WHAT EVERYONE NEEDS: An Integrally-Suppressed Shotgun.
Archive for 2020
May 30, 2020
SPACEX ROCKET SHIP LIFTS OFF WITH TWO AMERICANS:
A rocket ship built by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company thundered away from Earth with two Americans on Saturday, ushering in a new era of commercial space travel and putting NASA back in the business of launching astronauts from U.S. soil for the first time in nearly a decade.
NASA’s Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken rode skyward aboard a sleek, white-and-black, bullet-shaped Dragon capsule on top of a Falcon 9 rocket, lifting off from the same launch pad used to send the Apollo astronauts to the moon a half-century ago. The flight had been delayed three days because of stormy weather in Florida.
“Let’s light this candle,” Hurley said, borrowing the words used by Alan Shepard on America’s first human spaceflight in 1961.
The two men are scheduled to arrive at the International Space Station on Sunday for a stay of up to four months, after which they will return to Earth in a Right Stuff-style splashdown at sea.
More here: NASA-SpaceX Launch: How Long Will The Astronauts Be In Space Before Returning To Earth? “The space shuttle will dock with the International Space Station roughly 24 hours after arriving at the orbit. From here, Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will join the team of existing ISS Expedition 63 crew. The group comprises of cosmonauts Ivan Vagner and Anatoly Ivanishin, and NASA space explorer Chris Cassidy…The SpaceX Crew Dragon has been equipped to stay in the Earth’s orbit for about 110 days; however, there are no details on when the astronauts will actually return to Earth. NASA has stated that the exact length of the SpaceX mission will only be confirmed once the space travellers reach the International space station.”
Related: Stage 1 Successfully Lands on Drone Ship.
The launch was so thrilling that somebody forgot to proof a headline:
Big, if true.
THE LAUNCH IS SCHEDULED FOR 3:22 PM Eastern time. SpaceX will try again to launch 1st astronaut mission for NASA today. Here’s when to watch live.
JUST TELL ME THERE WEREN’T 12 OF THEM: Monkeys steal coronavirus blood samples in India.
The Minnesota state authorities held a press conference at 10:00 yesterday morning. Governor Walz led the parade with a classic yammer yammer yammer blah blah blah performance. I have embedded the video below. He is — they are — over their head, out of their depth, out of it, clueless. You have to see it to believe it.
Long-time race hustler Attorney General Keith Ellison is worse than out of it. He is on the other side.
Well, yes: Ellison to Minnesota Protesters: Be Kinder to National Guard Than to Police.
Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison (D.) told Minneapolis residents protesting the death of George Floyd to direct their ire at local police, rather than the National Guard that has been called into the city to help restore order.
Ellison’s remarks come as Minneapolis has been beset by protests and riots after Floyd died in police custody on Monday. Video taken shortly before his death shows a police officer pinning the unarmed man’s neck down with his knee for several minutes. Angry demonstrators set fires across the city, including to a police precinct.
“I’d like everyone to recognize the fact that the National Guard just a week ago was administering COVID-19 tests to help people,” Ellison said. “The presence you see on the street, don’t react to them the way you might react to the Minneapolis Police Department. It’s not the same group. They have different leadership, different authority, and their job is to try to bring peace and calm back again. Please remember that this is not the group that you associate with unfair conduct.”
Ellison’s advice to his fellow leftists went unheeded, however: Riot Police, National Guard ‘Completely Abandon’ Perimeter in Minneapolis, Chased Away by Protesters.
Earlier today, a new meme went out, as assembled in this thread of tweets from Joy Reid of MSNBC:
Remarkable info coming out of this presser: Gov. Tim Walls, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and now MN attorney general Keith Ellison ALL alleging outside forces, domestic and possibly foreign, have post-Tuesday infiltrated the state, and are
in organized fashion setting fire to historic businesses in communities of color, and causing mayhem. Ellison cited the widely circulating video of a white man in a gas mask holding an umbrella who was caught by protestors on video breaking windows.
Former New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer to explore whether “white supremacists” or “Russians” were involved. As a Red State contributor writes, “Wolf Blitzer, who is interviewing, offers zero push back or redirect after the ludicrous suggestion that it’s the ‘Russians’ fomenting these riots. You know what none of these clips show? Any condemnation of Antifa, who are not even hiding the fact that they are organizing these riots across the country. No, instead we’ve got to gaslight the country and blame nebulous white supremacists and the evil Russians. It’s all so stupid.”
Saagar Enjeti of the Hudson Institute sums it up: “Timeline of events so far: Dems cheered on riots and looting until they realized how bad those things actually are and now they are desperate to blame phantom Russians and White Nationalists so they don’t have to own the responsibility for the chaos they allowed.”
HERE WE GO AGAIN: Live: SpaceX Second Attempt to Launch Manned Crew Dragon Capsule.
WE SHOULD OFFER THEM A CHARTER CITY FOR HONG KONG 2.0: The U.S. Should Immediately Grant Visas to Hong Kong Residents Who Want Out.
ONLY THE SOUTH KOREAN NUMBERS CAN BE TRUSTED: COVID-19 cases spike in South Korea, Russia, Iran as global deaths pass 360K.
“There’s simply more of them than us,” said Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, quoted in “George Floyd Updates: ‘Absolute Chaos’ in Minneapolis as Protests Grow Across U.S.” (NYT).
Gunshots rang out near a different police precinct and flames streamed from businesses over several city blocks — a gas station, a post office, a bank, a restaurant — as residents asked where the police and firefighters had gone.
Gunshots rang out… and flames streamed…. The NYT is writing as if human individuals are not in the picture even as the Governor is speaking specifically about people and calling attention to the us-versus-them situation.
The Times dare not insult the sensibilities of its core readers — and its writers.
DOG WHISTLES THAT DIDN’T BARK:
● Biden fails to condemn rioting in remarks on Minneapolis.
● Minneapolis mayor urges protesters to wear masks and practice social distancing.
● Trevor Noah Defends Looting: ‘Police in America Are Looting Black Bodies.’
In sharp contrast: Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms pleads for peace amid fiery George Floyd protests. “‘This is not a protest. This is not in the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. This is chaos,’ she said. ‘If you care about this city, then go home,’ adding that “the violent demonstrations in Atlanta are ‘disgracing the life of George Floyd.’”
NEW SPEED LIMIT TURNS DC INTO GIANT SCHOOL ZONE: “DC is starved for cash and figures drivers are an easy target. You have to try hard to keep your car from going over 20 miles an hour.”
IF YOU’D LIKE TO HELP STOP THE REPEAL OF PROP 209: … but you don’t have a lot of extra time on your hands, one easy thing to do is follow me on Twitter as I argue against the repeal. Now and then “like,” comment, and/or retweet as you think appropriate.
Twitter is ghastly. I hate it. But times being what they are, it’s the easiest way to get messages to the otherwise very-difficult-to-contact state legislators who are deciding the fate of Prop 209. It’s just so #$% annoying that in this age of instant communication, it is harder than ever to make contact with our state legislators. All my tweets are directed to legislators. Otherwise Twitter is like yelling out the window to whoever happens to be walking by.
The next week or two (maybe even the next four days) will be crucial in determining the fate of Prop 209.
HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Lawsuit: UCLA official filed false Title IX complaint on behalf of student who refused to accuse professor.
Updated to make clear that this is a claim in a lawsuit.
FLYNN-KISLYAK TRANSCRIPTS RELEASED: Flynn Urged Russians Not To Escalate. “Flynn did talk about the sanctions, but he didn’t say anything about removing them, he actually helped the Obama team by urging the Russkies not to overreact. For that, the FBI and DOJ tried to ruin his life.”
Transcripts at link.
A FRIEND ON FACEBOOK COMMENTS: “Before the riots and looting people were busy being pro-George. Now that there are riots and looting divisions are being created. Think about that.”
MY GOD, TRANSPHOBIA IS EVERYWHERE: Female athletes fight to keep biological men out of their sports.