Photo by Yoshi Sugimoto on Unsplash
I had to work on Saturday, so I’m off today. I spent some time catching up on Oscar winning movies. It’s part of my Bucket List to see all of the Best Picture winners.
HBO finally showed Tom Jones, the 1964 winner.
I think the turbulent 60s can be summed up by the fact that in 1964, Tom Jones beat Cleopatra, How the West Was Won, and Lilies of the Field for Best Picture. What were they smoking?
I also re-watched Chariots of Fire. A long time favorite.
It doesn’t matter how many times I see it. I always tear up when I see Eric Liddell win his medal.
We are two weeks away from two full years of “fifteen days to slow the spread.”
You don’t hear as much about COVID in the news these days. But, over the weekend, the CDC relaxed the mask guidelines.
If you read a little deeper you’ll find that the numbers are also being revised.
I’m not going to go off on a tangent here. But we destroyed our economy, damaged our children, and endured two years of miserable masks for a disease with a better than 98% survival rate.
Worse than that, those who disagreed with the party line were silenced, shunned, and in some cases threatened with financial ruin.
Don’t believe me? Ask a Canadian trucker.
But, COVID is no longer the top headline because we’re all focused on what is going on in Ukraine.
And disinformation is flying all over the Interwebz.
Here’s what we know for certain.
- Russia is invading Ukraine.
- Ukraine doesn’t want that.
- The west is weak.
- Russia knows that.
- We can all now recognize where Ukraine is and put their flag in our profiles.
- The national flower of Ukraine is the sunflower.
- Vladimir Putin is a tyrant.
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a badass.
I’m not sure we can be certain of anything beyond that.
Don’t believe me? Go spend a few minutes on Twitter.
But leave time for a shower.
I’m by far no foreign policy expert. So, I’m not going to try to be an armchair quarterback…or general.
Heck, I was never even very good at Risk.
I’m just trying carefully consider everything I read.
Oh, and in case you missed it, the State of the Union is tomorrow night.
Laissez les bons temps rouler.
All I’m saying is this.
Be careful what you read.
Be careful what you listen to.
Be careful what you share.
And pray.
Without ceasing.
American actress, singer, and author, Bernadette Peters was born on this day in 1948.
THINGS YOU SHOULD READ
War Propaganda About Ukraine Becoming More Militaristic, Authoritarian, and Reckless
Glenn Greenwald
No matter how convinced one is of the righteousness of one’s views on any topic, there should still be a wariness about how easily that righteousness can be exploited to ensure that no dissent is considered or even heard, an awareness of how often such overwhelming societal consensus is manipulated to lead one to believe untrue claims and embrace horribly misguided responses. Read More.
62 percent of voters say Putin wouldn’t have invaded Ukraine if Trump were president: poll
The Hill
A new Harvard Center for American Political Studies (CAPS)-Harris Poll survey released Friday found that 62 percent of those polled believed Putin would not be moving against Ukraine if Trump had been president. Read More.
Cruz Lights Up CPAC, Predicts ‘Red Wave Is Coming’ in Midterms
The Conservative Brief
“We find ourselves at an existential moment for our nation. The threats in our country have never been greater…What is this battle all about? What are we fighting about in this nation? And I’m going to suggest the fundamental conflict that is playing out across this great nation is a battle between power and liberty; the two are in fundamental conflict.” Read More.
‘Our Allies Feel the Weakness Coming From the White House’: Richard Grenell at CPAC
El American
Regarding Russia’s advance against Ukraine in recent weeks, Grenell referred to Biden’s decisions as a “waste of diplomatic capital” that “hyped a bloody war.” Read More.
If Russia’s invasion of Ukraine feels familiar, look to Broadway in the ’60s
NPR
The musical, based on “Tevye and his Daughters” by Solomon Naumovich Rabinovich — better known by his pen name, Sholom Aleichem — takes place in the fictional town of Anatevka, a more singable name for a town Aleichem modeled on the town of Boyarka near his birthplace in central Ukraine. And when the musical welcomes new arrivals, they tend to have traveled from the nearest big city, Kyiv. Read More.
ALSO BORN ON THIS DAY
1894 – Ben Hecht, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1964)
1908 – Billie Bird, American actress (d. 2002)
1931 – Gavin MacLeod, American actor, Christian activist, and author (d. 2021)
1939 – Tommy Tune, American actor, dancer, singer, theatre director, producer, and choreographer
1955 – Gilbert Gottfried, American comedian, actor, and singer
WHAT I’M READING
BENEDICTION
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26