Increase the Pressure
More and harsher economic sanctions. More international pressure. Here’s hoping this all blows up in your face, Vladimir.
Return to the Office?
More companies are trying to coax workers back into the office, but many are not looking forward to it. Who here has gone back to the office?
Our Democracy is in Jeopardy
Our democracy is in jeopardy. It’s fine to criticize the President. It’s your right. Heck, it’s your duty. But this past week we’ve seen many “leaders” and prominent political figures - Trump, MTG, Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon - who seem to have better things to say about Putin than their own President.
Let’s be clear: Putin does not wish the US well. He wants to tear down US influence and power globally. He wants to amass power and wealth for himself. And he is the one who invaded Ukraine with no imminent existential threat to Russia or its citizens. He’s a bad guy and people praising him are not helping the US.
It used to be that crisis would bring the majority of Americans together. This is not a good look.
History Rhymes
As Putin justifies his invasion with talk of unifying his people, protecting the “oppressed” in the Donbas region, it starts to sound similar to echoes of the past. Just noting that appeasement didn’t work out so well back then.
Good morning
And the news cycle shifts from COVID and the pandemic to war in Ukraine…
Ukraine
No one wants war, but one starts to get the impression that Putin is undeterred by our threats over Ukraine. 🤔
Get Back to Normal?
Not everyone is ready to “get back to normal,” but many are. And the calls for normal are creating some strange bedfellows.
Nuance
There appears to be no room for nuance in politics. Or, where people attempt it, they get backlash. Everything must be good or bad, for or against, all or nothing.
Girl Scout Cookie Time
It’s that time of year again, when young girls across the country get to meet their neighbors’ addictions to Girl Scout Cookies head on.
Valentine’s Supply
When in doubt, blame the supply chain
Done with COVID?
As the Omicron wave winds down, most places are rightfully easing COVID restrictions. That’s a good thing and supported by data. Yet I’m still conflicted as we have a rolling 7-day average of more than 2,500 Americans dying from COVID each day. Yesterday we lost more Americans to COVID (3,261) than people killed in the 9/11 attacks (2,977).
We’ll start to move on, get back to normal or some new normal. But since a sizable post of the US won’t take preventative measures against the virus, it’s not entirely up to us when this is all over. We’ll still be living with COVID for some time.
Maybe not time to throw away all the masks, but time to start getting more things back to life out in the world. Just protect yourself as you do.
Star Wars Debate
This is the cartoon equivalent of tossing a live grenade into a den of geeks and just stepping back to see what happens.
So, what do y’all think?
“Legitimate Political Discourse””…???
While I get people supporting conservative policies and limited government, I find it increasingly hard to understand how anyone supports the Republican Party.
In a resolution formally censuring GOP Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, the Republican National Committee on Friday described the events surrounding the January 6, 2021 insurrection -- which have been at the center of a House probe -- as "legitimate political discourse."
The RNC tried to parse the language after the fact, but their resolution said the two lawmakers were "participating in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse" from their perches on the House select committee.
Sickening that they can characterize January 6 as legitimate political discourse. If they really condemn the violence of that day they’d want an investigation to dig into it more.
Just call the RNC the Trump Party and be done with it.
Get it right
It amazes me how frequently I still see people wearing a mask with their nose hanging out. The masks are not fun and not perfect protection but they help slow the spread somewhat, and work with other preventive measures to provide layers of protection.
And we’ve been doing this a while.
I almost understand more the people who refuse masks altogether. These who leave their nose hanging out are not making a statement or resisting the rules. Just being a jackass.
The Cost of “Freedom”?
Someday, Americans who refused to follow simple preventative steps to slow the spread of COVID and reduce the death toll will be forced to look at the price of their actions.
Currently, the US is seeing over 2,000 people die from COVID each day. The cartoon below does around 2,000 stick figures. Each of those represents an American person who died from COVID yesterday. The vast majority of these deaths would have been prevented with simple and readily available protective measures (vaccines, boosters, and masks).
The share of Americans who have been killed by the coronavirus is at least 63% higher than in any of the other large, wealthy nations. Estimates show that 45% of Americans aged 65 and older have not received a booster shot.
Lockdown
A Tennessee school board has decided to ban from district schools “Maus,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel about the Holocaust, due to a couple of curse words and nudity depicted in scenes at Auschwitz.
Just another example of us focusing on the wrong things in America.
How will it happen this time?
I think I’d like the Democratic Party more if they didn’t feel so inept at getting things done. Often feel like we’re just waiting to see how they’ll shoot themselves in the foot this time. Sigh.
