1. Well, here it is--the second Monday of five in March. The month is cruising by.
2. Hard to believe, but the weather is getting better. We may even see 70's this week. I wish I was cleared to play golf--but I am only just over three weeks post-surgery and still recovering.
3. Baseball is back. The Orioles are currently a dismal 2-4 in Spring Training games, but at least the sport is being played.
4. Why are Republicans apparently devoted to limiting the ability of voters to express their preferences?
5. Apparently there is some thawing in the trade war with Europe. The tariffs on wine are being paused. Yay.
6. The blue skies of the past few days have lifted my spirits and Chris and I prepared the pool area yesterday by setting up the tables and chairs. Pool opening day is still two months off--but it will soon be here.
7. I am beginning to dream about traveling again. Maybe I am hoping the COVID pandemic is beginning to abate.
8. Today in History. March 8, 1917, in Russia, the February Revolution (known as such because of Russia’s use of the Julian calendar) begins when riots and strikes over the scarcity of food erupt in Petrograd. One week later, centuries of czarist rule in Russia ended with the abdication of Nicholas II, and Russia took a dramatic step closer toward communist revolution.
Russians Mount Campaign Against Vaccines, U.S. Says - The Wall Street Journal
Xi Jinping’s Eager-to-Please Bureaucrats Snarl His China Plans - The Wall Street Journal
Amid the Rubble of Mosul, Pope Francis Offers a Salve for Iraq’s Wounds - The New York Times
At Least 15 Feared Dead After Blast Hit Military Base in Equatorial Guinea - The New York Times
Biden signs executive order promoting voting rights on 56th anniversary of ‘Bloody Sunday’ - The Washington Post
Houthis strike Saudi oil giant’s facilities in the kingdom’s east - The Washington Post
South Korea to boost funding for U.S. troops under new accord: State Department - Reuters
Australia halts defence ties with Myanmar, redirects aid - Reuters
Ronald Reagan Quote for the WeekWhat is true for families in America is true for America in the family of free nations. History is no captive of some inevitable force. History is made by men and women of vision and courage. Tonight freedom is on the march. The United States is the economic miracle, the model to which the world once again turns. We stand for an idea whose time is now: Only by lifting the weights from the shoulders of all can people truly prosper and can peace among all nations be secure. Teddy Roosevelt said that a nation that does great work lives forever. We have done well, but we cannot stop at the foothills when Everest beckons. It's time for America to be all that we can be.
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD