Pluto's 'spots' grow more complex as New Horizons hurtles closer

As New Horizons hurtles toward its closest approach to Pluto, to take place on Tuesday, NASA released a new image of the dwarf planet on Saturday. The image afforded a closer look at the mysterious dark spots that have been intriguing scientists since New Horizons imaged them just over a week ago. The “spots” have turned out to be more complex than the original image had suggested. The new image shows that Pluto is a complex world whose secrets will continue to cause debate in the scientific community long after New Horizons passes into the Kuiper Belt.

Pluto and Charon: Ice Worlds on the Ragged Edge of the Solar System, 2nd Edition

What to do about a problem like Donald Trump?

Business Insider reported on Saturday about how Donald Trump had crowds on their feet, first at a Libertarian conference in Las Vegas, then at an overflow event in Phoenix, Arizona. He hit his signature issues of illegal immigration and trade, mixed in with chest-thumping braggadocio. He even tugged at the heartstrings when he brought out Jameil Shaw, an African-American gentleman whose son was murdered by an illegal immigrant at the Vegas event. In short, Trump is starting to become a problem to both the establishment and tea party wings of the Republican Party.

Trump Never Give Up: How I Turned My Biggest Challenges into Success

Solar scientists say we need to get ready for a mini ice age in the 2030s

Some climate scientists are so worried sick about global warming that they are showing signs of psychological stress, Esquire informs us. UPI has some good news and some bad news concerning climate change on Saturday. The good news is that global warming is not going to happen after all, at least for a long while. The bad news is that we’re in for a mini-ice age starting about 2030. The culprit is an engine that affects climate far more powerful than anything humanity can devise. That engine is the sun.

The Little Ice Age: How Climate Made History 1300-1850

After the $110 million Falcon 9 disaster concerns rise about commercial space

The Los Angeles Times reported on Friday that the recent SpaceX Falcon 9 disaster cost NASA $110 million, a significant amount of money for the space agency. As of this writing, neither NASA not SpaceX has ascertained the cause of the accident, not to speak of come up with a solution. But, one of the fallouts of the destruction of the Falcon 9 and its Dragon payload has been a reevaluation of the idea of commercializing parts of NASA’s space operations, started under President Bush and doubled down by President Obama.

Launching Into Commercial Space: Innovations in Space Travel

Alan Grayson is about to make the Florida senate race entertaining

As the Washington Post once noted, the Republicans face a daunting task of holding on to their Senate majority since they have 24 seats to defend as opposed to the Democrats’ 10. It would be a bitter irony if a Republican were to be elected president, only to find a Democratic Senate stymying his agenda before his administration was even begun. That fact makes the Florida race to replace Marco Rubio in the Senate interesting. As Hot Air’s Mary Katherine Ham reported on Thursday, Alan Grayson has announced his candidacy.

Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers

Ted Cruz calls New York Times out for banning his book from the best seller list

Politico noted on Thursday that the New York Times has denied Ted Cruz’s book “A Time for Truth” a place on its prestigious best seller list even though it has sold more copies than every book except for two books. The Times claimed in an email that "In the case of this book, the overwhelming preponderance of evidence was that sales were limited to strategic bulk purchases.” In other words, the newspaper of record is accusing the Ted Cruz campaign of buying multiple copies of the candidate’s book In order to goose up sales figures.

A Time for Truth: Reigniting the Promise of America

Boeing patents an engine run by laser generated fusion explosions

Boeing has had a patent approved for an aircraft engine that uses laser generated nuclear fusion as a power source, according to a Friday story in Business Insider. The idea is already generating a great deal of controversy, according to the left leaning website Counter Punch. The patent has generated fears of what might happen if an aircraft containing radioactive material as fuel were to crash, spreading such fuel across the crash site.

Project Orion Nuclear Pulse Rocket, Technical Reports on the Orion Concept, Atomic Bombs Propelling Massive Spaceships to the Planets, External Pulsed Plasma Propulsion

An appreciation of Omar Sharif, of 'Lawrence of Arabia' and 'Dr. Zhivago' fame

Omar Sharif, who died Friday in Cairo, Egypt, is well known for his movie roles as suave, handsome men, especially that of Sharif Ali in “Lawrence of Arabia” and the title role of “Dr. Zhivago.” He was actually raised a Roman Catholic, having been born to a Lebanese lumber merchant named Joseph Shalhoub and Claire Sadaad, of Lebanese and Syrian extraction in Alexandria, Egypt. He converted to Islam to marry Egyptian actress Fatem Hamama, his first and only wife. However he found the differences in the various world religions ridiculous, according to one quote, and suggested that no one is born who cannot obtain Paradise.

Doctor Zhivago (Deluxe Edition)

Lawrence of Arabia (Restored Version) [Blu-ray]

As NASA's New Horizons approaches Pluto, a new world is revealed

Thursday, NASA provided an update of the New Horizons space probe, now rapidly approaching a close encounter with Pluto, due to occur Tuesday, July 14. The space agency also provided more images of the dwarf planet and its largest moon Charon. Ever since Pluto was discovered 85 years ago, it had been a simple moving dot in the sky, mainly unknown territory. The former ninth planet has become a world, with actual features and characteristics.

Space Probes: 50 Years of Exploration from Luna 1 to New Horizons

Sarah Palin raises the alarm about revival of 'death panels'

The Washington Post noted Thursday that the Obama administration has reopened the debate on so-called “death panels” by issuing a new rule under Obamacare that would pay doctors under Medicare for offering “end of life” counseling. The matter had come up when the health care reform law was being first debated. Many, including former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, suggested that such a program would incentivize doctors into pushing elderly patients to refuse lifesaving procedures because of limited health care resources, coining the phrase “death panel.” Palin has taken to her Facebook page to not only attack the newly revised policy but to defend herself against the inevitable media attacks.

America by Heart : Reflections on Family, Faith, and Flag

Be the Change: Transforming Health Care from the Inside Out

Now the Democrats want to expunge 'husband' and 'wife' from federal law

While many people still argue over the recent Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states of the Union, it seems that the decision has unexpected consequences that go beyond just the right to marry one’s own sex. Some supporters of what is called marriage equality are already supporting measures that would force florists, bakers, caterers, and even clerics to participate in same-sex weddings no matter what their religious beliefs. The most bizarre gambit is a bill that has been introduced in the House by two dozen Democrats that would eliminate the words “husband” and “wife” from federal law, as reported Thursday by the Washington Examiner.

Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (Routledge Classics)

One-Minute Time Machine | Sploid Short Film Festival · Official Selection

NASA announces the first four astronauts to fly on the Dragon and the CST-100

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden announced on Thursday that the first four NASA astronauts to fly on the commercial crew spacecraft have been selected. They are Robert Behnken, Sunita Williams, Eric Boe, and Douglas Hurley. Each NASA astronaut has previous spaceflight experience and will begin training with SpaceX and Boeing test pilots on the Dragon and CST-100 spacecraft in advance of test flights scheduled for 2017, according to CollectSpace. The schedule is contingent on Congress fully funding the commercial crew program, a matter that is currently very much in doubt.

SpaceX: Making Commercial Spaceflight a Reality (Springer Praxis Books)

Recent Spy Recalls May Indicate Edward Snowden Has Gone Too Far

Ted Cruz plays 'Hardball' with Chis Matthews on MSNBC

According to a Thursday story in Politico, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, appeared on the MSNBC show “Hardball,” hosted by uber liberal Chris Matthews, and did battle on a variety of issues. The Right Scoop noted that those issues included whether or not Supreme Court justices should be subject to retention elections, Donald Trump and his birther claims, and the fact that Cruz had said “North Korea” during the confirmation hearings for Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel. Left unmentioned were such subjects as the economy and foreign policy. Matthews seemed more concerned about the Supreme Court decision that settled the 2000 elections, which continues to be as bitter gall and wormwood for the left.

Hardball: How Politics Is Played, Told by One Who Knows the Game

Presidential candidate Jeb Bush proposes more funding for NASA

According to a Wednesday story in the Huffington Post, former Florida governor and current presidential candidate Jeb Bush suggested that if he were elected president he would increase funding for NASA, pronouncing himself a “space guy.” Bush made this statement at a meeting with the New Hampshire Union Leader’s editorial board. This makes Bush the second presidential candidate, after Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, to express an opinion about the space program.

Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier

Beyond: Our Future in Space

Mission to Mars: My Vision for Space Exploration

Return to the Moon: Exploration, Enterprise, and Energy in the Human Settlement of Space

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump display delusion

One of the most unsettling aspects of Campaign 2016 is how delusional some of the candidates seem to be, to the point of needed the help on a mental health professional. Hot Air noted on Wednesday that doing her fake CNN interview, Hillary Clinton claimed that she had never been subpoenaed over the Benghazi Massacre, even though she had. That whopper pales in comparison to Donald Trump’s claim that he will win the Hispanic vote, despite the unkind things he recently said about Mexican illegal immigrants.

The Queen: The Epic Ambition of Hillary and the Coming of a Second "Clinton Era"

Trump: Think Like a Billionaire: Everything You Need to Know About Success, Real Estate, and Life

As Google tests its driverless cars in Austin, the age of autonomous taxis nears

Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Google has started testing its self-driving car in Austin, Texas. These cars, equipped with a suite of sensors and GPS transponders, have started rolling around an area northeast and north of downtown Austin. The purpose of the test drives is to see if the car’s software works in driving conditions outside of California and to develop a detailed map of Austin city streets. Each self-driving car has two human drivers ready to assume manual control if something goes wrong.

The Internet of Things: How Smart TVs, Smart Cars, Smart Homes, and Smart Cities Are Changing the World

Is NASA planning to 'terraform' part of the moon? Not quite

A Tuesday story in Popular Science suggested that NASA is mulling a plan to “terraform” part of the moon. The term is more than a little misleading, as it implies making a portion of the moon livable for humans. The actual plan, being funded by the space agency as part of NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Program is exciting nevertheless.

Ice

The Last Moonwalker and Other Stories

Emails reveal plot to put Obama's political enemies in jail before 2012 election

According to a Tuesday story in the Washington Examiner, the IRS was not the only part of the Obama administration that was weaponized and used against the president’s political opponents. Newly released emails, courtesy of a Freedom of Information Act request by Judicial Watch, reveal that the Justice Department and the FBI were also suborned to attack the Tea Party and other conservative groups. The plot, initiated by former IRS official Lois Lerner, was to use federal election laws to put people who opposed the president in jail in advance of the 2012 elections, according to a Judicial Watch spokesperson.

Undemocratic: How Unelected, Unaccountable Bureaucrats Are Stealing Your Liberty and Freedom

Faithless Execution: Building the Political Case for Obama’s Impeachment

Paula Deen has some 'esplaining' to do over 'brown face' photo of her son Bobby

Paula Deen, the former Food Network star whose life and career were upended when she admitted using the “n word” decades ago, has inadvertently caused outrageous outrage again. According to a Tuesday story on Yahoo, Deen posted an outtake photo from a 2011 Halloween episode of one of her Food Network shows that depicted her as Lucy from “I Love Lucy” and her son Bobby Deen as Ricky from the same show, The outrage seems to have been sparked by the fact that Bobby Deen is seen depicting Ricky in “brown face.” Ricky Ricardo, just as was Dezi Arnez, the actor who depicted him, was Cuban. The photo has since been deleted, but before it had been copied and posted across the Internet.

Paula Deen's Southern Cooking Bible: The New Classic Guide to Delicious Dishes with More Than 300 Recipes

Obama administration blames GOP for illegal alien shooting in San Francisco

White House spokesman Josh Ernest blamed Republicans for the shooting death of Kathryn Steinle by an illegal immigrant named Francisco Sanchez in San Francisco, according to a Tuesday story in the Washington Examiner. Sanchez, who had been deported five times from the United States, admitted that he traveled to the Northern California city because it is a so-called “sanctuary city.” The term refers to a policy where local law enforcement and public officials are forbidden to cooperate with the federal government in the apprehension and deportation of illegal aliens under most circumstances.

Border War: The Battle over Illegal Immigration

Bernie Sanders once wrote that cervical cancer is caused by lack of orgasms

Bernie Sanders may be surging in the polls, drawing large crowds to his rallies, and giving the Hillary Clinton Campaign fits. However, things the socialist senator from Vermont wrote 40 or so years ago continue to cast him in the role of a kind of leftwing Todd Akin. First, Sanders had to back away from an old essay he wrote musing on female rape fantasies. Now, Mediaite uncovered on Monday another essay in which the then radical activist opined that cervical cancer is caused by a lack of orgasms.

Johns Hopkins Patients' Guide To Cervical Cancer

Rosetta/Philae may have discovered evidence of life on Comet 67P

Ever since the beginning of the Space Age and even before, scientists have been looking for alien life beyond the Earth. Numerous space probes have looked for ancient microbes under the Martian surface ever since the 1970s era Viking missions. More recently, scientists have speculated the subsurface oceans on icy moons such as Europa and Enceladus, orbiting Jupiter and Saturn respectively, might harbor life of some sort. Monday, AFP reported that indications of life may have been found in the last place most would imagine, the comet known as 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

ROSETTA: ESA's Mission to the Origin of the Solar System

With or without peas, guacamole is still disgusting

Saturday, Wired provided a recap of the controversy that is currently roiling social media. Oddly enough, the issue is not same sex marriage, the disaster that is Obamacare, ISIS, or the 2016 elections. The fight was started by a suggestion by the New York Times to add peas to that texmex favorite, guacamole. The suggestion has brought President Barack Obama and the Republicans (at least Jeb Bush) together in opposition. Such bipartisanship should be cherished it is so rare.

Guac Off!

Some believe Obama is plotting to invade Texas as part of the Jade Helm exercise

The Washington Post ventured down to Bastrop, Texas on Saturday and found an undetermined amount of people who fear that President Obama is plotting to impose martial law in the Lone Star State as part of a military operation called Jade Helm. Other citizens of Bastrop, mainly Democrats, said that this paranoia was racially motivated because the president is African American. It is unknown exactly how many people hold to these views.

Seven Days in May

Rick Perry and Donald Trump locked in a feud over illegal immigration

Donald Trump, the businessman and media personality who is running for president, pronounced himself surprised at the backlash incited by his recent remarks about illegal immigrants. The Washington Examiner reported on Sunday that the backlash included a counterstrike by former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, another candidate for president who has some street cred where it comes to controlling the southern border. Trump, not a man to let criticism go unanswered, had a tart response on Twitter.

Rick Perry for President in 2016: Why the Texas Governor is the Most Promising Republican Candidate [Article]

NASA's New Horizon safe mode anomaly not likely to affect the Pluto mission

The New Horizons space probe has spent nearly a decade voyaging to the edge of the Solar System for its encounter with Pluto. So one can imagine the consternation of the scientists and engineers who have labored to execute the close encounter with the former ninth planet of the Solar System, now designated a “dwarf planet,’ when New Horizon suddenly went into “safe mode” with just over a week to go before passing through the system of Pluto and her five moons. The probe went dark on Saturday, according to IO9.

How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming

Mocking ensues as Hillary Clinton campaign herds media like cattle with a rope

The Internet is all atwitter about images coming out of a 4th of July parade in the town of Gorham, New Hampshire during which Hillary Clinton confined the media following her with a rope line, according to a Sunday story on Fox News. The images, which showed reporters and photographers being confined and led around by Clinton aides like cattle, has caused outrage from people in New Hampshire and endless amusement on social media. Ms. Clinton was obviously using the technique to force her media entourage to keep their distance.

Clinton Cash: The Untold Story of How and Why Foreign Governments and Businesses Helped Make Bill and Hillary Rich

The Queen: The Epic Ambition of Hillary and the Coming of a Second "Clinton Era"

Microsoft is Waging War Against any Country That Stands in Its Way

Just in time for Independence Day, the Left is coming for our barbecue grills

On this Independence Day, one of the sadder aspects of American life we have to consider is the tendency of some Americans to wag their fingers at others about the way they choose to live, sometimes with disastrous results. The temperance movement of the 19th Century led to Prohibition which led to Al Capone, for example. Now someone writing in the New Republic on Friday wants to take away our right to barbecue.

Bobby Flay's Barbecue Addiction

Rick Perry makes a play for the African American vote

Thursday, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who is running for president for the second time, delivered a speech that started out with a searing account of a 1916 lynching of an African American youth in Waco, Texas. By “lynching” he meant a torture/murder that reminds one of what is going on in the Islamic State, yet it happened in the United States. Perry’s point, of course, was that America has made quite a bit of progress in 100 years since such atrocities were more common than modern people would like to believe.

On My Honor: Why the American Values of the Boy Scouts Are Worth Fighting For

Sarah Palin gets media hate for her California drought solution

Sarah Palin seems to bring out the worse in some in the media, as illustrated by a Wednesday article in the Cleveland Sun-Times that reacted violently to a suggestion she made concerning the California drought. Palin noted that the California state government has been obliged to impose draconian water rationing measures that have caused everything from formerly green lawns and golf courses burning up to people being forced to go without showers. She added that perhaps it is time to start ignoring the environmental lobby and start building reservoirs and desalination plants. The Sun-Times was quite sarcastic about the suggestion, mainly because it came from Palin, but also noting that building more water infrastructure is a long-term solution, something she did not deny either.

Mexifornia: A State of Becoming

Russian Progress launches to the ISS in the wake of the Falcon 9 disaster

Friday’s successful launch of a Russian Progress cargo ship to the International Space Station in the wake of the SpaceX disaster has NASA officials breathing a sigh of relief. The spacecraft is due to deliver 6,100 pounds of food, fuel, and other supplies to the ISS on Sunday. But the destruction of the SpaceX Falcon 9 with its Dragon cargo ship has still caused people inside and outside the space agency to wonder about the future of commercial space upon which NASA has staked much of its future. As of this writing, SpaceX has not determined the cause of the overpressure anomaly that caused the destruction of the second stage of the launch vehicle.

You Are Here: Around the World in 92 Minutes: Photographs from the International Space Station

NASA's New Horizons discovers mysterious dark spots on Pluto

NASA released Wednesday new images taken of Pluto, the former ninth planet, now designated as a “dwarf planet” as well as its largest moon Charon by the approaching New Horizons space probe. While Charon is a dull, gray color most associated with a rocky moon, Pluto is turning out to be peach color, belying its status as a frigid body far away from the sun. Most intriguing had been the discovery of four spots along the dwarf planet’s equator, about equal in size at 300 miles in diameter and equally spaced.

Pluto: New Horizons for a Lost Horizon: Astronomy, Astrology, and Mythology

'Born Fighter' former Sen. Jim Webb announces for president as a Democrat

Thursday, Jim Webb, former United States Senator from Virginia, officially announced his candidacy for president on the Democratic ticket. Webb, a Vietnam vet, a novelist, and a former Reagan administration Secretary of the Navy, provides a fresh face to an otherwise homogeneously left wing Democratic field. While in no way could Webb be called a conservative, the positions he took in his announcement were sufficiently nuanced that he is worth more than a passing glance.

Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America

I Heard My Country Calling: A Memoir

A Time to Fight: Reclaiming a Fair and Just America

George Takei goes on racist rant against Clarence Thomas

George Takei is best known as the actor who portrayed Mr. Sulu in the classic “Star Trek” series. Subsequently, he came out as gay and became an activist promoting rights for the LGBT community, particularly the right to same-sex marriage. Therefore, one would think that Takei would be overjoyed by the recent Supreme Court decision establishing same-sex marriage as a constitutional right. However, the decision seems to have made him even more angry, as illustrated by a Thursday story in the Washington Free Beacon about how Takei went into a racist rant against Justice Clarence Thomas, who dissented from the decision.

To the Stars: The Autobiography of George Takei, Star Trek's Mr. Sulu

How Obamacare could lead inadvertently to free market health care

The president’s chest thumping boasting to the contrary, Obamacare is still a mess that has caused health insurance premiums and deductibles to skyrocket. Some advocates of Canadian-style single-payer systems, such as socialist presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, maintain that this state of affairs will lead Americans to accept a universal, government run “Medicare for all” system. Such a system would also feature rationing and death panels, as has been the case in countries that have adopted such arrangements. However, a Wednesday article in the Wall Street Journal suggests that Obamacare will, inadvertently, lead to a free market, customer-driven health care system that conservatives have dreamed about.

Saving Lives & Saving Money

Anti-Confederate battle flag hysteria drives 'The Dukes of Hazzard' off the air

USA Today reported on Wednesday that TV Land, a nostalgia network that shows episodes of old TV series, has yanked “The Dukes of Hazzard” from its schedule. The series, which aired from 1979 to 1985, depicted the hijinks of the cousins Luke and Bo Duke of Hazzard County, Georgia, whose main occupation seemed to be defying authority, an occupation in which they were aided by their customized, red Dodge Charger, the better to outrun the law. The car, dubbed the “General Lee,” is what got them banned from the airwaves. The General Lee has a Confederate battle flag on the roof, an image now too horrible to be exposed to human eyes.

The Dukes of Hazzard: The Complete TV Series

Latest emails reveal Hillary Clinton's carelessness, especially about the truth

As time goes by and as more secret emails are revealed, the full extent of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s corruption becomes apparent. The National Review on Wednesday noted that the latest email dumps uncovers how much Clinton relied on Sydney Blumenthal, the Clinton retainer whom the Obama administration expressly forbade Clinton to employ at the State Department. Blumenthal acted as an advisor to Clinton on subjects ranging from intelligence to media messaging. In return, he got to use his influence to help a friend gain a State Department position.

13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened In Benghazi

Ted Cruz takes a dim view of Obama's opening to Cuba

NBC News reported on Wednesday that President Obama announced that Cuba and the United States had agreed to reopen their embassies in each others countries. The president was quite effusive about how this move will create positive change in the communist island country that is 90 miles away from the United States and has been a thorn in the side for almost six decades, ever since Fidel Castro seized power in the late 1950s. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, a presidential candidate and a son of a Cuban refugee, begged to disagree.

A Time for Truth CD: Reigniting the Promise of America

Donald Trump's rise in the polls causing heartburn for Republicans

Thus far, Donald Trump, the presidential candidate, is seriously damaging Donald Trump, the businessman. According to Fox, Macy’s is the latest corporation to severe ties with the Donald over his politically incorrect statements about Mexican immigrants. Trump has initiated a breach of contract lawsuit against the Spanish language Univision and may do the same against NBC. In the meantime, Trump is causing heartburn for Republicans by polling unexpectedly well, according to a Wednesday story on Hot Air. He is second nationwide according to a CNN poll. His rise has been at the expense of conservatives like Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio.

Time to Get Tough: Making America #1 Again