Monday, August 13, 2007

I Don’t Get It! (Times 3)

1) This morning, the Associated Press tells us that the damaged tiles on the space shuttle Endeavour reveal that "a three-and-half-inch gouge penetrates all the way through thermal tiles on the shuttle's belly." And the Quote of the Day is from the chairman of the mission management team John Shannon, who said, "We have really prepared for exactly this case, since Columbia (the space shuttle that exploded during re-entry 20 years ago because of the same problem)...We have spent a lot of money in the program and a lot of time and a lot of people's efforts to be ready to handle exactly this case." I don’t get it! Why didn’t we spend a lot of money, time and effort to solve the problem, not spend a lot of money, time and effort in expectation of having the problem all over again? 2 An NYT editorial this morning calls China “irresponsible” for threatening to sell US dollars “which might lead to a mass depreciation of the US dollar... Such warnings may be an unsurprising response to some of the intemperate language coming from Capitol Hill. Nevertheless, they are playing with fire,” the NYT said. I don’t get it! Why is China irresponsible when it was the Bush administration that sold the United States, lock-stock-and-barrel, to China? From China’s point of view, it would be irresponsible not to threaten to sell US dollars. Who’s irresponsible? The Bush administration, of course, and once again. 3) George Bush’s political advisor and hatchet man Karl Rove says he’s stepping down on August 31 to “spend time with his family”. Rove’s words are a close second for Quote of the Week. "I just think it's time," Rove said. "There's always something that can keep you here, and as much as I'd like to be here, I've got to do this for the sake of my family." Amidst the chorus of hahahahahahaha’s heard across the nation, one can only say, I Don’t Get It! What protects Rove as a private citizen? Can’t he be subpoenaed to testify now that he has no executive privilege protection? Or has Rove joined the Threaten Bush Club? Hmmmmm. I don’t get it.

1 comment:

Barry Schwartz said...

1. Who wants to be the manager who admits that the space shuttles should be grounded permanently and that the program should be in post mortem?

Well, I'd like to be that manager if they let me be it for just that and to make sure it is pointed out in the post mortem that the shuttle failed to achieve its major goal of cheap, frequent flight to orbit. Expensive, infrequent flight to 'Eternal Heaven' is more like it.

2. NYT editors get paid in dollars. :)

3. Tell that to Harriet Miers. :)