I want to share a post my best friend, George Mihaiu, made on Facebook today. George and I have been best friends since we were five years old, even though he has lived in Ft. Lauderdale for the last 40 years. George is also one of the best writers I know. Here is his post from today.
Think about this comment by Mitch McConnell after the vote in the Senate yesterday re: changing the Filibuster rules. From Heather Cox Richardson’s e-newsletter:
“After the vote , Republicans lined up on the Senate floor to shake Sinema’s hand, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) assured reporters that concerns about Black voting were misplaced because: “African American voters are voting in just as high a percentage as Americans.”
Wow. Despite his despicable actions in the Senate to date, I still had no idea McConnell was so warped in his thinking…that African Americans are somehow different than “Americans.” It’s sad…and maddening. So very maddening that, every single day my every fiber of my being and soul is screaming inside me…as I know is happening with millions more like me…that enough is enough, and we CANNOT allow these morally bankrupt ultra-conservatives who have taken over the Republican party to continue to derail and destroy our American democracy…and kill the American dream. It’s time again to speak up and speak out. Every day and everywhere you encounter them.
In his news conference on Wednesday, Mr. Biden said that a “minor incursion” by Russia into Ukraine could mean “we end up having a fight” with European allies about the appropriate response..…. Ukrainian officials, among others, expressed dismay after Mr. Biden’s comments on Wednesday. “We want to remind the great powers that there are no minor incursions,” the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, wrote on Twitter on Thursday. What is a “minor incursion” into another country? I looked up the definition and this is what I found. A “minor incursion” occurs when someone invades someone else’s country. A “major incursion” occurs when someone invades your own country.
Per the Detroit News today, Michigan Republican Party Co-Chairwoman Meshawn Maddock said former President Donald Trump’s campaign had encouraged the effort to challenge the 2020 results by a group of 16 Republican electors, according to an audio recording obtained by CNN. The national outlet reported that Maddock, who was one of the 16 GOP electors who submitted a false document saying the battleground state had voted for Trump, made the comments at a Stand Up Michigan event. “We fought to seat the electors,” Maddock said, according to the recording. “The Trump campaign asked us to do that. For my entire life I always assumed there would be a peaceful transfer of government when a newly elected president took the place of the prior president. The election of 2020 proved I can no longer take the peaceful transfer for granted. It is a shame.
Shaun White, the greatest Olympic Snowboarder, appeared on Good Morning America Today. At age 35 he will be competing in the 2022 Olympics. Shaun has been at the top of his game since he won his first gold medal at age 19 in the 2006 Olympics. He is one of the greatest athletes of his time. The enthusiasm and joy he shows when talking about his sport and his career is contagious. I am sharing the video below in my Video of the Day. Enjoy.
One of my favorite songs of all time is Eminem’s Lose Yourself, which won the academy award for best original song in 2003 so I loved this story I came across today in the Detroit News.
Amy Schneider, the current reigning, defending and undisputed “Jeopardy!” champion, draws her winning inspiration from Eminem’s Oscar-winning “8 Mile” theme “Lose Yourself,” she told host Ken Jennings on Wednesday’s episode of the syndicated game show. Jennings asked Schneider during the interview segment about her pre-show ritual, and what gets her into “fighting shape” for the show. Without her palms getting sweaty, her knees weak or her arms heavy, she went on to pay homage to Eminem’s 2002 smash. “Right before the taping starts when they’re doing the countdown, I will get the song ‘Lose Yourself’ by Eminem going in my head,” said Schneider, an engineering manager from Oakland, California. “It’s just a reminder that this is my one shot at ‘Jeopardy!’ and it’s staying in the moment, and there’s no excuse for thinking about anything else. This is the only thing I need to think about right now.””Well it appears to be working out,” Jennings said, before adding in a “Lose Yourself” reference of his own: “If you’re going to be on ‘Jeopardy,’ ” he said, “think about mom’s spaghetti, and you may win 35 times in a row.”
On Monday, I wrote “The Democrats need to identify smaller less aggressive packages for voting rights, infrastructure, climate change and public support that all Democrats and centrist Republicans can support.” On Wednesday, President Biden vowed to pursue a scaled-back version of his marquee domestic policy plan. Acknowledging that his $2.2 trillion social spending legislation will not pass the Senate in one piece, Mr. Biden said he would try to pass individual parts of the bigger bill in the Senate, where they might get more bipartisan support. He said he was confident that provisions on energy and the environment would get enough support to pass. Mr. Biden specifically noted that there was too much opposition among Democrats and Republicans to two of his key agenda items, which were central to the pledges he made on the campaign trail in 2020: an extension of the child tax credit and free community college for all Americans. I wonder if he is reading my blog?
What are you doing today to stop violence? What are you doing today to expand mental health services for those in need? What are you doing today to make sure your guns are not are accessible to minors in your household?
Stay Safe. Social Distance. Wear your mask when indoors in public places. Schedule your vaccine and booster.
Orchid of the Day: Shaun White-See above story and video below
Onion of the Day: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) who assured reporters that concerns about Black voting were misplaced because: “African American voters are voting in just as high a percentage as Americans.” This must be a mistake. McConnel is too smart of a politician to say something that implies African Americans are not the same as Americans. Or was it a “Freudian slip”?
Quote of the Day: “Wow. Despite his despicable actions in the Senate to date, I still had no idea McConnell was so warped in his thinking…that African Americans are somehow different than “Americans.” It’s sad…and maddening. So very maddening that, every single day my every fiber of my being and soul is screaming inside me…as I know is happening with millions more like me…that enough is enough, and we CANNOT allow these morally bankrupt ultra-conservatives who have taken over the Republican party to continue to derail and destroy our American democracy…and kill the American dream. It’s time again to speak up and speak out. Every day and everywhere you encounter them.” George Mihaiu-See above story.
Song/Video of the Day: Shaun White on Good Morning America today
Shaun white has my vote!!!
I’ll listen to him his energy outlook and wondering what his surprise moves will be.
Deanna,
He is an amazing athlete and he is very smart. I will be rooting for him.
Biggs