THE NEW SPACE RACE: Against all odds, an asteroid mining company appears to be making headway.

When I first spoke with space entrepreneurs Jose Acain and Matt Gialich a little more than two years ago, I wondered whether I would ever talk to them again.

That is not meant to be offensive; rather, it is a reflection of the fact that the business they entered into—mining asteroids for platinum and other precious metals—is a perilous one. To date, NASA and other space agencies have spent billions of dollars returning a few grams of rocky material from asteroids. Humanity has never visited a metal-rich asteroid, although that will finally change with NASA’s $1.4 billion Psyche mission in 2029. And so commercial asteroid mining seems like a stretch, and indeed, other similarly minded startups have come and gone.

But it turns out that I did hear from Acain and Gialich again about their asteroid mining venture, AstroForge. On Tuesday the co-founders announced that they have successfully raised $40 million in Series A funding and shared plans for their next two missions. AstroForge has now raised a total of $55 million to date.

Plus: “There is no shortage of potential targets. Scientists estimate that there are about 10 million near-Earth asteroids, which come within one astronomical unit (the distance between the Sun and Earth) of our planet. Perhaps 3 to 5 percent of these are rich in metals, so there are potentially hundreds of thousands of candidates for mining.”

GET YOUR YARD IN SHAPE: Greenworks 80V 21″ Brushless Cordless (Push) Lawn Mower. #CommissionEarned

HOW DEI IS CORRUPTING MILITARY EDUCATION. It’s only “corrupting” the military if you think the government is focused on foreign threats as opposed to domestic threats. A survey of its behavior in the past few years suggests that such an assumption might be erroneous.

MICROBIOME NEWS: Gut microbial pathway identified as target for improved heart disease treatment.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: Against all odds, an asteroid mining company appears to be making headway.

IT’S ALL FUN AND GAMES UNTIL YOU RETURN HOME TO XI’S CHINA:

Aging dictator Xi Jinping forced every single Chinese Olympics athlete to assemble in a grand reception hall and applaud him on state television for twenty minutes. This was their Welcome Home celebration from the Paris Olympics.

National Chinese state television broadcaster… pic.twitter.com/iw8ygeG5fB

— Drew Pavlou 🇦🇺🇺🇸🇺🇦🇹🇼 (@DrewPavlou) August 21, 2024

THE NEW SPACE RACE: SpaceX sends 22 Starlink satellites into orbit using new first stage booster.

DON’T GET COCKY — HER BIG NIGHT ISN’T UNTIL TOMORROW: It Looks Like the DNC Is Backfiring on Kamala Harris.

BIDEN’S MIDDLE FINGER FOR ISRAEL: The Lid’s Jeff Dunetz digs into the Biden DNC farewell speech and exposes the multiple misrepresentations, half-truths and outright lies that lurk just beneath the surface of the platitudes about always supporting Israel.

BIRTHS ALWAYS FALL UNDER SOCIALIST REGIMES: U.S. births continue decline, falling 17% since 2007.

INTERESTING REVIEW ESSAY: Sick Societies.

IF IT WERE GOOD, HE WOULDN’T WANT TO HIDE IT: What is Ryan Busse Trying to Hide From Montana Voters Before the November Election?

OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY: California moves ahead with $0 downpayment ‘loans’ for new homes for illegal immigrants.

Meanwhile: While California politicians skirmish over housing, the shortage keeps growing.

THIS KAMALA CAMPAIGN TEXT JUST SEEMS DESPERATE. Does not scream “joy,” that’s for sure.

(Whatever evil prankster put me on the DNC spam list, well played, and I hate you.)

21st CENTURY RELATIONSHIPS: ‘Queer Theory:’ Biden-Harris Official Calls for ‘Queering Nuclear Weapons.’ No, Really.

If you’ve been waiting for that perfect example that the rabid left is not only a threat to the moral fabric of American society but also a clear and present danger to the very existence of the United States, today’s your “lucky” day. Even better, the example comes from none other than the Biden-Harris administration.

Sneha Nair, appointed in February as special assistant at the National Nuclear Security Administration, a wing of the Biden-Harris Department of Energy, has been pushing various disarmament policies – including reducing or eliminating nuclear weapons. Fine, that’s nothing new on the left. But, as far as I can tell, this is:

Nair also argues that advancing “queer theory” to include America’s nuclear arsenal is essential to America’s national security. No, really. I’ll give you a minute to stop laughing before we continue.

Ready? Nair’s insane argument goes like this:

Queer theory informs the struggle for nuclear justice and disarmament. Queer theory helps to shift the perception of nuclear weapons as instruments for security by telling the hidden stories of displacement, illness, and trauma caused by their production and testing.

By understanding DEI as a set of values critical to security, and therefore as an element of an effective nuclear security culture, stakeholders can explore how DEI can contribute to stronger security at nuclear facilities

Collectively, these principles (of DEI) can work to mitigate counterproductive work behavior and prevent disgruntled employees from becoming insider threats.

If only the crew of the USS Dark Star recognized that their talking AI nuclear bomb was operating from beyond the gender binary, they just might have returned to earth safely:

In accordance with the prophecy:

Progress: U.S. Military Introduces Very First Gender-Neutral Bomb https://t.co/giy7KGnkSj

— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) November 11, 2021

CRISIS BY DESIGN: Northern Border Apprehensions Surge, Border Patrol Struggling.

READER BOOK PLUG: From Milton C. Johns, Delivery Vehicles.

A GOOD QUESTION: If Biden Saved the Economy, Why Do We Need Price Controls?

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOUR RULING CLASS IS AN ELITE MONOCULTURE:

To @elonmusk point— our cultural curators (boardrooms who run corporations, government, media, institutions, academia, etc.) have been for too long located in the super ZIP Codes therefore not reflective of the country as a whole, skewing their perspective away from the center https://t.co/NxCKUKsWxM

— ZitoSalena (@ZitoSalena) August 21, 2024

#JOURNALISM: WaPo Editors: Yes, Biden’s Inner Circle Hid His Cognitive Decline, But #YOLO or Something.

The DNC cooked its primary processes to keep Biden from facing real competition. Had they encouraged an open primary when Biden seemingly reversed course and decided to run for a second term, the “new generation of Democratic leaders” would have emerged organically, rather than with the unprecedented shelving of the results from 50 state contests — not to mention the anointing of a nominee rather than an election process at the convention.

And that brings us to the cover-up that the WaPo editors concede and then hastily set aside for their hosannas. Every single Democratic leader repeatedly attested to Biden’s superior intellectual skills and energy. The White House communications team repeatedly asserted that Biden could outlast staffers half his age when working behind the scenes, which left people wondering why he would get lost on stage and unable to complete sentences in public. And this “inner circle” cover-up most assuredly includes Kamala Harris, the anointed nominee, who talks with Biden every day and meets with him at least twice a week, according to the White House.

And what does it mean to have “worked to conceal his decline”? It means that Biden doesn’t have the capacity to execute the duties of his office, which is why it had to be concealed. And if Biden can’t fully handle the duties of the office, who’s running the executive branch? Who is making the decisions about the exercise of presidential authority? If it’s anyone not named Joe Biden, then a soft coup has taken place and the inner circle are conspirators in it, including Kamala Harris.

Yes. A soft coup has taken place and the inner circle are conspirators in it, including Kamala Harris.

YES. NEXT QUESTION? Is Kamala Harris Dumb? (Illustrated).

KRUISER: I’m Still Clinging to My Guns and Religion, Now More Than Ever. “Thankfully, I am a Roman Catholic who lives in Tucson, AZ, so it’s never difficult for me to find a church, a place that sells ammo, or a range.”

READER FAVORITE: 10-Minute Strength Training Exercises for Seniors: Exercises and Routines to Build Muscle, Balance, and Stamina. #CommissionEarned

EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY (MOSCOW EDITION): Russians Baffled After Putin’s ‘Space Troops’ Deployed as Infantry in Kursk.

The deployment of temporary motorized rifle of Russia’s Aerospace Forces to the Kursk region was first reported by independent investigative Russian outlet Important Stories.

The unit, created between May and June, consists of personnel from security and logistics companies, engineers, mechanics, some officers, and servicemen from a Russian spaceport. There are also personnel from special warehouses of the Aerospace Forces and radar stations in Russia’s Voronezh region, who were previously in charge of manning Russia’s nuclear deterrent, the publication reported, citing a source familiar with the matter.

The Fighterbomber Telegram channel, which has links to the Russian Aerospace Forces, appeared confused by the decision to deploy the unit to Kursk.

Possibly not the ideal use of warehouse specialists, engineers, mechanics, etc.

MUCH OF HIGHER ED IS JUST A MONEY LAUNDRY FOR LEFTIST CAUSES: Penn State wants pro-DEI students for taxpayer-funded voter registration job.