Star Wars Won't Work

Depends on what your definition of "work" is. If the defined mission is to line the pockets of space and defense contractors, to the tune of billions and billions of dollars, then I'd say it's worked quite nicely so far. In fact, it's probably been one of our most successful corporate welfare programs.

And while we're on the subject of US bungling and its nexus with conservative ideology, did you see this article?

Iraqi Factories, Aging and Shut, Now Give Hope

The headline is hopeful, but it's chock full of maddening info such as:

The factories [state-owned enterprises under Saddam Hussein’s government] went dark after the invasion for a variety of reasons, including an insistence by the initial American occupation authority that once they closed, vibrant free markets would spring into existence to fill the void.

and

Zalmay Khalilzad, the American ambassador, said in a recent interview that he was in favor of using military purchases to give Iraqi companies a boost, but that ultimately the United States would promote private enterprise over government entities.

. . . .

But a senior United States official said he believed that at least until recently, officials at the center of American power here, in the Green Zone, had retained their unbending orientation toward privatization. The official said that he asked Americans in the Green Zone why they were buying buses abroad for use in Iraq when a struggling state-owned Iraqi firm in Iskandariya, south of Baghdad, was making a similar vehicle.

“The answer was shocking,” the official said. “It was, ‘We’ve denied these people access to the global free market for 15 years; I’m not going to go back to them and say that you’ve got to buy buses from some state-owned enterprise.’ ”

Lovely. Read the whole thing.

Sorry. Can't read; still jamming

Ba-da, da-da, Bamp. Bamp. Baaaaamp

Anyone know what the hell froz is talking about?

The gas still gets throuuugh... It can get right on youuu...

M/M:

You got that right. And China`s finding inexpensive ways to make our guys go crazy spending more to find ways to protect the Star Wars program!

Aggrandizement by elites is driving us to ruin.

Okay now I get it. Shoulda known.

Star Wars might not work, but maybe they made a prototype of Sy Borg. The results of Sy Borg running around enemy lines would be catastrophic.

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/f/frank+zappa/sy+borg_20056743.html

Wow, sorry I let you (and humanity) down, apo!

I had a busy day at work (after several non-busy days homebound by ice) and totally missed your brillliant submissions.

I was thinking about complaining that you should have posted those on the "Just for Starters" thread, but then I realized that my dream of a four-digit comment thread on apostropher is going to be fulfilled by the Obama thread instead. Surely doth the lord works in mysterious ways!