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Originally Posted by Jake";p="
NASA
This agency has presided over too many disasters - lost satellites, exploding space shuttles. It's sunk billions of dollars into the space station white elephant - which really has no purpose. It needs to be reduced to dealing with only national security satellites, etc. Private enterprise should take over commercial satellite launches, and the those of scientific satellites such as from the NSF, NOAA..
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Science requires mistakes to advance. Can you come up with a private program that has done more to advance technology and knowledge of the universe than NASA? Is GM gonna get your grandkids' butts off this planet when the contribution of your SUV fumes have finally made our atmosphere a total joke? There is no suitable alternative to NASA at this time. Your beloved Fox News wouldn't have satellites to help it along if not for NASA and your cell phone would be lousy and we wouldn't even have all those missles you love so much.
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Originally Posted by Jake";p="
Amtrak
The rolling joke of the national transportation system, this other white elephant receives a billion dollars a year to very highly subsidize its very few passengers - for what? Close this baby down fast.
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I have no defense for Amtrak.
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Originally Posted by Jake";p="
Dept of Education
This department had decades to improve the education of american students, and has utterly failed. Education should at most be a state issue. Close it.
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Be serious, Jake. You simply do not care about education. It's obvious by your "state issue at most" comment. We do not elect people with such disdain for the very existence of an education system. So it's pointless to even complain.
I'd like to see how education has undergone NO improvements. Not enough maybe. But NO is an overstatement.
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Originally Posted by Jake";p="
CIA
Organized as an extension of the WWII era OSS, this cold war era anachronism has been wrong over and over - it should be replaced with a completely new intelligence organization designed around the threats of the 21st century..
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They're workin' on it. Which is a bigger waste? Reorganizing the system we have or tashing it all to build a new one. Besides, the whole "rogue state doctrine" was designed to look exactly like the Cold War.
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Originally Posted by Jake";p="
FEMA
Obviously a failure. It should be replaced by regional organizations where known threats occur - eg a gulf state consortium on hurricane preparedness.
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That makes sense, I suppose.
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Originally Posted by Jake";p="
FCC
Another anachronism, created when there were only radio channels. With the explosion of media communication, this agency is no longer needed..
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Yeah, that one's pretty outdated.
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Originally Posted by Jake";p="
USSC
The USSC has evolved over 200 years as america's monarch - but unlike the UK, with real, unanswerable power. Consider what a king is: he rules for life, he's not democratically elected, and he has ultimate power - just like the USSC. This court should be changed so that the members serve for say ten years, not till they're drooling and alzheimic. Their decisions should be able to be overridden by congress - say with a 75% supermajority. All their trappings of demigodhood - the USSC "temple" building, their religious-like robes, should be prohibited by law.
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The point of the Court is to be a check on the people themselves, a check against mob rule and the corruption in electoral politics. True, it's flawed... but do you have a better system for this necessary check and balance? I certainly don't.
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Originally Posted by Jake";p="
BIA
Sorry to reuse the word, but this is REALLY an anachronism. The special status of reservations should be changed to simple land ownership, the BIA should be dissolved, and (here, a recommendation only) the indians should join the 21st century.
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Perhaps. But it will not be as simple as just dissolving the org and watching everything blossom. And what's with apologizing for using the word "anachronism"? More anti-intellectual stuff. That's the main problem with America these days. It's "cool" to be anti-smart.
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Originally Posted by Jake";p="
INS
An utter failure - should be replaced by an adequately-funded 21st century organization dedicated to success in keeping 100%, or (*)(*)(*)(*) near to it, of illegal aliens, contraband, and islamofascists from entering the country..
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So in other words it needs to be changed. And given more funding.
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Originally Posted by Jake";p="
PBS, NPR
Taxpayer funded lib propaganda - off with its head...
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It's there as a check on market forces to ensure that in worse case scenario, there is a trustworthy news outlet (and unfortunately a bunch of "cultural" crap). It's mostly funded through private donations and overseen by a bipartisan board. It is less left-biased than CNN and less right-biased than FoxNews and tends to be the only outlet to focus on important issues more often than celebrities and the latest big trial. The popular market should not be able to keep us entirely blinded to the world simply on the basis that important news is not as popular as fluff and mindless political banter disguised as commentary and discussion.
If anything, NPR and PBS should be forced to quit being the last stand for overrated artsy-fartsy "entertainment". That stuff should be subject to market extinction as it does not inform.
Ironically the super-con George W. Bush appointed to head CPB is a big voice in cutting down information programs for more music and such.
Sabotage.
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Originally Posted by Jake";p="
NEA
Taxpayer funding of "art" that they wouldn't subsidize willingly - to the chopping block.
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I agree with that one.