Iran putting missiles in range of the United States

We always knew that Iran didn’t like us very much.

When President Obama said no to the missile shield and turned off any work going into it I believe he did it because the threat was so far from our territory. A fine idea as that is one expensive system.

Well now the story has changed..

http://www.hudson-ny.org/1714/iran-missiles-in-venezuela

Iran has now made an agreement with Venezuela to put missiles in the range of the United States. Let’s couple that with their desire for nuclear weapons and think for a second.

President Obama? Hello? Where are you on this issue.

I know you are busy. I heard there was a dream act thing and now the democrats in the house are messing around with your tax agreement. All those things are good to do but this one could be really bad.

A country with a desire for nukes, a tendancy to get testy and in range of us? Does anyone sniff a problem here?

I would hope that some diplomatic solution exists but I’m not certain of it. I am kind of glad the job of President isn’t mine at the moment.

DaScienceGuy

I’m not sure where to take this meltdown of Democrats

Sometimes I watch the Republicans and say wow they can’t all get on the same page but that is normal for any large group of people unless you are preprogrammed drones.

I used to say the Dems were just drones…That appears to be changing.

http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/12/08/liberals-try-prevent-pelosi-bringing-tax-bill-floor

The President compromised and made a deal with the republicans on taxes and such. Now the democrats in the house are moving to stop him? Wow so much for bipartisanship and wow the meltdown. They say that gridlock in Washington is the fault of the incoming party yet they aren’t there yet.

Interesting. I’m not sure where to take it other than to say our President appears politically very weak and how does this play around the world? One thing I know is that it isn’t good.

Fairwell predictable politics!

DaScienceGuy

Shared Sacrifice – Obama to put off vacation – WOW!

The President, the Vice-President and many of the politicians we see on the news talk about shared sacrifice. This article made me want to throw things at the computer screen.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/11/30/obama.vacation.tax.cuts/index.html

Basically the President may delay his Hawaii vacation so he can deal with things in Washington. Well let me be the first to say THANK you Mr. President for noticing there was some work to do around the office.

When you spoke of shared sacrifice I wasn’t aware it meant waiting to get on your private jet and fly off to a place most Americans save money for years to go visit just once! I mean after all it has probably been two months since you took a vacation. Thanks for the sacrifice, I do hope you discover how to balance your work and social life better. Next thing you know it will be the basketball game gets pushed back 30 minutes.

WOW! We found their version of sacrifice. I need to fork over another 10% of what I make and he needs to DELAY (note not cancel but delay) his vacation. Well no wonder he thinks sacrifice isn’t that bad. His is pretty easy! I want his version and he can have mine!

DaScienceGuy

Obama gets advice from Cuban Dictator Fidel Castro?

I was reading on the drudge report today that Fidel Castro sent a note to the press about how President Obama can sow up the 2012 election.

1) Nuke Iran
2) Attack North Korea

Well, I agree both Iran and North Korea must be dealt with I think this is evidence that Fidel doesn’t understand our President. I think he’ll negotiate with both contries. I hope he will at least. I don’t think nuclear weapons are the answer to Iran.

I think provoking North Korea is bad. I certainly think they should be dealt with due to the sinking of the ship. I think if they further attack the South that South Korea should be defended. But re-start the Korean war? In the middle of a recession with two other active conflicts currently going on? How thin can our military get?

Just food for thought…

DaSceinceGuy

Underwater Oil Leak, A Scientist Perspective

Ok, I have remained silent on the oil leak.

I do have a few things that have been on my mind about it.

As a scientist I want to point out that fixing a leak that is a mile below water is really hard. This is not an area that you can just dive to. This is specialized undersea vehicles of which there are not many. You must get one there, then get the right guy to drive, then of course make sure the right equipment is with him.

Now let’s throw in the extreme pressure seen in that environment…The extreme temperatures (pretty cold)…Now let’s throw in fast flowing jets of foreign material (oil) being thrown about. This is anything but an easy fix. This is not just something you can say ‘fix my leak and I need the pipe for the weekend’ (using a loose broken car analogy).

So what do we do? That is a good question. It is clear that it isn’t going to get fixed quickly. So let’s triage. If I were in charge I would get some folks moving on cleanup and keeping the oil away from the shore right now. Without delay. Throw lots of resources at that.

Second, get some guys fixing the leak. The right guys. Quit interviewing them, quit dragging them up to DC for questions. Just let them work…..

Not sure how I would react if I were the President. Its one of those times I’m happy to not be that guy.

One interesting bit is some of the media trying to come to his rescue saying not his fault…He couldn’t do anything. Nancy Pelosi even blamed Bush. The man has been President for a year and a half. I have to say that if Bush had been President and this happened oh good lord the backlash that I think would happen. I was no Bush supporter but this is bad. I have noticed a few guys ticked at Obama on the left. That is a start.

Now logically would I blame the President for this? No…I wouldn’t. Accidents happen and this is a really bad one. But let’s play equal opportunity if it was a republican there would be hearings, the word Haliburton would come up a lot…

Let’s leave politics out of this one though and just let BP fix their mess….

North Korea, South Korea and potential fighting

I have been watching carefully the goings on in Koren political world between the two Koreas. If the destroyer that went down two months ago really was a torpedo launched from a Submarine this leaves us with a couple of possibilities.

1) North Korean leadership ordered it. This would be very bad because it means they are getting more bold and possibly preparing for a real move toward the South. If they (or China) have figured out how to get through our minefield separating the two Koreas this would be a mess. This would be especially problematic given that a large chunk of our combat troops are busy. How do we help South Korea (which I think we are bound to do by treaty)…This would be a mess.

2) It was a rogue Captain. This would be bad as well. It means that the North has lost control of its military. It also means that the leadership is not the most radical group in the country. It means that there is a faction in the North that wants to finish the Korean war, or take on the US more than the current set of guys.

Either way I don’t see an option 3. The two options I see are with the assumption that it was a torpedo from a North Korean sub. If it really was a leftover mine from a bygone war then that is a different story. However given what is being said in the news media it appears to be a torpedo. So I don’t see an option 3. If anyone would care to leave a comment about what option 3 is I would appreciate it.

Over the next few days I am going to think about how these two options play out and post something.

For once though I think it is important for the President to do exactly what he is doing. Let Clinton handle it for a while and stay very quiet while he is, I am sure, being briefed on what is going on. This could turn out to be a very dangerous situation given the close ties of North Korea and China.

Sean Hannity lost credibility with me even though I don’t agree with President Obama

Ok I am far from a great supporter of the President. I wasn’t even a fan of the last guy in some ways. Although in others I respected him (And our current president).

But Mr. Hannity recently just rode it off the rails. Anyone of his fans who doesn’t see this bit of hypocrisy deserves whatever names they get called. I have even occasionally agreed with him but at this point I have to call him on the carpet.

Just in case let us define hypocrisy:

1 : a feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not; especially : the false assumption of an appearance of virtue or religion
2 : an act or instance of hypocrisy

What Mr. Hannity did was just beyond reproach.

I am going to paraphrase as I am sure if I try to quote it someone will say he never said exactly that…The words are different his meaning and actions the same. Remember I am not defending the President here just saying Mr. Hannity has just gone to a bad place. I think his intentions are good. He wants his side to win elections but we must be honest as he continually says.

Midway through President Obama’s first year in office Mr. Hannity slammed the President over and over for being over exposed. This was because he was doing too many prime time press conferences, too many speeches, etc. Now these comments coming from someone who has a 4 hour per day syndicated talk show on radio and a 1 hour per day TV show calling someone overexposed are a bit of a leap but Mr. Hannity and the President have different jobs so we’ll let that go.

This week President Obama held a press conference for the first time in a while, the topic of which was the oil spill in the gulf. I could dissect the Presidents statements scientifically and perhaps I will but not now. The point is that when Mr. Hannity heard about this press conference he again slams the president for not having enough press conferences.

Come on Mr. Hannity. What would make you happy? You have gone to a place that is bad. No matter what President Obama does you are going to take the opposite position. I implore you Mr Hannity to listen to your friend Mark Levin. When he slams the president it is on substance. He backs up his critical statements with facts. You sir, Mr. Hannity, just want to slam the president for anything he says. Stop it…That is not how you, or any intelligent person, should advance their agenda. Intellectual exchange, as you have said, is the best way to do it. So give your own advice a try..

DaScienceGuy

The President Does Not Understand The Military????!!!??

I have been a member of the military. I have watched military events for a long time. I read military history books when I have time….

I now think we have a commander in chief that just absolutely doesn’t understand the military. He doesn’t understand why you keep one.

There is a discussion going on at the level of the President to start a military award for showing ‘restraint’.

Restraint as in when under fire in Afghanistan did you only shoot as many people as you had to. I am here to tell you that the military doesn’t go ‘people hunting’. They don’t like to kill. You have to but it isn’t something you go out looking for.

I think his though may be that the military is full of thugs who have to be kept on a chain or civilians get hurt. I say to you Mr. President. Wake up!!! Smell some coffee…Not foo foo Jamaican Blue Mountain Frappawhatevers…

Have some WWII vets come in and discuss what life is like under fire..Do so with Korean war vets, Viet nam vets…I am not discounting those with more recent military service such as myself. Merely these guys have had years to make their peace with it….They can give a more detached view….

I for one say Mr. President…Get a grip. Realize the military is there to kill people and break things but they don’t kill or break more than they have to. Ok there are a few rare exceptions to this but there are exceptions when dealing with any group of people that large.

I think this award is coming from the right place in his heart, he means well…He just doesn’t get it…

One term? Could this finally drive it home? To all but the far far far left? I don’t know but this one just makes me roll my eyes and say what’s next.

I want to find something I can be supportive of him on but he is NOT going to memorial day at Arlington Cemetary because he is going to a Paul McCartny concert…So is the military just an annoyance to him? Help me Mr. President. Do something I can get behind.

DaScienceGuy

Invention via Government Order

I was reading a blog that makes a lot of sense to me.

http://www.culturewaranalyst.blogspot.com/

I want to point out a blog entry that was made there…

http://culturewaranalyst.blogspot.com/2010/05/truck-mileage-standards.html

I have to second the point made here.

One can not just sign an executive order and say….ok…scientists just go invent me a way out of this mess…No funding to your work just an order. Line up the engineers against a wall and say DO IT…

When they say why the answer is BECAUSE I SAID SO.

That ‘because I said so answer’ usually works with a parent talking to a child but let us face a few facts. The point is that if we REALLY want to double gas mileage in trucks that is absolutely a great idea. However based on speed of product to market the weaker engines are not going to cut it as the blogger points out.

The other problem this will have is not JUST raising the prices of goods that get delivered to stores. I think the greater impact will be the number of truckers that get driven out of business. There are a lot of independent truckers and if that standard becomes ‘real’ the only answer will be shipping by rail. Great if you are a railroad bad if you are an indepdent trucker.

What will 50% of the truckers going out of business do to the unemployment in this country? Add 1% add 0.75%. Whatever the number is it is an additional number and in the wrong way.

Thanks President Obama.

Tax Day and President Obama

I agree that politicians can and will say almost anything depending on what audience they are talking to.

I was so offended by something the President said the other day I almost called the white house switchboard. But rather than being reactionary I said to myself well he’s a politician and a fairly successful one being President.

The President said some pretty nasty things about the tea partiers which I am not one of but I see their point. This is a country where you can protest and leaders should take that freedom seriously. People can say whatever they want if you disagree with it you are allowed to shout at the top of your lungs the opposite. This is based on laws such as slander, etc of course but you get my point.

However on Tax Day the President said we should be thanking him for that bill I had to send in. I paid a LOT in taxes and you know what I’m happy to have the ability to. Its fine I’ll pay my share whatever that is. But good lord do you have to be so snarky about it? I won’t thank you for the taxes Mr. Obama and the increases you have in store for me. I won’t do it. I will thank you to take a different tactic and say “to those of you who pay above the average tax burdon, thank you. We want to be able to help all American’s achieve the dream” Try that tactic Mr. President and you may not force me to campaign against you. It will be incrediablly hard to get me to vote for you but I may not actively work against you if you stop the arrogant attack on people.

DaScienceGuy