OPEN THREAD: Ring out the weekend.

AD LUNA PER ASPERA: NASA’s New Moon Base Plan Explains Why It’s Going Back To The Moon.

MY LATEST SUBSTACK ESSAY: The Iran Operation: Was the secret weapon AI staff work?

As always, if you like these essays, please take out a paid subscription.

DIET HAS ITS ROLE, BUT IT’S OVERRATED IN IMPORTANCE: The Secret to Healthy Eating Might Not Be What You Eat – But Something Else.

I DO YOGA, AND I’D LIKE TO DO SPACE YOGA: World’s First Woman to Go on a Mission to the Moon Says Yoga Is ‘More Fun’ in Space.

WELL, GOOD: Cheap transplant drug delays type 1 diabetes progression.

OOPS: Stop-Sale and Recall on 2025-’26 Chevrolet Corvettes to Fix Turn Signal Issue.

I’M GOING FOR A TEN GAUGE WITH SLUGS, THAT SHOULD TAKE THEM OUT: Tactical Temu: What Caliber For Armed Chinese ‘Wolves’?

SEDUCTIVE AI: AI companions can comfort lonely users but may deepen distress over time.

ALIENS: Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett says the American people would be “up at night worrying” if they knew what he’s been briefed on about extraterrestrial life.

MAYBE WE NEED A SPACE PLUMBERS’ UNION? More than half way to the moon, the Artemis II astronauts are grappling with a toilet problem.

Related:

Remember when Jimmy Kimmel made fun of plumbers and then literal rocket scientists couldn’t fix the toilet https://t.co/bn8HJqF0cA

— Matt’s Idea Shop (@MattsIdeaShop) April 4, 2026

IT CAN CERTAINLY BOOST YOUR ANNOYINGNESS: Birding May Boost Your Brain, Acoording to New Study.

A FREE SPEECH VICTORY: HS student suspended for ‘We ♥️ ICE’ flyers gets discipline expunged after free speech group inquiry.

LEFTISTS KEEP CALLING PETE HEGSETH INCOMPETENT AND YET WE KEEP SEEING THINGS LIKE THIS:

The most interesting aspect of the weapons officer rescue in Iran was CENTCOM's ability to use so many disparate personnel and capabilities in such a rapid and integrated way. They were making it up as they went along with complex tools and time critical sequences.

There is a…

— wretchardthecat (@wretchardthecat) April 5, 2026

IT’S A BIG INDUSTRY INVOLVING A LOT OF PEOPLE, IT’S WORTHY OF STUDY. Georgetown University set to launch ‘Understanding the Pornographic’ course.

I mean, you could teach a good course on the Occupy Movement.. But will be this that course? Maybe, maybe not.

STANDING UP TO RACISM AND DISCRIMINATION: DOJ investigates medical schools over race in admissions: Federal officials are investigating whether top medical schools are complying with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that prohibits the use of race in admissions decisions.

ROGER KIMBALL: The End of NATO—and Other Spring Tidings.

JEALOUS LOSERS GONNA BE JEALOUS LOSERS:

A couple of folks have sent this along. As I was saying. https://t.co/nwDd20DmrH

— Varad Mehta (@varadmehta) April 5, 2026

I’m noticing a lot of foreigners who seem to not understand why we’d risk hundreds of lives, spend millions of dollars, and sacrifice several aircraft to rescue one guy. And the reason they don’t understand is also the reason people can’t be made American by a piece of paper. https://t.co/mmRtDKQB56

— Lee (Greater) (@shortmagsmle) April 5, 2026

The phrase that comes to mind is, "America, Fuck Yeah." https://t.co/auhsJ6qrTX

— Northern Barbarian (@xnoesbueno) April 5, 2026

And read this, from Australia:

From Martin Iles, reposted:

Having lived in the USA for nearly two years, I've realised something.

The USA and the remainder of the Western world are no longer aligned.

We all laugh and mock when the Americans say, "Freedom!" because we truly think we're as free as they are.…

— Tom Kratman (@TKratman) April 5, 2026

Excerpt:

Somehow, we have landed the deal of a lifetime with the USA that says, “when the baddies come, you’ll save us ok?” Because we can’t save ourselves.

And we live in peace. But we keep gnawing away at freedoms, keep enabling China, and get flabby and disinterested about our military because Uncle Sam’s got it.

And, let’s be honest, Americans are widely looked down on. To add insult to injury, we don’t think that highly of our protectors.

So, the USA is finally saying “enough.” I am here, I can tell you what the vibe is, and that’s it. Trump is doing what people want in this regard. They’re over it.

And we come across all shocked and hard done by. We behave like people with no self-insight at all.

Yes, the global alliance system is all over the place now. From America’s perspective, it’s about time.

And I must say, though I be a proud Australian, I am forced to agree. Something has to change.

Indeed.

UPDATE:

America, please don’t listen to the new narrative that we wasted so much equipment to save one life.

There’s a reason recruiting is through the roof.

And it’s because we don’t leave your sons and daughters behind enemy lines because it’s financially convenient.

— InfantryDort (@infantrydort) April 5, 2026

Im beginning to understand, why Americans feel the way they do about us.

Incomprehensibly difficult operation to save the finest America has to offer. And all morons can scream about is “what about the money?” while incessantly lying. https://t.co/81dTk5T7IA

— Kama (@Kama_Kamilia) April 5, 2026

Trump orders two transport planes blown up so Iranians don’t steal and reverse-engineer our technology after a wildly successful rescue mission of two American pilots deep inside Iranian territory.

Biden leaves behind $85 billion in military equipment to the Taliban and over 100…

— Bad Hombre (@Badhombre) April 5, 2026

Everyone cried about the press losing their normal ability to freely roam the pentagon soliciting leaks, but notice how the military just pulled off an incredible top secret rescue operation without any Bolshevik subversion gumming things up

— Lee (Greater) (@shortmagsmle) April 5, 2026

OK. To recap. In the last 24 hours:

1) American military set up a base within enemy territory to rescue a downed flier, defying the ill-wishes of countless lefty douchebags plus fulfilling the shahadat jones of untold IRCG and Basij.

2) Americans reclaimed their indigenous…

— Northern Barbarian (@xnoesbueno) April 5, 2026

How long before the theory emerges that the US deliberately ordered the F-15 crew to bail out over Iran so they could rescue them dramatically.https://t.co/mgyqA6dvk1

— wretchardthecat (@wretchardthecat) April 5, 2026

Between January’s Maduro extradition and today’s F-15 WSO rescue, President Trump is demonstrating an exceptionally high risk tolerance for military operations in his second term. Not a great time to be an adversary of the US! https://t.co/h3FUn1BJLa

— Peter Meijer (@PeterMeijer) April 5, 2026

A high risk tolerance coupled with tremendous ability to execute that makes the risks, though not zero, lower than adversaries calculate.

UPDATED WITH DETAILS: Confirmed: F-15 Weapons Systems Officer Rescued After Massive Firefight. No American deaths but apparently plenty of “martyrs” from Iranian forces. This is good, as it will discourage them from trying too hard to capture downed Americans in the future.

HE’S LIKE THE PERFECT WOKE DEMOCRAT CANDIDATE, NAZI TATTOO AND ALL: Maine Democrat Graham Platner Called Jesus a ‘Zombie’ and the Virgin Mary ‘a Skank’ in Unearthed Reddit Post.

IS THERE ANYTHING IT CAN’T DO? Semaglutide Shows Surprising Mental Health Benefits in Massive 100,000-Person Study.

STAY STRAPPED:

A+ dad.

Lowlife antisemite decided to randomly threaten a dad and two kids because they were Jewish. The dad rightly pulled out his gun and held him at gunpoint until the police got there and arrested the aggressor.

Also will note this as a good example of why it’s good to… https://t.co/ZAy2bYmXe9

— AG (@AGHamilton29) April 4, 2026

HOW “COMPASSIONATE” GOVERNMENT WORKS:

“They’re called Medicaid and Medicare and the government spends over $2 trillion on them every year!”

“Surely with numbers like that every American citizen will have exquisite health care?”

“No, mainly it goes to pay foreign scammers who set up fake hospices in California .” pic.twitter.com/c2A5mhu9iv

— Magills (@magills_) April 3, 2026

It’s not like there’s just some fraud in the system, which might be reduced by sharper management. The fraud is the purpose of the system, and the system is explicitly designed to facilitate it.

When you understand that, all sorts of things become clear.

OPEN THREAD: You know what to do.

SPACE PHOTO OF THE DAY: Artemis 2 astronauts see Earth in the rear-view mirror.