Can he beat Gavin Newsom in California for governor?
I sure hope so. We are in weird political times, but it will take a smart campaign. Given that stupid jungle-primary rule, Republicans have to be happy they even have a candidate in the race. They don’t in the Senate.
This is a year old, but a good description from Coyote Smith why we should establish a Space Corps prior to transitioning to a Space Force.
Jonathan Last writes that we should hope that there is no tape. Unfortunately, I certainly wouldn’t bet on it.
Is it the future of the Democrats?
I hope so, because if so, it means, finally, the death of this old horrific, racist, and now totalitarian political party.
Thoughts from Roger Simon.
An interesting candid interview, with bonus knowledgable commentary on the crudeness of Trump.
[Update late afternoon]
Sorry about originally misspelling his name “Gillette.” Guess it’s because I’ve always thought he was a pretty sharp guy.
Sharon Atkisson asks what ever happened to it?
I’d like to think that Sessions is doing more than appears, and perhaps there will be an October surprise.
[Monday update]
As noted in comments, Strzok was (finally) fired today.
#ProTip: Saying that Strzok was fired for "hating Trump" is as idiotic as saying Bill Clinton was impeached for getting a BJ. If people were being fired merely for hating Trump, probably most of the federal workforce would be out the door.
— Rand Simberg (@Rand_Simberg) August 13, 2018
[Bumped]
For a change of pace, and a break from the house renovation, I took a drive around it today. It didn’t seem much different than the last time I did it, over a decade ago. It’s an interesting lake, in that it has very few views of it from the road; you have to drive up toward it, park and climb the dike. One of the few (and best) is from the bridge at Canal Point. It’s not that big, but it’s big enough that you can’t see the shore over the horizon, so it’s kind of weird to look at an endless lake that’s not one of the Great Lakes.
[Monday-afternoon update]
The north side of the lake has a lot of cattle ranching. It was kind of funny to see a herd of cattle sharing the pasture with egrets. The white birds would follow the cattle around as they grazed. I wonder if there’s some symbiotic relationship there?
Yes, we need one, or at least some entity dedicated to space. I don’t understand why they keep saying a “sixth branch of the armed services,” though. Are they calling the Coast Guard an “armed service”? I don’t think that’s right.
[Update a while later]
Only Nixon could go to China, and only Trump could go to space.
Not sure he’s being entirely serious.
[Update late Sunday evening]
OK, one more: How we can own the libs on space.
By the way, Jim Bennett’s analogy in comments is useful, and I did a Twitter thread on it.
People familiar with the history of the Air Force (i.e., not very many people, including most current enlistees of the Air Force), will understand this analogy of why we ultimately, if no immediately, need a space force. [thread]
— Rand Simberg (@Rand_Simberg) August 13, 2018
BTW, for those who corrected me legally in comments on whether or not the USCG is an armed service, my concern is that by lumping it in, it fails to make crucial distinctions. It’s certainly a uniformed service with an academy, but it is more intrinsically civilian.
It’s about 0230 EDT, and I’m still up, planning home renovations for tomorrow. But I’m in south Florida, about fifteen minutes from the swamp to the west, and the sky is clear for both the Perseids and the Parker Solar Probe Delta IV launch in an hour, 150 miles north-northwest of me. So I might as well stay up a little longer. Hoping I’ll see the Milky Way for the first time in a long time.
[Sunday-morning update]
Well, saw half a dozen meteors, one of them right next to the ascending rocket. No Milky Way, though.
[Update Sunday night]
Given my recent failed attempts to see it, I’m wondering (slightly depressed) if it’s an age-related vision decline. It was very distinct in my youth, but it seems like there are a lot fewer stars than there used to be.