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Readers! A November fund-raising drive!

 

It is unfortunately time for another November fund-raising campaign to support my work here at Behind the Black. I really dislike doing these, but 2025 is so far turning out to be a very poor year for donations and subscriptions, the worst since 2020. I very much need your support for this webpage to survive.

 

And I think I provide real value. Fifteen years ago I said SLS was garbage and should be cancelled. Almost a decade ago I said Orion was a lie and a bad idea. As early as 1998, long before almost anyone else, I predicted in my first book, Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8, that private enterprise and freedom would conquer the solar system, not government. Very early in the COVID panic and continuing throughout I noted that every policy put forth by the government (masks, social distancing, lockdowns, jab mandates) was wrong, misguided, and did more harm than good. In planetary science, while everyone else in the media still thinks Mars has no water, I have been reporting the real results from the orbiters now for more than five years, that Mars is in fact a planet largely covered with ice.

 

I could continue with numerous other examples. If you want to know what others will discover a decade hence, read what I write here at Behind the Black. And if you read my most recent book, Conscious Choice, you will find out what is going to happen in space in the next century.

 

 

This last claim might sound like hubris on my part, but I base it on my overall track record.

 

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First look at Trump’s short list for Supreme Court

Link here. Two different news sources of from opposite sides of the political spectrum come up with the same short list of five names:

  • Brett Kavanaugh, DC Circuit Court of Appeals
  • Amul Thapar, 6th Circuit Court of Appeals
  • Amy Coney Barrett, 7th Circuit Court of Appeals
  • Thomas Hardiman, 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals
  • Raymond Kethledge, 6th Circuit Court of Appeals

Hardiman and Kethledge were also on Trump’s shortlist from which he picked Neil Gorsuch, and Hardiman’s background then made him, for me, a weak choice.

Kethledge was not given much attention in the previous nomination discussion, but the link above takes a quick look at one of his court decisions that suggests he could be a “wild card.” This is the kind of appointment I fear, because all too often such appointments immediately shift leftward, like Souter and Kennedy, once appointed.

It is clearly early in this process. More information will surely be forthcoming on these, and maybe other candidates.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 

The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
 

"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

8 comments

  • TimArth

    Here is Ben Shapiro’s take. He seems to be most concerned about Kavanaugh.

    https://www.dailywire.com/news/32411/run-down-heres-what-you-need-know-about-trumps-top-ben-shapiro

  • schwit

    I’d like to see Don Willett on that list.

  • Cotour

    Senator Mike Lee, Tea Party: https://youtu.be/A1nZvOgeAns

    If I had to bet on it I would place my money on Mike Lee just because of the high political tension of the moment and getting someone confirmed by the Senate.

  • Cotour: Mike Lee will not be the Supreme Court nominate. There are numerous reasons, most of which I would have thought you recognized, but see this article of just a handful.

  • Cotour

    I suppose being a Senator and being a Tea Party member may tend to cancel each other out. But since the Senate confirms or rejects nominees I would think that fellow Democrat Senators might tend to bend towards their fellow Senator. Its a very exclusive club.

    It will be interesting as to who will be chosen and of course the battle to the death that will thrown down by the Democrat / Borg / Liberal operatives.

    Could it get crazier than Thomas or Bork? I would have to say much crazier and it will not matter who the president chooses.

    PS: Things are right on and going in the correct general direction, and that in the end is where we want it to be.

  • Max

    M. Lee has a brother on the Utah supreme court. He is on the larger list.
    Mike Lee is needed in the Senate for his vote and his voice of reason.
    The Democrats and Mormons showed up to put mitt Romney as the Republican nominee in the run off election. (democrats do not require registration, so they register as Republicans so they can vote for the candidate that they choose to better affect the outcome) The party chose someone else (Who wasn’t a carpetbagger) and deserved the position.
    Mitt Romney had a better/well payed staff from Massachusetts and used $2 million left over from his presidential campaign. Mitt has better name recognition. He looks forward to becoming Utah’s next junior senator. He favors abortion and hates Trump. A rhino through and through.

  • Sayomara

    The real question of moment seems to be how much are Murkowski and Collins going to be able to moderate the pick. Of that I’m not really sure we also have those hand full of democratic senators in states that voted for Trump that might be pulled over. Based on the short list Amy Coney Barrett seems like the best bet but who knows. But you have to figure everyone knows there is a lot on the line with this pick however if this was Democratic president and democratic senate replacing this justice you know we would be getting super Ginsberg and there wouldn’t even be question about a moderate Republicans need a textualist on the court that isn’t going to just make stuff of

  • Sayomara

    Looking over the vote for Amy Coney Barrett
    All the republicans voted for her as well as Donnelly (D-IN), Kaine (D-VA), Manchin (D-WV)
    Full roll call vote is here
    https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=115&session=1&vote=00255

    But it would be a lot harder for these senators to go back on someone that voted for 1 year ago and how turn there noses up at her. Granted this is bigger job but an Democratic senator voting against her in a Trump state as best get there bags paced.
    On that note McCaskill (D-MO) who is a lot on the endanger democrat list didn’t vote. Some how I doubt she will be able to avoid this again.

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