SALON, IS THAT YOU? Think Trump’s attack on CNN made him look bad? Think again: He’s a master marketer, and his fan base ate it up.

Yes, Salon.

Sure, the article is full of smears and the like — it is still Salon, after all — but it looks like some on the Left are starting to grasp the bigger picture.

OH: Mars covered in toxic chemicals that can wipe out living organisms, tests reveal.

Working with Charles Cockell, an astrobiologist at Edinburgh, Wadsworth looked at what happened to Bacillus subtilis, a common soil bacterium and regular Earthly contaminant found on space probes, when it was mixed with magnesium perchlorate and blasted with ultraviolet rays similar to those witnessed on Mars. She found that the bugs were wiped out twice as fast when perchlorate was present. Other perchlorates found on Mars had a similar bactericidal effect.

Further tests found that the UV rays broke down the perchlorate into other chemicals, namely hypochlorite and chlorite, and it is these that appear to be so destructive to the bacteria.

The scientists followed-up with another round of experiments that looked at the toxic effects of iron oxides and hydrogen peroxide, which are also found in Martian soil. These tests yielded even more bad news for microscopic Martians: when the bacteria were hit with UV rays in the presence of perchlorates, iron oxide and peroxide, the bugs were killed 11 times faster than with perchlorates alone. Writing in Scientific Reports, the researchers say that the inhospitable conditions on Mars are caused by a “toxic cocktail of oxidants, iron oxides, perchlorates and UV irradiation.”

This is not the Mars Edgar Rice Burroughs had me hoping for.

DEFENSE: Can U.S. defend against North Korea missiles? Not everyone agrees.

Briefing reporters on Wednesday, Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said: “We do have confidence in our ability to defend against the limited threat, the nascent threat that is there.”

Davis cited a successful test in May in which a U.S.-based missile interceptor knocked down a simulated incoming North Korean ICBM. But he acknowledged the test program’s track program was not perfect.

“It’s something we have mixed results on. But we also have an ability to shoot more than one interceptor,” Davis said.

An internal memo seen by Reuters also showed that the Pentagon upgraded its assessment of U.S. defenses after the May test.

Despite hundreds of billions of dollars spent on a multi-layered missile defense system, the United States may not be able to seal itself off entirely from a North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile attack.

Experts caution that U.S. missile defenses are now geared to shooting down one, or perhaps a small number of basic, incoming missiles. Were North Korea’s technology and production to keep advancing, U.S. defenses could be overwhelmed unless they keep pace with the threat.

I know people who work on this program, and they’re confident in what they do. That said, there’s probably no bigger pucker factor than spending a couple of decades working to stop a hypothetical nuclear threat — and then watching it become real.

ROGER SIMON: Does Europe — Subconsciously — Expect America to Save It Again?

PRIORITIES: NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio Skips NYPD Swearing-in Ceremony to Attend G20 Protest in Germany.

FASTER, PLEASE: USAF asks industry for air-launched hypersonic missile concepts.

I hope “Faster, please,” doesn’t sound too presumptuous when the subject is hypersonic missiles.

FLIPFLOP: Breaking at NYT: Communists Were Anti-American Soviet Tools:

As part of its weekly essay series on the legacy of the Russian Revolution, the New York Times has earnestly broken the news to its readers that the American Communist Party wasn’t a principled and well-meaning organization but an anti-American espionage operation. . . .

It will be interesting to read the pieces that come out 25 to 50 years too late, as the august Gray Lady awakens to other important news:

The Muslim Brotherhood hated Western ideas of freedom.
Iran was a committed enemy of the United States.
Cuban communists were anti-democratic thugs.
Abortion was an unspeakable tragedy that led to millions of unnecessary deaths.
Press bias and lack of self-awareness plus elite policy failures made the Trump presidency possible.
Social programs like Medicare were actually bankrupting the country.
Public service unions blighted the prospects of generations of immigrants and poor people of color in American cities.
Anti-Asian discrimination dominated college admissions offices under the guise of ‘racial justice’.
The collapse of free speech on college campuses was abetted by cowards and time servers who betrayed fundamental American principles.

Better late than never, we suppose…

Ouch.

THIS IS PROBABLY SOMEHOW TRUMP’S FAULT: 100 Billion Failed Stars May Be Hiding in the Milky Way.

FAKE BODY SLAMS ON ANIMATED CORPORATE LOGOS REMAIN OUR CHIEF CONCERN: Scalise Remains In ‘Serious Condition’ Following Surgery.

Get well, Congressman.

AUSTRALIA CONSIDERING TRADE SANCTIONS ON CHINA OVER NORTH KOREA?: The Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull is clarifying an earlier statement by the deputy prime minister, Barnaby Joyce. Australia doesn’t support sanctions against China but against Chinese companies that violate UN sanctions on North Korea. But the subject has been raised. Beijing will read it as a diplomatic signal.

On July 6 Joyce, commenting on North Korea, said:

“The United States is not going to allow the capacity for a despotic dictator from North Korea to fulfill his rhetoric and develop a nuclear warhead that could hit the US or its allies — for which, we are one.”

Joyce said North Korea is testing the resolve of the U.S. and in his opinion “that’s a very foolish thing to do.”

Well, it’s a foolish thing to do when Donald Trump is president. If Barack Obama were still in charge — perhaps not so foolish.

1RM, NOT SO MUCH, BUT OTHERWISE, YEAH: Why CrossFit Girls Are Stronger Than You.

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ROD DREHER ON THE LEFT’S RESPONSE TO TRUMP’S SPEECH: Yes, They Really Do Despise Their Civilization.

Not by accident. The Gramscian Damage runs deep.

PROWLER IN THE SKY: A USMC EA-6B Prowler refuels while supporting Operation Inherent Resolve. The photo was taken July 1. The USMC will fly this old electronic warrior at least through 2019.

IT’S ON: 4chan/pol/ Declares The Great Meme War of 2017.

My money’s on 4chan.

TRUMP’S WARSAW SPEECH: It was a hit. “The West will never be broken.” Here’s the entire transcript.

POLAND ACQUIRES PATRIOTS: Poland will deploy Patriot PAC-3 anti-ballistic missiles. Poland’s defense ministry made the announcement yesterday.

HMM: Ships Exporting Iranian Oil Go Dark, Raising Sanctions Red Flags.

Some 47 of 55 ships carrying Iranian oil products from Iran to the United Arab Emirates for two U.A.E.-registered companies failed to emit signals from the system that transmits their position and course, for part or all of their journey, according to an analysis of the two firms’ shipments that was completed for The Wall Street Journal by ship-tracker Windward Ltd., an Israeli firm that uses satellite imaging to map shipping routes.

The shipments, made by two U.A.E.-registered traders, Silk Road Petroleum FZE and Petrochemix General Trading LLC, accounted for 17% of Iran’s fuel-oil and gas-oil exports during the six-month period, according to records compiled by the oil-product traders.

The records, based on information from state-run National Iranian Oil Co. that shipping agents combine with their own information and provide to traders, listed the vessels’ cargo as fuel oil or gas oil. Iranian authorities didn’t return calls and emails seeking comment about the shipments.

Thanks, Obama.

THEY TOLD ME IF TRUMP WERE ELECTED, ALL THE OLD TROPES OF RACISM WOULD RETURN. AND THEY WERE RIGHT! Jezebel: I’m Tired of Watching Brown Men Fall in Love With White Women Onscreen.

CHANGE: Dept. of Justice Drops Efforts to Force Washington Redskins to Change Team Name.

JOBS: 244,000 Added In June. Versus 179,000 forecast.

BLUE STATE BLUES: Illinois House Overrides Gov. Rauner’s Veto on Tax Hike, Budget Bill.

The Illinois House voted to override Republican Governor Bruce Rauner’s veto of the income tax hike and budget bill. This is the first budget Illinois has passed in two years.

The House voted 71-42, which is the bare minimum House Speaker Mike Madigan needed, after a security incident delayed the vote for two hours.
…
The budget bill lacks… A LOT. Illinois has “unpaid bills to state contractors and vendors that’s reached about $14.5 billion and roughly $130 billion in unfunded pension liabilities.” Last Friday, a judge ordered the state to “start paying $293 million in state money toward Medicaid bills every month and an additional $1 billion over the course of the next year.”

They’ve run out of other people’s money. Now they’re running out of time.

JAY CARUSO: The media depend on trust, and they’re losing it with lazy reporting.

Journalists are not always going to get it 100 percent right. But in this case, the New York Times issued a retraction regarding the same mistake just over a week ago. As for Acosta and Tur, they are not some stringers out trying eke out a living, selling stories to the highest bidder. Acosta is the senior White House correspondent for CNN, and Tur is a news anchor for “MSNBC Live.” As such, they should know better.

The mainstream media has a trust problem with the public. Recent mistakes have given fuel for Trump, people in his administration, and supporters enough reason to show “Fake news!” The kind of errors made by Acosta and Tur only serve to further the distrust the public has for the media to the detriment of the public. A healthy and robust media is needed to help keep the electorate informed. If the public doesn’t trust them, what’s the point?

They are short on self-control.