I HAD A VISIT AT THE SPACE COUNCIL IN DC AS THIS HAPPENED, AND THERE WAS SOME CONCERN: Russian launch failure “could set off a sequence of events that leads in January to the station being emptied of all crew for the first time in 18 years.” But not as much concern as this article suggests. And maybe SpaceX can pick up the slack.
Archive for 2018
October 12, 2018
BOOK PLUG FRIDAY RETURNS: Talking Plot on Book Plug Friday
AT AMAZON, deals on Men’s Casual Button-Downs.
Plus, deals on Men’s Outdoor Jackets and Coats.
OPEN THREAD: You know how it goes.
IS THERE NO LIMIT TO THIS MAN’S EVIL?
“With the president’s signature Thursday, the Music Modernization Act is officially the law of the land. As we celebrate the harmony and unity that got us here, we applaud the efforts of the thousands of performers, songwriters, and studio professionals who rallied for historic change to ensure all music creators are compensated fairly when their work is used by digital and satellite music services,” Neil Portnow, President and CEO of the Recording Academy said in a statement.”
THE IMPORTANCE OF VERTICAL FARMING.
AND THE HITS JUST KEEP ON COMING:
● Sinema “associated with a prominent 9/11 truther and told a radio host that she didn’t care if he joined the Taliban.”
Earlier:
● Sinema in 2010: My state is the “meth lab of democracy.”
● Sinema in 2011: “I want to talk to you about some of the things that I think that you can do to stop your state from becoming Arizona.”
● Sinema in 2003: Sinema’s anti-war group blasted ‘U.S. terror,’ depicted soldier as skeleton on flyers.
In sharp contrast, during that same decade, Martha McSally, Sinema’s GOP opponent, was leading a squadron of A-10s against the Taliban in Afghanistan.
BOTTOM STORY OF THE DAY: Sarah Silverman Shrieks ‘We’re All Gonna F*cking Die’ From Climate Change.
Buried lede: There are people still alive. I thought everybody had been finished off already by net neutrality, tax cuts, Kavanaugh, etc.
HILLARY CLINTON LOSES SECURITY CLEARANCE AFTER SERVER SCANDAL: “Chairman Charles E. Grassley also revealed top Clinton aide Cheryl Mills and four others no longer have clearance.”
NEAL STEPHENSON TOLD ME THE SAME THING ABOUT READING ISAAC NEWTON’S HANDWRITTEN NOTES AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM: Walter Isaacson says going through Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks gave him a profound appreciation for paper: “Its battery never runs down. Its operating system never goes out of style…”
POLITICAL AD OF THE YEAR: Steve Ferrara Has the Most Badass Campaign Ad for 2018.
THE INDESTRUCTIBLE LIE: WaPo congressional reporter blames right-wing mobs for inspiring Gabby Giffords shooting.
From Neo yesterday: Blaming the Right for Leftist Violence began with the JFK Assassination — the politics of reporting on left-wing violence against the right.
ANDREW SULLIVAN BEGINS TO WORRY THAT MAYBE TRUMP IS A SUCCESS:
Along with Gorsuch, Kavanaugh cemented a 5-4 majority for the right on the court for the indefinite future — more quickly and decisively than any Republican had hoped for. If Hillary Clinton had won the presidency, in stark contrast, we’d be looking at a 6-3 liberal tilt by now. That’s a huge, huge payoff for what looked at one point like a major gamble for establishment and religious Republicans — and there could be more vacancies ahead.
Second, it showed that the broader Republican coalition isn’t completely dead. The over-the-top tactics of the Democrats and the mainstream media in turning a Supreme Court hearing into an epic battle in a newly energized gender war may have riveted Democratic women and galvanized a younger generation … but it also brought moderate Republicans and Trumpers together again. When confronted with the rhetoric and ideology of the social justice left, NeverTrump conservatives came temporarily back to the fold. I felt it happening to myself.
Worse, there was evidence that some of the culture war issues the Democrats are relying on may not be so win-win. Yes, a focus on sexual assault and harassment in the workplace and elsewhere is important in its own right — and it strongly resonates with suburban women who may decide the midterms. But it can also energize conservative and moderate women in defense of what they see as threats to their own husbands and sons; it can further alienate more traditional working-class men from the Democrats; and it could cement a worrying shift among young white men toward the GOP since 2016.
Yeah, weird how when you constantly attack and denigrate a group of people, they start voting for the other side.
ARE YOU NOW, OR HAVE YOU EVER BEEN . . . LA Passes Ordinance Requiring City Contractors To Disclose NRA Ties. It’s clear that the objection to McCarthyism was never about what it involved, just who.
WELL: Court Rules Ellison Divorce Records Will Be Unsealed. I thought that sort of thing was only for Republicans.
JESUS CHRIST, DUDE, GET A GRIP: GOP gov candidate says he will ‘stomp’ Dem opponent’s face with ‘golf spikes.’ This is wrong when Republicans do it, too.
PATRICK POOLE: Beware of Media Sourcing for Jamal Khashoggi ‘Scoops.’
STUPID CHINESE. IN MY EXPERIENCE, AT VOX THEY’LL DO IT FOR FREE: China Paying Vox To Publish Communist Propaganda.
IMPORTANT NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF SCIENCE: Scientists Attempt to Clone Mice From Poop.
K-12 IMPLOSION UPDATE: Teacher Who Claimed Stephen Miller Ate Glue as a Kid Has Been Suspended.
The teacher who claimed this week that controversial White House aide Stephen Miller ate glue as a kid has been suspended from her job. Miller—now the mastermind behind Donald Trump’s most hardline immigration policies—was an odd kid, according to comments from veteran teacher Nikki Fiske. She recounted this week to The Hollywood Reporter: “He would pour the glue on his arm, let it dry, peel it off, and then eat it. He was a strange dude.” The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District has placed her on “home assignment” while it decides what to do about the matter. A school-district spokesperson said they were concerned about “her release of student information.” Fiske also said of Miller, then aged 8: “I was always trying to get him to clean up his desk—he always had stuff mashed up in there.”
Benjamin Svetkey had the “as told to” byline on the original Hollywood Reporter story. Makes you wonder what he was doing in third grade.
YOUR DAILY TREACHER: ABC Regrets Firing Roseanne Over Bad Tweet?
THE INSTAWIFE: When Bad Women’s Magazines Become Worse.