One of the earliest joys of the Internet for many of us was the ability to uncover just how closely connected we all are with others. We previously had no easy way of knowing that stuff. A few degrees of separation were all that separated each of us from presidents, actors, athletes, billionaires and beauty queens.
Alternatively, we found out we were not all that far removed from some pretty nasty characters as well.
We also cross paths with people all the time, online and off, and one of my preoccupations, once I really connect with someone, is to wonder how closely we may have been to encountering each other sometime in the past.
Perhaps we passed within one block of each other in some random city years ago -- one of us going one direction, one in another.
We just missed.
As I sort through the news, these sort of connections and missed connections pop up all the time.
One of the ancients still kicking in the Senate, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, was a 40ish chair of a House agricultural committee when he questioned a 30ish journalist rather harshly half a lifetime ago.
He had a coarse Midwestern twang and probably assumed the reporter was some city slicker who cared only about an environmental issue he termed the "Circle of Poison," and that he could care less for the plight of farmers like those in his district.
They sparred over pesticides but he seemed surprised when the journalist described his concern for the small farmers who were among the primary victims of the multinational agrochemical companies he'd exposed in his book.
That was many years ago now, probably forty. I doubt he even remembers the encounter or knew that the city clicker he met that day was the only son of a man who grew up on a small farm in Ontario.
***
THE HEADLINES:
* Biden defends his social agenda bill, saying the cost will be zero -- The president argued that the cost of the package — composed of significant investments in health care, climate, education and the social safety net — will be offset by tax hikes on the wealthy and big corporations. (WP)
* Republican Review of Arizona Vote Fails to Show Stolen Election -- The criticized review showed much the same results as in November, with 99 more Biden votes and 261 fewer Trump ones. (NYT)
* How Facebook’s ‘metaverse’ became a political strategy (WP)
* U.S. condemns Taliban's reported plan to reinstate executions, amputations (Reuters)
* For India’s Military, a Juggling Act on Two Hostile Fronts -- Tensions with China and Pakistan stretch a cash-starved military, while the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban removes a potential ally. (NYT)
* Radical leader of Pakistan’s Red Mosque emboldened by Taliban takeover of Afghanistan (WP)
* COVID-19 vaccine boosters could mean billions for drugmakers (AP)
* Swamped with covid patients, Washington hospitals struggle to avoid Idaho’s fate (WP)
* Covid-19 Panel Probing Virus Origins Is Disbanded (WSJ)
* Sen. Grassley, oldest GOP senator at 88, announces he will seek another term (WP)
* Democrats Consider Adding Carbon Tax to Budget Bill -- A tax on carbon dioxide pollution could be the single most effective policy to tackle climate change. It could also be politically explosive. (NYT)
* In aging Germany, the young get desperate over climate (Reuters)
* When the FBI seizes your messages from Big Tech, you may not know it for years (WP)
* The Cost of Insuring Expensive Waterfront Homes Is About to Skyrocket -- New federal flood insurance rates that better reflect the real risks of climate change are coming. (NYT)
* EU Honors Angela Merkel’s Tenure By Giving Her Greece (The Onion)
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