What would King Solomon do?
Whatever it is, it’s likely smarter than what Jeff Sessions would do.
Anthony Bourdain
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]
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.
The BFR Factory
An interesting story, with bonus fairing halves. I should drive down there some time and check it out myself.
[Update a few minutes later]
Also, a new hangar facility, control tower and rocket garden at KSC.
Charles Krauthammer
This is tragic: He has just announced that he has only weeks to live. It’s certainly been a life well lived.
[Update a while later]
Here’s a piece he wrote at the turn of the century, lamenting the decline of the space program.
Masterpiece Cakeshop
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]
Methane On Mars
Tanya Harrison has the story. As always, a reminder that people who want to settle Mars should hope that we don’t find life there.
Blog Commenting
Apparently you can’t do it, and I’m too busy working the proposal to try to diagnose and fix it. Maybe tomorrow.
A To-Do List For Bridenstine
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.
Horowitz’s Report
“Stop sanitizing it and release it now.”
It must be pretty bad.
[Afternoon update]
DOJ watchdog finds that Comey “defined authority as FBI director.”
What a pompous, self-righteous anal orifice he is.
[Update a while later]
Strzok and Page didn’t just hate Congress; they despised it.
This was/is clearly an agency out of control.
Recycling
It’s always been a pointless scam, and it’s becoming ever more clear. As Glenn has noted, all the sorting and binning is mostly a religious ritual.