(image; wiki commons)
Here's some good news. Since the Biden administration took over, I estimate that the daily volume of news stories we all really need to be aware of has fallen by about 33 percent. Thus, the headline summary I publish each day can be proportionately shorter.
That opens up the comparative luxury of noticing some of the longer-term advances in scientific knowledge that may soon drastically reshape our understanding of life. Later this year, for example, a powerful new telescope at the Vera C Rubin Observatory in Chile will begin taking pictures of everything visible in the night sky.
That may help us resolve the mystery of "Oumuamua" -- the strange object that passed by earth in 2017 that Avi Loeb, Harvard's top astronomer argued was most probably the product of an alien civilization. This is consistent with Loeb's contention that life on earth is hardly unique in the universe but is an extremely common occurrence.
Loeb's argument is based on only on the object's strange characteristics and behavior but on the logic of pure math. He notes that that since rocky planets with liquid water and the chemistry to support life formed 13.8 billion years ago, by now billions of galaxies – each home to billions of Earth-like planets – should have formed.
If Loeb is correct, there are literally trillions of pieces of Oumuamua-type junk surrounding us in the universe and soon we should be able to detect them. The telescope at the Vera C Rubin Observatory will be our tool for testing that hypothesis, and it goes into action sometime this year. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vera_C._Rubin_Observatory>
It's difficult to imagine any bigger news story than the one that would announce "We Are Not Alone." That would make all of this political bickering we are subjected to rather petty by comparison, no?
(Note: Oumuamua is a Hawaiian word meaning “scout” or “messenger sent from the distant past to reach out to us.”)
***
In the spirit of pettiness, it's notable that Democrats and Republicans are squabbling over how much and how soon further pandemic relief will reach us average Americans, while the logistical hurdles to getting Covid vaccines into our arms are proving daunting.
The way politicians adjust their positions based on polls has long been reprehensible, but the dance many Republican Senators are currently doing is pathetic. They claim they won't convict Trump even if they think he is guilty of inciting the January 6th Capitol mob because most Republicans still back him.
You know, I've quoted everyone from Edward R. Murrow to philosophers to country music singers about the truism that if you don't stand up for something when it matters you don't really stand for anything at all.
I would hope we all want our time here to matter. Thus all conscientious Americans need to attack the scourge of racist, extremist thinking that has infected the Republican Party. We need to band together to rid ourselves of conspiracy theories and recommit to a society guided by honest information developed by good journalists, scientists and artists.
After all, when we greet our first alien visitors, we don't want to be embarrassed by the primitive state of affairs here on little old Earth. They -- and we -- deserve much better than that.
***
The news:
* Federal law enforcement officials are examining threats aimed at members of Congress as the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump nears, including ominous chatter about killing legislators or attacking them outside of the U.S. Capitol. U.S. Capitol Police and other federal law enforcement have insisted that thousands of National Guard troops remain in Washington as the Senate advances plans for the trial. [AP]
* Capitol Riot Puts Spotlight on ‘Apocalyptically Minded’ Global Far Right -- Leaderless but united by racist ideology that has been supercharged by social media, extremists have built a web of real and online connections that worry officials. (NYT)
* The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is stepping up efforts to track coronavirus mutations and keep vaccines and treatments effective against new variants until collective immunity is reached. Dr. Rochelle Walensky spoke about the rapidly evolving virus during a Fox News Sunday interview as the number of Americans known to have died has passed 417,000 dead, just over a year after the first U.S. case was documented. [Reuters]
* Britain’s Alarm Over Virus Variant Bolsters Case for Lockdown -- A warning that the variant could be deadlier is a powerful argument that Britain could be entering a severe new phase of the pandemic and that easing lockdown rules could be calamitous. (NYT)
* World’s Ice Is Melting Faster Than Ever, Scientists Say (WSJ) Earth is losing 1.2 trillion tons of ice each year. It’s going to get worse. (WashPo)
* Chicago teachers vote to teach from home, defying district (AP)
* Trump made 30,573 false or misleading claims as president. Nearly half came in his final year. (WashPo)
* Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in his first directive since taking office, has given his senior leaders two weeks to send him reports on sexual assault prevention programs in the military, and an assessment of what has worked and what hasn’t. This fulfills a commitment Austin made to senators last week during confirmation hearings, when he vowed to immediately address the problems of sexual assault and harassment in the ranks. [AP]
* Travelers from South Africa, where a variant is spreading, barred from entering U.S. (WashPo)
* DoorDash Is Going to the Super Bowl. So Are Other Brands That Did Well During the Pandemic. (WSJ)
* Trump lawyer Giuliani faces $1.3 billion lawsuit over 'big lie' election fraud claims by Dominion Voting Systems (Reuters)
* Biden administration revives effort to put Harriet Tubman on $20 bill (WashPo)
* Four times as many jobs were lost last year due to the coronavirus pandemic as during the worst part of the global financial crisis in 2009, a U.N. report said Monday. (AP)
* Biden lifts ban on transgender Americans in military (WashPo)
* Congress Investigating Why Capitol Dome’s Atomic Vaporizing Ray Wasn’t Deployed To Eviscerate Rioters (The Onion)
***
Zero hour 9:00 a.m.
And I'm gonna be high
As a kite by then
It's lonely out in space
On such a timeless flight
'Til touchdown brings me 'round again to find
I'm not the man they think I am at home
Oh, no, no, no
I'm a rocket man
Rocket man, burning out his fuse up here alone
'Til touchdown brings me 'round again to find
I'm not the man they think I am at home
Oh, no, no, no
I'm a rocket man
Rocket man, burning out his fuse up here alone
In fact it's cold as hell
And there's no one there to raise them
If you did
I don't understand
It's just my job five days a week
A rocket man
A rocket man
'Til touchdown brings me 'round again to find
I'm not the man they think I am at home
Oh, no, no, no
I'm a rocket man
Rocket man, burning out his fuse up here alone
'Til touchdown brings me 'round again to find
I'm not the man they think I am at home
Oh, no, no, no
I'm a rocket man
Rocket man, burning out his fuse up here alone
And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
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