Why Elaine Chao, Wife of Mitch McConnell, Could Help Sink his Re-election Bid 1/3

by Nomad

In this three-part post, we take a closer look at the career of Elaine Chao, wife of Senator Mitch McConnell. She is one-half of the Washington power couple.

No Trophy Wife

In the last few weeks, the wife of Mitch McConnell, Ms. Elaine Chao, has jumped feet first into the campaign. 

Strategists probably thought what McConnell's flagging re-election bid really needed was a pretty face. Clearly, the public is fed up with looking at Mitch's sour mug.  

However, Ms. Elaine Chao is by no means a trophy wife. Among her many accomplishments, Ms. Chao was the Secretary of Labor in the George W. Bush presidency from 2001 to 2009. 

In that regard, it was perhaps a risky decision to have her make an appearance. 

Cleverly the GOP strategists have thrown a smokescreen over any real discussion of Elaine Chao. Here's how they did it.  In the last few days, the Republicans have attempted to turn the tables on the left by claiming that a left-winger made a rather stupid tweet about the fact that Choa is an Asian and was not born in Kentucky.  The GOP quickly seized this opportunity to charge "racism" -which given the source is perhaps ironic.

To be sure, Ms. Chao has never attempted to hide her background. On the other hand, it's also hard to tell the Elaine Chao story without at least noting her ethnic background. That in itself is not racism. After all, Republicans have used every opportunity to use Ms. Chao's Asian background when it benefited them.  

How Ms. Chao got to where she is today is indeed a fascinating story. A suspect charge of racism shouldn't prevent a careful look at her history and her career.

Chao's Bootstraps

Pulling oneself up by the bootstraps is all the rage for conservatives but wise researchers should take all that malarky with a grain of salt. The Christian Science Monitor profiled Chao telling its readers how she "began her life in this country with nothing."

It really depends on how one describes nothing. As any investor will tell you, nothing is something if you have what they call "access. " Being in the right place with a set of diverse and powerful connections in high places is often worth more than gold in pocket.

Turkey and the Soma Mining Disaster: How Not to Deal with a National Tragedy

by Nomad

The downside to a photo-op is, of course, that something unexpected or embarrassing might happen. That's unfortunately exactly what occurred when the Turkish Prime Minister traveled to Soma, the site of the nation's worst mining disaster.

In the aftermath of the historic mining disaster in Soma, Turkey, the Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan promptly journeyed to the area, supposedly to give comfort to the grieving relatives of the over 300 victims.

In what could be considered phenomenally poor judgement, the Prime Minister delivered a speech to the crowds in which he told the crowds that mining disasters happen all the time. Even, in more developed countries, he said, such unfortunate things occur. It was, he implied, simply a risk that miners take.

He then cited examples to support his contention.. from 100 years ago. In fact, critics pointed out- nearly instantaneously- that Turkey's record for mining disasters outranks other nations.

Asteroid Mining Enterprise: Billion Dollar Boondoggle or Breakthrough to the Future?

by Nomad

Remember this date. Today- April 24 2012- could be the day that the commercial exploitation of outer space began in earnest. No, seriously.

Speculation along those lines has had the Net buzzing for the last week or so. Planetary Resources Inc., founded earlier this year,  will be making a formal announcement of its plans at an event Tuesday in Seattle. Things are somewhat vague with an earlier press release stating only that the proposed operation   would "overlay two critical sectors—space exploration and natural resources—to add trillions of dollars to the global GDP" and "help ensure humanity's prosperity."