March 18

 Cloudy for the moment. The weather forecast predicts PARTLY CLOUDY so I guess I can hope for some sun sometime today. We'll see.

First on the news this morning covered Israel's renewed bombing in Gaza. The cease fire is officially dead. Actually I didn't expect it to survive the first phase. And I definitely didn't think it would move into an HONEST negotiation where both sides are willing to compromise. Bill Astore was also skeptical and not just about the Israel-Hamas situation. In his latest post he notes the administration's renewed bombing of the Houthis in Yemen and wonders when the political leadership will go full  "1984."

Continuing along on the theme of an administration going "full Orwell" read this and try not to weep.

I have a long (76 years) memory and, as I am sure you all have noticed, it is quirky. As I read the piece Heather Cox Richardson wrote (link above) I remembered a bit of an upset on the other side of the pond (the Atlantic) when a series appeared on U.S. television titled DESERT RATS. It featured American soldiers fighting the Germans and Italians in--North Africa. Well, most of that phase of the war was conducted by--the BRITISH. They didn't much like Americans stealing their glory. It was amusing at the time and I was a bit too young to fully understand. I am no longer young and now, with the erasure of the accomplishments of Black, Hispanic, Native American, and female Americas to bolster the glory and tender egos of white men, I fully understand--and I am PISSED.

By the way did anyone remember the rash of "stolen glory" stories of a short while ago. We used to get upset by people, usually men, who claimed military exploits and honors they didn't experience or earn? How very far we have fallen.