Zapping cancer tumors from within

Typically cancer will spread to other parts of the body when pieces of the original tumor break off and travel through the bloodstream or the lymphoid system, attach themselves to other areas of the body, and start growing again. According to the Economist, a number of research efforts are under way to develop methods to search and destroy these #Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs). One such project, being designed by Vladimir Zharov of the University of Arkansas and Mark Stockman of Georgia State University, in Atlanta, involves microscopic

About that woman president in ‘Salvation'

In the latest episode of “#Salvation,” the TV series about government officials. media people, and capitals of industry behaving badly while an asteroid approaches to destroy the world, we finally get to meet the president of the #United States. Fascinatingly the POTUS is not a brash, orange haired former businessman and reality TV star. #President Mackenzie is a woman played by Tovah Feldshuh, who has already had experience playing doomed, female authority figures, having already played Deanna Moore the original leader of Alexandria in “The Walking Dead.”

Why the United States military loves Donald Trump

One of the more pernicious (among many) practices of the Obama administration was its tendency to micromanage the military, down to the tactical level. The reason the previous president kept a short leash on his soldiers was that he neither liked nor trusted them, except when they could serve his political purposes, such as when the Navy SEALs executed Osama bin Laden. In any event, the #United States Military is pleased to serve under President #Donald Trump now. He knows how to delegate.M

The death of Princess Diana 20 years on

Princess Diana died #20 Years ago and sent Great Britain into paroxysms of grief that astonished the world. If the gentle reader does not remember what went on across the pond that summer in 1997 or came of age since he or she would be advised to rent or stream a copy of the Helen Mirren movie “The Queen.” The movie focused on the aftermath of Diana’s death from the point of view of the royal family and then Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Asteroid Florence passes by Earth relatively close

Just to offer some perspective that worse things are possible than a persistent hurricane, Newsweek reports, courtesy of NASA, that a 2.7-mile wide #asteroid named #Florence, named after Florence Nightingale, will hurtle past the #Earth at a distance of 4.4 million miles. That distance is just down the street in cosmic terms. Florence is half the diameter of the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs, but if it ever hit the Earth it would be the worst day in the lives of every living being and for most the last one.

Kamala Harris to co-sponsor ‘Medicaid for All’ bill

Kamala Harris, the #Junior Senator from California, has announced her intention to co-sponsor a “Medicare for All” bill in the Senate along with the lines advocated by Bernie Sanders, the independent socialist senator from Vermont. The bill, which of course has no chance of passing in the current Congress or being signed into law by President Trump, has another purpose besides dragooning the American people into the dubious joys of government run health care. The idea is to make Sen. Harris president in 2020. The results are not likely to be to Harris’ expectations.

The all-girl ‘Lord of the Flies’ project runs into social media firestorm

Warner Brothers, apparently not having learned the lesson from last year’s remake of “Ghostbusters,” has hit upon doing a remake of “#Lord of the Flies,” but in this case with a group of girls stranded on a #Desert Island. The project, according to Deadline Hollywood, is running into a firestorm caused by identity politics and feminist ideology.

In the wake of Harvey get ready for a new climate change push

In the spirit of Saul Alinsky’s principle of never letting a good crisis go to waste, a number of media outlets are using the devastation wrought by Harvey to argue that extreme weather such as the hurricane is the result of human caused #Climate Change. However, a number of prominent climate scientists disagree with this assessment, according to the Washington Times.

Matt Wuerker Politico cartoon mocks Harvey flood victims

While Harvey has brought out the best in most people, some persist in being slimy. We have had people yammering about climate change, suggesting that Texans brought it on themselves [VIDEO]for voting for Trump, and even people who have gasped at Melania Trump’s choice of footwear. However, as the Washington Free Beacon reports, the lowest, most bigoted reaction has to be a cartoon published in Politico by leftist artist #Matt Wuerker that mocks victims of the Harvey #flood.

Now the media is obsessing on what's on Melania’s feet

Adding to the narrative of people misbehaving because of Harvey, the diligent folks at Politico have hit upon a scandal so heinous that it puts both Watergate and the Monica Lewinsky affair to shame. It seems that on her way to Marine One to accompany her husband to the Harvey strike zone. #Melania Trump, the First Lady of the #United States, wore stiletto heels. Politico and some progressive folks clucked about how such footwear was inappropriate to wear to a natural disaster site. Never mind when Ms. Trump emerged from Air Force One she was wearing sneakers, having changed on the plane.

Houston reels from the aftermath of Harvey

#Harvey has finally passed from the Houston area and is, as of this writing, ravaging the Texas-Louisiana border as it heads inland to eventually burn itself out to become a bitter memory. The city it has left behind has been devastated by torrential rains that invoke the story of the Great Flood as told in the Bible. Roads are still impassable. Stores are still either closed or, if open, have limited provisions. Tens of thousands of suddenly homeless people huddle in full to overflowing shelters wondering about their future.

Sarah Palin defamation suit against New York Times dismissed by judge

Judge Jed Rakoff has tossed the defamation lawsuit that #Sarah Palin filed against the #New York Times. However, in so doing, he affirmed that she had nothing to do with the mass shooting that Jared Loughner committed that maimed then Rep. Gabby Giffords and that the Times was “negligent” in its editorial that suggested otherwise. Unfortunately, Judge Rakoff ruled that the case did not achieve the standard of proving reckless disregard for the truth.

The controversy about Lakewood Church in Houston

One of the minor controversies surrounding Harvey has concerned #Houston’s most famous megachurch, the #Lakewood Church that occupies the old Compaq Center on highway 59 just inside the loop. Joel Olsteen, that Church’s pastor, is an adherent of what some people call prosperity Christianity, meaning that faith in God can sometimes cause one to enjoy material blessings. The doctrine is controversial even among other Christians, not to mention the secular crowd. On the plus side, Lakewood is one of the few churches in America that is integrated, with whites and African-Americans worshiping side by side.

Hollywood wonders why fewer people are going to the movies

According to the #Hollywood Reporter, the entertainment industry is scratching its collective head over why such a drop off in domestic box office revenues have occurred. Not as many people are going out to the movies than they used to. A number of reasons exist for this phenomenon.

NASA employees at the Johnson Spaceflight Center ride out Harvey

One of the stories of heroism that will likely emerge from Harvey is how NASA employees helped to keep the support of the #international space station going with a skeleton crew at Mission Control at the #Johnson Spaceflight Center, according to Ars Technica. Also, the temperature and vacuum test of the James #Webb Space Telescope had to continue, as the old cliché states, come hell or high water. The problem has not been finding enough people to come to work, but rather keeping most of the JSC workforce away out of a sense of the danger of the floods.

Could Harvey be a way to unify the United States?

Roger Simon suggested in Pajamas Media that #Harvey, for all of its destruction, could become a catalyst for something good and unifying. He may be on to something. The cleanup and repair work will be a national effort which, maybe, will allow people to forget their hurt feelings over last year’s election. To be sure, there will always be people willing to take cheap political shots [VIDEO] or yammer on about climate change. However, Simon may be on to something.

How ‘Game of Thrones’ is turning into ‘The Walking Dead’

The season finale of Game of Thrones began with the great summit meeting of all of the players to discuss the common enemy beyond the wall. It ended with the Night King using his newly acquired zombie dragon [VIDEO] to breach said wall and to turn the next and final season of the long running HBO fantasy epic into “The Walking Dead.” Some spoilers follow.

Why the Antifa are as wicked as the Neo Nazis

The old meme was that the Antifa was the equivalent of American GIs storming the beaches of Normandy for their willingness to brawl with Nazis and associated riff raff. That meme was somewhat diluted by an incident on Berkeley in which #Masked Antifa terrorists attacked a group of peaceful demonstrators while chanting, “No #trump, no wall, no USA at all!"

Hurricane Harvey brings out the worst in some people

Tropical Storm Harvey has brought out the best in many people [VIDEO], not only from Texans helping one another but people from outside the Lone Star State flowing in to render as much aid as they can. The Cajun Navy from Louisiana has performed epic feats of rescue in the lake that Houston has become, even as some criminals fire on them to try to steal their boats. Even Mexico has sent a relief convoy from across the border. For most people, all controversies have been forgotten.

A steampunk probe to the surface of Venus

Venus has always been a terrible place to try to land. 842 degrees F temperatures and 90 times the atmospheric pressure that exists on Earth tend to fry delicate electronics. The last attempt to land on Venus was done by the Soviets 30 years ago and only lasted a few hours. A team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is proposing a concept for a Venus lander called Automaton Rover for Extreme Environments (AREE). It uses some technologies that seem positively retro to help the probe survive on Venus for up to a year.