THAT SUCKS: NASA calls off mission to save Swift Observatory telescope in space.

The announcement came down on Wednesday after an attempt to use the LINK spacecraft ran into altitude control issues, NASA and Katalyst Space said in a press release. The spacecraft was meant to raise NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory to a higher altitude.

LINK is still set to attempt rendezvous and proximity operations with the Swift Observatory.

“NASA should be willing to move quickly and take smart risks when the potential return is worth it, and that is exactly what we did with this mission,” Jared Isaacman, NASA administrator, said in a statement. “This is not the outcome we were working toward, but it does not change why this mission was worth attempting.”

It was a bit of a longshot, but Isaacman was right to light a fire under NASA.

TENTATIVELY SET FOR AUGUST 28…:

Preparing for another Starship flight https://t.co/MsML86joOw

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 20, 2026

This should include the Ship’s first orbital flight, and first operational deployment of V3 Starlink satellites.

BREAKING: FBI Disrupts ISIS-Inspired Terrorist Attack on New York Statehouse.

HAMAS USES THE WEST’S HUMANITY AS A SHIELD, AND ITS OWN CHILDREN AS HUMAN SHIELDS:

A Palestinian woman in Gaza admits everyone in Gaza is Hamas:

“In Gaza, every house has Hamas. Are you going to kill us all?!” pic.twitter.com/lBE5HJVkl6

— Vivid.🇮🇱 (@VividProwess) August 20, 2026

GET YOUR VITAMINS: Ensure Max Protein Milk Chocolate Shake, 30g High Protein. #CommissionEarned

SHUT UP, SHE EXPLAINED — LITERALLY: Atlanta Dem Mayor Andre Dickens sparks outrage as he tells constituent to ‘shut up’ in bizarre social media spat. “Wow, a mayor telling a constituent to shut up for asking him to uphold voter mandates,” Brimer said. “Stay classy Andre.”

I WISH I COULD SAY THAT I WAS EVEN TRYING…:

I’m trying hard to be Proverbs 24:17-18 over this but man, the schadenfreude is real. https://t.co/ARGa9vzk3p

— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) August 20, 2026

SAY A PRAYER OF THANKS TO ST. WILLIS CARRIER, THE INVENTOR OF AIR CONDITIONING: How Americans stayed cool before air conditioning: From sitting on smelly ice to sleeping on the roof.

NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW: FBI Raids Eric Swalwell’s Home, Seizes Electronics in Connection with Sexual Assault Investigation.

Classical reference in headline:

BUT DID THEY LEARN ANYTHING? Scott Jennings Schools CNN Panel on Biden’s Inflation Disaster.

EXAGGERATED? I’M LESS CERTAIN:

Exaggerated, but the basic point is valid. George Floyd tested Anglosphere universities, and they flunked. Instead of feeding the hysteria, they should have served as beacons of reason. The Jason Arday tragedy provides another test. Time for academia to face its pathologies. https://t.co/hEd4ej02p8

— Timur Kuran (@timurkuran) August 20, 2026

UPDATE (From Ed): If Nathan Cofnas is being fired for exposing Arday as a fabulist, he’s going out guns a-blazing:

Nathan Cofnas, suspended by the rector of Ghent University, Petra De Sutter, in the wake of Jason Arday’s death, notes that De Sutter used ChatGPT for her inaugural address, which included fabricated quotes.

Previous news reports confirm this.https://t.co/xppHNZk3Wo https://t.co/XjaV0P6zZk pic.twitter.com/9gCl3NsjXs

— Benjamin Ryan (@benryanwriter) August 20, 2026

Here’s the link to the Brussels Times that’s embedded in the above tweet, from the beginning of the year: UGent chancellor Petra De Sutter caught using AI in opening speech.

Not an attack, just the truth, buddy. https://t.co/EGliMQpWNk pic.twitter.com/8nb8XOiTas

— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) August 20, 2026

WELL, GOOD: New Melanoma Vaccine Shows Promise In Fighting Cancer, Preventing Recurrence.

THIS SEEMS MORE THAN REASONABLE: Abbott Wants Foreign Funding, H-1B Employment Banned In Public Schools. Back in January, Texas Governor Greg Abbott froze H-1B visas for Texas state agencies and universities. Now pushing for the same in public schools, plus an end to foreign curriculum funding.”

Especially that last part.

GOOD QUESTION:

Hey Rachel Vindman @natsechobbyist, why are you using different addresses with the FEC for your recurring contributions to ActBlue, your husband's money laundering PAC "VoteVets", and your donations to the Harris campaign? Are you circumventing contribution limits and concealing… pic.twitter.com/UU9cc7Vbea

— Bad Hombre (@Badhombre) September 16, 2024

IT’S AN ECOSYSTEM: Your mattress is probably crawling with thousands of dust mites. Here’s how to fix that.

THE NUMBERS ARE AS INFURIATING AS THEY ARE INCOMPREHENSIBLE: I’m Sorry, The Feds Wasted HOW MANY TRILLIONS in Improper Payments?

SOME OF MY FRIENDS, INCLUDING DALE AMON AND JIM BENNETT, WHOSE WORK HAS OFTEN GRACED THIS PAGE, ARE IN THE SPACE DATA BUSINESS. Unlike Elon, they aren’t providing AI data centers but safe networked black box data storage in space industries. Their company is Immortal Data.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE:

Education Department Breaks Left-Wing University Accreditation Cabal | Breccan F. Thies, The Federalist

The Department of Education on Wednesday announced a new rule that would allow more organizations to accredit universities, stripping the left of one of its most potent tools… pic.twitter.com/2zEBuX2T1M

— Owen Gregorian (@OwenGregorian) August 20, 2026

MARX CAME FROM A SUCCESSFUL FAMILY AND SQUANDERED IT:

Not at all surprising to anyone familiar with the present (and past) of the Left https://t.co/a2rPTIcstV

— Wesley Yang (@wesyang) August 20, 2026

SOON OBESITY WILL BE A LIFESTYLE CHOICE: Adolescents are using weight loss products in high numbers, new study shows. Here’s what parents need to know.

CIVIL RIGHTS UPDATE: Trump DOJ’s Path for Restoring Prohibited Persons’ Gun Rights – Here’s How it Will Work.

For more than 30 years, federal law has provided a way for certain people prohibited from owning firearms to petition the government to get their gun rights back. Well, technically.

In reality, you had about as much chance of getting your rights restored through 18 U.S.C. § 925(c) as I have of getting an invite to walk the red carpet at the Met Gala. (Important note: For the record, I would never go.) The process existed. You just couldn’t use it. But that’s about to change.

Exit quote: “Congress created a process for restoring your gun rights and then prevented the agency responsible for administering the process from spending any money to actually carry it out. Or, in today’s terms, they de-funded the ATF when it comes to restoring your rights.”

Typical.

WELL SAID:

turns out when you select for cowardice you get an institution incapable of policing itself https://t.co/bUoLAJgDNU

— Razib Khan 🧬 ✍️ (@razibkhan) August 20, 2026

Cowardice, conformity, corruption…

METAPHOR ALERT: Prospective Vendors for Mamdani’s Low-Cost Grocery Get Tour of Vacant Lot. “The city is on the road to socialism at least for as long as Mamdani is in Gracie Mansion, and so on Wednesday, in a fitting display of what socialism actually gets you, representatives of outfits that may actually run Mamdani’s Santa Claus grocery store got a grand tour of its prospective location: a garbage-filled vacant lot.”

THIS IS A REAL PROBLEM:

They’re not standing for her three kids, whom she killed, but for her.
Some women are too online and it shows. https://t.co/lks6hEE1lx

— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) August 20, 2026

And:

Lindsay Clancy brutally strangled her 3 kids to death

Current scene outside the courthouse: pic.twitter.com/LC6do0LdzT

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) August 20, 2026

What’s that a scene from? Mao’s China? Stephen King’s “Women of the Corn?”

SAD: These 6 Artists Censored Their Own Work.

The only way to protect yourself from censored art? Buy the film or TV show on physical media. Except fans of the 1998 film “Pleasantville” will get a rude awakening if they do just that.

Shout! Factory’s new 4K Blu-ray edition of director Gary Ross’s drama snipped a line from the original film. The theatrical version finds Reese Witherspoon’s character saying, “I did the slut thing, David. It got kind of old,” to her brother, David (Tobey Maguire).

The “slut” line got the heave ho in the latest version. World of Reel says Ross himself approved of the censorship. Entertainment Weekly reached out to the director for comment, but the story has not been updated.

If Ross approved the censorship, he’s not alone. Here are five other examples of artists who have censored their own work.

More good stuff from Christian Toto at the link.