Stephen C. Smith
wordsmithfl.bsky.social
Stephen C. Smith
@wordsmithfl.bsky.social

Writing about space policy and politics, from the Space Coast of Florida. Now retired after ten years doing public education at Kennedy Space Center. You can also find me on Counter.Social at the same handle, and on Substack at TheSpacePundit.com. .. more

Business 25%
Philosophy 17%

#Politics #Trump

From #Bloomberg via Yahoo Finance: Federal judge finds "a disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps" in the #DOJ arrest of James Comey, orders his defense team to have access to all grand jury records.

finance.yahoo.com/news/judge-f...
Judge Finds ‘Profound’ Missteps in DOJ’s Indictment of Comey
“The record points to a disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps, missteps that led an FBI agent and a prosecutor to potentially undermine the integrity of the grand jury proceeding,” US ...
finance.yahoo.com

Reposted by Stephen P. Smith

If one is to take her words at face value, she rethought her behavior after Charlie Kirk's assassination -- which might imply that she feared the same fate.

Or, in your words, the leopard might come prowling ...

#Politics #Trump

File under "Cry me a river ..." Marjorie Taylor Greene went on #CNN today to apologize "for taking part in the toxic politics."

www.cnn.com/2025/11/16/p...
‘Humbly, I’m sorry’: Marjorie Taylor Greene says she’s turning a new leaf after years of divisive comments | CNN Politics
Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said Sunday she will stop using “toxic” rhetoric, marking what would be a dramatic shift in a political brand hallmarked by derogatory comments.
www.cnn.com

Here in Trumper Central, Brevard County, Florida, every day I still see cars (and, more likely, beat-up pickup trucks) proudly flying #Trump flags. They are immune to logic or evidence. Trump is their tribe, their alma mater, their team and they'll go to hell with him.
How much of a moron do you have to be to STILL, after all the shit that has gone down, remain an enthusiastic shill for this obviously incompetent con man.

Reposted by Stephen P. Smith

How much of a moron do you have to be to STILL, after all the shit that has gone down, remain an enthusiastic shill for this obviously incompetent con man.

Yep, that occurred to me. We always make sure the number of available seats equates to the number of crew aboard. China doesn't care, but then they drop expended boosters on villages so at least they're consistent.

#Economy From #USAToday:

#Walgreens eliminates paid holidays for its employees after being bought by an equity firm for $10 billion.

(Comment ... Well, we have a prime candidate for first up against the wall when the revolution comes ...)

www.usatoday.com/story/money/...
Walgreens cuts 6 paid holidays for hourly workers
Hourly workers at Walgreens will no longer get paid vacation time for Thanksgiving, Christmas and other major holidays.
www.usatoday.com

#Politics #Trump

BREAKING from #WaPo: Attorney General says she has appointed a #DOJ federal prosecutor to investigate Jeffrey Epstein ties to Democrats, as Trump demanded earlier today.

wapo.st/3K03dzw
Bondi says Justice will investigate relationships to Epstein suggested by Trump
President Donald Trump suggested the relationships between the disgraced financier and several prominent Democrats deserve more scrutiny than his own connections to Epstein.
wapo.st

When I worked at #NASA #KSCVC, I was often asked what astronauts do on #ISS. Much of it is microgravity research.
This #CASIS article talks about a #UCLA team that used ISS to test osteoporosis, getting test results much faster than here on the ground.

issnationallab.org/case_study/n...
Improving Treatment for Osteoporosis - ISS National Lab
Microgravity induces accelerated bone loss, making the ISS ideal for studying potential new osteoporosis therapeutics.
issnationallab.org

#Politics #Trump

BREAKING from #CBSNews: The Trump White House has referred Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) to the #DOJ for tax fraud charges. Swalwell is the latest Trump foe to be falsely accused of tax fraud.

www.cbsnews.com/news/eric-sw...
Trump official refers Swalwell to Justice Department over alleged mortgage and tax fraud
Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte has referred California Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell to the Justice Department, sources told CBS News.
www.cbsnews.com

#Politics #Trump

From #LATimes: The #LPGA invited Trump's granddaughter to an event hoping to stay in his good graces.

Over 18 holes, she shot a 13-over-par 83.

www.latimes.com/sports/story...
Kai Trump's first-round score at the LPGA Tour's Annika tournament? Don't ask
Kai Trump, 18, is competing in the LPGA Tour Annika event on a sponsor exemption. It has been criticized as a publicity stunt, which no one at the tournament disputes.
www.latimes.com

#Space #SpaceCoast #NASA #Mars #BlueOrigin #NewGlenn

Touchdown! The world has changed.

Blue Origin becomes the second launch company to achieve landing at sea.

The #SpaceX monopoly is over.

#Space #SpaceCoast #NASA #Mars

#BlueOrigin has resumed the #NewGlenn countdown, now targeting 3:55 PM EST. The window goes to 4:25 PM EST.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecfx...
New Glenn Mission NG-2 Webcast
YouTube video by Blue Origin
www.youtube.com

#Space #SpaceCoast #NASA #Mars

#BlueOrigin just went into another #NewGlenn countdown hold at T-17:04. No reason given. The window goes to 4:25 PM EST.

#Space #SpaceCoast #NASA #Mars

#BlueOrigin has reset the #NewGlenn countdown to target 3:45 PM EST for launch. The window goes to 4:25 PM EST. No cause given for the delay.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecfx...
New Glenn Mission NG-2 Webcast
YouTube video by Blue Origin
www.youtube.com

#Space #SpaceCoast #NASA #Mars

#BlueOrigin called a hold of their #NewGlenn countdown at T-20 seconds. Waiting to see what was the cause and if they can fix it by the close of the window at 4:25 PM EST.

#Space #SpaceCoast #NASA #Mars

#BlueOrigin is targeting 2:57 PM EST for the #NewGlenn launch from #CCSFS sending two NASA probes to #Mars. Their YouTube webcast starts 20 minutes before (targeting 2:37 PM EST) at the link.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecfx...
New Glenn Mission NG-2 Webcast
YouTube video by Blue Origin
www.youtube.com

#Politics #Florida

From #FloridaToday: Terminated Eastern Florida State College employee sues the college for firing her because of her private Facebook posts criticizing Charlie Kirk.

www.floridatoday.com/story/news/e...
Former Eastern Florida employee files lawsuit after termination over Charlie Kirk posts
An Eastern Florida State College graduate and employee was fired after discussing Charlie Kirk on her Facebook page.
www.floridatoday.com

The sign *is* in Blue Origin's colors ...

#Space #NASA

#SpaceCoast humor ... a couple miles south of #KSC.

Wow, I had no idea it was Ralph Winter.
🚨BREAKING: In a sweeping victory for voters, a Utah court struck down the GOP-controlled legislature’s congressional gerrymander and a companion law designed to entrench partisan power — restoring a fair map for the 2026 elections. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
Utah Judge Strikes Down GOP Gerrymander, Restores Voter-Approved Fair Map
Read more here.
www.democracydocket.com

#Politics #ICE

From #LATimes: An #ICE agent pulled a gun on a female civilian in a car trailing him. A passing Fullerton police officer intervened to stop the ICE agent from threatening the woman.

www.latimes.com/california/s...
Fullerton police stop man pointing gun at female driver, only to learn he is ICE agent
A Fullerton police officer told the agent he couldn't help 'with someone following or recording him if no crime had occurred.' Under state law, local police cannot enforce federal immigration law.
www.latimes.com

Eight Democratic senators took ownership. The rest, including the party leadership, were opposed.

Now it's on to the House.

The promised vote in December will never happen. These senators are such rubes.

"Ikea law." 🤣🤣🤣

The Zoltar reference is a close second.
A new cartoon! It's an Ambulatory Circulatory System Walking Through the Kitchen Day miracle!

www.dailykos.com/stories/2025...
Cartoon: The aftermath
IMPORTANT NOTE TO KICKSTARTER BACKERS :�Your pledges were processed on October 31, and now we need to collect postage and sales tax, and also get your shipping address.�You should have received a ...
www.dailykos.com