Which is why we should all be wary of the creation of any Federal regulatory body. Once it's in place you'll never get rid of it and it's mission scope and power grows with each administration.

But in my original reply I was addressing the OP's claim that the FCC was a creation of corrupt Republicans. Clearly it was not.

They establishment Republicans have already rolled over with the passing of Cromnibus. I expect that if the push Jeb Bush to the front there will be record apathy among conservatives in the 2016 election.

Term limits.

Career politicians are largely to blame as they will vote which ever way they think will keep them in office. Since campaigning is expensive, the deep pockets essentially run the nation.

It's no so much that Republicans lie. Rather it's more like there are two factions within the party. There's the conservative, state's rights, tea party wing that is in the minority. Then there's the crony capitalist, elite, professional politician wing that only pays lip service to conservative principles just to get the votes to maintain power. These guys spend more time fighting their conservatives that challenge their power than their Democratic rivals. The latter rule the party and pretty much will legislate to maintain power.

The creation of the FCC came under FDR's watch in 1934. Actually FDR formed a commission to study communication regulation. The study recommended that a Federal agency regulate all communications. FDR pushed for the creation of such a body and 2 DEMOCRATIC Senators introduced a bill to form the FCC. The bill passed both Houses and FDR signed it into law.

STEM is a very broad thing - science, engineering, math - so what is your specific interest anyway?

Truthfully if you want a job in STEM, you NEED to go back and get a STEM degree. There are too many people already out there with degrees in the field that you have no hope unless you get some big favors by some very important people.

However, if you want to dabble in STEM type stuff, there is no reason you can't get involved as a hobbyist. Many self-taught people code outside of work on open source projects. There's the whole Maker movement with plenty of resources for the amateur. There's amateur astronomy, rocket clubs, cube sats, and so on. In fact, if you become a guru in any of these hobbies, it may open doors to a technical career.

But it's not the language, it's the domain knowledge I bring to the table. I was hired to write embedded software for scientific instruments. As a former research scientist and current software engineer I can understand the problem, the solutions, and write code to do what the device needs to do. C/C++ just happens to be the tool I use to build the device. Python, Java, and so on just wouldn't cut it.

They won't need a computer. Most will have already blown their subsidy checks on HD smart TVs. Now they just need free unlimited high-speed broadband so they can stream YouTube and Netflix all day and night.

AFAIK they recruit excellent engineers that meet their fitness requirements so what is so different about the USA?

Really, anyone who isn't disciplined enough to stay somewhat fit, or to get fit enough for basic, really isn't military material IMHO. Physical discipline and mental discipline go hand-in-hand. Are cyber-warriors allowed to stuff their faces at the DEFAC? Will they be excused from all field exercises? Will never be deployed in country, attached to MI units?

My company has been trying to hire the 12 year old and younger set because they are cheap but out of all the ones we've interviewed they can't pass the technical phase of the interview process.

Out of desperation we've been forced to hire CS and EE college grads that learned how to code as undergrads. They're ok. They typically know C, Java, Python, and such but we have still not found a candidate that has 2+ years experience writing device drivers in Scratch.

at least that's how it works in Islam.

Don't have to pay them. Just say "free lumpia" and you'll fill the tables.

Or marry a Filipina. Half the town will be related. The remainder will be honorary "aunties" and "uncles".

Because it's a molecular spectroscopy technique. This is work is in the realm of chemical physics, the overlap of physics and chemistry. There are more than a few occasions where physicists have been awarded the prize in Chemistry because their work has had its greatest impact in chemistry research.

I have a terrible fist but IMHO no station is complete without a straight key on the desk. I have a J-38 and J-37 on a Mae West board.

If I was a kid today I'd probably be institutionalized.

When I was in 1st grade or so the Vietnam War was on the news all the time and I was just getting into plastic model building. My favorite thing to do was to build Army tanks and helicopters and play war with them. One day at school we had to write a little story and draw a picture with it. I wrote little scenario where a bunch of Army tanks and helicopters were blowing a bridge with a bunch of NVA crossing it (didn't know what a NVA was, they were just the bad guys). The picture had lots of explosions and bodies flying everywhere. It was very colorful and had a lot of detail. I got a good mark for my creativity.

In the afternoon we'd play Army with plastic guns that looked liked the real thing. None of this pink gun shit. We didn't shoot imaginary dinosaurs. We were out hunting Germans and Japanese soldiers. Whoever got stuck being the enemy would at least have fun hamming up his death scene. I guess it wasn't such a big deal back then because I grew up in San Diego and there were more than a few WWII vets that would egg us on.

I don't look forward to seeing what our world will be like when the current crop of kids grow up to be our nation's leaders.