Culinary, Health, Media Criticism, Popular Culture, Social Commentary

Anthony Bourdain

4 Comments

I’ve never paid much attention to him, but he seems to have been quite a character. Here’s a foreword he wrote to a book in defense of a guileless restaurant reviewer in flyover country.

[Update a while later]

Dealing with suicide.

It’s always been such an alien concept to me.

[Update a few minutes later]

After a suicide, think of the survivors. and Ben Shapiro asks “How do we stop suicides?”

When I was a kid, one of my classmates’ father shot himself, and she discovered the body. I wondered just how terrible that would be.

Business, Law, Media Criticism, Political Commentary

Masterpiece Cakeshop

14 Comments

Thoughts from Mark Randazza:

Ultimately, in this case, nobody really “won.” The baker “wins” because technically he “won.” But, all he “won” was the right to have the charges brought against him without the administrative panel making snarky comments about his religious beliefs.

The cause of gay rights was not advanced at all. And, the real issue here — the First Amendment issue, is not being addressed at all — except in a pretty damn good concurrence by Justice Thomas, joined by Justice Gorsuch. (Starts on Page 38 of 59) His concurrence is, of course, foreshadowing either the majority or the minority when this case finally comes to a head. Thomas (I believe correctly) says that designing a wedding cake is no mere act of throwing eggs and flour into a bowl – but is full of artistic creativity. Harnessing (or enslaving) an artist to create that which he does not wish to create is a travesty against the First Amendment.

Yes, that is the argument, despite the continuing nonsense about how it was “discriminating against gays” (I got into a Twitter discussion with an idiot about this yesterday). And SCOTUS punted on the underlying issue. It’s not just a travesty against the First Amendment, but tyrannical.

[Thursday-afternoon update]

One of the legal team who defended Phillips explains why it’s not as much of a nothingburger as some are saying.

[Bumped]

Business, Economics, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Science And Society, Space, Technology and Society

A To-Do List For Bridenstine

7 Comments

Some advice from Scott Hubbard. But here is the problem:

…the new administrator must provide NASA and the rest of the world much more clarity on the brief statement issued by Vice President Pence and the newly revived Space Council that the United States will “lead the return of humans to the Moon.” Studies of the future of human space exploration have for decades emphasized that Mars is the target of greatest interest for reasons of science and exploration.1–4 The last initiative that attempted to include both human landings on the Moon and eventually Mars, the so-called Constellation program, collapsed from its own budgetary (over) weight.

Two points: First, the assumption that human spaceflight is about “science and exploration.” I’ve written about this error at length. Second is the notion that Constellation collapsed because it was attempting to do both the Mars and moon. It wasn’t seriously trying to do either. NASA wasn’t seriously trying to do either.

Biting Commentary about Infinity…and Beyond!