SURE, IF THEY HIRE SPACEX TO DO IT: Can NASA really put astronauts on the Moon in 2024? If they insist on using Orion and SLS, probably not.

YASHAR ALI: “I realized that @DafnaLinzer, the head of all political coverage for NBC News and MSNBC wasn’t calling to advocate for her network, she was calling to advocate the DNC’s position. She wanted me to wait so they could call state party leaders.”

This is a Twitter thread about how Ali scored a small scoop on the dates of the first Democratic debates (my liver is already groaning at the forthcoming drunkblogs), and how deeply in bed the DNC is with MSNBC.

Or as Karol Markowicz tweeted, “I’ve had a few of these ‘this is how people think it works’ moments in the last week and those people turned out to be right. This is a must-read thread of egregious behavior by an MSNBC staffer helping out the DNC.”

You’ll want to read the whole thing.

CNN DOESN’T COVER THE SPLC, IT COVERS FOR THE SPLC: CNN Finally Covers SPLC Racism Scandal, Leaves Out ‘Hate Group’ Lawsuits, Jussie Smollett Connection.

DID ANYONE EVER THINK THAT IT WAS? ‘Justice Is Not the Goal:’ NAACP Image Awards Host Wants Jussie Smollett to Win. “Empire star is still a nominee despite calls for his removal.”

TAMARA KEEL: Glock G43: A 2,000-Round Test.

AT AMAZON, save on Vitamins and Dietary Supplements.

Plus, deals on Grills and Outdoor Cooking.

ANALYSIS: TRUE. Too Many Are Ignoring The Rise of Anti-Semitism On The Left.

I PREDICT SHE WILL CONTINUE TO MAKE TEN MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR AND BE FETED BY LEFTIES EVERYWHERE: Will Rachel Maddow face a reckoning over her Trump-Russia coverage? “The Mueller investigation was covered more on MSBNC than any other television network, and was mentioned virtually every day in 2018. No twist was too minuscule or outlandish for Maddow; every night, seemingly, brought another nail in the coffin of the soon-to-be-dead Trump presidency. . . . Maddow was not only certain that Russians had rigged the election. On air, she would talk about the ‘continuing operation’ – the idea that the Kremlin was controlling the Trump presidency itself. In more sober times, this brand of analysis would barely cut it on a far-right podcast. In the Trump era, it was ratings gold.”

Related: Reps. Green, Burchett Have Fun at Rep. Schiff’s Expense with Video Showing Empty Envelope.

WEARABLE TECH: I Now Have a Cardiologist.

I want to encourage those of you with Apple Watch [Series 4] devices in those supported regions to go grab the update and try out the ECG. Not just because it’s extremely cool tech. But because, well, let me put it this way:

I now have a cardiologist.

That isn’t a statement I was planning to make in my forties. But there it is. And it’s only true because of Apple Watch.

There’s a little too much progressive virtue-signaling in this piece for my tastes, but the story is a good one — and illustrates that we’re going to get a lot of health benefits from wearable tech. Onboard ECG tests are just the beginning.

THE 21ST CENTURY IS NOT TURNING OUT AS I’D HOPED: Measles: Nearly wiped-out, on the rise again.

TASKRABBIT “HAPPINESS PLEDGE?”: Readers may recall that I had a negative experience with TaskRabbit. A “Tasker” broke my treadmill, and TR declined to pay for its repair or replacement. I thought about filing a small claims court action, but a friend suggested I file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, and try to resolve it informally. So I did. TR responded:

TaskRabbit offers the TaskRabbit Happiness Pledge (pledge.tr.co) as a customer service offering to encourage continued use of the TaskRabbit Platform in the event that a user may have a negative experience. In this particular instance, TaskRabbit provided the Client with a resolution that was in line with our Happiness Pledge (pledge.tr.co), and the Client agreed to accept the offer. He later chose to retract his acceptance, and we are sorry that he did not want to move forward with the process. 

Let’s see. I didn’t “retract my acceptance.” I reluctantly agreed to a proposed resolution, until TR sent me the actual agreement to sign, and I discovered that (a) TR wasn’t actually agreeing that my treadmill would be repaired or replaced; and (b) the agreement had a severe “gag” clause that prohibited me from telling anyone about my negative experience with TR. Does TR understand that one can’t really “agree” to a settlement until one sees the actual, exact terms of the settlement? In any event, caveat emptor.

FINALLY: Mystery of plastic Garfield novelty phones washing up along French coast solved after 30 years.

HMM: Vitamin C may reduce time for ICU stay.

AT AMAZON, save in Outdoor Recreation.

YOU MIGHT NOT BE INTERESTED IN THE GLEICHSCHALTUNG, BUT THE GLEICHSCHALTUNG IS INTERESTED IN YOU: The SPLC Wants You to Talk About Microaggressions … in First Grade.

TIM COOK’S STRENGTH WAS SUPPOSED TO BE QA AND SUPPLY CHAIN: Apple apologizes for failing MacBook keyboards yet again.

SOUNDS LIKE A BREACH OF HIS DUTY TO SHAREHOLDERS TO ME: Restricting Gun Sales Cost Dick’s $150 Million Last Year: America’s biggest sports retailer lost customers, but CEO Ed Stack said it was worth it.

CYBERSECURITY: Brace yourselves: exploit published for serious Magento bug allowing card skimming.

Attack code was published on Friday that exploits a critical vulnerability in Magento e-commerce platform, all bug guaranteeing it will be used to plant payment card skimmers on sites that have yet to install a recently released patch.

PRODSECBUG-2198 is a SQL injection vulnerability that attackers can exploit with no authentication required. Hackers could exploit the flaw to take administrative control of administrator accounts, assuming the hackers can download user names and password hashes and crack the hashes. From there, attackers could install the backdoors or skimming code of their choice. A researcher at Web security firm Sucuri said Thursday that company researchers reverse-engineered an official patch released Tuesday and successfully created a working proof of concept exploit.

Be careful out there.

COOL: Samsung’s ‘Firevase’ Is a Smashing Fire Extinguisher.

HOMAGE TO YODA — ANDY MARSHALL: A superb reminiscence of the great American strategist by Andrew Krepinevich.

Aside from his towering intellect, Marshall’s success was rooted in his intense desire and abiding curiosity to understand what is really happening or, more simply, the truth. There was also his intellectual honesty, refreshing in an age where so many are driven by agendas and seek “ammunition” to support their views rather than insights to better understand a complex world. Another key to Marshall’s success—and to his enduring value to presidents of both political parties—was his willingness to reconsider his beliefs when they conflicted with the facts, and to challenge the conventional wisdom when it became apparent that it did not reflect the reality of the true state of affairs.

A bit more:

Marshall’s remarkable ability to anticipate shifts in the strategic environment became legendary over time.

Absolutely true. I had the privilege of working for Mr. Marshall as a special consultant in strategic war gaming. Read the entire essay.

UPDATE: The breakingdefense link worked initially. Thanks to a reader, we have this alternative link.

WHAT COULD GO WRONG? An Obamacare Rematch With John Roberts?

Ramesh Ponnuru:

In the current case, opponents of Obamacare are challenging the law on the basis that Congress, in 2017, got rid of the tax on people who go without insurance. The opponents’ theory, endorsed by one judge, is that if the coverage mandate was saved only by relabeling it a tax and then the tax was eliminated, the provision has to be struck down; and if it is struck down, the rest of the law has to be nullified, too, since Congress would not have adopted it without the provision.

It is a screwy case. By choosing to eliminate the tax without touching the rest of the law, Congress in 2017 separated the issues, and the courts, one would think, should follow its lead.

But Biskupic’s story about Roberts’s handling of the Obamacare case seven years ago tells us something more about today’s challenge. It suggests that Roberts is reluctant to move against Obamacare even when considering a case that he thinks has real legal merit.

It sure would be nice to have justices who rule purely on the merits, but as Ponnuru wrote earlier in his piece, “Biskupic’s story makes it sound as though Roberts, and to a lesser extent Breyer and Kagan, engaged in unseemly politicking without much relation to constitutional logic.”

DISPATCHES FROM THE EDUCATION APOCALYPSE: National Guard Changes Logo Due to Failure of American Education System.

On March 25^th, the National Guard Bureau officially announced new branding for recruiting. The traditional “Minuteman” logo will no longer appear on recruiting materials. It was reported that the image did not “resonate” with 16-18-year-old high school students because of lack of knowledge of the historic symbol. Concerns were also expressed that iconic figure from American history wasn’t “inclusive.” Furthermore, due to “no tolerance” policies concerning the display of images of firearms in schools, the traditional Minuteman logo could not be displayed due to inclusion of an 18^th century flintlock rifle. Now the National Guard will be represented by a lackluster shield shaped black logo with white and gold lettering. The new recruiting videos will focus primarily on the National Guard’s domestic mission of natural disaster relief.

That’s pathetic. And sadly, all too consistent with this headline at England’s Spiked Online in January: The British Army wants to recruit snowflakes to its ranks. What is it thinking?

A WIN FOR FREE SPEECH, ANOTHER DEFEAT FOR “SOCIAL JUSTICE:”

The government can’t force people to promote messages they disagree with, even when – particularly when – the government actors are public university professors and the speaker is a student who needs to pass certain classes to get a degree.

William Felkner, a self-identified “conservative libertarian,” studied social work at Rhode Island College, a state school. His views unsurprisingly clashed with those of his professors, who consider the social work course – and the profession itself – to be “devoted to the value of social and economic justice.” In keeping with this philosophy, one of his professors assigned him to lobby the state legislature for a progressive bill.

Felkner refused to speak against his beliefs by lobbying in favor of progressive legislation. His term paper instead reflected his honest opinion of the bill. As a result, his professor gave him a failing grade and Felkner ultimately never completed the program.

That incident, in addition to a long string of events in which professors disparaged Felkner’s politics and tried to stifle his opinions, led him to sue the college. He argued, among several claims, that the school infringed on his right to free speech, compelled him to speak against his conscience, and placed unconstitutional conditions on his earning his degree.

He won. This is a big deal because so many schools are demanding loyalty to “social justice” in their programs.

Related: The Problem with Universities Demanding “Diversity Statements.”