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<\/p> <\/p>\nChaos Manor View, Tuesday, March 08, 2016<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the most transparent administration in history.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barrack Obama<\/p>\n
Liberalism is a philosophy of consolation for Western Civilization as it commits suicide.<\/p>\n
Under Capitalism, the rich become powerful. Under Socialism, the powerful become rich.<\/p>\n
Under Socialism, government employees become powerful.<\/p>\n
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The Republican Establishment, having alienated at least two thirds of its base \u2013 those who participate in primaries, anyway \u2013 has decided they must do something. They aren\u2019t going to do much about the issues that have alienated their voters; they\u2019re going all out to Stop Trump. So far they haven\u2019t noticed, or pretend not to notice, that the only non-Trump candidate who might be able to appeal to the Trump voters is Texas Senator Cruz, who is not part of the Country Club establishment that is content to stay in the minority so long as their positions are safe, or that he is a great a threat to their sinecures as anyone.<\/p>\n
They\u2019ll learn. First stop Trump. Then woo Cruz, get him to join up with the insiders, win him over, make him grow in office. It worked in the past.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a good chance that it\u2019s too late. As it stands, an open convention would present them with a choice between Trump and Cruz. Mr. Trump scares people, and probably doesn\u2019t really want the splendid misery of the Presidential office. It really is hard work, and it is unrelenting. An advisory post would better suit him, so long as he trusts the actual candidate.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Hillary\u2019s problem grow: http:\/\/www.investors.com\/politics\/editorials\/email-scandal-hillary-clintons-last-defense-just-blew-up\/<\/a><\/p>\n 0045 AM <\/p>\n Trump and Cruz have wiped out Marco, so it\u2019s pretty well a contest between them; and Trump\u2019s ahead, but being surprisingly blas\u00e9 about the negative campaigning against him. The Establishment country club Republicans don\u2019t really have a viable candidate. We\u2019re in uncharted waters with no pilot.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n And now for some good news.<\/p>\n WASHINGTON \u2014 For the second consecutive year, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency\u2019s top-funded space program is an experimental spaceplane intended to make frequent trips to orbit.<\/p>\n DARPA asked for $50 million in the Pentagon\u2019s 2017 budget request for its Experimental Spaceplane 1, or XS-1 program. That\u2019s up from a $30 million the agency asked for during the fiscal year 2016 budget cycle.<\/p>\n XS-1 aims to develop a reusable first stage that could carry an expendable upper stage capable of placing payloads weighing up to 1,800 kilograms into orbit. DARPA said the vehicle could ultimately fly 10 times in 10 days and boost payloads into low Earth orbit for less than $5 million per launch.<\/p>\n Three industry teams are working on the program: Boeing and Blue Origin; Masten Space Systems and XCOR Aerospace; and Northrop Grumman and Virgin Galactic.<\/p>\n In July, all three teams received funding to continue design work and risk reduction activities in preparation for a production contract.<\/p>\n DARPA said in 2014 it intended to pick one team in 2015 to work toward demonstration flight in 2018, but now it is unclear when such a downselect will occur.<\/p>\n DARPA said in budget documents that it plans to complete system and subsystem designs later this year, as well as coordinate with the Federal Aviation Administration for preliminary flight test planning.<\/p>\n A critical design review is planned for fiscal year 2017, the documents said.<\/p>\n In October, the Government Accountability Office said none of several Defense Department efforts to field quick-reaction launch vehicles, including XS-1, have advanced past the development stage.<\/p>\n In its 2017 budget request DARPA asked for $175 million for its space programs and technology office, significantly higher than the $127 million budget for 2016.<\/p>\n In addition to $50 million for XS-1, next year\u2019s budget would also include:<\/p>\n And some good news for geeks; at least some of us:<\/p>\n Florida Senate approves making coding a foreign language (USA Today)<\/b><\/p>\n Madison Iszler<\/b><\/a>, USA TODAY <\/b>3:07 p.m. EST March 1, 2016<\/i><\/p>\n Florida senators approved a bill allowing high school students to take computer coding classes in place of foreign language requirements.<\/p>\n The bill (SB 468<\/a>), introduced by Sen. Jeremy Ring\u2019s (D-Parkland), won by a 35-5<\/a> vote. It will take effect during the 2018-19 school year. Technological skills are a necessity \u201cfor every industry,\u201d Ring told USA TODAY.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s ahead of its time, but in reality, it\u2019s in its time,\u201d Ring said. \u201cIf you don\u2019t have an understanding of technology, you will be left behind. It\u2019s a basic skill, as much as reading and writing.\u201d<\/p>\n Local groups are not pleased. The NAACP’s Florida Conference and Miami-Dade branch, the Florida chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and the Spanish American League Against Discrimination (SALAD) released a joint statement<\/a> disputing the bill, reports The Tampa Bay Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cOur children need skills in both technology and in foreign languages to compete in today’s global economy,” the statement reads. “However, to define coding and computer science as a foreign language is a misleading and mischievous misnomer that deceives our students, jeopardizes their eligibility to admission to universities, and will result in many losing out on the foreign language skills they desperately need even for entry-level jobs in South Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n Under the bill, which has undergone several revisions, high schools may offer students the opportunity to take computer coding courses. Originally, the bill said that high schools \u201cmust\u201d allow students to do so. [snip]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n ‘NOAA\u2019s best data shows no warming for 60 years.’<\/p>\n <http:\/\/realclimatescience.com\/2016\/03\/noaa-radiosonde-data-shows-no-warming-for-58-years\/<\/a>><\/p>\n —————————————<\/p>\n Roland Dobbins<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Yet one more data point. I am sure it has warmed since the times the Hudson froze over hard enough to walk on, and there were market stalls on the Thames ice; beyond that I\u2019m not so sure. It seems to be warming, but I recall in the 70\u2019s at AAAS meetings the news was full of The Genesis Strategy and other means of coping with the coming Ica Age.<\/p>\n ‘The influence of the CO2 warming theory built into computer models is so strong that the climate science establishment does not believe the data until the data has been manipulated to agree with the computer models.’<\/p>\n <http:\/\/www.americanthinker.com\/articles\/2016\/03\/yet_another_hottest_year_on_record.html<\/a>><\/p>\n —————————————<\/p>\n Roland Dobbins<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Yet one more instance; if the data do not fit the model, adjust the data.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are saying there is incontrovertible evidence that Alzheimer\u2019s Disease has a dormant microbial component. We can\u2019t keep ignoring all of the evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n <http:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/science\/science-news\/12188092\/Alzheimers-disease-could-be-caused-by-herpes-virus-warn-experts.html<\/a>><\/p>\n —————————————<\/p>\n Roland Dobbins<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n But surely we can; it is becoming increasingly common to ignore evidence. Excuse my cynicism.<\/p>\n What could go wrong?<\/p>\n China Is About to Get Even Better at Predicting Dissent<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/p> \n<\/p> \n\n
Reusable spaceplane tops DARPA\u2019s budget request, again<\/h3>\n
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