OPEN THREAD: Monday, Monday.
Author Archive: Glenn Reynolds
August 26, 2024
THE NEW SPACE RACE: Amazon expands Kennedy Space Center facility to accelerate satellite deployments.
Plus: SpaceX Private Spacewalk Mission Launches Tonight. Or maybe it counts as early tomorrow morning. “The Polaris Dawn mission, a commercial spaceflight backed by American billionaire Jared Isaacman that will attempt the first private spacewalk, is currently scheduled to launch on Tuesday, Aug. 27, on a Falcon 9 rocket and the Crew Dragon capsule Resilience. Liftoff is scheduled for 3:38 a.m. EDT (0738 GMT) from Florida’s Cape Canaveral.”
MY STRATEGY WOULD JUST BE TO HIRE SPACEX TO GET RID OF IT: Defying Disaster: NASA’s Innovative Strategies in Planetary Defense.
FIRST RFK, NOW THIS: Tulsi Gabbard Endorses Trump.
Hey, she won more delegates in the Democratic Primary than Kamala did.
MY LATEST SUBSTACK ESSAY: Out: Soccer Moms and Security Moms. In: Health Moms. Is RFK Jr. the secret to suburban women?
And as always, if you like these essays, consider a paid subscription.
SPRAY, BABY, SPRAY: 10 Massachusetts communities at high risk of mosquito-spread virus ‘Triple E.’
The threat of Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus has prompted several Massachusetts towns to implement targeted mosquito spraying to protect residents.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this virus, often called Triple E, is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito and can cause a “rare but severe illness.” Although the number of annual cases is low, the virus can pose a significant health risk.
The CDC says most people infected don’t have any symptoms, but symptoms can range from a febrile illness to more severe neurological problems.
The disease is particularly dangerous if it leads to encephalitis, or inflammation in the brain, with approximately 30% of people with encephalitis dying.
Many survivors experience long-term neurological issues, according to the CDC, which notes there are no human vaccines or specific treatments available, making prevention crucial.
Die, skeeters, die.
ANSWERING THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS: What’s Going On With Land Rover?
JUST SAW THIS, BUT IT UNDERSCORES MY LATEST SUBSTACK:
— Alex Clark (@yoalexrapz) August 25, 2024
BRINGING A KNIFE TO A GUNFIGHT: Defensive Gun Use of the Day: Texas Daylight Machete Home Invasion Attempt.
CONTINENTAL DRIFT: Matching dinosaur footprints found on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
WELL, THIS IS THE 21ST CENTURY, YOU KNOW: Self-deployable, biodegradable electrode offers minimally invasive brain signal monitoring.
ABOUT AS HEALTHY AS YOU MIGHT EXPECT: Sleep experts weigh in on ‘bed rotting,’ other TikTok sleep trends.
IN A NUTSHELL:
This is a thing of beauty. And the background art is nice and subtle. pic.twitter.com/Uo0ORLT4T8
— Julie Frost–That Werewolf Writer🐺🦉 (@JulieCFrost) August 24, 2024
JOY:
This might be why https://t.co/1kK3Krq3yd doesn’t have a single page of policy on it – she can’t even get Democratic lawmakers to support her proposals. https://t.co/pYeST61Hjs
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) August 26, 2024
A BLOW AGAINST BIGOTRY: U. Missouri black group ‘heartbroken’ over having to change racially exclusive event name: ‘Welcome Black BBQ’ now called ‘Welcome Black and Gold BBQ.’ “The Legion of Black Collegians, which according its website is ‘the only Black Student Government in the Nation,’ noted on Instagram that it was ‘heartbroken’ by the university’s name-change decision, and that it spent ‘several months’ fighting it. Mizzou’s school colors are black and gold.”
EVEN A FLATWORM IS SMART ENOUGH TO TURN AWAY FROM PAIN: California universities ban campus encampments after chaotic anti-Israel protests.
SPREADING MISINFORMATION AT THE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION: “And multiple speakers delighted the crowd by alluding to the fabricated viral claim that Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, wrote in his memoir about having sex with furniture.”
PUT A STAKE THROUGH ITS HEART: Did DEI die?
REMEMBERING BIDEN’S BIGGEST FAILURE, WHICH THE PRESS HAS MEMORY-HOLED: Kabul’s Child Sacrifice – Three Years On: The fault, shame and humiliation are all ours; all red, white, and blue.
In a defeat of choice in a complete collapse of competence at the most senior levels of our civilian and military leadership … we did. In our panicked retreat we had our deadliest day in 11 years. Our Marines, Sailor and Soldier filled with their bodies the gap in intelligence, planning, and leadership by – what we are all told – are the very best, most credentialed from the finest institutions and selection processes to produce competent leaders for our nation of 330+ million souls.
They physically stepped in the real-world breach created by the wholesale failure of our intelligentsia and its rent-seeking nomenklatura.
They did their job; everyone whom they trusted with their lives in DC and Tampa did not.
That is the first lesson here; our self-described “best” that claim to be the ruling class are not our best. They are not good at their jobs. Their ideas are garbage. Their ethics are fetid to the core. Their morality sold for a farthing’s worth of power, fame, and influence.
Yep. Plus: “At the tactical level, from the C-17 aircrew to the leaders on the ground, they did the best they could with the ROE, restraints, and constraints that were put on them from DC. The American military from field grade officers to the 20-yr old E3s did an exceptional job – but there was only so much that could be done inside a structure of incompetence and politicized uniformed nomenklatura that we allowed to rise to the top over two decades.”