OPEN THREAD: Lookin’ good, hangin’ with the wild bunch.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: India continuing work on moon landing and crewed spaceflight plans despite delays.

I DUNNO, THEY’VE BEEN PRETTY PROFITABLE: Massive Study Finds We Need Better Therapies Than Antidepressants. Here’s Why.

SCHEDULED FOR 8:55 PM ET TONIGHT: Watch SpaceX’s Private Ax-1 astronaut mission leave the space station Sunday.

PUSHBACK: New bill to not require education leaders to use students’ preferred pronouns. “A new bill is traveling through Tennessee Legislature Tuesday calling for education leaders not to be required to use a student’s preferred pronoun. Introduced by Senator Mike Bell, SB2777 is a bill that will not legally require teachers or staff to use a student’s preferred pronoun, absolving them of any discriminatory accusations.”

WE’VE ENTERED SOME SORT OF BIZARRE HELLWORLD IN WHICH MATT YGLESIAS IS A VOICE OF SANITY:

K-12 IMPLOSION UPDATE: NYC schools facing unprecedented levels of chronic absenteeism.

COLORADO MOVES TO CAST ITSELF AS THE ANTI-FLORIDA:

A public feud brewing between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his Colorado counterpart Gov. Jared Polis could be used by the latter to cement the Centennial State as the country’s anti-Florida stronghold.

The Florida Republican has leveled criticism and threats of retaliation against Disney and Twitter in recent weeks, prompting Polis to invite the two companies to relocate their headquarters to Colorado in the wake of DeSantis’s feud with the House of Mouse.

“Florida’s authoritarian socialist attacks on the private sector are driving businesses away,” Polis said in a tweet earlier this week. “In [Colorado], we don’t meddle in affairs of companies like @Disney or @Twitter. Hey @Disney we’re ready for Mountain Disneyland and @twitter we’re ready for Twitter HQ2, whoever your owners are.”

The Florida governor’s office told the Washington Examiner it considered the proposal to be odd, as Twitter and Disney are both headquartered in California, but declined to comment further.

The criticism from Polis could be an attempt to position Colorado as Florida’s political antidote — appealing to progressive voters and businesses in the meantime.

“I think picking a fight with Florida is good politics from Colorado,” Democratic political strategist Brad Bannon told the Washington Examiner. “I think there are some businesses out there who are deciding whether they’re going to move from California to somewhere else — they are more likely to move to a state like Colorado, where they’re not going to get caught up in right-wing social politics that they would be in Florida.”

CTL-F for both “Masterpiece Cakeshop” and simply “cake” yields zero results.

REVIEW: 2023 BMW 7 Series: Everything but the Kitchen Sink.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: China’s Moon Base to Rival NASA Advances After Russia Deal.

China will this year begin work on the next phase of its lunar program to build a base on the Moon for research, its space agency announced, a project in cooperation with Russia that will rival NASA’s own efforts to establish an orbital facility.

Phase 4 of China’s program will carry out scientific examination of the Moon’s south pole with a view to constructing a research base there, state media reported.

Wu Yanhua, vice administrator of the China National Space Administration, told CGTN they hoped to survey the area and build some facilities within a decade.

“And in the 10 years or so after the first stage, we look to build a comparatively all-around science station, with engagement from different countries, organizations, including private-sector participation,” Wu said.

After the news emerged, Russia confirmed it would work alongside China on several projects related to the study of the Moon as well as further exploration.

It’s a race for the water-rich south polar regions.

BE PREPARED (FOR NOISE) : Eargasm High Fidelity Earplugs. #CommissionEarned

ALL THIS, AND WORLD WAR II: As Finland considers NATO membership, citizens mobilize for an invasion by Russia.

When the Finnish Reservists’ Assn. recently announced wartime defense courses for civilian women in the southern town of Haemeenlinna, the 400 slots filled almost immediately, with a waiting list of 500 more.

Topics will include shooting, cybersecurity and how to manage the first several days of an invasion from abroad.

“I wouldn’t call it fear,” said Sgt. Sonja Airikki, a 39-year-old reservist who will lead the training next month. “It’s more about being prepared.”

Military readiness is ingrained in the culture of this country of 5.5 million people that shares an 833-mile border and a long, complicated history with Russia.

The relationship has grown increasingly tense since Russia invaded Ukraine two months ago. For the first time, Finland is considering seeking membership in NATO, prompting threats of retaliation from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Putin really does consider himself the second coming of Stalin, doesn’t he?

MACRON DEFEATS LE PEN TO WIN RE-ELECTION IN FRANCE.

MARK STEYN: A Republic, If You Can Keep It.

CLIMATE ACTIVIST DIES AFTER LIGHTING HIMSELF ON FIRE OUTSIDE US SUPREME COURT: As Tom Wolfe wrote in his epochal 1976 article, “The ‘Me’ Decade and the Third Great Awakening:” “It is entirely possible that in the long run historians will regard the entire New Left experience as not so much a political as a religious episode wrapped in semi military gear and guerrilla talk.”

THESE ARE IMPORTANT: The US is looking for a new anti-air missile.

THE VACCINES WERE OVERSOLD: Pfizer COVID-19 third dose vaccine protection against hospitalization from omicron wanes after 3 months: study.

EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: Dem Rep. Cuellar calls out Biden for hurting party – “look at the polls.” No, please don’t. Let MSNBC be your guide.

A ONE-MAN CULTURAL COUNTERREVOLUTION: DeSantis signs bill limiting tenure at Florida public universities: He takes aim at faculty, saying they develop an “intellectual orthodoxy” if left unchecked.

Except it’s not one man. It’s a majority of Florida’s voters and legislators. It just took someone to lead it.