Posts Made By: Tom Rodstrom

October 7, 2003 05:09 PM Forum: Religion

A Billion Dollar WMD Search???

Posted By Tom Rodstrom

The search for WMD's (Weapons of Mass Destruction) in Iraq has cost $300 million so far and Kay is asking for another $600 million to continue the search.

That's $900 million. Let's throw in another $100 million to search for WMD's (Weapons of Mass Deception) in Washington. That way, we might actually find something for out $1 billion.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=736&e=10&u=/ap/20031007/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_senators

October 29, 2003 02:56 PM Forum: Religion

Iraqnam

Posted By Tom Rodstrom

Thanks George.

October 31, 2003 11:37 PM Forum: Religion

Re: WOMD - What constitutes a program?

Posted By Tom Rodstrom

I did read a report about an Iraqi official who claimed that Saddam was trying to keep a bluff going in order to keep his neighbor, Iran, at bay. If Iran thought he was weak, they certainly had reason to attack (previous wars killing millions) and they had plenty of help available in Iraq from the Shiite majority.

November 1, 2003 07:02 AM Forum: Religion

Re: The Sweet Taste of Hatred

Posted By Tom Rodstrom

Anger and frustration are common and transient.

Hatred takes time and training, but it lasts.

November 2, 2003 11:53 AM Forum: Religion

Progress ?

Posted By Tom Rodstrom

Another thirteen gone. It breaks my heart.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&e=1&u=/ap/20031102/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_helicopter

Bush will probably call this progress (we're depleting their supply of missiles).

November 6, 2003 02:38 PM Forum: Religion

Iraqi GOLD

Posted By Tom Rodstrom

"The lawmakers said the Pentagon Defense Energy Support Center imports military fuel from Kuwait to Iraq for $1.08 to $1.19 per gallon, compared with the $2.65 per gallon that Halliburton charges the U.S. government under a no-bid Army contract."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=736&e=10&u=/ap/20031106/ap_on_re_mi_ea/halliburton_iraq

November 7, 2003 03:48 PM Forum: Religion

This week's rate is 1,600+ KIA per year

Posted By Tom Rodstrom

"The latest confirmed U.S. military fatalities bring to at least 31 the number of American troops killed action in the first week of November. Two American civilian contractors working for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and a Polish officer also died in attacks over the past seven days."

This war was started on lies and misinformation. Now our soldiers are dying at a rate of 1,600 a year (31 per week x 52 weeks = 1612). That figure would be much higher except that new body armor protects the torso and allows badly maimed casualties to survive.

Thanks George.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=721&e=7&u=/ap/20031107/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

Bush 1 didn't want this war and Bush 2 didn't listen to Dad. Last week on 60 minutes, Andy Rooney took a little time to point out that Bush 2 didn’t listen to his own father. Here are some quotes from Bush 1's book "A World Transformed."

"I firmly believed we should not march into Baghdad ...To occupy Iraq would instantly shatter our coalition, turning the whole Arab world against us and make a broken tyrant, into a latter-day Arab hero …"

"...assigning young soldiers to a fruitless hunt for a securely entrenched dictator and condemning them to fight in what would be an unwinnable urban guerrilla war."

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/10/31/60minutes/rooney/main581171.shtml

Now some highly placed veterans are seeing the same mistakes we made in Vietnam.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=676&e=12&u=/usatoday/20031107/ts_usatoday/11941765

November 15, 2003 09:33 PM Forum: Religion

January 2, 2004 07:44 PM Forum: Religion

Tax and Spend vs Borrow and Spend More

Posted By Tom Rodstrom

While preparing an answer for another post, I did some research that really opened my eyes. Democrats are continually accused of tax and spend, but it appears that Republicans are the real spenders and that they like to spend money they don’t have.

First, on spending, from the Congressional Budget Office, during the Reagan years government spending increased (in billions) from 590.9 to 1,064.5. That’s an 80% increase or 10% per year. Bush 1 presided over an increase from 1,064.5 to 1,381.7. That’s a 30% increase or 7.5% per year. During the Clinton years spending went from 1,381.7 to 1701.9. That’s 23% or only 2.9% a year. Bush 2 is on a record setting spending binge. I sure looks like the Republicans are the big spenders to me. See Table 5: http://www.cbo.gov//showdoc.cfm?index=1821&sequence=0#table11

How did they manage to spend so much and still cut taxes? Borrow, borrow, borrow. Here’s a nice page that points out the borrowers: http://www.ctj.org/html/debt0603.htm

What does borrowing do? Increase the national debt. In the nearly 200 years from 1776 to 1974 the national debt reached a little less than 500 billion. Reagan and Bush 1 made that irrelevant in short order. During two of the Bush 1 years the national debt increased more than 400 billion a year. Here’s a nice chart to show where the national debt came from
http://www.lafn.org/politics/gvdc/Natl_Debt_Chart.html and another http://www.ctj.org/pdf/debt1pg.pdf

What does the national debt mean to you? More than $1000 per year in interest payments for every man, woman and child in the US or $4000 for a family of four. Interest payments alone for FY 2003 were 318 billion. During the Clinton years great strides were made to reduce deficit spending. Taxes were raised while the economy underwent it’s longest sustained period of continuous growth ever. Bush came along and the bubble burst. Rather that continuing the sound fiscal policy that sustained growth, Bush cut income taxes (mostly for the wealthiest 1%) the lowest level since 1959 and income taxes to the lowest level since before World War II. Deficit spending is projected to break all records this year. Taxes were at very low levels before Clinton and rather than a reasonable cut they were cut to reckless levels, see: http://www.ctj.org/pdf/fy03def.pdf

It appears that giving a Republican the keys to the budget is as smart as trusting Kenneth Lay (Enron) with your credit card.

Economically speaking, with the Black Voodoo economics practiced by the Republicans, Bush is a Bakor being ridden by rich Loa’s using their Gris Gris to put our finances into a Sekey Madoule.

For definitions starting with Black Voodoo, see: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Bungalow/7586/gk1/voodoo-dict.html

January 13, 2004 03:46 AM Forum: Telescope Making

Now I've Done It - (Cell)

Posted By Tom Rodstrom

I caught the fever and just bought a 14 1/2" mirror. Now I will need to build a telescope.

For the cell I was thinking about trying something different. Since carbon fiber sheet and Pyrex seem to have similar low coefficients of expansion, I was thinking about using a carbon fiber sheet to mount the mirror.

I would place an array with a large number of 3/8" dia x 1" high aluminum standoffs in a suitable pattern screwed to the carbon fiber. To mount the mirror, with the mirror face down, I would put silicon on each of the standoffs and push the carbon fiber sheet down on the mirror. A few temporary standoffs slightly longer than the 1" permanent standoffs would control the thickness of the silicon between the mirror and the standoff.

There would be a hole in the center of the carbon fiber for a fan and air flow between the mirror and carbon fiber should cool them both.

Has anyone tried anything like this. What are the pros and cons?