What is an Italian sausage, and what is it used for?

What we call an #Italian sausage in North America consists of ground pork or turkey with fennel or anise as seasoning. A sweet Italian sausage adds basil in the seasoning, and a hot Italian sausage employs red pepper flakes. Ironically, despite the name, the “Italian sausage” is not the only variety known in Italy. The food is very versatile and lends itself to a variety of dishes, such as toppings for pizza or as an addition to pasta sauce.

Hillary Clinton directs her ire at Bernie Sanders

Some more excerpts from “What Happened,” #Hillary Clinton’s book of excuses about why she lost the presidency in 2016 have emerged. She directs her ire at #Bernie Sanders, the independent socialist senator from Vermont who ran for the presidential candidacy as a Democrat, according to CNN. She accuses him of restoring to “innuendo and impugning my character.” She claimed that Sanders did her “lasting damage” which set her up to get defeated in the fall at the hands of Donald Trump.

The battle for Jim Bridenstine’s nomination to head NASA is joined

As of this writing, the nomination of Rep. #Jim Bridenstine, R-Oklahoma has not been officially announced, but already various luminaries in the science and space world are lining up for and against the appointment. Who these people are, including President Obama’s science advisor on one side and a prominent lunar scientist and advocate of a return to the moon on the other, is illuminating of how the politics is working out. The reasons both sides are giving are even more so.

Democrats to make single payer health care the center of their strategy

The Hill has a piece about the move by many #democrats, led by independent socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, to make a #Single Payer #health care plan the centerpiece of their drive to take back the House and Senate in 2018 and then the White House in 2020. The Democrats are pretty sure that “Medicaid for All” will be their ticket back to power. Republicans are equally sure that the scheme will be the pathway for their opponents to be in the wilderness for the next generation.

No Mutt Williams in ‘Indiana Jones 5’

We don’t know much about "Indiana Jones 5," expect that Harrison Ford is going to be in it, that the character, like the actor who plays him, will be in his late 70s, and that it is due to be released in 2020. However, IO9 reports two welcome bits of news about the project. The script is pretty much written and Henry “Mutt” Williams, Indy’s natural son, will not be a character, which means that #Shia LaBeouf will not be in the movie.

About Jim Bridenstine being a ‘climate change denier’

Since President Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Rep. #Jim Bridenstine (R-Oklahoma) to become NASA Administrator, an Internet lynch mob has arisen against him. It sees that the congressman is a “#Climate Change Denier.” An article in Think Progress expounds on this meme, using the politically-loaded term “denier” several times.

Did the Kellogg Briand Pact stop wars of conquest?

The New York Times seems to be trying to rebrand itself as a history revisionism rag. First, it published an article that claimed that sex was so great in the old Soviet Empire that it was apparently one big Playboy Mansion. Now, the Times has published a piece by two law professors at Yale that claim that the Kellogg-Briand Pact actually worked.

Taylor Swift is in trouble for something she didn’t say

Jazz Shaw over at Hot Air is reporting that #Taylor Swift, who has been described more than once as the living embodiment of American exceptionalism, is in trouble. She is being attacked by the Twitter mob, not for what she said, but for what she is not saying. Swift is not taking any political stands at all, not even to reveal for whom she voted in the last election. A particular group of people is taking offense at this and are drawing conclusions.

The Refabricator will recycle plastic on NASA’s International Space Station

In space, recycling is not just #Environmentally Conscious, but is also thought of as a necessity. With supply chains reaching all the way back to Earth, the more one can recycle on the International Space Station or a future moon base, the better. Newsweek is reporting on a new piece of equipment that the ISS is getting next year called the Refabricator,

How nuclear power rode out Harvey unscathed

Texas has a diverse system of power generation, including natural gas, wind power, and #Nuclear Power. A recent article in Forbes suggests that nuclear power rode out Harvey [VIDEO]pretty smoothly as compared to other #Energy Sources, providing much-needed electricity for residents and first responders in the storm’s wake.

Bill Nelson getting pushback for his opposition to Jim Bridenstine as NASA chief

When President Donald Trump announced, as had been expected for months, that he intended to nominate Rep. #Jim Bridenstine, R-Oklahoma for the position of NASA Administrator, Sen. #Bill Nelson, D-Florida reacted somewhat negatively. He suggested that it was inappropriate to nominate a “politician” for space agency chief, but rather a “space professional” should be named instead. However, Sen. Nelson is already getting some pushback, via the NASA Watch blog, because of an instance over 30 years ago when then Rep. Nelson used raw political power to get a ride on the #Space Shuttle.

President Trump gets touchy feely on his second trip to Texas

When President #Donald Trump first visited the Harvey strike zone in #Texas, he was all business, viewing some of the devastation and consulting with local officials about what the region needed to recover. What he was not was #Touchy Feely, hugging hurricane victims for the cameras and so on. For this lack, the president found himself warmly criticized. So, when he came to Texas a second time, visiting the flood ravaged Houston, Texas [VIDEO], the president added his media personality hate to his businessman one.

North Korea claims to have tested a hydrogen bomb

Overnight, #North Korea was shaken by a 6.3 earthquake in what that country claimed to be the first test of a #Hydrogen Bomb small enough to be mounted on an ICBM. The test was quickly condemned by various interested powers, including the #United States, South Korea, Japan, and China. However, the nuclear test, coupled with a recent missile test, suggests that measures to curb North Korea diplomatically and economically are not working.

After Cassini scientists ponder the next targets for outer planets exploration

Cassini, the joint NASA-European Agency space probe that has been orbiting Saturn for the past 13 years, is preparing its final death dive into the ringed planet. After Cassini is gone, the next big #Outer Planets explorer will be the Europa Clipper, which will explore Jupiter’s ice bound the moon. However, scientists are already dreaming about what could follow in the exploration of the outer planets.

Now Texans will be allowed to carry swords in public

Just to prove that people do things different in Texas, a new law that allows people to carry swords openly has come into effect. From now on, #Texans will be allowed to sport a variety of edged weapons in public, everything from katanas to Bowie knives. The law restricts the carry of edged weapons to certain places such as bars and restaurants, schools and universities, and so on.

Trump’s pick of Bridenstine as NASA head gets pushback from Florida senators

As has been expected for months and reported in the media for weeks, President Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Rep. Jim Bridenstine, R-Oklahoma to become the next NASA Administrator. While the move is likely to be cheered by most supporters of America’s space effort, both conducted by the space agency and commercial companies, Florida’s two United States senators are not so sure.

A Salt Lake City police detective illegally arrests a nurse

Detective Jeff Payne of the Salt Lake City Police Department committed the terrible folly of attempting to violate the civil rights of an unconscious hospital patient and actually violating the rights of a nurse who stopped him from doing so. He compounded this stupidity by doing these things while body cams of nearby police officers were running. Why he would do such a thing is open to conjecture and will no doubt come out in the inevitable trial. However, Reason Magazine gives a pretty good account of what went on, and the video below captures the action.

What should be done with Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi?

A story in the Washington Examiner notes that General Stephen Townsend, commander of the American backed coalition that is battling ISIS in Syria and Iraq, is busily trolling that rapidly shrinking number of Islamic State terrorists. In particular, he has some choice words for Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi. Noting that the so-called caliph of the Islamic State is on the run somewhere on the Syria Iraq border, General Townsend stated, “When we find him, I think we'll just try to kill him first. It's probably not worth all the trouble to try and capture him." Townsend is likely applying a little psychological pressure but he does raise the question, do we try to catch or just kill the monster?

Trump’s National Space Council to have first meeting ‘very soon’

When President #trump signed the executive order recreating the National Space Council, the question arose when it would start meeting and formulating #Space Policy. Greg Autry, the former NASA liaison, suggested that first meeting will happen “very shortly” during a speech at the Space Technology and Investment Forum in San Francisco, according to Space News. The Space Council will focus on defense and the economy, but will also start a return to the moon program based on commercial partnerships.

Sadly we have to talk about that Charlie Hebdo cartoon

The #Charlie Hebdo cartoon that depicts Texans drowning in the flood waters brought by Harvey as being neo-Nazis is outrageous and disappointing on so many levels. The graphic not only demonstrates a colossal ignorance of the #Lone Star State, its political culture, and its ethnic makeup, the cartoon is also an act of ingratitude, considering how the #United States, including a lot of children of Texas, went to the aid of France (D Day comes to mind) and even Charlie Hebdo in particular in the wake of the Islamist terrorist attack. To be sure the magazine is famous for offending everyone, but for something to be satirical, it has to have an iota of truth to it.