{"id":5885,"date":"2022-09-01T09:40:37","date_gmt":"2022-09-01T13:40:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=5885"},"modified":"2023-07-13T11:24:18","modified_gmt":"2023-07-13T15:24:18","slug":"screw-the-pooch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2022\/09\/01\/screw-the-pooch\/","title":{"rendered":"Screw the Pooch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NASA<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Monday morning I was all set.  I had the \u201cbig\u201d TV on the NASA channel, ready to watch the Artemis space vehicle launch from Cape Canaveral.  It\u2019s the most powerful rocket ever, destined to orbit the Moon.  This was the first test, un-manned, in preparation for America\u2019s return to space exploration. I can\u2019t help it \u2013 \u201cto boldly go where no human has gone before\u201d.  Well, we have been to the Moon, but it\u2019s the first step back into space, and onto Mars. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While I was all ready to go, the Artemis was not.  It has four massive engines, fueled by super-cooled liquid hydrogen.  One engine wasn\u2019t cooling enough.  The NASA managers determined that their best idea was to \u201cscrub\u201d the launch, and fix the problem.  I\u2019m sure there was a lot of pressure to \u201clight the candle\u201d, and see what happens.  But there is an old NASA saying, \u201cDon\u2019t screw the pooch\u201d.  It\u2019s simple \u2013 don\u2019t make a huge, dramatic, public mistake.   And the folks at NASA knew that it was better to figure the problem out, than chance blowing up billions of dollars of space vehicle, on the launch pad, on national TV.  They\u2019ll try again on Saturday afternoon.  I\u2019ll be watching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Checked Boxes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It was just a month ago that I wrote an essay about the Democrats called \u201cCheck the Boxes<\/a>\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0That was the day after Senate Majority Leader Schumer and West Virginia Senator Manchin announced a deal on a portion of the former \u201cBuild Back Better\u201d plan.\u00a0\u00a0It was re-configured as \u201cThe Inflation Reduction Act\u201d, based mostly on a $300 billion paydown of the National Debt.\u00a0\u00a0That debt is over\u00a0$30 trillion<\/a>, so while $300 billion is a big sum, it\u2019s still a drop in the bucket, exactly one percent.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what the now enacted Inflation Reduction Act did do was address a variety of concerns.  It was the biggest environmental expenditure in United States history, $369 billion, paid for by requiring big corporations to pay a minimum of 15% on income.  It reduced Medicare costs by allowing Medicare to do what every other health insurer does:  negotiate for drug prices.  And it guaranteed that Medicare recipients will pay no more than $2000 in drug costs annually.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And last week, the President announced $10,000 of student loan debt would be forgiven, $20,000 for those who were income-eligible for Pell Grants.   It was a controversial decision.  Many declaimed it as \u201cunfair\u201d:  what about those who paid their way, or paid their  loans, or didn\u2019t go to college?  It will cost $24 billion a year.  In a nation that forgave $900 billion in PPP loans to businesses in the past two years, $24 billion doesn\u2019t seem to be that big a deal. And one-third of all student loan borrowers will be completely cleared of their obligation, thirteen million Americans.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Labor Day<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It’s the first day of September.  This weekend is Labor Day, the traditional \u201ckick-off\u201d for political campaigns (though in this era that doesn\u2019t seem to ever stop).  And Democrats, with the two glaring exceptions of voting and police reforms, have \u201cchecked the legislative boxes\u201d.  The political party that seems to spend so much time trying to \u201ceat itself\u201d, managed to unite long enough to do a fundamental function of American leadership: they governed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And now Democrats are on the offensive.  The Trump Supreme Court overruled Roe v Wade, and many states are making abortions virtually illegal.  That battle line there is very clear:  Republicans want to control what women do with their own bodies, Democrats want women to have a choice.  It is a simple as that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flip the Script<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

President Biden tried to flip the script on Republicans when it comes to \u201csupport the Blue\u201d.  Republicans have for decades, been the Party of \u201claw and order\u201d.  They still are running racially tinged ads<\/a> about \u201clawlessness\u201d in \u201cDemocrat cities\u201d.  But Biden put it bluntly.  You can\u2019t be for law and order and support the Insurrection of January 6th<\/sup>.  You can\u2019t be for law and order  and want to \u201cdefund\u201d the FBI for searching Mar-A-Lago.  Biden proposed greater support for local policing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Biden has made it plain.  A vote for Democrats is a vote to uphold democracy.  A vote for Republicans is a vote for insurrectionists, a vote against American traditions.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democrats go into \u201copening day\u201d of the 2022 elections with a good head of steam.  Last night, Alaska sent a Democrat to Congress for the first time in state history.  Last week, a Democrat won a \u201cbell-weather\u201d district in New York state.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

November 7th<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a long way to November 7th<\/sup>.\u00a0\u00a0There are many critical elections, for the House of Representatives, for the Senate, and for statewide offices.\u00a0\u00a0But back in a time – long, long ago in June; Democrats didn\u2019t have a chance.\u00a0\u00a0Today, by getting things done in the Congress, the over-reaching of a Republican Supreme Court and Republican state legislatures, and the constant shadow of a former President dominating the Republican Party:\u00a0\u00a0Democrats actually have a shot to gain in the mid-terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are Democrats.  Historically we\u2019ve shown \u2013 we can mess things up.  But maybe, just maybe, America will see the clear choice that the President presents.  Maybe we will move towards democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe we won\u2019t \u201cscrew the pooch\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NASA Monday morning I was all set.  I had the \u201cbig\u201d TV on the NASA channel, ready to watch the Artemis space vehicle launch from Cape Canaveral.  It\u2019s the most powerful rocket ever, destined to orbit the Moon.  This was the first test, un-manned, in preparation for America\u2019s return to space exploration. I can\u2019t help it \u2013 \u201cto … Continue reading “Screw the Pooch”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nScrew the Pooch : Our America - 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