A classic “Star Wars” line speaks volumes about today’s culture. Two, actually.“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Han Solo warned in “Star Wars,” a sentiment that applies to virtually every part of America in 2024.Wallen’s fans recognized both his contrite nature and the two-tier approach to his 'crime.' A Biden family member? Move along, nothing to see here. A beloved country star? Get ‘em!The other? “If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine,” Alec Guinness’ Obi-Wan Kenobi told Darth Vader moments before the villain did just that.And, spoiler alert, Vader regretted it.The modern left has tried to cancel several prominent personalities in recent years. Yet, one by one, they not only survived but came back stronger than ever.In no particular order.Bari WeissThe New York Times scribe famously fled the paper in 2020 via a scathing open letter. The left-leaning journalist had had enough of the Old Gray Lady’s extreme bias. The newspaper, in turn, refused to defend her against fellow employees. They called Weiss a Nazi, a racist, and more.The paper likely figured Weiss would wish she had clammed up and took the abuse.Hardly.Weiss picked herself up and joined the Substack revolution. Her newsletter quickly became one of the platform’s most popular feeds. And she wasn’t done.Weiss went on to create The Free Press, a news outlet dedicated to news, not narrative. The platform became so successful, the New York Times ran a snippy profile on Weiss and her new creation earlier this month.The newspaper that couldn’t defend her against gross accusations now sees her as more than a rival. Her Free Press is a threat to its news monopoly.Joe RoganThe Spotify superstar already stood atop the podcasting world in 2021. And then the usual suspects — as well as a posse of aging rock rebels — allied to bring him down.Rogan took an adversarial tone to the left’s pandemic response. "Wait," he said. "Why can’t we talk to vaccine critics like Dr. Robert Malone? Should young, healthy people take an experimental vaccine? And if Rogan’s doctors said to take ivermectin as part of a 'kitchen sink' approach to battling COVID-19, why not?"Rogan didn’t get every pandemic-related item right. Neither did any corporate media outlet, and Rogan never claimed to be a news source. But by questioning The Narrative(TM) he drew the ire of Neil Young and, by extension, the left. Young yanked his music from Spotify, demanding the company release Rogan. Fellow AARP icons Joni Mitchell, Graham Nash, and David Crosby followed suit.The left, smelling blood in the water, unearthed old footage during which Rogan used the N-word. He said it without malice and never taunting a person of color, but the lowlight reel forced a rare apology from the comic podcaster.Things looked grim, and the liberal press piled on.Except Spotify CEO Daniel Ek stood by Rogan. And, when the smoke cleared, the podcaster renewed his contract and returned to outside platforms like iTunes and YouTube, drastically expanding his cultural reach.Rogan later spearheaded a comedy revolution in Austin, Texas. His Comedy Mothership is the city’s unofficial stand-up hub, and major talents like Roseanne Barr, Tyler Fischer, Tom Segura, and Tony Hinchcliffe relocated to Austin to partake in Rogan’s free expression revolution.The 2024 Rogan is bolder than ever, exposing media bias and pushing free speech from his Spotify perch.Shane GillisThe husky stand-up forged his fame via his self-deprecating delivery and apolitical musings. He even caught the eye of Lorne Michaels, the guru behind “Saturday Night Live.”Gillis signed on to join the show’s 45th season, giving the show a voice that wasn’t part of the doctrinaire left.He had arrived, but social justice warriors begged to differ. They found some of his old podcast routines featuring crude Asian imitations. Gillis was gone, having never set foot on “SNL’s” hallowed stage.Some SNL regulars fade into the Hollywood woodwork following their show exit. Surely Gillis would fare the same, if not worse.Except he refused to slink away.Gillis leaned on YouTube, his loyal fan base, and social media to rebuild his brand. And it worked. He became part of the comedy rebellion, stand-ups who refused to play by the left’s rules. He was neither conservative nor liberal. He was ... funny.And his star just kept rising.Need proof? SNL swallowed its corporate pride and invited Gillis on to host an episode earlier this year. That, plus a starring role in the Netflix comedy series “Tires,” proved Gillis out-hustled his critics.Megyn KellyThe Fox News superstar left the channel in 2017 for a cushy daytime gig at NBC. Her self-titled talk show struggled in the ratings, leaving her vulnerable on two fronts.Her Fox News fame had left a permanent target on her back. Weak ratings meant the Peacock network’s investment wasn’t panning out.So when during a discussion about "offensive" Halloween costumes Kelly wondered aloud why blackface was out of bounds, the left pounced. Kelly’s apology wasn’t enough.That gave NBC an excuse to cut ties with Kelly even though the network was on the hook for part of her remaining salary.It seemed unlikely Kelly would slink back to Fox News, and the blackface “scandal” meant no mainstream outlet would take a chance on her. She turned to podcasting, marshalling her velvety voice and hard-news chops to lap the competition.It worked. The show caught fire, attracting major news players and celebrities alike. The podcast grew and grew, catching the eye of SiriusXM suits.The satellite service snatched “The Megyn Kelly Show” up, acknowledging its power in an increasingly cluttered media landscape.Why? Kelly’s brand of reportage is smart, sophisticated, and backed by facts. She slices through corporate media lies and offers transparency at a time when it’s sorely needed.She even snagged a voice gig on “Mr. Birchum,” the Daily Wire’s irreverent cartoon series to cap her improbably comeback.Morgan WallenThe country music star angered the left by defying COVID-19 protocols early in the pandemic. And, as a straight, white country crooner, he checked more unwelcome boxes on the identity politics ledger.In February 2021, TMZ leaked footage of a drunken Wallen uttering the “N-word.” He didn’t target a person of color, it was just dumb talk amongst friends. Very dumb talk.Wallen’s career evaporated overnight.Radio stations boycotted his music. His representatives cut ties with him. Country music awards shows blocked him from attending their galas.Wallen apologized, went to rehab, and appeared genuinely forlorn about the matter.Few stars have fallen that far, that fast, for a word uttered away from the stage and without malice. Months later, we’d learn that first son Hunter Biden repeatedly used the N-word in text messages.Zero repercussions.Wallen’s fans recognized both his contrite nature and the two-tier approach to his “crime.” A Biden family member? Move along, nothing to see here. A beloved country star? Get ‘em!Wallen gingerly crept back into the spotlight, and his fans were waiting for him. And how.“Morgan Wallen Dominated The American Music Industry In 2023 Like No One Else Could,” screamed the Forbes.com headline.

Dems MUST Step Back From Hollywood If They Want to Win Over the Rural Americans Says Zach Galifianakis

Comedian Alex Strenger Infiltrates DNC, Puts on Master Class in Trolling

WATCH: CNBC Host Destroys Kamala's 'Price Control' Plans in Awesome Throwdown With Elizabeth Warren

CNN dropped its live coverage Friday night of independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as he was taking the Democratic National Committee to task for the way it went about selecting Vice President Kamala Harris as their nominee.

Quentin Fulks, the campaign manager for the Harris-Walz presidential campaign, told MSNBC on Friday that Vice President Kamala Harris will do interviews with the media "on her time."

“Ten Little Indians” is a 1965 British crime mystery film. The plot involves a group of 10 strangers invited to a party in the Alps who, expecting entertainment, quickly discover otherwise. Greeted…

The Left are weird. We have no other way to describe it. They have bizarre fantasies about politics and political figures, and they're not afraid to say those things out loud.  Advertisement Like…

I wonder if anyone has opened a GoFundMe account to raise money to send him there? I’d contribute. But wait, there are more of these idiots: View this post on Instagram “We don’t want your supportWe…

In his famous novel The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Robert A. Heinlein describes a future lunar settlement where future lunar residents (“Loonies”) send payloads of wheat and water ice to Earth using an electromagnetic catapult. In this story, a group of Loonies conspire to take control of this catapult and threaten to “throw rocks at Earth” unless they recognize Luna as an independent world. Interestingly enough, scientists have explored this concept for decades as a means of transferring lunar resources to Earth someday. Given that space agencies are planning on sending missions to the Moon to create permanent infrastructure, there is renewed interest in this concept. In a recent paper, a team of scientists from China’s Shanghai Institute of Satellite Engineering (SAST) detailed how a magnetic launcher on the lunar surface could provide a cost-effective means of sending resources back to Earth. This proposal could become part of China’s long-term vision for a lunar settlement known as the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) – a joint project they are pursuing with the Russian space agency (Roscosmos). According to a recent article in the South China Morning Post, the catapult would utilize magnetic levitation (maglev) technology and operate on the same principle as the hammer throw in athletics, “but rotating at increasing speeds before throwing the launch capsule towards Earth.” On the lunar surface, the near-vacuum environment and low gravity – roughly 16.5% of Earth’s gravity (0.165 g) – would facilitate the ejection of payloads. According to the SAST team, the proposed system could conduct two launches a day at one-tenth the cost of existing transport methods. Visualization of the ILRS from the CNSA Guide to Partnership (June 2021). Credit: CNSA As noted, the concept of a magnetic catapult on the Moon is a time-honored idea. Previous versions of the concept include the Slingatron proposed in 1998 by noted physicist Derek A. Tidman, which called for a circular magnetic accelerator rather than a rotating arm. Similarly, the launch system proposed by the Chinese research team would consist of a 50-meter (165 ft) rotating arm and a high-temperature superconducting motor. It would be powered by solar panels and a nuclear reactor and is designed to convert kinetic energy into electricity during the deceleration phase. This would allow it to recover more than 70% of the energy consumed after each launch. After accelerating for ten minutes, the arm would achieve the Moon’s escape velocity of 2.4 km/second (1.5 mps) and release the payload on a trajectory toward Earth. The team also emphasizes that the main payload would be helium-3 harvested from lunar soil, which could be used to power fusion reactors on Earth. “The system’s technical readiness is relatively high,” they wrote. “Since it consumes only electricity and does not require any propellant, it will be relatively small in scale and straightforward to implement. The main goal is to extract and return helium-3 to help address Earth’s energy crisis. The project will also boost the development of space mining technologies, heavy launch vehicles, and artificial intelligence.” While only 0.5 metric tons (0.55 U.S. tons) of this element can be found on Earth, an estimated 1 million metric tons (1.1 U.S. tons) are contained within the Moon’s regolith. According to the team’s paper, 20 metric tons (22 U.S. tons) would be enough to meet China’s annual electricity needs, whereas 1 million metric tons would be enough to meet the world’s energy needs for over a thousand years. They also estimate that the system will weigh about 80 metric tons (88 U.S. tons) and could remain in operation for at least 20 years. However, construction of this system will have to wait until China has finished developing its Long March 9 (CZ-9) and Long March 10 (CZ-10) super-heavy launch vehicles. These rockets are vital to creating the ILRS, which is expected to be completed by 2035 with the help of other national space agencies. In this respect, the proposed launch system could become a part of China’s long-term plans for lunar development during the late 2030s or 2040s. The team’s proposed timelines are consistent with this: they hope to complete the development of the system’s key components by 2030 and anticipate full-scale implementation by 2045. An artist’s concept of Hyper V Technologies Corp.’s Slingatron launch system, a 200-300 meter wide railroad into space. Credit: Hyper V Technologies Corp. Naturally, as with all other proposals for lunar construction and development, there is the issue of cost. According to the research team, the cost of building the launch system would be an estimated 130 billion, equivalent to 18.25 billion USD. However, at last year’s meeting of the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), team member Chu Yingzhi stated that mining three to five tonnes of helium-3 annually could bring in revenues of 100 billion yuan. There are also a lot of technical and logistical challenges that need to be addressed before this system can be constructed. For starters, the research team’s paper does not address how Helium-3 will be extracted from the local regolith. As Chu noted, there’s also the challenge of installing it on the rugged lunar surface, ensuring the rotating arm remains stable at high speeds, and ensuring it can operate in the lunar environment, which is subject to extreme variations in temperature, cosmic rays, and increased levels of solar radiation. But as a long-term vision, a magnetic launch system is an elegant proposal and a relatively cost-effective alternative to spacecraft launching from the surface. Further Reading: South China Morning Post The post China Proposes Magnetic Launch System for Sending Resources Back to Earth appeared first on Universe Today.