September 16 marks the Independence Days for Mexico (celebrating the declaration of independence from Spain in 1810) and Papua New Guinea (commemorating the exit from Australia in 1975).
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Independence Days
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SpaceX Goes Way Up
The big news this weekend should have been SpaceX’s big accomplishment this past week. But talk of it has been oddly muted. Some have drawn political conclusions from the silence, such as Friday’s post by “DogeDesigner” on X (@cb_doge on Twitter): “SpaceX, an American company, just completed the first-ever commercial spacewalk, the farthest from Earth in over 50 years. Yet, no recognition or appreciation from the President. For [the] Democratic party, politics always comes first, not America.”
Elon Musk replied with a “Sigh.”
But in the Democrats’ defense, they have a whole lot to lose by saying anything nice about Elon Musk’s two outfits in question, X and SpaceX. Further, just maybe the president of the United States (Biden?) has been waiting for the mission’s completion.
Wait no more!
“Tech billionaire Jared Isaacman and SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis completed the first-ever commercial spacewalk in SpaceX-designed suits,” we read at Devdiscourse. “The Polaris Dawn mission tested new spacesuit technology in extreme conditions and conducted 36 experiments. This mission marks a significant milestone in commercial spaceflight and advances scientific knowledge for future space endeavors.”
The space walk occurred on Thursday, with all five crew members participating. The flight began on Tuesday. Splashdown of Polaris Dawn’s Dragon spacecraft occurred early Sunday.
Oh, and the new space suits look snazzy.
Paul Jacob has been following SpaceX for years here on Common Sense with Paul Jacob.
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J. R. R. Tolkien
You can make the Ring an allegory of our own time, if you like: an allegory of the inevitable fate that awaits all attempts to defeat evil power by power. But that is only because all power magical or mechanical does always so work.
J. R. R. Tolkien, speaking on the central figure of the One Ring in his books The Lord of the Rings, in a letter to his publisher (July 31, 1947); published in The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien(1981), Letter 109.
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After Porto
On September 15, 1820, an uprising occurred in Lisbon, Portugal, following similar insurrection in Porto the previous month. This was no bloodthirsty mob, but, instead, a popular demand for constitutional government. Unfortunately, the country was beset with imperial and monarchical problems for some time to come.
The United Nations established September 15 as International Day of Democracy, in 2007. An Independence Day is celebrated on this date in Guatemala (a Patriotic Day), El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, commemorating independence from Spain in 1821.
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Not To Be Saved
H.R. 8281, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE Act), introduced by Rep. Chip Roy (R‑TX), would require voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship at the time of registration. It passed the House in July and is hovering in the Senate where …
Wait. Something happened. It’s been placed in the latest Continuing Resolution (CR) on the budget!
But before you get too excited, Thomas Massey, Republican Representative from Kentucky, calls this a “Bright Shiny Object” which will be voted for by Republicans and voted against by Democrats and, according to the rules of “political theater” will be removed before the CR goes to the president’s pen.
Besides, the SAVE Act can’t save the election we’re worried about, since the general election will be held just a few weeks from now and everybody’s been registered and …
Well, watch Massey on X.
Il est bien malaisé (puisqu’il faut enfin m’expliquer)
d’ôter à des insensés des chaînes qu’ils révèrent.
It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.
Voltaire — François-Marie Arouet (1694 – 1778) — Le dîner du comte de Boulainvilliers (1767): Troisième Entretien.