August 6, 2012

Curiosity: NASA Mars rover lands successfully, proves government can still work

On November 26, 2011, NASA launched the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), a robotic probe, on an 8 month trip to the planet Mars. Early Monday, August 6, 2012 the Mars rover Curiosity successfully landed in the Gale Crater on the Martian surface.  Major private contractors on the project include Boeing and Lockheed Martin, but make no mistake, NASA is still a government agency, and the successful launch and landing of Curiosity (which is the size of a car) on Mars is proof that government can still accomplish big things.

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August 6, 2012

Jay Carney: President Obama supports assault weapons ban

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said on Monday that President Obama supports renewing the assault weapons ban but “there has been reluctance by Congress to pass that renewal.” I’d say it’s a bit more severe than “reluctance.” I would characterize it more along the lines of: congress has sold out to the gun lobby. Or maybe: The NRA is holding congress and the country hostage. But I guess those two characterizations might be a bit too extreme for the White House, even if I think some in the White House might agree.

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August 5, 2012

Chuck Todd: Why isn’t Mitt Romney already ahead?

On Wednesday’s Charlie Rose show, Chuck Todd asked, “Why isn’t Mitt Romney already ahead?” It’s definitely a good question to ask at this point. If this election is a referendum on President Obama’s handling of the economy – as stated by EVERY conservative pundit – then shouldn’t Mitt Romney have a strong lead by now?

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August 4, 2012

USPS defaults on $5.5 billion payment. Is congress purposely killing the Postal Service?

On Wednesday the United States Postal Services was unable to make a $5.5 billion payment due to the U.S. Treasury. This is the first ever default by the “off-budget” service. I say off budget because the USPS is self-sufficient. It’s operating costs are paid for by the services it sells (i.e. stamps). The requirement to pay the $5.5 billion is a problem that congress created and since congress has chosen to allow the USPS to default, I have one simple question: Is congress intentionally trying to kill the Postal Service?

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August 4, 2012

If government was willing, the unemployment rate could be as low as 5%

Another month end, another jobs report. On Friday we received the numbers for August and it was both good news and bad news for President Obama. The good news is that the economy added 163,000 jobs in July which was well above analyst expectations. The bad news is that the unemployment rate ticked up from 8.2% to 8.3%. That small of a change in the unemployment rate (in either direction) isn’t really significant, but the unemployment rate could be several whole points lower by now if government did what it always does in a bad economy: spend money.

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