Grade A

I listened to all of President Biden's speech.  I loved it.  He is such a dramatic difference from former president you know who.  Joe Biden is the polar opposite of him. 

The president's speech gave us everything.  It was articulate, humane and generally brilliant.  Without going into the minutiae of it I post a link below of notables who gave Biden and the speech a grade -- mostly excellent.  Some also gave a grade to the Republican rebuttal Tim Scott (the only black Republican senator) -- mostly not so excellent or even good.  Were these partisan grades?  I'd like to think not.

I say thumbs up to Joe Biden and give him a resounding A!

https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/28/opinions/contributors-grade-biden-speech-roundup/index.html

The Oscars

 

My first opinion I overruled.  I said: Couldn't bring myself to watch yet another meaningless awards ceremony especially in the age of COVID. If you are to believe this opinion the Oscars failed spectacularly. Wow what a good choice I made not to watch it.  OVERRULED

MY FINAL ANSWER:  Well, I watched it as far be it from me to take my opinion from some other source without making my own judgment. I was surprised that mostly I liked it. I liked it because I tape it and can fast forward all the rambling thank yous of people I do not know and commercials that waste so much time. I cut out probably over an hour of impatience. Having said that, the age of Covid Oscars were interesting.

I came upon the end that has been much maligned because it cheated the deceased Chadwick Boseman out of an Oscar many wanted him posthumously to get only to be eclipsed by Anthony Hopkins who did not even show up. I see the anger as Boseman was like a James Dean, an exceptional talent leaving this earth and depriving us from viewing more artistic excellence. Having said that, I am sure Hopkins performance surrounding Alzheimer's was worthy of the award. Too bad he was not present to receive the honor. Perhaps he did not realize he would win.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/oscars-2021-academy-awards-twist-ending_n_60864283e4b0ccb91c265415?fbclid=IwAR0C-60Cx6-_XQv4082guWq1mV_8uv6k_k9tc1cQ4Lp-BKDtzGKx4txSJhI

Columbus police officer fatally shoots girl swinging knife

 

What will it take for police not to have open season on persons of color? We celebrate one victory for justice in Minneapolis only to have another possibly unjust police shooting of a Black person happen yet again in Columbus, Ohio. Again? Yet again? Do they not learn? Is taking a life justified with a gun because the assaulter had a knife but did not have a gun--a 15 year old girl I might add.  Is proportionate force not a concept?  Are not there other areas of the body that would not kill but still protect those who are threatened by an aggressor?

I do not get it. I simply don't. I am speechless for once.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/04/20/nation/teenage-girl-fatally-shot-by-police-columbus-ohio-officials-say/?fbclid=IwAR3K8eCwuVlFIdH1egUKMhrlCWlfXhS8eqS7pqjORy6LxPYVUDBiBpOT3Zw

Hester Ford, Oldest Living American, Has Died. Ford was either 115 or 116 years old depending on which census report was accurate.

 

This woman sets an example to everyone. (See link below.) I will not be able to reflect and copy much of her example but it does give me pause for thought. Perseverance is one word that comes to mind describing her life. I can emulate that and I can show kindness, empathy and humane actions toward my fellow man.

Hester Ford shows one does not need gold plated everything or billion dollar fortunes to see what is important in this life. No matter the obstacles life places in one's way, life, I think, is worth living. I keep telling myself that every day. Good for you, Hester Ford, your life is significant. Her memory will be a blessing for so many!

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/hester-ford-dead-oldest-american_n_6066c7aac5b6c55118b1f72b

A Documentary for all seasons

 

"Exterminate all the Brutes" by Raoul Peck--HBO. This is the greatest documentary on the etiology of man's brutality including genocide that I have ever seen. I sat for 4 hours straight as I watched the four parts in their entirety.  It rather makes me want to join an antiFascist group. It is so poignant, revelatory and true. It even includes my once online friend and BU professor Howard Zinn and his "A People's History of the United States." Peck loves the late Howard Zinn too. It gives a black eye literally to the notion of American exceptionalism and tells the truth of western civilization's contribution to early colonialism, the massacre of indigenous people all around the world and the violence of white supremacy. It kicks that swine president Trail of Tears initiator Andrew Jackson -- you know the picture that Donald DUMP had of him in the oval office -- into oblivion.

It left me mentally exhausted and sad but better informed as it goes into the not-so-glorious western civilization, the Holocaust and Auschwitz in detail I had never seen before and I thought I had seen them all. Make America Great again but he asks when was it ever great. And yet how did other civilizations that have accumulated wealth and power act over centuries? He goes into that too.

To me it asks the question: is mankind doomed? Watching the January 6 invasion of the Capitol by American Fascists like the Oath Keepers, Proud Boys and the Charlotte march of Nazis saying "Jews will not replace us" one can see that a Fascist state here and around the world in other nations is possible -- god forbid!

The warning signs of a longer pandemic

Read the article below. It is a good one.

The takeaway and the bottom line: "This darker future is preventable, and our abundant supply of highly effective vaccines is the way to prevent it. The more people get vaccinated now, the smaller the role COVID-19 is likely to play in the rest of our lives."

https://www.axios.com/coronavirus-pandemic-variants-vaccines-ffd86d47-2a74-4285-b0d9-4f5a42febf6c.html?utm_source=pocket-newtab&fbclid=IwAR2BOOr11k1vOAUfiwtc4tMl3d_KB4F5T6bDL_FQAXyNHjxnQc91qEp-NEk

What Happened After the Liberation of Auschwitz--My Comment: For All Time

 

For those who climbed and those who saw those who climbed the Capitol steps January 6, 2021 in an onslaught perpetrated by a right wing extremist nationalist mob, killed Capitol officers and defiled our national treasure read this link below and know it can happen here.

Read this and weep for every Jew of the six million and all the others who were put into the Nazi slaughter machine and truly vow the mantra "never again" be permanently etched in humanity's mind for all time.

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/what-happened-after-the-liberation-of-auschwitz?utm_source=pocket-newtab