Tag: State of the Union

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What Donald Trump said (and didn’t say) about tech

Donald Trump
President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union Address to Congress with Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Paul Ryan in the background. (White House Photo)

Immigration, tax cuts and crime loomed large in President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union Address, but technology and innovation went unmentioned tonight during a speech that lasted nearly an hour and a half.

The word “science” was used once, toward the end, when Trump paid tribute to the American people. “They push the bounds of science and discovery,” he said.

There was no mention of space exploration, as there was when Trump addressed Congress last year soon after taking office. The impacts of climate change, artificial intelligence and automation — trends that are already reshaping the nation and the world — went unaddressed. Not a word was spoken about the internet or net (non-)neutrality.

Such omissions didn’t sit well with science policy experts such as Rush Holt, a former Democratic congressman who now serves as the CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

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Bill Nye’s State of the Union date creates a stir

Bill Nye
Planetary Society Bill Nye flashes a Vulcan greeting during a 2014 visit to Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Planetary Society Photo)

Bill Nye the Science Guy is going to the State of the Union Address, but as a guest of President Donald Trump’s choice for NASA administrator. And therein lies the rub.

The NASA nominee is U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine, R-Okla., who became notorious as a climate policy opponent during the Obama administration. In 2013, for instance, Bridenstine called on President Barack Obama to apologize for spending so much money on climate research.

Bridenstine backtracked a bit last year during Senate hearings on his NASA nomination. He said he didn’t know whether climate change was being driven primarily by human activities, “but I do know that humans have absolutely contributed to global warming.”

Such statements may have helped smooth relations with Nye, who has spoken up long and loudly for climate science and measures to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. He explained why he accepted Bridenstine’s invitation to Capitol Hill on Monday in a Facebook posting.

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Space ventures get political shout-outs

Image: Astronaut on moon
Apollo 17 commander Gene Cernan salutes the U.S. flag during his 1972 mission to the moon. The photo was shown during President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address. (Credit: NASA)

Even though they happened far from the Evergreen State, last year’s Pluto flyby and the rocket landings accomplished by Blue Origin and SpaceX were among the “big moments” mentioned today in Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s State of the State Address.

Hours later, President Barack Obama invoked America’s space effort as a model for innovation in his own State of the Union Address to Congress.

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