Poll shows that anti-vaccinators tend to be hip, rich millennials in California

Hot Air reported on Friday that a poll just released revealed that the subgroup most likely to oppose having children vaccinated against diseases such as the measles are millennials, the same age group that has been so fervent in their support of President Obama. The Hill adds that the so-called anti-vaccination movement has resulted in a measles epidemic that started at Disneyland of all places and has started to spread to afflict over a 100 children.

Ted Cruz demands answers on Obama political hit on Netanyahu

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas wondered on Saturday in the pages of Breitbart whether or not President Obama was directly involved in the intervention by Obama campaign operatives in the Israeli elections for the purpose of deposing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He is particularly interested in knowing whether American taxpayer money is being used to fund that campaign. Cruz suggests that given the history of Obama’s animosity toward Netanyahu, the answer to both questions is probably yes.

NASA looking at nuclear thermal rockets to explore the solar system

Officially, NASA has been charged with sending astronauts to Mars sometime in the 2030s. Toward that end, according to a Friday story in Universe Today, space agency engineers at the Marshall Space Flight Center are looking at an old concept for interplanetary travel, nuclear thermal engines. However, some doubts have been expressed whether NASA will be granted the budget to develop such engines.

HBO to produce 'Lewis and Clark' miniseries

The Hollywood Reporter revealed on Friday that HBO will begin filming a six-hour miniseries based on the Stephen Ambrose book “Undaunted Courage” that told the story of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Casey Affleck will play Meriwether Lewis, and Matthias Schoenaerts will play William Clark, the two Army officers who led the Corps of Discovery that explored the American West in the first decade of the 19th Century. The project has been in the works for quite some time.

New poll numbers raises questions about Hillary Clinton's political viability

Hot Air reported Friday on the results of a Pew Poll taken about Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president. The results are horrible for both the candidate in particular and the Democratic Party in general. While Clinton still leads a number of leading Republican candidates, the margin is in single digits. She does not poll above 50 percent in any matchup. Moreover, her favorable/unfavorable ratings have her under water.

Congratulations to the Fight for Space film makers for reaching the goal on their final Kickstarter campaign.

Mitt Romney lets the presidential cup pass from his lips

The National Journal reported on Friday that 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney announced to a group of supporters in a conference call that he has decided to let the presidential cup pass from his lips. Romney’s decision to not run for a third time makes former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush the front runner, such as it is, in the Republican race and the great moderate hope of the establishment wing of the party. That doesn’t mean that Romney thinks it should be so, according to Hot Air. Romney is having dinner with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the other great moderate hope.

NASA Set to Launch Next Earth-observing Mission Called SMAP

Obama reveals $215 million precision medicine initiative

As the National Journal reminds us, one of the parts of the president’s State of the Union speech that has been passed over, mainly because it was not controversial, was Obama’s initiative to jump-start research into a “precision medicine.” Precision medicine involves tailoring treatments to a patient’s genetic makeup, making them more effective. According to a Friday story in the Hill, the president will propose $215 million in new spending to develop more treatments.

Senate passes bipartisan Keystone XL pipeline bill, defying Obama veto threat

What a difference an election makes. As the Washington Times reported, the Senate passed the Keystone XL pipeline authorization bill Thursday on a bipartisan basis Nine Democrats joined the Republicans in voting for the measure. After Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada had been deposed as Senate Majority Leader, the way was opened to passing legislation. The Republican majority even allowed amendments to be considered, though few passed. Actually moving legislation had been a rare occurrence during the first six years of the Obama administration.

White House rebrands Taliban terrorists as 'armed insurgency'

Townhall reported on Thursday that Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz, during a White House briefing, tried to suggest that the Taliban is not a terrorist group. They are, instead, an “armed insurgency,” according to the White House official. Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace Prize winner who was shot in the head by the Taliban for advocating girls’ education, has not as of this writing commented.

Castro demands Obama give back Gitmo, pay reparations

When President Obama decided to “normalize” relations with Cuba, proposing the end the 50 year old economic embargo, the move set up a debate over how to best deal with the communist dictatorship residing 90 miles off of America’s shores. The debate has occurred even between Republicans, with Cuban-American Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio coming out against and libertarian-minded Sen. Rand Paul supporting the move. However, according to a Wednesday story in the Associated Press, Cuban dictator Raul Castro has a number of demands that seem designed more to humiliate Obama than to forge a sensible deal.

'The Americans' starts season three with more Cold War eighties spy intrigue

As the Hollywood Reporter revealed, “The Americans,” the FX series about a couple of deep-cover Soviet agents attempting to bring down the United States during the Reagan 1980s, started its third season on Wednesday night. The episode finds Philip and Elizabeth having to deal with the unique job pressures of being spies. In the meantime, Stan, their unwitting FBI neighbor, has some personal problems of his own involving his failed marriage and his Russian mistress he betrayed and who is now looking at execution for treason back in Moscow.

Obama drops scheme to tax middle class 529 college savings accounts

The Washington Examiner reported on Thursday that the Obama administration has decided to drop its scheme to tax 539 college savings accounts, a part of its “soak the rich” scheme that somehow hit the middle class. The administration claimed that it was “good policy” but had to be dropped in order to avoid a “distraction.” Indeed, Republicans had pounced on the scheme to loot the tax-free savings accounts that millions of American families depend upon to save for college.

NASA safety panel raises concern about commercial crew, space exploration plan

According to a Wednesday story in Space Policy Online, both NASA’s commercial crew program and its space exploration program came under direct criticism in the annual report by the space agency’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP). The panel hit the commercial crew program for a lack of transparency that prevented it from offering an “informed opinion” on the safety of commercial spacecraft such the SpaceX Dragon and the Boeing CST-100. It also raised concerned about the “lack of a well-defined mission” for NASA’s space exploration program.

Australian researchers may have found a cure for peanut allergies

According to the Mayo Clinic, peanut allegories are one of the more common food allergies, especially in children. Symptoms for people with the condition who are exposed to peanuts range from mild irritation to death by anaphylaxis shock. Some people with the allergy cannot tolerate even the tiniest amount of peanuts, even particles that can be breathed in. People with the condition are in constant peril of their lives. However, the Sydney Morning Herald reported on Wednesday that a group of Australian researchers may have found a cure for peanut allergies.

Seattle hands out the red tag of shame for residents who fail to recycle compost

According to a Monday story on NPR, the city of Seattle has just enacted one of the stranger recycling laws in the country. While many communities now provide a separate garbage bin for recycle materials, such as paper, plastic, and metal, Seattle, like San Francisco and Vancouver, also require a separate bin for compost material, such as food and yard waste. However, Seattle is undertaking to enforce this regulation in a bizarre way. If a regular garbage bin is found to have more than 10 percent of compostable waste, it will have a red ribbon of shame attached to it. Eventually, homeowners will be fined for violations.

Falcon Heavy | Flight Animation

The Death of the Space Shuttle Challenger

I remember quite clearly the day the space shuttle Challenger exploded. I was driving back to my office from lunch when the news came over the radio. I almost drove off the road before I gathered myself, pulled over, and listened to the news. The rest of the day was trying to get some modicum of work done, while slipping away to watch the coverage on TV and the awful images of the Challenger becoming a fireball, over and over, like a rewind in a horrible dream.

Links detected between anti-fracking groups and the Russian government

A Tuesday investigative piece published in the Washington Free Beacon suggests a link between environmental groups campaigning against hydraulic fracking and Russian oil interests. In seems that a shadowy Bermudian company that has tied to Russian oil executives has funneled millions of dollars to environmentalists who are seeking to shut fracking operations down in the United States. This news suggests that environmentalists are working, perhaps unwittingly, as agents of the Russian government.