Jon Huntsman joins the pack

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by Clifford F. Thies

The race has the feel of not being real.

The President's net approval rating is negative and he loses to Generic Republican. His fundamentals are very bad. The Misery Index looks Cateresque. Three wars. Who knew we had 100,000 troops in Afghanistan? Or 700 casualties per year? These numbers will not be lost to the American people when it comes time to focus on the election. Obama has owned the economy since 2010 and he will own the wars in 2012.

Looking at the GOP field:

Romney continues to be the front-runner; but, he's like a default setting. His total experience in government is 1 term? And, what did he actually accomplish?

Pawlenty? Talk about a weak jaw.

Can anybody else who is in the race even be conisdered to be a serious candidate?

Among the non-serious candidates, Herman Cain's role is to splinter the Tea Party vote so as to deny the nomination to Michele Bachmann; Ron Paul's role is to splinter the Libertarian vote so as to deny the nomination to Gary Johnson; newcomer Jon Huntsman's role is to splinter the Mormon vote so as to deny the nomination to Romney; and, Rick Santorum's role is to put himself out there long enough so he denies the nomination to himself.

Newt Gingrich, like Fred thompson before him, is using the Presidential contest to impress his young wife, so at least he's accomplishing something.

Waiting on the sidelines is Sarah Palin, now joined by Rudy Giuliani and Rick Perry, each one imagining him or herself to be the savior of the party, when we all know that General David Petraeus will be the savior.

Increasingly looking like Jeff Flake may "get a free ride" for US Senate race

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"Perceived strength of Rep. Flake..."

From Eric Dondero:

It now appears that Gabrielle Giffords, due to her tragic injuries, will not be running for US Senate as a Democrat after all. Dems had hoped that the Tucson area congresswoman would recover enough to give the Republicans a strong challenge.

Now this from Goggle News via AP:

Privately, some Democrats are pessimistic that her recovery will progress to the point she will run for the Senate. They view a run for her congressional seat as a more likely alternative.

Some Democrats said the lack of an alternative at this stage is a worrisome sign that Democrats won't field a strong challenger against the GOP nominee, most likely to be Republican Rep. Jeff Flake. Incumbent Republican Jon Kyl is retiring after three terms in the Senate.

"We're stumbling around with names nobody knows," said Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz. "We're left with second tiers, and that's too bad, because I don't think Flake should have a free ride and he's beatable."

"I think it's the perceived strength of Representative Flake. It's also very difficult to raise money in this economic environment," [fmr. AZ Democrat Chair] Pederson said.

Grijalva has ruled out a run.

Photo from Flake's congressional office of his solo trip two years ago to a deserted island in the Pacific.

Libertarian Republican Quote of the Year!

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"I drink Tequila. This is California"

From Eric Dondero:

California Congressman Dana Rohrabacher quoted in Politico this morning, on his Cali-esque congressional office decor:

“Americans identify themselves with different parts of American culture,” said Rohrabacher. “Some people think of themselves as cowboys. Some think of themselves as policemen or sportsmen or something like that. … I’m a surfer. And I identify with the surf culture. I grew up with it and feel at home at the beach. I don’t drink bourbon; I drink tequila. This is California. So, yeah, it’s different.”

Rep. Rohrabacher, a longtime Advisory Board member of the Republican Liberty Caucus, going back to the mid-1990s, represents a portion of Orange County, Huntington Beach up to Long Beach, including Catalina Island.

Photos from his congressional office.

Gates Stunner! Defense cutbacks – "It’s time for me to retire…"

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From Eric Dondero:

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, on coming Defense cutbacks, and potential loss of America's superpower status due to a "dramatic transformation," in military spending under Obama. Quoted by J-Post:

“To tell you the truth, that’s one of the many reasons it’s time for me to retire, because frankly I can’t imagine being part of a nation, part of a government . . . that’s being forced to dramatically scale back our engagement with the rest of the world.”

Editor's comment - Gates returning to his Republican roots, perhaps? Looking at the latest poll numbers and seeing a coming Republican win in 2012. Highly unusual for a Cabinet official to take such a jab at his own administration.

H/t Weasel Z...

Elkhart Mayor gains another challenger

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 13, 2011 Contact: Oscar Gibson Phone : 574-264-6741   Moore gains another challenger ELKHART – Elkhart Mayor Dick Moore will have 2 opponents on the November ballot instead of just one. Local businessman Oscar Gibson was nominated at the Elkhart County Libertarian Party’s convention held in late April.  He will join [...]

JWST Cryogenic Mirror Testing

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The first six mirrors undergo through cryotesting. Credit: NASA

 

Yes that is a gold surface, not as much as you might think as it is exceedingly thin (read below). This is a milestone of sorts so hopefully everything goes well.

Here’s the press release from NASA:

Engineers and technicians guide six James Webb Space Telescope’s mirror segments off the rails after completing final cryogenic testing this week at Marshall. (NASA/Emmett Given)

The first six of 18 segments that will form NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s primary mirror for space observations completed final cryogenic testing this week. The ten week test series included two tests cycles where the mirrors were chilled down to -379 degrees Fahrenheit, then back to ambient temperature to ensure the mirrors respond as expected to the extreme temperatures of space.

A second set of six mirror assemblies will arrive at Marshall in late July to begin testing, and the final set of six will arrive in the fall.

The X-ray and Cryogenic Facility at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. provides the space-like environment to help engineers measure how well the telescope will image infrared sources once in orbit.

Each mirror segment measures approximately 4.3 feet (1.3 meters) in diameter to form the 21.3 foot (6.5 meters), hexagonal telescope mirror assembly critical for infrared observations. Each of the 18 hexagonal-shaped mirror assemblies weighs approximately 88 pounds (40 kilograms). The mirrors are made of a light and strong metal called beryllium, and coated with a microscopically thin coat of gold to enabling the mirror to efficiently collect infrared light.

Engineers ready the crane to lift one James Webb Space Telescope’s mirror segment off the stand after completing final cryogenic testing this week at Marshall. (NASA/Emmett Given)

The telescope is a combined project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. Northrop Grumman is the prime contractor under NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colo., is responsible for mirror development. L-3- Tinsley Laboratories Inc. in Richmond, Calif. is responsible for mirror grinding and polishing.

Saturn’s Ice Queen, Helene

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Discovered in 1980, and named for Helene of Troy, Cassini took this image of Saturn’s tiny Ice Queen two days ago:

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

Here’s the NASA blurb to go along with its image of this exquisite, minuscule moonlet – and don’t forget to check out the enlargement:

Cassini Captures Ice Queen Helene

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft successfully completed its second-closest encounter with Saturn’s icy moon Helene on June 18, 2011, beaming down raw images of the small moon. At closest approach, Cassini flew within 4,330 miles (6,968 kilometers) of Helene’s surface. It was the second closest approach to Helene of the entire mission.

Here are a few more NASA images of Helene.  It’s hard to believe little Helene wasn’t molded from modeling clay in a studio, crammed full of an astonishing variety of features for its size, then painted to perfection:

NASA/Cassini 013111

NASA/Cassini 030311

NASA/Cassini 030311 Helene shown against Saturn

 

 

Happy Summer!

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Summer solsctice at Stonehenge. Photograph: Warren Allott/AFP/Getty Images via Datablog (linked below)

 

The summer solstice is upon us.  I saw this photo and thought what a great and very appropriate way to celebrate the day.  What could be better than celebrating at Stonehenge?  So this gets added to my list of fun things to do.

When does summer begin?  At 13:16 ET and if I do things right this should post at that very time.  Humor me ok?

I’ve been spreading my own brand of humor pretty much all over the state:  “Yep, all the days get shorter from here on out.”  The memory of the horrible weather of this past winter is still fresh enough in the minds of most people around here to elicit groans almost universally HAHAHAHA!

Check out DATABLOG.

NCBI ROFL: Bicyclist’s vulva: observational study. | Discoblog

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“Many chronic injuries related to athletic bicycling are now recognised: cyclist’s nipples,1 neuropathic syndromes,2 and skin problems caused by the saddle. We have seen a new clinical problem in female high level cycling competitors: bicyclist’s vulva. Six women, aged 21-38 years, had a unilateral chronic swelling of the labium majus after a few years of intensive bicycling (an average of 462.5 km per week). All six had typical unilateral lymphoedema (five on the right side, one on the left) which was more severe after more intense and longer training. The position of the bicycle saddle, the type of shorts worn, and the women’s perineal hygiene were optimum. There was no family history of lymphoedema in any of the women, nor any common factor that might explain the lymphoedema.”

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Photo: flickr/ richardmasoner

Thanks to Therese M. for today’s ROFL!

Related content:
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: Science proves women who wax have better sex.
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: Scientific analysis of Playboy centerfolds reveals Barbie-like vulvas.
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: Where the sun does not shine: Is sunshine protective against melanoma of the vulva?

WTF ...


Big Dinosaurs Were As Warm As Mammals. But Were They Warm-Blooded? | 80beats

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therm

What’s the News: Dinosaur metabolism is one of the biggest mysteries in paleontology. Ever since the giant creatures were first unearthed, scientists have been wondering whether dinosaurs drew their heat from the environment, like the cold-blooded modern reptiles they resemble, or whether they generated heat themselves, like warm-blooded mammals.

Using a geoscience technique to see at what temperature dinosaur tooth enamel formed, scientists have found that at least two large dinosaurs, Brachiosaurus and Camarasaurus, had body temperatures similar to our own. While this study on its own doesn’t explain where the heat came from, it does add to paleontologists’ toolboxes a new, reliable way to probe temperature, which will lead to better inputs into the computational models that may eventually answer the question of whether dinosaurs were warm- or cold-blooded.

How the Heck:

The technique the scientists used revolves around the tendency of certain isotopes of carbon and oxygen to clump together when a mineral forms. These isotopes, carbon 13 and oxygen 18, bond to each other more when the temperature is cooler, a handy relationship that geophysicists have been using to study Earth’s past climate in the geological record.
In this paper, the team applied ...


You can help bring SETI’s ear back online | Bad Astronomy

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Back in April, I reported that SETI’s Allen Telescope Array — a 42-dish setup in northern California that scans the skies, listening for signals from potential alien intelligences — had to be shut down due to lack of funds.

This bad news resulted in something of a public outcry, and a grassroots organization sprung up to try to help rectify the situation. They started the website SETIstars, where people can donate to restart the ATA. They have the relatively modest goal of reaching $200,000 in donations, which is enough to get the array restarted; SETI can then leverage on this to try to get more funding flowing (the array takes about $2.5M a year to run). You can learn more about this on their info page.

As I write this they’ve raised over $20,000, 13% of the goal, with just over a month to go. If you support them, please go take a look and do what you can.

Related posts:

- E. T. call waiting
- The cost of SETI: infographic

Those Graphic New Cigarette Labels Won’t Help, Psychology Says | 80beats

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What’s the News: Starting in September 2012, the FDA will require every pack of cigarettes sold in the US to be emblazoned with a large, text-and-image health warning, similar to the labels already seen in Canada, the United Kingdom, Brazil, and several other countries. The FDA unveiled the nine label designs earlier this week; several are quite graphic, including photos of cancerous lungs and lips and a man exhaling smoke through his tracheotomy hole.

These graphic images, however, may not be an effective way to get smokers to quit, or deter new smokers from starting. Several neuroscience and psychology studies show that these fear tactics have little effect—and may at times do more harm than good.

What’s the Research:

In a 2006 study, smokers looked at cigarette warning labels from various countries as they lay in an MRI scanner, which measures blood flow in the brain. Brain regions associated with fear and alarm stayed relatively quiet. But the nucleus accumbens—an area associated with cravings, and a key player in the body’s reward system—showed lots of activation. These warning labels weren’t scaring smokers, the results suggest; the images were, strangely enough, ...


A dragon fight in the heart of Orion | Bad Astronomy

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It’s very common to see familiar things in random patterns. We see faces in clouds, Jesus in a tortilla, and smiley faces everywhere. It’s so ubiquitous there’s a term for it: pareidolia.

So when I saw on reddit that people were talking about seeing an epic dragon fight in the Orion Nebula, I smiled. But then I saw the image, and that smile turned to pure amazement. Why? Because here’s the image:

[Click to ensmaugenate.]

Do you see the dragon on the left, wings outstretched, breathing fire, blasting it at the man on the right? He has a face, and I see his shoulder, back, and outstretched arm as well, as if he’s battling the dragon.

Let me be clear: this picture is real! Well, the dragon and face aren’t real — they’re more pareidolia — but the images in the nebula are actually there. You might see them more easily in this contrast-enhanced version, too.

Let me explain…

OK, first: this really is the Orion Nebula. It was taken by Hubble in 2006, and