Free Republic

Slower growth and rising inflation has brought back distant cries that stagflation is coming. This would force interest rates to stay higher for longer, putting pressure on US businesses and consumers. One investor says anyone looking to hedge this risk should focus on fixed income. A pair of economic reports has brought back a word no central banker ever wants to hear: stagflation. The difficult scenario occurs when inflation rises and growth stalls, a dangerous combination just experienced by the US economy. Worries emerged when Thursday's first-quarter GDP reading slumped against expectations, growing at an annualized 1.6% rate. That's a...

Texas-based commercial rocket company Firefly launched a rocket into space Friday morning, about a year after a previous attempt ended in an explosion. The Alpha rocket launched at 12:01 a.m. Pacific time from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. It was the company’s second unmanned launch ever from Vandenberg.

A hub for rocketry research and development in its early days, the Cape served as a test center not just for spaceflight and research but also for the US missile development programs...and along the eastern coastline, the iconic “missile row” of Atlas and Titan launch complexes dominated the skyline. Many of the Cape’s launch facilities have long since fallen silent, but with newcomers Firefly and Relativity preparing for their first launches from Cape Canaveral, the sight of rockets lifting off along the “row” is about to return. The eight launch pads that made up the core of what is unofficially...

Firefly was attempting to reach orbit, and its Alpha rocket went supersonic moments before the failure, according to the company’s mission control audio. The rocket launched from the SLC-2 complex at Vandenberg Space Force Base. Standing at 95 feet tall, Firefly’s Alpha rocket is designed to launch as much as 1,000 kilograms of payload to low Earth orbit – at a price of $15 million per launch. This puts Firefly in the “medium-lift” category of rockets, pitting it against several other companies including Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit, ABL Space and Relativity Space.

Environmental groups are asking federal officials to take emergency action to protect a species of firefly unique to southern Delaware. In an emergency petition filed Wednesday with the Department of the Interior, environmentalists claim the Bethany Beach firefly is at immediate risk of extinction because of imminent destruction of a significant portion of its habitat. The filing comes partly in response to a planned residential development that would be accessible by a unique wooden cul-de-sac that has been built on pilings over one of the freshwater marshes where the firefly lives.

Hollywood director Joss Whedon took to Twitter late Tuesday and wished for President Donald Trump to “quietly die.” “Donald trump is killing this country. Some of it quickly, some slowly, but he spoils and destroys everything he touches,” Whedon wrote. “He emboldens monsters, wielding guns, governmental power, or just smug doublespeak. Or Russia,” the Avengers director wrote. “My hate and sadness are exhausting. Die, Don. Just quietly die.”

Ron Glass, a centerpiece on the 70's sitcom "Barney Miller" has died ... according to his rep. Glass had recently battled with various illnesses, and was an active member in the L.A. Buddhist community. He passed away at his home Friday, where'd he'd been watched by a caretaker. Glass received an Emmy nomination for his role as Detective Ron Harris on the show ... he also made appearances on the original Hawaii Five-O, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Firefly and more recently on an episode of CSI in 2014. RIP

Regardless of who wins today, a little levity is greatly needed. So I present to you President Rufus T. Firefly!

In the wake of the massacre at the Emanuel AME Church, America seems to be bent on eradicating even the hint of any symbol regarding the Confederacy, from removing the Confederate battle flag from public spaces to even deleting Civil War computer games. Serious people have proposed banning “Gone With the Wind” and sanitizing “The Dukes of Hazzard.” Others have advocated blowing up the Jefferson Memorial and other monuments to famous Southerners whether they had anything to do with the Civil War or not. However, if America is serious about expunging any hint of the Confederacy, it must even ferret...

The Entomology Research Museum at the University of California, Riverside today announced the discovery of a new species of firefly from Southern California, collected by an undergraduate student as part of his semester's insect collection. Doug Yanega, senior museum scientist, said the student, Joshua Oliva, obtained one specimen of the new species while collecting near Topanga, Calif. "He wasn't 100 percent certain it was a firefly, and brought it to me for confirmation," Yanega said. "I know the local fauna well enough that within minutes I was able to tell him he had found something entirely new to science. I...

"The Firefly is an electric bike you attach to a manual wheelchair." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4jESFIbAS0

Firefly, Twin Peaks, Jericho, Carnivale, My So-Called Life, Undeclared, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip; Pushing Daisies, Veronica Mars, Heroes

1. Firefly 2. Space Above and Beyond 3. Jericho 4. Journeyman 5. The 4400 6. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles 7. Heroes 8. Dark Angel 9. Star Trek: Enterprise 10. SGU Stargate Universe SGU Stargate Universe 11. Invasion 12. V 13. Caprica 14. FlashForward 15. Dollhouse 16. Threshold 17. Terra Nova 18. The Event 19. Defying Gravity 20. Farscape

Hey! It’s summer, it’s hot, it’s time to take it easy. And that generally means reruns. So here’s my quick rerun of the reruns. First, on the Campaign trail, Florida, 2008; leaving for our African vacation, 2013                 At a Garden Party, 2012,and another Garden Party, 2013                (SNIP) If, however, summer fashion reruns don’t satisfy your need for passive entertainment, I direct you to this compendium of TV summer rerun options. You’ve probably never heard of most of the recommendations, butt I’m sure you’ll discover some gems such as this new-to-me series, Firefly from way back in 2002. Apparently...

So says the guy probably worth somewhere around a gajillion dollars and who likely made somewhere around a thousand times more money from "Avengers" than anyone on the crew. But Whedon's obviously talking about socialism for, you know, other people: “We are watching capitalism destroy itself right now,” [Whedon] told the audience. He added that America is “turning into Tsarist Russia” and that “we’re creating a country of serfs.” Whedon was raised on the Upper Westside neighborhood of Manhattan in the 1970s, an area associated with left-leaning intellectuals. He said he was raised by people who thought socialism was a...

MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 26, 2011—A professor has been censored twice, reported to the "threat assessment team," and threatened with criminal charges because of satirical postings on his office door. Campus police at the University of Wisconsin–Stout (UWS) censored theater professor James Miller's poster depicting a quotation from actor Nathan Fillion's character in the television series Firefly, and the police chief threatened Miller with criminal charges for disorderly conduct. After UWS censored his second poster, which stated, "Warning: Fascism," Miller came to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) for help. "Colleges and universities are supposed to foster brave and bold...

“Bushwhacked” — the third episode of Firefly’s only, abbreviated season -– contained one of the late, lamented cult classic’s most haunting moments. With his rickety smuggler’s ship about to be boarded and searched by The Alliance, Mal decided to hide fugitive siblings Simon Tam and River from the authorities by sealing them up in spacesuits and stowing them outside. Simon – skeptical that mere “Mylar and glass” could protect him from the “nothing” of space – shuddered in fear. Incapable of even peeking at the infinite star-dotted expanse at his back, the buttoned-up doctor kept his eyes focused on Serenity’s...

If you were ever asked about innovation in controller design you may mention the introduction of the SNES pad, maybe the first DualShock controller, or more recently the revolution that was the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. But new controllers don’t always have to be forward thinking and a new indie game called Firefly is taking a distinctively different approach to game input. Rather than using a keyboard, mouse, joypad, joystick, racing wheel, or motion control, the developer has turned to a much cheaper alternative – candlelight. That’s right, Firefly is the first game as far as I know that takes...

Actress Morena Baccarin is about to invade the planet earth. She has been cast in a lead role on ABC’s upcoming remake of the 1980s invasion series V, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Baccarin played the Ori leader Adria in the tenth season of Stargate SG-1, and in the DVD movie Stargate: The Ark of Truth — which will make its U.S. television premiere in just a few weeks.

Yes, it seems that the SciFi channel is showing some sanity they are showing Serenity..... Shiny!!!!