Its snowing up here, again

Spring must have been traveling on Malaysia 370.  It hasn't got here yet.

Why Obama's executive orders can overrule acts of Congress

Well, it's 'cause most of 'em are delaying bits of Obamacare that nobody likes.  I think people would raise a bigger stink should Obama overrule something everyone likes, say the first amendment, or the second for that matter.  
  At least I hope so.  It's frightening to see so much personal rule by decree from an American president.

Atlas V booster flies on Russian engines

Atlas V, one of America's three big booster rockets,  is powered by RD-180 rocket engines supplied by NPO Energomash in Russia.  Aviation Week ran a piece speculating upon the effects of a Russian embargo upon these engines.  Due to worries about the reliability of Russian suppliers, USAF maintains a two year stockpile of the engines.  That's gotta be expensive, although Aviation Week didn't comment upon the expense.  Anyhow  Atlas V could keep flying until the stockpile is exhausted.  And  launches could continue using the Delta IV rocket, which is powered by US built RS-68 engines.  Both Atlas and Delta are built and operated by United Launch Alliance, a spinoff/merger of the booster operations of Boeing and Lockheed Martin.  Pentagon sources say it would cost $1 billion and take five years to set up production of the Russian RD-180 in the US.  Which is prohibitively costly.  They would scrap Atlas V before spending that sort of money. 
   Elon Musk of SpaceX says that his Falcon 9 booster could handle all the launches.  Falcon has made several successful flights to the International Space Station carrying supplies.  USAF is "certifying" Falcon to launch national security payloads.  Certification could happen anytime USAF feels like it.  It's just a paperwork exercise. 
   All three boosters, Atlas, Delta and Falcon are in the same class.  They can all boost the same payloads, give or take maybe 10%.  So loss of Atlas isn't the end of the world. 
   The Russian have made no threats to cut off RD-180 engines.  Presumably they are making good money selling them to the Americans, and they don't want to ruin it.  I doubt that the Russians want to let a little unpleasantness over the Crimea mess up a good thing. 

Group of 8 now back to Group of 7

The world's rich country club, originally the US,France,Germany, Italy, Japan, and Canada, just black balled its newest member, Russia, over the Ukraine invasion. 
So it is back to being the G7.  There is  room for more members.  Brazil and India come to mind.  Brazil's GNP is actually larger than Russia's.  India's is right behind Russia, and ahead of Canada's.  Both countries are democracies, and believers in the things we care about, like freedom, capitalism, free markets, human rights, self determination, and not invading other countries.  And they are friendly to us.
   The other potential member, based on GNP size is of course China.  Unfortunately, the Chinese do not believe in the things we deem important, and in fact are actively hostile to them.  And they are not very friendly, to us, or to anyone else for that matter.  So,  we don't have to invite them in. 

Game of Thrones, Season 3 [Caution spoilers}

I've watched it all.  Ten episodes, which doesn't seem like very many.  After all there are 52 weeks in a season.  Used to be, they would make 25-30 episodes.  Season opened in September, and there would be new episodes enough to last til spring, before reruns started.
  It's entertaining.  Better than CSI, or "reality" TV, or cop shows or Walking Dead.  The medieval setting is well done, convincing costumes and sets.  It's dark, very dark.  Plenty of scenes of outright cruelty.  Interpersonal relationships all have strong elements of coercion, oppression, and violence.  Nobody is happily married, at least not since they beheaded Lord Eddart Stark (Sean Bean) back last season.  John Snow's relationship with a wilder girl ends with the wilder girl shooting him full of arrows.  Rob Stark and Catlin, his mother, are treacherously slain at the red wedding.  Dani Targaryen is still the single war queen leading the Dothraki hordes, no consort for her. 
  I've previously commented on the poor soundtrack, lack of distinctive costumes, and lack of personal names.  The show would be better if all three failings were improved.  But the non stop action, the swords and sorcery theme, and attractive characters (those who are still alive) make it quite watchable.  The Imp (Tyrion Lannister) emerges as perhaps the most well rounded and interesting character.  He's born on the bad side (Lannisters are bad guys), he drinks too much, but he is a decent sort, ingenious and brave. 

Jimmy Carter uses snail mail

Because he thinks NSA is snooping his email.  He said this on Meet the Press this morning.   He might be onto something....

To pay college athletes

David Gregory's Meet the Press spent a lot of time discussing this one today.  With the Russians invading Ukraine, the US economy in the doldrums, the missing airliner still missing,  the Democrats in a tailspin, Gregory figured this was his topic for the morning.  Good pick there Gregory.
   It's not an issue that resonates with me.  After paying to send three children thru college, the thought of an athletic scholarship picking up the $100,000 four year tuition tab sounds like plenty of compensation to this veteran parent. So I don't really feel that college athletes are exploited. You play ball, we pick up tuition room and board, sounds like a pretty good deal to me.  Too bad none of my kids was athletic enough to get such a deal. 
   There was some talk about low graduation rates among athletic scholarship students, although nobody mentioned any numbers.  Like how bad is the problem?  Newsies are innumerate. 
    Failure to graduate student athletes is shameful.  The college is reneging on it's part of the deal.  Granted, teen aged boys with an athletic bend, from poor backgrounds, may not be very motivated to crack the books, study, turn in the papers on time, and get to class.  But I do feel it is the college's job to motivate them.  A simple rule, you must maintain a C average in order to play, ought to be plenty of motivation.  Plus, student athletes should be required to take a major with some economic value.  Science, math, computer science, business administration, English, History, a foreign language.  Nix on black studies, gender studies, phys ed.