[Charismatic]

Call or not, he directly wasted 9 BILLION DOLLARS we cant affoard!

[Rian]

Um, that money was wasted already. He arguably prevented more money from being wasted on the project.

[IceFire]

Maybe I dreamed it up but weren't the Japanese testing some sort of Plasma incinerator a few years ago that you could probably put nuclear waste in and the plasma reaction would have it come out the otherside as a relatively harmless substance.  You could even use it for building materials they were saying....

Overly optimistic tests that never panned out?

Call or not, he directly wasted 9 BILLION DOLLARS we cant affoard!

If what Inquisitor is saying is right then its likely that the gains in geology and hydrology research are worth quite a bit on its own.

Plus to put into context 9 billion over 20 years is a drop in the bucket. More is spent in a month on Afganistan and Iraq.

The only problem with shutting it down is that there doesn't appear to be a new plan and they desperately need a new plan for dealing with nuclear waste.  My bet is on some sort of technology to reuse or eliminate it instead of holding it around...holding it somewhere seems unsustainable to me.

[WeatherOp]

I'm more curious in why he is worrying about a place to put toxic waste, when our economy is crashing and burning like an out of control wildfire.

[General Battuta]

I'm more curious in why he is worrying about a place to put toxic waste, when our economy is crashing and burning like an out of control wildfire.

Right, because he can't possibly do more than one thing at a time, and thinking constantly about one problem is going to make the solution come proportionally faster.

[BloodEagle]

I'm more curious in why he is worrying about a place to put toxic waste, when our economy is crashing and burning like an out of control wildfire.

It's because he has no plans to fix the economy, and it's easier to distract people than to apologize for lying through your teeth (or lie about lying through your teeth).

[General Battuta]

I'm more curious in why he is worrying about a place to put toxic waste, when our economy is crashing and burning like an out of control wildfire.

It's because he has no plans to fix the economy, and it's easier to distract people than to apologize for lying through your teeth (or lie about lying through your teeth).

Well, um, that economic stimulus package sure seems like 'plans to fix the economy.' You might think it's not a good plan, but you can't deny it's a plan.

[WeatherOp]

I'm more curious in why he is worrying about a place to put toxic waste, when our economy is crashing and burning like an out of control wildfire.

It's because he has no plans to fix the economy, and it's easier to distract people than to apologize for lying through your teeth (or lie about lying through your teeth).

Well, um, that economic stimulus package sure seems like 'plans to fix the economy.' You might think it's not a good plan, but you can't deny it's a plan.

So, if the plan falls horribly on it's butt and we waste $700 billion dollars, it's ok because at least it's a plan?

[General Battuta]

I never made any valence judgment about the plan.

I was simply asserting that it was a plan, in response to BloodEagle's assertion that there was no plan.

[Inquisitor]

Ah, partisan politics, and science. Gotta love it.

[Blue Lion]

I'm more curious in why he is worrying about a place to put toxic waste, when our economy is crashing and burning like an out of control wildfire.

It's because he has no plans to fix the economy, and it's easier to distract people than to apologize for lying through your teeth (or lie about lying through your teeth).

There really is no true yardstick to measure the progress but:

stimulus bill
budget bill
Iraq withdrawal date
Afghanistan "surge"
Gitmo decision
releasing previously secret Bush documents
talk of healthcare reform

It's been less than 2 months.

Jan 21st to March 6th.

Or did you honestly expect the economy and everything to be fixed in less time than that?

[WeatherOp]

I'm more curious in why he is worrying about a place to put toxic waste, when our economy is crashing and burning like an out of control wildfire.

It's because he has no plans to fix the economy, and it's easier to distract people than to apologize for lying through your teeth (or lie about lying through your teeth).

There really is no true yardstick to measure the progress but:

stimulus bill
budget bill
Iraq withdrawal date
Afghanistan "surge"
Gitmo decision
releasing previously secret Bush documents

It's been less than 2 months.

Jan 21st to March 6th.

Or did you honestly expect the economy and everything to be fixed in less time than that?

I don't think many(besides the crazy) thought it would turn around that fast. But, when you look and see the markets tank every time he opens his mouth it brings up a lot of questions.

[StarSlayer]

There are only so many levers the government can pull to affect the economy anyway.  You can change the taxes, increase/decrease the money supply, or try this stimulus package deal.  Thats about it, FDR didn't magically snap his fingers and make the Depression go away.    Especially when its FUMTU at nearly every level, it ain't easy to fix an economy based on people spending more then their income.

[Blue Lion]

I don't think many(besides the crazy) thought it would turn around that fast. But, when you look and see the markets tank every time he opens his mouth it brings up a lot of questions.

The problem with the Dow Jones (and I really need to find the articles dealing with it) is it's no longer industrial or an average.

Take a look at the companies in the Dow Jones and see what companies are involved in this debacle of housing credit and mess and you'll see a lot of similar faces.

Yes, I fully expect these companies to have their stock prices tank on news that the things that let them all get rich are gone and now the government might have to step in and fix them (probably removing most profits for a long time).

But to tie it back into the thread here:

A lot of people are saying "we already picked this spot" or "we've already spent money on it", which to me is like saying "well I'm already in my pajamas"

It's a thinking of "I don't want to deal with it anymore" which is not the thinking we need for this kind of stuff.

*edit* Don Jones!

[BloodEagle]

I'm more curious in why he is worrying about a place to put toxic waste, when our economy is crashing and burning like an out of control wildfire.

It's because he has no plans to fix the economy, and it's easier to distract people than to apologize for lying through your teeth (or lie about lying through your teeth).

There really is no true yardstick to measure the progress but:

stimulus bill
budget bill
Iraq withdrawal date
Afghanistan "surge"
Gitmo decision
releasing previously secret Bush documents
talk of healthcare reform

It's been less than 2 months.

Jan 21st to March 6th.

Or did you honestly expect the economy and everything to be fixed in less time than that?

No, you silly goose.

[Blue Lion]

No, you silly goose.

So you honestly think after what I've listed in the time he's been President so far is "no plan" and "lying through his teeth"?

[chief1983]

Just because he's doing things doesn't mean he's doing what he said he was going to do, or not doing what he didn't agree with McCain on before.

[Blue Lion]

See it as trustworthy as you see fit

http://politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/

[IceFire]

I'm more curious in why he is worrying about a place to put toxic waste, when our economy is crashing and burning like an out of control wildfire.

It's because he has no plans to fix the economy, and it's easier to distract people than to apologize for lying through your teeth (or lie about lying through your teeth).

There really is no true yardstick to measure the progress but:

stimulus bill
budget bill
Iraq withdrawal date
Afghanistan "surge"
Gitmo decision
releasing previously secret Bush documents

It's been less than 2 months.

Jan 21st to March 6th.

Or did you honestly expect the economy and everything to be fixed in less time than that?

I don't think many(besides the crazy) thought it would turn around that fast. But, when you look and see the markets tank every time he opens his mouth it brings up a lot of questions.

Well there is more than one market and not all of them are glued to every word that the US president is saying.  Pretty much every time anyone says anything about the economy the markets tank.  This is a worldwide phenomenon....it may have started in the States but it was a domino effect that has put the whole world economic system into chaos from the streets of Beijing, Tokyo, and Shanghai to London, New York and Toronto.

[General Battuta]

Correlation under no circumstances implies causation.