Don't light this candle

Space.com: "NASA fuels up giant Artemis 2 moon rocket. Yes, it's a little leaky. So is it ready to fly?"

Nope: "NASA Moves Artemis II Launch To March."

I believe I mentioned this before but I briefly worked as a project engineer on the Orion program and it was - by far - the worst job I've ever had.  Whatever excitement of "working for NASA" was washed away in a sclerotic bureaucracy that throttled any real progress.  There were regular newsletters circulated that heralded how NASA programs were spread over every state in the Union which should tell you what you need to know: this is a jobs program, not a space program.

The SLS/Orion program is still dependent upon Space Shuttle technology from over 40 years ago.  Why?  Because some Congressman didn't want to see a NASA subcontractor in his/her district lose that sweet federal money.  This is all part of the grift along with the endless delays.  There are never any consequences for delay so why not keep your job going?  These programs achieve a kind of half-life behavior where progress slows the closer you get to the finish line.

I hope and pray I'm wrong, but I fear this Artemis launch will result in cataclysm.

That's why they're hiding the voter rolls

Federalist: "Democrats Hate The SAVE Act Because They Want Illegals To Vote." 

The Washington Post committed suicide

Washington Examiner: "Don't cry for the Washington Post, it helped destroy media."

Over the past decade, the Post has been one of the leading culprits in the collapse of public trust in journalism. The once-venerable outlet has spent the past ten years participating in virtually every dishonest partisan operation of the Left’s enemies, including giving legitimacy to the Brett Kavanaugh group rape accusations, delegitimizing the Hunter Biden laptop story, spreading the Gaza “genocide” lie, covering up Joe Biden’s cognitive decline, sliming the Covington children, and countless others. You could write a book listing the Post pieces that were so biased as to be basically fictional.

The Washington Post has been coasting on the fumes of Watergate for almost 50 years and forgot what real journalism looked like.

Supreme impartiality

Miranda Devine in the NY Post: "Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson removed any shred of impartiality by applauding anti-ICE speeches at the Grammys" 

She was at the Grammys for a spoken-word nomination, which is fitting since she never shuts up.

It's all been downhill since that smarmy slogan

"Democracy dies in darkness." - "Downfall: Washington Post Lays Off 300 Staffers, Shuttering Sports Section and Gutting Foreign Desk as Once-Mighty Publisher Bleeds Subscribers and Money"

With the benefit of hindsight, it looks like the beginning of the end for the Washington Post was when they decided not to endorse Kamala Harris in 2024.  The #Resistance Leftists went wild and the paper lost a ton of subscriptions.  Very slightly moderating the paper's political bias?  Sacrilege! 

Just so we know who the real victim is

Twitchy: "Mayor Zohran Mamdani Visits Man Who Charged Cops With Knife, Consoles Him."

You'll rarely see a more clear-cut case of a guy begging to get shot.  It must be great to be a cop in NYC right now.

The People's Republic is emptying out

Jeff Jacoby in the Boston Globe: "Massachusetts keeps losing residents. That’s a choice. - When tens of thousands of people leave year after year, they’re answering a question with their feet."

For years, Massachusetts boosters have insisted that quality-of-life rankings tell the real story. But those are stated preferences. The census data, the moving vans, the shuttered facilities — those are revealed preferences, and they measure what people actually choose when forced to weigh costs against benefits. Policy makers can dismiss those choices as anomalies or distractions. But revealed preferences accumulate, and over time they deliver a verdict that becomes impossible to spin away. Massachusetts can either reckon with why so many residents and businesses keep leaving — or wait until the exodus makes the decision for them.

IIRC in a recent review of out-migration patterns the top 10 states were all deep blue with the exception of Louisiana.

No way will this stop with the billionaires

Reason: "'Billionaire' Tax is a Bait-and-Switch To Gouge the Middle Class" - "Supporters of a "billionaire tax"—an idea being pushed both nationally and in California—claim it will impact only those who can "easily afford it." In fact, it's a Trojan horse. The next step will be to come after middle-class retirement funds and middle-class homes."

Absolutely true, just like the federal income tax was only aimed at the "rich."  What's funny (to me) about the "one time" billionaires tax is that nobody believes it will be a one-off tax.  Everybody believes California will blow the cash on boondoggles like high-speed rail and then come back again.  Then when the "rich" can't be dinged any further, it's time to hit the middle class.

For the children.

Another dilatory tactic

The Corner: "The Iranians Aren’t Acting as Though They Want to Negotiate."

We've seen this movie before: the Iranians pretend they want to negotiate then they change conditions and terms in a bid to buy time.  Even if they sign a treaty, it's not worth the paper it's written on.

The Laffer curve wins again

Washington Post editorial: "Little to gain by raising taxes on the rich - New research shows the current top federal income tax rate is close to revenue-maximizing."

The study cited found that a top tax rate between 30% and 45% would generate about the same revenue over the long term and above 45% would reduce revenues.

And yet I am not stunned

Nor a little surprised: "Stunning number of California voters back wealth tax but admit it will kill jobs: poll."

No kidding: people want free money?  You could knock me over with a wrecking ball.

Extra - Powerline: "The adage holds that if you rob Peter to pay Paul, you can always count on the support of Paul." 

Melania Derangement Syndrome

Sasha Stone: "The Critics Embarass Themselves With Their Melania "Reviews"."

Paragraph 19

LA Times: "‘Finally, a renter’s market’: L.A. rent prices drop to four-year low."  After telling us it's a classic economic case of supply and demand, we get this tidbit buried way down in the article:

In addition to supply and demand, Luna credits a few factors for the changing market. Last year, communities targeted by immigration officers, such as Long Beach and East L.A., saw a jump in vacancies.

Oh.  Must be a coincidence.

Extra - All of mainstream media is baffled by cause-and-effect:

"Time to move on to your next fake martyr"

Jim Treacher on Don Lemon: "Don Lemon Arrested for Breaking the Law"

The only people whose First Amendment rights have been infringed here are the congregants at the church Don Lemon invaded. He was part of the planning, he trespassed and refused to leave, and he called those churchgoers “white supremacists.” To make matters worse, he’s even profiting from his crimes. And we know everything he did because he was stupid enough to record it the whole time.

Don Lemon’s desperation for relevance is not a pass to break the law. A microphone is not a shield against the consequences of his actions.

If you disagree, why don’t you give us your home address so we can do the same to you?

No? Well, why do you hate journalism?

Next time, try this stunt at a mosque Donny.

Extra - NY Post: "Activist Don Lemon is not the journalism hill for the liberal media to die on."

Welcome to Sarah Lawrence

The tolerant Left at it again: "The Left Eating Its Own: Ezra Klein Shut Down at Sarah Lawrence College for Being a Nazi." 

But good intentions

Twitchy: "'Warmth of Collectivism' Fails: 10 Dead After Mamdani Orders End to Homeless Encampment Removals." 

That's (D)ifferent

Bruce Springsteen: man of principle.

Lemon squeezed

NY Post: "Ex-CNN host Don Lemon arrested for Minnesota church invasion." 

I don't know how people live in California

Red State: "From Pilot to Policy: California’s Quiet March Toward a Vehicle Mileage Tax."

There's a reason why California is expected to lose four Congressional seats in the 2030 census.

Don't know much about history

Dan McLaughlin: "Read a history book, Tim Walz"

If Walz knew his history, he’d see clearly that he’s not Abe Lincoln in this scenario, he’s Francis Pickens, the South Carolina governor who led the first state out of the Union and precipitated the crisis by demanding that federal authorities evacuate his state. Pickens and his supporters and allies, much like Walz and Frey and theirs, cited John Brown’s raid in order to insist that they were not the ones firing the first shot. Major Robert Anderson, like Tom Homan and Greg Bovino today, was left besieged by an infuriated and radicalized state.

...

But then as now, it came down to the fact that they couldn’t tolerate a Republican president controlling the executive branch and enforcing the same laws in their state that applied throughout the nation.

The axiom that the federal government controls federal immigration enforcement was re-affirmed by the Biden administration when they tore down barbed wire set up by Texas at the southern border.

That news isn't fit to print

The Corner: "The New York Times Edited and Buried Video of Pretti’s Earlier Confrontation with Federal Agents."

Journalists reporting on an event have an obligation to provide their readers with as many facts as they can muster and communicate. The Times has once again shown itself, through the sin of omission, to be more interested in narrative than in the truth. Despicable.

I don't think the hive mind at the Times thinks it is biased; instead it simply decides something is "not newsworthy" and the collective conscious is wiped clean. 

Regime change?

I'm skeptical. PJ Media: "The Iranian Regime Is in Worse Shape Than Previously Thought." 

I saw it live

PJ Media: "40 Years Ago Today, the Space Shuttle 'Challenger' Exploded 73 Seconds After Liftoff."

I was a senior in high school (yes I'm old) and my physics teacher gathered us in the school library to watch the space shuttle launch.  At first I didn't know what was going on but the jittery camera angles searching the sky coupled with the uneven commentary from NASA control revealed that something was very wrong.

I can't remember the rest of the day.  I think there was a general announcement to the student body.

One other thing I remember from the aftermath: some engineers were testifying in front of a select science committee on the flexibility of the solid-rocket booster O-rings in cold weather.  On the committee was famed scientist Richard Feynman who simply took one of the O-rings, dumped it into an ice water pitcher on the committee table, and then applied a clamp.  The O-ring was not flexible under those conditions, disproving in real time the testimony of the engineers present.

Debunked it right in front of the guy:

People without jobs are going on strike

Twitchy: "Liberal Alerts Us to Nationwide General Strike on Friday, Like Last Friday's."

Remember how the economy was driven to its knees last week?  Neither do I.

Couldn't make it a month

New York mayoral candidate Mamdani: "Free stuff for everybody!"

New York mayor Mamdani: "Never mind.  We're broke."