Saturday, January 24, 2009

Well, it's officially a depression, at least for me.

Anybody know where I can buy Prozac in case lots?

The axe has been swinging at work, I ducked the first go round, but I got caught looking when it swung back the other direction. Damn this cheap oil!

Anybody need an award winning Mechanical Designer?

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Access to High Earth Orbit about to get much much cheaper.

Cambridge University has made a breakthrough that allows carbon nanotubes to be combined into a weblike structure and wound into a continuous ultra-strong fiber filament. This innovation has been predicted for decades in Science Fiction Literature. Larry Niven used it in much of his "Known Space" series of novels, calling it "Sinclair Filament". Sir Arthur C. Clarke also used a variation of it in his novel "Fountains of Paradise".

No data has been released publically as to the UTS or modulus of elasticity of this fiber as of yet, but it is thought to be strong enough and light enough to allow the fabrication of a space elevator similar to that envisioned by Sir Arthur C. Clarke. NASA, which funded the research, is eager to begin playing with the material.

If this material does in fact have the strength required for this project, then it is reasonable to conclude that the current plans for the Constellation program should be reviewed in light of this in order to ascertain what modifications, if any, are required to allow the vehicles to be used in the construction of the project.

H/T JKugler

It's gonna be a cold day in Hell

When Obama takes the oath of office...

Monday, January 19, 2009

Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty! Free at last!

Ramos and Compean's sentences have been commuted. They will be going home on March 20th.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Illegitimacy, Politics, and Crime. The Unintentional Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

Much has been written about the disproportionate amount of "black on black" crime that occurs, and how Blacks, and to a lesser degree, Hispanics are disproportionately poor compared to Whites, or even Asians. There are those who claim that this is exclusively the fault of discrimination and "whitey keeping the black man down" and that may have been true in the past, but there is also another cause. Illegitimacy. A recent demographic study shows a stark contrast in illegitimacy rates among different racial groups. Nearly 71% of all black children born today are illegitimate, compared to about 65% of Native Americans/Eskimos, about 50% of Hispanics, 27% of Whites, and a little over 16% of Asians. Illegitimacy is a leading cause of poverty, crime, abandonment of education, and... illegitimacy.

If we are to go forward, we must go back and rediscover those precious values - that all reality hinges on moral foundations and that all reality has spiritual control.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

There was a time in America not terribly long ago, when having a child out of wedlock was an event of such utter shame that families of pregnant teens shipped them off to the homes of relatives or to charitable organizations to have their child and put it up for adoption, or the boy in question was rounded up and given the choice of marrying and providing for the family or sucking on the muzzle of a shotgun. Abortions were (thankfully) rare. Apparently doctors of that generation recognized that infanticide was less than humane and violated not only the spirit, but the letter, of the Hippocratic oath. Was that an ideal solution to the situation? Not by a long shot, but the "solution" that has come from the liberals of the land has been far far worse.

A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Illegitimacy feeds upon itself. Kids grow up in a home where their parent cannot supervise them, where there is no shame in having an illegitimate child, where they learn at an early age how to manipulate the socialistic system to capitalize on illegitimacy, and where an absent or even unknown father is "normal". Where boys learn that they don't need to take any responsibility for their actions, where girls are taught, through the actions of their parent, that having sex and having babies is fine, don't worry if the boy who got you pregnant is off getting another girl pregnant when you start to show because you are fat and unattractive because you are bearing his child.

All progress is precarious, and the solution of one problem brings us face to face with another problem.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Today we live in a world of on-demand abortion, on-demand divorce, shameless illegitimacy, shameless sex, sex without care or responsibility, and every depravity known to man is excused in a mire of moral equivalency. Popular music and movies and media exalts the objectification of women and the sexualization of children. Aldous Huxley would be simultaneously affirmed and appalled. It truly is a brave new world we live in, and that my friends, is not a good thing. Only humans can feel shame. It is part of what makes us human. Shame is a result of moral and social norms, but when there are no social and moral norms, we are no better than animals.

Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy necessary.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Our government in it's short sightedness has legitimized illegitimacy. We have instituted social programs that reward irresponsible behavior and illegitimacy. In doing so, we have bound these kids to the teat of welfare so tightly that they don't even realize they are the victims of our own government programs and instead they elect any politician that promises to give them even more handouts, binding them even tighter to welfare. Slavery has returned to the black man, and the more recent "civil rights promoters (poverty pimps)" like Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Quannel X are the new overseers on this plantation, manipulating and making sure that their followers don't get out of line or start thinking for themselves. The crop being harvested on this plantation is votes, nothing else matters.

Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Perhaps that was the original intent of the Democrats all along. Perhaps the Democrats, who until the 1960's were very much OPPOSED to civil rights reforms, realized that the way to undermine the civil rights movement was to give in to the demands for social programs such that the proponents of the civil rights movement are co-opted. In order for the proponents to continue to retain their power and their position, they must continue to support the Democrats who continue to implement more and more social programs. The very same programs that bind them even tighter to the government and the civil rights proponents. But these poor are no longer free men and women, they have become slaves and pawns in a political power struggle. They have become nothing more than a reliable voting block. Dupes who continue to follow the path to their own ruin. And reliable they are! In the most recent federal election 95% of blacks voted straight ticket Democrat. No other racial group came close to that kind of solidarity.

Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can't ride you unless your back is bent.“ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.


Dr. King is weeping. This was not what he was fighting for. His dream has become a nightmare. His plan has been corrupted and co-opted. What this country needs is a new civil rights movement. One that emphasizes individualism and responsibility. One that empowers, not enslaves. I will leave you with three more quotes from Dr. King:

Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.”

He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.”

“History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.”

H/T The Corner

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Nuking Iran

The time has run out. Iran is only weeks away from being able to field a Uranium bomb. Israel cannot allow that to happen. They will act, they will be forced to do so because we have not acted ourselves. Further, their response will be nuclear. It will have to be. They tried to buy bunker busting bombs from the US so that they would not have to rely on nuclear weapons to take out the heavily fortified and deeply buried centrifuge hall, but they were rebuffed. George Bush told them that we would be able to covertly delay their successful fielding of a working bomb through sabotage, but it would appear that the sabotage has been unsuccessful. Obama has made it clear that he will be ineffective in halting the program.

That leaves Israel standing alone... yet again.

The attack is coming, it will happen very soon. May God have mercy on their wretched souls.

Further reading:
More evidence that Iran wants to join the Nuclear Club.
Iran announces that they now have 3000 centrifuges.
Time is Very Short
"We have always been at war with Oceania..."
Countering the Iranian Nuclear Threat or Blowing Smoke?
Krauthammer must read Red Ink: Texas
Tick Tock part 382

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

The Definition of "Is"...

I think AG Greg Abbot needs to check to see if one of his wheel locks is dragging, he seems to be making a lot of u-turns lately.

Back in 2007, his office released an order that ruled that the NHMCCD Foundation (now renamed the Lone Star College District Foundation) was a governmental entity under the TXPIA laws because it derived support from the college that was not an arms length vendor type relationship. That support consisted of staff, office space, insurance coverage, use of district email and phones and office equipment. For all intents and purposes, the college and the foundation's operations were one in the same. They later issued a revised order that stated that the donor's names and identifying information could be kept confidential, but left intact the ruling that they are a governmental entity under the act. There is some question whether this revision was lawful since it was made AFTER the 15 day appeal period and was not due to a lawsuit in Travis county as the law stipulates. But be that as it may, even the revised order states that the Foundation is a government entity for purposes of TXPIA at least for the most part.

Two days ago, they issued another ruling that completely reverses the prior rulings. So much for consistency...

Friday, January 02, 2009

A New Year's Prediction

I estimate that sometime this evening, this blog will see it's 80,000th visitor. unfortunately the statistical software will not tell me which visitor is the 80,000th. I expect this visitor to visit sometime this evening.

I hope to reach the 100,000th visitor by the fourth anniversary date of June 11th 2009.

Thank you all for visiting, and I wish you all a wonderful new year.