Meisje met de parel

 

Every now and then it happens. The light splashes a leaf, turning what appeared to be green into half a rainbow. Or, a sudden breeze stirs a glass-like pond, making you shiver.

These moments freeze like ice. You can’t really move your eyes away even if you try.

Painters live for moments like these; all artists do. 

Often when in Europe on business trips, I would visit museums, which at that time, were unlike their American counterparts; you could walk right up to a painting as if to touch it. On those visits, I came to admire the use of color and light; for some reason the black in a Rembrandt always struck me not as the absence of light but as the essence of beauty.

Of course it wasn’t always black, it may have been green. Splashed by the light it could turn into half a rainbow if you looked long enough.

This memory came back to me recently when I discovered the 2003 film version of the historical novel “Girl With a Pearl Earring.”  The book and the film re-imagine the character who might have inspired what was arguably the Dutch baroque painter Johannes Vermeer’s greatest painting.

As per the book, the film posits that Vermeer's model for the painting was his maid, though there is no evidence this was the case. The original actors cast for the film were Ralph Fiennes and Kate Hudson, but when they both left the project before production started (he for "Maid in Manhattan"), 17-year-old Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth stepped into the roles.

Firth is simply terrific in every film he's appeared in, a quintessential English character actor, and Johansson's role mainly demanded that she appear modest and desirable. I'm not dissing her performance; she was fabulous in this and other films I've seen.

She most definitely played being desirable.

The unresolved sexual tension between these two yields the story (and in the fictional version the painting) and Johansson does resemble the girl in the actual piece to a remarkable degree. The film also contains scenes that present the Dutch environment of the 1600's as a replication of Vermeer's painting style -- a luminous realism celebrating how light animates our surroundings if we just care to look.

The girl's expression in the painting is the look of knowing she is desired and daring to look back. You don't have to be an artist to appreciate that.

***

That incessant drilling you've been hearing all week indeed is the breaking of ground for what is planned to be my long-term habitat, an extension in the backyard of  this house in the East Bay Hills above San Francisco Bay. It is to be ready later on this year.

The headlines:

* After a Year of Loss, South America Suffers Worst Death Tolls Yet -- If the world doesn’t stop the region’s surging caseload, it could cost us all that we’ve done to fight the pandemic, said one health official. (NYT)

* Ten years later, Islamist terrorism isn’t the threat it used to be (WaPo)

* Florida's GOP leadership looks set to follow Georgia's lead in clamping down on voting, even though former President Donald Trump won the state in November. Legislation restricting voting by mail and banning giving food and water to voters waiting in line now heads to Gov. Ron DeSantis. [AP]

* As Biden called for the passage of the Equality Act during his speech to Congress, lawmakers in Florida and West Virginia advanced anti-transgender legislation. 2021 is shaping up to be the most dangerous year on the books for the LGBTQ community. (HuffPost)

* As the drought imperils crops in the San Joaquin Valley, some farmers are questioning the future of agriculture there. (LAT)

* California lawmakers unveiled a $3.4 billion proposal to help gird the state for drought. (AP)

* U.S. fast-food chains cash in, seize market share during pandemic (Reuters)

* Joe Biden Has the Vision. Now Chuck Schumer Has to Bring It to Life.  -- The Senate majority leader, marking his own 100 days in charge, is responsible for turning sweeping Democratic plans into law. It’s a tall order. (NYT)

* Get Ready For A Shortage Of iPads And MacBooks (NPR)

* All aboard! Biden to help Amtrak mark 50 years on the rails (AP)

* More Than 90 New Airlines Are Launching in 2021. They Say It’s the Perfect Time -- A new class of entrepreneurs believes the moment has arrived to do something that has proved difficult in the best of circumstances: Start an airline. (WSJ)

* Rally in Transportation Stocks Nears 122-Year-Old Record Streak -- Shares of airlines, railroads and trucking companies have been rising on investors’ optimism that renewed economic growth will boost profits at transportation companies. (WSJ)

* FBI told Giuliani and key Trump ally in Senate of disinformation campaign -- Giuliani and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) were warned in late 2019 that they were targets of a Russian operation intended to damage Joe Biden politically, said people familiar with the matter. (WaPo)

* Amazon said its first-quarter profit more than tripled from a year earlier, fueled by the growth of online shopping. Amazon’s growth comes as it faces activism from within its workforce, but a measure to unionize a warehouse in Alabama was voted down. [AP]

* Firing of U.S. Ambassador Is at Center of Giuliani Investigation -- Prosecutors want to scrutinize Rudolph W. Giuliani’s communications with Ukrainian officials about the ouster of the ambassador, Marie L. Yovanovitch. (NYT)

* First-ever U.S. release of genetically modified mosquitoes begins in Florida Keys (CNN)

* Disneyland is Open (California Today)

* ‘Citizen Kane’ Falls Below ‘Paddington 2’ On Rotten Tomatoes  (The Onion)

***

"Something"

By George Harrison

Something in the way she moves
Attracts me like no other lover
Something in the way she woos me
I don't want to leave her now
You know I believe and how

Somewhere in her smile she knows
That I don't need no other lover
Something in her style that shows me
I don't want to leave her now
You know I believe and how

You're asking me will my love grow
I don't know, I don't know
You stick around, now it may show
I don't know, I don't know

Something in the way she knows
And all I have to do is think of her
Something in the things she shows me
I don't want to leave her now
You know I believe and how

-30-

Where Devils Dwell

Now we are four months into 2021 it's pretty clear that the Covid recession is being replaced by a post-pandemic boom, led by the Biden administration's aggressive investments in tax equity, education, infrastructure and green energy.

If this strategy works, it is a progressive fantasy come true, but danger lurks in the shadows. In this polarized country any action leads to a reaction, and the right-wing extremists and QAnon fanatics haven't gone anywhere, even as prosecutors pick a few off here and there for their role in the Jan. 6th Capitol riot.

Far bigger fish are on prosecutors' radar, of course, as indicated by the raid this week on Rudy Giuliani's place in New York City. There can be little doubt that one ultimate target of the multiple ongoing investigations is Donald Trump, currently in exile in Florida.

The goal will be to force those who know where the bodies are buried, like Giuliani, to flip and turn on Trump, exactly as in any organized crime case. 

The political stakes are as high as the legal ones. Traditionally, the party holding the White House loses some Congressional seats in the mid-term elections; Because the Democrats hold razor-thin margins in both the House and the Senate, they cannot afford for this to happen.

Republicans, meanwhile, have not only stood by Trump, endorsing his politics of fear and hate, but are doubling down by passing voter suppression laws in red states, nakedly aimed to suppress the votes of black and poor people, who skew Democratic.

Biden is betting his big government initiatives will blunt those efforts and win over enough moderate voters to hold Congress and make the second half of his term an opportunity to continue his mission to transform the government into one that better serves the 99 percent, as opposed to Trump's pro-one percent.

That Biden's vision is overwhelmingly best for most people is no guarantee it will prevail, as conspiracy theorists continue to stoke the fears of the less-educated white voters living outside of the big metro areas. What rational observers fear is that the Trumpian nightmares of the past five years have not yet been eradicated from the public square.

In fact, everything we've lived through could get worse. The extremist grip on the GOP could deepen at the city, county and state levels to such an extent that our electoral system could be corrupted the way Trump wanted it to be. Remember it was the Republican local officials who refused to violate their oaths of office and throw the election that saved democracy last time around.

That's why it is not simply a matter of justice, of demonstrating that no one is above the law, to prosecute the master criminal, Trump, to the fullest extent of the law. The integrity of our system is at stake, yes, but so is our future...

The devil lies in the details, i.e., in the news:

* As Trump seizes on Arizona audit, officials fear more partisan vote counts -- The GOP-backed recount of ballots in Arizona’s largest county has been criticized for abandoning state guidelines and allowing the rules to be set by a private contractor who promoted claims that the election was stolen. (WaPo)

* The U.S. economy expanded rapidly in the first quarter, growing at a 6.4% annual rate and extending what economists project will be a robust, consumer-led recovery from the pandemic this year. (WSJ)

* Shopping And Shots Power An Economy Heading To Its Fastest Growth Since 1984 (NPR)

* Poll: About a quarter of adults say they won't try to get a Covid-19 vaccine (CNN)

* The president’s costly proposals amount to a risky gamble that a country polarized along ideological and cultural lines is ready for a more activist government. (NYT)

* After  First 100 days, Biden seeks to leverage narrow majorities to reverse the Reagan era (WaPo)

* Federal agencies are investigating at least two possible incidents on U.S. soil, including one near the White House in November of last year, that appear similar to mysterious, invisible attacks that have led to debilitating symptoms for dozens of U.S. personnel abroad. Multiple sources familiar with the matter tell CNN that while the Pentagon and other agencies probing the matter have reached no clear conclusions on what happened, the fact that such an attack might have taken place so close to the White House is particularly alarming. (CNN)

* A federal grand jury in Georgia indicted three men in connection with the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, a black man who was shot while jogging in Georgia last year. The men each face a hate crime charge and a charge of attempted kidnapping. The indictment came as the Biden administration steps up civil rights enforcement at the Justice Department. [HuffPost]

* A California proposal would let adult children add their parents as dependents to their health insurance plans, a change aimed at increasing insurance coverage among low-income people living in the country illegally who aren't eligible for government-funded coverage. [AP]

* Can Senator Alex Padilla help win back Latinos for Democrats? (Atlantic)

* State Dept. tells Americans to avoid India or leave soon (WaPo)

* Czech lawmakers give nod to same-sex marriage, final vote uncertain (Reuters)

* The Secret Life of Peter Beard (Journal of the Plague Year)

* Senate Democrats deployed a once-obscure law to resurrect Obama-era regulations on methane that the Trump administration had wiped away. (NYT)

* Biden’s address to Congress proves we have an adult back in the presidency (WaPo)

* Peter Cytanovic, 24, the white nationalist featured in a viral photograph from the 2017 “Unite The Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, joined the U.S. military, but was kicked out before he could attend basic training. (HuffPost)

* Covid-19 vaccination rates in rural Nebraska are far below national averages, highlighting how remote communities, fear of side effects and skepticism have made rural America a stronghold of vaccine hesitancy. (WSJ)

* FDA Moves To Ban Menthol Cigarettes And Flavored Cigars (NPR)

* The Supreme Court refused to consider Texas’ challenge to California’s ban on state-funded business trips to Texas and other states that discriminate against L.G.B.T.Q. people. (AP)

* U.S. Labor Secretary says most gig workers should be classified as employees (Reuters)

* Did the 2020 Census Undercount the Hispanic Population? -- Officials from both parties say the census numbers released this week raise questions about the totals, with Democrats contending that the Hispanic population was undercounted. (NYT)

* Young Afghan women, grown up without Taliban, dread their return (AP)

* Trump supporter found guilty of threatening to kill members of Congress after Jan. 6 insurrection (WaPo)

* People convicted of drug felonies would gain eligibility for food benefits under a provision tucked into the American Families Plan. This unheralded provision would modestly improve access to the government's existing safety net and help formerly incarcerated people reenter society. [HuffPost]

* In Court Hearing, Navalny Calls Putin A 'Naked, Thieving King' (NPR)

* Millions of Dutch tulips bloom again, in a spectacle few will see (Reuters)

* China launches main part of its 1st permanent space station (AP)

* Les braises d'une révolution qui couve depuis longtemps sont allumées en France  -- The 150th anniversary of the Paris Commune of 1871 has struck a chord, reviving calls for better political representation and highlighting economic inequalities. (NYT)

* The Rise of Big Data Psychiatry -- The information captured by our smartphones, as well as new speech- and facial-recognition technologies, can yield invaluable insights for mental health professionals. (WSJ)

* In The Ransomware Battle, Cybercriminals Have The Upper Hand (NPR)

* Controversial Indian Point nuke plant near NYC shuts down (AP)

* How Long Can We Live? -- New research is intensifying the debate — with profound implications for the future of the planet. (NYT Mag)

* 114-year-old Nebraska woman becomes oldest living American (AP)

* Embarrassed CIA Interrogator Realizing He Forgot To Ask Suspect What His Name Is (The Onion)

***

"The Devil Went Down to Georgia" (Songwriters: Charles Fred Hayward / Charlie Daniels / Fred Edwards / James W. Marshall / John Crain / William J. Digregorio)

The devil went down to Georgia he was lookin' for a soul to steal
He was in a bind 'cause he was way behind
And he was willing to make a deal

When he came across this young man
Sawing on a fiddle and playing it hot
And the devil jumped up on a hickory stump

And said, "boy let me tell you what I guess you didn't know it but I'm a fiddle player too
And if you'd care to take a dare I'll make a bet with you"

"Now you play pretty good fiddle, son but give the devil his due
I bet a fiddle of gold against your soul I think I'm better than you"

The boy said, "my name's Johnny
And it might be a sin but I'll take your bet and you're gonna regret
I'm the best that's ever been"

Johnny you resin up your bow and play your fiddle hard
'Cause hell's broke loose in Georgia and the devil deals the cards

And if you win, you get this shiny fiddle made of gold
But if you lose, the devil gets your soul

The devil opened up his case and he said, "I'll start this show"
And fire flew from his fingertips as he rosined up his bow

He dragged the bow across the strings and it made an evil hiss
The band of demons joined in and it sounded something like this

When the devil finished johnny said "well you're pretty good, old son
But sit down in that chair right there and let me show you how it's done"

Fire on the mountain, run boys run
The devil's in the house of the rising sun
Chicken in the bread pan pickin' out dough
Granny does your dog bite, no child no

The devil bowed his head 'cause he knew that he'd been beat
And he laid that golden fiddle on the ground at johnny's feet

Johnny said, "devil, just come on back if you ever want to try again
I told you once, you son of a bitch I'm the best that's ever been"

He played, fire on the mountain, run boys run
The devil's in the house of the rising sun
Chicken in the bread pan pickin' out dough
Granny does your dog bite, no child no

-30-

My Sweet Auditor, a Love Story

When Reagan was President, there seemed to be some sort of a crackdown by the IRS on progressive activists and journalists at least around here. Yours truly was audited three consecutive years and I'll never forget my shock on the first day I went to the local IRS waiting room.

Looking around, I knew so many of the others waiting to meet their auditor!

Hardly any of us could afford a lawyer or accountant to represent us, and everyone looked a bit scared. I know I was.

This all seemed strange at the time because none of us earned much money, relatively, but then again Reagan regularly denounced anyone who didn't share his conservative vision. As I waited at the IRS office, I imagined my auditor would be a monster, something like George Harrison's "Taxman."

But my particular auditor turned out to be a winsome young woman fresh out of college with a lovely smile and a sincere desire to satisfy my apparently insatiable desire to learn the ins and outs of her auditing process.

Over the course of my first audit, which lasted for many weeks, she gradually taught me how to comply with the arcane rules I had allegedly violated while trying to juggle a full-time job, two part-time gigs and some random income as a freelance writer.

One of my main problems was that I couldn't convince her that my workspace was a legitimate "home office," because it was also used as the kitchen, dining room, and playroom by my three young children.

Also, I had not kept a written record of my many lunches and business meetings or of my frequent travel as I multitasked work assignments. The agency clearly had not yet figured out how to handle a multitasker, as the word had originated too recently (1966) and was not yet commonly applied to human beings for its systems to process. 

In the end, my attractive auditor ruled that I owed Uncle Sam several hundreds in additional taxes and penalties -- enough so it automatically triggered audits for the two subsequent years, focusing on the same set of issues.

Assuming similar outcomes to those two audits, there would be another one, leading to two more and on and on. (Maybe that's what happened to Donald Trump.)

But I wasn't going to suffer that fate. Besides, I had come to like my auditor and as we parted after that first go-around, she told me somewhat coyly,"You know, you can request me to be your auditor for the next one if you want to, you have a right to that."

When I showed up for my second audit, I officially requested to be assigned the same auditor and the IRS granted my request. This time, I showed up with a complete printed register of all of my lunches and meetings, tons of receipts (all numbered consistent with the register), and a more convincing argument that my home office was legit as it now consisted of a desk in the corner of my bedroom.

There were no toys or dinner plates on my desk when the auditor paid her visit for the mandatory inspection, but there were cookies and tea waiting for my guest.

That second audit ended much better -- in a tie -- I didn't owe the IRS anything!

In due time, as the third audit commenced, I was determined to reclaim some of the money confiscated by the agency back in the first audit. I again requested the same auditor. By now I looked forward to renewing our acquaintance and continuing to perform my role as her obedient auditee. 

This time around we had long frank conversations during which she told me about her dream to get out of the nasty government agency, which she detested, and get a good job at one of the Big Six accounting firms, where she could make some real money. To my way of thinking, she was way too talented to be stuck in such a humdrum profession.

Our conversations were so extensive and emotional that she only had time to give a cursory glance at the impressive documentation I had prepared of my business meals and meetings, widespread travel, and an extensively outfitted home office that transformed what had previously been my bedroom into a distinctly professional workspace.

On her final visit to my former boudoir, my attractive friend gave me some welcome news: My arguments and doccumentation were so persuasive that the IRS would be issuing me a refund -- almost identical to the excess taxes, penalties and fees assessed me back in the first year of our auditing relationship.

So, in the end it was one for  the IRS, one no-decision, and one for me. Nothing gained, nothing lost except a new friend in the accounting business.

Alas, I never saw my sweet auditor again, though from time to time I thought about her over the years. But she was no longer at the IRS office when I next got called in about 30 years later.

All of these memories came back to me as I noted today's headline that the Biden administration plans to target high-income-earners for audits going forward. That should prove much more remunerative than the Reagan era initiative, plus I have some free advice for my much wealthier taxpayer victims:

Don't assume your auditor is a bad guy. And remember, everybody likes tea and cookies.

***

It was a memorable sight Wednesday night at Biden's first joint address to Congress with V-P Harris and Speaker Pelosi, two women from San Francisco, sitting behind him as the next two in the line of succession to the presidency. That's never happened before.

So here are the headlines:

* Biden promises to lift 'left-behind and forgotten' Americans with his ambitious economic agenda (CNN)

* Biden Seeks $80 Billion to Beef Up I.R.S. Audits of High-Earners (NYT)

* Veteran New York Post reporter Laura Italiano said she resigned after being ordered to write a false story that claimed migrant children were being given copies of a book written by Vice President Kamala Harris in "welcome kits." The story set off a days-long misinformation cycle in right-wing circles. [HuffPost]

* Fed Likely to Keep Rates Near Zero as Recovery Picks Up (WSJ)

* The U.S. Built the Afghan Military Over 20 Years. Will It Last One More? (NYT)

* U.S. Navy fires warning shots in new tense encounter with Iran (AP)

* French Police Arrest Extremist Red Brigades Members Sought By Italy -- The members of the violent radical-left Italian terrorist group active in the 1970s and 1980s were arrested Wednesday after years of living under de facto French asylum. (NPR)

* As drought conditions worsen across the state, California water officials are prepared to issue a cease-and-desist order to Nestlé forcing it to stop taking millions of gallons of water out of the San Bernardino forest, which it bottles as Arrowhead brand water. (The Guardian) 

* Race, crime, Trump loom over vote for Manhattan’s top prosecutor (Reuters)

* Just 29.5% of Americans are Fully Vaccinated. (CNN)

* Coronavirus has crushed India’s health system. Patients are on their own. (WaPo)

* India reported a single-day record 3,293 COVID-19 deaths in 24 hours, bringing the country's total fatalities to 201,187, as the world’s second most populous country endures its darkest chapter of the pandemic yet. The surge of new infections is tearing through dense cities and rural areas alike and overwhelming the health care system. [AP]

* ‘This Is a Catastrophe.’ In India, Illness Is Everywhere. (NYT)

* In Israel, gentrification stokes discord as Arabs pushed out (AP)

* Biden’s families plan includes free meals for millions of low-income children (Reuters)

* Fossil fuel trade groups in Louisiana and New Mexico rallied Democratic governors in opposition to Biden’s executive order pausing new oil and gas leasing on federal lands and in offshore waters, according to emails and communications shared exclusively with HuffPost. [HuffPost]

* Lower-than-expected state population totals stoke concerns about the 2020 Census (WaPo)

* After Nearly a Year of Unrest, Portland Leaders Pursue a Crackdown (NYT)

* Federal investigators executed a search warrant at the Manhattan apartment of Rudolph Giuliani, the former New York City mayor and personal lawyer to former President Trump, as they probe his business dealings with Ukraine. (Reuters)

* Video shows NRA head struggling to kill wounded elephant from feet away (WaPo)

* When most of the U.S. went into lockdown over a year ago, some speculated that confining couples to their homes — with little to entertain them beyond Netflix — would lead to a lot of baby-making. But the statistics suggest the opposite happened. Births have fallen dramatically in many states during the coronavirus outbreak, according to an Associated Press analysis of preliminary data from half the country. The COVID-19 baby boom appears to be a baby bust. (AP)

* The campaign to recall the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, shows that even a one-party stronghold like California can be rocked by the nation’s political polarization. (NYT)

* 25 Down And 71,632 To Go: Scientists Seek Genomes Of All Critters With A Backbone (NPR)

* As climate changes, study finds world’s glaciers melting faster (Reuters)

* For a second year, there will be no Burning Man. But the festival will be back in 2022, organizers say. (California Today)

* After Failures to Curb Sexual Assault, a Move Toward a Major Shift in Military Law -- Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has fought for years to remove commanders from deciding assault cases. Now, more colleagues and a Pentagon panel agree. (NYT)

* Ten years after they found and killed Osama bin Laden, U.S. Navy SEALs are undergoing a major transition to improve leadership and expand their commando capabilities to better battle threats from global powers like China and Russia. (AP)

* Mining robot stranded on Pacific Ocean floor in deep-sea mining trial (Reuters)

* Deadly air pollutant disproportionately harms Americans of color, study finds (WaPo)

* Researchers Determine Coelacanth Faked Own Extinction To Escape Massive Gambling Debt (The Onion)

***

"Taxman"

(By George Harrison)

One, two, three, four
One, two (one, two, three, four)

Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman

Should five percent appear too small
Be thankful I don't take it all
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman

I'll tax the street
(If you try to sit, sit) I'll tax your seat
(If you get too cold, cold) I'll tax the heat
(If you take a walk, walk) I'll tax your feet
(Taxman)

'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman

Don't ask me what I want it for
(Ah, ah, Mr. Wilson)
If you don't want to pay some more
(Ah, ah, Mr. Heath)
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman

Now my advice for those who die (taxman)
Declare the pennies on your eyes (taxman)
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman
And you're working for no one but me (taxman)

-30-

It Happens All the Time

“You don’t need drugs when you have a kid. You’re awake and paranoid anyway. Who needs anything else?” -- Robin Williams

***

I miss Robin Williams being in the world with us. An interview with him that first appeared in Interview (the magazine co-founded by Andy Warhol) in 1986 resurfaced this week, and it is packed with his unique brand of wisdom.

One of my favorites is this monologue on relationships : “[Women are] wonderful—they’re amazing creatures. You can never learn enough! They’re addicting in the most amazing sense. They have so many levels. There’s the physical level, which is a lot of fun. 

"There’s this emotional level, which is extremely mercurial. Every 28 days you have that massive mood swing, where nature’s going, 'Check, please.' It turns your body into an Etch-a-Sketch, and then you start over. 

"Men may have wars, but women have their period. Men go off and kill each other, but women say nasty things, which is even better. Women are incredibly intuitive. If anybody on the planet is going to evolve to the next level, that telekinetic thing, women will.”

***

Women might be surprised that when men talk among themselves about women how much of the conversation is not complaining, or 'locker room jokes' or anything of that nature.

No, a lot of times it's sharing sense of powerlessness at dealing with creatures who have more empathy and intuition than us, plus the emotional roller-coaster our relationships seem to become. Many of the men I know tell me they feel they can't compete on these levels, and they find that disorienting.

These conversations are most intense when the men are either just getting involved with a woman or just breaking up. I've had exchanges recently with men in both stages and the content was remarkably similar.

In a way they both were asking me advice and my advice, not especially profound, was to not try and control the situation, as that can't be done. You cannot control who you are attracted to and you cannot control what happens when a woman wants you out of her life.

Either time, you're essentially powerless over the outcome, but there is one thing you *can* do and that is work on yourself. Honestly, the therapy business should give me a plaque for how many men I've encouraged to seek out counselors.

And some men find that women counselors are best for them, I suppose for obvious reasons. One guy told me recently that he insisted his health insurance let him return to a therapist he had seen before, because "she understands me best."

Another told me he had recently called his therapist from a period when he was deeply depressed just because he wanted her to know he was doing better now.

I suppose all of this is coming up because there have been so many articles about depression, anxiety, and mental health problems during the pandemic. As we've gone over many times in these pages, isolation is bad for all human beings, regardless of gender.

Essentially we need each other -- we *all* need each other, but finding one another and staying together is difficult and everyone can use just a little bit of help along the way.

***

The Headlines:    

* Shaken U.S. Capitol on high alert for Biden’s first address to Congress Wednesday (Reuters)

* Facebook Stopped Employees From Reading An Internal Report About Its Role In The Insurrection. You Can Read It Here. (BuzzFeed)

* U.S. population grew at the second-slowest pace in history, census reveals -- Demographers attributed the slowing growth rate over the last decade to an aging population, lower birth rates and lower rates of immigration. The effect of the pandemic is not apparent in the data because the count was concluded before much of the related displacement and deaths occurred. (WaPo)

* Breaking Point: How Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook Became Foes -- The chief executives of Facebook and Apple have opposing visions for the future of the internet. Their differences are set to escalate this week. (NYT)

* Google Poised to Smash Sales Records -- Google’s parent company is expected to shatter sales records with its largest-ever increase in quarterly revenue, fueled by a surge in digital ad spending. (WSJ)

* According to the census, over the past decade the U.S. population rose to 331,449,281, a 7.4% increase that was the second-slowest ever. [AP]

* To lead ICE, Biden picks Texas sheriff who criticized Trump’s immigration policies (WaPo)

* Fox News Again Urges N.Y. Court To Dismiss Smartmatic's $2.7 Billon Lawsuit -- Fox News says its coverage of bogus election-fraud claims was "accurate and disinterested" and is protected by the First Amendment. (NPR)

* Florida’s state Senate has passed a bill that includes a number of voter suppression initiatives, following Georgia’s lead in chipping away at voting rights. The bill criminalizes giving food and water to voters in line and restricts ballot drop boxes, among other measures. The GOP-led Florida House is expected to pass a similar bill this week. [HuffPost]

* Marine scientists say they have found what they believe to be as many as 25,000 barrels that possibly contain DDT dumped off the Southern California coast near Catalina Island, where a massive underwater toxic waste site dating back to World War II has long been suspected. (AP)

* More than half of Americans approve of President Joe Biden after nearly 100 days on the job, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling, a level of support that his Republican predecessor Donald Trump never achieved and one that should help Democrats push for infrastructure spending and other big-ticket items on Biden’s agenda. (Reuters)

* Swift action to cut methane emissions could slow the Earth’s warming by 30 percent, study finds (WaPo)

* One of the world's best-known human rights groups, Human Rights Watch, said that Israel is guilty of the international crimes of apartheid and persecution because of discriminatory policies toward Palestinians within its own borders and in the occupied territories. (AP)

* As Opioid Deaths Surge, Biden Team Moves To Make Buprenorphine Treatment Mainstream -- With the deadly opioid fentanyl pushing overdose deaths to record levels, federal officials hope buprenorphine will save lives in parts of the country where the drug is rarely prescribed. (NPR)

* Congress must decide: Will it protect social media profits, or democracy? (WaPo)

* Homeland Security Will Assess How It Identifies Extremism in Its Ranks -- The department that works to prevent domestic terrorism threats will conduct an internal review as part of a larger effort to combat extremist ideology in the federal government. (NYT)

* A project to overhaul the Constitution is much closer to fruition than most people realize. The Convention of States Project and other conservative groups have been laying the groundwork to pass resolutions calling for a new constitutional convention. [HuffPost]

* Five states have passed laws or implemented executive orders this year limiting the ability of transgender youths to play sports or receive certain medical treatment. There’s been a vehement outcry from supporters of transgender rights – but little in the way of tangible repercussions for those states. (AP)

* In the Bay Area, an unprecedented “baby bust” took place during the pandemic (SFC)

* Biden’s climate change plan may not nix cheeseburgers, but science says beef should be on the chopping block (WaPo)

* Supreme Court to Rule on Whether C.I.A. Black Sites Are State Secrets -- A Guantánamo detainee is seeking information from two former government contractors in connection with a Polish criminal inquiry into a facility there. (NYT)

* Biden signs an executive order to increase the minimum wage for workers under federal contracts from $10.95 per hour to $15 per hour next year. It's a significant pay increase to employees of private firms that hold government contracts for concessions, janitorial work, personal care and other lower-wage services. [HuffPost]

* Life Lessons from Robin Williams (Interview)

* The Challenges of Animal Translation -- AI may help us decode animals, but how much will we really be able to understand? (New Yorker)

* Tree Outside Window Upset Man Just Changed Channel (The Onion)

***

"With a Little Help From my Friends" (The Beatles)

[Verse 1: Ringo Starr]
What would you think if I sang out of tune?
Would you stand up and walk out on me?
Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song
And I'll try not to sing out of key

[Chorus: Ringo Starr & Lennon/McCartney]
Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends
Mm, I get high with a little help from my friends
Mm, gonna try with a little help from my friends

[Verse 2: Ringo Starr & Lennon/McCartney/Harrison]
What do I do when my love is away?
Does it worry you to be alone?
How do I feel by the end of the day?
Are you sad because you're on your own?

[Chorus: Ringo Starr & Lennon/McCartney]
No, I get by with a little help from my friends
Mm, get high with a little help from my friends
Mm, I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends

[Bridge: Ringo Starr & Lennon/McCartney/Harrison]
Do you need anybody?
I need somebody to love
Could it be anybody?
I want somebody to love

[Verse 3: Ringo Starr & Lennon/McCartney/Harrison]
Would you believe in a love at first sight?
Yes, I'm certain that it happens all the time
What do you see when you turn out the light?
I can't tell you, but I know it's mine

[Chorus: Ringo Starr & Lennon/McCartney]
Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends
Mm, get high with a little help from my friends
Oh, I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends

[Bridge: Ringo Starr & Lennon/McCartney/Harrison]
Do you need anybody?
I just need someone to love
Could it be anybody?
I want somebody to love

[Outro: Ringo Starr & Lennon/McCartney/Harrison]
Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends
Mm, gonna try with a little help from my friends
Oh, I get high with a little help from my friends
Yes, I get by with a little help from my friends
With a little help from my friends

-30-