It’s Friday

That means it’s time for another installment of What’s New from cranky physicist Robert Park:

3. MISSILE DEFENSE: SENATE REJECTS CALL FOR INDEPENDENT TESTING.

The Senate Armed Services Committee voted this week to proceed with President Bush’s proposed missile defense system, which is scheduled to be deployed in October. Amendments that would subject the system to independent testing before deployment were proposed by Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), and were voted down. This is perfectly reasonable, since a non-working missile defense system should be sufficient to deter a nonexistent missile threat from Iran or North Korea. Chairman John Warner (R-Va.) proposed that the Pentagon test its own system, rather than risk faithless skepticism of an independent agency. However, inability of the system to shoot down incoming missiles is irrelevant, since John Kerry is the real target.

There is, of course, more. AB