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Daily Bafflements

• Mars, here we come—sort of. A historic rocket launch by SpaceX—part of which would send supplies to the International Space Station, part of which would land on an ocean barge (“autonomous spaceport drone ship”)—was called off at the last minute this morning, and will be rescheduled. NASA’s chief scientist tells NBC News that the rocket is carrying equipment that can monitor the clouds from orbit, which fits the space station’s role of being “off the Earth, for the Earth.” But SpaceX has its own priorities, of course. “The experimental landing is a step in the company’s efforts to develop rockets that can be recovered and flown again, potentially lowering launch costs,” explains USA Today.

• Wisconsin governor Scott Walker got sworn in for his second term on Monday. He is keeping quiet about unions for now, apparently; he’s got bigger fish to fry now.

• Baffler contributor Helaine Olen reviews several books about economic insecurity and inequality for Pacific Standard under the excellent headline “All of Us Worried, None of Us Angry.”

• We wonder if this Marxist banjo player has a subscription to The Baffler? He should.