What is on the political agenda for 2018?

[Lemon Merchant]

Who's the home team and who is invading?

J

Doesn't matter. We all lose.

 

[Broken_Erika]

Global Warming! We must wage war on the Climate! Annihilate it and drive it from the face of the Earth! Because the climate is Hillary's henchman!

 

[FashGordon]

Saving the Earth, and by Earth I mean Western Civilization, in just under 14 hours. You're welcome.

 

[yung.carl.jung]

Western ™ Civilization ©

(The greatest of All Time!)

(From the directors of 'oops we wiped out an entire continent by sneezing :^)')

(***Defend Western Civilization please. It's infinitely superior to all others, it's strong, but for some reason it's still endangered? And we need to save it NOW!***)

(Godbless America)

 

[FashGordon]

Interesting. That's not the first time I've been told it's the greatest and infinitely superior to all others.

Yes, God Bless America Bigly!

 

[Bridog7]

The Buttslapping revolution, starting with Bernie winning his reelection, who by far is the most popular politician in America and those who follow his example will win. While those who imitate Hillary or Trump (McGuire) will lose. People are "sick n' tired" of the same old garbarge and it's why independents are the largest voting block and why half the country didn't vote in the last election for either of the two worst candidates in history. If the democrats continue to push for neoliberals like Hillary who have no policy to offer, and only try to shame people in voting for them through identity politics, we'll be looking at 8 of "the best, the best" years of Trump (McGuire), who will continue blowing up the world and looting the population.

 

[yung.carl.jung]

That's not the first time I've been told it's the greatest and infinitely superior to all others.

I hear that exact line every time I unleash the cobra if you catch my drift.

 

[FashGordon]

I hear that exact line every time I unleash the cobra if you catch my drift.

Sorry, I don't follow. Could you please elaborate?

 

[yung.carl.jung]

Sorry, I don't follow. Could you please elaborate?

Moderator Action: <snip>

Moderator Action: Please do not post content of this nature on the site. --LM
Please read the forum rules: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=422889

 

[FashGordon]

My dad always told me that the one's who brag the most have the most reasons to be insecure.

 

[Ajidica]

My dad always told me that the one's who brag the most have the most reasons to be insecure.

Interesting. That's not the first time I've been told [Western Civilization is] the greatest and infinitely superior to all others.

Yes, God Bless America Bigly!

Hmmmm.

 

[Kyriakos]

Probably a middle east war, maybe Turkey/Kurdistan. Trump has a hotel in Constantinople, so the sooner he is impeached the better

 

[yung.carl.jung]

My dad always told me that the one's who brag the most have the most reasons to be insecure.

I see your family is not only immune to jokes, but also quick to judge. Lovely!

 

[FashGordon]

Hmmmm.

It wasn't me who originally said that either.

I see your family is not only immune to jokes, but also quick to judge. Lovely!

My father is known for his good judgement.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

How does giving funds to private space companies avoid all the problems that plague public-private partnerships, that almost universally result in the government paying more over a longer period of time for a less effective product?
If we are going to dump billions on rockets and satellites from a private company, why not just give it to NASA and keep public oversight?

NASA doesn't actually build rockets. They also don't build a good chunk of their satellites, landers and rovers either. They may integrate the final satellite (bring all the parts together) but they may have only designed and manufactured half of it. They do not have the capacity or the expertise to manufacturer a lot of hardware directly so when you say 'give the money to NASA' what ends up happening is the that NASA oversees their contractors. This approach is very inefficient and results in a ton of waste and very drawn out schedules.

The new approach tried out with the COTS and CCAP programs (provide cargo and astronauts to the ISS) is that instead of NASA directly telling companies what to build and how, they just buy a service and provide some (but very little compared to traditional methods) oversight.

It the difference between saying, "I want to buy a Saturn V" and "I want to put 100,000 kilos into LEO". The former is the traditional approach and it has a lot of pitfalls. It is in effect a public-private partnership but with additional strings attached that handicap both the commercial sector and the government. The latter is the new approach that has proven to be very cost effective. It has allowed those private vendors to turn around and use the capabilities they develop to do commercial missions - something not possible under the old paradigm.

In any case, most of the money is not given to private companies. It is exchanged for goods and services under set schedules, fees and program milestones.

 

[FashKetchum]

Building the wall and making Mexico pay for it.

 

[Perfection]

Building the wall and making Mexico pay for it.

 

[Broken_Erika]

I always though Ash Ketchum seemed a little authoritarian....