March 17, 2026

TOP AIDE TO TULSI GABBARD RESIGNS IN EXPLOSIVE LETTER, BLAMES ISRAEL FOR ‘IRAN WAR:’

Joe Kent, a top aide to Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard, took to X Tuesday morning to announce his resignation as director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), writing, “I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran.”

Kent, an Army veteran who has two failed congressional runs on his resume, also posted his official resignation letter, and tweeted, “I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”

He’s getting strange new “unexpected” respect:

And it’s Tucker time!

Posted at 8:14 pm by Ed Driscoll

DID AN IRANIAN EMBASSY JUST DEFECT?

UPDATE (From Ed):

Posted at 6:50 pm by Stephen Green

I’VE SEEN THE LOCKDOWNS AND THE DAMAGE DONE: Trends in youth mental health problems from 1990 to 2021 reveal a pandemic-era surge. “The findings of this recent study suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic was a critical period for many young people, which prompted a significant rise in anxiety disorders, depression, and some other mental conditions. The main exceptions to this trend were SUDs, which instead appeared to decrease during the pandemic.”

I guess it was hard to find substances to use, accounting for the reduction in Substance Use Disorders.

Posted at 6:00 pm by Glenn Reynolds

I DUNNO, IT’S SO HARD TO TELL THE HOST FROM THE PARASITE:

Posted at 4:53 pm by Stephen Green

HMM:

Exit quote: “The bottom line – Iran is transitioning into an extremist military regime where Mojtaba Khamenei acts as a mere ‘puppet’ of the Revolutionary Guards, who completely control the country.”

That’s in line with my thoughts from a week or two ago, so naturally I’m inclined to agree. Heh.

What’s the mean going forward? Predictions are hard, the wise man said, especially about the future.

Posted at 4:35 pm by Stephen Green

PANSPERMIA: Asteroid Ryugu Contains All 5 DNA and RNA Building Blocks, Study Shows.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the Hayabusa2 mission in 2014, sending a spacecraft on a 186-million-mile (300-million-kilometer) journey to Ryugu. One year after reaching the asteroid in 2018, the spacecraft landed on its surface and fired a projectile into it. Hayabusa2’s “catcher” then gathered up the chunks of ejected debris, and the spacecraft carried them back to Earth.

Astronomers have run many analyses of the Ryugu samples since then, but Koga and his colleagues are the first to find all five nucleobases inside them. The researchers studied samples that were collected and curated under strictly controlled conditions and conducted their analysis in a cleanroom to further prevent contamination. They also ran tests to confirm the molecules formed on Ryugu rather than coming from Earth.

Fascinating.

Posted at 2:49 pm by Stephen Green

THE REVOLUTION DEVOURS ITS OWN:

Flashback: “[T]here is no sign of the humour industry taking the side of traditional morality, patriotism or civility. The best it can do is dignify itself with noisy and public collections for sentimental and prominent charity. Once you step beyond the fringe, you sooner or later find yourself in very wild country indeed.”

Posted at 2:35 pm by Ed Driscoll

BELIEVE THEM WHEN THEY TELL YOU WHO THEY ARE, PARTICULARLY WHEN THEY DO IT EVERY TIME, GOING BACK DECADES:

Posted at 2:32 pm by Stephen Green