Category: The Future

Posts about the Future

New National Space Policy

For a lucid, detailed, and factual review of changes to our national space policy please see this article by Dwayne Day at Space Review. I will keep an eye out for his future articles, he definitely grabbed me with this first para:

Ever since the new National Space Policy was released on October 6, partisan pundits on both the right and the left have been commenting on it with limited degrees of knowledge or logic. After reading their work, one gets the sense that very few of the commentators actually bothered to read the ten-page policy. Rather, they read articles about the policy, and comments about it by people they dislike, and then fit it into their standard partisan model of good and bad. Because all politics are tribal these days, there is no need to actually think. All that matters is whether one is a Crip or a Blood, an Eloi or a Morlock, a Republican or a Democrat. Rather than analyze and discuss, the pundits reach for the nearest rock.

He also posts at great link at the end of the article to a PDF that compares the prior policy to the new.

Environmental Imperialism

It’s just wrong to export our environmental claptrap to limit population growth, development, and freedom in the third world. It’s pure Environmental Imperialism.

Many liberals in the US decry the fact that many of our social values are seeping out into the world, and overwhelming the native cultures in foreign lands. Meanwhile they are practicing Environmental Imperialism of which the latest vehicle is the Global Warming Crisis, the carbon bank concept, and the Kyoto treaty.

To the rest of the world they are saying:

Liberals in the West know what’s good for your country, you may not log your forests, you may not farm, you may not exploit your own resources the way we did to establish the modern western world. We would rather you become dependent on the handouts from developed nations and subservient to the Kyoto treaty and the world bank.

This neo-luddite cabal jets around the world to conferences on carbon neutrality, debates on carbon taxes, and other environmental socialist ponzi schemes. Since folks began pointing out how much carbon they are putting into the atmosphere with their antics, the Kyotites have developed a conscience and started planting trees to compensate. In their jargon, this creates “carbon neutrality”.

Continue reading “Environmental Imperialism”

New Leadership

At some point we have to break the nihilistic scare and crisis cycle; whether we tell folks they are doomed by terrorism, or doomed by global warming, or doomed by marxism, or fundamentalist christians, or second-hand smoke, it makes little difference. Leading with fear always fails over time.

Thousands of bloggers are retroactively handicapping the elections, so you aren’t going to find that here. Instead let’s look forward together. The Democrats will have their new leadership, and so too in turn will the Republicans — will the new leaders bring new direction?

Large-scale questions face us in this bright new millenium, questions about direction and goals for the next one hundred years which should be answered soon. Over the past few years most of our leaders have looked into the future and blinked, turning back to the moment, the news cycle, and the comfort of past debate. The few who are focused on the long term future tend to be ignored by their peers. It’s more comforting to talk in circles than to lead to new direction.

Continue reading “New Leadership”

Sustaining America Forever

Occasionally you have to demolish the arguments of people whom you agree with and this is one of those occasions. Californians for Population Stabilization is a good group, calling for control of the border and controls and limits on immigration. Sensible, especially if you live in California and want a good future for your children and grandchildren.

There are plenty of good arguments against uncontrolled immigration, among them crime statistics, hospital closings, identity theft, tax losses, wage suppression, the cost of bilingual education, strain on social support infrastructures, and diminishing opportunities for native-born US citizens.

Continue reading “Sustaining America Forever”

We’ve Got the Dream, They’ve got the Spleen

Republicans think there is a future, that we are all not automatically doomed, that we aren’t strange meat-puppets awaiting our fate. Republicans think there is reason, purpose and meaning to life. Republican initiatives will help your children and your grandchildren.

To carry on with the theme from my earlier post: elections are about the future, not the past seen through a distorted, dark mirror. While the pundits have the Dems sweeping to power I’ve made my prediction, and Karl Rove seems to be saying much the same. I expect the Republicans to lose some seats, perhaps 6-10, but hold control of the house. I expect it would be a miracle if the Dems took the senate.

Continue reading “We’ve Got the Dream, They’ve got the Spleen”

Italian Media Ignoring Darfur

The fact that major Italian media outlets are ignoring Genocide in Darfur is not surprising with the treatment Orianna Fallaci received, not surprising at all. This from Italian Blogs for Darfur

The fact that major Italian media outlets are ignoring Genocide in Darfur is not surprising with the treatment Orianna Fallaci received, not surprising at all.

Continue reading “Italian Media Ignoring Darfur”

Libertas Est

This is a response to Fjordman’s fine post at Gates of Vienna Wednesday. Fjordman points out that he has been a critic of the dissolution of Western Society, but that he’s offered few solutions — so in his preliminary post he names a few. I am quite hopeful that he will create a new manifesto for Europe, but the first draft is a bit weak as manifestos go.

I would agree with him on some, and disagree on others but to understand the disagreements, you need to look long term, and you need the basis of my conclusions. Fjordman bases his conclusions on the thesis that the problem is Islamic Imperialism coupled with the decline of the west in the face of a dire enemy, and he sees the decline as both societal and governmental.

Continue reading “Libertas Est”

Leftists You Can Respect

There are a few respectable Leftists out there, though few and far between. Christopher Hitchens comes to mind, as well as Joseph Lieberman. In the UK the sensible left is led by the likes of David Aaronovitch, and this is a must-see documentary hosted by Harry’s Place.

There are a few respectable Leftists out there, though few and far between. Christopher Hitchens comes to mind, as well as Joseph Lieberman. In the UK the sensible left is led by the likes of David Aaronovitch, and this is a must-see documentary hosted by Harry’s Place.

As a firm proponent of BIG C Capitalism, I would normally never link to a socialist website, but — when someone’s being intellectually honest it’s right to point it out. Go to Harry’s Place for the four part video.

Continue reading “Leftists You Can Respect”

Election Issues 2006

when you come to an election cycle there are so many spinning constellations of political philosophies migrating together that it’s like Galaxies Colliding. What comes out the other side and why is nearly impossible to predict or to backtrack on after the fact. Unless of course you are Karl Rove.

As we run into the stretch for the Mid-terms both parties have studies, the media has studies, and the pundits have studies all saying that x, y, or z will or should be uppermost on voter’s minds as they head to polls in November. However all of these organizations have the intent of making their the issues uppermost in voter’s minds. In other words it’s galactic-scale spin that speeds up as we draw closer to the election.

This is my attempt to clarify — most things in life nowadays are never simplex. There isn’t a silver bullet issue that will win for either party, no matter how many pundits will try to convince you that one simplex problem cost so-and-so their seat, or got so-and-so their seat.

The world is more than complex today, it’s multiplex. Issues influence each other, and when you come to an election cycle there are so many spinning constellations of political philosophies migrating together that it’s like Galaxies Colliding.  What comes out the other side and why is nearly impossible to predict or to backtrack on after the fact. Unless of course you are Karl Rove.

Using this multiplex theory, it’s easy to see why disentangling the war in Iraq from the war on Terror is an impossible task, just as trying to pry gas prices lose from Future Energy Policy and past Environmental Policy is a loser as well. There are too many stars, planets, and gas clouds spinning into each other to sort those out for the average voter.

So when it comes to this election here are some key nuclei of the multiplex universe:

1. Local Issues: if there are large ones this will influence outcomes.

2. GWOT

3. Future Energy and Environmental Policy

4. Immigration / protecting the borders

These appear to be the nuclei of the galaxies colliding in November, notice how they all cross over and influence each other. Also take note that if the stars are larger and brighter in your LOCAL galaxy, the gravity of the situation in the other three are not going to influence you as much as the sooth-sayers with their galacto-scan pundit hats and telescopes might have you believe. If you look behind the curtain of the pundits who profess to influence somewhere between one eigth to one sixth of the electorate, you will see they have their scopes focused on a warped mirror reflecting some alternate, mythic universe.