OPEN THREAD: Ring in the weekend.

ULA HAS BEEN UNDERPERFORMING; FALCON HAS NOT. Vulcan Centaur swapped out again: NASA goes with SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket for launch of space weather mission.

“THE POLICE WANT IT, THEREFORE WE SAY NO.”

https://x.com/MollyBeck/status/2080698417886507207

LIFE NOT UNENDING: Ultimate Limit of The Human Lifespan May Be Identified, Study Suggests. “new study suggests immortal life may be scientifically impossible, even if we somehow found the perfect anti-aging medicine. If scientists managed to overcome every other aspect of aging, humans still couldn’t live forever, the new research shows. Random DNA mutations would continue accumulating in our cells until the body could no longer function. Simulations conducted by a team at the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology in Russia suggest this process could impose a fundamental limit on human lifespan, with most people living no longer than about 150 to 190 years under this optimistic scenario.”

TODAY’S STARSHIP LAUNCH WORKED:

ALAS, I HAVE NO STORED STEM CELLS: Could Young Stem Cells Be the Key to Healthier Aging?

I’VE DONE BOTH: I tried assisted stretching for months — here’s why I now prefer it to deep-tissue massage.. And I prefer the massage.

NOBODY’S PERFECT: Nissan, Infiniti Recalling 168,000 SUVs Over Incorrect Weight Rating.

THERE NEEDS TO BE SOME ACCOUNTABILITY: Why is Tate Adamiak Being Treated More Harshly Than Most Criminals ATF Prosecutes?

fter ATF agents kicked down his doors, they found nothing illegal or even suspected of being illegal. As a result, the ATF brought in a specialist, ATF Firearm Enforcement Officer Jeffrey R. Bodell, who discombobulated the actual items that the agents had found—all of which are still sold legally online, most do not even require an ID—and turned them into machineguns and destructive devices.

Adamiak was charged with illegally possessing a machinegun for a toy STEN submachinegun found during the search warrant. He paid $75 for the non-firing Spanish replica—or toy—which was made by Denix and is still sold online. Bodell inserted a real STEN barrel and receiver, neither Bodell nor his assistant could make it fire more than one round at a time. Despite their hard work, the toy STEN would not even accept a real magazine. Still, Bodell officially ruled that the toy was a machinegun.

Adamiak was charged with illegally possessing two destructive devices, two inert RPGs that had holes drilled into their receivers and were stripped of internal parts. ATF’s “expert” added parts from real RPGs until they would fire a single subcaliber 7.62x39mm round. As a result, he classified the RPGs as destructive devices. The inert RPGs are still legally sold today without an FFL or any other paperwork.

People’s careers should end for this kind of behavior.

NOTHING TO SEE HERE, MOVE ALONG:

Amazing we're just never going to hear anything about this ever again, including the fact the killer said he was paid by Tim Walz to do it. https://t.co/Pg0Yog2gEW

— RAW EGG NATIONALIST (@Babygravy9) July 23, 2026

ONGOING:

I think we're still operating within war-gamed scenarios.

— Peter Orem (@PeterMOrem) July 24, 2026

WE KNOW: Airplane seats really are getting smaller.

WEIGHT LOSS WILL DO THAT FOR YOU: Women Are More Likely to Get a Job and Find a Partner While on GLP1s, New Study Suggests.

NEWS YOU CAN USE: I Tried the NAD+ IV Infusion—Here’s What You Should Know.

OBESITY WILL ONE DAY BE A LIFESTYLE CHOICE: Retatrutide Helped Adults With Diabetes or Heart Disease Lose Up to 20 Percent of Their Weight, Study Finds.

SHE’S AN OLD LADY, GIVE HER A BREAK:

One of the things you notice about this is how outdated her prejudices are here. She’s raving about homeschooling, but it’s because of creationism and evolution, and teaching children the universe is 5,000 years old. It’s like a 2004 Jon Stewart skit fossilized in amber. The… https://t.co/4uqbWeRS4I

— Payton Alexander (@AlexanderPayton) July 22, 2026

UNSUNG HERO:

This is a (true) story that goes around alot in the circles.

You really have to imagine it. The entire mission control is stunned as Apollo 12 is about to come crashing down with all the astronauts aboard. (Think Challenger explosion but worse.)

A junior engineer says 'Try… https://t.co/ntD9EImu11

— John Ringo SF Author (@Jringo1508) July 24, 2026

His spiritual descendant:

A SpaceX intern once described eating lunch next to Elon Musk in the company cafeteria.

The intern said Elon sat down at a regular table with a regular tray of food. No entourage. No reserved section. He sat next to two junior engineers who were clearly terrified. One of them…

— Race 🕊️ (@multiplanet1) July 21, 2026

CENSORING THE OPPOSITION IS ALWAYS THE FIRST MOVE WITH THESE THINGS: On birthright citizenship, Fordham scholar wants ‘repercussions’ for conservative views.

PROGRESS: Georgetown eliminates university-funded student DEI program as budget pressures mount.

DON’T STOP: Team Trump’s anti-fraud drive is making more news than anyone can follow. “One day this week, the Justice Department announced it had finally nabbed a fugitive Medicare fraudster on the lam since 2022, who allegedly stole more than half a billion dollars, even as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Medicare-Medicaid czar Dr. Mehmet Oz froze over $1 billion in funding to California and Minnesota over apparent Medicaid fraud. About the same time, Scott Bessent’s Treasury stopped $100 million in tax money going to dead people thanks to new verification procedures, while the IRS chief revealed that a recent scrub of the Social Security Number database found that one in 10 recipients were erroneously listed.”

I REMEMBER WHEN THE LEFT WAS AGAINST “ELIMINATIONIST RHETORIC.”

I mean, if USA Today want to run a column that by its own mental calculus is begging for a mob to lynch Caitlin Clark, I guess it's a free country

— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) July 24, 2026

Or pretended to be.

UPDATE:

Her column wasn’t an engagement in thinking, but an emotional outburst that would have been rewarded in 2020, but we are done with that, and if you didn’t get the memo, your editors should save you if you can’t save yourself. https://t.co/RCLnOPkRsA

— Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) July 24, 2026

JUDGING BY THE ACCOMPANYING PHOTO, IT’S NOT WORKING: Jon Ossoff Spends Thousands on ‘Makeup Services’ From Artist Who Worked on Hollywood Blockbusters Like ‘The Notebook.’

BLACKPILLERS BE REMINDED:

By far Trump’s biggest accomplishment…

He closed the border in 48 hours and it still isn’t being discussed enough. After 4 straight years of record-breaking illegal immigration, we now have the fewest illegal crossings in 50+ years. pic.twitter.com/VdCvNIpVjn

— Geiger Capital (@Geiger_Capital) July 23, 2026

GOOD ADVICE: Roger Simon: The Jews Should Leave New York: Exit the city to save it… and yourselves.

JOEL KOTKIN: Socialism for the elites. America’s left-wing insurgency relies on billionaire donors and a highly credentialed voter base.