Chet Collins

NASA to send naked pictures of humans in hope of ‘attracting aliens’ - New York Post

NASA scientists revealed the image in a study that’s part of a project called the “Beacon in the Galaxy” (BITG). The main aim of the BITG project is to send a message to any alien civilizations that could be out there.

Speaking of wasted tax dollars.

Renault Sells Russia Business to State-Backed Entity for One Ruble - WSJ

Renault didn’t disclose the financial terms of the deal, but people familiar with the deal said the company was selling both assets for the symbolic sum of one ruble each.

Russia overpaid.

A School Choice in Michigan - WSJ Opinion

the Detroit Free Press reported last month that school districts have used Covid money on everything from tennis courts to smoothies.

My town bought three police cars.

I don’t want to think about all of the other ways my tax dollars were wasted on frivolous local expenditures.

CBO Sounds a Warning of American Fiscal Ruin - WSJ Opinion

The CBO believes that stabilizing debt through tax increases would permanently shrink the economy by discouraging work and crowding out private investments that would improve productivity. Stabilizing debt through lower entitlement spending, by contrast, might lead people to work longer and would increase private saving, both of which would increase economic growth.

What Did the Steele Dossier Hoax Cost America? - WSJ Opinion

From day one, had reporters focused on the one thing they knew to be indubitably true after talking to Mr. Steele, they would have found the real story: A paid foreign agent was circulating scurrilous tales whose truth he wouldn’t vouch for, whose sources he wouldn’t reveal, without any documentation, in a bet that some Washington journalist could be gulled into reporting them.

In East Hampton, It’s the Superrich Against the Merely Rich - WSJ

Ahead of the busy summer season, the town is moving to privatize its airport and impose new restrictions on how often planes can fly in. The rules would limit a plane or helicopter to one takeoff and landing a day.

Completely unworkable.

Things that also make noise: cars, trains, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, people.

Arrest of Firebrand Cardinal Highlights Split in Hong Kong’s Catholic Church - WSJ

The Vatican expressed concern at the arrest, and its secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said he was saddened by the move but hoped it wouldn’t further complicate the dialogue with China.

Coward.

Crash of TerraUSD Shakes Crypto. ‘There Was a Run on the Bank.’ - WSJ

A trader might sell a bitcoin for TerraUSD, then use the TerraUSD to buy ether, another cryptocurrency, without ever touching a dollar or a bank account.

Perfect summation of the role, and importance, of stablecoins in this system.

Hawaiian Airlines Bets You’ll Want to Island Hop on Electric Seagliders - WSJ

They would cruise five to 30 feet above the waves on average, flying on a cushion of air that keeps the plane aloft, known as the “ground effect.”

Pretty genius. In theory, you could fly in ground effect forever, except that on land your bound to find an obstacle. No such problem at sea.