1. Unbelievably, it is the first Monday in March. There are five Mondays this month and we are 1/6 (16.7%) through the year.
2. Spring may actually arriving here early despite the prediction by the Pennsylvania rodent at the beginning of last month.
3. The rains of the past two days have cleared the landscape of snow and are beginning to transform the scenery from brown and gray to green.
4. Rainy weekends are good for recharging. But it has rained for over 24 hours straight. That is a bit much.
5. The Orioles played and lost their first Spring Training game 4-6 to the Pirates. It was good to have baseball back.
6. I am guessing that I am now fully COVID vaccinated since my second inoculation was over a week ago. How will that change my daily activities and masking? It won't, but I feel better about the situation.
7. Today in History. On March 1, 1932, in a crime that captured the attention of the entire nation, Charles Lindbergh, Jr., the 20-month-old son of aviation hero Charles Lindbergh, is kidnapped from the family’s new mansion in Hopewell, New Jersey. Lindbergh, who became an international celebrity when he flew the first solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927, and his wife Anne discovered a ransom note demanding $50,000 in their son’s empty room. The kidnapper used a ladder to climb up to the open second-floor window and left muddy footprints in the room.
Vaccines Yield Breakthroughs in Long-Term Fight Against Disease - The Wall Street Journal
N.Y. Gov. Cuomo Apologizes Over Some Interactions With Staffers - The Wall Street Journal
Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Supplies Will Be Limited at First, Officials Warn - The New York Times
Trump’s Republican Hit List at CPAC Is a Warning Shot to His Party - The New York Times
The power is back, but millions of Texans wonder what it will take to fully recover — and who will help them - The Washington Post
Supreme Court to again consider protections for minority voters - The Washington Post
Asian stocks rally, battered bond market tries to steady - Reuters
Oil prices climb after progress on huge U.S. stimulus bill - Reuters
Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week
Now we know that deficits are a cause for worry. But there's a difference of opinion as to whether taxes should be increased, spending cut, or some of both. Fear is expressed that government borrowing to fund the deficit could inhibit the economic recovery by taking capital needed for business and industrial expansion. Well, I think that debate is missing an important point. Whether government borrows or increases taxes, it will be taking the same amount of money from the private sector, and, either way, that's too much. Simple fairness dictates that government must not raise taxes on families struggling to pay their bills. The root of the problem is that government's share is more than we can afford if we're to have a sound economy.
We must bring down the deficits to ensure continued. economic growth. In the budget that I will submit on February 1st, I will recommend measures that will reduce the deficit over the next 5 years. Many of these will be unfinished business from last year's budget.
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD