HARDLY AN UNFORESEEABLE EVENT: NASA’s $10 billion James Webb Telescope damaged by space rock. And not unforeseen: “We designed and built Webb with performance margin — optical, thermal, electrical, mechanical — to ensure it can perform its ambitious science mission even after many years in space.”
Archive for 2022
June 10, 2022
HEY, IT WORKS FOR KNEES: Injectable hydrogel may ease back pain from worn spinal discs.
DEAL OF THE DAY: Kitchen Mama Electric Can Opener. #CommissionEarned
COLORADO: From transportation agency to state’s urban planner: CDOT’s new mission is to micromanage your life.
Over the last few years, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) has had a habit of playing fast and loose with taxpayer money, and setting their own priorities regardless of what those of Coloradans might be. In part, they’re able to get away with this because CDOT’s governing body, the Colorado Transportation Commission, is appointed entirely by the governor, with the approval of the state Senate.
In 2019, an audit found that “Budget-to-actuals analysis cannot be performed for nearly $1.3 billion — about 80 percent — of the department’s approved budget…” This resulted in precisely none of the commissioners overseeing CDOT tendering their resignations. Now, the state auditor is looking into possible favoritism toward an out-of-state contracting company. The commissioners have lost control of the department.
Now, the commissioners also appear to have lost touch with the citizens whose money they’re spending.
This past December, they voted to adopt a rule that could end up redirecting billions of dollars from roads and highways toward inefficient boutique “green” transit. It would also encourage denser housing, thus limiting people’s ability to buy single-family homes. The new rule even manages to work “equity” into the mix, echoing questionable arguments made by Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.
#DefundEverything, it’s all been weaponized.
THE IRAN CRISIS IS HERE: “Iran has enough enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon. Last week, David Albright and Sarah Burkhard of the Institute for Science and International Security (the good ISIS) wrote that ‘Iran’s breakout timeline is now at zero.’ Swell. How does President Biden respond? He says there is still time to make a deal that even his lead negotiator, State Department official Robert Malley, admits is ‘tenuous at best.’ The complacency is maddening. The other day, when a reporter asked National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan for his thoughts on Iran’s dispute with the IAEA, Sullivan said, ‘From our perspective, we have to view these on separate tracks, and that’s how we’re going to proceed.’ Translation: We won’t let Iran’s hostile behavior get in the way of appeasement.”
THEY’LL TURN US ALL INTO BEGGARS ‘CAUSE THEY’RE EASIER TO PLEASE: The Surprising Ways Biden’s NIMBY Energy Policy Could Affect You Sooner Than You Think. “Rising prices affect the price of goods and services because of increasing transportation costs. However, what if it could leave you to defend yourself while Democrats work feverishly to disarm you?”
IS NOTHING SACRED? Sriracha maker warns of ‘unprecedented shortage’ due to supply issues. “All orders submitted on or after April 19, 2022, will be scheduled AFTER Labor Day (September 6, 2022) in the order it was received.”
PLAUSIBLE: Biden is “Scared” Ukraine May Win, Analyst Asserts. I mean, his initial reaction was to facilitate Zelensky’s escape, letting Putin win. “Mr. Tisdall makes a contrarian but not unconvincing case that a “timid” Mr. Biden is helping to consign Ukrainians to “an agonizing war without end” and calls his “too-modest war aims a manifesto for the muddled middle.” He sets out an argument that is all the more remarkable for appearing in one of the world’s most highly esteemed left-wing newspapers. . . . Speaking at West Point last month, the president reminded graduating cadets that he is their commander-in-chief, but according to reports he whispered it. If the ability to project power is in itself a form of power, the White House under Biden’s administration is coming up short. Diplomacy and sanctions may be valiant; both have failed. Weakness — or a ‘weak-kneed approach,’ as Mr. Tisdall put it — is rarely part of winning wars.”
EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY:
As predicted, it looks like this weekend the national average will break $5 for the first time ever — just three months after breaking 2008’s all-time record.
QUESTION ASKED: Why Did the Star Wars Hotel Flop? Disney Is Desperate To Find Out. Disney is pouring money into focus groups all about the Galactic Starcruiser hotel.
A year ago, in August, word got out that Disney was about to launch a fully immersive Star Wars experience at Disney World. It sounded like the perfect getaway for a Star Wars superfan—but that’s not what ended up happening.
Now, Disney is trying to figure out why the incredibly expensive hotel flopped, and the company is spending even more money to try and find out why.
According to Disneyland News, the company is looking to understand why their first fully immersive hotel experience was so bad that no one wanted to book a stay. Now, some guests who had previously stayed at Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser and completed a survey after their stay are being asked to join a paid focus group so Disney can learn more about their experiences.
Essentially, they’re paying even more money to try and find out why their Star Wars hotel was, seemingly a flop.
Perhaps retconning the hotel into Star Wars “canon” didn’t help matters:
An official new Star Wars book will retcon Walt Disney World’s new Star Wars hotel as the site of Leia and Han’s honeymoon.
No, this isn’t some “The Onion”-style spoof or an especially crazy attempt at fan fiction. Beth Revis’ “Star Wars: The Princess and the Scoundrel” drops this August, and the official press release on StarWars.com today included this nugget about the book’s plot:
“Set just after the events of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, the story begins on the forest moon of Endor, where Han proposes in the elation of the rebel victory against the Empire. After a ceremony at the site of the victory celebration at the end of the film, the newlyweds depart for a honeymoon aboard the Halcyon starcruiser, the luxury vessel at the heart of the new Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser experience at [Walt] Disney World Resort.”
I’ve got a bad feeling about this.
HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: $1,500 inflation relief payments for staff, 4% tuition increase for students at this university.
WELCOME BACK, CARTER: Rand Paul warns of ‘double digit’ interest rates, recession, and joblessness.
WHEN LEFTISTS FOMENT VIOLENCE:
KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Pro-Murder Abortion Ghouls Are Really Getting Out of Control. “Seriously, this is a criminal enterprise, not a protest group.”
OUR “TRANSITORY,” “HIGH CLASS” PROBLEM IS ACCELERATING AND BEGGARING US: U.S. Inflation Hit 8.6% in May “May’s increase was driven by sharp rises in the prices for energy, which rose 34.6% from a year earlier, and groceries, which jumped 11.9% on the year. Prices for used cars and trucks rose 1.8% in May from April, reversing three months of declines. Shelter costs, an indicator of broad inflation pressures, accelerated on a monthly basis in May and were up 5.5% compared with a year ago.”
UPDATE (FROM GLENN): Team Biden might be purposefully grinding down the middle class.
YOU WANTED THIS, YOU MADE THIS HAPPEN, YOU F*CKING FIX THIS: ‘Be The F*cking President’: Dems Hammer Biden For Blundering From One Crisis To Another.
I BLAME CHUCK SCHUMER: Threats against judges and courts surge 387%, to 4,511.
Related: How the Left Learned To Stop Worrying and Love Domestic Terrorism. They always did love domestic terrorism. Look at what went on in the 1970s, often by people who now hold fancy academic positions.
They never opposed domestic terrorism. They just want a monopoly on it.
NOT THINKING STRATEGICALLY:
PJ MEDIA VIP ROUNDUP: Don’t forget that VODKAPUNDIT promo code if you’ve been thinking of joining us.
Stacey Lennox: Why Does Twitter Insist on Practicing Medicine Without a License? “Here is the information that Twitter believes could be unsafe for you to see.”
Matt Margolis: Liberal Media Fails Hard With Kavanaugh Assassination Attempt. “Even when they did cover it, the media did its best not to go against The Narrative™.”
Yours Truly: Joe Biden and the Optics of Failure. “Joe Biden has a serious problem with optics, perhaps never revealed so badly — and made worse by — his appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Wednesday night.”
DEAL OF THE DAY: Good Cook Can Opener. #CommissionEarned