‘If the Palestinians laid down their arms, there would be peace.6 There could be a two-state solution; there could even be a one-state solution; it wouldn’t matter. If the Palestinians simply stopped killing Jews and stopped building a culture that celebrates pointless murder and martyrdom as its highest values, there could be a diverse, tolerant, and prosperous society between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. There could have been one eighty years ago. But if the Israelis laid down their weapons, there would be a genocide. This was obviously true on October 7th, 2023. And for anyone who has been paying attention, it has been true on every other day since the founding of the state of Israel….’ (via Sam Harris)

‘NASA is racing to save an aging telescope from falling back to Earth with a daring rescue mission.

The $30 million salvage operation gets underway as soon as this week with the planned launch of a robotic lifesaver.

NASA hired startup Katalyst Space Technologies to boost the Swift Observatory to a higher orbit where it can continue hunting for some of the universe’s biggest explosions. A three-armed spacecraft built by Katalyst will chase after Swift once it takes off from an atoll in the Pacific’s Marshall Islands aboard an airplane-launched Pegasus rocket. Liftoff could occur as early as Tuesday.

Scanning the cosmos since its launch in 2004, Swift has been sinking faster and faster because of recent intense solar activity. It needs to get to a higher, more stable orbit as soon as possible to survive.

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope — also at risk — could be next….’ (Marcia Dunn via AP News)

‘The memo—allegedly Stephen Miller’s passion project—”is taking us back to a time when there were forced lobotomies,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth said….’ (Julia Métraux via Mother Jones)

‘We’re trained in obedience and rule-following from a very young age. We need equivalent practice in breaking rules, in recognizing when a rule or law is unjust and needs to be broken, and in acting in accord with that recognition. We need this all the time, but damn if we don’t need it especially now. One day, possibly soon, we will be called on to break a big law in the name of justice and rationality. Be ready….’ (mandy brown via A Working Library)

‘Find your state’s quietest route. Go road-tripping across America with  Robert Frost, and this is what happens: At every fork in the road, he chooses the road less traveled. And so you end up on each state’s loneliest road….’ (Frank Jacobs via Atlas Obscura)

How many have you been on? For me, quite a few, as I have always had a hankering for backroads.