While I don’t condone some of his language, it’s the unfortunate kind of stuff that is unavoidable when we have battles over resources that no one owns (and where resources users don’t bear the full costs of their activities) and so we have people with different economic interests and preferences fighting over how government is used. I’ve put up several comments on this at at my blog.

TT

More here:

http://tinyurl.com/6cms9f

Speaking of crimes, what about the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from electioneering? In the hotly contested state of Iowa, on October 26, 2004, Hansen gave a public speech in which he stated that “John Kerry has a far better grasp than President Bush on the important issues that we face.” Kerry lost Iowa by a mere 10,000 votes.

Yet Hansen persists. He recently said “the 2008 election is critical for the planet. If Americans turn out to pasture the most brontosaurian congressmen,” maybe we’ll be able to save the planet from the doom he envisions this century. Hansen also wants to tax fossil fuels, making them much more expensive than they are already.

So even though he predicted too much global warming, and his numbers couldn’t explain the ten-year hiatus we’ve experienced, Hansen keeps trying to sway presidential and congressional contests. And he wants to incarcerate any CEO (or scientist, probably) who casts doubt on his vision in public.

The fact of the matter is: Hansen is out of control. NASA employees aren’t supposed to call for tax hikes, endorse candidates, or attack businessmen. Any other federal employee would be warned for doing so, and if he continued, fired (or worse). You have to hand it to him, though: he’s a single, scientific outlier, terrorizing the American people.

Hansen should be fired. He is constantly in violation in the Hatch Act.

Freedom of Speech has nothing to do with employment rights guarantees. It simply means one cannot be arrested by the government for making statements the government objects to. Private companies and the State are perfectly within their rights to terminate employment of individuals with objectionable positions.

The man is an embarrassment to NASA, whether an embarrassment on the clock or off, he should go.

Also, someone like Hansen cannot testify as a private citizen. When he speaks he carries the weight of his position.

At the same time he can be ignored. His private opinion is as good or bad as ours. Maybe he has studied atmospheric science, but failed to like to look outside and check whether his computer model(s) do meet reality.

I am wondering why he is testifying as a private citizen. If I look at the testimony of 1988 it looks like he acted director of GISS. Do rules within NASA no longer allow him and others to testify in a way he did last Monday?

When you say “conquered nations” are you referring to the previous owners before da white man?

When I learned about “Manifest Destiny” in school, I really wanted to believe in it since it was very convenient. I always felt uneasy about it though and this was way before political correctness. I had the same problem with “The Monroe Doctrine” too.

I guess I justified every thing eventually because of the alleged superiority of our culture. I no longer think we are morally superior.

Any excuse for a rhyme:

My country used to be

We used to be a light on a hill
till we lost patience
and set out to kill.

geez

I consider your input to be valuable.

Hang in there.

(And if all else fails, beat it out of the squeeze!)

Poet: Your attacks are subtle yet still inflammatory. Saying I would apparently accept dishonest practices and that I am more European instead of American is the stuff of negative campaigning. And by the way, love the last poem, but I’m full. I need a rest.

I’ve thought about this for a long time from every angle. I could probably argue the opposing side better than most bankers. But despite all the fancy arguments and justifications, it turns out to be a sophisticated cheat invented long ago. Since then, it has financed wars, caused insane booms ( the Tulip Craze, etc), caused depressions, transferred wealth from the poor to the rich and resulted in the welfare state to compensate the victims of it.

Believing what I do, I would have to be a cold-fish indeed to not be passionate.

But I am willing to listen to reason. Please give me another single culprit that can account for insane booms, depressions, unnecessary wars, the growth in the welfare state and the fact we still have these things in the 21st century.

The difference between Hansen and me is he wants to restrict liberty; I wish to expand it. Get the government out of the money business. Allow competing currencies as Ron Paul suggests. Eliminate legal tender laws. As for FRB, it is dishonest, but good old fashioned bank runs might keep it in check.

I am the libertarian in this discussion unless I have misunderstood you.

Your problem is not your passion, it’s that you let your passion for an idea override your critical thinking abilities.

Yes, you can find a few cranks who think modern banking is a scam. You can also find hundreds of others who will shred the arguments of the cranks like so much holiday confetti.

Your passion for an idea causes you to read only those authors who agree with the position you want to believe in and ignore all the others.

That’s why I compared you to an AGW believer, and Rothbard to Hansen.