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.
End Of An Era
Georg von Tiesenhausen died on Sunday, at the age of 104. He was the last of von Braun’s rocket team. Amazing that he lived so long after what he went through in his youth.
Climate Change
It has (finally) run its course:
A good indicator of why climate change as an issue is over can be found early in the text of the Paris Agreement. The “nonbinding” pact declares that climate action must include concern for “gender equality, empowerment of women, and intergenerational equity” as well as “the importance for some of the concept of ‘climate justice.’ ” Another is Sarah Myhre’s address at the most recent meeting of the American Geophysical Union, in which she proclaimed that climate change cannot fully be addressed without also grappling with the misogyny and social injustice that have perpetuated the problem for decades.
The descent of climate change into the abyss of social-justice identity politics represents the last gasp of a cause that has lost its vitality. Climate alarm is like a car alarm—a blaring noise people are tuning out.
On the other hand, next month will be the sixth anniversary of the blog post that Michael Mann is suing me for. It’s been almost a year and a half since we requested an en banc rehearing of our appeal in the case to the DC court of appeals, with no response.
Boeing’s Imaginary Space Program
Keith Cowing is a cruel man, but fair.