Dream of the Dragon

Month: April, 2010

April 20, 2010

The Evil Empire

by Justin

“. . . I urge you to beware the temptation of pride, the temptation of blithely declaring yourselves above it all and label both sides equally at fault, to ignore the facts of history and the aggressive impulses of an evil empire . . .”

The biggest story of 2009, moreso probably than the inauguration of America’s first black president, revolved around the Great Recession and the implementation of the stimulus package that staved off depression. The current headliner is the latest revelation of Goldman Sachs’ greedy deception and the reckless, insidious profiteering of Wall Street. I am, however, mostly just regurgitating the overstatements of others. I don’t understand the way the markets operate and I still underestimate the effect of business on politics. And so I’m grateful for articles like this: The Great American Bubble Machine.

It really is all about the Benjamins. Read the rest of this entry »

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April 16, 2010

Old-fashioned spacemen.

by Justin

When the Constellation program was launched, I’ll admit that I was completely behind George W. Bush’s plan to get us back onto the moon. I was excited exclusively because it sounded exciting and sort of idyllic, like a return to a more glorious age. Forget the deficit, let’s get back into outer space.

Now that program has been cancelled, the Ares rockets abandoned, and President Obama unveiled a vision that looks far beyond the moon. He said himself, conceding that it was a blunt statement, that we’ve already been there. And you know, I’m really not sure about the benefit of dedicating billions to revisiting the Sea of Tranquility.

Neil Armstrong (and two other Apollo shuttle commanders) wrote an open letter to the administration, condemning the new vision for NASA and challenging Obama’s judgment. Read the rest of this entry »

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April 16, 2010

Salt in the wound.

by Justin

Last I heard, the formation of an independent army within the United States designed to challenge the authority of the government constituted treason. Armed insurrections and riots make sense in totalitarian countries. How else can the downtrodden find a voice? But in what is by and large a successful democracy, it doesn’t make any sense to bring a gun to the campaign trail. Unless, of course, you’re letting rage and pettiness dictate everything.

A couple days ago the Seattle Times unveiled this little gem, drawing attention to the fact that the existing Tea Party and hyper-conservative rhetoric will likely inspire militant resistance to the Obama administration. Read the rest of this entry »

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