HMM: Blue Origin has a secret project named “Jarvis” to compete with SpaceX.

Three sources have confirmed to Ars that Blue Origin has started working on a project to develop a fully reusable upper stage for New Glenn, which may potentially use stainless steel propellant tanks.

The primary goal of this change is to bring down the overall launch cost of the New Glenn rocket. The vehicle’s large upper stage, with a 7-meter diameter and two BE-3U engines, is costly, and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos is looking for ways to make the overall rocket more economical.

“This is the difference between taking a profit and a loss on New Glenn launches,” said one industry source familiar with the reusable upper-stage plan.

I’d really like to see Blue Origin succeed. Competition is always good, and in space there’s room enough for literally everyone. But BE has got to make some decisions and pick up the launch tempo and actually start orbiting some cargo at a profit if they’re going to be taken seriously.

I’M GLAD HE’S STANDING UP AGAINST SYSTEMIC RACISM: Nebraska regent stands behind resolution opposing CRT as professors, chancellors balk. Excerpt: “Critical Race Theory does not promote inclusive and honest dialogue and education on campus and … proponents seek to silence opposing views and disparage important American ideals. … Regents of the University of Nebraska oppose any imposition of Critical Race Theory in curriculum.”

If this infringes academic freedom, then so would a ban on teaching the desirability of white supremacy.

YOU’RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER BLOG: 5 Examples of Hypocrisy That Make It Impossible to Take Liberals Seriously.

THEY OPPOSE FREE SPEECH: DeSantis agenda continues to rattle FL profs.

LOTS: What the Pandemic Can Teach Us About Vulnerabilities in Our Defense Supply Chain.

America’s defense supply chain—that is, the large network of manufacturers who produce our weapons platforms and equipment—is neither reliable nor secure. Defense production is vital in maintaining a strong national defense, and such fragility in our supply chains is an enormous liability. It directly hinders our ability to win the next war.

Take for example, our supply chain for batteries. Numerous forms of military equipment are battery-powered, including night vision goggles, radios, and weapon optics. Complex platforms, from 5th generation stealth fighters to submarines, all use batteries.

Batteries will play an even bigger role in the future of military technology. The Army is considering adding electric vehicles into their fleet in order to reduce their dependency on fuel. The Marine Corps is testing miniature drones that can be launched from the underbelly of a rifle. The Air Force is looking to field a body-armor cooling system in order to combat extreme heat.

But all of these assets depend on batteries, and the production of batteries is currently dominated by China. The Chinese Communist Party has spent the last 20 years making investments to control every single stage of the advanced battery supply chain.

Read the whole thing.

THE QUESTION I’VE BEEN ASKING FOR 20 YEARS: What Happens When The Days Of Low Interest Rates And Strong Global Liquidity End?

According to an old Wall Street adage, when the winds are strong even turkeys fly. By this it is meant that when global money is ample, even those emerging market countries with highly impaired economic fundamentals have little difficulty in borrowing abroad to finance their wayward budget ways. However, when global liquidity dries up and interest rates rise, those same economies come crashing down to earth sending ripples through the world’s financial markets.

With the Federal Reserve poised soon to start dialing back its ultra-easy monetary policy, world economic policymakers would do well to keep the old Wall Street adage in mind. This would seem to be especially the case considering that the emerging market economies now constitute around half of the global economy. It would also seem to be the case considering how highly compromised many of these economies’ public finances have become in the Covid-19 pandemic’s wake.

Higher interest rates won’t be much fun here, either, since many of Washington’s borrowed trillions were borrowed short-term and will need to be refinanced at the higher rates.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEF: Who Are the Idiots Who Still Think the CDC Has Any Credibility? “Even if I were in awe of physicians, Fauci is really a bureaucrat. He went to work for the National Institutes of Health when Richard Nixon was president. No doubt the guy is brilliant when it comes to filling out government forms, but he’s been a bumbling buffoon with this pandemic guru gig.”

HE’S NOT WRONG: Cotton Slams Coke for Sponsoring China’s ‘Genocide Olympics’.

PERFORMANCE ART:

Reporter nods along, makes sure viewers know what they’re supposed to feel.

HEY, BIG SPENDER: Jeff Bezos offers NASA $2 billion to get Blue Origin back in the moon race. “The world’s richest man appealed to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson in an open letter Monday, offering to cover billions of dollars in the US space agency’s costs. In doing so, Bezos hopes Blue Origin can be reconsidered for a contract to build the vehicle that will land the next astronauts on the moon.”

Until (unless?) Blue Origin starts orbiting cargo — at the very least — it’s difficult to see NASA giving his moon lander another serious look.

SOMETHING’S SPREADING, AND IT’S NOT A VIRUS: The ‘I just left the ER’ variant is multiplying on Twitter, warning people they’re back to getting crushed by COVID-19.

It’s everywhere.

UPDATE:

THIS IS AN OPENING FOR REPUBLICANS: “The Biden administration’s flip-flop on mandating masks will lead to a new round of bailouts to Democratic-controlled blue states, according to a critical Midwest senator.”

Note this on the racial divide on lockdowns:

Looking back over the past year or so, 55% of voters agree that “Despite good intentions, shutting down businesses and locking down society did more harm than good.” Just 38% disagree and 7% are not sure.

On this topic, there is a racial divide within the Democratic Party. White Democrats, by a 65% to 32% margin, reject the idea that lockdowns did more harm than good. Black Democrats and Other Democrats are evenly divided.

During the pandemic, government officials exercised extraordinary power over the lives of individual Americans. The survey also found that 62% are worried that many government officials will try to continue exercising such power over individual Americans.

On this topic, there is also a divide within the Democratic Party. White Democrats, by a 57% to 39% margin, are not worried about government officials keeping too much power. Black Democrats, by a 64% to 27% margin, are worried.

There’s a lot of opportunity in being the anti-Lockdown, anti-Karen party.

UNEXPLAINED DETAILS, RED FERRARIS AND WHAT? Well, it’s HillFaith and it’s all about those “long story short” details that make them not so short. And trust me, Enzo’s classic red beauty is definitely relevant to understanding those “unexplained allusions” Erik Manning is talking about in the video.

MCCARTHY SAYS GOP WILL ‘DO OUR OWN HEARINGS’ AS ALTERNATIVE TO PELOSI’S JAN. 6 SELECT COMMITTEE.

NO, JOE, IT’S NOT THE SEASON: Remember when George W. Bush praised “Brownie” for “doing a heckuva job” during the Hurricane Katrina disaster? The Issues & Insights guys wouldn’t be surprised to hear His Fraudulency praising Her Fraudulency, Kamala Harris, in similar fashion for her work on the border crisis. After all, he recently dismissed the swelling surge of illegals as a seasonal thing.

PJ MEDIA VIP ROUNDUP: Don’t forget that VODKAPUNDIT promo code if you’ve been thinking of joining us.

Quick: Read This Study on Recovered Immunity Before It Gets Memory Holed. “So how long before Emory University gets canceled or has to retract its latest article on long-term recovered immunity?”

Plus: The Newspeak Dictionary From ‘1984’ Has Been Realized. “Recently, I subscribed to Grammarly Premium to help catch errors in my writing—of which there can be a lot. Upon upgrading my account, I learned that one of the features offered in the Grammarly Premium subscription was that the software would check your writing to provide suggestions for more “inclusive” language.”

And: Don’t Count Your 2022 Chickens Before They Hatch. “Republicans need to beware infighting and recriminations. Conservatives need to band together to form a united front against the Left’s threats to education, election integrity, peace on our streets, the value of our dollars, and basic sanity. The more the Democrats can focus on sideshows about the Capitol riot and Liz Cheney, the worse Republicans will look.”

UPDATE (FROM GLENN): Here’s the full recovered immunity study.

OUT: AD ASTRA PER ASPERA. IN: AD ASTRA, PER LEX: Bezos Contract Fight May Delay American Return to Moon.

UPDATE: From the comments: “Jeff can’t even meet existing contractual obligations and deliver rocket engines to ULA on time.” Ouch. Harsh, but fair.

Also, a reader suggests it’s “Ad Astra Per Legem,” not “Per Lex,” which I think is right, although it’s been a long time since Mrs. Schwamm’s Latin class in high school.

CHUCK TODD: There is no liberal media bias.

All of this connects back to the big lie about who is responsible for the cultural divide in America. The truth is that both sides are partly responsible but if you look at the data it’s pretty clear that the left has moved farther and faster to the left than the right has to the right. And the media has been riding the left’s coattails precisely because the are part of the same elite culture that drives most of these issues. The fact that NBC’s political director doesn’t get it explains a lot about NBC News.

Todd, the Democratic Party operative with a byline, began his career in politics as a Democratic Party operative for former Sen. Tom Harkin, who also knows a thing or two about gaslighting.

JOE BIDEN’S RETURN TO DECENCY: Democrats have a massive opportunity with Capitol riot committee: Shove it down the GOP’s throat.

DON SURBER: Can we 25th Amendment Kamala?

IT’S COME TO THIS: Dell can’t ship gaming rigs to blue states because of energy rules. “Dell has stopped shipping certain highly energy-intensive gaming computers to customers in six states with new electricity consumption regulations. The PC giant won’t ship certain computer models to California, Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington because of the states adopting the California Energy Commission’s new Tier II mandatory energy efficiency standards on computers and mobile gaming systems that were put into effect on July 1.”

(H/T: Small Dead Animals.)

HAPPY NATIONAL WHISTLEBLOWERS DAY.

Related: Don’t Fear the Leaker.

Shorter version here.

WE KNOW HOW THIS ENDS: The People Who Brought You CHAZ Get Their WA State Police Reform Wishes Granted and They’re a Hot Mess.

HONESTLY THEIR RUSH TO PUSH THIS ON ME IS ENOUGH FOR ME TO SAY “NO, THANKS.”:  To Vax or Not To Vax…