Overnight Open Thread

Iron Dome: Rocket vs Rocket

Via Legal Insurrection comes this video of Israel's Iron Dome system in operation as it shoots down an incoming Hamas rocket. I remember back in the 80s how all the Democratic politicians (and their politicized scientist allies) swore up and down that missile defense could NEVER EVER possibly work. Never.

Not only were the physics of a rocket hitting another rocket unworkable, but furthermore we would never have computers fast enough to do the necessary targeting calculations they claimed. Of course I hadn't even heard of Moore's Law back then yet but I still knew this was all ideological bullshit. And this isn't just ancient history - in October 2007 then presidential candidate Obama declared:

I will cut investments in unproven missile defense systems. I will not weaponize space. I will slow our development of future combat systems.

Meanwhile The Impossible has been happening over Israel during the past week:

The success of the Iron Dome missile defense system so far - nine interceptions including the system's first one on Thursday night - has surprised even the air defense troops who have been training to operate the device for several months. Two batteries have been deployed thus far, one north of Be'er Sheva two weeks ago and one near Ashkelon last week.

The Passport Map: Who Travels Among Americans
Or at least who actually has a passport - which probably implies at least an interest in traveling. Rick Steves notes that passport ownership correlates with political views, but commenters point out that it also correlates with state income and population density. But correlation doesn't imply causation and all that so I expect the relationship among these is more complex than Steves make it.

And now that passports are required for re-entry to the US, I'd expect to see more people in border states owning passports. Plus if taking a trip to a foreign country makes you more progressive, then how come all the US military and their families who are expats for years at a time don't come back as card-holding socialists?

Meanwhile in the UK: Man Arrested For Burning a Copy of the Koran
Note that he burned his own copy in his own garage and passed around a video of it. Compare this with Terry Jones; This is the difference between pretend freedom of speech and actual (for now) freedom of speech.

A Frenchy Trains American Pilots
It turns out that all French carrier pilots actually are trained in the US. And French Capt. Tristan Isorce is returning the favor by training US pilots and aviators on the Hornet. Check out the link for some nice videos of French pilots flying.

When Is Legal tender Not Legal?
When you try and pay a Florida toll with a $20 bill or larger. That's considered 'suspicious' and you will be detained until you provide personal information. I don't see how this can possibly be legal, but then a lot of government actions seem that way these days.

The Lost Roles of Eddie Murphy
In the early 80s Eddie Murphy was THE comedy star with a perfect record of box office hits. Then he started making role choices that were less-than-perfect right when he should have taken more chances. That's how he missed out on being the 4th Ghostbuster, the marine biologist in Star Trek IV, Malcolm X, and many other roles that he turned down.

Cats And Dolphins Playing Together
Well that's how it appears to an un-savvy observer. In reality the kitteh is figuring out how it's going to eat the big fishie and the dolphin is calculating how it's gonna rape the kitteh.

Kirstie Alley Through the Years
Back in her Star Trek and Cheers days I thought she was hawt so it's sad to see the way she's porked up and become a Hollywood joke. Why can't she just get the bypass operation and plastic surgery and lie about it like all the other celebs do? Here she is then:

So What Do You Do When You Get Tired of Collecting Mannequins?
Well if you're Louis 'Shovelhead' Garrett of LA you start making quilts out of ladies' panties.

Weekly AoSHQ Commenter Standings
Top 10 commenters:
1 [653 comments] 'Miss'80sBaby' [91.66 posts/day]
2 [475 comments] 'FUBAR'
3 [368 comments] 'willow'
4 [354 comments] 'curious'
5 [300 comments] 'eman: Japanese Babe Rescue Team'
6 [285 comments] 'Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith'
7 [285 comments] 'Kratos (Ghost of Sparta)'
8 [269 comments] 'garrett'
9 [262 comments] 'runningrn'
10 [205 comments] 'A Balrog of Morgoth'

Top 10 sockpuppeteers:
1 [80 names] 'FUBAR' [11.23 unique names/day]
2 [52 names] 'A Balrog of Morgoth'
3 [50 names] 'toby928▒'
4 [50 names] '18-1'
5 [49 names] 'kbdabear'
6 [42 names] 'runningrn'
7 [41 names] 'navycopjoe'
8 [36 names] 'Fa Cube Itches'
9 [32 names] 'garrett'
10 [31 names] 'nickless'

The group. Yeah.

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posted by Maetenloch at 09:26 PM

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