flying would still be as expensive as it was in the 60's.

      You cant continually perform great feats with an ever shrinking budget.

      How does this crap get modded up.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    28. Re:What NASA needs. by Teancum · · Score: 3, Interesting

      No, I said I would like a 20th Century management that was able to manage an empire of about 200 million people at a time when communications was really not that different than it is today in terms of getting messages around.

      State governments could certainly take care of nearly everything you are suggesting here as well, and what it needed to coordinate efforts between state governments can be facilitated with a very small bureaucracy that acts more as diplomats than overseers. Satellites can be provided by private businesses... and in fact mostly are anyway. Drug companies who put out a drug that kills people can be sued in court and held liable for their damages. It was a failure of courts to act which brought about the FDA.

      Oh, and weather forecasts were done with that federal bureaucracy back so many years ago, as were universities. Of course the universities were also operated by state governments and still are. And they were a whole lot cheaper to attend before the federal government screwed them up with too much money.

      So far you haven't given me a convincing argument, other than the fact that we have a standing army that seems to make a whole bunch of other countries pissed at us for having when we go off in misadventures all over the globe. The big government causes the problems we are facing that seems to be the justification for having the big government.

    29. Re:What NASA needs. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yeah. $2.2 billion after you cut out the part Germany paid for. That's to send a giant robotic laboratory 350 million miles and land it on another planet.

      We spend that much on one submarine. We have 71 of those. Last figure I saw for the f-22 program alone was $65 billion. That's just one plane we have zero use for and has spent a fair percentage of its operation life grounded. And still we spend between 1 and $1.4 trillion, per year, on defense related stuff.

      That's (conservatively) more than one Curiosity rover launching, and one landing on another planet, every single day, all year long. Oh, and cash left over to launch a new space telescope maybe every other month? Plus the manpower to run it all. Now do that every year. Rough math, I admit.

      So yes, $2.2 billion is roughly "$14 and a pack of chewing gum", with regard to the US Budget.

    30. Re:What NASA needs. by jamstar7 · · Score: 1

      You can't build rockets on the moon. There are no sources of refined metals, or plastics, or electronics. There are no machine shops, nor tool and die fabricators. There are no people to operate anything either. There are no launch facilities, no way to fuel the rocket, even if you managed to get it built.

      Yet.

      Keep in mind there was fuck-all in southern California until the Spanish showed up. Or anywhere else in what came to be the US when the first ships landed. There was no McDonalds next to a Starbucks next to a Dunkin Donuts to greet the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock. Somebody had to go there, pave the way, and build them. Just beccause we cannot at this very moment build a spacecraft on the Moon does not mean we'll never be able to, despite what the JOEs ('Just One Earthers') want you to think. Are you a JOE or a GOE ('Get Off Earth!!)?

      --
      Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
    31. Re:What NASA needs. by __aaltlg1547 · · Score: 1

      WTF is wrong with NASA doing science?

    32. Re:What NASA needs. by __aaltlg1547 · · Score: 1

      Really? Where's China's mars rover?

    33. Re:What NASA needs. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are missing this: $$$... and also a time machine capable of traveling to the future. :)

    34. Re:What NASA needs. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Former accountant here.

      One thing that you're missing in this post is that, in the absence of cronyism and the political climate you brought up, Boeing's (your) additional costs get run against benefits, and that sunk costs get no special consideration whatsoever.

      This doesn't dispel your point in the least - you've covered the political aspects. You just forgot to mention the cronyism (you give me campaign money and I give contracts) and the whole concept of the cost/benefit analysis, the latter of which is what actually makes this entire thing truly mind-boggling from a fiscal perspective.

    35. Re:What NASA needs. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Shit. We should get started on something like this. Maybe draw up a document outlining it and call it something like "The Constitution of the United States."

    36. Re:What NASA needs. by Sarius64 · · Score: 1

      Yes, because God made Florida into an instant launch facility that required zero construction. Do you people ever read the shit you spew?

    37. Re:What NASA needs. by Sarius64 · · Score: 1

      Science alone doesn't inspire Congressional support. Wish in one hand and shit in the other...

    38. Re:What NASA needs. by J05H · · Score: 1

      Funny how the truth barely gets modded. Space manufacturing "will" be huge even much bigger than Earth's industrial base someday. Digital Fabrication is going to push this forward very quickly in general. Luna has specific issues in severe lack of volatiles. For now any precision machinery will still be built on Terra.

      The idea of it being "cheaper" to launch deep space flights from the moon seems to come from a purely gravitational notion. Ignoring economics, politics and thermodynamics (not to mention that any clients are going to be in LEO) this idea is and always has been a has been.

      --
      gigantino.tv - Heavy but weighs nothing.
    39. Re:What NASA needs. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And yet if NASA's budget went up by 15%, Webb *and all the missions it's screwing* could be funded simultaneously. So the problem isn't Webb, it's NASA bad hand.

    40. Re:What NASA needs. by murdocj · · Score: 1

      I watched Curiosity land recently on Mars. Give me more of that "nothing", please.

      You might want to read your tag line and think about it.

    41. Re:What NASA needs. by Teancum · · Score: 2

      I would disagree. If NASA budget went up 15%, the amount going to JWST would go up proportionally as well. That is how failing projects start to consume resources and "bad money drives out good money". This isn't a money issue, it is purely a management issue.

      I wouldn't mind NASA's budget going up either, but there are other reasons for that to happen, and certainly demanding that what programs NASA is pursuing should be managed well and actually planned in some fashion with real engineering and a goal in mind that can be reached and easily described in plain English seems reasonable. Try asking engineers who've worked on the JWST what they think of their management, or how many times they've had to scrap their designs and essentially start over from scratch. The only thing that the telescope is good for now is a case study on how not to do engineering, like the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. It is important to realize that sometimes engineering projects are just an unmitigated disaster and need to be canceled.

    42. Re:What NASA needs. by camperdave · · Score: 1

      Oh, yes, EVENTUALLY we could build rockets on the Moon. But how 'bout we start with something easy, say, a permanently manned science station, or even a Curiosity styled rover or two. Let's see what kind of materials are available on the moon before we send the robotic rocket factory there. After all, you don't build a tower from the top down.

      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    43. Re:What NASA needs. by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      Really? Where's China's mars rover?

      Waiting to ambush our mars rover in conjunction with the Martian AI troops it has allied itself with.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    44. Re:What NASA needs. by Bigby · · Score: 1

      We need to be willing to let people die. Seriously.

      The one major shift in everything we do over the last 100 years is the unwillingness to do something that could result in the death of a few people.

      We build the Empire State Building in 16 months and a few people die. We build the Freedom Tower in...oh, not done yet.
      We go to Space and the Moon on crappy technology. We risked death. Some people died. The goal was reach pretty quick.

      Today, we aren't willing to let people die to do it. They may be more than willing to risk their life, but we don't let them. The Columbia Shuttle disaster really speaks to today's society. Some people risked their lives and died. So we ground the fleet for over a year. And eventually scrap the shuttles and man flight all together.

      I would risk my life to go to Mars. I don't need a 99% success rate. Make it 75%, and I am fine. Some will do it with a 25% rate.

    45. Re:What NASA needs. by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      Keep in mind there was fuck-all in southern California until the Spanish showed up. Or anywhere else in what came to be the US when the first ships landed. There was no McDonalds next to a Starbucks next to a Dunkin Donuts to greet the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock. Somebody had to go there, pave the way, and build them. Just beccause we cannot at this very moment build a spacecraft on the Moon does not mean we'll never be able to, despite what the JOEs ('Just One Earthers') want you to think. Are you a JOE or a GOE ('Get Off Earth!!)?

      No, but equally just because we could build rockets on the moon doesn't mean that, without some serious breakthrough in technology such as virtually free unlimited cold fusion, it will ever be economically feasible to do so.

      In round, made up numbers, if it costs 1 trillion dollars to build something that produces a few billion net profit, what's the point? The benefits to mankind of having a large robotic factory on the moon or Mars isn't inherently that great in non-financial terms either. It's not like we can go and set up reasonable sized self-supporting colonies there as lifeboats, unless we also get the hang of terraforming.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    46. Re:What NASA needs. by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      Yes, because God made Florida into an instant launch facility that required zero construction. Do you people ever read the shit you spew?

      There is a difference between hauling material a few hundred or even thousand miles on a planet where you can breathe the air and grow food for workers, and moving it hundreds of thousands of miles across hard vacuum.onto a sterile piece of rock with no water air or food.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    47. Re:What NASA needs. by mcgrew · · Score: 2

      Then again I blame Herbert Hoover for the mess that the federal government became

      I think my Grandma pegged it (she was born in 1903). Everyone talked of the "Hoover depression" but it was Coolige who did all the damage.

      As to the 19th century government, there were only 72 million people then, 300 million now. That suggests a fourfold increase in the federal government over then is necessary.

      Then you have all the things you didn't have back then -- massive interstate pollution (pretty much solved with the EPA, young people can't imagine how bad it was before 1970). There was no radio then so no need for the FCC, little electricity, no phones, no TVs. People were dying from snake oil, necassitating the FDA. You could not have the interstate highway system (which was completely unneeded back in 1900 when everyone rode horses). No airplanes, so no need for the FAA. Not enough industry for pollution to be a problem so no EPA.

      The only way to go back to the 1900s sized Federal government would be to kill or deport three out of every four Americans and get rid of all modern technology and industry. Like being hungry? because you can't grow nearly as much food with 19th century tech as you can with modern farms.

      Candle makers, ferriers, buggy whip makers would love your idea.

    48. Re:What NASA needs. by Teancum · · Score: 1

      The only way to go back to the 1900s sized Federal government would be to kill or deport three out of every four Americans and get rid of all modern technology and industry. Like being hungry? because you can't grow nearly as much food with 19th century tech as you can with modern farms.

      Where did I advocate a complete return to the 1900's-1920's era? I said nothing of the kind, other than to point out that America was able to prosper and that the bureaucracy of that era was able to politically govern the whole country at the time.

      I sure didn't advocate or even remotely suggest that we needed to return to that level of technology. I certainly am no Luddite as you are claiming here. There certainly is a role for modern technology... I'm just questioning the need for a bureaucracy of millions on the federal level to be examining every aspect of your life and to be monitoring every conversation you are having, to tell you how to live, and to have so many regulation and laws that you are committing several felonies every day simply by trying to live your life and do the work you need to routinely to in good faith effort to make this world a better place to live.

      I also don't trust your claim that three out of four Americans need to be killed or deported in order to bring this republic back to a minimal level of control.

    49. Re:What NASA needs. by prisoner-of-enigma · · Score: 1

      While I admire your vision, it lacks one very crucial thing: a good reason to do it that will offset the (appropriately) astronomical costs associated with doing it. Basically you want to fund the building of a moon base, orbital assembly complex, asteroid capture mechanisms, asteroid *terraforming* technology, and asteroid mining capability. And the return on investment? You get a huge hunk of nickel-iron. Have you looked at the prices for nickel-iron lately? Last I checked, the stuff is pretty inexpensive. Hell, even a solid rhodium asteroid would still have a difficult time funding all of the above. In short, it will never happen.

      Now I fully realize there are extremely valuable intangibles associated with doing what you're talking about (i.e. spinoff tech, "final frontier" exploration stuff, providing a backup for humanity should Earth meet disaster, etc.) but that requires national will, pride, ambition, and a risk-taking attitude that America simply lacks these days. We're too fat, dumb, and happy. The scrappy, can-do Americans from the 60's aren't around anymore.

      --
      In the end they will lay their freedom at our feet and say to us, Make us your slaves, but feed us. - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
    50. Re:What NASA needs. by prisoner-of-enigma · · Score: 1

      You can't build rockets on the moon. There are no sources of refined metals, or plastics, or electronics. There are no machine shops, nor tool and die fabricators. There are no people to operate anything either. There are no launch facilities, no way to fuel the rocket, even if you managed to get it built.

      I think you kind of missed the point of his post. Your first sentence should read "You can't build rockets on the moon right now." The GP assumes all of the stuff you mention is constructed and/or available as a necessary pre-requisite for building and launching rockets from the moon.

      Personally I wish we'd investigate a space elevator from the moon. Much easier gravity well to get out of, no atmosphere to deal with, and abundant solar power. And there's the added perk of not needing super-exotic materials to build one like you do from Earth.

      --
      In the end they will lay their freedom at our feet and say to us, Make us your slaves, but feed us. - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
    51. Re:What NASA needs. by prisoner-of-enigma · · Score: 1

      Let's see what kind of materials are available on the moon before we send the robotic rocket factory there.

      Perhaps you've been living under a rock since the 1960's, but this has already been done:

      The outermost layer of the Moon is called the crust, which extends down to a depth of 50 km. This is the layer of the Moon that scientists have gathered the most information about. The crust of the Moon is composed mostly of oxygen, silicon, magnesium, iron, calcium, and aluminum. There are also trace elements like titanium, uranium, thorium, potassium and hydrogen.

      Ref: http://www.universetoday.com/20583/what-is-the-moon-made-of/

      --
      In the end they will lay their freedom at our feet and say to us, Make us your slaves, but feed us. - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
    52. Re:What NASA needs. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh, and weather forecasts were done with that federal bureaucracy back so many years ago, as were universities. Of course the universities were also operated by state governments and still are. And they were a whole lot cheaper to attend before the federal government screwed them up with too much money.

      Sorry to bust your bubble, it's our STATE governments that screw up badly on this one. Had they not withdrew the state funding to non-existent level the tuition should be practically free in today's standard. Look at Germany and see how they setup their higher education system. Still one of the best, and oh, free if you are admitted. None of this top 10% automatic admission crap our MBA-type Board of regents cooked up and none of these irresponsible executive type who consitently mismanage the resources to higher education yet always try to blame someone else for their problem, in this case the federal government. And someone people just gobble it up like gospel because it preaches smaller government without fact-checking first what the last 35 years of the history in higher education.

    53. Re:What NASA needs. by denobug · · Score: 1

      Sorry to bust your bubble, it's our STATE governments that screw up badly on this one. Had they not withdrew the state funding to non-existent level the tuition should be practically free in today's standard. Look at Germany and see how they setup their higher education system. Still one of the best, and oh, free if you are admitted. None of this top 10% automatic admission crap our MBA-type Board of regents cooked up and none of these irresponsible executive type who consitently mismanage the resources to higher education yet always try to blame someone else for their problem, in this case the federal government. And someone people just gobble it up like gospel because it preaches smaller government without fact-checking first what the last 35 years of the history in higher education.

    54. Re:What NASA needs. by denobug · · Score: 1

      Where did I advocate a complete return to the 1900's-1920's era? I said nothing of the kind, other than to point out that America was able to prosper and that the bureaucracy of that era was able to politically govern the whole country at the time.

      The tone of your first post suggest that the lack of government involvement and the small size of the government agency is a good thing. mcgrew merely points out the necessities of the newer agency with the new technologies in our daily lives today. Those technologies have a bigger scope of impact that necessitate a national level coordination, thus that would be the role of federal government, as our Constitution has delegated.

      Also, Mr. Teancum, I don't see ANYWHERE Mr. McGrew called you out to be a Luddite. He had politely made his case in response to your post. I think you should at least have to courtesy of hearing what he says, and agree to disagree. Most readers respect your opinion, whether we agree with it or not. Please don't start the name calling here in Slashdot. There are still plenty of old timer here who know how to read and how to discern who is trying to be the troublemaker here.

    55. Re:What NASA needs. by Teancum · · Score: 1

      He called me a Luddite by virtue of suggesting that I wanted to get rid of technology and industry. Since I did not suggest anything of that nature, I was responding to that accusation and sort of annoyed that he inferred that assumption. Read his post, where that was explicitly stated.

      I also disagree with the notion that modern industry or that industrialization of a society in general is necessarily facilitated by a large government and indeed I am pointing out the early part of the 20th Century in America as an example of an industrialized society that didn't have such a huge government. He also was suggesting that the USA was largely agrarian and in fact it was in a huge transition going from an agriculture economy to a substantial industrial economy... a transition that had been going on since the 1840's and arguably even earlier. I'm not describing the 18th Century government that was originally established by George Washington, but instead trying to compare America of today with the world political power and government that rule a globe spanning empire of a century ago. I think the comparison is much more fitting.

      The assumptions being made here that somehow the government of the USA that existed a century ago would be incapable of governing a country of the size and level of technological progress that exists today. I am rejecting completely that notion. Instead, I am challenging the need for such a massive federal bureaucracy and as stated by an anonymous coward in another reply.... to actually follow a document called "the Constitution of the United States of America".

      The sad state of government and bureaucracies is that once they are established, they cannot be abolished shy of a violent overthrow of that government... through war or civil unrest. The Ottoman Empire is a really good example of that, and in fact the origin of the word "Byzantine" in reference to insane levels of bureaucracy that prevents anything useful from getting done. The Ottoman Empire even lasted until the 20th Century... one of the last of the major ancient empires, whose disruption and break up is even the source of a great many conflicts today because of the lousy way it was dismantled. The Ottomans were unable to compete against countries like the USA, or even the United Kingdom and collapsed under its own weight of bureaucrats.

      There are other examples in world history, so I'll leave it as it is. My assertion is that it would be nice if we could rethink how government works, and that a "reboot" of various federal agencies or even questioning if those agencies need to exist at all should be viewed as a healthy thing. Perhaps some sort of bureaucracy is needed... there were over 200 thousand federal bureaucrats and employees in the 1920's so obviously there was a need for some sort of fairly large bureaucracy to govern a country that wasn't really that much smaller than America is today. I'm just questioning the need for having the millions of federal employees or the need to have so many people in government that those who are in government service of some sort outnumber those who aren't.

      Something just seems seriously screwed up to have so many people governing so few.

    56. Re:What NASA needs. by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      Y9ou are basing your whole argument on the libertarian assumption that (big) business always knows best, government always achieves nothing apart from spending money and that the courts provide a level playing field for rich and poor.

      Laissez faire capitalism is not some fantastic new idea that has never been tried before.. It is a system that made a few poeople very rich and millions wage slaves in the Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries before popular democratic pressure forced it to adapt to the threat of pure communism by coming up with a workable compromise. You may want to go back to firms hiring private armies to kill strikers, eight year olds working in factories, unlimited environmental pollution and the rest. Most sane people don't.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    57. Re:What NASA needs. by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      to have so many regulation and laws that you are committing several felonies every day simply by trying to live your life and do the work you need to routinely to in good faith

      I know this is a point of honour amongst followers of Ayn Rand, but if it were true why wouldn't everyone be in jail? Surely the Evil Government would want to maximise its evilness and revenue if it could do it so easily?

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    58. Re:What NASA needs. by mcgrew · · Score: 1

      Where did I advocate a complete return to the 1900's-1920's era?

      You didn't. I said that if you wanted to have the same sized Federal government as the 1900s you would have to go back to the same population and technologies as then. I really doubt that's what you'd like to see, but it would be necessary to have the government as small as then.

      I do think the federal government could be pared down; the military is way too big, the ATF was obsoleted by the end of prohibition and should be disbanded, the drug laws should be repealed, the FDA should regulate heroin like it does corn flakes and cigarettes, and the DEA should be disbanded. TSA should be abolished, as well as all of Homeland Security except for FEMA.

    59. Re:What NASA needs. by Teancum · · Score: 1

      Not really. The point of having so many regulations is to imprison anybody who is causing political problems and to destroy liberty. Slave masters still need peons to be doing the work that those who would be the governors would rather not be doing themselves. Why do you think they tolerate so many illegal aliens coming across a supposedly "secure" border? It certainly isn't because the government is ignorant about where they work and live.

      Spend a few days in a courtroom watching the cases go by and convince me that justice is equally given out based upon social standing and what family you were born into. Well, I would say spend a few days in a courtroom voluntarily, but if you aren't a reporter or doing something tolerated by a government, you would likely end up getting thrown in jail simply for being there or certainly questioned after you've been there for awhile.

    60. Re:What NASA needs. by Teancum · · Score: 1

      I was merely pointing out that the federal government at the beginning of the 20th Century did a pretty good job of governing the whole country and arguably was also a hugely productive period in American history in terms of what people did with personal liberties. If you compare America in 1900 to 1950, and then compare 1950 to 2000, there is a remarkable contrast that can be seen in terms of the fact that America didn't get comparably better economically and even socially in that same period of time. I'll admit that the 2nd half of the 20th Century was largely trying to fix the problems that came up in the 1st half, but was the way that those problems were solved necessarily the best way for them to be solved?

      Rolling this back to NASA and space policy, many of those who were shaping space policy in the 1950's and 1960's had seen some remarkable changes to America, and many of those in Congress remembered the first time as adults when they saw an automobile, airplane, radio, or even television... things they didn't even have as children. To them, going to the Moon was a logical next step since so much had been accomplished earlier. 10 year old computers running the same operating system and the same application software were simply unheard of as the rate of change was so tremendous that it wouldn't even be considered... that was something that only started to happen in the 1990's.

      Technological progress has been severely hampered in the 20th Century, and I'd even dare say that a regression is happening today where technologies and capabilities are even being lost in America. America certainly is incapable of sending somebody to the Moon right now, as it would take another Apollo project type system to get there that would cost considerably more today to accomplish, even with inflation adjusted dollars. That is even assuming it could be done. Some continued progression is happening, but it isn't uniform and I certainly doubt that the America of the 1940's that was able to defeat the Third Reich and Japanese Empire through sheer manufacturing out production could do the same thing today against other countries.

      A major reason for that is a significant erosion of liberties in America. Liberties are being eroded because of the size of the government in almost all areas of life. While you may point out a few choice agencies you wouldn't mind seeing eliminated, I don't think you could find 500 random people (aka sitting members of Congress) that would be able to agree upon the same agencies and have popular support to get that done. Well, the TSA is one of those unpopular agencies that would likely be eliminated if members of congress actually listened to their constituents, but that is a rare exception.

    61. Re:What NASA needs. by mcgrew · · Score: 1

      I was merely pointing out that the federal government at the beginning of the 20th Century did a pretty good job of governing the whole country and arguably was also a hugely productive period in American history in terms of what people did with personal liberties.

      Ah, yes, so much more liberty back then. The Pinkertons were at liberty to firebomb houses with impunity, the railroad barons were at liberty to shoot Chinese and Irish workers who were slacking off, white people were at liberty to lynch blacks, factories were at liberty to treat their workers like FoxConn treats theirs. Mine owners were at liberty to use any form of violence they wished to stop unions from forming. Ah, yes, so much liberty. If you were rich, anyway. A Republican's paradise.

      If you compare America in 1900 to 1950, and then compare 1950 to 2000, there is a remarkable contrast that can be seen in terms of the fact that America didn't get comparably better economically and even socially in that same period of time.

      Yes, the contrast is stark. beforew WWII most people lived exactly like they did a hundred years earlier -- no electricity, no indoor plumbing, no telephones. My Grandpa, born in 1896, didn't own a car until 1940 and he was like everyone else. The "roaring twenties" only roared for the rich, everyone else was hurting.

      Rolling this back to NASA and space policy, many of those who were shaping space policy in the 1950's and 1960's had seen some remarkable changes to America, and many of those in Congress remembered the first time as adults when they saw an automobile, airplane, radio, or even television... things they didn't even have as children.

      Which is contrary to your assertion that the economy was so much better before WWII and backs up what I said in the previous paragraph. I was born in 1952, when I was a small child neither set of my grandparents had indoor plumbing. Nobody I knew had ever flown in an airplane (except my Dad, who was a paratrooper in the army and he jumped out of all the planes he boarded). Things were incredibly primitive when I was a child, compared to today.

      A major reason for that is a significant erosion of liberties in America.

      I agree that liberties are being eroded since 2000, but it isn't from "big government" but big money. It's the same people wh were taking normal people's liberties away in 1880. The average, normal, middle class or poor person is far freer than he was in 1900 when the rich were at liberty to deny them their rights, and government was powerless to stop them.

  6. I hear that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Romney thinks the windows in our space craft need to be able to open.. ya know, in case there is a fire and they need to let the smoke out.

    1. Re:I hear that... by SoCalChris · · Score: 5, Informative

      This is what AC is referencing. 7th paragraph down.

      http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-romney-beverly-hills-fundraiser-20120922,0,2317962.story

      “I appreciate the fact that she is on the ground, safe and sound. And I don’t think she knows just how worried some of us were,” Romney said. “When you have a fire in an aircraft, there’s no place to go, exactly, there’s no — and you can’t find any oxygen from outside the aircraft to get in the aircraft, because the windows don’t open. I don’t know why they don’t do that. It’s a real problem. So it’s very dangerous. And she was choking and rubbing her eyes. Fortunately, there was enough oxygen for the pilot and copilot to make a safe landing in Denver. But she’s safe and sound.”

      Sadly, this isn't an Onion article.

    2. Re:I hear that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, yeah... when your wife/partner/so narrowly escapes getting killed, we'll expect a coherent and cogent response from you too, right?

    3. Re:I hear that... by Lynchenstein · · Score: 2

      All he's saying (Romney) is that they just need to stop buying the base model airplanes and get the ones with power windows - like in her Caddy. I wouldn't be surprised if the Space Policy Paper has power space windows as a requirement, and heated leather. We all know that if the Challenger and Columbia shuttles would have had OnStar, there would have been no loss of life.

    4. Re:I hear that... by SoCalChris · · Score: 4, Insightful

      If I'm running for the most powerful office in the world, and giving a prepared speech the day after an event like that happened then yes, I would fully expect to give a coherent and cogent response. It's not like they interviewed him on the runway, standing next to a still smoking plane while his wife was gasping for fresh air.

    5. Re:I hear that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "and you can’t find any oxygen from outside the aircraft to get in the aircraft, because the windows don’t open. I don’t know why they don’t do that. It’s a real problem."

      O_O
      wow...just wow

    6. Re:I hear that... by UnknowingFool · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Well it's not this wasn't the first time Romney committed a gaffe. The London Olympics, the visit to Israel, the Syria embassy, the 47%, and that's stuff from the last several months.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    7. Re:I hear that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      He obviously meant to say 47 states and it was even corrected later in that same speech. On the other hand, Romney actually thinks that Airplanes should have power windows.

      In my opinion, Obama has been a pretty bad President, but he's clearly a very smart person; especially when compared to the popular Republican candidates.

    8. Re:I hear that... by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      Sadly, this isn't an Onion article.

      Neither was Obama's multiple references to intercontinental railroads. So, obviously you cannot support him either, because you're also sad about that. Right?

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    9. Re:I hear that... by runeghost · · Score: 2

      The problem with Romney isn't his intelligence or lack thereof, it's that he clearly ignorant (and either doesn't know or doesn't care that he's ignorant) of how the vast majority of the people who live in the country he wants to govern actually live. Obama may not be a very good President, and may have had certain advantages growing up, but he seems to at least have some clue as to how the average American lives.

    10. Re:I hear that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sadly, this isn't an Onion article.

      Neither was Obama's multiple references to intercontinental railroads. So, obviously you cannot support him either, because you're also sad about that. Right?

      You mean a railroad connecting the continents of South and North America? What's wrong with that?

    11. Re:I hear that... by KalvinB · · Score: 1

      yes, because it's not possible for the pilot to be able to control the windows from the cockpit and have them only open when the plane has stopped.

      But let's pretend he was talking about opening the windows mid flight, and not on the ground during the evacuation phase.

    12. Re:I hear that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are we sure that Romney's wrong in what he said? I don't remember what the bible said about the consequences of airplane windows opening.

    13. Re:I hear that... by Moofie · · Score: 1

      If I were running to be the leader of the free world, you damn well should expect me to be good in adverse conditions.

      --
      Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
    14. Re:I hear that... by Moofie · · Score: 3, Informative

      "But in any case, he's right: there are a huge group of Americans who simply pay no income taxes and instead live off government support. They will support Obama regardless of what Romney says because they want to continue leeching off the rest of society."

      So that's why the preponderance of people who don't pay income tax live in states that vote for Democrats! Obviously, right?

      Well,

      http://www.businessinsider.com/mitt-romney-47-percent-no-income-tax-map-red-republican-states-2012-9

      not exactly.

      --
      Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
    15. Re:I hear that... by khallow · · Score: 0

      Obama may not be a very good President, and may have had certain advantages growing up, but he seems to at least have some clue as to how the average American lives.

      When was the last time that Obama worked for a business?

    16. Re:I hear that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Please tell me you are joking.

    17. Re:I hear that... by Sarius64 · · Score: 1

      So, you attended the JayZ/Beyonce fund raiser, too?

    18. Re:I hear that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That map's already been totally debunked - in the sense that it has nothing to do with Romney's statement. Basically, it's showing you that the poorer states - and states with large minority populations - pay more taxes than richer states and states with less minorities.

      However, that doesn't change the FACT that the majority of Obama's base comes from people freeloading off those that DO pay income taxes.

    19. Re:I hear that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You mean a railroad connecting the continents of South and North America? What's wrong with that?

      The problem is that the plan apparently excluded Central America.

    20. Re:I hear that... by ChinggisK · · Score: 1

      Ah! Well played good sir. By cleverly managing to debunk his statistically-backed citation by insisting "nuh uh", and proving your own point not by using another citation (because that's what they'd expect), but instead by capitalizing "FACT" and "DO", you have managed to convince me.

    21. Re:I hear that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When was the last time that Obama worked for a business?

      Quite a while ago, and for at least the last 4 years he's been on government welfare (according to libertarians, a government job is welfare)

      It's precisely because he's on welfare that we can say he understands what the average American is going through. He understands at least a good 47% of them!

    22. Re:I hear that... by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

      Well let's see: On his visit to Israel, he made disparaging remarks about the Palestinians. If he were to become President that's not exactly a way to get them to a bargaining table. As for Syria, I meant Libya where (on 9/11) he launched a critique of the President after it was learned the the Libyan ambassador had been killed. Even other Republicans were telling him to keep shut up during a national tragedy.

      Here's why you and Romney misunderstand simple facts. 47% (or 46% according to the independent accounts) of American household pay no federal income tax. 49% of Americans receive some sort of government assistance (like Social Security and welfare). These are not the same groups of people. Confusing the two as a candidate shows a lack of knowledge over important details.

      For the 47%, the main groups in this category are (1) elderly, (2) working poor, (3) households with children with income credits, and (4) soldiers who receive combat pay. There are other groups but these four comprise more than 75% of the 47%. Romney stated these groups pay no taxes which is untrue. They pay federal payroll taxes, state and local income taxes, and state and local sales taxes. These groups are exempt mostly because of tax initiatives by Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. The motivation behind removing these groups from taxation was that they simply don't make enough and that taxing them would lead to more poverty. According to some estimates, the a majority of people who are exempt are conservatives so Romney insulted his base.

      But of course this nuanced understanding is beyond the knee jerk reaction of Romney and you. As for the 49%, a large number of those are the elderly on Social Security, Medicaid. A large chunk is Medicare. That number also includes groups like farmers who receive subsidies. They are not the welfare group that you and Romney think they are. That number is about 24% if you include children.

      Please include any numbers or facts you have instead of misconceptions that you are spouting.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    23. Re:I hear that... by mcgrew · · Score: 2

      Neither was Obama's multiple references to intercontinental railroads

      I hadn't heard of that, do you have a link? Anyway, what would be wrong with an intercontinental railroad? We do a lot of business with Central and South America, why would a rail line extending from Alaska to the southernmost part of Chile not be a good idea, as long as the countries it runs through pay their share of it? We already have our parts run and it wouldn't cost us much at all.

    24. Re:I hear that... by mcgrew · · Score: 1

      When was the last time that Obama worked for a business?

      How does working for a business enhanse one's capability to work in government? You think Bain Capital lawyers are any different than government lawyers? Or that Bain is any less bureaucratic than government? Or that "working" on Wall Street is actually working?

      But to answer your question, "He worked for a year at the Business International Corporation,[29] then at the New York Public Interest Research Group" in 1981. "Two years after graduating, Obama was hired in Chicago as director of the Developing Communities Project (DCP), a church-based community organization originally comprising eight Catholic parishes in Roseland, West Pullman, and Riverdale on Chicago's South Side. He worked there as a community organizer from June 1985 to May 1988.[31][32] He helped set up a job training program, a college preparatory tutoring program, and a tenants' rights organization in Altgeld Gardens.[33] Obama also worked as a consultant and instructor for the Gamaliel Foundation, a community organizing institute.[34]"

      When was the last time Romney had a job actually helping people?

    25. Re:I hear that... by mcgrew · · Score: 1

      But let's pretend he was talking about opening the windows mid flight

      He was talking about opening the windows in mid flight -- the fire that he wanted to open the windows for happened in mid flight.

      Sorry, dude, but your candidate is a fucking moron and I wonder why you apologize for his stupidity. This isn't the first entirely retarded thing he's said.

    26. Re:I hear that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Yes, context is important. And if you look at the context, it's obvious he was joking about the windows.

      Sources and video of the speech here: http://www.snopes.com/politics/romney/windows.asp

      The liberals are acting like he genuinely doesn't understand the windows, the conservatives are making lame excuses about emotional distress, and nobody bothered to go check the facts. People, this has got to stop! This is the Internet: we can fact-check your ass!

    27. Re:I hear that... by khallow · · Score: 1

      How does working for a business enhanse one's capability to work in government?

      First of all, one has to justify one's work on the basis of value produced. In contrast, your example of "community organizing" just mentioned a few processes ("helped set up a job training program, a college preparatory tutoring program, and a tenants' rights organization") with no curiosity about how well those processes did. Since you ask, it's worth noting that you haven't established that Obama has ever had a job helping people. He's had a job that gave the appearance of helping people and enabled him eventually to become US President, but that doesn't sound as caring and selfless when it's put that way.

      Romney's history with Bain Capital shows that he was very good for Bain Capital and made them a lot of money. So there's one group right there helped - the investors that Romney was working for. Similarly, it looks like he treated the people that worked for him generously.

      The businesses that Bain Capital took over might not feel the love, but when they're at that stage of near bankruptcy, there usually won't be a happy ending for everyone no matter what happens.

      This brings us to the second advantage of business. A variety of work experiences that are useful to a president. Here, Romney managed a large staff, made frequent and often ruthless decisions, and dwelt for a time under stress and pressure. That's all useful experience for his later job as governor of Massachusetts and his attempt at the US Presidency.

      It's worth noting here that we have a window into Romney's behavior and motives that isn't as well defined with Obama. But what I can say is that the few contracts and deals that Obama has been involved in are remarkably self-serving such as generous real estate and book deals, or comfortable academic positions. And Obama despite that modest history of dealings, has several occasions where he's broken a contract or verbal promises.

      Romney has a history not only of honoring his business contracts, but of going well out of his way to help his employees with their problems.

      So there's another advantage of business experience not for the prospective candidates, but for us, who have to evaluate them.

      Ultimately, when we compare Obama and Romney, we see that Obama's work experience might have familiarized him with some of the political issues of the day, it has done nothing to help prepare him for running a government. This is reflected in the general incompetence of his administration.

      Romney's experience is directly applicable to running any large organization of people.

    28. Re:I hear that... by khallow · · Score: 1
      I forgot to thank you for answering the question.

      But to answer your question, "He worked for a year at the Business International Corporation,[29] then at the New York Public Interest Research Group" in 1981.

      Once, thirty years ago. My point precisely.

    29. Re:I hear that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      First of all, one has to justify one's work on the basis of value produced.

      Sure, and Obama's work, as you said, produced the value of "enabled him eventually to become US President". This of course helped a group of people: Obama and his friends.

      but that doesn't sound as caring and selfless when it's put that way.

      Of course, but that's to be expected, since you want to judge people by their "value produced". "Value produced" doesn't really care who is benefiting, or how they are as a person.

      Even assholes can produce a lot of value (for themselves). In fact, being an asshole is a good trait to have if you want to produce value. As the saying goes: nice guys finish last

      Romney's history with Bain Capital shows that he was very good for Bain Capital and made them a lot of money. So there's one group right there helped - the investors that Romney was working for. Similarly, it looks like he treated the people that worked for him generously.

      Yes, Romney helped that group of people, but let's remember what the post further above was saying: that Obama seems to have some clue about average Americans. I doubt that group of people Romney helped were average Americans.

      Contrast that to Obama and his friends: since Obama worked at places involving poorer people (people who need help at job training programs, college tutoring, tenant's rights), his friends are probably people who are involved with those people. Thus the belief that Obama understood the "average American" - people in that 47% who is so dependent on government

      This brings us to the second advantage of business. A variety of work experiences that are useful to a president.

      No, this doesn't bring us to a second advantage of business, since as you said, there's a lack of details on what exactly Obama did. There's nothing to compare to, so you can't say whether there's an advantage or disadvantage. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

      Maybe Obama learned his oratory skills from his work. Maybe that's how he's able to smooth talk his way to presidency, and subsequently keep the populace sedated with his words.

      But what I can say is that the few contracts and deals that Obama has been involved in are remarkably self-serving

      What's wrong with that? Was Obama supposed to get involved in deals and contracts that hurt him?

      And Obama despite that modest history of dealings, has several occasions where he's broken a contract or verbal promises.

      Ah, so Obama is capable of being ruthless...

      Romney has a history not only of honoring his business contracts, but of going well out of his way to help his employees with their problems.

      ...and Romney isn't as ruthless as you're making him out to be. "Going well out of his way to help"? Sounds like some hippie camp counselor.

      Ultimately, when we compare Obama and Romney, we see that Obama's work experience might have familiarized him with some of the political issues of the day, it has done nothing to help prepare him for running a government. This is reflected in the general incompetence of his administration.

      I don't think people are claiming Obama's experience help him run a government, but just that he, as you said, understood the issues.

      Sure, competence at running an organization is nice, but I do think that's not the only criteria people ought to be worried about. I mean, even dictators can be very competent at running their organizations

      Romney's experience is directly applicable to running any large organization of people.

      ...sure, if said large organization is aimed at making money for the owners and shareholders (read: a subset of people, mostly the top, not everybody, not the average American)

    30. Re:I hear that... by mcgrew · · Score: 1

      First of all, one has to justify one's work on the basis of value produced.

      What can be more valuable than a well trained workforce? Maybe lower poverty?

      Romney's history with Bain Capital shows that he was very good for Bain Capital and made them a lot of money.

      Where is the value to society of making rich people even richer? Where's the value to ME? There is none. On the other hand, the fewer poor people there are the better off we all are.

      Similarly, it looks like he treated the people that worked for him generously.

      Then why did he famously say "I like firing people"?

      This brings us to the second advantage of business. A variety of work experiences that are useful to a president.

      Bush's business experience sure didn't help the company (he was an MBA as well). He inhereted a balanced budget and left office with the highest defecit the nation had ever seen. He went into office during a boom, left with the country near economic depression. And you think Romney, with the same kind of background, would be any better?

      You know what Einstein said about insanity.

      Ultimately, when we compare Obama and Romney, we see that Obama's work experience might have familiarized him with some of the political issues of the day, it has done nothing to help prepare him for running a government. This is reflected in the general incompetence of his administration.

      Incompetence? He came into office with the country in shambles, in worse shape than I've seen it in my six decades of living. We were in two wars, the man who was responsible for 911 was still at large, the stock market had crashed, the housing market had crashed, and we were in the worst recession in my lifetime. We're now out of Iran, getting out of Afghanistan, Bin Laden is dead, the economy is turning around. Obama's head and shoulders above the previous President, the worst I've seen in my life and possibly in America's history. I never thought I'd see a worse President han Carter, but Bush proved me wrong. Obama's only problem is he's no Bill Clinton. He's far more competent than either Bush Sr, more competent than Ford, WAY more competent than Bush II and Carter.

      And I'm no partisan, my Presidential voting record is Nixon (R), Carter (D), Reagan (R), Reagan (R), whoever ran against Bush (D), whoever ran against Clinton (R), Clinton (D), Gore (D), Kerry (D), Badnarik (L).

      have you ever voted for a Democrat? If not, there's not much point to this conversation.

    31. Re:I hear that... by khallow · · Score: 1

      What can be more valuable than a well trained workforce?

      A free society. The end of aging and disease. A culture of thinking.

      Incompetence? He came into office with the country in shambles, in worse shape than I've seen it in my six decades of living.

      Are you trying to claim that there's an excuse somewhere in that sentence for why Obama is incompetent? Competence isn't a measure of how unfair your life is. It's what you do with what you have.

      Bush's business experience sure didn't help the company (he was an MBA as well). He inhereted a balanced budget and left office with the highest defecit the nation had ever seen. He went into office during a boom, left with the country near economic depression. And you think Romney, with the same kind of background, would be any better?

      Yes, remember this?

      So there's another advantage of business experience not for the prospective candidates, but for us, who have to evaluate them.

      One merely needs to look at G. W. Bush's business record to see that he didn't do well in business despite large opportunities. Romney just hasn't had that problem. That's a large part of why I have never voted for Bush (Nader 2000, Badnarik 2004).

      Similarly, it looks like he treated the people that worked for him generously.

      Then why did he famously say "I like firing people"?

      Those employees didn't work for him. They worked for the failing companies that Bain Capital took over.

    32. Re:I hear that... by mcgrew · · Score: 1

      A free society. The end of aging and disease. A culture of thinking.

      And you think Romney could bring that about??? Wow... that's pretty deluded.

      Are you trying to claim that there's an excuse somewhere in that sentence for why Obama is incompetent?

      Where's the indication of Obama's incompetence? The fact that he didn't clean up the horrible mess that took Bush eight years to make in half that time? Considering that the Republicans in Congress considered their #1 job to be defeating him this election, I'd say he did a hell of a job so far.

      Those employees didn't work for him. They worked for the failing companies that Bain Capital took over.

      Romney was head of Bain, Bain bought ("took over") those companies and fired the workers. It takes a REALLY partisan stretch, almost as bad as an iFan's reality distortion field, to not see that Romney, being head of the company that fired those people, fired them.

    33. Re:I hear that... by khallow · · Score: 1

      A free society. The end of aging and disease. A culture of thinking.

      And you think Romney could bring that about??? Wow... that's pretty deluded.

      As I was saying, those are things more valuable than a "well trained workforce". Romney could help enable those things by getting the federal government out of the way.

      The FDA for example is a roadblock to the "end of aging and disease". The numerous programs that force you to pay for things of dubious value, like Social Security and the individual mandate from Obamacare, are obstacles to a free society. And we don't need the federal government to fund indoctrination of our formerly young adult children in college. A return to the days when one went to college only if they really meant it, would do a lot to create a thinking society. And a generation with a vastly lower debt load.

    34. Re:I hear that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A free society. The end of aging and disease. A culture of thinking.

      A well trained workforce leads to all those things

      You won't find a cure to diseases and extend people's lives without well trained people working on those problems. Without people working to improve your life, you won't have the time to establish that culture of thinking, and your society won't be free.

      Are you trying to claim that there's an excuse somewhere in that sentence for why Obama is incompetent? Competence isn't a measure of how unfair your life is. It's what you do with what you have.

      I'm pretty sure the GP is not claiming excuses, but trying to explain why Obama is not incompetent. GP is explaining what Obama did, given what he had. Maybe you disagree with the analysis, but you probably need to offer a counter analysis.

      One merely needs to look at G. W. Bush's business record to see that he didn't do well in business despite large opportunities. Romney just hasn't had that problem. That's a large part of why I have never voted for Bush (Nader 2000, Badnarik 2004).

      Nader? The guy who spent much of the last few decades as an activist and in politics instead of running a business? The lawyer who graduated from Harvard Law, just like Obama?

      Hey, I'm not saying Nader's a bad guy, but couldn't you make the same argument against Nader back in 2000 and say that Bush at least had some business experience (even amongst Republican candidates, he was one of the few who had business experience)?

      Those employees didn't work for him. They worked for the failing companies that Bain Capital took over.

      No, "they" weren't even working for failing companies that Bain Capital took over. Romney's comment was talking about health care and free market. He's speaking that as a customer, he likes the choice to "fire" one service provider and hire another if the first provider is doing a bad job.

      At best, Romney made a poor choice of words. Customers don't fire people. Bosses fire people. Employees don't work for customers. They work for their bosses. I'd worry about Romney's competence if he can't tell the different between being a boss of a business and being merely a customer of a business.

    35. Re:I hear that... by khallow · · Score: 1
      And let's answer this question.

      Where's the indication of Obama's incompetence?

      One merely needs to look at the opportunity that Obama squandered when he entered office in 2009. He was within 2 votes for the next two years of overturning the only serious obstacle to any legislation he wished to pass (the Senate filibuster). He instead squandered that opportunity on Obamacare, a 2000 page monstrosity that just doesn't help. For example, it makes health care more expensive by subsidizing demand for health insurance and making health insurance cover more cases. It also implements some unconstitutional gimmicks in the process. Since expensive health care is the problem, this is pretty harmful and it's probably the most counterproductive bits of US law for the past decade. More so than even the Patriot Act or the ethanol subsidies for corn.

      And then there's the coverup over Fast and Furious, whose purpose seemed to be smuggling high quality firearms to Mexican drug cartels. Since weapons from the program have been found at numerous crime scenes in both Mexico and the US, when are we going to see the people responsible for the program tried for assisting in those crimes? For example, if you give someone a gun, they kill someone with it, and you know they're going to kill someone with it, then you are guilty of accessory to murder. That is a federal felony especially considering the international nature of the crime.

      The Obama administration instead protects these people from justice. I must admit, here I attribute that to malice not incompetence.

      Finally, there's just the matter of having priorities screwed up. Both examples above show that. Such as believing universal coverage is more important than cheap coverage. Or believing that arming Mexican drug gangs somehow has value.

      Going on, Obama's ideological blindness and rank incompetence shows up over and over again. For example, the initial stimulus, ARRA was more a gift to unions than actual stimulus. This is especially apparent when one considers how quickly the money was spent. A considerable portion of it took years to spend, which just isn't stimulus at that point.

      There were projections made at the time to justify the stimulus spending. Those projections have greatly understated current unemployment. Even projected unemployment in the absence of the stimulus is better than current levels.

      Then there's the pursuit of environmental goals at the expense of the US economy, both with the obstruction of off-shore oil drilling and the Keystone pipeline (which has the double harm of encouraging Canada to make a deal with China instead). It further manifests with the large loans to failed renewable energy companies. The VC model of funding untried companies to see what survives or not can work, but they don't give out hundreds of millions of dollars at a time when they do so.

      The incompetence also manifests in really poor law and regulation. For example, the EPA recently argued that a couple didn't have the legal standing to contest a EPA decision that they not only halt construction on their property, but also pay $75,000 per day until they restored the property to wetlands. EPA employees should have been fired for this when the case first came to light.

      The Obama administration has also entered many waivers and exemptions from Obamacare provisions for its cronies and allies. It looks hideously bad when someone passes "health care reform" and then turns around and excuses their allies from the burden of the law.

      In summary, there's plenty of signs of incompetence for those that choose to look.

    36. Re:I hear that... by khallow · · Score: 1

      My links are broken for some reason. I don't know why. I had edited this in an OpenOffice document since I had to turn the computer off partway through the post. I guess the copy/paste from the document adds some characters that break the post's links.

    37. Re:I hear that... by khallow · · Score: 1

      You won't find a cure to diseases and extend people's lives without well trained people working on those problems. Without people working to improve your life, you won't have the time to establish that culture of thinking, and your society won't be free.

      So you need some well trained people. We already had that. You don't need a society filled with so-called "well trained people" especially when the effort actually harms the more valuable goals by taking resources away from them and giving them to people to train for jobs that already have too many people trained for them.

    38. Re:I hear that... by khallow · · Score: 1

      He's speaking that as a customer, he likes the choice to "fire" one service provider and hire another if the first provider is doing a bad job.

      Really? That's pretty damn innocuous.

      At best, Romney made a poor choice of words. Customers don't fire people.

      Customers do it all the time by buying from someone else instead. For example, General Motors has shed a huge amount of jobs and market share since the 70s. Those workers shed were fired by the former customers of GM. The ex-customers didn't give them a pink slip or turn the wheels of bureaucracy. They didn't make the decision to fire that particular person. They just shopped elsewhere and that was enough.

      The analogy is pretty obvious.

      I'd worry about Romney's competence if he can't tell the different between being a boss of a business and being merely a customer of a business.

      It's one thing to have a legitimate concern. It's another to just be an ass.

    39. Re:I hear that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So you need some well trained people. We already had that.

      So where's the end to aging and diseases? If we had enough well trained people you'd think we'd be a lot closer to those great things

      You don't need a society filled with so-called "well trained people" especially when the effort actually harms the more valuable goals by taking resources away from them and giving them to people to train for jobs that already have too many people trained for them.

      No, you need a society filled with well-trained people, so that there's more competition for those jobs. I bet Romney would love having more trained people for the same jobs, so he can choose who to hire and "fire"

    40. Re:I hear that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Really? That's pretty damn innocuous.

      If he wasn't running in politics, yeah it probably is. Alas, he was running for office, so as I said it's a poor choice of words.

      The analogy is pretty obvious.

      Obvious, but as I said is still a poor choice of words given the situation he was in.

      It's one thing to have a legitimate concern. It's another to just be an ass.

      I said *if* Romney couldn't tell the difference, I'd be worried. I'm not concerned at all atm.

      As to being an ass, I take that as a compliment. Nice guys finish last I'm sure many people think Romney's an ass (for you know, firing them, out competing their businesses, generally being richer and smarter than them)

    41. Re:I hear that... by khallow · · Score: 1

      So where's the end to aging and diseases? If we had enough well trained people you'd think we'd be a lot closer to those great things

      Why would you think that? Number of people trained and effort expended doesn't imply progress. If resources are taken from the few who actually do anything and given to the many who don't, then you're going to see less progress, even if more people are trained to do something (poorly) in the end.

      No, you need a society filled with well-trained people, so that there's more competition for those jobs. I bet Romney would love having more trained people for the same jobs, so he can choose who to hire and "fire"

      Well, obviously, it'd be better to not offend the sensibilities of the rich guys. By all means let's churn out cheap scientists and whatnot. And hope they're at least worth what they're going to get paid.

    42. Re:I hear that... by khallow · · Score: 1

      Alas, he was running for office, so as I said it's a poor choice of words.

      I continue to be amazed by how hard people try to be offended by Romney. A couple of Slashdotters were whining about his "nervous chuckle" and psychoanalyzing that to pieces (I think their conclusion was that he was too human to be a good president).

      And now we find that Romney said "fire" and that's supposedly bad, if you're running for president. My take is that a good president will have to fire a lot of people in the US government. There's simply too much corruption and incompetence to just let things slide for another four years.

    43. Re:I hear that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why would you think that?

      Because you told me.

      I said we need trained people to end aging and disease.

      You told me "we already had" well trained people.

      Ergo, you told me we already had what we need to end aging and disease.

      Number of people trained and effort expended doesn't imply progress, but that goes both ways. Having less trained people doesn't mean you're going to progress any better

      Having more people tackling a problem however, improves your odds that progress happens sooner rather than later. It also motivates people to try harder, since there's so much competition.

      Well, obviously, it'd be better to not offend the sensibilities of the rich guys. By all means let's churn out cheap scientists and whatnot. And hope they're at least worth what they're going to get paid.

      Don't worry, by unemployment numbers (even the ones doctored by government), most of them aren't getting paid at all (and they're bound to their debts, it's not like we just gave them resources to be trained for free). The sensibilities of the rich and people who matter are not in jeopardy.

      I continue to be amazed by how hard people try to be offended by Romney.

      You continue to be amazed by something that happens to almost any candidate during elections (or even outside of it)?

      Or are you continue to be amazed by how other people have the freedom of speech?

      And now we find that Romney said "fire" and that's supposedly bad, if you're running for president.

      What do you mean "and now"? Are you implying I'm one of those people trying to be offended? Have you been paying attention?

      I'm the guy who said nice guys finish last and said we need lots of well trained people so we can choose who to hire and fire.

      Well, maybe you're talking about mcgrew (the other guy who was replying), but that has nothing to do with me.

    44. Re:I hear that... by khallow · · Score: 1
      Ok, I see you have a number of issues. Let me attempt to address them.

      Having less trained people doesn't mean you're going to progress any better

      That depends why they're getting trained. If they're getting trained because someone needs them and is willing to pay amply for them, then well, that means there's not enough. If they're getting trained, because there's some "free" subsidy from government (which in turn exists because some politician heard that more skilled workers is better), then there's probably too many skilled workers of that category being trained.

      You continue to be amazed by something that happens to almost any candidate during elections (or even outside of it)?

      Yes. If one really thinks about it, why should someone without some sort of incurable brain disease get into a tizzy because a candidate said the naughty "f" word, "fired"? There's no rational answer for that.

      As to your second question, maybe I'm just amazed that my face eaters from Betelgeuse have not found you yet. It's a pretty good reason to be amazed, I assure you.

      I'm the guy who said nice guys finish last

      So why should I care that you know a cliche, especially one that isn't really true? We know the source of the cliche, that people appear to be bad and profit by that. But we also know that humans attribute bad motives to others when they don't get what they want. So Romney fires people, then it must mean that Romney is a bad person. Similarly, Obama has used and discarded others all his life. That doesn't mean he is a bad person. It just means that if he wants something, you make sure he pays up front.

      said we need lots of well trained people so we can choose who to hire and fire.

      I thought you were, in your state of offendness, attempting to be sarcastic. You may still be attempting to do so. It's not like I can read your mind on that.

      Well, maybe you're talking about mcgrew (the other guy who was replying), but that has nothing to do with me.

      Well, if you were trying to be offended by Romney and he was as well, then that looks to me like the necessary connection to connect you two.

  7. Glittering generalities by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    If you want to think that a President Romney will think big and ramp up the manned space program, you're free to think that

    But if you're more concerned about budget deficits and restoring fiscal responsibility in Washington, you bet that Mitt is all over that!

    1. Re:Glittering generalities by __aaltlg1547 · · Score: 1

      If you want to think that a President Romney will think big and ramp up the manned space program, you're free to think that

      But if you're more concerned about budget deficits and restoring fiscal responsibility in Washington, you bet that Mitt is all over that!

      Yet he's dead set on not raising taxes on his own class and he complains to his rich friends that poor people don't pay their fair share. I can see how this is going to work.

  8. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by fiannaFailMan · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Bottom line is, if you can't afford insurance, you have no business getting free health care financed by the rest of us. Find a free clinic.

    And who pays for this "free" clinic?

    --
    Drill baby drill - on Mars
  9. How About Tax Returns First? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    It's like walking into an emergency room with blood spurting out of an artery and the doctor notices you got a little sun earlier in the day and offers you some aloe with these guys.

    1. Re:How About Tax Returns First? by NeutronCowboy · · Score: 2

      They are if there's a tax penalty in it levied under the FBAR Amnesty program because his Swiss bank threatened to report his numbered account to the IRS.

      That program is for two people: those who are completely ignorant of the tax code because they just immigrated into the US and were told too late what to do with offshore accounts, and those who tried to hide capital gains from the IRS. The first one doesn't apply the Romney, and the second ought to really make you question why Romney is running.

      --
      Those who can, do. Those who can't, sue.
    2. Re:How About Tax Returns First? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      His tax returns have no impact on his ability to act as President. Grow up.

      Hiding things, being dishonest, and taking the amnesty deal after the IRS found out about his Swiss bank account to stay out of jail has everything to do with it.

    3. Re:How About Tax Returns First? by ackthpt · · Score: 1

      They are if there's a tax penalty in it levied under the FBAR Amnesty program because his Swiss bank threatened to report his numbered account to the IRS.

      That program is for two people: those who are completely ignorant of the tax code because they just immigrated into the US and were told too late what to do with offshore accounts, and those who tried to hide capital gains from the IRS. The first one doesn't apply the Romney, and the second ought to really make you question why Romney is running.

      Maybe he's running so when elected he can get that annoying bit of tax code repealed. It might be very popular with the 1%.

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    4. Re:How About Tax Returns First? by Dahamma · · Score: 3, Insightful

      If he's going to be President of a country who's attitude on individual privacy can now be summed up as "if you didn't do anything wrong, what are you hiding?" then yes, I think it's very relevant.

    5. Re:How About Tax Returns First? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't know whether to laugh or cry at that thought.

    6. Re:How About Tax Returns First? by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      The Swiss only reported numbered accounts opened after 1948 IIRC. So old money families like the Kennedys, Romneys and Gores have nothing to worry about.

      Funny how that always works out.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    7. Re:How About Tax Returns First? by Dahamma · · Score: 2

      Both may be appropriate.

      Then again, once Romney announces he's going to repeal the Patriot Act, fix the TSA and abolish the DHS, and prohibit all warrantless wiretapping and illegal imprisonment of US citizens, I'll consider his own right to privacy worth defending...

    8. Re:How About Tax Returns First? by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 0

      I'm sure you're up in arms about the whole Rezko/Obama thing, or Tim Geithner's screwed up tax returns, too?

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    9. Re:How About Tax Returns First? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Both may be appropriate.

      Then again, once Romney announces he's going to repeal the Patriot Act, fix the TSA and abolish the DHS, and prohibit all warrantless wiretapping and illegal imprisonment of US citizens, I'll consider his own right to privacy worth defending...

      So you're planning on giving Obama another four years to fail to uphold his promises along those lines?

      And vote for Obama anyway despite his ordering the "extrajudicial" assassination of US citizens?

      Double standard much?

    10. Re:How About Tax Returns First? by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

      This week. Who knows how his position will be next week. And in front of which crowd he promises said reforms.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    11. Re:How About Tax Returns First? by Sir_Sri · · Score: 1

      His tax returns have no impact on his ability to act as President.

      They could, it depends what they say. My tax returns are unlikely to say anything to qualify or disqualify me from anything. I make no money, I pay no tax. Pretty straightforward.

      Romney on the other hand... makes about 300x the median income (14 million vs 50 000, but his income is down what, 8, 9 million from 2010), but pays 14% tax, some of which is voluntary(which is bizarre given his previous statements), and donates 4 million to charity. So he clearly believes* in helping the poor - hence giving 4 million to charity- but his position on how big government should be is more... tenuous. He has clearly tried to shrink the size of government (legally) by paying it less, and by giving more to charity - that's an ideological position worth discussing. The idea that someone who makes 300x the median income is only going to pay 14% income tax is a valid argument to have too, just how big should the government be, and where will that money come from? If, where it stands right now, government is floating around 24% of GDP (with revenues around 15%) is about as big as you want government, he is significantly underpaying his share as a percentage of income, not even getting into the legitimate discussion of a graduated tax system and where someone with 300x the median income should be on tax percentages.

      Mitt Romney taxes, his ability to find ways to dodge tax, his willingness to voluntarily pay tax, his desired distribution of income very much impact his credibility as a politician, and his ability to actual enact changes. He certainly knows what tax loopholes exist to be closed, he takes advantage of all of them.

      All of that is assuming he's not hiding from having had money illegally stowed in a swiss bank account. Which, incidentally, counts as another loophole he'd be aware of that needs to be closed, though I can't imagine he'd want to be a whistleblower on his own activities, you never know.

      *Well, he at least believes in the benefits of the optics of giving 4 million to charity, whether he actually believes or not is impossible to discern.

    12. Re:How About Tax Returns First? by Dahamma · · Score: 2

      Obama released 12 years worth of tax returns. Stay with us AC, the thread is not that complicated...

    13. Re:How About Tax Returns First? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This may be the six beers I've had since my first post, but you're my hero.

    14. Re:How About Tax Returns First? by drkim · · Score: 1

      If he's going to be President of a country who's attitude on individual privacy can now be summed up as "if you didn't do anything wrong, what are you hiding?" then yes, I think it's very relevant.

      By that standard Nixon didn't do anything wrong. It's was those damn guys who blew the whistle on him.

    15. Re:How About Tax Returns First? by jamstar7 · · Score: 1

      Well, he at least believes in the benefits of the optics of giving 4 million to charity, whether he actually believes or not is impossible to discern.

      Since when is giving 10% of your income to your church worthy of a tax deduction? Mitt Romney is a bishop in the Mormon Church, and he is required to hand over 10% off the top, just like every other Mormon is.

      --
      Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
    16. Re:How About Tax Returns First? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Obama released 12 years worth of tax returns. Stay with us AC, the thread is not that complicated...

      So, where are his college transcripts?

      Or is that too complicated for you?

      Why are you supporting someone who lied about repealing the Patriot Act? Who lied about eliminating warrantless wiretaps?

      Why'd you IGNORE that, after explicitly bringing those issues up yourself?

      I know.

      Bringing all that up made this too complicated for you.

    17. Re:How About Tax Returns First? by mcgrew · · Score: 1

      Since when is giving 10% of your income to your church worthy of a tax deduction?

      Tithes are tax-deductable, and I applaud Romney for not takuing that deduction. I don't take it, either. My church doesn't require 10% like the Mormons do, but I usually do it anyway. I don't know about the Mormons, but my church gives a LOT of money to the poor, here in Springfield, across the US, and around the world (lots of folks from there working in Africa now).

      I would expect that most churches help the poor and homeless; the poor are one of the ones Christ blessed, and he himself was homeless.

      I applaud Romney, but no way would I vote for him. He's the candidate of the 1% and his Presidency, like Bush's, would harm the poor (and middle class) greatly.

    18. Re:How About Tax Returns First? by Dahamma · · Score: 1

      Since when have people started asking about a candidate's college transcripts? The difference in this case is that Obama is black, and the already absurdly racist birther whackjobs want to imply he's not smart enough to have graduated from Harvard Law School. Well, no conspiracy needed, he was the president of the Harvard Law Review, everyone who cares about the topic knows that, go find a copy from 1989 if you don't believe it. Just face it, whatever you think of either candidate they are clearly both intelligent, well educated people.

      Now please go away, this discussion does not need to devolve into conspiracy theory racist Birther arguments.

  10. Re:But he said space was stupid before.... by fiannaFailMan · · Score: 1

    And that's what we call politics. The only ones that haven't flip-flopped are Gary Johnson and Ron Paul. I think the real elections should be about those two competitors.

    I don't.

    --
    Drill baby drill - on Mars
  11. Same thing by Curunir_wolf · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Whoa so wait a minute... Romney's policy is almost identical to Obama's? What a shocker! Who could have predicted such a thing, when they are so.diametrically opposed on every other issue? Gee, that makes it so much harder to decide which tyrant to vote for.

    --
    "Somebody has to do something. It's just incredibly pathetic it has to be us."
    --- Jerry Garcia
    1. Re:Same thing by White+Flame · · Score: 1

      Any policy released before an election is just a marketing document, not an actual policy intended to be followed.

    2. Re:Same thing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      His 3 cent titanium tax goes too far.

    3. Re:Same thing by murdocj · · Score: 1

      yeah, because in this election, with the other trivial issues on the line like women's health, Medicare, dealing with Iran, the budget deficit, the economy, for sure I'm going to vote based on space policy.

    4. Re:Same thing by Teancum · · Score: 1

      Obama pretty much followed his policy document about space released just before the election four years ago. It wasn't exactly bold or promised to do much either, but then again he didn't do much in the past four years either other than cancel Constellation.

      At least Obama changed his mind about cancelling outright NASA, which originally he was going to redirect the funding for NASA to the U.S. Department of Education. I haven't seen Romney say anything that stupid, but this isn't exactly an inspiring document either.

      Most of the things that Romney is complaining about were Bush administration policies that the Obama administration pretty much ignored and hasn't bothered replacing.

    5. Re:Same thing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      People that dismiss Dems and Repubs as the "exact same" are probably trying to sound worldly and failing or trying to sound too cool for politics, which they may be.

      There are serious differences that can be seen in SCOTUS appointments, military strategies, and world standing, along with social policies, that affect us for decades.

      If you want to say Dems and Repubs both support the same wealthy donors fine, we all know the system is broken, but beyond that it's night and day.

    6. Re:Same thing by Curunir_wolf · · Score: 1

      yeah, because in this election, with the other trivial issues on the line like women's health, Medicare, dealing with Iran, the budget deficit, the economy, for sure I'm going to vote based on space policy.

      • Women's Health - Code for "government paid abortions", an issue that has moved micrometers since Roe v. Wade but that politicians still use for litmus test voters.
      • Medicare - Obamacare takes out $76 billion to pay for private insurance for low-income qualifiers, while Ryan's plan leaves it the same until about 2020 when retirees will need to start paying more out of pocket. Not much real difference there, but Obamacare doesn't have a real plan to save Medicare long term. Still a ponzi scheme that will collapse if they keep kicking the problems down the road.
      • dealing with Iran - Both the same. Exactly the same "red line". A little talk is all that's different, like everything else.
      • the budget deficit - Both the same (kick it down the road). Romney may slow down the debt a tiny bit, that's all. Neither has a real plan.
      • the economy - Both the same. They are insiders and we are outsiders and both plan to keep it that way and leave Bernanke in charge of robbing the middle class.
      • Domestic drones and "kill lists" - same
      • Patriot Act - same
      • TSA - same
      • NSA spy program and Internet surveillance - same
      • Federal Reserve - same
      • Foreign policy (interventionism and pre-emptive war) - same

      Might as well vote based on space policy, for all the good it will do (none)

      --
      "Somebody has to do something. It's just incredibly pathetic it has to be us."
      --- Jerry Garcia
  12. The real question... by damn_registrars · · Score: 5, Funny
    ... will the Romney spacecraft have windows that open?

    When you have a fire in an aircraft, there's no place to go, exactly, there's no - and you can't find any oxygen from outside the aircraft to get in the aircraft, because the windows don't open. I don't know why they don't do that. It's a real problem. So it's very dangerous.

    Clearly, Romney is an expert on these things, so I hope they take his input seriously in the design phase. We wouldn't want future astronauts dying from not being able to open their windows.

    (yes, I know I'll be moderated down for this. but I've got karma to burn - even if I can't get oxygen at 30,000 feet to burn it with)

    --
    Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
    1. Re:The real question... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh wow, that's pretty stupid; but he was speaking from emotions. If your spouse was in peril, would you think about the technicalities first? He's done and said some really stupid things, but I have to give him a pass on this one.

      His fratboy antics regarding attacking people's hairstyles, and the whole dog on the roof thing give me more pause than this. He's a total "bro", and we don't need 4 years of that.

    2. Re:The real question... by damn_registrars · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Oh wow, that's pretty stupid; but he was speaking from emotions. If your spouse was in peril, would you think about the technicalities first? He's done and said some really stupid things, but I have to give him a pass on this one.

      You might feel the need to give him a pass, but I do not. He had time between the incident and when he gave that remark (at a $50k/plate dinner no less). Furthermore he is college educated and should realize the stupidity in that statement (actually there are layers of stupidity in it if you read it carefully).

      His fratboy antics

      You must be new here. On slashdot you are only allowed to call Obama (or BHO as is preferred) to be a frat boy or party animal. All republicans are serious, Obama is a party animal. Get the mantra straight before you talk politics here...

      --
      Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
    3. Re:The real question... by NeutronCowboy · · Score: 1

      Oh wow, that's pretty stupid; but he was speaking from emotions.

      I think even if I was trying to cope with the thought of my wife dying in a space shuttle fire, I'd know that outside the space shuttle, there's pretty solid vacuum, and that I should take that into consideration. Or are you arguing that getting some very basic physics wrong when you're under pressure is ok? What if the pressure situation is the Chinese landing troops on the Diaoyu islands? Do you really want him to go "wow, that's bad, I'd better hit them with my space laser?"

      I can understand not thinking through long-term ramifications. I don't understand forgetting basic physics - or geography, or political landscape, or conflict principles.

      --
      Those who can, do. Those who can't, sue.
    4. Re:The real question... by NeutronCowboy · · Score: 1

      Sigh. Posted without reading the article first. Replace space shuttle with airplane, and vacuum with 30000 feet. Still, it should be pretty obvious why you don't open windows on airplanes.

      --
      Those who can, do. Those who can't, sue.
    5. Re:The real question... by girlintraining · · Score: 1

      Clearly, Romney is an expert on these things, so I hope they take his input seriously in the design phase. We wouldn't want future astronauts dying from not being able to open their windows.

      You missed the recommendation that magnets not be used in spacecraft, since nobody knows how they work... *cough* *sputter*

      --
      #fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
    6. Re:The real question... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow. You sure have been puffing the Fox News crack pipe.

    7. Re:The real question... by Dahamma · · Score: 2

      Since he's running for President, expecting him to be rational and think about the technicalities rather than emotionally blurt out stupid things is not only important, but pretty damn essential.

    8. Re:The real question... by gmhowell · · Score: 2

      So he acts inappropriately emotional at times despite his usually having some signs of a neutral affect problem?

      Doesn't sound like the guy we need answering that 3 AM phone call.

      --
      Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
    9. Re:The real question... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Sheesh! Where to begin?

      Let's just say this: The people in Libya are in no way happy that these Americans were killed. Indeed, if you have been getting your news from anyone besides Fox news, you would know that the Libyan people are right now finding and taking care of the Islamic militants who did this terrorist attack.

      Obama, instead of being a jackass and sending a bunch of US troops to Libya -- and, face it, that's what the idiots watching Fox news want -- saved the US taxpayers a lot of money by being friendly and diplomatic with the Libyan people. As a result, the Libyan people felt really bad about the Americans killed and took care of it themselves without us needing to send in our troops.

    10. Re:The real question... by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      Given your concern over roll-down windows in a plane, I'm sure you're absolutely aghast at 57 states of the USA. Am I right?

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    11. Re:The real question... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      Obama corrected himself and said that he had "visited 47 states" about 20 seconds after the end of that video.

    12. Re:The real question... by thoughtfulbloke · · Score: 1

      If anyone from the Romney team is reading this let me help. This explanation is good for Kindergartener level, so should be useful despite a few simplifications
      The Earth is a globe made atoms of different kinds. It is held together by gravity, which is a force that pulls atoms together. When you have atoms of different kinds the heavy, tightly packed atoms tend to wind up closer to the middle than the light ones. So we have heavy solids, then a layer of liquid, then a layer of air. Within the layer of air, the air closer to the ground is more tightly packed than the air closer to space. A jet plane can travel so high it can move people from where the air is what we are use to, to where the air is too thinly spread out to breath. To let people breath, jet planes need to keep the air inside. To do this, they do not let people open the windows, as this would let the air out.
      P.S. when talking about air, the expression "The air is thin at the top" is not a business metaphor for a limited number of first class jobs, it means there is not much air high up from the ground.

    13. Re:The real question... by ScentCone · · Score: 0

      Perhaps this can come up during the debate. Obama can once again mention is understanding of intercontinental railroads. His understanding of those must - in his head - involve some sort of underwater tracks.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    14. Re:The real question... by _xeno_ · · Score: 1

      Uh, you're sure he wasn't, you know, joking? It's this thing where people say silly things to try and make people laugh. I ask, because the article immediately follows up the Romney quote with "[t]he crowd also heard from comedian Dennis Miller..." which makes me thing that there is just a chance that Romney may have been joking. Just possibly.

      Unless there's some proof the remark wasn't made in jest, which I certainly don't see. I mean, I'm sure Romney's bad at making a joke, but that seems like the more likely explanation than him literally thinking the windows should roll down in an airplane.

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
    15. Re:The real question... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm pretty sure Romney will want to expand the space program so he can visit God on the planet Kolob.

    16. Re:The real question... by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      Is everybody still on this? If you don't like Romney, you automagically must be for Obama?

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    17. Re:The real question... by drkim · · Score: 2

      His fratboy antics regarding attacking people's hairstyles...

      Ahhhh, he didn't attack "people's hairstyle", he attacked actual people.

      He knocked a classmate to the ground, and held him down, and cut off his hair.

      Imagine someone knocking your mother to the ground, pinning her down, and cutting off her hair.
      Pretty funny 'antic' huh?

    18. Re:The real question... by drkim · · Score: 1

      I'm not sure you'd need...

      some sort of underwater tracks.

      ...to get from North America to South America.

      Unless you take the 'polar' route.

    19. Re:The real question... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You know, if you weren't such a self-absorbed asshole, you could say something like "The plane would lose cabin pressure" -- but what do I know? I don't jack off to my own slashdot posts like you obviously do.

    20. Re:The real question... by mjwx · · Score: 1

      Since he's running for President, expecting him to be rational and think about the technicalities rather than emotionally blurt out stupid things is not only important, but pretty damn essential.

      Nope, being an idiot is standard for an opposition leader these days.

      Australia's esteemed opposition leader the (dis)Honourable Tony Abbott made a snide remark about how Prime Minister Gillard should be going to Jakarta to talk with the Indonesian President about the boat people scare mongering^W^W problem rather than going to New York to petition for a spot on the UN security council. It was quite a shock to Mr Abbott when Prime Minister Gillard pointed out that the Indonesian president was also in New York, at the same UN conference.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    21. Re:The real question... by Sarius64 · · Score: 1

      Apparently you're another AC that doesn't read:

      http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120913/NATION/209130397

    22. Re:The real question... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, I do.

      Obama sent a few marines to Tripoli, and stationed ships in the area. This is worlds apart from a recent president who engaged in an unprovoked takeover of a sovereign country in the middle east about a decade ago, which is what the grandparent who I was replying to implied to have wanted. The Libyan people didn't need our troops there to take care of the extremist militia there--and did a better job of it than our military would have.

    23. Re:The real question... by jandrese · · Score: 1

      Having played FTL it seems the best way to put out a fire on a space ship is to just open up the windows and let the air ooze out slowly.

      --

      I read the internet for the articles.
    24. Re:The real question... by SleazyRidr · · Score: 1

      It's not the fact that he doesn't know how airplanes are designed. It's the fact that one of the first things he thinks of is how the planes could be designed better. I don't want a president who immediately thinks he knows how to fix peoples problems in areas that he knows nothing about. (Not that he would be my president but hey...)

    25. Re:The real question... by SleazyRidr · · Score: 1

      I for one don't want a president who can't tell a joke properly.

    26. Re:The real question... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Imagine somebody showing their naked bum to your mum. Won't somebody think of the mothers!!!

    27. Re:The real question... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Yes, context is important. And if you look at the context, it's obvious he was joking about the windows.

      Sources and video of the speech here: http://www.snopes.com/politics/romney/windows.asp

      The liberals are acting like he genuinely doesn't understand the windows, the conservatives are making lame excuses about emotional distress, and nobody bothered to go check the facts. People, this has got to stop! This is the Internet: we can fact-check your ass!

    28. Re:The real question... by mcgrew · · Score: 1

      Indeed, a slip of the tongue is like making a typoo, but saying airplane windows should be able to be opened isn't, it's like spelling "lose" with two Os or saying "their isn't any air out they're on those airplane's".

      One is the kind of mistake anyone can make, the other shows incredible ignorance.

      BTW, the above typo was deliberate, for illustration purposes.

    29. Re:The real question... by drkim · · Score: 1

      Imagine somebody showing their naked bum to your mum. Won't somebody think of the mothers!!!

      Thank goodness somebody did that, or I wouldn't be here...

  13. Re:The Short Version by ackthpt · · Score: 1, Insightful

    47% of space doesn't pay any taxes

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
  14. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by ackthpt · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Bottom line is, if you can't afford insurance, you have no business getting free health care financed by the rest of us. Find a free clinic.

    And who pays for this "free" clinic?

    Magic. Magic pays for everything. It's the new fiscal accounting model.

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
  15. I blame the USSR for the fall of NASA by medv4380 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    We can blame ether side all we want, but the truth is that without a perceived threat there isn't any political power to throw to NASA. If their was a known killer asteroid that was going to hit in 10 years we'd put every penny of the defense budget towards stopping it. If North Korea were building a lunar station we'd do everything to get one up first. But without the credible threat of something like what USSR presented we have no motivation other than just "to do it". I'm sorry but as much as we like to think we do things just because we can we do things a lot faster when you're in fear for your life.

    1. Re:I blame the USSR for the fall of NASA by Antipater · · Score: 1

      Balderdash. It's well known that North Korea has probably the most extensive and sophisticated system of tunnels and underground bomb shelters in the world. If we based our policies on perceived threats, we never would have allowed a mine shaft gap!

      --
      Everything is better with chainsaws.
    2. Re:I blame the USSR for the fall of NASA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's why we have MineCraft!

  16. Re:The Short Version by Jeremiah+Cornelius · · Score: 0

    47% of space is distributed along its Y-Axis.

    --
    "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
    Never been known to fail..."
  17. So, where's Obama's? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hell, forget Obama's space plans. We know he doesn't have any plans (at least those that he'll articulate, anyway...)

    Where the hell is the BUDGET the Dems have YET to pass since they took office in Jan 2009?

    And don't blame "Republican stonewalling" - Obama, Reid, and Pelosi had enough clout to ram Obamacare through. They damn well could have passed a budget.

    The Dems don't WANT to pass a budget, because that one document would show how much they really want to spend.

    But no, this being /. we can create a distraction by making fun of Teh EEEVIL RETHUGLICAN!!!!!

    1. Re:So, where's Obama's? by seepho · · Score: 1

      Ram Through (verb): The act of a legislature passing a bill you don not agree with.

  18. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    Ha ha! Take that eldery, homeless, children, and handicapped! Anonymous Coward has, in two of the most devastatingly effective sentences ever written, has demonstrated both his/her boundless understanding of economics and the nearly infinite well of compassion he/she holds for his/her fellow man! Your apparent lack of immediate value to our economy is your death sentence. Best you die now and decrease the surplus population!

    Anywhoodlidoodle, don't worry sir(or ma'am), you need not fear paying for check-ups, immunizations, and whatnot. You can simply wait and pay tons more for what could have been easily preventable emergency care. Just like Rand would have wanted.

  19. I suppose health care is distantly relevant... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...because we shouldn't be putting rockets in the air while people are dying of preventable diseases on the ground.

    To answer your statement of "Find a Free Clinic" who do you think pays for those?

    I personally am only comfortable with financing NASA (whose efforts advance the whole country) because we have decent health care coverage in place.

    To answer the underlying argument which you haven't addressed: You have a basic choice, you can let people die outside the emergency rooms for failing to carry a health care card, or you can save them.

    If you choose the "save them" path then those of us who can pay for it, will end up paying for it. Period.

    Then it's a question of "Which is more efficient?" On the one hand we pay for 30 million ER visits (many people go more than once, some never, for the last 20 years of life, 1 is a good average). On the other we pay for preventative care for 30 million people, and 10 million ER visits. You pick. Ask any hospital worker which one is cheaper.

  20. I don't like the editorializing with Gingrich. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It wasn't at all necessary.

    1. Re:I don't like the editorializing with Gingrich. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Yeah, 'cause we all know Newt ain't happy unless Whitey's on the Moon!

  21. Summary by Dyinobal · · Score: 4, Insightful
    blah blah space good. Insult Obama. I will be better than Obama

    1:Science and innovation important, some how having nasa means our workforce is some how more scientifically educated and skilled. Which makes no sense because I thought education did that, not Nasa.

    2: Space is important some how to a bunch of industries, despite the only real importance being research and satellite launching.

    3:Military in space good, need to secure space against space terrorists. More money to defense contractors. Could be hostile aliens?

    4:Nasa and our space program is like fancy armor in WoW, it is the international penis we can wave in the face of non-space faring countries. People respect space penis. Also private space penis is good too.

    Restate all the above and say that the country needs clear and concise leadership etc.

    pretentious quote by me. Who quotes themselves in their own policies? I do. I'm that awesome

    Huge diatribe on how Obama is bad and stuff. Also commercial space stuff is good

    1. Re:Summary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You're either a mediocre troll or a dumbass. For safety's sake I'll assume both.

      > 1:Science and innovation important, some how having nasa means our workforce is some how more scientifically educated and skilled. Which makes no sense because I thought education did that, not Nasa.

      Without agencies like NASA and companies like Boeing, Virgin Galactic, or SpaceX where do you expect all of those highly science educated people to work? IBM? Apple? Wal-mart? McDonalds? You have to have light at the end of the tunnel in order to get people to go through it. Boeing, SpaceX and other companies like it wouldn't exist without NASA, at least not to the degree which they do today.

      > 2: Space is important some how to a bunch of industries, despite the only real importance being research and satellite launching.

      Without access to space we wouldn't have any satellite communications, period. GPS, Television, Internet, etc wouldn't be there. And it's not like things just magically stay up there forever, satellites have to be replaced, repaired, upgraded and so forth in a continual fashion.

      > 3:Military in space good, need to secure space against space terrorists. More money to defense contractors. Could be hostile aliens?

      Considering we're not the only country in space: Yes, we need to have military space programs.

    2. Re:Summary by khallow · · Score: 1

      Boeing, SpaceX and other companies like it wouldn't exist without NASA, at least not to the degree which they do today.

      I wouldn't go there. NASA has a history of interfering to the detriment of US commercial space activities. One of the main reasons I advocate ending any attempt to have NASA build a space launch vehicle is to remove incentives to cripple commercial launch vehicles whose existence might otherwise embarrass NASA or threaten the funding for NASA programs.

      My view is that US space industry would be a lot further along, if NASA had as a genuine primary goal, commercial development of space, rather than the inimical outlook it had for decades.

    3. Re:Summary by geekoid · · Score: 1

      1) NASA drive people to want to become engineers and scientists, and astronauts. It impacts almost all states.

      2) Industries don't use satellites? Industries don't develop the new technologies needed for space exploration? Industry don't benefit form secondary markets?

      3) You example is counter to pretty much everything we have done in space.

      4) nonsense and flamebait.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    4. Re:Summary by geekoid · · Score: 1

      "NASA has a history of interfering to the detriment of US commercial space activities."
      no they don't.

      You show a complete ignorance of what happens.
      NASA helps commercial launch systems. Who do you think actually build those vehicles? The problem is, getting to space is hard. People through the worl commercial at something and seem to think it will magically fix things.
      Right now, space is about science and figuring out how to get of this rock. Getting Satellite in space is really the only launch based item that might make money.

      No, it wouldn't be further along, becasue commercial interesting have no desire to put things on other planets.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    5. Re:Summary by khallow · · Score: 1

      Let's give three examples. First, it was illegal until 1984 for private companies to launch paying payloads on their own rockets on their own dime. NASA could have encouraged commercial space launch since the 60s. But instead it kept that from happening until things got opened up under Reagan.

      Second, E'Prime Aerospace in the 1990s was trying to launch refurbished Peacekeeper missiles. US Congress sold them down the river to the Russians, banning the use of the Peacekeeper for civilian uses in a nuclear treaty (while bizarrely still allowing the use of the Peacekeepers for military uses, hence, why now Orbital Sciences is allowed to use Peacekeepers (renamed the Minotaur IV for DoD payloads). NASA didn't directly sabotage E'Prime, but it never lifted a finger to help them either. And frankly, strong support from NASA would have made the difference.

      Finally, there was the oligopoly of private spaceflight in the US from the mid 1980s through to the late 1990s. For that period of time, there was no genuine competition in US launch vehicles. Orbital Sciences got small payloads. Delta II (under Boeing) larger loads. Then Atlas IV and Titan IV had heavy loads (in civilian and military payloads respectively and owned or operated by Lockheed Martin). Every service provider had their own unique niche, all enforced by NASA.

      This ended when the DoD broke the oligopoly up by creating the Evolutionary Expendable Launch Vehicle program which had Boeing competing directly against Lockheed Martin for heavy lift vehicles. While SpaceX may not become a decisive factor in spaceflight, its activities have shook things up.

      These are three concrete ways NASA hindered private spaceflight.

  22. Now that Space-X has a working booster... by Animats · · Score: 1

    who needs NASA?

    Really. Space-X has docked a test capsule to the ISS, and their first cargo delivery launches October 7th. Astronauts will follow on later flights.

    NASA hasn't developed a successful new booster in 30 years, despite about three failed attempts. Space-X has a new booster that works. Arianespace has a new booster that works. NASA has old ICBM derivatives and a "Space Launch System" proposal.

    Space-X has only 1800 employees. NASA still has 34,000. NASA does some good stuff, but it's far too big for what it accomplishes.

    1. Re:Now that Space-X has a working booster... by Dyinobal · · Score: 1

      Space-x hasn't designed anything new. They have just refined working technology. The tech Nasa tends to work with when designing a new launch system isn't. Just look at the Aerospike engine compared to the launch system that SpaceX uses.

      Ya Nasa isn't perfect but they are hardly washed up and they are hardly useless. They face a declining budget each year and have to try find ways to make it streach and what projects should cover it. Any long reaching projects are also impossible because each administration ends up setting Nasa's goals so every four to eight years they end up marching to a new drummer.

    2. Re:Now that Space-X has a working booster... by iluvcapra · · Score: 1

      who needs NASA?

      NASA is supposed to be SpaceX's primary customer. NASA builds a lot of satellites and space probes, manages and is the primary funder of a lot of space missions, and ships a lot of payload to the ISS.

      Rockets are the means to space exploration, not the end. NASA is still a big player in the ends business, even if it doesn't develop a lot of new means lately.

      --
      Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
    3. Re:Now that Space-X has a working booster... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nasa is paying for SpaceX contracts, remember.Its doughtfull SpaceX would have developed anything without the potential government contracts waiting for them.
      Also, Nasa does far far far more then design boasters - the ISS, Rovers, probes, and not to mention the ocean based stuff on earth.

    4. Re:Now that Space-X has a working booster... by 0123456 · · Score: 1

      NASA is supposed to be SpaceX's primary customer.

      Only for deliveries to ISS. Last I looked their manifest had a lot of other customers.

    5. Re:Now that Space-X has a working booster... by slew · · Score: 2

      They face a declining budget each year and have to try find ways to make it streach and what projects should cover it.

      Like any far-flung political governemnt organization, not all parts of NASA are created equal.
      If you look at the "top" line budgeting for NASA, you'll see the following...

      Decreasing funding...
      Operations: FY11: $5.1B, FY12: $4.2B, FY13: $4.0B (e.g., shuttle, ISS)

      Pretty steady funding...
      Science: FY11: $4.9B, FY12: $5.0B, FY13: $4.9B (stuff like the James Web Telescope, LandSat, MSL experiments)
      Exploration: FY11: $3.8B, FY12: $3.7B, FY13: $3.9B (rover development, Orion, space commercialization grants)
      Cross Agency: FY11: $2.9B, FY12: $2.9B, FY13: $2.8B (overhead, people, buildings, pork, etc)
      Aeronautics: FY11: $530M, FY12: $570M, FY13: $550M (all that nextgen airtraffic control stuff)

      Increasing funding...
      Space Tech: FY11: $450M, FY12: $570M, FY13: $700M (all the researchy stuff you are talking about)

      Of course for longer term aggregate budgetary trends, you could also look at a wiki and you can see how your statement about "declining budgets" isn't really true at all http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budget_of_NASA

      It just seems like Nasa is getting less money since its percentage of the total federal budget has been shrinking (from 1% in the 90's to less than 0.5% today). However, in real dollars it's been about the same for a long while. Unfortunatly, the rest of the government has been getting bloated. Maybe that's the space-nerd in you feeling like Nasa is getting gyped relative to other federal spending.

      Still, getting "gyped" no excuse for not getting something from the $450-700M/year we are spending on researching new Space Tech for the last 30 years. The strategy to attempt to garner sympathy for failure by pointing out others got more help is excuse of a kindergardener... Sure there are political winds to navigate, but that's the game you have to play when the tab is being picked up by a bunch of finiky taxpayers.

    6. Re:Now that Space-X has a working booster... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Space-x hasn't designed anything new. Just look at the Aerospike engine compared to the launch system that SpaceX uses.

      Aerospike engines are not new. They date back to the 1960's.

      On the other hand, no one has done a good flight test yet. That would be something that's useful to do.

      Lockheed was supposed to flight-test a linear aerospike on an SR-71 in the X-33 project but they never got it to work. The SR-71 was not actually a good platform for that test, however. Lockheed simply used the sexiness of the SR-71 to help win the control.

      Any long reaching projects are also impossible because each administration ends up setting Nasa's goals so every four to eight years they end up marching to a new drummer.

      That simply means NASA shouldn't undertake long, slow projects.

      The idea that nothing of value can be accomplished in less than four years is bizarre. The United States developed the P-51 Mustang, the P-38 Lightning, the B-29 Stratofortress, and the atomic bomb in less than four years, while simultaneously destroying the two largest military powers on Earth. The A-11 Blackbird (original version of the SR-71) was developed in less than two years, and it's still the fastest airplane ever built. The Polaris submarine and missile system, the Delta Clipper Experimental, the Clementine lunar mission -- all were developed in less than four years. There are many more examples.

      Tell anyone in high-tech industry that project goals must remain stable for four to eight years and they'll laugh at you. Project plans change from month to month and week to week. NASA needs to work the same way. Be agile and thrive on chaos.

    7. Re:Now that Space-X has a working booster... by R3d+M3rcury · · Score: 1

      Space-X has docked a test capsule to the ISS, and their first cargo delivery launches October 7th. Astronauts will follow on later flights.

      And did Space-X build the ISS? No, We Built It!

      (Sorry. I couldn't resist.)

      Seriously, though, I'm all for Space-X. I'm all for getting NASA out of Low-Earth Orbit. I think Space-X does a wonderful job at what they're doing. But businesses don't do exploration. The risk is too great for the bottom line. You need government money for the research, development, testing, etc.

    8. Re:Now that Space-X has a working booster... by RocketAcademy · · Score: 1

      But businesses don't do exploration. The risk is too great for the bottom line.

      Oh? Google "Chevron Oil Exploration." Or "Muscovy Company." Or "Explorers Club."

    9. Re:Now that Space-X has a working booster... by jamstar7 · · Score: 1

      NASA hasn't developed a successful new booster in 30 years, despite about three failed attempts.

      NASA hasn't been allowed to develop a new booster in 30 years. Every time they get ready to come out of the design phase, Congress cuts the funding for the project which kills it.

      --
      Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
  23. and if you a pre-existing condition = death camp by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    and if you a pre-existing condition = go to a Nazi like death camp as you can't get insurance.

    And the only plan that will cover you will be jail / prison care

  24. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by CanHasDIY · · Score: 0

    Anywhoodlidoodle, don't worry sir(or ma'am), you need not fear paying for check-ups, immunizations, and whatnot. You can simply wait and pay tons more for what could have been easily preventable emergency care. Just like Rand would have wanted.

    Actually, ol' Ayn would have preferred they die in the street, assuming it's not a street she frequents.

    --
    An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  25. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by huckamania · · Score: 2, Funny

    Do you really think that parents that take their kids to the ER for a fever and/or ear infection are going to suddenly stop taking their kids to the ER and go to their regular doctor? Do you really think that the homeless, who account for a large percentage of ER costs, are going to find a doctor who will take them that doesn't work in an ER?

    Mitt's plan is to let the States work this out for themselves. In some states that can be Robamacare and in others it can be insurance and tort reform. Tort reform would save the system more money then any of the current proposals.

  26. Romney just showed he is still a hypocrite by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    January 27, 2012 Republican debate:

    “I spent 25 years in business. If I had a business executive come to me and say they wanted to spend a few hundred billion dollars to put a colony on the moon, I’d say, ‘You’re fired!’” -Mitt Romney

    Calling for anything other than a minimal to nonexistent manned space program is hypocrisy for Mitt Romney.

    1. Re:Romney just showed he is still a hypocrite by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A business and a government have different functions. Him making a decision in one context does not necessarily affect a decision he may make in the other.

      But by all means, let's limit political discourse to things that can be expressed as one liners, like "Flip-Flopper", "Tax Return", "Birth Certificate", and other bullshit that has no affect on one's ability to govern.

    2. Re:Romney just showed he is still a hypocrite by tragedy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Quite aside from how it reflects on his opinions about colonizing space, that quote says some pretty bad things about Romney's management style if he's in earnest. Most of us have seen that sort of autocrat manager that can't even tolerate discussion of anything outside the box. They're pretty much universally idiots.

    3. Re:Romney just showed he is still a hypocrite by Teancum · · Score: 1

      January 27, 2012 Republican debate:

      “I spent 25 years in business. If I had a business executive come to me and say they wanted to spend a few hundred billion dollars to put a colony on the moon, I’d say, ‘You’re fired!’” -Mitt Romney

      Calling for anything other than a minimal to nonexistent manned space program is hypocrisy for Mitt Romney.

      Every time I see that quote, I think of how stupid Romney looks to say that.

      First of all, it was a Republican President (George H.W. Bush... aka "Bush senior") who wanted to spend not just $100 billion, but nearly a half trillion dollars on sending a dozen people to Mars (much less the Moon). As if building a colony on the Moon using standard NASA procurement budgets even could cost $100 billion as a low ball estimate originally given to Congress then adjusted for inflation and and facing redesigns and cost overruns typical of government projects like this.

      Besides, what Newt Gingrich was proposing was simply setting up a legal environment where America would simply claim a part of the Moon and turn it loose for anybody to go up there on their own dime and do whatever they wanted to do on the Moon with relatively little government money. I have no idea where Romney even got the idea that Gingrich was proposing a government financed base either, other than Gingrich did suggest that government involvement needed to happen with commercial spaceflight as well.

      Regardless, Romney then showed a complete ignorance of space policy or the very real issues involved, and this policy document shows little improvement over that decided lack of knowledge as well. Throw a few billion dollars to some government bureaucrats and let them figure out for themselves what they want to do with it, even if it is heading to Las Vegas and throwing a continuous 4-year long party. If anything, I think it would be money much better spent that way than the current appropriations regime at NASA.

    4. Re:Romney just showed he is still a hypocrite by geekoid · · Score: 1

      " is hypocrisy for Mitt Romney."
      Everything he has said has be hypocrisy

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    5. Re:Romney just showed he is still a hypocrite by Bigby · · Score: 1

      Correct. It is the government's job to perform completely wasteful high-risk spending that will likely never get remotely close to the return on investment. Not businesses.

  27. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by TheNastyInThePasty · · Score: 1

    Pretty good troll. Got a lot of responses already I see.

    --
    The best thing about UDP jokes is I don't care if you get them or not
  28. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Dahamma · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Simple, Ryan has this one covered...

    You just have to rob a bank to steal the money to pay for your health care. If you get away, you can now afford it. And if you get caught, no worries, the government will now pay for all of your health care, food, and lodgings anyway.

  29. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by isorox · · Score: 2

    Anywhoodlidoodle, don't worry sir(or ma'am), you need not fear paying for check-ups, immunizations, and whatnot. You can simply wait and pay tons more for what could have been easily preventable emergency care. Just like Rand would have wanted.

    Actually, ol' Ayn would have preferred they die in the street, assuming it's not a street she frequents.

    Who pays to clear the bodies away?

  30. Parallel Universe: Not a Star Trek episode. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Be the first to promote exploration and logistical security, in space. It is the vague responses that are reported by the media. If the country cannot refocus legacy programs into these two options; issuing tax incentives for health, agriculture and resource procurements in space for new products, could be legitimized. Using similar engineer from the Navy, most notably - Submarines; the Marines should be building, at the very least - Life Guard stations, in space. Sharing knowledge might be better to leave to Educators and theologians.

    This might quickly be interpreted are a foreign relations issue; however, it is a great resources to build partnerships, with other nations – For resources. As a country: When have the skills we need to build the infrastructures for mass production; Else, R&D with current COTS/ off the shelf to get more Americans in space.

    If you build it: People will come .. . .. .

  31. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Bullshit, insurance overhead is your number one problem.

  32. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you develop multiple sclerosis down the road your words will haunt you.

  33. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by slew · · Score: 1

    s/bank/taxpayer/g...

    Fixed that for you ;^)

  34. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Anywhoodlidoodle, don't worry sir(or ma'am), you need not fear paying for check-ups, immunizations, and whatnot. You can simply wait and pay tons more for what could have been easily preventable emergency care. Just like Rand would have wanted.

    Actually, ol' Ayn would have preferred they die in the street, assuming it's not a street she frequents.

    I like the Margaret Sanger approach myself - actively kill the undesirables (blacks) even before they're born.

  35. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not really, Romney is going to repeal Obamacare and replace it with something better. The guy is pro-healthcare, he's proud of what he did in Mass. Don't be deceived by his rhetoric to the tea party.

  36. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by IrquiM · · Score: 1

    Kebab restaurants!

    --
    This is blinging
  37. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Dahamma · · Score: 1

    And you don't think taxpayers pay for prisons?

  38. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by gagol · · Score: 4, Funny

    Wow, Magic Johnson must pay a LOT of taxes to cover for medicare alone!

    --
    Tomorrow is another day...
  39. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by strangeattraction · · Score: 1

    I guess you have not been incarcerated in a California prison:) http://www.scpr.org/news/2012/05/04/32295/california-officials-attorneys-inmates-sumbit-plan/

  40. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Sir_Sri · · Score: 1

    Someone rich enough who doesn't want their view sullied or the the local owner of that strip of road in front of his house/business who paid to have it built in front. S/he is responsible for cleaning it off of his property, or keeping the unkempt masses off of his/her properly so they don't die there.

    That, or the body just sits there and rots/is eaten by scavengers. Pure 'personal responsibility' also allows for the problem to simply not be solved and piles of bodies can just lie around. Because that works so well.

    P.S. Yes, I'm serious that's probably about the argument ayn rand types would make, no, I don't think that's even remotely sensible.

  41. Re:Romney-Ryan is a Health Care flip floper by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    Re:Romney-Ryan is a Health Care flip floper and with him you may end up with a mini med plan that does cover any thing.

  42. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Really? I call bullshit. Support that with facts please AC.

  43. Re:The Short Version by ackthpt · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Do you care to discuss this point using reason and logic, or it this just flamebait?

    Honest question, it is worth discussing.

    Intellectual honesty, or coward? Just asking,

    I'd point out something about anonymous coward and finger pointing, but don't expect you have the grace to say, "Touché"

    Sometimes it's just about having a little light hearted fun, after all this is a political thread. I don't expect anything in here to influence a vote, one way or the other.

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
  44. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by iluvcapra · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Do you really think that parents that take their kids to the ER for a fever and/or ear infection are going to suddenly stop taking their kids to the ER and go to their regular doctor?

    Well yeah, they'll have insurance. These people aren't hopeless morons, and they love their children and what whats best for them. Indigent homeless are trickier, but you see a lot of working homeless families lining up around the block to get their non-emergent medical needs addressed. Under a

    In some states that can be Robamacare and in others it can be insurance and tort reform. Tort reform would save the system more money then any of the current proposals.

    You forgot to call the President "hopey changey," or make a reference to the "democrat party." Minus two points.

    Tort reform is a bit of a red herring. Orrin Hatch's Tort Reform proposals in '09 would have saved about $54 billion, which isn't chump change, but it would only reduce total national health spending by 0.5%. So we could claim that money on the table, but the limitations in Hatch's proposal specifically were extremely low, to the extent that they reduced pain and suffering awards to a slap on the wrist and would probably cause incidents of malpractice to increase.

    State-by-state solutions are doomed in the US because of regulatory arbitrage. Employers and tax units in states with expensive programs can simply move their paper addresses to states with lower tax liability. Insurance companies can shop around for states that offer them the most favorable regulation (the ones with the least customer protections), and employers can play states off each other to obtain favorable tax treatment. States simply can't design their own programs when the employers within it can simply evade the costs of the system by filing paperwork, while enjoying all the benefits of the system by dumping their employees into the state public program. A state-by-state healthcare system in the US would end up looking a lot like the consumer credit card system in the US, which is to say, we'd all have whatever rights the North Dakota and Delaware legislature had agreed to, because they were the highest bidder for the health insurance company's business.

    "States' Rights" has been keeping 60's-style state capitalism alive for decades, by giving employers a huge stick with which they can extract free services from a state government, guised under the threat of "killing jobs." An employer simply threatens to move unless they can stay tax-free, dumping the costs of roads, schools, police, and health care on everyone else.

    --
    Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
  45. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by ackthpt · · Score: 1

    Wow, Magic Johnson must pay a LOT of taxes to cover for medicare alone!

    I think his on-going HIV treatments are sufficient medical expense deductions he doesn't end up with much owed at the end of the year.

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
  46. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Mitt's plan is to let the States work this out for themselves. "

    Mitts plan is he has no plan then...just let the states get into more debt by paying for this stuff.

  47. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by iluvcapra · · Score: 1

    You see one of these stories every few months. Behold, these people are homeless and seek out non-emergent care for their children. Wouldn't you rather these people be paying for this through insurance premiums, rather than having to rely on charity? No other country in the developed world has this.

    --
    Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
  48. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Dahamma · · Score: 3, Insightful

    At least they are still alive, and not lying face down in a gutter. And of course those inadequate facilities are probably still costing taxpayers about 10x what providing basic insurance would...

    Always amazing the stupid decisions people (politicians and voters) will make with emotion or spite over reason. Reminds me of the CA death penalty. 13 people have been executed since it was reinstated in 1978, at a cost of about $4B. And the process takes so long that over *80* death row inmates have died of other causes. So $200M a year has been wasted just to wait around for 90% of the inmates to die on their own, same as in life without parole.

  49. thinking seriously about space. by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

    Newt Gingrich, one of the few politicians who thinks seriously about space...

    I think the specific quote was "Mars, bitches!"

    Or maybe it was "Mars...BITCHES!" indicating the former Speaker of the House and perennial presidential candidate thinks there are hot bitches on Mars who could be persuaded to do a little chubby chasing. After all, Calista isn't getting any younger, if you get my drift.

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  50. Re:But he said space was stupid before.... by PopeRatzo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The only ones that haven't flip-flopped are Gary Johnson and Ron Paul.

    That's correct. They skipped the "flip" part and just flopped.

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  51. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Not really, Romney is going to repeal Obamacare and replace it with something better. "

    His plan is 90% the same as Obama, but without explanation for how it will be funded. "better" needs explanation which he hasn't yet provided.

  52. In other words... by publiclurker · · Score: 2

    I got mine fuck you. I certainly hope you don't call yourself a good christian/human being

    1. Re:In other words... by meta-monkey · · Score: 1

      You're right. A good christian would demand the government take money from his neighbors and give it to him.

      --
      We don't have a state-run media we have a media-run state.
    2. Re:In other words... by Moofie · · Score: 1

      I don't know what you mean, but a good Christian would indeed render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and also realize that the things we do to the least of our brothers, we do to Christ.

      Because that's the actual philosophy attributed to Jesus, and I don't really understand the problem with it.

      --
      Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
    3. Re:In other words... by sumdumass · · Score: 1

      There really isn't anything wrong with it- outside of it being perverted to mean government provided everything that is.

      The entire unto Caesar line was to segregate church from the demands of government when they over ride or conflict with the religious values. It was a response to someone attempting to trick Jesus into angering the Romans so he would be arrested and out of their hair.

      The least of our brothers was about personal responsibility too. It won't be satisfied by a government or someone else doing something on your behalf because you were too busy or whatever.

      So when people use it to claim we should be taxed so the government can do something with the poor or whatever, they are lost on the entire concept.

    4. Re:In other words... by paiute · · Score: 1

      I don't know what you mean, but a good Christian would indeed render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and also realize that the things we do to the least of our brothers, we do to Christ.

      Because that's the actual philosophy attributed to Jesus, and I don't really understand the problem with it.

      The problem is that this Jesus fellow advocates against every plank in the Republican Party platform.

      --
      If Slashdot were chemistry it would look like this:Cadaverine
    5. Re:In other words... by Moofie · · Score: 1

      I agree, but that's only a problem for the "Christian" Republicans.

      --
      Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
    6. Re:In other words... by gorzek · · Score: 1

      How can the government doing what your religion tells you to do "override" or "conflict" with your religious values?

      "My religion says I should do this because it's right. Government is trying to make me do it! That's wrong!"

      Of course, I know the real reason certain sects of American Protestants think this way. To them, charity isn't about helping anyone--it's about enriching your own soul, paving your own way to heaven. You want God to see you depriving yourself to the benefit of someone else, deliberately and intentionally. If the government does it by taking taxes from your paycheck, then you don't get brownie points with the Almighty, and that makes it wrong. These are the same people who believe this is a world of ruin that's doomed to burn when Christ returns, so the eventual fate of this world is completely irrelevant to them.

      It's a horrifying worldview to anyone who doesn't share it, because it claims quite unambiguously that this life doesn't matter, except insofar as it helps you get to heaven. Anyone not working on getting to heaven is irrelevant and deserves whatever fate they get. It's an attitude completely against what communities and civilized states stand for.

      European Catholics, I have noticed, tend not to have this problem. They seem quite comfortable with an expansive safety net that helps those who need it.

    7. Re:In other words... by meta-monkey · · Score: 1

      No problem, I pretty much agree with Jesus' teachings.

      But I have problems with a policy of "my religion says [good thing is good] therefore my government should make [good thing] mandatory for all people."

      --
      We don't have a state-run media we have a media-run state.
    8. Re:In other words... by sumdumass · · Score: 1

      How can the government doing what your religion tells you to do "override" or "conflict" with your religious values?

      Because it isn't you doing it. That right there is the entire problem. Christianity is about a personal relationship with God. It isn't something you can have your butler do for you or in this case, your government because you are too occupied with yourself to be bothered. The verses in question where not intended to put an entire country into the kingdom of Heaven, but you the practitioner of it.

      Think of it this way, you get a job making $14 an hour. You switch with someone all week long so you didn't have to work at all. Are surprised when you don't get a paycheck? Are you entitled to a paycheck? Did you fulfill your work obligations? No, someone else did the work and they get paid for it.

      Of course, I know the real reason certain sects of American Protestants think this way. To them, charity isn't about helping anyone--it's about enriching your own soul, paving your own way to heaven. You want God to see you depriving yourself to the benefit of someone else, deliberately and intentionally.

      What exactly is wrong with that? People who want a TV to watch the latest celebrity gossip or trash reality show are motivated to spend _their_money_ on a TV. Is there now some sort of morality police who gets to judge the motivations of people and declare certain ones invalid? But in this statement, I think you already know the answer to your first question. Now tell me why now allowing them to do that is so important to you. Do you seem to think that if there isn't a large crowd at the gates of heaven they will lower their standards and somehow include you or something?

      If the government does it by taking taxes from your paycheck, then you don't get brownie points with the Almighty, and that makes it wrong. These are the same people who believe this is a world of ruin that's doomed to burn when Christ returns, so the eventual fate of this world is completely irrelevant to them.

      If you would have continued that statement, you would have went on to where Jesus would take certain people to heaven and so on.

      But a more important point is freedom. It's your money, you earned it, If you want to give it to charity, good for you. If you want to give it to the government, good for you. But when what you want to do is taken away from you and demanded by the government or any other entity claiming a power over you, are you still just as free? What about when you think it is more important to donate to education funds so poor children do not end up in the same cycle and the government decides all they will do is put food on the table for them?

      This also neglects the problems with government charity in which the programs general end up entrapping people into them without giving them opportunities to advance out of the roles. I've met quite a few people online who will claim that isn't true, but history shows it is. Of course you will have people only interested in doing as little as possible and game the systems.

      It's a horrifying worldview to anyone who doesn't share it, because it claims quite unambiguously that this life doesn't matter, except insofar as it helps you get to heaven. Anyone not working on getting to heaven is irrelevant and deserves whatever fate they get. It's an attitude completely against what communities and civilized states stand for.

      I'm not sure your logic is sound here. If helping the poor is part of the way to get to heaven, then why would they be irrelevant? I think your problem is that you got but hurt by someone claiming to be a christian who wasn't a good christian or something. Here is a hint, not all people are who they claim to be and cars owned by little old ladies from Pasadena who drove them only to church on Sunday does not always make for a good car. If you weren't so repulsed by thes

  53. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Sir_Sri · · Score: 2

    Tort reform would save the system more money then any of the current proposals.

    That, unfortunately, is unlikely to be true.
    http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/751009

    No matter how you 'reform' the system there will remain some liability.

    Do you really think that parents that take their kids to the ER for a fever and/or ear infection are going to suddenly stop taking their kids to the ER and go to their regular doctor?

    You never stop it completely. But after they've waiting 5 hours in an ER once, versus getting an appointment the next day with their family physician the problem isn't nearly as bad as it sounds. This has the downside of inflating ER wait times considerably in Canada and the UK for example, but most sane parents get the message.

    The US spends almost 18% of GDP on healthcare. France and the UK both have better healthcare and come in around 10-12% of GDP. The best way to save money would be to copy either of their systems and tell the insurance companies to GTFO, you'd get better care for about half the price. Effectively this would be the same as extending medicare or medicaid to everyone with some relatively minor adjustments. Right now you've decided to copy the swiss system (which is still better than the US system by far), so it's something, but it could be better.

    Keep in mind that part of medical lawsuits is the (entirely justifiable) cost of fixing whatever went wrong. When you have socialized care you still have that cost - but it's not a lawsuit anymore, the cash transaction is much smaller, so lawyers are taking less of a cut on top of it, and it becomes a system problem to try and reduce the cost fro accidents, rather than a liability problem to shield yourself from bankruptcy due to the cost of making a mistake.

  54. Re:But he said space was stupid before.... by Hatta · · Score: 1

    One would give states jurisdiction over a woman's uterus, and the other favors a profit motive for imprisoning people. That's no choice I want to have to make. The Libertarian party is as much of a sham as the two leading parties.

    --
    Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
  55. Re:But he said space was stupid before.... by Sir_Sri · · Score: 0

    Right, they both are strict adherents to bad ideas. Just what you want in a politician, righteous determination to stick to a plan in spite of evidence the plan is bad.

    I'm not an american, but I'd rather a dishonest politician who does good things than an honest one who does bad things.

  56. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by gagol · · Score: 1

    LOL ;-) I hope this get modded down but I wanted you to know I appreciated your reply.

    --
    Tomorrow is another day...
  57. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by BiggerBadderBen · · Score: 1

    The free market, of course!

  58. It doesn't matter by XxtraLarGe · · Score: 1

    I have a better chance of being the first man on Mars than Mitt Romney has of winning the presidency, so it doesn't really matter what his policy is.

    --
    Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
  59. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ol' Ayn would have been one of the people dying in the streets.

  60. Re:But he said space was stupid before.... by khallow · · Score: 1

    but I'd rather a dishonest politician who does good things

    And how do you know the dishonest politician is going to do good things? At least, the honest politician stays bought.

  61. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Charitable giving? That's the old fashioned way of doing it.

  62. What would it matter? by Xandrax · · Score: 0

    I've never understood this statement. It's invariably made by people who wouldn't vote for Romney if his tax returns showed that he gave 50% of his income to charity and the other 50% to the IRS, so why would you care if he releases them? It's not going to make one bit of a difference in who you vote for.

    1. Re:What would it matter? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >I've never understood this statement. It's invariably made by people who wouldn't vote for Romney if his tax returns showed that he gave 50% of his income to charity and the other 50% to the IRS, so why would you care if he releases them? It's not going to make one bit of a difference in who you vote for.

      So it's like Obama's birth certificate, then?

    2. Re:What would it matter? by mcgrew · · Score: 1

      I've never understood this statement. It's invariably made by people who wouldn't vote for Romney if his tax returns showed that he gave 50% of his income to charity and the other 50% to the IRS

      Well, of course... you're going to say something nice about someone you don't like who is running to be your leader?

      However, Romney did do one thing I approve of -- in the one he released, it was revealed that he didn't take a deduction for charity. I have to respect that. However, since he's NOT for the middle class and decidedly against the poor, and is actually the candidate for the 1%, I would be a damned fool to vote for him. Of course, if you are teh 1% you'd be a damned fool to vote against hime (unless you love your country, but I doubt there's a single patriot in the 1%).

    3. Re:What would it matter? by mrjimorg · · Score: 1

      "However, since he's NOT for the middle class and decidedly against the poor, and is actually the candidate for the 1%, I would be a damned fool to vote for him. Of course, if you are teh 1% you'd be a damned fool to vote against hime (unless you love your country, but I doubt there's a single patriot in the 1%)."

      And you base this off of....... what? Has he ever said this? No. Just because he disagrees with your methods for fixing a problem doesn't mean that he disagrees with your desire to solve the problem. Please quite the hyperbole.

    4. Re:What would it matter? by mcgrew · · Score: 1

      And you base this off of....... what?

      Off of his wanting to lower the taxes on the rich, who are already paying a lower percentage than the middle class. He's a rich man born with a silver spoon up his nose who has no idea how normal people live or what problems we all have just trying to make ends meet.

      I'm looking forward to the debate next Wednesday. I think Romney will have his ass handed to him.

  63. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by SternisheFan · · Score: 1, Informative

    At least they are still alive, and not lying face down in a gutter. And of course those inadequate facilities are probably still costing taxpayers about 10x what providing basic insurance would...

    Always amazing the stupid decisions people (politicians and voters) will make with emotion or spite over reason. Reminds me of the CA death penalty. 13 people have been executed since it was reinstated in 1978, at a cost of about $4B. And the process takes so long that over *80* death row inmates have died of other causes. So $200M a year has been wasted just to wait around for 90% of the inmates to die on their own, same as in life without parole.

    It's cheaper to give life without parole, since the death sentence has an automatic appeals process that goes up to the Supreme Court, costing over $3,000,000.

  64. Romney promises that NASA will find Kolob. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In a recent townhall meeting, ex-governor Romney promised that NASA will be funded "without limit from the United States treasury" to find "the planet and/or star, Kolob", and that he will personally pilot a starship to said planet and/or star with the goal of geoforming a nearby planet in which ex-governor Romney, in his Mormon-godform, will rule with "the dignity and respect" that he "will rule 53% of the United States".

  65. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by UnknowingFool · · Score: 2, Informative

    I didn't know Paul Ryan was a Democrat. Sorry when he spoke at the Republican national convention, I thought he was a Republican. I mistook him for the same Senator Paul Ryan that criticized the President for not ramming the budget through Congress, the same budget that Republicans like Paul Ryan actively tried to defeat. There must be like six Paul Ryans in Congress these days.

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  66. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by happyhamster · · Score: 1

    Cancelling accidental incorrect moderation. Sorry about this.

  67. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Interestingly, your post contains precisely as many demonstrable statements of fact as Romney's actual, stated position.

  68. Re:But he said space was stupid before.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And that's what we call politics. The only ones that haven't flip-flopped are Gary Johnson and Ron Paul. I think the real elections should be about those two competitors.

    Ron Paul hates Social Security but doesn't mind collecting it. Is that a flip-flop or just outright hypocrisy?

  69. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by GrimShady · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Bottom line is, if you can't afford insurance, you have no business getting free health care financed by the rest of us. Find a free clinic.

    And who pays for this "free" clinic?

    WTF does this have to do with TFA about Romney and space? This is why I dont like reading /. anymore

  70. Re:But he said space was stupid before.... by Sir_Sri · · Score: 1

    You don't, naturally, it's more of a Bill Clinton versus whomever is running as the communist party candidate. You might know slick willy is a womanizing asshole, but at least he's not actually a communist.

  71. Romney? Really?! by SternisheFan · · Score: 3, Funny

    "I don't want a president who looks like a game show host." - David Letterman

  72. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Dahamma · · Score: 1

    Eh, yeah, my statement may not have been clear... by the "same as in life without parole" I mean the same results - dead inmate - but as you say millions of dollars saved in the process.

  73. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Mike+Van+Pelt · · Score: 1

    State-by-state solutions are doomed in the US because of regulatory arbitrage.

    In other words, because California can't put up an iron curtain blocking the freeways leaving the state, they can't keep the over-milked taxpayers from fleeing the state.

    Tough cookies.

  74. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by chowdahhead · · Score: 0

    It's called an "Emergency Department"

  75. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by postbigbang · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Thread drift is a hallowed part of /. history. From the time I joined after lurking for a while, thread drift has become a major feature of this atmosphere. To ensure you like it, next time you get mod points, use the Offtopic mod.

    Most geeks have at least a touch of ADD. The original topic, which talked about a Space Program by the opposition candidates, was made after one of them wondered, in all seriousness, why you couldn't open windows on airliners. Any semblance of subsequent sanity is purely accidental.

    --
    ---- Teach Peace. It's Cheaper Than War.
  76. Trying hard.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...failing laughably badly

    You keep pimping that vid, but seriously, do you really think a feeble clip of Obama saying "fifty..." when he clearly mean "forty..." is anywhere close to the same Domain of Gaffdom that Romney inhabits? If that's the best you've got, you must be too stupid not to be embarassed.

  77. Re:The Short Version by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I have had a drink and Retract everything I said above.

    I realized, as I stared into my empty Bud Light, that I need to get a life, get out of the house, and talk to real people.

  78. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by slew · · Score: 2

    And you don't think taxpayers pay for prisons?

    Taxpayers pay for everything that government does...

    Bottom line, if you don't get health insurance yourself, we are collectively robbing taxpayers are paying for it (one way or another). Who do you think picks up the insurance when someone robs money from a bank? We do. Witness TARP.

  79. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by fm6 · · Score: 1

    Not troll, off-topic. Jeez.

    The really stupid thing here is that the comment system doesn't hide all the off-topic followups, just the really stupid post that started it all.

  80. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by RandomFactor · · Score: 2

    I remember wondering why it was illegal to shoot buzzards once when I was a kid.

    I was told

    "How much would it cost for the county to remove a dead animal from the road, or for you to do it? Buzzard does it for free."

    No idea if there's any truth to it, but hey, it seems like it answers the question :)

    --
    --- Mercutio was right.
  81. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The states haven't worked this shit out yet.

  82. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by iluvcapra · · Score: 2

    If they left the state that'd be fine with everyone, the problem is corporations staying in the state, using the public services, the roads, the police and fire department, the courts, and sending their employees to the Medi-Cal office, all the while claiming that they don't have to pay for any of it because they happen to rent a mailbox in Reno, Nevada.

    It's even worse in some states, where the threat of a multi-national employer moving out-of-state has convinced legislatures that they have to extend open-ended tax holidays, or grant the employer the right to pocket their employee's payroll taxes, among other things.

    --
    Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
  83. Re:The Short Version by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yes it is a topic worth discussing, with polite reason and logic. But the more relevant question: is it worth discussing here with reason and logic? Is it going to change anyone's mind or preach to one of the choirs? Will it be informative, or a bunch of "me too"?

    I'm not saying you should discuss it, but that it should be pretty obvious that many people are not going to expect much return on an investment in political discussion on the internet.

  84. Re:The Short Version by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    100% of 2012 U.S. Republican presidential candidates are certified assholes. Fuck you Mitt. Die with festering boils you SOB.

  85. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Alien+Being · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Mitt's plan is to distract us while he robs the bank. He's a crook.

  86. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Teancum · · Score: 1

    If a state is dependent upon multinational employers who can blackmail the government, it sounds like it is time to start encouraging local business development instead that may have at least some sort of loyalty to that particular state and its culture.

    That some state governments are incredibly stupid can't be helped. At least when one of the 50 states goes nuts and does stupid things, there will at least be some sanity in a couple of the other states. If you instead rely upon a federal solution to problems that really belong on the sate level, it often means one awful solution that can't be culled at a later time. Different state solutions at least provide incentive for a state to give up and try something different when a failed policy isn't working.

  87. Re:The Short Version by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...you cannot escape that.

    Actually, you can escape that easily... don't bother replying on the internet and go off to have an actual discussion with someone, instead of playing some game about boosting egos by arguing over who is a drone. Maybe instead of arguing about who does and doesn't think for themselves, some people are off busy thinking for themselves. And you wonder why people don't want to discuss this with you? Here's a hint: for many, it is not due to lack of ability.

  88. Article's editorializing isn't fair, but mine is. by goodmanj · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The article's editorializing isn't really fair. No, Romney doesn't have a plan, but the goal of the article isn't to propose a space policy, but to bash Obama's. And it's true that space exploration has taken a hit during the Obama administration, but all the key events took place before his administration.

    Bush, 2004: "Screw that space shuttle, boys, we're going back to the moon!"
    NASA, 2004: "Cool! Just so you know, that's kind of expensive."
    Bush, 2006: "Is a buck fifty enough?"
    NASA, 2006: "No. And BTW, we're cancelling the shuttles like you asked."
    Obama, 2009: "Umm, guys? Let's be honest here, going to the moon on a buck fifty isn't going to happen. We need a new plan for what to do with your buck fifty."
    Congress, 2009: "What buck fifty?"
    Obama, 2011: "Oh for fuck's sake."

    I've talked to lots of NASA employees over the year. Lots of them are really pissed off at Washington politics. But the names that inspire curses are George Bush and Congress. Obama is rarely mentioned.

    NASA's woes are a classic case of the Republican game plan:
    1) When in power, make grand plans without sweating the details or the cost.
    2) When out of power, block all solutions to the problems that arise from your grand plans.
    3) When seeking power, blame the opposition for failing to solve the problems you caused.

  89. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by jhoegl · · Score: 2

    Actually the FDIC takes money from banks to be a member. It is an actual insurance.
    Now, as for the police looking for the criminals... yes... yes it is our tax money.
    But I guess I would rather pay taxes for cops, firefighters, teachers, medical care than to have people dieing on the streets because someone broke into a house and lit it on fire because they dont know that inflammable means flammable.
    I must be a bleeding heart liberal... or someone who can critically think how things affect our society.

  90. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Dahamma · · Score: 1

    That's one way to think of it, but not the only way.

    Another would be that taxpayers are collectively funding a safety net that help anyone who is in dire need.

    Another is that taxpayers are paying a form of insurance against the inevitable flood of people who end up in the ER with no way to pay for their emergency services - one that will cost an order of magnitude less than the currently badly broken ER "safety net".

    Or if you don't even believe in even helping poor people in the ER because letting someone die when you don't have to is morally wrong, another way to think of it is an alternative to buying all of those extra street cleaners and incinerators to sweep up the piles of dead homeless and unemployed people who were denied affordable health care AND emergency medical care, and are now an eyesore and health hazard to those God-fearin' taxpayers who didn't want to help them sooner.

  91. Re:The Short Version by garyebickford · · Score: 2

    100% of 2012 U.S. presidential candidates are certified assholes. Fuck them all. Die with festering boils you SOBs.

    FTFY

    --
    It's easier to be a result of the past, but more fun to be a cause of the future! http://www.spacefinancegroup.com/
  92. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "So that's what's covering Obama's multi-trillion-dollar deficits!"

    No, you are. And me, and that guy over there, and a whole shitload of people--every single American, plus millions of other people worldwide. We, collectively through the markets, decide the value of the dollar. We've collectively decided that the value of the dollar is pretty damn good and that it's long-term prognosis is absofuckinglutely marvelous. Sound as a pound is so 1800's. Big Daddy Dollar's large and in charge, the reserve currency of the motherfucking planet. Fucking hell people are lining up for the opportunity to buy our debt, and are willing to pay for the privilege. That's right, a 20 year T-bill doesn't even beat inflation. The US government can spend money, for fucking free, for 20 years! God damn all hail the power of the markets, baby!

  93. I cant vote for a cult leader. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Until freedom from religion is a constitutional right.

  94. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by iluvcapra · · Score: 1

    If a state is dependent upon multinational employers who can blackmail the government, it sounds like it is time to start encouraging local business development instead that may have at least some sort of loyalty to that particular state and its culture.

    Of course, this is a vicious cycle, because the local employers are all stuck with the taxes that the multinational employers talk their way out of. "Loyalty" or "culture" of course are irrelevant, because they mean nothing to shareholders (nor am I sure they should).

    Different state solutions at least provide incentive for a state to give up and try something different when a failed policy isn't working.

    But if the law allows people to dump all of their costs in state A, and keep all their profits in state B, it's impossible to tell what policies "work."

    --
    Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
  95. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by garyebickford · · Score: 1

    I like it. Outside the box thinking, that. Efficient. It's actually a way of letting the 'market' solve the problem. (Ecosystems and free markets operate under essentially the same mathematical models.) :)

    --
    It's easier to be a result of the past, but more fun to be a cause of the future! http://www.spacefinancegroup.com/
  96. Re:Article's editorializing isn't fair, but mine i by jammer170 · · Score: 2

    You call that fair? How about mentioning the fact that Obama tried to convince us that taking the buck fifty from NASA was a good way to help reduce our national debt? Or that Obama has had nearly four years to do something with NASA? Or do all the facts get in the way of beating the dead horse that is George Bush?

    The truth is, neither of the two main political parties in America give a damn about NASA or the space program. If this is truly important to any readers, find a more worthy political party, and give them your vote.

    --
    Remember, you can't look dignified when your having fun! Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out of it alive
  97. Re:But he said space was stupid before.... by drkim · · Score: 2

    One would give states jurisdiction over a woman's uterus, and the other favors a profit motive for imprisoning people. That's no choice I want to have to make. The Libertarian party is as much of a sham as the two leading parties.

    You could just imprison people IN a woman's uterus. It's a win-win.

  98. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by lexman098 · · Score: 1

    Maybe it's time to admit that it's inefficient and unnecessary to give the supreme court a crack at every death row inmate's case.

  99. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Alien+Being · · Score: 2

    I'm from Massachusetts. He fucked us. He's fucks anyone he can. It's what he does. He's a fucker. First he's over there fucking those people. Then he's here fucking us. Soon he could be everywhere fucking everyone. He's not pro-healthcare. He's pro-big-business-fucking-innocent-people.

  100. I have a rocket company in California by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I am involved in several companies and own one in California and I can conclusively say most harmful regulation is state not federal. State regulations are in desperate need of changing in favor of business and jobs generally and less in favor of government, public employee unions, state endorsed journeymen, and local rules.

    None of this has to do with taxes. Taxes are higher in CA than anywhere but NY, but that would even be okay if the regulatory choke hold could be reduced. The good news is this country has NV and TX to solve this issue.

    It's not just space, but aerospace, industrial tech, manufacturing, and medical technology. It's any labor intensive occupation.

    The federal layer is a case of a jobs program managed by the military-industrial complex. Wanna have massive private space innovation? Of the $20B space budget or more each year, put $10B into $100m per aerospace company with less than 50 employees and who has actually tested hardware or flown something, and all of a sudden you will have a rennissance era.

    Good luck with that.

    JJ

  101. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Alien+Being · · Score: 1

    Patient: Doctor, Doctor. My asshole hurts.

    Doctor: That's because Mitt Romney fucked you.

    Patient: Can you fix it?

    Doctor: Sorry, not covered under RomneyCare.

    Patient: Drat, fucked again by Mitt Romney.

  102. Re:But he said space was stupid before.... by Khith · · Score: 1

    Ron Paul hates Social Security but doesn't mind collecting it. Is that a flip-flop or just outright hypocrisy?

    He paid into Social Security, so he deserves to collect it. He wants there to be a way for people to opt out of it. Some people may wish to put the money toward something else instead of giving it to the government.

    http://www.ontheissues.org/2012/Ron_Paul_Social_Security.htm explains his view on this in more detail.

    So no, I don't think it's hypocritical or flip-flopping. If you were forced to pay money into the program, why shouldn't you collect from it later on?

  103. Re:Article's editorializing isn't fair, but mine i by goodmanj · · Score: 0

    The truth is, neither of the two main political parties in America give a damn about NASA or the space program.

    I agree with this 100%. But if your Dad says he'll buy you a jet-ski, your Mom says "sorry honey, we can't afford a jet-ski", and your uncle says "what a horrible Mom, depriving her kid of a jet-ski" --- might as well face it, you're not getting a jet-ski. But at least your Mom was straight with you.

  104. Re:But he said space was stupid before.... by ifiwereasculptor · · Score: 1

    You could just imprison people IN a woman's uterus. It's a win-win.

    I think you just invented double rape.

  105. subject by Legion303 · · Score: 1

    Romney: "Why don't space ships have windows that open? This is a serious problem."

  106. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Sheesh I don't see what the big deal is. There are no corpses littering the streets in the Libertarian Utopia. If you can't afford insurance then you're an undeserving parasite who should hurry up and die, unless you've got something to trade. Most people are born with a spare kidney, lung, eye, a few feet of intestine, and 80% of the liver can be chopped out too. Make a deal with the doctors in the ER. You're capable of acting rationally with that sucking chest wound, aren't you? If not, you should have planned for this eventuality and have a trusted legal representative. Anyway, if the free market value of your spare parts covers your heart attack and triple bypass, or having every bone crushed in that freak accident, or whatever, congratulations my fellow capitalist purist you get to live! If not, well you (or your legal representative) can sign a waiver and the proceeds from your being "parted" can be passed on to your next of kin. Less expenses of course; operations are pricey. All hail the Invisible Hand of the Free Markets, and Prosperity Be Upon Her, Profitess Ayn Rand!

  107. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by foniksonik · · Score: 4, Interesting

    What's that old saying? "I didn't protest when they left the liberal state. I didn't protest when they left the moderate state. Now they are leaving the country and leaving all the burdens on citizens. "

    Maybe not a faithful quote but you might get the gist of it.

    Corporations don't care about your values. They only care about the bottom line. That's how it is set up and probably how it should be. OTOH it's our job to hold them accountable. Part of that social contract is to make them contribute back to the community they have benefited from. The infrastructure, the subsidies, etc.

    Laws and regulations enforce that contract. Without them corporations are bound to screw us over by their own rules.

    The flip side is feast and famine. When the predator over hunts a territory he either moves on and fights his way into a new one or dies of starvation.

    Civilization is supposed to moderate that cycle for us smart humans. Part of civilization is rules and regulation. Really that's all it is. Agreed upon self regulation to avoid feast and famine.

    You are an ignorant person.

    --
    A fool throws a stone into a well and a thousand sages can not remove it.
  108. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by RobbieCrash · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The banking side of TARP is going to turn a profit.

    Universal health care will decrease the cost of health care to the entire population, while increasing overall health. Arguing against it is short sighted and stupid.

    --
    Keep on knockin'
    https://robbiecrash.me
  109. Re:Article's editorializing isn't fair, but mine i by jammer170 · · Score: 2

    And this little analogy you've written out applies how? Neither party is being straight with voters. Obama talks about how important NASA is, but he's already tried to cut their funding. Romney is now taking cheap shots at Obama for it, but that doesn't change the fact that he's actually correct in his criticisms. Frankly, his rhetoric is largely identical to Obama's rhetoric about the wars - lots of bluster, but no real action.

    --
    Remember, you can't look dignified when your having fun! Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out of it alive
  110. Re:But he said space was stupid before.... by jamstar7 · · Score: 1

    One would give states jurisdiction over a woman's uterus, and the other favors a profit motive for imprisoning people. That's no choice I want to have to make. The Libertarian party is as much of a sham as the two leading parties.

    You could just imprison people IN a woman's uterus. It's a win-win.

    Depends on the uterus. Do we get a choice? And if so, can we choose a non-American?

    --
    Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
  111. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Teancum · · Score: 2

    But if the law allows people to dump all of their costs in state A, and keep all their profits in state B, it's impossible to tell what policies "work."

    The problem is the size of these companies and being beholden to them. If you had a thousand companies employing nearly the same number of people that the one mega multinational company was employing, I would argue that there would be much more economic productivity in that same part of the country, more general tax revenue, and arguably less ability to engage in those kind of accounting shell games because those companies in state A would not have any office in state B to play those kind of games in the first place.

    Vermont was able to keep Wal-Mart from coming into their state for a long time simply because they refused to play the political games that Wal-Mart was expecting them to play. Other states could do the same sort of thing and not give in to these companies, but instead encourage local businesses to grow and develop. A tax incentive that helps bring a huge business with a thousand jobs that was instead given to a thousand local businesses or even encouraged ordinary people to become entrepreneurs to start businesses creating a thousand jobs would go a whole lot further and benefit state and local governments far more.

    BTW, with small businesses, the "shareholders" are local too, citizens and voters of that state who have a stake in what happens in that government, culture, and society. It is the large businesses that don't care or have likely been managed by executives that have never even heard of that state much less their shareholders.

  112. Gosh by Bruce+Perens · · Score: 1

    That's so stupid. I blogged it, I didn't want to let this one go unnoticed.

  113. Generic article template proposal by rnturn · · Score: 1

    Take that first bit of the article and simply substitute the topic of the day:

    "The Romney-Ryan campaign has released a white paper on fill-in-the-blank policy, which observers find to be long on criticisms of the Obama Administration but short on specific recommendations."

    I think this could be used successfully to describe virtually everything released by the Republican candidates. Try it with "economic", "immigration", etc. See? It works!

    --
    CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
  114. Oh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Oh they most have been in Florida this week...

  115. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by huckamania · · Score: 1

    Texas passed tort reform and has seen a dramatic influx of health care professionals. They actually want to work and no, they haven't increased the incidents of malpractice. That is a bizarre idea, that tort reform would lead to more malpractice.

    I had socialized medicine when living in Europe and it wasn't great. It was a lot of waiting in line and even more complete indifference to the people waiting in line. I also experienced socialized medicine in the USMC and it was exactly the same. Give something away for free and you will find that there are a lot of people who will abuse the system.

  116. Re:But he said space was stupid before.... by drkim · · Score: 1

    You could just imprison people IN a woman's uterus. It's a win-win.

    I think you just invented double rape.

    Ahhhh, but if it's court ordered, it's legitimate double rape.

  117. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by gd2shoe · · Score: 1

    ...Who do you think picks up the insurance when someone robs money from a bank? We do. Witness TARP.

    Nobody robbed the banks. They threw away money they didn't have.

    TARP isn't issuance, strictly speaking. That's the FDIC. (TARP is rewarding failure, but it isn't insurance.)

    --
    I won't join Slashcott. OTOH, If Beta goes live, I just won't be back until it's fixed. Sorry Dice.
  118. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Dahamma · · Score: 1

    Inefficient, absolutely. Unnecessary - well, you may call it unnecessary, but I think the US (as opposed to almost every other country with the death penalty) should at least be somewhat proud of the fact that there are no *confirmed* wrongful executions yet (though there are several in doubt).

    While I think CA spending $4B to execute 13 people is absurd, if it had led to the exoneration of one person who would have otherwise been executed it was worth it. Though by "worth it" I definitely do not mean "money well spent" as the same outcome would been achieved much more efficiently with life without parole.

  119. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ah, nice to see the Republican platform distilled down to it's basic premise: FUCK THE POOR.

  120. Re:Article's editorializing isn't fair, but mine i by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Look, any good Republican can tell you that you don't need all that money, all that satanic science. You just get down on your knees and that 'wing and a prayer' will git'ur done. Hallelujah Brothers!

  121. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Dahamma · · Score: 2

    You clearly don't understand what TARP was. IMO it may go down in history as one of the better ideas the government has had. Why? In the end it was about purchasing preferred stock in those banks. Most banks have already repaid/bought back that loan/investment. And, for example, the Treasury has already made a $12B profit (that's about 30% return) on Citibank. Smaller profit on some others. There are 3-4 who have not fully paid it back, but shit, even AIG has committed to paying it all back, with a tidy profit to the taxpayers.

    Not sure if you are conservative, libertarian, or just don't understand shared risk, but the same principles can be applied to universal healthcare (not that Obamacare is universal healthcare, just as close as he could get given the opposition). The key is to look for the longer term benefit, not the short term costs and "inconvenience". Just like TARP.

  122. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Sarius64 · · Score: 1

    You need to check the workflow. Multiple sclerosis is definitely on the death list.

  123. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Sarius64 · · Score: 1

    Amen!

    California State Universities Have More Administrators Than Teachers!

    http://polipundit.com/?p=31990

    "Take the California State University system, the second tier in that state’s public higher education. Between 1975 and 2008, the number of full-time faculty members rose by 3 percent, to 12,019 positions. During those same years, the number of administrators rose 221 percent, to 12,183. That’s right: There are more administrators than teachers at Cal State now."

  124. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Sarius64 · · Score: 1

    Well I'm certainly impressed by your whit and intelligent banter. I guess this is how you influence people to vote for your issues!

  125. Re:The Short Version by Yoda222 · · Score: 1

    LMCSS (roll) or SSLoral (pitch) Y-Axis ?

  126. Re:Article's editorializing isn't fair, but mine i by z0idberg · · Score: 1

    1) When in power, make grand plans without sweating the details or the cost.
    2) When out of power, block all solutions to the problems that arise from your grand plans.
    3) When seeking power, blame the opposition for failing to solve the problems you caused.

    I don't know that you can claim that as a purely Republican game plan. I thought that was just called "politics".

  127. Re:Article's editorializing isn't fair, but mine i by Sarius64 · · Score: 1

    Because when your mom is named Obama, it's okay to lie about assisting to kill a federal agent through policy, wage war on other countries, kill citizens without due process, lie about terrorist attacks your State department could have prevented if properly protected, and increase the power of the police state because you really understand how the middle class feels. Or something...

  128. Re:The Short Version by Genda · · Score: 1

    Dude, ease up. There is gas passing aplenty on all sides. If you're going to get an ulcer over a candid moment with Mitt and his billionaire buddies, you won't even make it to the inauguration (whichever it may be.) Personally,Mitt knows on which side his bread is buttered or in this case spoon is silvered. He had wealthy folk "contributing" looking to buy influence and make things happen like money's going out of style (whoops, that was fearfully prescient.)

  129. Utterly unsurprising. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    (Note: I'm not a fan of Obama, did not vote for him last time, do not plan to vote for him this time. That said, let the rant begin...)

    This should come as no surprise to anyone with a brain. They are simply quoting their right-wing puppet masters, taking the standard line they've taken since day 1 of Obama's administration. Criticize Obama, no matter what he does, without regard to whether or not it was a good thing, and then fail to give any real details on what they would have done different, or how it would have been better counting on the American people, or at least the subset of the American people who listen to the drivel they spout, to be credulous morons. In fact, if Obama did something that EXCLUSIVELY benefited the Republicans, they'd STILL criticize him for it. That's the Republican standard operating procedure, and they don't deviate from it for any reason.

    If America has a fit and does something retarded like vote Romney into office, they'll find that for all the grandiose promises that have been made without specifics, the policies are going to do one thing, individually or taken all together: they'll further facilitate all of Romney's co-criminals, the self-styled "job creators" as they desperately want others to see them, running away to the banks with all the money they've stolen from the REAL job creators, the majority of people in this country whose day to day lives necessitate purchases of basic goods and services that drive the American economy. The middle class mostly, not people like Romney who has never done an honest day's work in his fucking overprivileged, overindulged, pampered life.

    That's WHY there are no specifics. If they had to be specific, we'd have a chance to conclude that their plans won't work, or worse will just further trash the American economy, hurting the majority to benefit the few, and realize just how stupid a decision electing FlipFlop Romney would be. Remember, Romney and his friends think you're a sack of worthless shit because you refused to stoop to the same level of unethical behavior he did to funnel other people's money into his pockets. He's a hacker of the business world, and not the good kind, who learns of a way to exploit a system, and advises those responsible for maintaining it so they can put a patch in place, he's anti-regulation, and in this analogy, that means he's in favor of eliminating patching of America's financial Operating System, which will further facilitate the actions of men like him, for whom honor and integrity are meaningless words, words that are useful only for influencing the behavior of the masses.

    Bottom line, Romney is insincere. Every good thing he's ever done that people praise him for now, was undoubtedly done in a carefully calculated fashion to maximize the number of people willing to say nice things about him in front of a camera. I'll bet if he ever were in a position to help someone who could in no way EVER help him back, were there no benefit to him personally or professionally on some level, he wouldn't waste the time or effort to do so, since he could make more profit doing something else.

    I have no problem with others being rich if they worked for it. I DO EMPHATICALLY have a problem with people being rich because they stole it from others, and the only reason they're walking around free after committing the theft is that due to an oversight in the making of the laws, that particular form of theft was not specifically outlawed. Like when you get paid to buy companies, strip them of their value, divide off a part with no assets, saddled with all the liabilities, then sell the good part at a profit, or take a fat paycheck for having done this, while those people holding the bag for the part of the company that holds all the liabilities goes belly up, and the poor fools who had money in that part of the company lose their fucking shirts...

    Imagine if a bank lost a million dollars, they hire Romney to help find it. Romney explains that their record keeping is faulty, and the

  130. Re:Article's editorializing isn't fair, but mine i by argStyopa · · Score: 1

    "NASA's woes are a classic case of the Republican game plan:
    1) When in power, make grand plans without sweating the details or the cost.
    2) When out of power, block all solutions to the problems that arise from your grand plans.
    3) When seeking power, blame the opposition for failing to solve the problems you caused."

    How is that different from any political party's game plan?

    --
    -Styopa
  131. Really America? by TheSkepticalOptimist · · Score: 1

    What will be shocking and scary is this guy will get roughly 50% of America's votes.

    --
    I haven't thought of anything clever to put here, but then again most of you haven't either.
    1. Re:Really America? by Genda · · Score: 1

      I don't find this shocking, Wallstreet advertising has convinced millions of Americans that Der Weinerschnitzel and Taco Bell are preferable to a good home cooked meal, hell they got nearly 50% of the mouth breathing public to vote for George W. Bush... TWICE!

      Romney's a friggin senior statesman, compared to Dubyah. The thing that has me most frightened is that this whole campaign is a carefully manufactured passion play. Have all the candidates from the Republican look like full tilt wackos, idiots or scumbags, with only one guy, one banal, lack luster, white bread guy, that isn't a full on self destruct running for president. Make it look like the Republicans are putting up their best men, when in fact they are holding back, luring the Dems into taking the next four ugly, nasty, vicious years, and so damaging the party that the Reps can ride a free ticket for 20 years. Of course under that situation, I don't believe the nation would last another 20 years. They'll bleed it dead broke dry way before that. Can't say with any certainty any more that the Dems would be any better.

      Both sides are whoring, they've just chosen different corporate johns.

  132. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by icebraining · · Score: 1

    I'm no fan of her ideology, but playing Devil's advocate, let's say a thief steals your car and leaves his bike behind. Is it hypocrisy to use the bike to get to work and still criticize the thief?

    Now, I don't view taxes as theft, but if one does, I think the analogy is accurate.

  133. Re:The Short Version by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    On second thought, I realized I was staring into an empty person and talking to a Bud Light, so I reinstate everything I said above the above.

  134. Slashdot editors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The Slashdot editors are in the tank for Obama, just like the last election. This is all you need to know, the rest is bullshit ans ass covering.

  135. You want government out of space? by Lawrence_Bird · · Score: 1

    Vote for Johnson. If there is a market it will be served and competition will drive down the costs. We are finally seeing this, at least the early stages, but only after it was clear that NASA was leaving the business.

  136. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

    Anywhoodlidoodle, don't worry sir(or ma'am), you need not fear paying for check-ups, immunizations, and whatnot. You can simply wait and pay tons more for what could have been easily preventable emergency care. Just like Rand would have wanted.

    Actually, ol' Ayn would have preferred they die in the street, assuming it's not a street she frequents.

    Who pays to clear the bodies away?

    Well, assuming we're still in the Rand-ian dystopic fantasy world - no one; somebody "smart" will find a way to turn all those corpses into profit, of course!


    Anybody care for some Soylent Cola?

    --
    An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  137. Re:Article's editorializing isn't fair, but mine i by geekoid · · Score: 1

    Becasue ti wasn't always that way. That's a product of post Reagan neo cons
    in short, step 2 is pretty new, especially at the level of 'block all the things!' perspective.

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  138. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

    I'm no fan of her ideology, but playing Devil's advocate, let's say a thief steals your car and leaves his bike behind. Is it hypocrisy to use the bike to get to work and still criticize the thief?

    If you spent your entire life up to that point demonizing bikes and their riders, accusing them of being the number one social fault in the world, then yes, it's the definition of hypocrisy.

    --
    An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  139. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Creepy · · Score: 1

    New? It has been the model since Reagan in 1980.

    I haven't read TFA, but I expect Romney's space program to include a long distance starship to head to Kolob to visit Mormon God.

    At least Mormons aren't Scientologists - I probably won't have to fear for my life for that previous statement, which I really meant in jest.

  140. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Duhavid · · Score: 1

    If you cant afford insurance, *why* cant you?

    For some, sure, it is laziness. Not all. Small issue of jobs ( not steve ).
    And the same people who don't want you to have free health care seem to be in control of most of the jobs ( they being the "job creators" ), and the wages being paid ( with the increase profits due to worker productivity gains going mostly to the "job creators" ).

    --
    emt 377 emt 4
  141. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Duhavid · · Score: 1

    "That is a bizarre idea, that tort reform would lead to more malpractice."

    Moral hazard. If you have little or no skin in the game, you will be more likely to do something risky.
    This is why I would expect tort reform ( esp in Texas ) to increase incidences of malpractice.
    How are you measuring this lack of rise in incidences? If it is in lawsuits filed, then you are using the wrong metric, by definition.

    Not sure how the issues with socialized medicine intrude.

    --
    emt 377 emt 4
  142. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by SleazyRidr · · Score: 1

    At the free clinic the doctors all have invisible hands. (Or maybe it's just a disembodied invisible hand that treats you...)

  143. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Creepy · · Score: 1

    And banks essentially own the federal reserve and can just print money to pay for the FDIC, so it is money from nothing and really falls on the taxpayer's back as the currency deflates and prices inflate. Gotta hand it to JP Morgan, he knew how to screw the common man while blinding them to the fact they were being raped. His work with De Beers creating a diamond monopoly and then selling a worthless rock as a wedding necessity was genius. Rockefeller too - first he bails out the banks in 1907, then creates a bank that can print money from nothing, is privately owned by banks, and has no effective government regulation.

  144. Re:But he said space was stupid before.... by Creepy · · Score: 1

    So you have a fair way to enforce abortion rights that every state agrees on? This seems to be a political swing issue for many people, and I'd personally like to see it out of federal politics, because I know far too many Republicans that vote Republican on that issue alone, despite fundamentally disagreeing with every other policy (some of these people are multiple years on welfare, and will likely lose benefits under Romney). I can understand why you don't want to give states jurisdiction over a woman's uterus though - my state will most likely become a no abortion state, even though people like me think women should have at least some choice (especially early in a pregnancy).

  145. Re:But he said space was stupid before.... by Hatta · · Score: 1

    So you have a fair way to enforce abortion rights that every state agrees on?

    The state has absolutely no right to "agree" on what a woman does with her uterus. Neither does the federal government for that matter. That decision belongs to the woman, and the woman alone. Anything else is tyranny.

    --
    Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
  146. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by icebraining · · Score: 2

    But she didn't really demonize the bikes/benefits, she demonized the theft/taxes that paid for them. And yes, she benefited from the system, but she was also forced to pay into it, much like the guy who benefits from the bike was forced to give up the car.

    Again, I have no sympathy for Rand, but you can't force people into a system and then call them hypocrites because they want to recoup their losses.

  147. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by CanHasDIY · · Score: 0

    Again, I have no sympathy for Rand, but you can't force people into a system and then call them hypocrites because they want to recoup their losses.

    I'm not calling her a hypocrite for using the system, I'm calling her a hypocrite for being such an unholy bitch to everyone who used said system other than herself. If that's not hypocrisy, I guess I don't know what is.

    --
    An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  148. The ENTIRE Romney campaign... by Genda · · Score: 1

    Can be reduced to the single phrase "Nuh-huh!!!". Won't you children puhleez play nice!

  149. Re:Article's editorializing isn't fair, but mine i by goodmanj · · Score: 1

    I'm the OP, checking in: Yep. But Step 3 is also unusual. Usually party A blames party B for stuff party B did, but the Republicans are faulting Obama for problems the Republicans created, which I've never seen before. Obama's supposed crimes include failing to get the country out of recession, failing to strengthen America's leadership role in foreign affairs, allowing American soldiers' lives to be wasted in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in the present case, failing to implement a viable manned spaceflight program. But the recession, the loss of international respect, the wars, and the ludicrous space program were all created under the Bush administration.

  150. NASA, ESA, etc. are still way ahead of industry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Private enterprise is taking the lead in space interests in which it is no longer worth while for NASA to work on. Humans were in orbit, in space, traveling on trajectories around the moon 40+ years ago... that was exciting for NASA, our citizen's, and mankind 40 years ago.

    NASA's mission is to push the envelop, with dollars given, of space exploration and develop technology and space mission to expand our fundamental knowledge of cosmos... so NASA has focused on robotic exploration of distant planets and moons, space telescopes, and the like: Hubble, Cassani, Mars rovers, the James Webb... these missions and so many others that NASA and international colleagues in the ESA, etc. are working on is what is pushing the frontiers of space today, within the budget constraints placed upon NASA and the other fine space agencies around the globe.

    This little viginette of an article is focused on an aspect of space travel that is, frankly, easy now. Indeed, NASA would have trouble keeping top talent if most of the day to day was simply launching payloads into LEO's. But more than that, I tend to believe that the sources this article cites are politically insincere at best... but perhaps the sources shed light on something that is a even bigger problem that is clouding the future of space exploration: the hard lobbying by industry to dilute and dismantle NASA's budget for corporate gain (i.e. give NASA dollars to industry).

  151. Re:Article's editorializing isn't fair, but mine i by Genda · · Score: 1

    Hey, I feel your pain. The big O has certainly contributed to the erosion of freedom and civil liberty, but let's not forget that the process is a long time coming. Inn fact the two largest hammers on American Civil Liberties were Ron Reagan and George W. Bush. The last President who was actually more interested in doing the right thing vs. expanding the powers of the office was Jimmy Carter. So piss and moan all you want about Obama, this thing is way bigger than partisan politics.

  152. Re:Article's editorializing isn't fair, but mine i by jammer170 · · Score: 0

    You are actually claiming Reagan's and Bush's violations of civil liberties hold a candle to Obama's, who has executed American citizens without due process? I can't imagine anything worse a President could attempt to do.

    --
    Remember, you can't look dignified when your having fun! Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out of it alive
  153. Reminds me of by ToddInSF · · Score: 1

    the song "Uncle Sam's On Mars"

  154. Re:Article's editorializing isn't fair, but mine i by Genda · · Score: 1

    Have a heart... modded down to '0', I'm hoping its because your not amused by his sense of humor, I mean his tongue is firmly planted in his cheek... Your tongue's in your cheek right? ;-)

  155. Another Bad Article by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This article is just plain wrong, and not a single assertion is backed up by fact. It's just more political propaganda, which seems to be all that we get any more. I am so sick of political lies. People who spout propaganda should be jailed for life, because they violate air pollution laws.

  156. Re:Romney-Ryan no Insurance your doctor is ER and by Mike+Van+Pelt · · Score: 1

    Note that I said "taxpayers fleeing the state", not "corporations".

    Almost everything in the replies to my posting has been sloganeering with little apparent thought, a whole lot of assumptions (mostly wildly wrong) about what I was saying, and not much understanding of what I actually said.

    It's not just massive corporations fleeing California. Massive corporations can usually get a tax and regulatory environment they can live with, with the added "bonus" that it shuts down upstart competition. One of the examples I bring up from time to time, from back before digital had almost completely engulfed the photography market, was an article written by the owner of a small photo shop in the Bay Area who wanted to expand his shop into the vacant store next to his in the strip mall. After spending a few thousand dollars and the better part of a year on bureacratic paperwork hoops, and no end in sight, he took a short vacation to Reno, and just for giggles, decided to check on how expensive it would be to open a shop in Nevada. Not planning to move or anything, just out of curiosity.

    He got his business license on the spot.

    When he got home, he closed his shop, sold everything, and moved to Nevada, where he was doing pretty well at the time. Doubtless, the digital revolution has done him in, too, along with most of the rest of the "chemicals and darkrooms" photography industry, but that would have happened if he'd stayed in California, too.