tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11363027.post2649597945958493266..comments2024-03-28T16:26:28.642-05:00Comments on driftglass: The Challenger Disaster Turns 30driftglasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09379167083253389153noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11363027.post-55764518038124900022016-01-28T20:51:07.744-06:002016-01-28T20:51:07.744-06:00I was in a tenth grade French class when the princ...I was in a tenth grade French class when the principal of Long Beach (MS) High School gave us the news on the school PA. I was four weeks away from my 16th birthday, and (though I didn't realize it) the <a href="http://www.eruditorumpress.com/blog/tag/last-war-in-albion/" rel="nofollow">Last War in Albion</a> had already affected my life in the form of <i>Swamp Thing</i> #46 (the <i>Crisis</i> <a href="http://www.eruditorumpress.com/blog/an-imaginary-story-the-last-war-in-albion-part-67-whatever-happened-to-the-man-of-tomorrow-the-apocalypse/" rel="nofollow">crossover</a>), roughly four months out from the start of its first and greatest <a href="http://www.eruditorumpress.com/blog/tag/last-war-in-albion/the-last-war-in-albion-book-two/" rel="nofollow">battle</a>.<br /><br /><i>Relevance, counselor?</i><br /><br />Just as the real target of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings was not Japan but the USSR, the real target of <i>Watchmen</i> was not superheroes but the Reagan Administration. ("Seymour, we do <b><i>not</i></b> dignify <b><i>absurdities</i></b> with <b><i>coverage</i></b>. This is still <b><i>America</i></b>, God damnit! Who wants a <b><i>cowboy actor</i></b> in the White House?")Neo Tuxedohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15455041641080873400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11363027.post-62441477313746833702016-01-28T19:26:22.493-06:002016-01-28T19:26:22.493-06:00Unfortunately, Feynman is dead. Fortunately, so is...Unfortunately, Feynman is dead. Fortunately, so is Tony Snow.sticklerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468746880489986775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11363027.post-16031424390396095292016-01-28T18:51:06.107-06:002016-01-28T18:51:06.107-06:00I remember the post-Challenger engineering/statist...I remember the post-Challenger engineering/statistical arguments very well (my major- Engineering Mechanics - produces many engineers who focus on structuaral failure mechanisms). My geek friends strongly felt the 1:100 catastrophic failure prediction was likely correct, especially given the complexity of the shuttle and the potential failure points. There were 135 shuttle missions in total, which would predict 1 or 2 catastrophic failures. Sure enough, mission #25 Challenger, and mission #113 Columbia. Engineering, statistics, historical data - boring, not sexy, but all the fervent optimism didn't change underlying facts.<br /><br />Republicans have struggled with control/corruption by the wealthy elite starting shortly after Lincoln. Hell, Teddy Roosevelt was a political-expediency VP who "lucked in" to being President. And his actions in office - breaking up Standard Oil, creating the National Park System - got him run out of the Republican Party. The Lochner-era Supreme Court, out of control banksters (including many, many times with mini-recessions/scares before the Great Depression), overseas intervention in support of corporations. <br /><br />I fervently hope for a Democratic President in 2016. But the evil of the moneyed elite that has taken over the Republican Party will not go away. They may be set back, maybe even for decades (see FDR), they may have to transform, maybe even change or start a new party, but they will survive. Slavery may have been America's original sin, but its underpinning was a powerful aristocratic elite. perhaps they run hedge funds now rather than plantations, but they have not gone away and are, sadly, stronger than ever. Habitat Vichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17745175381261470890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11363027.post-87716160961039500342016-01-28T17:31:19.997-06:002016-01-28T17:31:19.997-06:00I remember that day very well. I also remember the...I remember that day very well. I also remember the subsequent investigation, the results of which did not (sadly) surprise me. And you so beautifully tie it all together with a history of Rethuglican perfidy. But hey, "Both Sides" and "There. Is. No. Difference."Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08141640791663745884noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11363027.post-34518963940694175602016-01-28T15:07:25.220-06:002016-01-28T15:07:25.220-06:00“..proven themselves time and again to be uniquely...“..proven themselves time and again to be uniquely incapable of learning a single god damned thing from their own failures.”<br /><br />Bullshit...they learn a lot from their failures. They just don’t interpret failure the same a normal human being would. <br /><br />Per your own example, they weren’t prepared for Feynman so they set into motion things that would make them prepared for the next Challenger-level public fail. As you point out, today Feynman would get the “We create our own reality” FoxNews/HateRadio treatment that would limit other “neutral” news sources to discussing “Is Feynman being honest? Some say no. We’ll have Mr. X from the Heritage Institute and Mrs. Y from Project for a New American Century to discussion.”<br /><br />Other examples: Cuban Revolution led to a focus on rat fucking Latin American self-governance for over half a century. Big Tobacco Law Suits lead to state, then national-level, “Tort Reform” to insulate business for legal responsibilities. Enron/Arthur Anderson Scandal led Bush to cut the DOJ’s White Collar Crime department down to two lawyers with a $100 budget. <br /><br />They learn just fine from their point of view. <br />trgahanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10830124404306531933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11363027.post-39570965447454973562016-01-28T14:53:18.977-06:002016-01-28T14:53:18.977-06:00You forgot to mention exactly what political end t...You forgot to mention exactly what political end the Reagan boys were trying to fulfill on 28 January 1986. That was the date on which Reagan gave the '86 State of the Union address. Having <i>Challenger</i> safely in orbit would have provided him one heckuva talking point for his speech that night.<br /><br />Apart from that, this is freakin' awesome piece of writing.Abu Scooterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12042644295020578484noreply@blogger.com