Going Off The Fiscal Cliff Could Mean Missing The Next Catastrophic Hurricane - Polidicks

[url]http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2012/12/27/going-off-the-fiscal-cliff-could-mean-missing-the-next-hurricane-sandy/[/url] [quote=Alex Knapp, Forbes]One of the government services that most of us take for granted is weather forecasting. It’s the satellite data provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that meteorologists in the U.S. rely on for accurate atmospheric data to make weather predictions. In particular, predicting the path of extreme weather conditions like hurricanes absolutely depend on NOAA’s polar weather satellites. For example, if it weren’t for NOAA satellites, weather forecasters likely would not have been able to predict that Hurricane Sandy’s “left hook” into the Eastern Seaboard, which enabled local governments to undertake emergency preparations for the storm. Unfortunately, due to what Undersecretary of Commerce Jane Lubchenco called, “chronic management problems,” it appears increasingly likely that the U.S. will have to suffer a at least a year without satellites starting around 2017 as the old satellites reach the end of their life cycle and the new ones are launched. And right now there’s no other alternative for getting that data,. The government is scrambling to do what it can to minimize the amount of time between the death of the old satellites and the launch of the new, but right now it looks like there will be at least some small gap. But if we hit the Fiscal Cliff, all bets might be off. According to the Aerospace Industries Association, a trade association representing aerospace manufacturers, the spending cuts mandated if the U.S. hits the Fiscal Cliff would include an 8.2 percent cut to NOAA’s weather satellite program. The association estimates that this would cost the jobs of 1,000 people who “design, build and operate weather satellites that have no equivalent or redundant system in the public or private sector.” The association also warns that as a result, the expected one year weather satellite gap could be much, much longer. To be sure, the association has an interest in avoiding the resulting defense sequestration if the Fiscal Cliff hits, but given the history of the program and NOAA’s, a longer satellite gap as a result of sequestration is pretty likely. Regarding the potential for a loss of weather data, Craig J. Craft, commissioner of emergency management for Nassau County told the New York Times in October that ”We cannot afford to lose any enhancement that allows us to accurately forecast any weather event coming our way.” But if Congress and the President can’t reach an agreement to avoid the Fiscal Cliff, local officials like Craft may not have a choice.[/quote]

Well, fuck. Goddamn it Government. Can't you do anything right? [QUOTE]Unfortunately, due to what Undersecretary of Commerce Jane Lubchenco called, “chronic management problems,”[/QUOTE] I mean, look at that shit. We can't get rid of the management that is fucking this up, no. We have to lay off the guys who MAKE THE GODDAMN SATELLITES! The levels of bullshittery here in America are just so fucking high. EDIT: Sorry for swearing so much, but this really, really, REALLY, pisses me off.

It's called having a government, have fun guys :)

[QUOTE=JustExtreme;39018960]It's called having a government, have fun guys :)[/QUOTE] You'll be joining the party once the economy turns to shit because all the countries that rely on the US For export purposes crash, so have fun, buddy.

[I]"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."[/I] Martin Luther King, Jr.

[QUOTE=Strongbad;39019041]You'll be joining the party once the economy turns to shit because all the countries that rely on the US For export purposes crash, so have fun, buddy.[/QUOTE] Never claimed I wouldn't be :) bring on the party - I hope there's crack and hookers!

Why can't we just cut off Congressional pay, instead?

[QUOTE=Ridge;39019109]Why can't we just cut off Congressional pay, instead?[/QUOTE] If you did that, you'd be hurting the Job Protectors!

[QUOTE=JustExtreme;39018960]It's called having a government, have fun guys :)[/QUOTE] Actually, it's called excessive bureaucracy. It has nothing to do with government itself, nor necessarily its being able to function at the scale it's at, it's about all the red tape, and hoop-jumping, and 13-times-separation between two points, and then 20 people to look over the shoulders of 2 people and then 20 people to look over each of their shoulders, all in order to make sure that every little sentence in every bill written since 19 fucking 30 that even has anything to do with the process, setup, or functions of any part of any section of any division of any office is abided by... The fact of the matter is that the federal government, because of decades of attachments, dovetailing, and the like in legislation purposefully written to be so long that you can implement anything into it as an aside and get it passed, that we now have a government that is so far from streamlined that we have money just being tossed at people and expecting that they will somehow be able to figure out that in order to inform the person 2 positions above them they have to abide by so much bullshit that it takes them a fucking week and 1000$ in our tax money in order make it happen. The fact of the matter is that the US Federal Government could be dramatically streamlined and cut down without losing any real functionality.

[QUOTE='[Seed Eater];39019238']Actually, it's called excessive bureaucracy. It has nothing to do with government itself, nor necessarily its being able to function at the scale it's at, it's about all the red tape, and hoop-jumping, and 13-times-separation between two points, and then 20 people to look over the shoulders of 2 people and then 20 people to look over each of their shoulders, all in order to make sure that every little sentence in every bill written since 19 fucking 30 that even has anything to do with the process, setup, or functions of any part of any section of any division of any office is abided by... The fact of the matter is that the federal government, because of decades of attachments, dovetailing, and the like in legislation purposefully written to be so long that you can implement anything into it as an aside and get it passed, that we now have a government that is so far from streamlined that we have money just being tossed at people and expecting that they will somehow be able to figure out that in order to inform the person 2 positions above them they have to abide by so much bullshit that it takes them a fucking week and 1000$ in our tax money in order make it happen. The fact of the matter is that the US Federal Government could be dramatically streamlined and cut down without losing any real functionality.[/QUOTE] Part of the reason for that, and trust me, I'm not defending it in the slightest, is because America is one of the most litigious societies on the planet, and we have been for a very long time. If we didn't look over every single fucking thing 20 billion times, someone, somewhere would figure out a loophole and fuck things up for everyone. That's not to say that we need such a slow and methodical step by step and recheck and step recheck Government, but it exists solely because of Americans being lazy cunts who would prefer to sue the Government for money rather than go out and earn it. My grandfather, for example, quit working at around 35. Not because he had anything wrong with him, or because something had come up. No. He just simply came home, stopped working, and proceeded to try suing Mayor Giuliani (I believe) for basically everything. That fucker is basically the epitome of what is wrong with the American mentality, in my mind.

[QUOTE=valkery;39019843]Part of the reason for that, and trust me, I'm not defending it in the slightest, is because America is one of the most litigious societies on the planet, and we have been for a very long time. If we didn't look over every single fucking thing 20 billion times, someone, somewhere would figure out a loophole and fuck things up for everyone. That's not to say that we need such a slow and methodical step by step and recheck and step recheck Government, but it exists solely because of Americans being lazy cunts who would prefer to sue the Government for money rather than go out and earn it. My grandfather, for example, quit working at around 35. Not because he had anything wrong with him, or because something had come up. No. He just simply came home, stopped working, and proceeded to try suing Mayor Giuliani (I believe) for basically everything. That fucker is basically the epitome of what is wrong with the American mentality, in my mind.[/QUOTE] did he win?

[QUOTE=barttool;39019882]did he win?[/QUOTE] No. He was laughed out of court.

Let's hope there won't be a major storm around that time or shit might really hit the fan

[QUOTE=DeEz;39022620]Let's hope there won't be a major storm around that time or shit might really hit the fan[/QUOTE] Knowing how things work, that's some pretty empty hope, unfortunately.

[url]https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/restrict-pay-all-senators-and-congress-75000-period-3-years-repay-national-deficit/L3cRmtq6[/url] There is a petition

Being destroyed by hurricane music: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BggpIEoNfzw[/media]