My View: There Are Not “Two Sides” on Ukraine
As she puts it as others try victim blaming for Russia’s unprovoked attack: rubbish.
As regular readers know, I have received and posted several comments complaining that I don’t write posts showing “both sides” or “different sides” on Ukraine. They disapprove of my support for Ukraine and my criticism of Putin.
In some cases, the commenters have included links to articles or videos claiming that Putin had no choice but to invade Ukraine because…he felt encircled by NATO, or he needed to protect Russians in Ukraine, or Ukraine is overrun by Nazis, or some policy analyst warned that NATO’s expansion would provoke Putin. Other commenters claim that I should not post anything sympathetic to Ukraine unless I post equally sympathetic commentaries about places where the U.S. brutalized the local population or where other nations are suffering.
Let me explain. This is my blog. It is not CNN, FOX, MSNBC, or a network station. The articles I post are my choice.
My choice is to…
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The Bright Star Of The Confirmation Hearing
A great read about Booker’s speech at Jackson’s confirmation hearing.
On Wednesday, after all the Republicans had finished their infantile attempts to tie Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to anything and everything that they could think of to tear down her nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, Senator Cory Booker, a Black senator from New Jersey, gave the speech that brought tears to Judge Jackson, to onlookers, and to me as I watched the video clip from his impassioned speech. Here’s what one of my favourite columnists, Eugene Robinson, had to say about it in his column in The Washington Post, followed by a short clip from Booker’s speech.
Cory Booker cut through the GOP’s ugliness to celebrate Judge Jackson
By Eugene Robinson
Columnist
24 March 2022
The confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson have been rife with racism, sexism, feigned outrage and general ugliness. But Wednesday’s proceedings brought one moment of such powerful eloquence that…
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Friday’s Theme Music
Welcome to the Day of Frig, or Friday. Can you frig off on Friday? Does the expression ‘frig off’ owe anything to the Germanic Goddess, Frigg? Maybe she went about telling people that.
It’s March’s last day. Won’t be sorry to see the rear of March, 2022. Started out solid, but soured. For the record, the date is March 25, 2022.
Sunrise came in like it was half-asleep at 7:06 AM, although plenty of light was showing up much earlier than that. I always like that about this time of year, how the sun’s presence is announced in a false dawn almost an hour before. Sunset is due at 7:29 PM. It’s a chilly spring morning, 52 F, on our way to 67.
The heat didn’t come on this morning. It was chilly outside, yes, but we usually have heat. I checked and it was 66 in the house. The thermostat says ‘Heat On’, but I don’t hear any heating sounds issuing. I suspect that I’m to blame. I had to change the batteries in the thermostat yesterday — it’s a semi-smart one, with several different heating or cooling combos that that can be set for different periods of the day — and dropped it. Might have knocked some of its delicates askew. Either that, or it’s the stupid controller card again. The controller card has been replaced before, and this doesn’t exist the same symptoms. I’m better on the thermostat and will install and try a new one later today.
The morning mental music stream is aswirl with chaotic song fragments. I’m settling for a Jackson Browne song from his Lawyers in Love album of 1983. I believe I’ve used it before but I’m too lazy to look today. These lines hooked me as being the right theme music for today:
I know it’s late and you’re already down
You ain’t ready for people around
I’m gonna tell you something I found out
Whatever you think your life is about
Whatever life may hold in store
Things will happen that you won’t be ready for
h/t to AZLyrics.com
Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as science dictates for the situation, and get the shots when needed. I’m almost ready to rock. Just need a little coffee first. Cheers
Michael Seidel, writer 