Comments on: If children are the future, uh-oh

By: Andy

Andy — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 20:30:12 +0000

I think you may be on to something there, Chance.
That was a question I also asked and as it turns out, the space politics blog is the first result in a Google Blog Search of ‘Princeton Model Congress’.

Anyways, we get it, Princeton Youth. Let’s move on.

By: Chance

Chance — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 17:31:29 +0000

Are PMC participants really big fans of the space politics blog, or do they just google the event name to see who’s talking about them?

By: another LR PMCer

another LR PMCer — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 20:59:28 +0000

basically, most of your perceptions of PMC are completely wrong. i was actually in that committee. I would like to reassert the fact that this bill was never meant to be taken seriously. After three days of intensely debating serious bills, the last day is spent on joke bills and bills which have been overly simplified in order to stimulate debate (for example, the NASA bill). there were both serious and ludicrous speeches on the topic. i would also like to say that PMC is one of the most intelligent and competitive environments i have ever been in, not a “sorry indictment of the american public school system.” especially as everyone there except us goes to private school on long island.

also, i also have comtemplated the unrealistic lack of model lobbyists.

By: Chance

Chance — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 14:09:30 +0000

While the public goodwill NASA earned from it’s past glories isn’t quite gone, it is fading year after year. Heck, a serious attempt to shut NASA down might just be the kick in the pants the agency needs. Nothing motivates people to get busy like threats to job security.

By: LR PMCgirl

LR PMCgirl — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 16:43:50 +0000

everyone is missing the big picture, its not the fact that the reporter tried to make a “cute” joke by happeneing to take a joke bill we should be concerned with, its the fact that kids were bold enough to try this outlet in the first place.

so before you start criticising the intelligence level of a FIFTEEN YEAR OLD on the logicality of their bill, ask yourself, as a fully grown man or woman, if you could even do what we spent 4 days doing.

By: LR PMCer

LR PMCer — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 03:28:28 +0000

Though most of us try to get into the genuine congress experience, some delegates submit joke bills anyway.

And that guy? Was probably a private school student, as most of the delegates are.

By: LR PMCkid

LR PMCkid — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 02:04:33 +0000

yup, pmc is just one giant, drunken, high, orgie; if u hadnt figured that out yet, sorry

By: Tom

Tom — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 04:35:29 +0000

NASA needs to be permanently disbanded. There is no disgrace in retiring the number. Besides the useful half-life for any government agency is 20 or so years.

The country needs to re-evaluate how it wants to conduct its space program. NASA was a child of the Cold War, and is no longer relevant.

Shifting the robotic science side to NSF or a new NASA offshoot makes sense.

By: Adrasteia

Adrasteia — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 20:45:30 +0000

Oh, and with gym teachers instructing science courses, it doesn’t surprise me that kids don’t know anything about NASA. I once corrected a physics teacher who argued that Mr. John Glenn was the first man to walk on the moon. What a disgrace!

The major problem is that like NASA, primary and secondary schools are a state run monopoly. There is simply no incentive for anyone inside the system to decrease costs, raise quality, or provide accountability for any of the product provided.

By: Phil Smith

Phil Smith — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 18:02:14 +0000

I agree with Andy. While I’m hardly a fan of NASA, there are things it has done which have, in fact, provided a benefit, not all of which are easy to identify. The kid in question needs to bone up on the issues before supporting a position – on the other hand, members of Congress often know very little about many subjects, and are often easily swayed by lobbyists and their money.