Jackson Free Press

When we looked at the clock last night and realized it was only about 20 minutes before Curiosity was set to land on Mars, I decided to root around and find a Web feed to see if we could watch it in action. Having been warned that there might be a blackout on communication between Curiosity and Earth, I figured it'd be a relatively uneventful web feed, if still a bit dramatic while they waited.

Well, it turned out that the 10-year-old satellite that NASA has in orbit around Mars -- Opportunity -- didn't fail JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) the way they were concerned it might, so they were able to maintain communication throughout and learn how Curiosity had done step-by-step through its complicated landing sequence.

Curiosity started the journey on Nov. 26, 2011, blasting off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, arriving at Mars pretty much exactly on time.

The video starts after a long deceleration that included Curiosity employing a heat shield to enter the Mars atmosphere (thus slowing down from its interplanetary cruising speed) and then free-falling from 81 miles up to 7 miles up, reaching about 900 mph.

At that point, the most crazy-bad supersonic parachute ever deployed opens up and slows the 2000-lb contraption until its braking jets kick in -- I said braking jets -- and Curiosity slows down to basically hover about 65 feet in the air, when the "sky crane" deployed and gently placed the rover on the surface. (This is, for the record, pretty much how Hollywood has always envisioned the Martians invading us.)

The crew seems pretty excited for the 10 minutes prior to where this video starts, presumably because they knew they had access to Opportunity and would receive data on the descent -- instead of waiting minutes or hours for a quiet confirmation from their $2.5 billion rover on the surface.

Remember, though, that because of the 14-minute delay, by the time they do receive word that Curiosity has entered the Martian atmosphere, Curiosity has actually already hit the surface of Mars... they have no control over the landing; just an opportunity to find out "how hard."

The video starts with JPL communications desk saying "ready for sky crane" and saying "down to 10 meters per second" which means Curiosity has decelerated to under 10 miles per hour at about 40 meters above the surface. It continues decelerating quickly to nearly hover, followed by the "sky crane" going into action and placing the rover on the surface.

In case you couldn't hear it for the cheering, the line is: "Touchdown confirmed. We're safe on Mars."

Update: Here's another fun version that NASA has put together that includes their animation of the Curiosity landings along with an edit of the live call from JPL.

Mother Jones, the liberal investigative-news magazine that broke the story of Mitt Romney's 47 percent remark during the presidential campaign, is now taking aim at Mississippi politics.

MoJo reports that in August, state Sen. Chris McDaniel, who last week announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate, addressed a "a neo-Confederate conference in Laurel, Miss., near his hometown of Ellisville."

Attendees were reportedly urged to dress in "Confederate uniforms and antebellum ball gowns or wee kilties."

McDaniel told the Clarion-Ledger political editor Geoff Pender, however, that he never attended the ball and was at a meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council at the time.

MoJo doesn't provide any videographic proof but quotes sources saying that McDaniel attended the ball (the invitation listing McDaniel can be found here), but reports:

McDaniel was joined at the Southern Heritage Conference by Al Benson, a historian from Louisiana, who talked about his book Red Republicans & Lincoln Marxists, which speculates that Lincoln's actions during the Civil War were influenced by the writings of Karl Marx. ("Was Abraham Lincoln influenced by communism when the Union condemned the rights of Southern states to express their independence? It’s shocking to think so.") Benson's Amazon bio describes him as "a true Copperhead," a reference to Northern Democrats who supported the Confederate cause. In the September issue of the Rosin Heels newsletter, Benson writes that the nation's public school system was a product of "spiritual apostasy" by Unitarians and socialists.

The third speaker at the event was Ryan Walters, a PhD student at the University of Southern Mississippi who occasionally guest-hosts "The Right Side," the radio program McDaniel hosted before he entered politics (and still regularly appears on). Walters worked for McDaniel's first political campaign and previously suggested that President Obama was preparing to send army tanks to Texas. "As you recall, there was great controversy over Obama's birth certificate, which hasn't really been solved, but that's another story," he wrote in a recent blog post.

McDaniel is the first, and may end up being the only, Republican to come out and challenge the veteran Sen. Thad Cochran. McDaniel is one of the Tea Party's favorite legislators; Cochran is one of the Tea Party's most hated.

Mother Jones points out that the Rosin Heels has put up billboard wishing Confederate president and former Mississippi resident Jefferson Davis a happy birthday/

Now, in fairness to the Rosin Heels and to McDaniel, the Mississippi Senate once adjourned in memory of southern General Robert E. Lee and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whom share a recognized birthday, at the suggestion of African American state Sen. Hillman Frazier of Jackson.

Updated to reflect a correction. A previous version misstated that MoJo did not quote sources saying McDaniel attended. The magazine did report that one of the organizers confirmed McDaniel's attendance.

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down Texas’ admitting privileges and surgical-center requirement anti-abortion laws by a vote of 5-3 today. The court found both laws unconstitutional because they do place “undue burden” on women seeking abortion access in the state.

"The record contains sufficient evidence that the admitting-privileges requirement led to the closure of half of Texas’ clinics, or thereabouts," the majority opinion says. "Those closures meant fewer doctors, longer waiting times, and increased crowding. Record evidence also supports the finding that after the admitting-privileges provision went into effect, the 'number of women of reproductive age living in a county . . . more than 150 miles from a provider...'"

In her concurring opinion Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote, "When a State severely limits access to safe and legal procedures, women in desperate circumstances may resort to unlicensed rogue practitioners, faute de mieux, at great risk to their health and safety."

In his dissent, Justice Clarence Thomas criticized the court for tinkering with levels of scrutiny in their ruling.

"If our recent cases illustrate anything, it is how easily the Court tinkers with levels of scrutiny to achieve its desired result," he wrote. "This Term, it is easier for a State to survive strict scrutiny despite discriminating on the basis of race in college admissions than it is for the same State to regulate how abortion doctors and clinics operate under the putatively less stringent undue-burden test."

Mississippi's admitting privileges law, which is still tied up in the Supreme Court could be affected by the ruling. The Center for Reproductive Rights said in a press release that similar laws in Mississippi and Louisiana will be found 'likely unconstitutional.'

"Today’s ruling is entirely consistent with lower court rulings in challenges to similar laws in Mississippi and Louisiana which found the measures likely unconstitutional," the press release states. "The clinics in those states will remain open while the litigation continues."

Mississippi state leaders, who supported a Planned Parenthood Medicaid defunding law this session, voiced their outcry to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision.

"I am disappointed in the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision today," Gov. Phil Bryant said on Twitter. "This measure is designed to protect the health and safety of women who undergo this potentially dangerous procedure, and physicians who provide abortions should be held to the same standards as physicians who perform other outpatient procedures."

Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and House Speaker Philip Gunn agreed with the governor's remarks.

“The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision today endangers the lives of women and their unborn children in Mississippi and all across America,” Reeves said in a statement. “States should have the ability to protect their citizens through proper regulation of medical care.”

"I'm disappointed with the decision made by the U.S. Supreme Court," said Gunn in a statement. "The legislation struck down today is designed to protect women and their unborn children. For those of us who believe in the sanctity of human life, this ruling is a major setback."

It’s only been about five months since the inaugural Jackson Indie Music Week brought music-industry panels, podcasts and performers from every genre to about 12 venues throughout the capital city, but preparations are already underway to make 2017 Jackson Indie Music Week, which takes place Jan. 8 through Jan. 15, even larger in scale.

Next week the University of Southern Mississippi will host Marshall University for homecoming. But before the team can start to enjoy the festivities, it must first get past a showdown against Louisiana State University.

LSU is spending a good deal of time in the news this football season, and most of it is for what is not happening on the field. The Tigers have fired their head coach Les Miles, former Heisman candidate Leonard Fournette has spent most of the season injured, and LSU and the University of Florida have been fighting about a makeup date over a cancelled game.

Miles shouldn’t have been fired after a 2-2 start in the first four games. Where are the Tigers going to find a coach that will average 10 wins a year now? Former University of Mississippi coach Ed Orgeron is now the head Tiger and gets to make his case to keep the job after the season.

At this point, Fournette should shut himself down and get ready for the NFL draft. The running back has been injured for most of the last two seasons. He needs to heal up and show out at the combine. If he does play again this season, it will be just to show the folks at the next level his commitment and ability to get back on the field after injury.

Florida gave up a home game, and both schools have to buyout their Nov. 19 foes, but they will play. In the end, the Gators will need this game more than the Tigers if Tennessee loses to Alabama on Saturday and if UF can beat Georgia later.

Now, to LSU against USM.

This is an interesting match up.

Southern Miss is coming off a game where the University of Texas, San Antonio burned USM’s defense for 532 yards. The Golden Eagle defense wasn’t much of a “Nasty Bunch” as just plain nasty against the Roadrunners.

Much like the other loss this season against Troy University, USM started slow on offense, was sloppy on both sides of the ball and couldn’t cover or tackle on defense. When they go against LSU, the Golden Eagles can’t play the way they didn’t against Troy and UTSA and still have a chance to win.

USM scores 40.2 points per game, and LSU scores 25.2 points. On the flipside, the Golden Eagles’ defense is allowing 27 points per game, and the Tigers only allow 14.8 points.

The question is which team can reach its average. LSU struggles on offense and won’t have Fournette against USM.

Southern Miss can put up points, but can the Golden Eagles’ offense put up enough points on a very stout LSU defense? The Tigers struggle to score on offense and make it a struggle for foes to score on defense.

While LSU won’t have Fournette, it will have Derrius Guice at running back. This season, Guice has run for 402 …

One of the biggest gambling days in the country is Super Bowl Sunday. Fans will bet plenty of money on either the New England Patriots or Atlanta Falcons to win the game.

They will place bets based on the combined score that both teams put up. Who will score the first touchdown? Who will throw the most touchdown passes? Most yards? Most rushing yards?, and more.

If something could happen during the game, you can probably bet on it. But the game isn’t where the betting stops.

There are plenty of other non-football related things to bet.

Before the game, you can bet on whether or not a player for either team will get arrested during Super Bowl week. Players have run into trouble with the law before the big game in the past, but it would be shocking if that happens to either of these teams.

Thinking about betting on the national anthem? You have plenty to bet on here, starting with how long Luke Bryan sings, which is set at one minute and 58 seconds, the color of Bryan’s shirt, whether or not he wears cowboys boots and blue jeans, and whether or not he puts his hand over his heart during his rendition.

Even before the kickoff, you can bet the outcome of the coin toss. You can also bet what the team winning the coin toss does and the first commercial after the coin toss.

One of the biggest non-football things to bet will be the halftime show featuring Lady Gaga. You can make some crazy bets on either the show or Lady Gaga.

Lady Gaga bets include if her outfit will break Twitter, what song will she sing to open and close the halftime performance? Does Fox have to blur her outfit? Or will she wear nothing at all?

More Gaga bets are, Will she have a snake on stage with her? What color will her hair be? Will she get booed? There are even odds that Lady Gaga will mention the current president during her halftime performance.

But Lady Gaga isn’t the only thing to bet on at the break. There is plenty to bet on just halftime alone.

Fans can bet on the show having a sound malfunction, the odds that someone catches on fire during the show, the halftime guest performers, the number of songs and if someone falls off stage.

One of the more interesting halftime best is whether or not there will be a wardrobe malfunction. The last time the Super Bowl was in Houston, Janet Jackson had her famous—or infamous, depending on how you look at—wardrobe malfunction.

Fans can place plenty of bets on the current president and the game. How many times President Trump will tweet during the game is a bet you can take and the over/under is five.

Other Trump bets include who he picks to win the game …