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posted by janrinok on Friday April 20 2018, @07:46PM   Printer-friendly
from the when-politics-runs-science dept.

Oklahoma Representative James Bridenstine, a Navy Reserve pilot, was confirmed as NASA's 13th administrator on Thursday.

In a 50-49 vote Thursday, Oklahoma Representative James Bridenstine, a Navy Reserve pilot, was confirmed as NASA's 13th administrator, an agency that usually is kept away from partisanship. His three predecessors — two nominated by Republicans — were all approved unanimously. Before that, one NASA chief served under three presidents, two Republicans and a Democrat.

The two days of voting were as tense as a launch countdown.

A procedural vote Wednesday initially ended in a 49-49 tie — Vice President Mike Pence, who normally breaks a tie, was at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida — before Arizona Republican Jeff Flake switched from opposition to support, using his vote as leverage to address an unrelated issue.

Thursday's vote included the drama of another delayed but approving vote by Flake, a last-minute no vote by Illinois Democrat Tammy Duckworth — who wheeled onto the floor with her 10-day-old baby in tow — and the possibility of a tie-breaker by Pence, who was back in town.


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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Thexalon on Friday April 20 2018, @10:59PM (1 child)

    by Thexalon (636) on Friday April 20 2018, @10:59PM (#669839)

    To use the ever-popular car anology:

    Let's say you have a disagreement between you and your spouse over whether to get rid of an aging but functional car. You think it's a worthless piece of junk, your spouse thinks it is still useful.

    What I'm objecting to is the following tactic: You open up the hood, take a crowbar to the engine block, come back inside and say "Well, I guess it's beyond repair, we'll have to trade it in."

    --
    The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
    Starting Score:    1  point
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  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 21 2018, @07:11AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 21 2018, @07:11AM (#669989)

    Trade-in == sell and keep 2/3 for you and 1/3 for the wife