Science > Physics > WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 30 Jan 04 Washington, DC
| Topic: |
Science > Physics |
| User: |
"Sam Wormley" |
| Date: |
30 Jan 2004 03:51:37 PM |
| Object: |
WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 30 Jan 04 Washington, DC |
WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 30 Jan 04 Washington, DC
1. BUDGET: HOW TO BRING DOWN AN OUT-OF-CONTROL BUDGET SURPLUS.
When George W. Bush took office he was confronted with a looming
$5.6 trillion surplus over the next decade (WN 9 Mar 01). OMB
turned to fabled budget guru Elie Mosinari for help. Her first
move was missile defense, a tactic previous administrations had
relied on to control surpluses. Toss in a tax rebate, and by the
end of summer the nation was safely in red ink. President Bush
hailed it as "incredibly positive news"(WN 31 Aug 01). Elie was
indignant when the Congressional Budget Office projected a mere
$477B deficit for this year. It's actually going to be $521B.
I called Elie to congratulate her. "How do you do it," I asked?
"Discipline," she replied, "things like space stations help, but
we never miss a chance to correct social injustice. Take our tax
break for the richest Americans. People don't realize how much
it costs to be rich today: private school, suburban orthodontist,
country club membership, cosmetic surgery; these are expenses the
rest of us never have to worry about. I'm glad we could help."
2. INTELLIGENT DESIGN: MISSOURI SEEMS TO BE EVOLVING INTO KANSAS.
It's a familiar story, House Bill 911 before the Missouri General
Assembly would force public schools to teach intelligent design
as an alternative to evolution. Once again, academic freedom is
being used as justification for feeding school children a dose of
dopey fundamentalist religion. In the unlikely event that the
bill were to actually pass, it will be challenged in court. And
courts elsewhere have been pretty hard on anti-evolution. The
concern is that the controversy will subject Missouri to the sort
of ridicule that was showered on Kansas. And of course it should.
3. IT'S THE PITS: DECISION ON MODERN PIT FACILITY IS PUT ON HOLD.
Plutonium "pits" are the cores of modern nuclear weapons. Every
pit in the U.S. weapons stockpile was manufactured at the Rocky
Flats plant near Denver, which was shut down in 1989. The pits
age as a result of radioactive decay and will eventually become
unreliable. The infamous Nuclear Posture Review (WN 15 Mar 02)
calls for a modern pit facility to be constructed that could
replace pits as they age, but it could also make pits for a new
and highly controversial class of small nuclear weapons. The
Rocky Flats plant, however, was an environmental nightmare that
must not be repeated. This week, Linton Brooks, Administrator of
the National Nuclear Security Administration, delayed the final
environmental impact statement to address congressional concerns
that construction of a modern pit facility would be premature.
This infuriated the Doctor Strangeloves, whose fantasies are of
nuclear bunker-busters. The source of congressional concern may
be the preliminary draft of a report being developed by an
independent panel of physicists that was circulated for comments.
THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND.
Opinions are the author's and not necessarily shared by the
University of Maryland, but they should be.
---
.
|
|
|
Related Articles |
WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 16 Jan 04 Washington, DC
WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 23 Jan 04 Washington, DC
WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 28 Jan 05 Washington, DC
WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 6 Jan 06 Washington, DC
WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 07 Jan 04 Washington, DC
WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 27 Jan 06 Washington, DC
WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 13 Jan 06 Washington, DC
WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 20 Jan 06 Washington, DC
| WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 2 Jan 03 Washington, DC
WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 19 Sep 03 Washington, DC
WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 26 Sep 03 Washington, DC
WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 24 Oct 03 Washington, DC
WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 14 Nov 03 Washington, DC
WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 18 Nov 04 Washington, DC
WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 04 Feb 05 Washington, DC
|
|
|
