Category: Uncategorized

Twice In The Last Three Days, NASA Has Pushed Back The Latest Scheduled “Undocking And Departure” From ISS…

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It will be uncrewed.

It will be virtually controlled / automated / robotic return.

And a new supply module (also uncrewed) is due up there shortly.

Still — it seems a little odd to reschedule, so near the depart time… twice. Here’s the bit, for tomorrow’s likely live feed:

…NASA’s SpaceX 31st Commercial Resupply Services Undocking | Share | Add to Calendar — Coverage of the Undocking of the SpaceX CRS-31 Cargo Craft from the International Space Station, now 12.16.2024 (Undocking scheduled at 11:05 a.m. EST)….

Now you know. Onward. Be excellent to one another.

नमस्ते

Hinderaker “Forgets” That For The Last Eight Years, About 2.7 Million New (Potential) Voters Came Of Age, Each Year

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It is clear that fewer of these “newest” voters, those just turning 18, in 2023-24, voted for Kamala Harris than we would have guessed, given Joe Biden’s strong win — in that age co-hort, in 2020.

[But the math is then pretty simple: if Mr. Biden won say 80 per cent or so, of the newest voters (recent 18 year olds), from the prior four years, in 2020 (and he did!) — that would be… yep about 15 million added votes, overall. Exactly the number that John claims evinces… fraud. What a putz.]

And it seems likely that some of them didn’t turn out to vote, at all, this time. [It seems clear that at least some of the younger voters were not as adamant about voting for Kamala as we expected.]

But for John Hinderaker to tonight churlishly extrapolate “massive fraud” on the part of the Democratic Party — in the 2020 cycle — solely from historically high turnouts (for both parties!)… is simply bonkers. It is insane; and it has been refuted in federal courts for four long years, now — by competent evidence. Damn.

The reality is that many many people deeply loathed Trumpian policies by 2020 — and they also personally hated Trump, by then — based on four years of hateful chaos. They were — in sum — very very motivated to vote (and vote against Trump). Moreover, my theory is that by 2024, too many people had too soon forgotten how bad he was, and so fewer turned out for Kamala in 2024, proportionately. Then, added to that idea is the one that a good six million new voters were mostly too young to really follow what Trumpism was doing to America, in 2016-20.

That very succinctly explains the chart John shows, tonight — without the need for some convoluted, tin-foil hat 2020 conspiracy against GOP voters, by Democratic Party operatives. No fewer than 60 separate courts found no evidence of Hinderaker’s, or Trump’s or Rudy’s imagined pervasive fraud story / lie from 2020.

But we see John once again tonight, licking the felon’s boots — because. he. must.

F U G L Y.

So… This Is Your 47th Preznit-Elect’s View Of What Is Appropriate Satire/Humorous Political Commentary?!

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I might remark that whatever these drone sightings turn out to be, Mr. Trump is absolutely the last person on Earth who should be making fun of someone eating… too much fast food — or their body shape, generally.

But if he wants to “go there” — as my inset image suggests, there are plenty of mean memes, of his golf (and KFC!) addiction, in full on high dungeon to load up.

Even putting the childish nature of it aside, I am having a hard time accepting that nearly 43% of America’s registered voters would choose this malign knucklehead and reprobate as the leader of the free world, again.

Ah… so it goes. We live in a “post-truth” and largely… post-manners, world now. These next two years will… whiz right on by, just the same.

O U T.

Meloni?! Queen of Europe?! Not Likely. Hinderaker: Fantasizes, Again.

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This is just so… latter-days… Hinderaker. And so silly, I’ll only dash off a few hasty lines — and no new graphic — just the same old “fantasy” one.

Someone writes something less than caustic about what he imagines are his fellow EU fascists… and suddenly, that person will… rule the world. Last week it was the Tory minority leader in England.

Today it is the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni.

No John — your unicorns don’t fart rainbows.

Do take a seat — she will not be… what you imagine her to be.

Mostly because few in the EU proper see her in the way you fantasize they do.

Cheers.

A Sunday Morning Update: Rudy Giuliani’s Supposed Witnesses, As To His Florida “Homestead” Argument, Owe Answers By This Wednesday In Manhattan…

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Since none of these supposedly-favorable witness for Mr. Giuliani have answered the motions made by the two Georgia election workers, despite repeated opportunities to do so, the able USDC Judge Liman in Manhattan entered an unusual Saturday order, compelling them to comply with various subpoenas by this coming Wednesday.

It is highly unlikely that these witnesses will be enough to establish that Mr. Giuliani had, by 2023, abandoned his residence in New York, and taken up permanent residence in Florida. As such, the Florida condo too may be sold to pay the $148 million plus interest he owes the election workers. That’s where this is headed — and here’s the full text docket order entered just yesterday:

…Having received no response to Plaintiffs’ motion to compel from third-party subpoena recipients Dr. Ryan and Mr. Goodman, the Court grants Plaintiffs’ motion to compel at Dkt. No. [159]. Dr. Ryan and Mr. Goodman have until Wednesday, December 18, 2024 at 5 p.m. to produce all responsive documents in their possession, custody or control, or show cause why they should not be held in contempt for violation of the Courts order. Plaintiffs shall serve copies of this order on the third parties by alternate means as permitted by the Court’s December 10, 2024 order, and file proof of service on the docket.

(Signed by Judge Lewis J. Liman on 12/14/2024)….

This is one of those slow motion train-wrecks that is hard to look away from — once you know it is unfolding. He was purportedly a hero to New Yorkers after 9/11 — styled as “America’s mayor“. But some of us knew better.

We knew him before that, as a particularly cruel AUSA, and as a political opportunist, once he was leading City Hall. A guy who personally jailed entirely peaceful Democratic protesters, when the RNC came to the Big Apple, for a convention. Many of those, for over a week.

He plainly spat upon the freedom to dissent peaceably in the late 1990s — so it is somehow fitting that his own “freedom” from excessive possessions is being delivered to him, in the Manhattan courts — for his own intemperate, lawless and libelous speech. Speech that nearly got these two Black women… lynched, down in Georgia. Onward.

Separately, as a small footnote — his brief, in the Second Circuit, appealing the foreclosure orders, is now due in late February: “…Rudolph W. Giuliani Brief due date as 02/21/2025. Joint Appendix due date as 02/21/2025….”

Now you know.

नमस्ते

No College Player Ever Won A Heisman AND A Biletnikoff — Until Tonight: Travis Hunter. Print That Wheaties Box, Folks!

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We’ve said it repeatedly here.

He’s without a doubt the best all-around college football player since… 1912, and Jim Thorpe.

In winning the Biletnikoff Award earlier today, given to the best offensive receiver — and now winning the Heisman moments ago… he becomes the only player in college football ever to win… BOTH.

And this is in addition to several lesser awards he’s won, as of season’s end. Earlier this week, Hunter was named both the AP College Football Player of the Year and the Walter Camp Player of the Year, and then won both the Fred Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top wide receiver and the Chuck Bednarik Award as its top defensive player.

You’ll next see him in action against BYU in the Alamo Bowl — woot!

He will certainly be drafted No. 1 (or 2), come this Spring — with Shedeur Sanders, his QB, likely right behind (or in front) of him. Now you know!

नमस्ते

In Which Paul Mirengoff Offers Truly Insipid, 24 Years Out-Of-Date Opinions: VoA Edition.

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First, never let actual, personal ignorance stand in the way of idiotic opinions — that’s been a mantra for both Mirengoff and Hinderaker (this time, on NJ drones — but ever since about 2002). That is, there is no clear authority to establish that Tangerine 2.0 may lawfully remove the sitting head of Voice of America.

And perhaps it is a minor matter, but Paul seems unaware (with idle talk of Kari Lake being offered the role by Tangerine) that when a natural vacancy opened up, back in 2018-19, Trump filled it with a crony / rabidly xenophobic billionaire. So yes, Trump believes this is just another of his personal megaphones.

Putting aside the issue of whether he can demand the current VoA head’s resignation, we just chuckle at Paul weighing in, on an organ of government he claims he hasn’t paid attention to… since the turn of the Millennium. Damn:

…I haven’t followed VOA since the Bush days. However, it’s safe to assume that the left-liberals at VOA who slandered Bush’s America have been no more charitable in portraying Donald Trump’s….

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Paul’s view that it should be a propaganda MAGA organ has been repudiated by several federal court decisions. Paul could have looked it up, before popping off.

But why bother to?

Again… damnation.

Out.

Do NOT Delay! Get Your Nominations In, Before The Holidays! 8th Annual “Shkreli Awards”: @ Lown Institute…

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Yes — this is how some multi-year, multi-company pattern bad deeds… never stop “giving“. The estimable Lown Institute is now on its eighth iteration of finding all the “worst of the worst” — in (primarily US) health care delivery. The fine institute started all this, as Martin went off to the clink some years ago.

Here eight years later, it is running on all cylinders, thus stronger — and more widely known, across the globe — than ever. Well, at least in this way, Martin’s name will not be lost to the sands of time/history — of the early 21st Century. [Not sure I’d want to be famous in this way, though.]

Here’s a link to make your nominations for this 2024 year.

And here’s a bit of the story, there:

…Welcome to the Shkreli Awards, the Lown Institute’s top ten list of the worst examples of greed and dysfunction in health care, named for the infamous “pharma bro” Martin Shkreli. Join us and our esteemed guests to find out which bad actors will take home the dubious honor of a Shkreli Award.

Previous winners include:

Pharma companies that sued to stop Medicare from negotiating drug prices

The “stent king” who placed as many as 80-90 stents in a single patient

A so-called nonprofit hospital that paid their CEO $35 million….

[This one seems extra-poignant, this year as we all reel from the mentally-ill Mangione’s hit man style murder of the United Healthcare insurance CEO, about nine days ago.] Even so, I’ll try keep a positive thought going into the holidays — as in five days, I evaporate into the desert southwest, until midway through January of 2025.

Keep it spinning in good karma people!


Onward.

नमस्ते

Ugh. Texas AG Paxton Now Tries To Sue NY Doctor… Who Never Entered Texas: NY Shield Law In Play.

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A young woman in Texas (not the one in my legacy graphic) was prescribed medical treatment (an FDA approved abortion drug) by telemedicine, from the state of New York.

Ken Paxton now tries to use the plainly unconstitutional Texas “laws” to prosecute the New York doctor. It may take some time, but he will…. fail. Here’s a bit:

“The New York shield law exists to prevent Texas from having any ability to get someone in New York who is following New York law into Texas court in any way,” said David Cohen, a law professor at Drexel University.

Cohen said New York’s law requires the state to refuse to order Carpenter to comply with Texas’ court orders, which effectively will leave Texas no defendant to bring this suit against….

These Texas government employees need to accept that the rest of us — gladly staying outside their borders… need not follow their loony “laws”. End of discussion. Damn.

नमस्ते

“Mirror Image” Microbes — Engineered By Humans — Might Be “Planet Killers” If They Got Loose In The Wild…

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Yesterday, the prestigious Journal of Science issued a clarion call, for a global halt to work in this area — until its risks are better understood. The idea was to try to create life, much like the “left handed” sugar projects of the late 1990s, that relied on “mirror images” of known proteins. The mirror versions, it was thought, might not be as susceptible to our existing pathogens. But the reverse would also likely be true: they would not be susceptible to our antibiotics and vaccines.

That strikes me as a very cogent observation. So, at a minimum — even though creating such life is more than a decade off, technologically — we should certainly at least pause long enough to have a principled discussion about benefit vs. risk. Let’s listen in to the UK Guardian’s deeply sourced article on it all:

…The fresh concerns over the technology are revealed in a 299-page report and a commentary in the journal Science. While enthusiastic about research on mirror molecules, the report sees substantial risks in mirror microbes and calls for a global debate on the work.

Beyond causing lethal infections, the researchers doubt the microbes could be safely contained or kept in check by natural competitors and predators. Existing antibiotics are unlikely to be effective, either.

“Unless compelling evidence emerges that mirror life would not pose extraordinary dangers, we believe that mirror bacteria and other mirror organisms, even those with engineered biocontainment measures, should not be created,” the authors write in Science.

“We therefore recommend that research with the goal of creating mirror bacteria not be permitted, and that funders make clear that they will not support such work.”

Dr Kate Adamala, a synthetic biologist at the University of Minnesota and co-author on the report, was working towards a mirror cell but changed tack last year after studying the risks in detail.

“We should not be making mirror life,” she said. “We have time for the conversation. And that’s what we were trying to do with this paper, to start a global conversation….”

Onward then to a nice night out, with old friends — of a city-dinner / dessert / hot coffee — and several art shows, over on South Michigan, at Columbia. Smile.

नमस्ते