Burt Rutan’s SpaceShipOne had a successful drop test yesterday. This demonstrated the ability to take off with the vehicles mated (which had already been demonstrated in previous captive-carry flights), to smoothly separate the mated vehicles, and for both vehicles to fly safely back to Mojave. A couple more tests, and they’ll be ready to integrate propulsion into the vehicle, and go for altitude.

It’s quite conceivable to me that, due to Burt’s regulatory shenanigans, getting a launch license may end up being the pacing item on his schedule, since it requires at least six months notice, and he only recently decided to apply for one.

Some pictures can be found here.

Arnold Kling says that, contrary to official statistics, by unconventional (but probably more useful) measures, we’ve actually been in a deep recession for a while, and are not coming out soon.

Bush being on vacation reminds me of this Iowahawk report, from happier times two years ago (before most people had heard of Al Qaeda) about the tribulations of pampered reporters in Crawford, Texas.

E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post described a common experience of the visiting press. “When I arrived in Crawford, I had a sudden craving for a quick brioche and mineral water, and set out in search of a decent Belgian patisserie,” he recalled. “Two hours later, the horrible truth dawned on me. In Crawford, there are no decent Belgian patisseries.”

Panic stricken, Dionne said he began asking for help from local passers-by.

“I kept asking them, ‘where can I get a brioche? Where can I get a brioche?’, only to see blank stares,” he recalled. “Finally, one man in a pickup truck said he hadn’t heard of that brand of beer, but offered me a Shiner Bock.”

Tragic.

What will the handwringers in Europe and at Human Rights Watch have to say about this? The mother of one of the Russian prisoners in Gitmo would rather have him stay there than be returned to Russia. Guess he prefers the tropics.

Her son Andrei Bakhitov is one of eight Russian detainees, and the newspaper quoted a letter he wrote to his mother.

“I think that there is not even a health resort in Russia on the level of this place,” the letter said.

You know, maybe Ashcroft should be fired for making it too appealing to be a terrorist suspect.

OK, anyone want to take bets on whether or not Rainier Wolfcastle runs for governor of whatever the heck state Springfield is in this fall on The Simpsons?

For those interested, here’s Gary Coleman’s campaign platform. It’s got a lot of stuff on it, but hey, a guy like him needs a big platform…

I’m actually in favor of his anti-politician, anti-tax, anti-union, pot-reform, and anti-bus planks, but I’ve got problems with his enthusiasm for eminent domain. And as someone with a pond in their backyard, I live in constant fear of having my home declared a wetland.

Also, I’m not sure that, given how screwed up the water markets are in California (particularly considering that they don’t really exist–it’s a political spoils system), “free water” is all that hot an idea. Besides, the stuff is dangerous.

For those interested, here’s Gary Coleman’s campaign platform. It’s got a lot of stuff on it, but hey, a guy like him needs a big platform…

I’m actually in favor of his anti-politician, anti-tax, anti-union, pot-reform, and anti-bus planks, but I’ve got problems with his enthusiasm for eminent domain. And as someone with a pond in their backyard, I live in constant fear of having my home declared a wetland.

Also, I’m not sure that, given how screwed up the water markets are in California (particularly considering that they don’t really exist–it’s a political spoils system), “free water” is all that hot an idea. Besides, the stuff is dangerous.

For those interested, here’s Gary Coleman’s campaign platform. It’s got a lot of stuff on it, but hey, a guy like him needs a big platform…

I’m actually in favor of his anti-politician, anti-tax, anti-union, pot-reform, and anti-bus planks, but I’ve got problems with his enthusiasm for eminent domain. And as someone with a pond in their backyard, I live in constant fear of having my home declared a wetland.

Also, I’m not sure that, given how screwed up the water markets are in California (particularly considering that they don’t really exist–it’s a political spoils system), “free water” is all that hot an idea. Besides, the stuff is dangerous.

The California Supreme Court decided not to take up the case for Grayout. The election goes forward, as stipulated, with Arnold on the ballot, and Gray not.

I suspect that Arnold’s announcement has triggered an inexorable sequence of events. Grayout’s only hope now is for the courts to save him, and the prospects for that don’t look good. The Dems realize this, and now know that they have to have someone on the ballot to save the governor’s mansion in Sacramento.

KNX has just announced that Bustamante is running and will announce tomorrow. He makes the most sense for a Dem candidate–he’s the guy who the voters already elected to take over if the governor could no longer carry out his duties. He’s, in a sense, already acting governor, due to the recall situation, so he can plausibly run as the incumbent, or as close to one as can be had, other than Davis himself.

Only one problem. While he’s not as corrupt or nauseating as Davis, he’s probably about as dim, and most California Dems know it.

This thing is really a variation on the classic game-theory scenario called the Prisoner’s Dilemma.

If you believe that the voters want to keep a Democrat in the governor’s office (which, in most California Democrats’ conceit, they do), it’s in the interests of all the Democrats to cooperate, and not put another Democrat on the ballot. If they do, there will be an attractive alternative for the California electorate to get rid of Davis, because they get to not only toss out the disgusting Davis, who even they hate, but they also get to replace him with different one of their beloved Democrats (you know, the party that’s driven the state into a muddy ditch in the past several years).

If a single Democrat breaks ranks, and runs, then he would have a good chance of winning, because the Republican vote will be split among Issa, Scharzenegger, and whatever other Elephant decides to run. But once a single Democrat defects, others will be encouraged to as well, because the game is up, and they can’t keep Davis, and may miss their only chance at the governor’s mansion (particularly those who’ve been salivating for it). If they all cooperate, they all win, but someone who defects gets a higher payoff than the prize for cooperating, so once Bustamante makes a formal announcement, expect a Donkey stampede between tomorrow and Saturday evening.

And also expect them to all be “terminated” in October.

[Update on Thursday afternoon]

Issa has announced that he’s not running. He says he wants to stay in Congress to see the Middle East “peace process” continue to move forward. One wonders if the White House made him an offer he couldn’t refuse (perhaps their support for a Senate run against Boxer next year?).

This is another devastating blow to Governor Low Beam. The Dem story line has been that Issa was just doing this to buy an election, and make himself governor. With Arnold entering, and Issa dropping out, their “Vast Right Wing Conspiracy” hysteria is looking ever more laughable.

The Donkeys have to be in full melt down at this point.