YES ON THE WATER, NO ON THE LIFE: Seismic clues from Marsquakes suggest liquid water and life potential beneath the surface.

Flashback: Why I Hope There’s No Life on Mars.

INTERBREEDING: Scientists date remains of an ancient child that resembles both humans and Neanderthals. No one could resist us sexy, sexy Homo Sapiens. “When the humanlike child was discovered, scientists noted that some of their attributes—including body proportions and jawbone—looked Neanderthal. The researchers suggested that the child was descended from populations in which humans and Neanderthals mated and mixed. That was a radical notion at the time, but advances in genetics have since proven those populations existed—and people today still carry Neanderthal DNA.”

SPACE: Space station’s replacement crew arrives in Florida in preparation of SpaceX launch.

ADULTS TOO, I’M SURE: Poor sleep drives high blood pressure In teens, study indicates.

IT’S A SUICIDE: The Death of Europe.

MAKE THEM PAY: Student sues CU Boulder after investigation for identity politics criticism.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: University of Cincinnati says offering prayer for the disabled is a ‘micro aggression,’ provides ‘Able-Bodied Privilege Checklist.’

CONCISE: “500M Europeans Are Begging 300M Americans for Protection from 140M Russians Who Have Been Unable to Overcome 50M Ukrainians for Three Years.”

YEP: Bob Graboyes: From Hitler to Hamas (and Hezbollah): Nazi Germany was the incubator for what would become Hamas and Hezbollah.

CHANGE: What Trump’s Triangulation Means for Asia.

THERE’S SO MUCH FRAUD AND GRAFT OUT THERE I’LL BELIEVE ANYTHING AT THIS POINT:

There’s one obvious reason why the unions might be doing this. Massive social security fraud with fake employee dues flowing into union coffers – and being used for political contributions in the process. https://t.co/cPWgbrX8LW

— Jeff Carlson (@themarketswork) March 8, 2025

WELL, YES:

Do Democrats hear ourselves?

Jerry, if allowing Jews to go to school without getting screamed at and harassed by antisemites is the MAGA agenda and something we oppose DEMOCRATS ARE FUCKED.

What are you doing, buddy? https://t.co/h45e9rNhQ3

— Brianna Wu (@BriannaWu) March 8, 2025

THINGS THAT THE ESTABLISHMENT DOESN’T WANT TO DO ARE ALWAYS IMPOSSIBLY HARD, EVEN IF THEY’RE NOT:

"Ghana deported over 3 million Nigerians and other African and non-African immigrants in 3 months."

If true, this makes deportations seem utterly trivial to do because they can be done on a huge scale by a country with extremely low state capacity. https://t.co/kYf8Y3tuhB

— Crémieux (@cremieuxrecueil) March 8, 2025

However, according to Grok, the number seems high: “Deporting 3 million would mean 20% of the population, which strains credibility for a country with limited state capacity at the time. More realistic estimates suggest 200,000 to 1 million were expelled, mostly Nigerians, over a few months. Data’s messy, but the scale was still massive for the era.”

By the way, when using X you can do what I did — if you’re unsure of a fact in a post, just reply to @grok and ask about it. In this case I just replied: “@grok is this number of deportations correct?”

HE’LL BE PERFECT AS A DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT.

New data shows Newsom spent $37 billion on homelessness as the homeless population exploded.

The State Auditor found he lost track of that money. Then, he vetoed a bill to hold him accountable for further spending.

California now has half the nation's unsheltered homeless. pic.twitter.com/ClVpyM9UGc

— Kevin Kiley (@KevinKileyCA) March 9, 2025

SPOILER: THEY WON’T BE SMALL. Why DOGE is and will remain popular, even if its cuts are small. But people also like that the people with no skin in the game are suddenly getting skint:

But probably the most frustrating argument I have heard against DOGE’s cuts is that government workers are losing their jobs. Of course, I feel for anyone who loses a job — it is a scary moment for anyone, causing huge upset for themselves and their families. But this isn’t new. Under President Obama, multiple regulations led to tens of thousands of job losses — people with no other training and who had been coal miners or worked in factories their entire lives lost their jobs with just a few days’ notice. Entire communities were devastated by Obama and Biden-era policies, and in some cases they were quite proud of it.

Indeed.

OF COURSE SHE WAS:

She was in the middle of massacring Lebanese Maronite Christians, by the way. pic.twitter.com/Ij2cng7zPa

— 𝗡𝗶𝗼𝗵 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗴 ♛ ✡︎ (@NiohBerg) March 8, 2025

OPEN THREAD: Enjoy.

INSURRECTION!

So let me get this straight:

The left support "democracy" lasts until the exact moment you start losing elections?

Makes sense

— Chase (@ItsChaseBurger) March 8, 2025

Flashback: Of Coups and the Constitution. When I wrote this in 2015, it seemed like such an abstract, academic prospect.

CHANGE: FCC allows a power boost for SpaceX’s direct-to-smartphone service.

SPACE LAW: US space resources law needs clarification by Congress.

Related: Isabelle Thibault on Space Mining.

I DON’T REALLY SEE WHAT VALUE THE FAA IS ADDING HERE: FAA issues ground stop after SpaceX loses contact with Starship 8 minutes into launch. SpaceX will find the problem, fix it, and launch again. The FAA has nowhere near the expertise to find or fix the problem, or really to evaluate SpaceX’s fix. The most it can do is delay the “launch again” part.

WELL, GOOD: Certain vitamins, minerals during pregnancy protect heart health.

YES.

Ultimately all such radical change has to be ratified, institutionalized and regularized or else they will fail. This must happen through elections and captured in institutional reform. But that is some months away. Meanwhile it's a nailbiting ride.

— wretchardthecat (@wretchardthecat) March 7, 2025

IS ELON MUSK AN “OFFICER OF THE UNITED STATES?” Subject matter expert Seth Barrett Tillman responds to a claim by Prof. Katherine Shaw: “Shaw indicated that the test for being an ‘officer of the United States’ is that the purported officer exercises ‘significant power.’ That is entirely wrong.”

UPDATE: Prof. Katherine “Kate” Shaw is Chris Hayes’ wife, FYI.

MESSAGE TO GUN CONTROLLERS: Check Your Privilege Because the Second Amendment Gives Everyone the Right to Be Safe.