#u.s. marshal mars

[todaysdocument]

Special Order No. 5

Record Group 393: Records of U.S. Army Continental CommandsSeries: Letters Received

[3 fold - 1st fold]

M625. PM Gen/64

Troy Lincoln Co.

May 4" 1864

March AC Major and

Assistant Provost Marshal

Special Order No. 5

In regard to an insult 

offered the American flag

at Harmony Mo.

APMGnel May 6/64

[2nd fold]

Approved in Substance

James F. Wright [?]

Major & Acting Dist PM

Dist North Mo

May 10, 1864

[bottom endorsement illegible]

[handwritten] 

Head Quarters [4th?] Sub. District North Mo

Troy Lincoln County Mo May 4th 1864

Special Orders

No 5 

     Evidence Having been obtained

at this Office that on Sunday May 1st 1864

the National Flag was publicly disgraced

by being forcibly taken from over the Pulpit of 

the church in or near New Harmony Pike Co. 

Mo. and thrown out of doors. It is hereby ordered

I  That the Trustees of said Church within 

two days from this date shall raise or cause

to be raised the National Flag over the 

Pulpit in said Church and allow it to remain 

untill further orders. In default of which 

said Church will not be used after that date

as a place for Public worship. 

II   Any person or persons found guilty of 

insulting our National Flag will be arrested

and tried by the Military authorities.

A. G. Marsh Major + 

Asst Pro. Mar. 4th Sub. Dist [illegible]

[in red ink] 

To 

Call. J. P. Sanderson

Provost Marshal General

St. Louis Mo      [/in red ink]

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Matt Davies

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

July 19, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

JUL 20, 2024

Today a Russian court sentenced 32-year-old Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich to 16 years in a high-security penal colony after convicting him of espionage in a secret three-day trial. The U.S. government considers Gershkovich “wrongly detained,” a rare designation signifying that he is being held as a political bargaining chip. 

Today, President Joe Biden said that Gershkovich was “targeted by the Russian government because he is a journalist and an American. We are pushing hard for Evan’s release and will continue to do so.” He added: “Journalism is not a crime. We will continue to stand strong for press freedom in Russia and worldwide, and stand against all those who seek to attack the press or target journalists.”

Last night, a faulty update of software from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike crashed computer systems all over the world. Banks and hospitals were locked out of their own programs, and government services shut down. In the U.S., more than 2,600 flights were canceled and 9,000 were delayed. Bloomberg’s David Rovella quoted Australian security consultant Troy Hunt: “I don’t think it’s too early to call it,” Hunt said. “This will be the largest IT outage in history.”

Also making history last night was the final night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the night on which former president Donald J. Trump accepted the party’s presidential nomination. Coming as it did just days after a would-be assassin took a shot at Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, killing one attendee and badly wounding two others, the convention was billed by Republican operatives as a way for Trump to rebrand himself as a candidate of “unity.” 

This was certainly the way many major newspapers billed Trump’s acceptance speech this morning, in stories that, as media journalist Parker Molloy noted, were probably based on prepared remarks delivered to news agencies in advance of the speech. But it was not how the evening played out.

Since Saturday’s shooting, it has been notable that there has not been a medical review of Trump’s injuries, although he has said he was injured by a bullet that ripped through his ear. This matters not only because of the extent of his injuries, but also because Trump has made the story part of his identity without any fact check, and the media appears simply to be letting it go on Trump’s say-so, something that adds to the sense that media outlets are treating Trump and Biden differently.

Last night, Trump perhaps tried to address this lack by recounting last Saturday’s shooting. Interestingly, he did not say he was hit by a bullet, but that when he felt the injury he thought, “it can only be a bullet.” Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo today noted a report from local Pennsylvania television station WPXI that four motorcycle officers standing within feet of Trump suffered minor injuries from flying debris. Trump has likely cut off further discussion of the topic by saying it is too painful to tell the story again. 

With that story behind him, Trump hit the theme of unity, saying he would bring the country together. “The discord and division in our society must be healed, we must heal it quickly. We are bound together by a single fate, a single destiny,” he said. “We rise together. Or we fall apart…. I am running to be president for all of America, not half of America, because there is no victory in winning for half of America. So tonight, with faith and devotion, I proudly accept your nomination for president of the United States.”

But that was just in the first ten minutes. Then Trump ignored the teleprompter and things veered far off course, reflecting the candidate that has stayed in the safe spaces of Mar-a-Lago and rallies of his loyalists for years. Trump rambled for more than 90 minutes, making it the longest acceptance speech in U.S. history and outlasting the interest of the audience, some of whom fell asleep. 

He went on to recite his usual litany of lies: that Democrats cheated in the 2020 presidential election (they did not), that crime is going up (it’s plummeting), that inflation is the worst we’ve ever had (it’s around 3%; the worst was around 23%), that Democrats want to quadruple people’s taxes (CNN fact checker Daniel Dale calls this “imaginary”), and so on. Dale called it “a remarkably dishonest acceptance speech.” 

Journalist James Fallows posted: “Of the maybe 10,000 political speeches I've heard over the years, this was overall the worst.” Statistician Nate Silver’s judgment was harsher, in a way: he began with “It’s a weird but a pretty good speech,” then posted “Semi-retract this tweet, this speech is boring AF, but there are worse things politically speaking than being boring.” Shortly after, came: “Fully RETRACT and RESCIND, sometimes it seems like both parties are trying to throw this election.” 

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes watched the unhinged speech and concluded: "This is not a colossus, this is not the big bad wolf, this is not a vigorous and incredibly deft political communicator. This is an old man in decline who's been doing the same schtick for a very long time and it's really wearing thin."

The point, though, as Trump meandered through attacks on immigrants and a diatribe about the fictional character cannibal Hannibal Lecter—who he might think was real—as it always has been, was to present a picture of the U.S. under siege by enemies who are persecuting him because he represents true Americans and that he must be returned to office because only he can vanquish those enemies. Greg Sargent of The New Republic noted that Trump cannot offer a “unity” message because “Trump himself knows the MAGA masses will not be satiated without expansive displays of rage, cruelty and sadism directed at hated out groups and designated enemies of MAGA.”

For years, observers have noted that Trump’s approach to politics is patterned on the “kayfabe” at the heart of professional wrestling. Kayfabe is the performance aspect of professional wrestling, in which the actors play out relationships and scenes in which there are good and evil, love and hate, loyalty and betrayal. According to journalist Abraham Josephine Reisman, in old-school kayfabe the actors never let their masks slip, and while the audience knew what they were seeing must be fake, they played along with the illusion.

But in the 1990s, the barrier between reality and illusion blurred as wrestlers and promoters tried to increase the viability of the fading industry by tossing reality into the performances: real-life insults—the more outrageous the better—and real-life events. Decoding what was real and what was not drove engagement until in 1999, an estimated 18% of Americans, about 50 million people, called themselves fans. This “neokayfabe,” Reisman wrote in the New York Times in 2023, “rests on a slippery, ever-wobbling jumble of truths, half-truths, and outright falsehoods, all delivered with the utmost passion and commitment.” 

Neokayfabe, Reisman wrote, “turns the world into a hall of mirrors from which it is nearly impossible to escape. It rots the mind and eats the soul.”

Trump participated in a storyline in this neokayfabe with World Wrestling Entertainment owner Vince McMahon in 2007, in part billed as a battle over hair. Eventually he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, and many observers have made the link between neokayfabe and his approach to politics. Indeed, he even blended the two explicitly when he chose McMahon’s wife, Linda, to head the U.S. Small Business Administration during his presidency.  

Neokayfabe and politics came together again last night at the Republican National Convention, as Linda McMahon, wrestler Hulk Hogan, and musician Kid Rock, whose music has been featured at wrestling events and who is also a member of the WWE Hall of Fame, all participated. 

“So all you criminals, all you lowlifes, all you scumbags…. Whatcha gonna do when Donald Trump and all the Trumpamaniacs run wild on you, brother?!" Hogan yelled to wild applause after ripping off his shirt to show a Trump-Vance shirt. Like the other performers at the convention, he painted a portrait of Trump’s presidency, and of the United States since Trump left office, that was a fantasy of good and evil. Hogan reinforced that there was no way Trump was going to reach toward unity in Milwaukee. His approach to the world cannot be moderated. It depends on the idea that there are two teams in the performance and one must vanquish the other.

Part of that storyline requires rewriting not just the recent past, but our history. At the convention last night, Donald Trump Jr.’s fiancée, Kimberly Guilfoyle, said: “It is no wonder that the heroes who stormed the beaches of Normandy and faced down communism sadly say they don’t recognize our country anymore.” But the Allied soldiers in World War II were not fighting communism. They were fighting fascism. The three great Allied powers were Great Britain, the United States, and the communist Soviet Union. 

It might be that Guilfoyle misspoke, or that she doesn’t know even the most basic facts of our history. Or it might be that by rewriting that history to put America on the side of the fascists, people like Guilfoyle hope to make that alliance more palatable to MAGA followers today.

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[claudia1829things]

"LOST" (3.15) "Left Behind" Commentary

"LOST" RETROSPECT - (3.15) "Left Behind"

Have you ever watched a movie or television episode and had maintained an opinion of it for years? Only to change your mind after an umpteenth viewing of it? That is what happened to me after a recent rewatch of the "LOST" Season Three episode, (3.15) "Left Behind"

I might as well begin with the episode's "B" plot. This featured a "B" plot that involved Oceanic survivors Hugo "Hurley" Reyes and James "Sawyer" Ford. Following the events of the previous episode, (3.14) "Exposé", Hurley informs Sawyer that the rest of survivors are in the middle of a debate on whether to banish the Alabama-born con man from the camp. Hurley reminds Sawyer about the benefits of living within a society and suggests that Sawyer start making efforts to make amends for his past actions.

All I have to say is . . . who had written this episode? Honestly. For years, I thought it was a decent, but not exactly mind-blowing episode. But after this latest viewing, I honestly do not know what to think of it. I might as well start with the "B" plot. What can I say? I found it annoying and pointless. It is not that I had any sympathy for Sawyer at this point in the series. I did not. I did not care for Sawyer until Season Five. If Hurley believed the Oceanic camp needed a leader to fulfill the absence of Jack, Sayid and John Locke; he should have stepped up and volunteered for the role, himself. If he was capable of pushing or manipulating Sawyer into stepping into the leadership role, he was capable of assuming the role of leader himself. Instead, Hurley pulled this stupid con job in order to manipulate Sawyer into assuming the role. All this plot managed to achieve was solidify my belief that Hurley was definitely a man child . . . at least through most of the series' run.

Since "Left Behind" happened to be a Kate-centric episode, I might as start with her flashback. In it, Kate meets Sawyer's old flame (at least two-to-three years before she met him on the island), Cassidy Phillips, while the latter was attempting to sell questionable jewelry. Kate comes to her aid before a potential customer could inform the cops. After Cassidy guesses that Kate, who was a fugitive, also did not want to attract the cops; the two women become fast friends. Cassidy agrees to help Kate distract the local law enforcement and U.S. Marshal Edward Mars, so that the fugitive could contact her mother, a waitress at an Iowa road cafe Diane Janssen. You see . . . Kate wanted to know why dear old Mom had ratted her to the cops after she had murdered her father.

I rather liked Cassidy and it was good to see her again after her previous appearance in a Sawyer flashback from Season Two. But I found Kate's agenda very annoying. Why on earth would she be shocked at her mother's decision to inform the police about her murder? Was the audience really expected to sympathize with Kate over Diane's action . . . and becoming perplexed about it? Because I still feel no sympathy for Kate. Audiences learned in the Season Two episode that Kate had murdered her father, Wayne Janssen, in (2.09) "What Kate Did". Diane had a very good reason for snitching on Kate. As she had reminded the latter, Kate had cold-bloodedly murdered Diane's husband, blew up her house and committed insurance fraud to cover up the fact that a murder had been committed. Worse, Kate had lied about the real reason she killed Wayne. She had killed him for her own personal and selfish reason. And yet, in the end, Kate had decided not to forgive her mother for ratting her out? Fuck that! Diane had a chance to rat her out a second time in this episode. Only she did not bother. Kate had her good moments as an individual, but her complaints about Diane in this episode only convinced me how incredibly selfish and delusional she could be.

I finally come to the episode's main plot. While being held captive by the Others for less than a day at their compound, Kate Austen peaks out of a house and spots the group packing to leave. Seconds later, someone tosses a gas cannister, which knocks her out. Some time passes before Kate regains conscious and finds herself handcuffed to the Others' rogue member, Dr. Juliet Burke. Kate is not particularly fond of Juliet, due to the latter being an Other and for developing a close friendship with the Oceanic survivors' leader, Dr. Jack Shephard. While Kate insists upon returning to the Barracks to find another Oceanic captive, Sayid Jarrah, and Jack; Juliet insists upon heading for the Oceanic beach camp. The pair experience a series of adventures involving an encounter with the island entity, "the Smoke Monster", while arguing over Jack and the reason behind Juliet's estrangement from the Others.

I have a question. Why did Kate ask Juliet what the latter had done to piss off Ben and the Others? Juliet had murdered Pickett - right before Kate's eyes - in order to save her and Sawyer. Had she experienced memory loss or something? Had Damon Lindelof and Elizabeth Sarnoff really concocted this ridiculous plot to handcuff Juliet to Kate? According to a later episode, Ben had conceived this handcuff plan. But why? Hold on. I know why. Ben had expected Juliet to use this situation to gain Kate's trust - and through the latter, the Oceanic castaways' trust. Yet again, WHY? All Juliet had to do was agree with Kate's plan to return to the Barracks. Both would have easily found Jack. After all, she had managed to gain his sympathy and friendship during his captivity with the Others. It seemed so pointless to handcuff Juliet to Kate and try to gain her trust. This whole scenario struck me as unnecessary and infantile. As for the catfight in the rain? Very sexist and I suspect, typical of this series' showrunners. And Juliet's encounter with the Smoke Monster? Pointless, because she never encountered it again.

Looking back on my recent rewatch of "Left Behind", I cannot believe I had accepted it as a tolerable episode that could pass muster. Because I find it difficult to accept this . . . at least now. There were too many idiotic plot points and situations for me to regard it as nothing more than an example of one of the less than exemplary episodes from "LOST".

[usafphantom2]

Unprecedented U.S. Hypersonic Weapons Test From Guam Has Occurred

Joseph TrevithickPUBLISHED Mar 19, 2024 7:02 PM EDT

The Air Force has conducted an unprecedented test launch of a live AGM-183A ARRW hypersonic missile in the Western Pacific, sending signals to China and elsewhere in the region amid uncertainty about this particular program's future.

Lockheed Martin

The U.S. Air Force has confirmed that it conducted its final planned end-to-end test launch of a live AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon hypersonic missile, or ARRW, earlier this week. A B-52H bomber flying from the highly strategic U.S. Pacific island territory of Guam fired the missile. The War Zone was the first to predict this test was coming after the Air Force curiously released pictures of a live AGM-183A at a show-and-tell training event at Guam's Andersen Air Force Base in late February.

This is the first time an ARRW missile, or any other known American hypersonic weapon, has been test launched in this region. As such, the test sends signals across the Pacific, especially toward China. At the same time, this comes as ARRW's future continues to be murky with signs pointing to a potential follow-on program, which may already be in progress.

A live AGM-183A ARRW hypersonic missile seen under the wing of a B-52H bomber at Andersen Air Force Base on Guam on February 27, 2024. USAF

“A B-52H Stratofortress conducted a test of the All-Up-Round AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon," an Air Force spokesperson told The War Zone in a statement. "This test launched a full prototype operational hypersonic missile and focused on the ARRW’s end-to-end performance The test took place at the Reagan Test Site with the B-52 taking off from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam on March 17, 2024 local time."

The Reagan Test Site consists of various facilities spread across multiple islands at Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The site is one of the U.S. military's premier missile test ranges and is regularly used to support the testing of very long-range munitions, including hypersonic weapons like ARRW.

Andersen Air Force Base on Guam is a key U.S. military hub in the Western Pacific and the Air Force's main base for staging long-range bomber operations in the region. It would play a central role in any future major conflict in the region, including one against China. U.S. hypersonic weapons, which are expected to be very expensive and acquired in relatively limited numbers, would be particularly valuable in a high-end fight for conducting conventional strikes against very high-value and heavily defended targets. These could include major air defense and other command and control nodes.

There had already been evidence that the ARRW test had occurred on or about March 17 based on the appearance and then cancellation of various warning notices. Online flight tracking data also showed signs the test was finally about to happen, including specially modified High Altitude Observatory (HALO) Gulfstream business jets operating in relevant areas. The HALO aircraft have supported past ARRW flight tests.

ARRW Update: New round scheduled tonight between 00:09 and 04:30 UTC.

So I guess launch did not happened last night despite 49th T&E Squadron's B-52H spotted by @FMilcoms.

The Air Force has only provided limited information so far about the test's outcome and has not explicitly said whether or not it was successful.

"The Air Force gained valuable insights into the capabilities of this new, cutting-edge technology. While we won’t discuss specific test objectives, this test acquired valuable, unique data and was intended to further a range of hypersonic programs," the Air Force spokesperson said in their statement to The War Zone. "We also validated and improved our test and evaluation capabilities for continued development of advanced hypersonic systems.”

The Air Force has used roughly similar language in statements about the previous three end-to-end tests of live ARRW missiles, which occurred in March, August, and October 2023. The March 2023 test ended in failure. Information about the August and October 2023 launches remains scant. The service also conducted another end-to-end ARRW test in December 2022, but this appears to have not involved a live all-up-round missile.

An AGM-183A missile seen during an earlier test launch in 2021 that did not involve a full end-to-end demonstration of the weapon. USAF

Whatever the exact outcome of the March 17 test was, ARRW's future is uncertain, as The War Zone has previously reported in depth.

"Currently, right now, we do not have the ARRW in the [Fiscal Year] 25 budget," Air Force Lt. Gen. Dale White, the Military Deputy at the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, told members of the House Armed Services Committee at a hearing last week. "However, we are continuing to analyze the test data that we have from that capability."

"With ARRW ... we are undergoing the final test of the all-up-round [AUR] with a planned test program completion by the end of [the] second quarter [of] Fiscal Year 2024," White added. "Future ARRW decisions are pending final analysis of all flight test data."

Following years of at best mixed test results, the Air Force announced in March 2023 that it planned to end the ARRW program and shift resources to work on a different type of hypersonic weapon, the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM). You can read more about the differences between ARRW, which has an unpowered hypersonic boost-glide vehicle payload, and air-breathing hypersonic cruise missiles like HACM here.

A rendering of a notional air-breathing hypersonic cruise missile from Raytheon, the prime contractor for the Air Force's HACM program. Raytheon

The Air Force has subsequently appeared on multiple occasions to be backtracking on its ARRW decision, despite the program still being officially set to come to an end this year. There are now signs that the service could be looking at a follow-on air-launched hypersonic boost-glide vehicle program, if it isn't already in the works.

Whatever the case, the Air Force has now completed its final planned end-to-end test of an ARRW missile, which it has said will inform its future hypersonic weapon plans.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

[spacenutspod]

2 min readPreparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) View of the Nova-C landing area near Malapert A in the South Pole region of the Moon. North is to the right. Taken by LROC (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera) NAC (Narrow Angle Camera).NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University NASA has released two white papers associated with the agency’s Moon to Mars architecture efforts. The papers, one on lunar mobility drivers and needs, and one on lunar surface cargo, detail NASA’s latest thinking on specific areas of its lunar exploration strategy. While NASA has established a yearly cadence of releasing new documents associated with its Moon to Mars architecture, the agency occasionally releases mid-cycle findings to share essential information in areas of interest for its stakeholders. “Lunar Mobility Drivers and Needs” discusses the need to move cargo and assets on the lunar surface, from landing sites to points of use, and some of the factors that will significantly impact mobility systems. “Lunar Surface Cargo” analyses some of the current projected needs — and identifies current capability gaps — for the transportation of cargo to the lunar surface. The Moon to Mars architecture approach incorporates feedback from U.S. industry, academia, international partners, and the NASA workforce. The agency typically releases a series of technical documents at the end of its annual analysis cycle, including an update of the Architecture Definition Document and white papers that elaborate on frequently raised topics. Under NASA’s Artemis campaign, the agency will establish the foundation for long-term scientific exploration at the Moon, land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the lunar surface, and prepare for human expeditions to Mars for the benefit of all. You can find all of NASA’s Moon to Mars architecture documents at: https://www.nasa.gov/moontomarsarchitecture Share Details Last Updated Jun 28, 2024 Related TermsHumans in Space Explore More 2 min read Unity in Orbit: Astronauts Soar with Pride Aboard Station  Article 3 days ago 5 min read Six Adapters for Crewed Artemis Flights Tested, Built at NASA Marshall Article 3 days ago 5 min read Lakita Lowe: Leading Space Commercialization Innovations and Fostering STEM Engagement  Article 2 weeks ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 11.14 (after 1970)

1970 – Soviet Union enters ICAO, making Russian the fourth official language of organization. 1970 – Southern Airways Flight 932 crashes in the mountains near Huntington, West Virginia, killing 75, including almost all of the Marshall University football team. 1971 – Mariner 9 enters orbit around Mars. 1973 – In the United Kingdom, Princess Anne marries Captain Mark Phillips, in Westminster Abbey. 1973 – The Athens Polytechnic uprising, a massive demonstration of popular rejection of the Greek military junta of 1967–74, begins. 1975 – With the signing of the Madrid Accords, Spain abandons Western Sahara. 1977 – During a British House of Commons debate, Labour MP Tam Dalyell poses what would become known as the West Lothian question, referring to issues related to devolution in the United Kingdom. 1978 – France conducts the Aphrodite nuclear test as 25th in the group of 29 1975–78 French nuclear tests. 1979 – US President Jimmy Carter issues Executive Order 12170, freezing all Iranian assets in the United States in response to the hostage crisis. 1982 – Lech Wałęsa, the leader of Poland's outlawed Solidarity movement, is released after eleven months of internment near the Soviet border. 1984 – Zamboanga City mayor Cesar Climaco, a prominent critic of the government of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, is assassinated in his home city. 1990 – After German reunification, the Federal Republic of Germany and Poland sign a treaty confirming the Oder–Neisse line as the border between Germany and Poland. 1991 – American and British authorities announce indictments against two Libyan intelligence officials in connection with the downing of the Pan Am Flight 103. 1991 – Cambodian Prince Norodom Sihanouk returns to Phnom Penh after thirteen years in exile. 1992 – In poor conditions caused by Cyclone Forrest, Vietnam Airlines Flight 474 crashes near Nha Trang, killing 30. 1995 – A budget standoff between Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Congress forces the federal government to temporarily close national parks and museums and to run most government offices with skeleton staffs. 2001 – War in Afghanistan: Afghan Northern Alliance fighters take over the capital Kabul. 2001 – A magnitude 7.8 earthquake strikes a remote part of the Tibetan plateau. It has the longest known surface rupture recorded on land (~400 km) and is the best documented example of a supershear earthquake. 2003 – Astronomers discover Sedna, a distant trans-Neptunian dwarf planet. 2008 – The first G-20 economic summit opens in Washington, D.C. 2008 – Space Shuttle Endeavour launches on STS-126 to continue assembly of the International Space Station. 2012 – Israel launches a major military operation in the Gaza Strip in response to an escalation of rocket attacks by Hamas. 2016 – A magnitude 7.8 earthquake strikes Kaikōura, New Zealand, at a depth of 15 km (9 miles), resulting in the deaths of two people. 2017 – A gunman kills four people and injures 12 others during a shooting spree across Rancho Tehama, California. He had earlier murdered his wife in their home. 2019 – A mass shooting occurs at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California, resulting in three deaths, including that of the perpetrator, and three injuries.

[misfitwashere]

Letters from an American

July 19, 2024

Heather Cox Richardson

Jul 20, 2024

Today a Russian court sentenced 32-year-old Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich to 16 years in a high-security penal colony after convicting him of espionage in a secret three-day trial. The U.S. government considers Gershkovich “wrongly detained,” a rare designation signifying that he is being held as a political bargaining chip. 

Today, President Joe Biden said that Gershkovich was “targeted by the Russian government because he is a journalist and an American. We are pushing hard for Evan’s release and will continue to do so.” He added: “Journalism is not a crime. We will continue to stand strong for press freedom in Russia and worldwide, and stand against all those who seek to attack the press or target journalists.”

Last night, a faulty update of software from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike crashed computer systems all over the world. Banks and hospitals were locked out of their own programs, and government services shut down. In the U.S., more than 2,600 flights were canceled and 9,000 were delayed. Bloomberg’s David Rovella quoted Australian security consultant Troy Hunt: “I don’t think it’s too early to call it,” Hunt said. “This will be the largest IT outage in history.”

Also making history last night was the final night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the night on which former president Donald J. Trump accepted the party’s presidential nomination. Coming as it did just days after a would-be assassin took a shot at Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, killing one attendee and badly wounding two others, the convention was billed by Republican operatives as a way for Trump to rebrand himself as a candidate of “unity.” 

This was certainly the way many major newspapers billed Trump’s acceptance speech this morning, in stories that, as media journalist Parker Molloy noted, were probably based on prepared remarks delivered to news agencies in advance of the speech. But it was not how the evening played out.

Since Saturday’s shooting, it has been notable that there has not been a medical review of Trump’s injuries, although he has said he was injured by a bullet that ripped through his ear. This matters not only because of the extent of his injuries, but also because Trump has made the story part of his identity without any fact check, and the media appears simply to be letting it go on Trump’s say-so, something that adds to the sense that media outlets are treating Trump and Biden differently.

Last night, Trump perhaps tried to address this lack by recounting last Saturday’s shooting. Interestingly, he did not say he was hit by a bullet, but that when he felt the injury he thought, “it can only be a bullet.” Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo today noted a report from local Pennsylvania television station WPXI that four motorcycle officers standing within feet of Trump suffered minor injuries from flying debris. Trump has likely cut off further discussion of the topic by saying it is too painful to tell the story again. 

With that story behind him, Trump hit the theme of unity, saying he would bring the country together. “The discord and division in our society must be healed, we must heal it quickly. We are bound together by a single fate, a single destiny,” he said. “We rise together. Or we fall apart…. I am running to be president for all of America, not half of America, because there is no victory in winning for half of America. So tonight, with faith and devotion, I proudly accept your nomination for president of the United States.”

But that was just in the first ten minutes. Then Trump ignored the teleprompter and things veered far off course, reflecting the candidate that has stayed in the safe spaces of Mar-a-Lago and rallies of his loyalists for years. Trump rambled for more than 90 minutes, making it the longest acceptance speech in U.S. history and outlasting the interest of the audience, some of whom fell asleep. 

He went on to recite his usual litany of lies: that Democrats cheated in the 2020 presidential election (they did not), that crime is going up (it’s plummeting), that inflation is the worst we’ve ever had (it’s around 3%; the worst was around 23%), that Democrats want to quadruple people’s taxes (CNN fact checker Daniel Dale calls this “imaginary”), and so on. Dale called it “a remarkably dishonest acceptance speech.” 

Journalist James Fallows posted: “Of the maybe 10,000 political speeches I've heard over the years, this was overall the worst.” Statistician Nate Silver’s judgment was harsher, in a way: he began with “It’s a weird but a pretty good speech,” then posted “Semi-retract this tweet, this speech is boring AF, but there are worse things politically speaking than being boring.” Shortly after, came: “Fully RETRACT and RESCIND, sometimes it seems like both parties are trying to throw this election.” 

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes watched the unhinged speech and concluded: "This is not a colossus, this is not the big bad wolf, this is not a vigorous and incredibly deft political communicator. This is an old man in decline who's been doing the same schtick for a very long time and it's really wearing thin."

The point, though, as Trump meandered through attacks on immigrants and a diatribe about the fictional character cannibal Hannibal Lecter—who he might think was real—as it always has been, was to present a picture of the U.S. under siege by enemies who are persecuting him because he represents true Americans and that he must be returned to office because only he can vanquish those enemies. Greg Sargent of The New Republic noted that Trump cannot offer a “unity” message because “Trump himself knows the MAGA masses will not be satiated without expansive displays of rage, cruelty and sadism directed at hated out groups and designated enemies of MAGA.”

For years, observers have noted that Trump’s approach to politics is patterned on the “kayfabe” at the heart of professional wrestling. Kayfabe is the performance aspect of professional wrestling, in which the actors play out relationships and scenes in which there are good and evil, love and hate, loyalty and betrayal. According to journalist Abraham Josephine Reisman, in old-school kayfabe the actors never let their masks slip, and while the audience knew what they were seeing must be fake, they played along with the illusion.

But in the 1990s, the barrier between reality and illusion blurred as wrestlers and promoters tried to increase the viability of the fading industry by tossing reality into the performances: real-life insults—the more outrageous the better—and real-life events. Decoding what was real and what was not drove engagement until in 1999, an estimated 18% of Americans, about 50 million people, called themselves fans. This “neokayfabe,” Reisman wrote in the New York Times in 2023, “rests on a slippery, ever-wobbling jumble of truths, half-truths, and outright falsehoods, all delivered with the utmost passion and commitment.” 

Neokayfabe, Reisman wrote, “turns the world into a hall of mirrors from which it is nearly impossible to escape. It rots the mind and eats the soul.”

Trump participated in a storyline in this neokayfabe with World Wrestling Entertainment owner Vince McMahon in 2007, in part billed as a battle over hair. Eventually he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, and many observers have made the link between neokayfabe and his approach to politics. Indeed, he even blended the two explicitly when he chose McMahon’s wife, Linda, to head the U.S. Small Business Administration during his presidency.  

Neokayfabe and politics came together again last night at the Republican National Convention, as Linda McMahon, wrestler Hulk Hogan, and musician Kid Rock, whose music has been featured at wrestling events and who is also a member of the WWE Hall of Fame, all participated. 

“So all you criminals, all you lowlifes, all you scumbags…. Whatcha gonna do when Donald Trump and all the Trumpamaniacs run wild on you, brother?!" Hogan yelled to wild applause after ripping off his shirt to show a Trump-Vance shirt. Like the other performers at the convention, he painted a portrait of Trump’s presidency, and of the United States since Trump left office, that was a fantasy of good and evil. Hogan reinforced that there was no way Trump was going to reach toward unity in Milwaukee. His approach to the world cannot be moderated. It depends on the idea that there are two teams in the performance and one must vanquish the other.

Part of that storyline requires rewriting not just the recent past, but our history. At the convention last night, Donald Trump Jr.’s fiancée, Kimberly Guilfoyle, said: “It is no wonder that the heroes who stormed the beaches of Normandy and faced down communism sadly say they don’t recognize our country anymore.” But the Allied soldiers in World War II were not fighting communism. They were fighting fascism. The three great Allied powers were Great Britain, the United States, and the communist Soviet Union. 

It might be that Guilfoyle misspoke, or that she doesn’t know even the most basic facts of our history. Or it might be that by rewriting that history to put America on the side of the fascists, people like Guilfoyle hope to make that alliance more palatable to MAGA followers today.

[iowamedia]

Sioux City vehicular homicide suspect arrested in Alabama

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (Iowa Media Wire) — A man wanted on two counts of vehicular homicide in Sioux City has been arrested in Alabama. Authorities told Iowa Media Wire 9 that Wesley Staten, 31, was arrested by U.S. Marshals last Thursday in Jefferson County, Alabama. 4 students on Le Mars school bus during crash in rural Plymouth County, superintendent says The Sioux City Police Department asked for…

[all-about-news24x7]

Trump's historic court docket look BEGINS

Donald Trump was positioned below arrest by U.S. Marshals after getting into federal court docket along with his loyal aide Walt Nauta forward of his historic look in entrance of a choose over the scheme to maintain labeled paperwork at Mar-a-Lago.  The previous president’s motorcade left Trump Nationwide Doral Miami and took off on the journey downtown the place lots of of MAGA supporters and…

[amberfaber40]

Paranormal Investigator Embroidered Patch Astral Threads - Etsy

Paranormal Investigator Embroidered Patch Astral Threads - Etsy

Paranormal investigator sew on patch. Black fabric with white or green thread Diameter: 8cm (3.15 ")

Exception, The

Shutter Island - 2010

Condition: Very Good. Never folded! Free shipping within the UK. A low flat rate for the rest of the world. Size: 69 cm x 102 cm (27 in x 40 in) A guaranteed original advance one sheet movie poster from 2010 for Martin Scorsese's psychological thriller "Shutter Island", based on the 2003 novel by Dennis Lehane. Set on a fictitious island off the coast of Massachusetts, this taught and twisting movie stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo as U.S. Marshalls investigating the disappearance of hospital patient Rachel Solando. Arriving in the midst of a storm they are trapped as the mysteries of the island deepen. Apparently HBO and Paramount TV are working on a TV series, Ashecliffe, an origin story for the movie. This poster, as dark as the film, has never been folded. It is in superb condition and displays very well. Our large scale images will help you get a better view. It is also double sided and so could be used in an Art of the Movies Light Box or framed traditionally. We only sell guaranteed original movie posters. We do not sell reproductions. Note: This poster is priced unframed. Photos showing framed and 'in room' images are for illustration only. Please check our hi-res images and the sizing information shown above.

Black Every Month Print - 11x14

***WARNING: PRODUCTS ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR RESALE! IN THE EVENT THAT WE DISCOVER ANY ATTEMPTS OF RESALE OR REDISTRIBUTION, ALL PARTIES WILL BE INVESTIGATED AND PROSECUTED TO THE FURTHEST EXTENT OF THE LAW.**   ALL SALES ARE FINAL! Four sizes available! DOES NOT COME FRAMED! May not be reproduced! Processing/Delivery Time: Please allow 3-7 business days for this item to ship! Make sure you are entering your address correctly! Once you have received notification that your order has been shipped, I have no control. I will do my best to fix any problems that may occur but this carrier is responsible for delivery!

Take full advantage of our site features by enabling JavaScript. Click to zoom In 7 cartsPrice: $7.49 Loading13,287 sales | 5 out of 5 stars Primary colorSelect a colorGreenWhitePlease select a colorQuantity12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637Browse collections for more inspiration Created by Etsy shoppersListed on Mar 15, 20231901 favoritesReport this item to Etsy Choose a reason…There’s a problem with my orderIt uses my intellectual property without permissionI don’t think it meets Etsy’s policiesChoose a reason… The first thing you should do is contact the seller directly.If you’ve already done that, your item hasn’t arrived, or it’s not as described, you can report that to Etsy by opening a case.Report a problem with an order We take intellectual property concerns very seriously, but many of these problems can be resolved directly by the parties involved. We suggest contacting the seller directly to respectfully share your concerns.If you’d like to file an allegation of infringement, you’ll need to follow the process described in our Copyright and Intellectual Property Policy. Review how we define handmade, vintage and suppliesSee a list of prohibited items and materialsRead our mature content policyThe item for sale is… not handmade not vintage (20+ years) not craft supplies prohibited or that use prohibited materials not properly labeled as mature content Please choose a reason Tell us more about how this item violates our policies.Tell us more about how this item violates our policies. paranormal investigator embroidered patch astral threads phenomena ghost hunters Parapsychology supernaturalGo to cart ]]>

[brookston]

Holidays 3.6

Holidays

Alamo Day (Texas)

Black Balloon Day

Blackout Day

Chamorro Heritage Day (Guam)

Day of the Dude (Dudeism)

Dentist’s Day

European Day of the Righteous (EU)

European Day of Speech & Language Therapy

Feast of Excited Insects (China, Korea)

Foundation Day (Norfolk Island)

Headache Relief Day

Hospitality Workers in HealthCare Day

International Agunah Day

International Day of the Sculptor

International Day of the Skype Call

King Tut Day

Labour Day (Western Australia, Australia)

Marion Berry Day (DC)

Narcissus Day

National Brian Day

National Day of Tolerance and Coexistence (Iraq)

National Dress Day

National Emotional Civility Day

National Jute Day (Bangladesh)

National Report General Service Administration (GSA) Fraud Day

Silly Putty Day

Snowshoe Day

Sofia Kovalesvskaya Math Day

Stoneware Pottery Appreciation Day

Tolerance and Coexistence Day (Iraq)

Toronto Day (Canada)

Trollface Day

Women’s Day (Tajikistan)

World Conservation Strategy Day

World Lymphedema Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

National Frozen Food Day

National White Chocolate Cheesecake Day

Oreo Cookie Day (a.k.a. National Oreo Day)

World Laksa Day

1st Monday in March

Black Mental Health Day (Canada) [1st Monday]

Casmir Pulaski Day [1st Monday]

Fun Facts About Names Day [Monday of Name Week]

International Badge Day [1st Monday]

Labour Day (Western Australia) [1st Monday]

Magellan Day (a.k.a. Discovery Day; Guam) [1st Monday]

World Tennis Day [1st Monday]

Independence Days

Ghana (from UK, 1957)

Überstadt (Declared; 2010) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

Abelardo (Muppetism)

Baldred of Scotland (Christian; Saint)

Borrowed Days begin (Pastafarian)

Cadroe (Christian; Saint)

Chrodegang (Christian; Saint)

Colette (Christian; Saint)

Day of the East Wind (Pagan)

Festival of Mars (Old Roman God of War)

Fridolin (Christian; Saint)

Fusilli Day (Pastafarian)

Holi (a.k.a. Phagwah, Festival of Color; Guyana, India, Nepal, Suriname)

Kyneburga, Kyneswide and Tibba (Christian; Saint)

Marcian of Tortona (Christian; Saint)

William W. Mayo and Charles Frederick Menninger (Episcopal Church (USA))

Olegarius (Christian; Saint)

Purim (Judaism) [begins at sundown] (a.k.a. ... 

Fast of Esther;

Survival Celebration

Ta' Anit Ester

Quisling Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Rose of Viterbo (Christian; Saint)

Ta’anit Esther (The Fast of Esther; Judaism) [13 Adar]

Treachery Day (Church of the SubGenius)

Xenophanes (Positivist; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Butsumetsu (仏滅 Japan) [Unlucky all day.]

Perilous Day (13th Century England) [12 of 32]

Premieres

The Big Lebowski (Film; 1998)

Chappie (Film; 2015)

÷ (a.k.a. Divide), by Ed Sheeran (Album; 2017)

Everest (IMAX Documentary Film; 1998)

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Film; 1921)

Kidnapping Mr. Heineken (Film; 2015) 

Kissin’ Cousins (Film; 1964) [Elvis Presley #14]

La Traviata (The Fallen Woman), by Giuseppe Verdi (Opera; 1853)

Lethal Weapon (Film; 1987)

Let It Be, by The Beatles (Song; 1970)

Lorenzo (Disney Cartoon; 2004)

Medusa, by Annie Lennox (Album; 1995)

Onward (Animated Film; 2020)

Paint It Black, recorded by The Rolling Stones (Song; 1966)

Playdate with Destiny (Animated Simpsons Cartoon; 2020)

There Goes My Baby, recorded by The Drifters (Song; 1959)

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (Film; 2015)

To Be or Not to Be (Film; 1942)

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (TV Series; 2015)

U.S. Marshals (Film; 1998)

Watchmen (Film; 2009)

The Young Victoria (Film; 2009)

Today’s Name Days

Fridolin, Nicola, Rosa (Austria)

Ruža, Viktor, Zvjezdana (Croatia)

Miroslav (Czech Republic)

Gotfred (Denmark)

Tarmo, Tarmu (Estonia)

Tarmo (Finland)

Colette (France)

Fridolin, Nicola, Nicole, Rosa (Germany)

Isyhios (Greece)

Inez, Leonóra (Hungary)

Colette, Giordano, Ezio, Marziano, Marzio (Italy)

Centis, Gotfrids, Vents (Latvia)

Karigailė, Norvilas, Raminta, Rožė (Lithuania)

Andor, Annfrid (Norway)

Eugenia, Felicyta, Frydolin, Jordan, Klaudian, Koleta, Róża, Wiktor, Wiktoriusz, Wojsław (Poland)

Radoslav (Slovakia)

Julián, Olegario (Spain)

Ebba, Ebbe (Sweden)

Carlton, Charlton, Colette, Collette (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 65 of 2023; 300 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 1 of week 10 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Nuin (Ash) [Day 16 of 28]

Chinese: Month 2 (Yi-Mao), Day 15 (Gui-Hai)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 13 Adar 5783

Islamic: 13 Sha’ban 1444

J Cal: 4 Ver; Foursday [4 of 30]

Julian: 21 February 2023

Moon: 99%: Waxing Gibbous

Positivist: 9 Aristotle (3rd Month) [Xenophanes]

Runic Half Month: Tyr (Cosmic Pillar) [Day 11 of 15]

Season: Winter (Day 76 of 90)

Zodiac: Pisces (Day 15 of 29)

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

March 5, 2024 (Tuesday)

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

MAR 6, 2024

Possibly the biggest story today in terms of its impact on most Americans’ lives is that as part of its war on junk fees, the Biden administration announced an $8 cap on late fees charged by credit card issuers that have more than a million accounts. These companies hold more than 95% of outstanding credit card debt. Currently, fees average $32, and they fall on more than 45 million people. The White House estimates that late fees currently cost Americans about $25 billion a year. The rule change will save Americans about $10 billion a year.

The administration also announced a “strike force” to crack down on “unfair and illegal pricing.” Certain corporations raised prices as strained supply chains made it more expensive to make their products. But after supply chains were fixed and their costs dropped, corporations kept consumer prices high and passed on record profits to their shareholders. The strike force will encourage federal agencies to share information to enable them to identify businesses that are breaking the law. 

Banking organizations and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce came out swinging. Executive vice president Neil Bradley said that such regulation “to micromanage how private businesses set prices will have the same result: shortages, fewer choices for consumers, a weaker economy, and less jobs.” 

And in what perhaps illustrates why voters don’t appear to know much about what the administration is doing, these stories have gotten far less attention today than the primaries and caucuses. 

Today is Super Tuesday, when 15 states and one territory choose their primary candidates for president and for the House of Representatives and the Senate (although in Alaska, only Republicans vote today and in American Samoa, only Democrats vote today). About 36% of Republican delegates will be awarded today, and that’s the side people will be watching because on the Democratic side, Biden has a virtually uncontested lead with the exception of candidate Jason Palmer, who won the Democratic caucuses in American Samoa.

Trump is expected to win today’s Republican contests, but observers are watching to see what percentage of the vote challenger Nikki Haley, former governor of South Carolina, takes from him. As I write this, she appears to have won Vermont and run strongly elsewhere, especially in the suburbs. Three states conducted exit polls and they, too, show warning signs for Trump as 78% of Haley voters in the North Carolina primary, 69% in California, and 68% in Virginia refused to say they would support the party’s nominee no matter who it is. 

It is also notable that polls showed Trump with a much stronger margin over Haley than materialized today. As Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo notes, it is not yet clear what that means.

Trump is on his way to becoming the Republican presidential nominee. On Friday the Republican National Committee (RNC) will meet in Houston to choose a new chair. The only people running are Trump loyalist Michael Whatley and Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump, who hope to become co-chairs. Natalie Allison reported today in Politico that the RNC will not vote on a resolution that would have prohibited the RNC from covering Trump’s legal bills. 

Trump is certainly in need of money. Today, his lawyers demanded a new trial in the second E. Jean Carroll case, complaining that the judge limited what he could say, and asked for a judgment figure significantly lower than the $83.3 million the jurors awarded. By the end of Friday, Trump must post either the money or a bond covering it.

This morning, Trump told Brian Kilmeade of Fox & Friends that he was not worried about coming up with the money to pay the $454 million he owes in the New York fraud case, or the interest it is accruing at more than $100,000 a day. “I have a lot of money. I can do what I want to do,” Trump said. “I don't worry about anything. I don't worry about the money. I don't worry about money.”

Yesterday, Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, admitted he lied under oath during his testimony in that case. He will be sentenced in April. 

Super Tuesday is also the day that the 2024 presidential campaign begins in earnest for those who had not previously been paying much attention, and Taylor Swift today urged her 282 million followers on Instagram “to vote the people who most represent YOU into power. If you haven't already, make a plan to vote today,” she wrote.

The presidential contest is only one of the many contests on the ballot today, but most of those results are not yet in. 

Although the Arizona primary will not be held until March 19, we did learn today that Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) will not run for reelection. Her exit will leave the Arizona senator’s race to election-denying Trump Republican Kari Lake, who lost the Arizona governorship in 2022 (although she continues to insist she won it), and Arizona Democratic representative Ruben Gallego. 

Just as voters don’t appear to know much about what the administration has done to make their lives better, a recent study from a Democratic pollster suggests that voters don’t seem to know much about Trump’s statements attacking democracy. When informed of them, their opinion of Trump falls.

Trump has called for mass deportations of immigrants and foreign-born U.S. citizens; on February 29, he said he would use local police as well as federal troops to round people up and move them to camps for deportation. Asked yesterday by a Newsmax host if he would “order mass deportations if you win the White House,” Trump answered: “Oh, day one. We have no choice. And we’ll start with the bad ones. And you know who knows who they are? Local police. Local police have to be given back their authority, and they have to be given back their respect and immunity.” 

On the one hand, caps to credit card late fees and an attempt to address price gouging; on the other hand, local police with immunity rounding up millions of people and putting them in camps, for deportation. And, in between the two, an election. 

People had better start paying attention. 

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[hobbyspacer]

The Space Show this week - Feb.14.2023

The guests and topics of discussion on The Space Show this week: 1. Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023; 7 pm PST (9 pm CST, 10 pm EST): No program due to David's family program for Valentines Day. 2. Hotel Mars - Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023; 1:00 pm PST (3:00 pm CST, 4:00 pm EST): Dr. Bruno Morgado will talk with John Batchelor and Dr. David Livingston about the discovery of a dwarf planet with rings. 3. Friday, Feb.17, 2023; 9:30-11 am PST (11:30 am-1 pm CST, 12:30-2 pm EST): We welcome back from the UK, Dr. Peter Hague, who will discuss his blog commentary on Planetocracy. 4. Sunday, Feb.19, 2023; 12-1:30 pm PST (2-3:30 pm CST, 3-4:30 pm EST): We welcome back noted author and NY Times best selling author plus TED Global speaker Daniel Suarez regarding his best selling science fiction novel Critical Mass . Some recent shows: ** Sunday, Feb.12.2023 - An Open Lines program covered multiple topics including "SpaceX, Starship, timeline for Musk to Mars, the spy balloons appearing over the U.S. and Canada plus a few other prime topics". https://thespaceshow.com/sites/default/files/shows/3984-BWB-2023-02-12.mp3 ** Friday, Feb.10.2023 - Marshall Martin talked "about his climate ideas, the value of space in the climate discussion, unclear power and SSP". https://thespaceshow.com/sites/default/files/shows/3983-BWB-2023-02-10.mp3 ** Hotel Mars - Wednesday, Feb.8.2023 - Dr. Alan Hale spoke with John Batchelor and Dr. David Livingston about the comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) now in our skies. https://thespaceshow.com/sites/default/files/shows/3982-BWB-2023-02-08.mp3 ** Tuesday, Feb.7.2023 - Dr. Charles Lurio discussed "SpaceX, SSP, space settlement, commercial space investment and more". https://thespaceshow.com/sites/default/files/shows/3981-BWB-2023-02-07.mp3 ** Sunday, Feb.5.2023 - Mark Whittington talked "about multiple current space topics of interest including fusion, space nuclear propulsion and likely protests plus much more". https://thespaceshow.com/sites/default/files/shows/3980-BWB-2023-02-05.mp3 ** Sunday, Jan.15.2023 - An open lines program which included David Livingston reporting "on our recent fundraising campaign, my upcoming knee surgery and impact on TSS, delays in The Space Show book, plus a host of current and timely space topics". https://thespaceshow.com/sites/default/files/shows/3979-BWB-2023-01-15.mp3 ** Friday, Jan.13.2023 - Tony Frego "of Spaceflight, Inc. to the show to discuss Spaceflight, Inc, mission management and their Sherpa OTV program plus the emerging OTV industry". https://thespaceshow.com/sites/default/files/shows/3978-BWB-2023-01-13.mp3 ** See also: * The Space Show Archives * The Space Show Newsletter * The Space Show Shop The Space Show is a project of the One Giant Leap Foundation.

The Space Show - Dr. David Livingston === Amazon Ads === Escaping Gravity: My Quest to Transform NASA and Launch a New Space Age === Critical Mass (A Delta-v Novel) Read the full article

[revolutionarywarhistory]

"An officer of the Revolution": The story of Mountjoy Bayly [Part 5]

Continued from part 4

Gravestone of Mountjoy in the Congressional Cemetery, photographed by Michael Dover on 6 Mar 2011. Courtesy of his Find A Grave entry.

Like the 1820 census, the 1830 census is full of information. Still living in the Fourth Ward, the household of "Genl M Bayly" as the census shows it, indicates that he is living with his family,, including his son Richard, his daughter Eleanor, his daughter Elizabeth, and his wife Elizabeth, along with two enslaved Blacks, one which is a female under age 10, another which is a female aged 36-54. [48] The same year a "Mary Bailey" was living in Georgetown, just like in 1820 when two "free" Black persons were living with her). Likely, this was his mother. [49] If it was, then this would add an interesting familial dynamic to the story. However, more research would be needed to see if this is the case. After all, many people with the last name of "Bailey" are listed as living in this ward in 1820 and 1830 but it is not known if they are related to Mountjoy. [50]

Reprinted from my History Hermann WordPress blog.

This same census showed 341 household, a "Benjamin Bayly" as the marshal in the city, and many colonels and military officers living within the ward. Furthermore, using all of the pages within the census of this Washington city region, it is clear that there are 1,860 inhabitants in the ward. Of these inhabitants, 535 are White males, 591 are White females, 117 are enslaved Black men, 134 are enslaved Black women, 212 are free Black men, and 271 are free Black women.This means this means there has been an increase in the number of households by about 23%. since there were 277 households in 1820.

In terms of the number of inhabitants, there were 200 more in 1830 that were not there in 1820, an increase of more than 12%. In terms of the distribution of those living in the ward, about 28.5% are White men, about 31.7% are White women, about 6.3% are enslaved Black men, about 7.2% are enslaved Black women, about 14.5% are free Black women, leaving 11.8% to be free Black men. That means that 60.2% of the town was White, with the rest as Black inhabitants, only 26.3% of which were "free," and 13.5% enslaved.

Coming back to Bayly, in 1832, Elizabeth would die from a form of cancer, if I remember his federal veterans pension application correctly, which misstates who she is, no surprise in terms of pensions. [51] After her death, he would marry another woman. While her last name is not currently known, thanks to Edward Papenfuse, we know her first name was Rebecca. [52] The same year (and the year following) he would, from Washington City, attest to the fact that Benjamin Murdoch and Theodore Middleton were part of the Extra Regiment.

In the final years of his life, little is known. However, there are indications that he was "praying to be compensated for extra services" as noted in the journal of the U.S. Senate for Jun 27, 1834. Also, in the Federal Pension Roll of 1835 it noted that he lived within Washington County, a county within DC, not Maryland, still receiving a Federal pension of $4,320 since the pension started in July 1828, and an annual allowance of $480.00.

On March 22, 1836, within his 82 years of age, Mountjoy died and was buried in Washington D.C.'s Congressional Cemetery. As he still owned hundreds of acres in Frederick County [53], one newspaper would write a short death notice:

On the 22nd instant, GENERAL Mountjoy Bayly, an officer of the Revolution, in the 82nd year of his age. His friends are requested to attend his funeral from his late dwelling on Capitol Hill this evening at 4 o'clock.

This funeral's location is not known. It likely was not at the Bayly House, but rather was at lot 13, square 637 within the District, a property sold to Benjamin S. Bayly in 1831. It could also be at lot 10, within square 637, also owned by Mr. Bayly sometime before 1832. Using the information on an 1835 map of DC shows that that square 637 is south of the Capitol, and near a canal, which means that he stayed in the Capitol Hill region, only slightly moving around. This is undoubtedly the current location of The Spirit of Justice Park, and he could have been living in what was later called George Washington Inn, which was demolished to make way for a parking garage for the House of Representatives.

The only way to find this out would be to, perhaps, would be to contact the DC Archives. I don't feel it is my place to do this since I would be intruding on genealogy research by the family itself, but it is open for any other researchers.

The years after Mountjoy and reflection

As noted in the Heritage Gazette, a publication of the Association for the Preservation of Historic Congressional Cemetery.

Since the last name of Mountjoy's second wife, Rebecca is not currently known to this researcher, further family linkages cannot be determined. However, a number of aspects are clear. In 1838, Theodore Middleton, previously mentioned, would petition the US House of Representatives, saying that he served as a lieutenant in the Extra Regiment, wanting five years pay, citing Mountjoy as support. He would receive it, possibly indicating Mountjoy's staying power.

Years later, in 1934, one ancestor of Mountjoy, McKendrec Bayly, would write the Washington Post a correction, showing that his spirit remained strong [54]:

In one New York Times obit from 1910 it cites a person named Richard Mountjoy Bailey Phillips as dying. It is not known if he is related to Mountjoy. However, one Baltimore Sun article about Mrs. Sumner A. Parker has this line, which concerns an estate they owned, "the Cloisters" which was the Green Spring Valley estate of Mr. and Mrs. Sumner A. Parker. [55] The relevant part is as follows:

...Mrs. Parker asserted in her will that she and her late husband...built the Cloisters...[which had within it] furniture handed down by her great-great-great grandfather, Gen, Monjoy Bailey, from his home in Frederick. The testator said that her ancestor had been sent to Frederick by Gen. George Washington and place in charge of the troops housed on the outskirts of the city.

This is partially right as noted earlier in this article. However, it is wrong to say that George Washington sent Mountjoy to Frederick. Instead, he was sent on Governor Lee's orders and was in charge of troops within Frederick County, not anywhere else, like this implies. Other stories I found noted how Mountjoy was a better and gambler and how Sterling silver knives, which were made in England in 1790, owned by Mountjoy, were stolen in 1972. [56]

In later years, in July 2012, the 1st Vice President J. Patrick Warner of the Maryland Society of the Sons of the American Revolution would represent the Maryland Society in a "ceremony commemorating Mountjoy Bayly." That means that to this day, people commemorate him.

There are many resources I could have used here. [57] Some sources said that the pension file of George Heeter is related to Mountjoy, but no evidence seems to indicate this at all. A related book and page by Fairfax SAR chapter, give helpful hints, the latter used for some of the sources in this article, but they do not provide all of the information. Possible other sources are out there, like the entries in "U.S. War Bounty Land Warrants, 1789-1858" for Mountjoy (called Mountjoy Bailey in the record), or "New Orleans, Louisiana, Slave Manifests, 1807-1860" of about 1831 which involves Mountjoy shipping a enslaved Black man southward (if I read that right), all of which are records of Mr. Bayly all on Ancestry which can't be currently accessed by this researcher. Other than that, there are probably online resources that I have not found. More likely the records I don't have here are paper records within certain archives and databases across the East Coast.

I hope that this article contributed not only to an understanding of the story of Mountjoy, but also how the story of slavery is tied into US history deeply, along with Washington, D.C. from 1820 to 1836, at least. If this article did anything to improve people's historical knowledge and encouraged further research, then then this research did right. As always, I look forward to your comments as I continue to write on the stories of certain members of the Extra Regiment after the Revolutionary War.

© 2016-2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

[spacenutspod]

4 min readPreparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) By Daniel Boyette Jeremy Kenny squinted his eyes as he looked toward the brilliant light. Then came the deafening sound waves that vibrated his body. This was the moment he’d dreamed about since childhood. It was Nov. 16, 2009, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and Kenny and his wife were watching space shuttle Atlantis embark on a mission to the International Space Station. Kenny, who was less than two years into his NASA career, had the opportunity to see the liftoff from Launch Pad 39A as part of receiving the Space Flight Awareness Award for supporting the Space Shuttle Program’s solid rocket booster flight program. “That was the first launch I ever witnessed in person,” said Kenny, whose inspiration for working at NASA came from watching televised shuttle launches as a youth. “It was amazing and made me appreciate how such a powerful system could be designed and flown so successfully.” Jeremy Kenny, manager of NASA’s Cryogenic Fluid Management Portfolio Project, holds a model spacecraft for the proposed large cryogenic demonstration mission. The mission aims to demonstrate liquid hydrogen management, including near-zero propellant boil off and highly efficient propellant transfer, needed to achieve long-duration transit to/from Mars and spacecraft loitering during on-surface campaigns.Credit: NASA/Danielle Burleson With the final shuttle mission two years later, NASA set its sights on designing and building its future Artemis rocket: SLS (Space Launch System). Kenny was selected to lead the SLS Modal Acoustic Test program, which helped engineers understand how loud the rocket would be during liftoff. He later joined another key Artemis effort, the Human Landing System program, as a technical manager, overseeing the development of lander systems that will transport astronauts to the Moon’s surface. “Artemis is an inspiring campaign for future human spaceflight exploration,” Kenny said. “I worked with SLS, Orion, and Exploration Ground Systems, and it was very fulfilling to see all the pieces come together for the successful Artemis I launch.” In January, Kenny was named manager of NASA’s Cryogenic Fluid Management (CFM) Portfolio project, where he oversees a cross-agency team based at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. The CFM portfolio includes innovative technologies to store, transfer, and measure ultra-cold fluids – such as liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen, and liquid methane. These cryogens are the most common propellants in space exploration, making CFM integral to NASA’s future exploration and science efforts. “We must mature CFM technologies to support future flight mission architectures,” said Kenny. “The strong partnership between Marshall and Glenn in CFM maturation continues to produce excellent results, enabling in-space cryogenic systems vital to NASA’s Moon to Mars vision.” Kenny’s choice of profession comes as little surprise, given his family background. He had a grandfather and an uncle who worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the family’s hometown of Vicksburg, Mississippi. From them, Kenny learned how math and physics could be implemented in real-world applications. He earned three degrees in mechanical engineering: a bachelor’s from Mississippi State University in Starkville, a master’s from Georgia Tech in Atlanta, and a doctorate from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. “My grandfather showed me various engineering software programs he worked on to simulate ground terrains for military transportation systems,” Kenny said. “My uncle worked on engineering developments for various military systems; he was a key influence for me to pursue graduate degrees in mechanical engineering.” When Kenny’s not working to evolve technology for NASA’s future deep space exploration missions, he’s spending time with his wife and their two daughters, who are involved in choir and dance. “Watching them practice and perform inspires me,” Kenny said with a smile. “My biggest challenge is balancing my professional work, which I love, and spending time with my family, who I love. With work comes many exciting opportunities, and solving hard problems is fun. But that excitement should not detract from keeping your personal relationships healthy. One day, I’ll retire and spend all my free time with family.” The CFM Portfolio Project’s work is under NASA’s Technology Demonstration Missions Program, part of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, which oversees a broad portfolio of technology development and demonstration projects across NASA centers and American industry partners. Learn more about CFM Ramon J. OsorioMarshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama256-544-0034ramon.j.osorio@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Mar 21, 2024 Related TermsMarshall Space Flight CenterCryogenic Fluid Management (CFM)Technology Demonstration Missions Program Explore More 22 min read The Marshall Star for March 20, 2024 Article 22 hours ago 3 min read NASA Artemis Mission Progresses with SpaceX Starship Test Flight Article 7 days ago 4 min read NASA Lights ‘Beacon’ on Moon With Autonomous Navigation System Test Article 1 week ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System

[brookstonalmanac]

Birthdays 9.24

Beer Birthdays

Peter LaFrance (1951)

Paul Davis (1967)

Michael Simmons (1969)

Jay Wilson (1972)

Five Favorite Birthdays

F. Scott Fitzgerald; writer (1896)

Jim Henson; puppeteer, entertainer (1936)

Alan P. Herbert; English writer, poet (1890)

Blind Lemon Jefferson; blues guitarist, singer (1893)

John Marshall; U.S. Supreme Court chief justice (1755)

Famous Birthdays

Barbara Allbut; pop singer (1940)

Tommy Armour; golfer (1894)

Elizabeth Blackadder; Scottish painter (1931)

John Brunner; English-Scottish author (1934)

John Carter; jazz woodwind player (1929)

Ham Fisher; cartoonist (1900)

F. Scott Fitzgerald; writer (1896)

Jack Gaughan; illustrator (1930)

"Mean" Joe Greene; Pittsburgh steelers DT (1946)

Phil Hartman; comedian (1948)

Herb Jeffries; singer (1913)

Katja Kassin; German porn star (1979)

John Kessel; author, poet, and playwright (1950)

Anastasia Knight; adult actress (1999)

Józef Krupiński; Polish poet & author (1930)

Sheila MacRae; actor, comedian (1924)

Franklin Clarence Mars; candymaker (1883)

Gerry Marsden; rock singer (1942)

Sabrine Maui; adult actress (1980)

Linda Eastman McCartney; photographer (1942)

Sheila MacRae; English-American actress, singer (1921)

John McKay; television sportscaster (1921)

John Moffatt; English actor & playwright (1922)

Stephen Mueller; painter (1947)

Eloise Mumford; actress (1986)

Yves Navarre; French author (1940)

Fats Navarro; jazz trumpeter (1923)

Bernard Nevill; English painter (1934)

Anthony Newley; actor (1931)

Njål Ølnes; Norwegian saxophonist & composer (1965)

César Pedroso; Cuban pianist & songwriter (1946)

Ben Platt; actor, singer (1993)

Grigori Potemkin; Russian politician (1739)

Jean Servais; Belgian-French actor (1910)

Robert Lewis Taylor; author (1912)

Mel Taylor; drummer (1934)

Carson Van Osten; comics creator (1945)

Nia Vardalos; Canadian-American actress (1962)

Victoria Vetri; 1968 Playmate of the Year (1944)

Horace Walpole; English writer (1717)

Megan Ward; actress (1969)

Steve Whitmire; current voice of Kermit the Frog (1959)

Chick Willis; singer & guitarist (1934)