Starting with the good news, a Jacob Lawrence painting has just been found in Manhattan. His work has long inspired me, because he invited us into his imagination, so we could go along for the ride.
In honor of this development, I want to reprint a short excerpt from an essay I first published eleven years ago this month. It went like this:
"It's spring soccer season now; my daughter's first practice was rained out Friday but took place today. As she and her teammates ran about the field at St. Mary's, I happened to be standing on a hill whose name I don't know, several miles to the southwest. Responding to the motion of small figures moving far away, my eyes turned in her direction.
"My mind had been on another matter, a different conversation. But I was aware of the time, which meant that in the back of my mind, she was there. The clocks had turned today; did she remember? Do her cleats still fit? A parent's thoughts drift -- sometimes just outside the range of consciousness -- but they are always there."She and her cohorts were far too far away for me to differentiate who was whom, so I just imagined her running and jumping, much as the great Jacob Lawrence once imagined a childish Harriet Tubman. All of those bright sprites, cartwheeling across the green. My imagination suddenly merged with his imagination, as we collaborated on remembering the past and anticipating the future.
"It's spring-time. The impossibly green leaves with their pure white blossoms snake up and down the branches of the plum tree, doing their part to help feed us this coming summer. The earth is fully awake now, so our time has also come."
***
The news headlines:
And just before them, a few notes about Biden's foreign policy. We all need to keep pressuring for justice in the murder of American journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Biden has effectively done nothing. this is unacceptable.
Biden's bombing of Syria in an undeclared war is unacceptable and represents an interpretation of U.S. national security that is invalid. Doing another country's dirty work is not an enlightened act -- it will only serve to perpetuate inequity and injustice in the Middle East.
* New data about the spread of COVID-19 in the U.S. is extremely concerning, the leader of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned. “At this level of cases with variants spreading, we stand to completely lose the hard-earned ground we have gained,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky said, referencing emerging strains of the coronavirus that appear more transmissible, deadlier and more resistant to vaccines. [HuffPost]
* Virus Did Not Bring Financial Rout That Many States Feared (NYT)
* Media advocacy group accuses Saudi crown prince, aides of crimes against humanity in Khashoggi death (WashPo)
* School Counselors On How Covid Will Change Kids -- “Middle, high school definitely and even college-age kids are living through an enormous amount of sudden change and unpredictable change that leaves people just generally anxious. They’re kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop — and I’m nervous that this will affect their ability to just be in the moment and enjoy life as it is and not feel like you have to worry about, you know the power grid going out.” (HuffPost)
* Far-Right Groups Are Splintering in Wake of the Capitol Riot (NYT)
* Michael Gerson, a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, in his new column for The Washington Post explored Donald Trump’s “poisonous legacies” and argued the GOP is now “just the party of white grievance.” Trump’s presidency, and divisive and violent rhetoric, helped to “expand the boundaries of expressible prejudice,” wrote Gerson. [HuffPost]
* Major Evangelical Adoption Agency Will Now Serve Gay Parents Nationwide (NYT)
* As New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo faces an investigation over his alleged sexual harassment of two former aides, a third woman came forward with an account of his unwanted advances. (HuffPost)
* FBI Director Chris Wray on Tuesday debunked conspiracy theories promoted by right-wing supporters of former President Donald Trump, saying there was no evidence that leftist extremists disguised themselves as Trump supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol. (Reuters)
* Wray condemned the January riot at the U.S. Capitol as “domestic terrorism” as he defended the bureau’s handling of intelligence indicating the prospect for violence. He told lawmakers the information was properly shared with other law enforcement agencies even though it was raw and unverified. (AP)
* FBI director says domestic terrorism cases soared to 2,000 in recent months (WashPo)
* 'More Dangerous And More Widespread': Conspiracy Theories Spread Faster Than Ever (NPR)
* Getting vaccinated is an important step to help protect you from getting COVID-19. Medicare covers the COVID-19 vaccine, so there's no cost to you. Bring your red, white, and blue Medicare card or Medicare Number to your vaccination appointment so your health care provider or pharmacy can bill Medicare. If you can't find it, you can also view your Medicare Number or print your Medicare card from your online Medicare account, or call us at 1-800-MEDICARE. (Medicare)
* The majority of California's 6.1 million public school students could be back in the classroom by April under new legislation announced Monday by Gov. Gavin Newsom (AP)
* Hyatt Hotels Corp. has slammed the “abhorrent” Nazi SS symbol critics spotted on the stage of the Conservative Political Action Conference at a Florida Hyatt over the weekend. The company also sharply criticized “disrespectful” CPAC attendees who rudely refused requests to wear masks, risking the health of workers at the Hyatt Regency Orlando. [HuffPost]
* Six Dr. Seuss books won’t be published for racist images (AP)
* House Lawmakers Launch Fresh Efforts To Overhaul Nation's Gun Laws (NPR)
* Lightning Strikes Twice: Another Lost Jacob Lawrence Surfaces -- Its owner, a nurse living on the Upper West Side, flagged a worker at the Metropolitan Museum’s information desk. “Listen, nobody calls me back. I have this painting. Who do I need to talk to?” (NYT)
* From the Medill School of Journalism/Northwestern University: "Nearly half of local news outlets’ digital subscribers are “zombie” readers who visit the website less than once a month, according to a data analysis in 45 markets by Northwestern University’s Medill Spiegel Research Center. (Medill)
* U.S. Allocates $500 Million For Mohammed Bin Salman To Use On Anger Management Counseling (The Onion)And I thought you can leave it all in your mind in it
All in your mind in it
It is really all in your mind in it
All in your mind
So tired of living like a kite, kite, kite, kite
They are growing all in your mind in it
All in your mind in it
They are burning all in your mind in it
All in your mind
So tired of living like a kite, kite, kite, kite
And I thought you can leave it all in your mind in it
All in your mind in it
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