Category Archives: Political Commentary

Business, Political Commentary, Social Commentary, Space, Space Science, Technology and Society

Where No Woman Has Gone Before

14 Comments

It looks like Polaris Dawn is finally about to launch.

Everyone has noted that this will be the highest-altitude flight since Apollo, but all of the Apollo astronauts were men. Menon and Gillis will hold the altitude record for women after this, until a woman goes to the moon (which may or not be on Artemis, given the ongoing boondoggle).

[Update a while later]

Bob Zimmerman has thoughts on the latest SLS fiasco.

[Wednesday-afternoon update]

Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Social Commentary

The Left’s Swift Shift After The RFK Endorsement

2 Comments

They lack a sense of irony:

The acrid scent of panic might have been expected among the limp-wristed, totalitarian faithful. And, in fact, beneath the amusing cologne of anti-Trump bluster, the panic was indeed discernible.

But there was also that trademark smooth-as-a-suppository (as Saul Bellow put it) suaveness, exemplified, for instance, by former Obama strategist David Axelrod.

“Robert F. Kennedy Sr.,” Axelrod posted shortly after the deed was done, “would have been appalled to see his son cut a deal to drop out for [t]he race and endorse Trump.”

Imagine: someone agrees to drop out of a race at the last minute and support a rival candidate! As the commentator Ned Ryan put it in response to Axelrod’s snippy post: “You suddenly seem offended by someone cutting a deal to drop out of the race and endorse someone else.”

Business, Political Commentary, Space

Phil McAlister

11 Comments

…has been reassigned. A lot of speculation as to the reason and timing in this thread.

It’s unclear to me whether he is being blamed for Starliner, or if this is Boeing’s revenge for the NASA decision to rescue with Crew Dragon. But if the latter, it would have been pressure coming from Boeing’s friends on the Hill.

[Sunday-morning update]

Will Boeing ever deliver on its contract?

With all the talk a decade ago about how SpaceX wouldn’t deliver and how prudent it was to give the lion’s share of the funds to Boeing, there should be plenty of crow to go around.

[Update a few minutes later]

[Update late morning]