THE NEW SPACE RACE: Neutron’s first launch slips again amid trouble with carbon composites.

Engineers discovered voids, or air pockets, between layers of carbon fiber that make up the domes’ composite structure. Carbon composite manufacturing involves laying down carbon fiber layers in a mold, then curing, or heating, the material to bind the fibers together. But this is a tricky process, especially for large structures that won’t fit into an autoclave, a high-pressure thermal curing chamber common in modern aerospace factories.

The Neutron rocket’s first stage is the “largest pressurized structure ever made out of carbon composite,” Beck said. “Because of its scale, we’ve had to develop new out-of-autoclave processes to build Neutron, and this includes custom cure cycles for the very large pieces, like the forward and aft domes for the propellant tanks on Stage One.”

Space is hard, even when you don’t have to invent all-new manufacturing techniques.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Penn State may cut 47 programs over low interest, weak employment opportunity.

NEVER TRUST CONTENT FROM GOOGLE: Google Blocked Times (London) Articles About Businessman Mason Soiza, Apparently Based on Unjustified DMCA Demands.

SO WHAT WAS THE MONEY REALLY FOR, AND WHO GOT THEIR BEAKS WET? How Dumb Is Canada? Carney Spent Nearly $1 Million for Gaza Elections That Were Never Happening.

EDUCATION: Columbia Journalism School hosts discussion of book arguing ‘White America’ was conditioned to lynch black children.

IT’S DIFFICULT TO REMEMBER SHE WAS FUNNY ONCE:

Resurfaced clip of Kathy Griffin in 2004 talking about muslims

"It's such a wonderful culture for women, unless you have a clitoris and you're 13… the muslims are not your friend"

I guess this is before TDS took over pic.twitter.com/zuznLE7XNs

— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) October 15, 2026

C’MON, MICHIGAN: Meet Abdul El-Sayed’s Academic ‘Inspiration’: A Muslim Brotherhood Scion Barred From Entering US Over Terror Ties. “The Democratic Senate hopeful told the SenseSustainability podcast in a 2011 interview that he draws inspiration from Tariq Ramadan, the grandson of the Muslim Brotherhood founder al-Banna, the extremist Egyptian imam. Ramadan is the son of Said Ramadan, who was married to al-Banna’s daughter and emerged as a top Brotherhood leader in the wake of al-Banna’s death.”

BUT POLITICO: If This Is True About Susie Wiles, It’s Not Good News

“F*** YOU, PAY ME,” THEY EXPLAINED:

Insane https://t.co/UD3WINUDx2

— Charlotte Gill (@CharlotteCGill) October 15, 2026

“Ministers plan ‘YouTube tax’ by extending licence fee to online platforms such as Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon – with new revenue used to boost journalism and tackle misinformation.”

REMINDER: Palestinian Authority (PA) is a Dictatorship, as in the harsh reality that individual freedom is nowhere to be found under its rule. Richard Pollock wonders why the West is doing nothing in response to 90-year dictator Mahmoud Abbas totally predictable cancellation, yet again, of legislative elections he’s promised for this year.

“Yet, so far Western countries haven’t imposed any sanctions on the PA. It’s unlikely they will do so. Since the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, the European Union alone has poured an estimated $30 billion into a territory called “Palestine.”

“And the United States has bestowed $11 billion to Palestinian territory including the $6 billion given to the widely discredited United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

“Where did this money go? To Abbas and his cronies. In 2018, news organizations then estimated Abbas’ net worth – not including the lucrative government contracts he has awarded his sons – at $110 million.”

Uh, Mr. President? Secretary Rubio?

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: El-Sayed Goes Full Talarico. Never Go Full Talarico. “Both have legitimate shots at winning, largely due to the fact that the MSM has given their problematic backgrounds and campaigns a generous glossing over. In order to successfully run for office, Talarico and El-Sayed have had to run from who they really are.”

MAYBE HITLER WAS TRANS:

Imagine being in a coma for the past 20 years and waking up to read this headline. https://t.co/DqTULaRsHf

— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) October 15, 2026

#JOURNALISM:

513 days after Elon’s decline and fall…

He’s the World’s first trillionaire, National Medal of Science Award winner and just unveiled his flying car.

The Media truly does suck. pic.twitter.com/hIGiEUJzYA

— C3 (@C_3C_3) October 16, 2026

BOTTOM QUESTION OF THE DAY: Is Katie Zacharia a Lawyer? She has a law degree but didn’t take the bar and never practiced law, so no. But so what? Law degrees are generally useful — now that a liberal arts BA is worth about what a high school diploma used to be, they’re the closest thing to a liberal arts degree at the graduate level.

Plus, as John Hinderaker notes: “But coincidentally, it tracks exactly with another case: that of Abdul El-Sayed. El-Sayed has for years claimed to be a doctor: “Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed for years has publicly said he’s a physician — but there’s overwhelming evidence that he’s had no experience as a licensed medical doctor.” But he talks about doing “codes” and treating patients.

Guess which story the press covers.

FUNNY HOW THAT KEEPS HAPPENING: The ‘Nonissue’ Of Noncitizens Voting Is Becoming A Bigger Issue.

New Jersey’s messy voter rolls scream for voter identification, according to the vast majority of Garden State residents. A Rutgers-Eagleton poll released on Tuesday finds more than four in five respondents support or strongly support requiring photo identification to vote in person and documentary proof of citizenship to register.

The results mirror national sentiments.

But Democratic Party politicians stridently stand against the will of the people. And RINOs in the U.S. Senate refuse to fight for the SAVE America Act, which would require documentary proof of citizenship to register and vote in U.S elections.

While Democrats keep pushing the talking point that noncitizens rarely show up on voter rolls, a Reuters review last month found states have added more than 30,000 noncitizens to their registration databases since 2000. Election integrity advocates say that’s an extremely conservative estimate.

The only reason I can think of for elected officials to tolerate election fraud is because they benefit from election fraud.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: The Problem With America’s Military Arsenal.

I LOVE COMMUNITY NOTES:

There are more Notes where that one came from, if you’d like to rate any of them as helpful.

ICYMI: So Long, and Thanks for All the Learing Centers.

THE ENEMY WITHIN: Meet Abdul El-Sayed’s Academic ‘Inspiration’: A Muslim Brotherhood Scion Barred From Entering US Over Terror Ties.

BIDEN, BURISMA AND POSSIBLE OBSTRUCTION (AGAIN): Just the News is first with more docs and emails showing the charade of the Bidencrats testifying* before Congress…and the truth is always different:

“Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, one of the Democrats’ star witnesses in their first impeachment of Donald Trump, received repeated briefings, emails and memos related to the Ukrainian energy company that employed Hunter Biden, according to declassified documents that directly conflict with her and other witnesses’ testimony in the failed bid seven years ago to remove the president from office.”

*(I remember some NYPD patrolmen using the phrase “testilying.” I always laughed at that).

LIMITED TIME DEAL: Crock-Pot 7-Quart Manual Slow Cooker. #CommissionEarned

ADDICT BEHAVIOR: The Federal Government Collected $5.4 Trillion. It Still Can’t Pay Its Bills.

The usual response to a deficit warning is that the government just needs more money. It doesn’t. Thanks to the remarkable strength of the private sector, federal revenue rose by 3 percent, to more than $5.4 trillion, over the fiscal year. But spending rose by 6 percent, reaching $7.4 trillion.

Some will blame the Supreme Court for striking down most of President Donald Trump’s tariffs and forcing the government to issue refunds. But even if Washington had kept the $130 billion in illegal levies, it would cover less than one-tenth of the gap. Tariffs were never a serious revenue source at our insanely high level of spending.

Look at where the money went. Spending on the three main entitlement programs—Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid—grew by 7 percent. That’s faster than total spending growth. Defense grew by 5 percent. Interest on the debt rose by 11 percent, exceeding $1.1 trillion.

Say it with me one more time: We have a spending problem, not a revenue problem.

THERE SHOULD BE: Talafreakout: Should There Be a Mental-Health Requirement for Lawmakers?

CHUTZPAH:

…or not https://t.co/Uyq13QmNeQ pic.twitter.com/sUJtcIwLSV

— Hammy ✈🇺🇲🇮🇱 (@e2pilot) October 15, 2026

And at least Politico went with “Republican fodder” instead of the even more shopworn “Republicans pounce.”

ME AND MY AI HAD A CHAT THIS MORNING: And I invite you to join my conversation on Substack this morning in which I quiz ChatGPT — which I find extremely useful as a supplement to my own research — about it’s “consciousness” and how it “thinks.”