Is the Scientific Process, Standards of Proof ignored by NASA Supporters?

[Zakalwe]

If this guy Romulus was really IDW (which I tend to believe), then there would be another standpoint. There is a religious standpoint. In a discussion on a YT channel he characterized himself as a follower of creationism.

I would tend to side with this view. In Romulus's various rants he appeared racist, homophobic and used having Liberal views as an insult. Like many with extreme right-wing beliefs he clearly suffers from crank-magnetism. I'm surprised that he didn't bring Obama's birth certificate into his ranting. No doubt he also believes that Sarah Palin is an intelligent person and a fine upstanding candidate to lead the US. 

You are a liberal democrat, aren't you?

I think his politics are reflective of his character.I think he's a liberal cretin with zero integrity.

Mr.Windley, you lie like a rug and waffle like a liberal democrat                       

[Echnaton]

He is a profoundly alienated guy who lives out of his rich and idiosyncratic inner life and is deeply frustrated that others can't understand his flawed constructs developed through mere glimpses and glances of the real world.  Or to put it another way, he is one of Samuel Becket's characters trying to live in a Marcel Proust novel.

[gillianren]

I met Fess Parker once.  Does that count for anything?

It makes me jealous, anyway.  I had such a crush on him when I was a kid and had the Disney Channel.  This, I admit, is weird, but there we are.

I declined, incidentally, from telling him any of my political beliefs, because they're none of his business and don't influence my stance on Apollo.  My dad was a conservative, and one of the things I remember about him is going out one Sunday a month to fire model rockets.  He died when I was six (thirty-two years ago yesterday), but I consider that an indication that he was not a hoax believer, even though the subject never came up.  I do remember being awakened in the middle of the night to watch an eclipse, so yeah.

[JayUtah]

It makes me jealous, anyway.  I had such a crush on him when I was a kid and had the Disney Channel.  This, I admit, is weird, but there we are.

Why would it be weird to have a crush on him?  I met him about the time my avatar picture was taken, which was only a few short years before he died.  One of the other actors in that play had been in several episodes of both Fess Parker television shows -- Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone, which were largely indistinguishable back then.  They'd maintained a friendship, and Parker was passing through town.  Shifting for a minute from Crockett to Boone, the theme song is right as far as Parker was concerned:  I don't know if Boone was a "big man," but Fess Parker was enormous.  He was also one of the most personable of the well-known actors I've met.

[Luke Pemberton]

No doubt he also believes that Sarah Palin is an intelligent person and a fine upstanding candidate to lead the US.

...and what exactly is wrong with Sarah Palin? [Sound of stupid British guy ducking for cover.]


No, I'm not sure why he brought politics into the debate, although I use debate in the loosest sense of the term.

[onebigmonkey]

No doubt he also believes that Sarah Palin is an intelligent person and a fine upstanding candidate to lead the US.

...and what exactly is wrong with Sarah Palin? [Sound of stupid British guy ducking for cover.]

From a British perspective nothing - it would be hilarious, in the same way that the rest of the world would find Nigel Farage a real hoot if he got anywhere near power.

[Luke Pemberton]

From a British perspective nothing - it would be hilarious, in the same way that the rest of the world would find Nigel Farage a real hoot if he got anywhere near power.

I'd swap the UK for Alaska if that happened, I mean it, I really would. Really, really, really... like really!!!

[Zakalwe]

From a British perspective nothing - it would be hilarious, in the same way that the rest of the world would find Nigel Farage a real hoot if he got anywhere near power.

I'd swap the UK for Alaska if that happened, I mean it, I really would. Really, really, really... like really!!!

Quite possibly me too.

i would roughly calculate the chances of either of them getting elected as the same as Romulus coming out and announcing that he is gay for Jay.....

[gillianren]

Why would it be weird to have a crush on him?

Because it was about 1987.  Not many girls born in the '70s had crushes on Fess Parker.

[ka9q]

...and what exactly is wrong with Sarah Palin? [Sound of stupid British guy ducking for cover.]

From a British perspective nothing - it would be hilarious, in the same way that the rest of the world would find Nigel Farage a real hoot if he got anywhere near power.

Need I remind you that the US has nuclear weapons?

As John Cleese said, McCain simply picked the wrong Palin.

[smartcooky]

...and what exactly is wrong with Sarah Palin? [Sound of stupid British guy ducking for cover.]

From a British perspective nothing - it would be hilarious, in the same way that the rest of the world would find Nigel Farage a real hoot if he got anywhere near power.

Need I remind you that the US has nuclear weapons?

As John Cleese said, McCain simply picked the wrong Palin.

I think Cleese called her a "good looking parrot"

[ka9q]

I wouldn't even go that far. The way the male right-wing commentators drooled all over her during the 2008 campaign was just downright creepy.

[gillianren]

I was actually kind of offended by their selection of her, since they admitted it was intended to woo female Hillary Clinton voters who were mad that Obama got the nomination instead.  And say what you like about Hillary, but at least no one has ever accused her of being dumb.  Dumb is a dealbreaker for me in a politician, and the fact that they think women are interchangeable to female voters, regardless of political slant, is just insulting to female voters.

And the way the male commentators drooled over her is, in my opinion, directly related to how they insult left-wing female politicians' appearance.  Okay, so Nancy Pelosi isn't winning any beauty contests (though, in my opinion, Sarah Palin isn't all that attractive, either), but so what?  That's not what she was elected to do!  But it's this whole "our women are competent and more attractive than liberals!"  Except Sarah Palin was missing the first part of that no matter your opinion of her appearance.

[ka9q]

I think a lot of us, male and female, were just as offended by McCain's choice. But for me it had nothing to do with her gender or appearance or accent and everything to do with her near-total lack of a brain and downright mean-spiritedness.

Aside from placing an utterly incompetent person a heartbeat from the presidency, it also disqualified McCain for the job. One of a president's most important jobs (if not the most important) is to select the right people for a wide range of very important positions, from cabinet members to agency heads to military generals to Supreme Court justices. He clearly blew it with his choice of running mate, so why should I expect his judgment to be any better with any other appointments?

And he sure doesn't do much to keep my respect by still insisting he made the right choice. I know he's not that dense, so he can only be lying to save face. And that's a dangerous trait for a president. It's a shame, because through his principled and vocal opposition to torture he was one of the few Republicans to ever gain my respect.

[JayUtah]

But for me it had nothing to do with her gender or appearance or accent and everything to do with her near-total lack of a brain and downright mean-spiritedness.

The same here.  I move in local politics, and I have dealings with legislators of both sexes, all races, both parties, many religions and no religion, and a variety of backgrounds.  Some have even been guests in my home.  I have two principal criteria by which I evaluate how successful I think they are:  how informed they are, and how committed they are to the constitution and the rule of law.  Palin failed miserably on the first.

One of a president's most important jobs (if not the most important) is to select the right people for a wide range of very important positions...

I think this is why Ronald Reagan commanded so much respect.  He seemed to put a lot of competent people in key positions and gave them a lot of autonomy.  Politics aside, the Reagan years seemed well-organized and effective, and I think it's precisely because knew how to delegate effectively.

And he sure doesn't do much to keep my respect by still insisting he made the right choice. I know he's not that dense, so he can only be lying to save face.

I think McCain chose Palin in order to appeal to the Tea Party, which was then seen by some as the future of the GOP.  In other words, she was chosen to win the election by solidifying the GOP base, not to lead the country in any meaningful way.  McCain appealed to the centrist elements, while Palin appealed to the far right and to women.  That's sadly the state of modern electoral politics -- the criteria by which we judge people's leadership ability is not the criteria by which we decide for whom to vote.

And since the GOP can't yet jettison the Tea Party safely, McCain can't yet alienate them by lowering the esteem of one of their stars.