Posted 4/29/2011 10:46:00 PM by Douglas

Another event in the decathlon of labor union irrelevance.

In Scranton, Pennsylvania, the police union has filed a grievance with the state collective bargaining board over a drug arrest made by police chief Dan Duffy in March, “because the chief is not a member of the collective bargaining unit and was ‘off duty’ when the March 20 arrest was made.

Sounds about right.

Posted 4/29/2011 10:41:00 PM by Douglas

Baffling moronic story about labor unions and their relevance in intra-state turf battle.

Nine state attorneys general sounded off in a letter to the National Labor Relations Board, calling a complaint it filed against Boeing for opening a production facility in South Carolina an assault on their states' economies.

After receiving a complaint from the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the NLRB claims Boeing participated in unfair labor practices by threatening to open new, non-union facilities elsewhere when workers went on strike at the company's Washington state production facility in 2008.

"This complaint represents an assault upon the constitutional right of free speech, and the ability of our states to create jobs and recruit industry. Your ill-conceived retaliatory action seeks to destroy our citizens' right to work," the letter from the attorneys general reads.

The NLRB complaint attempts to keep Boeing from building 787 airliners in the Palmetto State plant, not shut it down. But the company designed the facility to produce three of those type of airplanes each month.

Soooo, union states don't know why companies want to take their jobs where they don't have to put up with their shenanigans. Maybe they should go on strike again and think about why they'd want to move their plant to a right-to-work state.

Posted 4/29/2011 06:29:00 PM by Douglas

I'm all about polite political discourse when it comes to disagreeing with any layer of the government, but sometimes, it's just stupid. First off, I have a problem with the term "guerrillas" when discussing the objections one group has over a democratically elected leader. It's all about the words, isn't it? A democratically elected president isn't a "regime." But here's the funny part:

It is a principle of political science that it is easier to persuade people to vote against something or someone than to persuade them to vote in favor of something.

Sure, it's easy to poke holes at the incumbent, but what solution does this option offer up? A sticky note.

The Sticky Note Campaign is making deliveries in Georgia Supermarkets now. Super-Charged with Conservative ideals REAL Americans all over the country and even an awakened Democrat or two are now participating in this grass roots initiative. Its not a partisan issue either, no one can afford these rising prices at the gas pump or the grocery store.

Yay! 3M is going to make out like a bandit on this on, as idiots all over the country are going to think that their high cost of Hot Wheels, Cheerios and gasoline is Obama's fault. But this is the best part that shows how looney they are:

I like it. It's a simple way to highlight the effects of the Democrats' disastrous deficit spending

Riiiight. Deficit spending is so one sided, isn't it?

Look, if you're upset with your government, do something about it. Don't litter someone's store with pithy sticky notes.

Posted 4/27/2011 09:52:00 PM by Douglas

Welcome to the welfare empire. Here's your great society LBJ, thanks a lot. Poverty is over, yay!

The best estimate of the cost of the 185 federal means tested welfare programs for 2010 for the federal government alone is nearly $700 billion, up a third since 2008, according to the Heritage Foundation. Counting state spending, total welfare spending for 2010 reached nearly $900 billion, up nearly one-fourth since 2008 (24.3%).

Yet, by 2008, Robert Rector of Heritage reports that total welfare spending already amounted to $16,800 per person in poverty, 4 times as much as the Census Bureau estimated was necessary to bring all of the poor up to the poverty level, eliminating all poverty in America. That would be $50,400 per poor family of three. Indeed, Charles Murray wrote a whole book, In Our Hands, A Plan to Replace America’s Welfare State explaining that we already spend far more than enough to completely eliminate all poverty in America.

So if we're giving away more money than it would cost to flat out buy everyone out of poverty, what's the problem? Why didn't it work? Don't answer that. But here's what kinda surprised me:

Then there is federal housing assistance, totaling $77 billion in 2010. Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA), among others.

What? Is there anyone that's not getting some kind of government assistance?

Posted 4/26/2011 09:08:00 PM by Douglas

30 Rock is the funniest thing on TV since the Simpson's was funny. I really like this one:

95. We hope NBC continues to struggle, if only so 30 Rock can continue to make knowing jokes about it.

Looks like it's going to be around for a long time.

Posted 4/23/2011 05:49:00 PM by Douglas

Weighing in from the last time Wikipedia stole my afternoon, here's round two. Wow, there's quite a lot there, but if that fills you up, try this one.

Posted 4/23/2011 05:33:00 PM by Douglas

Great video of the history of the shuttle program. Hopefully the shuttle won't be the history of America's space exploration program.

Posted 4/21/2011 10:55:00 PM by Douglas

Never underestimate a pissed off calico cat.

Nobody is sure what happened exactly. However, we do know that security guards on Governors Island found the cat looking a bit worse for the wear last weekend near the island's shore.

According to the AP, the cat's "fur was salty, matted, and caked with seaweed." Some of the workers on the island think the cat was swept up in a New Jersey rainstorm, and somehow managed to swim to safety. The cat didn't have a collar.

That's one tough kitty.

Posted 4/16/2011 02:00:00 PM by Douglas

More fallout on the ultimate location of retired space shuttles, "Chuck Schumer, shut the fuck up" edition.

"I say to Houston, when people all around the world, in London and in Tokyo and in Paris, Buenos Aires say 'Gee, I can't wait for my trip to Houston,' then you can have a shuttle," said Schumer.

But it's not just about tourism, is it?

By his logic that the shuttles belong in the most internationally visited places, we should give the Enterprise to Paris, which has nearly twice as many international visitors and just as much to do with NASA's success.

New York, the city with the most tourist attractions in the country, needs a shuttle added to the mix like Donald Trump needs another bankrupt building with his name on it. Houston, on the other hand, considers the space program its contribution to posterity and the heart of a town built around science and engineering.

Hard to argue with that. Also hard to argue that Schumer isn't an asshole, but that's a different story. Even harder to argue with Wayne Hale, who used to run the shuttle program:

But my suspicions lie closer to home. Houston didn’t get an orbiter because Houston didn’t deserve it.

He goes on to back up this thesis quite well. There is a ho-hum sense of entitlement about JSC in the minds of Houston. That's because JSC doesn't launch anything, and as far as the Houston economy, it's a spot on the fly on the ass on the dog that is the petrochemical industry and energy sector.

Still, it would have been nice to have a shuttle in Houston. All the retired NASA engineers could take their kids there to show them the space ship they used to work on before they went to work in the oil patch.

Posted 4/16/2011 01:45:00 PM by Douglas

Roger Ebert reviews the new Atlas Shrugged movie, with typical results.

The movie is constructed of a few kinds of scenes: (1) People sipping their drinks in clubby surroundings and exchanging dialogue that sounds like corporate lingo; (2) railroads, and lots of ’em; (3) limousines driving through cities in ruin and arriving at ornate buildings; (4) city skylines; (5) the beauties of Colorado. There is also a love scene, which is shown not merely from the waist up but from the ears up. The man keeps his shirt on. This may be disappointing for libertarians, who I believe enjoy rumpy-pumpy as much as anyone.

Four year old "Thomas the Train" fans aside, I would be surprised if the railroad aspect would play well in the 21st century. But yes, I think libertarians enjoy "rumpy-pumpy" as the much as anyone.

Posted 4/12/2011 11:02:00 PM by Douglas

I'm pretty sure if he wanted to, a dolphin could rip the head off a cat and eat him for breakfast. That is, if he wanted to do it on porpoise. But what if he just wants to play?



But this video further illustrates my theory that tabbies are the Mexicans of the cat world. Picking a fight with a bigger mammal when you're obviously out-numbered and out-toothed.

Posted 4/12/2011 05:34:00 PM by Douglas

Coming not as a surprise to anyone paying attention, the home of NASA's Mission Control Center will not be getting a retired space shuttle so fat tourists can walk around and gawk at it.

NASA administrator Charles Bolden announced today the four museums -- the Smithsonian Institution (Discovery), the California Science Center (Endeavour), Kennedy Space Center (Atlantis) and the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum (Enterprise) -- that will receive space shuttles for public display after the fleet retires this summer.

As expected Houston, the home of human spaceflight, was snubbed.

It's a shame. Houston's campaign, Bring the Shuttle Home, probably deserves some blame for being late to the game in terms of politicking for an orbiter.

But I'm not sure any campaign could have saved Houston. The politics of this decision were pretty clear. President Obama appoints the NASA administrator, and Texas is a decidedly Republican state.

Interesting to note that three of the four locations that received an orbiter, California, New York, and D.C., are the bluest of the blue states, and Florida is a swing state. Was there any push, politically, to make Texas happy? Of course not, which is why I'm surprised Ohio missed out, but I'll get to that.

It's political, duh. With the exception of Florida's latitude, the location of EVERY NASA center is political, so I can't fault Barry (via Charlie) for the political decision. Actually, I can give him a little credit for taking any common sense out of the decision and making it so clearly political, the motivation isn't even worth questioning.

But to the bigger question, does KSC/JSC even want one? Sure, it's a rich heritage of the agency's past and a huge accomplishment for the nation, but let's face it: It's a relic. It's getting mothballed because we're moving on to something, if not bigger, but better (try not to laugh). Don't we need to move on? Leave the relics to the museums and the bus loads of 4th graders that wanted to get out of class for the day, and let's get on with our business of building space ships and flying humans to the heavens. That's why I thought Ohio was such a great choice. Let the 40 year old orbiter corrode with the rest of the rust belt to remind the unemployed union workers why their factories are closed and why all their work has moved South or overseas.

It's a slap in the face to all the rocket scientists at JSC that there's an orbiter in LA, and another one a half a day's drive from the Smithsonian, but Houston needs to get back to work and let the historians worry about the relics.

Posted 4/09/2011 09:56:00 PM by Douglas

I found a weird movie on cable, and I had to watch it. Partially because of the weird title, but mainly because it was written by the best Hollywood writer between Billy Wilder and before the Brothers Coen. I'm talking about, of course, Paddy Chayefsky, and the movie was The Americanization of Emily. Strange little anti-war, pro-boning Englishwomen during WWII, but I love the diatribe by James Garner about the "ugly American:"

You American haters bore me to tears, Ms. Barham. I've dealt with Europeans all my life. I know all about us parvenus from the States who come over here and race around your old Cathedral towns with our cameras and Coca-cola bottles... Brawl in your pubs, paw at your women, and act like we own the world. We over-tip, we talk too loud, we think we can buy anything with a Hershey bar. I've had Germans and Italians tell me how politically ingenuous we are, and perhaps so. But we haven't managed a Hitler or a Mussolini yet. I've had Frenchmen call me a savage because I only took half an hour for lunch. Hell, Ms. Barham, the only reason the French take two hours for lunch is because the service in their restaurants is lousy. The most tedious lot are you British. We crass Americans didn't introduce war into your little island. This war, Ms. Barham to which we Americans are so insensitive, is the result of 2,000 years of European greed, barbarism, superstition, and stupidity. Don't blame it on our Coca-cola bottles. Europe was a going brothel long before we came to town.

Ouch. And that came out of the mouth of a 36 year old James Garner. War is hell.

Fast forward to Kevin Kline and my now second favourite soliloquy denouncing the British and their smug superiority:

Oh, you English are *so* superior, aren't you? Well, would you like to know what you'd be without us, the good ol' U.S. of A. to protect you? I'll tell you. The smallest fucking province in the Russian Empire, that's what! So don't call me stupid, lady. Just thank me. If it wasn't for us, you'd all be speaking *German!* Singing "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles..."

Damn Brits.