Foriegn Money and Campaigns – Democrats blame Republicans but the Dem need to look inward

The election is near. The Democrats in the form of President Obama made a claim that the Republicans are using international donations to run for office. This of course a violation of the 1907 Tillman Act.

David Axelrod got asked where his proof is of this. His answer was priceless. “Prove it isn’t.”

Mr. Axelrod. INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY. NOT the other way around.

In a five minute google search I found on a US Government website (the FEC) a name under President Obama’s donators for the last presidential election. Hassan Nemazee. Too bad he is an Iranian citizen. But we will forget that one.

I do agree with datechguy (see blogroll). This election night is going to have a very large pucker factor for Democrats. Sorry guys. Its going to bebad. If this is the best the President and Axelrod can do. Ouch.

Science Policy and Modern Day Politicians

I have been a scientist for a while now. I have worked at Universities, at Companies both big and small, I have even worked with Universities while at companies. I have also been to National Labs, I have been to R&D firms. I see how the stuff works.

What bothers me is that I have been reading a lot of history books. There is no doubt in my mind that scientists, engineerings, experimentalists, etc are responsible for things like the wheel, things like the laser….All manner of stuff.

Modern day politicians and companies have the folks who fund this research so scared that if a project doesn’t work they’ll be fired that you almost can’t get research funded that is anywhere risky. You almost have to prove it will work before you can get funding to make it work.

How do you make REAL progress doing this. Sure you can make incrimental progress made but real revolutionary process can’t be done.

Imagine if you will a guy with a wacky idea on something that MAY solve a problem such as energy. Well gee, if it isn’t wind, solar, algorithms (all of which are good and necessary) good luck (that list is certainly not all inclusive). But those are band aids. Not a solution.

Some small projects are funded at tiny amounts of $$ but where is the modern day Manhattan type project? That spirit has been beaten out of the majority of scientists settling instead to make tiny steps off the shoulders of the giants that were here in the first 3/4 of the 20th century.

We need to encourage creativity and a bit of risk rather than discourage it. That spirit of invention needs to come back. I know someone will say wow look at all these inventions, all those inventions. Sure there is some interesting stuff out there. But where is the world changing invention such as the science that enabled electronics to be real that has occured in the last 20years. (iPods while interesting are not the type of thing I am talking about).

I for one want to work towards making sure these types of revolutionary changes can once again occur.

Nuclear Weapons and President Obama – Some minor agreement

I have been listening to talk radio rip President Obama’s policy on no nukes even to defend the US.

A couple of things talk radio can spin anything any president says to make it sound stupid so let’s just get that out there.

Next, he is the commander in chief and he gets to choose how to defend the country. Agree or disagree right now he is the guy. Plus we have seen he will flip flop when needed so let’s just assume he reserves the right to change his mind on 30 seconds notice depending on which reporter or policy maker he is talking to.

Finally as a scientist I want to remind people of something. A nuclear weapon is just a great big bomb. Kilotons is an equivalent mass of TNT. If you put a huge pile of TNT in place and set it off you get the same effect minus the radio activity. LOTS of work has gone on to increase the effciency of chemical weapons. The MOAB (Mother of all bombs see wikipedia) was a conventional non nuclear weapon with roughtly the same yield as one of the two weapons used on Japan in WWII. So why bother with the radioactive fall out. Just use REALLY big conventional stuff….

I may not be a huge fan of the current president but on this policy I have to say that I agree with what he is doing but I wouldn’t have advertised it to our enemies.

DaScienceGuy

ACORN Disbanding? Say it is so, but I doubt it

I may be a bit skeptical but I came across a story I just don’t believe:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,589768,00.html

This group has been responsible or at least at the center of so much garbage that I can’t believe they would just squeak away into the night.  They are a HUGE organization employing lots and lots of people to do things for the various communities around the country.  They have a noble charter which has been scarred by many if no the majority of people who are involved there.

I have also found throughout my life that if you listen to things in the news media some percentage of what is heard is wrong.  So let’s assume that 75% of the claims about ACORN and voter fraud are wrong.  That is still a lot of fraud.

Let’s assume they didn’t help a lot of people fraudulently get mortgages through coaching them how to lie on applications.  So how many around the country were they involved with.

I think this group will come back under a new name and be up to the same old tricks.  I for one defended this country in Uniform and have devoted a chunk of my adult life to research and development aimed in protecting an ideal I believe in.  These folks in my opinion have scarred that ideal.  If I find out they come back again under a new moniker up to their old tricks….Well, I’ll be watching.  I’ll be working against them if I find them.

DaScienceGuy

Passing of Healthcare and talking heads

In order to stay as a viable news network these days (and any day) you need ratings.  Ratings attract advertising.  The more I watch the more I’m convinced that with increased competition you have to be more dramatic, more sure of the end of the world than all the other guys.

The passing of Health Care is going to be criticized for lots of reasons and none of the ones I’m seeing are the right ones.

I have opinions on how to change the health insurance system for the better as does President Obama and Nancy Pelosi.  They are different than the people in elected office.

Here is what is ticking me off on the news.  Some news outlets are hailing the president while others are just angry.  They aren’t angry at the bill they are angry at the process.  The ‘buying off’ of various congressman and senators.

Here is the part that makes me mad.  BOTH parties do that.  It isn’t new.  The size may be different but that process is not.

So if you are mad at the bill do what the people in office did.  Run for office, donate to a PAC, take a stand and change it.

I don’t like the process either but it is what we have at the moment.  Two choices, either work within it or work to change it.  Take your pick.  But the founding fathers would not have sat around complaining.  So get up, do something, or sit down and be quiet.

DaScienceGuy

Democratic Congressman Chet Edwards on Mark Levin

A constituent of Chet Edwards called into Mark Levin.  Apparently Chet is a democrat voting no on HealthCare.

Chet, thanks.  The caller also said that a staffer gave the impression you were doing nothing to help convince other Democrats to follow your lead on this vote.  Perhaps just having a cup of coffee with one and explaining why you are saying no may help them understand.  Is that convincing?  Or just stating your opinion.  I find that occasionally just stating your opinion with the REASONS why you are doing something helps others understand and sometimes change their opinion.

Work with us Chet.  You are a great guy who loves America and we know that.  Stand up, state your case.

I have met this congressman in the past and I would vote for him if I lived in his district.  I would also urge him to explain his case rather than just quietly vote.

Nancy Pelosi and the quote of all time; She really doesn’t get it

Ok I posted a blog a while back about how Nancy Pelosi just doesn’t get it.  I had some push back from people and they had some valid arguments.  The arguments were great.  I love the push back.  It really does light up my day.  But I have to say that I am standing by my statement.  The woman has no clue.

She gave the following quote I found on her website dated 3/9/2010

“But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy.”

I didn’t truncate that.  I cut and paste.

Shouldn’t the job of an elected official be to find out about what’s in a bill BEFORE you vote for or against it?  This bill could be great! It could be terrible!  She obviously agrees that some members don’t know what’s in there.

I suggest something else may be going on here.  She may know what’s in it and also know that if it were read in detail and fully understood it would fail by a colossal margin.  I may be wrong but according to her we have to make it law so I can find that out.

How ridiculous.  I now plan on donating a bit more to her opponents campaign funds.  Whoever that person is.  It can’t get worse.  Imagine that I would honestly rather have my labrador retriever in that role than this woman after that statement.  Would John Adams ever say that?  The founding fathers must be loading their muskets in the afterlife thinking about coming back for a second round of freedom from tyranny.

Democrats or Republicans? Who is right? They are both wrong

So I was on the treadmill last night listening to one of my favorite comedians rant.  I love a good rant and Louis Black has many.

If you know his work you know he picks on politicians a lot.  I mean there is so much material to work with.  He also has gone on hilarious rants about the IRS which I share some of his views on.

He had a long joke I won’t quote but he brought up a good point.  Who in Washington is right and who is wrong?  What is the difference between the parties?

The Democrats think the federal government should be in charge.

The Republicans think the states should be in charge.

So who is right?  Well his point was both of them are wrong.  It has to be a mix.  There have to be some things that are federal and some things that are state.  That is the way our founding fathers wanted it.  I share that view.  But in my lifetime I have seen the federal government expand further and further and states, well those governments also expanded but at a much slower rate.

If you need further proof of this I work in and out of DC.  I in my career have spoken to members of Congress and the Senate.  In a previous career I even met a President, for like 2 minutes don’t get excited.  It could have been a cardboard cut out.

I noticed something when I was there.  There are a ton of lobbying groups and that is fine.  Those groups serve a purpose.  I think they have too much power but whatever it is what it is.

The thing that bothered me is that I discovered every single state now has a lobbying group.  They all do.  The purpose of which is for the state government to get the federal government to do things for them?  What?  Come on is that separate?  I think the states governments are now just paperwork places that no longer have real power but report to the fed.  If you do anything to make big daddy federal government mad they will cut your allowance.  This is bad people.  There needs to be a separation of those entities just as their are three branches of the federal government the state governments need to exist outside that world.  Just as, I think, the founding fathers wanted it.

Elections in the US versus around the world and explosions in Iraq

Every once in a while I am reminded of how lucky we are to live in this country versus certain others around the world.  I thank the supreme being I belive in for that (you thank whichever or whoever you want 😉 or thanks to living here if you like you are free to thank no one).

The reason for that is we can yell about politics I can disagree with the President, I can disagree with my congressman.  I have even written letters and in several cases told them face to face what it was I hought about their opinion and where I thought they were wrong.  I want to be clear it was congressmen I have told that to not a President.  Interestingly after some of those meetings I understood why someone I know calls them congress critters.

I found this clip on FoxNews.com

“Barrage of mortars and explosions kill at least 25 in Baghdad as Iraqis defy violence to vote in an election testing the mettle of the country’s still-fragile democracy”

I saw the very same news story on cnn.com and msnbc.com but take your pick he same details.  I think some of them have it at 24, or 27 rather than 25 but that isn’t the point of my daily rant.

This rant is because, think about this.  These guys were just trying to select a leader.  That’s it.  They wanted to vote so they died.  I’ll bet no one asked them who they were voting for.  Just that they wanted to choose.  Here we have our issues sure and in the last election some people made claims of attempted voter intimidation (I think that complaint happens in most general elections).  But no one got shot, blown up, etc.  We need to make the process as peaceful as we can here and the Iraqis must do the same.

The thing I find interesting is also that Iraq got to have an election in the first place.  10 years ago they would have done so with one name on the ballot.  Now there are real choices.  That can’t be a bad thing.  I just hope they get their house further in order (we’ll help there) but once we finally leave I hope they keep it that way.

Enjoy your safe voting choices, and yes I voted for Scott Brown republican from Mass.  Although if you live here and you heard what Martha the democratic candidate had said about the Red Sox, Bruins and Catholics you would have a hard time voting for her also 😉

DaScienceGuy PhD

Political Scandals, Corruption, and tax dollars

I have been looking at the news and I am disgusted.  If you read my blog you know I’m annoyed at both political parties but there is one thing that regardless of party I’m just finished with listening to from the sidelines and am going to figure out how to do something.  In a word corruption.

Between the politicians using large corporate jets to fly to the Caribbean, to special favors on housing, to mortgages no one but a politician could get the rate of, to the woman in Massachusetts stuffing $100 in her bra (this was real).

They are entrusted by us with the publics money.  They have gone around so long saying government this government that.  It isn’t there anything its ours.  Without tax money none of that stuff exists and I made that money before they took it.  I don’t mind paying taxes but I do mind those taxes going to special favors for somebody’s friend of cohort just because of a payoff.

I think I am going to start a campaign of sorts to enact some laws (yes more government but this may work) some laws that can be used to give harsh penalties, serious jail times (not minimum security)… Something.  At least throw them out of office never to come back.  Then make it so they can’t make a dime selling the story so no multi million dollar book deals.  I’ll figure this out.