Today in Not The Bee (previously known as Not The Onion) - FAA rules for Musk/SpaceX

Marginal Revolution:.

Before Space X can launch its Starship in support of NASA, the Department of Defense, and the greater goal of bringing humanity to the stars, the FAA has required that SpaceX must (among other requirements):

Prepar[e] a historical context report (i.e., historical narrative) of the historic events and activities of the Mexican War (1846–1848) and the Civil War (1861–1865) that took place in the geographic area associated with and including the Area of Potential Effects (APE).

[P]rovide $5,000 annually to enhance the existing TPWD Tackle Loaner Program. This funding may be used to purchase fishing equipment (rods, reels, and tackle boxes with hooks, sinkers, and bobbers) for use at existing, heavily visited sites and/or allow the program to expand to new locations.

Participate in wildlife photography introduction and instruction opportunities on-site.

[M]ake an annual contribution of $5,000 to the Friends of Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge Adopt an Ocelot Program within 3 months of the issuance of the BO and by March 1 of each year thereafter for the duration of the BO. Funds donated to the program are intended to pay for…Special events to raise awareness about the ocelot.

It’s hard to take our civilization seriously on some days.

Friday links

A selection of weird nativity sets.

Pachelbel's Canon In D Performed By Train Horns.

National Geographic’s 100 best photos from 2019.

One of my favorite Christmas stories - 'Twas the Overnight Before Christmas: The Merry Tale of How Air Cargo Deregulation Led To Amazon.

How robocalls became America's most prevalent crime.

Darwin Awards: a cumulative list.

ICYMI, most recent links are here, and include advice from c. 1200 on surviving the winter (spoiler -  lay off the purging and blood-letting, and keep your hands and feet covered in wolf grease), the anniversary of Australia's Great Emu War, the pre-Seinfeld origins of Festivus, and a pairing guide for pop-tarts and fine whiskies.

Friday links

T'was the Overnight Before Christmas: The Merry Tale of How Air Cargo Deregulation Led To Amazon. 

Researchers Created Fake 'Master' Fingerprints to Unlock Smartphones.

How to Cook an Egg with Magnets.

A day that will live in infamy: It's the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor: some history, contemporaneous newsreels, and a Monty Python re-enactment.

The Glamorous, Sexist History of the Women’s Restroom Lounge. 

Interactive map shows all the ways medieval London could kill you.

ICYMI, Wednesday's links are here, and include the anniversary of the end of prohibition, how wombats produce square poo, a selection of weird nativity sets, and the history of Jingle Bells.

Wednesday links

On January 10 in 49 B.C., Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon River.

US road grid corrections because of the Earth’s curvature

This $800 belt (presumably for the elderly) has airbags to protect your hips.

Video: X-Ray Camera Reveals How Hamsters Fit So Much in Their Cheeks

Albert Einstein and the high school geometry problem.

Innovation, regulation, and illegal shipping containers: How an Illegal Shipping Container Reshaped the World Economy.

ICYMI, Monday's links are here, and include Elvis Presley's birthday, the woman who slept with both Napoleon and Wellington, the business of making the fake money used in movies and TV shows, and advice from 1595 on how to slim down in fourteen days.

Tuesday links

The precursor to the war on drugs: on December 5th, 1933, prohibition in the United States of America came to an end.

What could go wrong? Spider drinks graphene, spins web that can hold the weight of a human.

Grapefruit, Animal Economics, and Big Drunk Guys. Some peculiar sociology research.

T'was the Overnight Before Christmas: The Merry Tale of How Air Cargo Deregulation Led To Amazon. 

The Science Behind Why Dark Winter Days Bum People Out.

Pop-Tarts alerts police about Illinois man who spreads mustard on his breakfast pastry.

ICYMI, Thursday's links are here, and include carbon paper history, people who still use iron lungs to breathe, a slingshot that launches swords, Congressmen behaving badly in 1856, and, for Winston Churchill's birthday (and related to the first link above), the doctor's note allowing him to drink "unlimited" alcohol in prohibition-era America.

'Twas the Overnight Before Christmas: The Merry Tale of How Air Cargo Deregulation Led To Amazon

Related, and this is practically a public service announcement - if you sign up for a 30 day free trial of Amazon Prime now, you can get unlimited free shipping through the holidays.

Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial

Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University Kenneth Button shares the story of how air cargo deregulation in the 1970s paved the way for low-cost, reliable overnight shipping, which in turn allowed for groundbreaking new e-commerce businesses like Amazon and eBay. These innovations enable everyone to get their presents on time for the holidays – almost as fast as delivery by Santa himself! 

More on the deregulation here. 

‘Twas two nights before Christmas, and all through their houses
Every creature was busy, double-clicking their mouses.
Christmas was coming, but there were still presents to buy--
Thank heavens overnight shipping allows boxes to fly.
“But how can this be?” the people asked in their haze
“With so many miles to cover, why aren’t there delays?”

What allowed this to happen is a very old rule,
That deregulated air cargo - isn't that cool!
You see, express planes were smaller, unlike today.
Bigger is better, but the law said “No way!”

And if Fisherman Fred shipped lively lobsters from Maine
He hoped for some room in the belly of a passenger plane
But if Aunt Edna had checked in fifteen pieces of luggage
Fred’s lobsters would arrive days later, looking quite sluggish.

Freed from restrictions, more packages could flow
And arrive soon as promised, even in snow.
This allowed private carriers to grow and expand,
Unleashing innovations no one could’ve planned
With better shipping options, online shopping exploded,
And business inventories grew leaner: before they were bloated!

Thanks to rolling back rules that were surely passé,
Delivery is almost as fast as on Santa’s great sleigh.

Teens Handcuffed for Selling Bottled Water on the National Mall Without License

The news and a grievance-mongers are making this about the kids being black, but this sort of thing is happening all over - links to related stories are below. It's not a race problem - it's an over-regulation problem.. When you give the job of enforcing BS regulations to guys with guns and handcuffs, it escalates.

NBC:

An elected official in Washington is asking U.S. Park Police why teenagers were handcuffed for selling bottled water on the National Mall.

The arrests were made on Thursday. A witness took photos of three young black men being handcuffed by plainclothes police officers.

According to Sgt. Anna Rose of the U.S. Park Police, shortly after 5 p.m., officers detained three teens, ages 16 and 17, at 12th Street and Jefferson Drive, Northwest, for illegally vending.

The teens told officers they did not have a vendor’s permit, which is required to sell items on the National Mall, Rose said.

“Officers placed them in handcuffs for the safety of the officers and of the individuals,” Rose said on Friday.

Democratic D.C. Council member Charles Allen wrote a letter to Park Police Chief Robert MacLean on Friday asking him to explain the agency's actions.

In the letter, Allen noted the lack of charges and said he doesn't think the officers' actions were justified. He compared it to arresting kids for operating a lemonade stand.

“I would appreciate your response in reviewing yesterday’s events. I would also appreciate knowing how standards and expectations will be evenly applied in the future,” Allen said in the letter.

Related:

Town Says Teens Who Cut Neighborhood Lawns Must Pay $110 For Business Licenses

The Inexplicable War on Lemonade Stands.

Here's a roundup from a few years ago of lemonade stand shut-downs by government officials. I'm sure the list would be longer now.

Teens Detained for Selling Water on the National Mall | NBC4 Washington

Wednesday links

Lots of ugly Christmas sweaters, instructions for making your own, plus ugly Christmas sweater suits, and here's how to make Ugly Sweater Ornaments.

CIA Declassifies Maps from 75 Years of Surveillance.

The Science Behind Why Dark Winter Days Bum People Out.

T'was the Overnight Before Christmas: The Merry Tale of How Air Cargo Deregulation Led To Amazon. Related (by the underlying poem): T'was the Night Before Kwanzza, and more of Kathy Shaidle's Kwanzaa-debunking collection

A Frog That Freezes and Thaws, Plus More Ways Animals Cope With Cold.

In 1562 Map-Makers Thought America Was Full of Mermaids, Giants, and Dragons.

ICYMI, Monday's links are here, and include Mother Teresa's meeting with then-NYC Mayor Guliani to lobby for a parking permit, the pre-Seinfeld origins of Festivus, Teddy Roosevelt's impact of football, and a new Guinness World Record-setting Rube Goldberg machine that takes 412 steps to light a Christmas tree.

Monday links

The summer solstice occurs this evening at 6:34 PM EDT: some science, history, poetry and music.

The Numbers Add Up: Peeing in the Shower Makes Sense.

The Ad Campaign that Convinced Americans to Pay for Water.

How to Have a Healthy Summer: Advice from 1656.

What Happens If GPS Fails?

The Weird and Very Long History of State Liquor Laws.

ICYMI, Friday's links are here, and include parenting advice from Homer Simpson, a photo gallery of awkwardly sitting dogs, the anniversary of the 1815 Battle of Waterloo, and a 1942 guide to spaghetti-eating etiquette.

Friday links

Lots of ugly Christmas sweaters and instructions for making your own.

In the Christmas In Other Cultures category, here's a Klingon Christmas Carol. Also, how to have a British Christmas, Sweden's bizarre tradition of watching Donald Duck (Kalle Anka) cartoons on Christmas Eve, Strange Christmas Traditions Around the World, and why Japan is Obsessed with Kentucky Fried Chicken on Christmas.

Some Excellent Animated Christmas Lights Displays, but the best display this year is this Santa Claus urinating on ISIS sign.

My personal favorite Christmas story: 'Twas the Overnight Before Christmas: The Merry Tale of How Air Cargo Deregulation Led To Amazon.

The Origin of the Myth of the Poisonous Poinsettia. Related, why we kiss under the mistletoe and how the plant got that strange name (spoiler - it literally means "dung twig").

15 Harsh Things Critics Said About 'The Nutcracker' After Its 1892 Premiere and 15 Fun Facts About Fruitcake.

ICYMI, Tuesday's links are here, and include some extremely awkward Christmas photos, epic movie/TV-inspired gingerbread houses the pre-Seinfeld origins of Festivus, and strange hybrid animals.

Impossible to overstate how important info in this article is: Red Tape Rising: Five Years of Regulatory Expansion

Go to Heritage and read the whole thing.  Excerpts below (emphasis mine).

Abstract:

The Obama Administration is aggressively exploiting regulation to achieve its policy agenda, issuing 157 new major rules at a cost to Americans approaching $73 billion annually. In 2013 alone, the Administration imposed 26 new major rules. Although slightly below President Obama’s first-term annual average (33), it was still twice the annual average of his predecessor George W. Bush. And much more regulation is on the way, with another 125 major rules on the Administration’s to-do list, including dozens linked to the Dodd–Frank financial regulation law and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. Reforms of the regulatory process are critically needed. Without decisive action, the costs of red tape will continue to grow, and the economy—and average Americans—will suffer.

Regulatory overreach by the executive branch is only part of the problem. Much of the red tape imposed over the past five years has been driven by vast and vaguely worded legislation, such as the misnamed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and the Dodd–Frank financial-regulation law, in which Congress granted broad discretion to regulatory agencies. Doing so allows lawmakers to claim credit for “doing something” while evading blame for specific regulations.

There are many more regulations to come—agencies have identified 125 additional major rules they intend to work on this year, including dozens linked to Dodd–Frank and Obamacare.

Reforms of the regulatory process are critically needed. Among these: congressional approval before any new major regulation takes effect; analyses of the regulatory consequences of all proposed legislation before a vote is held; sunset deadlines in law for all major regulations; and review of independent agencies’ regulations, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in the White House regulatory review process.