House NASA Budget Hearing: Lots of Snark and Insults
Room is virtually empty for #NASA Request and Oversight of @NASA Security hearing. But they say this is "important" pic.twitter.com/slLc3yk1GG
— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) April 8, 2014
Keith’s note: There was a hearing today titled NASA Request and Oversight of NASA Security, Rep, Frank Wolf (R-VA) and John Culberson (R-TX) spent most of their time dumping on NASA and impugning Charlie Bolden’s honesty. Culberson also seems to think that North Korea has an ICBM/time machine with which they can send us all back to 1813 (not certain why North Korea picked that year). Lots of snark in the room.
To get an idea of the Twitter stream from the event look at @jeff_foust, @Leone_SN, ?@b0yle, ?@Berger_SN, ?@SpcPlcyOnline, and @NASAWatch. Franck Marchis has created a Storify version of all the Tweets. Here are a few of my NASAWatch favorites.
Bolden to Wolf: I am tired of having my integrity impugned by Members and staff. I am insulted.
— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) April 8, 2014
Wolf to Bolden "no one called you a liar".
— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) April 8, 2014
.@RepWOLFPress just read from a unreleased sensitive report on NASA security and then says it should be released. DUH – He just released it.
— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) April 8, 2014
Rep Culberson says that the North Koreans may black us out and "send us back to 1813" and that their prime backers are the communist chinese
— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) April 8, 2014
Checkin Wikipedia to see what happened in 1813 that scares Rep Culberson so much. No mention of ICBMs.
— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) April 8, 2014
Bolden: we have tried to divest ourselves from operations in Moffett Field. We hope there will be an announcement on this.
— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) April 8, 2014
Bolden: I do not travel first class – but I get upgrades (OK, what is the difference?)
— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) April 8, 2014
Bolden: professes he did not know which companies are using Russian engines.
— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) April 8, 2014
So- NASA creates its own policy on Russia interaction, State Dept says it has no input, and now Bolden wants exemption from his own policy?
— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) April 8, 2014
Fattah: It was not Obama – rather it was the FY 2006 appropriation (CR) that under-funded Constellation and caused domino effect
— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) April 8, 2014
@johnculberson is now an expert on #astrobiology such that he can say Europa is more interesting than Enceladus #NASA
— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) April 8, 2014
.@johnculberson likes Europa's ocean because it is bigger than Enceladus' – typical Texas thinking – bigger is better.
— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) April 8, 2014
Funny to hear Congressional witness (Richard Thornburgh) bemoan stovepiping @NASA when Congress is often prime cause of stove piping @ #NASA
— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) April 8, 2014
Maybe I’m making a ridiculous question, because nobody will be able to answer, but “What’s interesting in the secret report by Richard Thornburgh?”
I do not believe it is “secret” in the sense of being classified. It may be SBU (sensitive but unclassified). It discusses the protocols for computer security at NASA installations. Most of these are not even vaugely justified from a technical standpoint, e.g. passwords have to be changed every 60 days, because somewhere there is a hacker who has stolen the /etc/passwd file and is trying to decrypt it, but it will take him 61 days to do it.
I tried to pick out a few absurd lines from this hearing. Then I realized they were all absurd. The entire subcommittee lives in a world in which everything that happens is the result of a conspiracy involving the “Chinese Communists” and the North Koreans, who, let it be known, launched a satellite that passed over Pennsylvania, because they want to detonate a nuclear bomb at an altitude of 90 miles, sending us back to the 1800’s. But I’m an authority in this, because I’ve been an amateur astronomer since I was eight years old.
I have watched a few bizarre hearings over the years, but this one takes the cake. These are the people running our country. Where can we go from here? How can we, as a nation, even survive?
It’s politics. It’s not like Mr. Smith goes to Washington. These people have to say unorthodox statements to support their ideology. The GOP isn’t happy with the way Obama/Bolden are handling NASA so they take their shots when they can.
It might be more precise (IMO) to say that the GOP is extraordinarily hostile to Mr. Obama, so they attack him by every means possible, and this is one that presents itself. Similarly, Mr. Wolf has no particular interest in NASA, but he hates China so he sees NASA as a weapon he can use to attack China.
Yeah but making yourselves look like a bunch of idiots kind of undermines your attack… unless they are just trying to play to their “stupid” base, or doomsday prepper base. And I’m not insulting Republican leaning people here (or doomsday preppers). I wish the Republican Party would try to discourage behavior by officeholders and candidates that undermines their reputation and goals. You’re not fooling anyone (most?) by taking the low road. If this was my rep/senator I’d try to get another one.
Lets be clear here. These hearing quotes were depressing from _both sides_. Wolf etc may be stark raving mad, but Bolden is very clearly out to lunch too.
Not knowing the big rocket engines that are powering the domestic launch industry, where active launchers can be counted on one hands fingers ? That’s from NASA administrator ?
That struck me as very odd too.
Marchis, thanks for using Storify. That saved a bit of time. I’d guess that watching re-runs of Rocky and Bullwinkle would have been a better choice than this subcommittee hearing.
Good choice. The writing would certainly have been more intelligent, and as I recall the science was generally more accurate as well.
So much for working together.
Still thinking about your comment where you said that resourses from space will not help us here on earth anytime soon. Still think we need to make man a multi planet species or things will get real bad real soon. I don’t see the plan that builds the highway to the inner solar system. Is there anyone out there smart enough to write that plan? I’m sick of hearing about space exploration that has nothing to do with getting us off this rock.
Only hope for me is on the 14th it will be daylight at launch and maybe we will get some video of a big booster gently setting down on the oceans surface.
Oh don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting for one minute that mankind shouldn’t be a multi-planetary species. I just can’t see space resources being part of that at the moment.
We need cheap launch, and additional technology development before we can go. Like you, I can’t see governments doing this unless they are prompted into it by private organisations. IMHO SpaceX is currently our best bet although I like the Mars One concept.
I’m with you for the 14th.
Cheers.
China, a nation that is highly dependent on an export driven economy, is not going to attack its biggest customer. Although a significant percentage of the Chinese leadership is corrupt, they are neither ideologues nor fools.
China might possibly be able to survive the economic catastrophe of a new cold war. Our country, deeply in debt, with military spending higher than the next dozen nations combined and with a public that demands further tax cuts, cannot afford such a future.
In the same vein, China is not going to attack the US, a nation which owes China a sizable lump of cash. Why would they risk devaluing that money or losing it entirely? Doing so would very likely crash China’s own economy.
Even easier for @Mack – a country like China is much less likely to act hostile toward us the less hostile we act toward it. We generally have good relations from what I understand and do have plenty else to worry about in the world.