Tax and Spend

Rio flip-flops and agrees to pay for air conditioning for Olympic athletes.

Elon Musk pushes a self-serving carbon tax.

Democrats and Republicans reinstate corporate welfare import-export bank.

NASA has a problem with its claims of water on Mars.

"Several Mars missions sought, and are seeking, confirmation for the existence of water in some form or another on the Red Planet. There were reports of clouds and low-lying fog—and the Phoenix polar lander is reputed to have detected water just below the surface—but nothing definitive. For example, although the now defunct Phoenix lander reported visual evidence for water, the probes used to test for water in the soil returned a null reading. The soil was nonconductive, indicating no water molecules."

Water is inferred from pictures, but other processes could produce what's seen.

"Martian topography is not rounded or softened as if by a flood. It does not conform to slow weathering by rainfall or blowing dust. The formations on Mars are sharp, angular and fresh looking, as if sculpted quickly and with tremendous force. The northern latitudes, in particular, are effaced."

Oops. But claiming evidence of water excites the public, leading to bigger budgets and more projects.