Sunday Serendipity

It has been a change in the weather this last week. I got my early garden planted, I think spring may be here.

Todays selection seems appropriate.

Lark Ascending by Ralph Vaughn Williams.

Enjoy, Jack

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86 thoughts on “Sunday Serendipity”

  1. thanks, Jack, your lead in for a while there I thought this was what we might hear given what’s been going on in the WH

    For there’s a change in the weather
    There’s a change in the sea
    From now on there’ll be in change in me
    My walk will be different, my talk and my name
    Nothing about me’s gonna be the same
    I’m gonna change my way of livin’
    And if that ain’t enough
    Then I’ll change the way that I strut my stuff
    Nobody wants you when you’re old and gray
    There’ll be some changes made today
    There’ll be some changes made


  2. Elon Musk (Mike Myers) interrupts a heated meeting with Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson), JD Vance (Bowen Yang), Marco Rubio (Marcello Hernández) and Ukraine President Zelensky (Mikey Day).


  3. Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week’s biggest news, like a U.S. appeals court blocking a Biden-era student debt relief plan.

  5. And there it is. Putin’s lifelong dream. After years of relentless Russian propaganda, now fully embraced by the American president and the world’s richest oligarch, millions of Americans are convinced that this is a good plan because Europe is an enemy and Putin is our friend.

  6. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/us-senate-plan-to-make-trump-tax-cuts-permanent-raises-debt-spiral-worry/ar-AA1A5az6

    “A controversial plan by U.S. Senate Republicans to make President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts permanent by ignoring the cost to the deficit is raising warnings from party fiscal hawks and independent analysts of a potential “debt spiral” that could undermine economic growth.”

    “Because rules prohibit bills from expanding the deficit beyond a 10-year window, they intend to ignore a projected revenue loss of more than $4 trillion by claiming that tax policy would remain unaltered.”

    

  11. Trump under water in new CNN/SSRS poll: 
    Trump approve/disapprove 48%-52%
    45% say his policies are taking the country in the wrong direction
    39% say right direction
    52% say he isn’t paying enough attention to most important problems. 40% say he is.

  17. Rhiannon Giddens Is Latest to Cancel at Kennedy Center After Trump’s Takeover

    “I cannot in good conscience play at The Kennedy Center with the change in programming direction forced on the institution by this new board,” she wrote, adding that she would not judge any artist who chooses to go on with a show. “It’s a highly difficult situation for artists right now and everyone has to do what makes the most sense for them in the moment.”

    https://www.nytimes.com/article/kennedy-center-cancel-shows-resignations.html

  19. Mike Johnson is on Meet the Press calling for Zelenskyy to step down — an absolute master class in victim blaming.

  20. “So I wanted to have a bigger picture conversation about what this Trump doctrine is. I’m joined today by Fareed Zakaria, the host of “Fareed Zakaria GPS” on CNN, a Washington Post columnist and the author of the best-selling book, “Age of Revolutions.”

    So the result of the Trump doctrine in action has been a war on America’s allies. But the second more important part is: Yes, you’ll gain a little bit here and there by getting slightly better tariff deals. And just so people understand, tariffs in the industrialized world are around 3 percent. They’re very low. So we’re not getting penalized in any large way. You can cherry-pick a few examples to the contrary. But mostly, among liberal, democratic states, it’s a free-trade world.

    And what you will do, by squeezing each of these individual countries, humiliating them, forcing them to accept renegotiation of terms, is that you lose the relationships that you had built over eight decades, that created this extraordinary anchor of stability in the world, which was the Western alliance. And the gains are not that great.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-fareed-zakaria.html?unlocked_article_code=1.004.eTAB.1lSctn3CxpYy

    New York Times

  21. More from the Fareed/Klein NYT interview. He was also speaking about this to Bill Maher on Friday.

    Part of the problem with Trump is that he is so mercurial. He’s so idiosyncratic that, just when you think you figured out the Trump doctrine, he goes and says something that kind of sounds like the opposite of the Trump doctrine.

    But I do think that there is one coherent worldview that Trump seems to espouse and has espoused for a long time. The first ad he took out when he was a real estate developer was in 1987. It was an ad about how Japan was ripping us off economically and Europe was ripping us off by free-riding on security. And what that represents, fundamentally, is a rejection of the open international system that the United States and Europe have built over the last eight decades.

    If you think about it for a minute, the open international system really is a remarkable achievement. You go back to international relations before 1945, and it’s just constant war, mercantilism, protectionism. There are two Yale scholars who tabulated that in the hundred years before World War II, there were about 150 territorial conquests — aggression, taking of territory, legitimization of that territory. Since 1945, there have been practically none.

  23. Someone I’m friends with from my childhood days said that Trump is playing chess. He is brilliant. 10 steps ahead of everyone. Don’t underestimate him. I don’t think he even knows how to play checkers.

  24. Ben Rhodes says we are no longer a part of the free world. I wonder when we return to this status. The Republicans always had a mantra: “Better Dead than Red”. Now we have a President who is subservient to The Kremlin’s dictates. Trump has stopped all armaments shipments to Ukraine. Russians are fighting in WWI style trenches. It seems there will be another year of this carnage before anything gets sorted. And next time Zelenskyy goes to 1600 Penna Ave., keep that jackass bastard Vance in the anteroom.

  25. Yep Dexter, listening to European pundits and politicians on BBC & AFP tv today their consensus also is fear we are “no longer a part of the free world” and they’ve got to step up until hypnotized Americans wake up. Really sad.

  26. Corey, send your friend this recent tweet by Russian chessmaster Garry Kasparov: “Trump is indeed an idiot’

  29. https://www.newsweek.com/elon-musk-us-withdrawal-nato-un-2038354

    “In a post on Saturday night, Musk endorsed a suggestion from user @GuntherEagleman, who wrote: “It’s time to leave NATO and the UN.”

    “Republican Senator Mike Lee said in a post on X: “Good time to exit NATO.”

    It’s a coup. Military, do your job because Republicans in Congress have also been compromised.

    “Christian Takushi, a researcher of Macroeconomic & geopolitical trends, said in a social media post: “The change of mind by Ukraine’s most important ally in the US Senate(Mr. Graham) should not be underestimated in Europe. Now other key leaders are following suit and demanding the US withdraw immediately from NATO.”

    You can’t quit, you’re fired!

  33. Tracking the journey of the SS United States, they refer simply to “the Gulf.”

    The SS United States passing the Florida Keys and heading into the Gulf this morning. Next stop is Mobile, AL! Cool photo via the captain of the tug towing the ocean liner, Mike Vinik. 

    FYI – The SS United States is a retired American ocean liner that was built during 1950 and 1951. It was operational from 1952 to 1969 and was primarily used as a transatlantic passenger line transporting celebrities and dignitaries. 

    Its final voyage will take it to Mobile, AL where it will be stripped of any environmentally hazardous material. From there, it will be sunk roughly 20 miles offshore from Destin-Fort Walton Beach, Florida and become a massive artificial reef.

  35. Spring has sprung. Trump & company have jumped the shark. And Trump has been shown to be the puss he is.

    From my morning reading.

    It looks like Trump may unify Europe. Something once thought impossible. Remember Russia is a little piss ant country, the European Union is not. Right now, they look weak because they have to thrash out a policy in public. This is as any democracy but once they decide on the course then they have the economic and military power to dominate the world. Especially if the USA is in full retreat. They are the only major power out there right now. The competition is a US in full retreat and China, a third world country pretending to be one of the big boys.

    Jack

  36. Begs the proverbial question why do we hear diddly-squat from any Bush?

    The Trump administration’s elimination of PEPFAR, the American program to combat HIV infection in Africa, symbolizes the path ahead. President George W. Bush created the program because it would do immense good at low cost, and thereby demonstrate to the world the moral basis of American power. His successors continued it, and Congresses of both parties funded it, because they saw that the program advanced both U.S. values and U.S. interests. Trump and Vance don’t want the United States to be that kind of country anymore.

    https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/02/least-now-we-know-truth-about-trump-and-vance/681872/?

  37. Ivy

    Maybe because all the Bushes were machine creations. They were all puppets. Irrelevant in the real world.
    Jack

  38. The American people need to reckon with the mess Trump and Vance are making of this country’s once-good name—and the services they are performing for dictators and aggressors. There may not be a deep cause here. Trump likes and admires bad people because he is himself a bad person. When Vance executed his personal pivot from Never Trump to Always Trump, he needed a way to prove that he had truly crossed over to the dark side beyond any possibility of reversion or redemption; perhaps his support for Russia allowed him to do that. But however shallow their motives, the consequences are profound.

  42. tRUMPsky got impeached for trying to strong-arm Zelensky into lying, once upon a time. This time was even worse, because Orangitis showe the world he is aligned with Putin.

    Impeach & remove.

    ps – WTF is up with that special shoe. Did one of his Russian handlers step on his foot before the meeting as “incentive”?

    pps – That is Adolf’s right foot, and his foot/leg looked weird when he got out of his golf cart yesterday.

  44. Maybe because all the Bushes were machine creations.

    Valid point, Jack, though I had some respect for Poppy.* Now the legacy is further besmirched by Dodo’s doodoo. You’d think there’d be at least one member who’d speak up to defend it. Jenna’s Today show gig can’t be that vulnerable.

    *but not enough to vote for him

  45. BiD
    For me, I used to wear any old shoe but now my feet hurt, lucky for me cheap shoes with no arch support are more comfortable. Other wear weird shoes. It’s an old farts thing, like knee high support socks.
    Jack

  48. https://www.rawstory.com/hegseth-2671242469/

    “This is the moment the US aligns itself with a Russian dictator who has worked every min to kill US global dominance,” Polyakova, a senior fellow at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, wrote on X. “And we are doing it for him.”

    “It is no longer hyperbole to suggest that these folks are Russian agents,” political scientist Steve Saideman said on Bluesky. “You don’t stand down Cyber Command from planning this kind of stuff. That is what Commands do, they plan.”

    “Ronnie Adkins, a U.S. Army veteran and host of the History Channel’s “Military Mysteries,” told his X followers: “I stood up US Cyber Command in 2010. I am certain that they’ll execute this order. I’m not certain that Russia will reciprocate.”

    Part of (F)Elon tRUMPutin’s plan to accelerate the destruction of systems in the US & take it all for themselves.

    Analysts are prohibited from reporting any threats from Russia. WTF!

    Hey! Any military not in cahoots with Putin, all or most of the Russian assets will be at the SOTU. Easy/peasy, Russian squeezy. Round ‘em up!

  49. What the Allied world did to Hitler #1 not because he threatened Jews, but that he threatened them.

  50. Love Taj Mahal! Got to see him up close at Alys Stephens, our season seats fourth row center.

  51. The free world is realizing they were wrong to trust their security to America.

    We’ve always had some facsimile of trump-like men lurking around our fringes. We just never elected them to high office. If anyone has let the world down, it’s we the people. We gave a monster the reins of power even after we knew what he was.

  52. I picked up on the shout-outs to my old stomping grounds..

    Nwodim, who graduated from Eastern Technical High School in Essex, and Kenan Thompson brought back their Mid-Day News sketch from 2019 that features TV anchors for WANU competing to score based on guessing the race of perpetrators of a crime in the news. 

    Thompson and Nwodim were joined in the sketch by SNL host Shane Gillis and series regular Heidi Gardner. 

    The sketch kicks off with Nwodim announcing that “Community members remain rattled after yet another gang-related drive-by shooting that took place in the 4000 block of Reisterstown Road late last night.” 

    Gillis reads about another crime, saying “Police are looking for looters … hear that? These looters were spotted after wildfires devastated homes in Hunt Valley Township.” A chyron on the screen calls out “Hunt Valley Wildfires.” 

    Later, Thompson reports about a “Harford County man who has been hospitalized after taking on a bizarre challenge of eating raw chicken every day.” (It’s possible he said Hartford, but we know what he meant.)

  55. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087985/

    “It is the dawn of World War III. In the western mountains of America, a group of teenagers band together to defend their town, and their country, from invading Soviet forces.”

    I am drawn to re-watching the movie “Red Dawn,” not as entertainment, but as a primer.

  56. “‘It is no longer hyperbole to suggest that these folks are Russian agents,’ political scientist Steve Saideman said on Bluesky.”

    it wasn’t hyperbole to outright say it 8 years ago

  57. lol i just asked a friend if they were watching football today, that’s how out of it i am

  58. Putin is ten moves ahead, trump is a rook that can only move backwards

  59. bId – I would rather be in the mountains fighting than in the East.

    anon – during the last couple weeks I have seen several articles about 2025 NFL season, teams and odds of stuff. I know baseball season has started.

  60. Everyone Is Wondering Why Chiefs Kicker Harrison Butker Was Chilling In The White House With President Donald Trump

    Last week:

    “The Kansas City Chiefs did not win the Super Bowl this year, but kicker Harrison Butker still ended up in the White House…”

    ***

    https://apnews.com/article/kansas-city-chiefs-politicals-election-8d978c31444ed4739b46b1b58b25fec1

    Last October:

    “.. [Butker’s] political action committee designed to encourage Christians to vote for what the PAC describes as “traditional values.” Butker announced his UPRIGHT PAC…” Butker is front-and-center on the website of the UPRIGHT PAC along with Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley…”

  62. so is allying with a murderous dictator who destroys entire nations

  63. for those keeping score, when Romney stated in his debate with Obama 12 years ago that Putin’s Russia was the world’s greatest geopolitical threat, i agreed with him here and elsewhere, was mocked for it ofc

    we were warned, by sooo many people besides me, nation of fools

  64. I am positive that krasnov, using his KGB name as it is appropriate, was informed in Helsinki by puttie that he was going to do what he is told and there is no talk back. Notice hang dog look after meeting puttie in private for hours. Elections were probably stolen, not from the criminal, but from Hillary and Kamala, but that will never be proven.

    The one thing that we saw culminated in the last month was the collapse of the U.S. and the takeover by the Kremlin. Why is muskie doing what he wants, sfb is too stupid to even understand, but was told what to do.

    There is one thing that krasnov wants more than anything is to be the living embodiment of himself, outliving his parents. The KGB revival, are making sure he knows they are with him. They most likely have embedded themselves in all aspects of his life, and may be part of muskies private army. SFB could not make a command decision that does not involve diapers, so someone is.

    The KGB revival and puttie do not care about life. See a million russians and others are fertilizer now in Ukraine. See oligarchs flying through the air out of windows. See oligarchs drinking funky tea. I cannot imagine anything about krasnov being something they care about, they probably disdain the fool. This why I am sure puttie informed krasnov he had limited use to the KGB revival and puttie, so do as told and keep breathing.

  65. Helsinki with chin down krasnov and smiling puttie

    I do state the KGB revival as it is real. puttie set about reviving the old KGB a while ago, about the same time he started to work on making a new Soviet Union.

    His problem with a new Soviet Union is similar to old, nobody wants to join it, except for Hungary and a couple of small states. So he decided taking over Ukraine would be nice big addition. So far not going well.

  66. the woman in this video was arrested in Iran for performing with her arms and hair uncovered, behold our future

    (she and her band are very good)

  67. I think JD is one of Adolf’s many handlers. Impeach JD. Then impeach Adolf. Then vote MAGAt Mike out as SOTH after those Florida House seats flip blue in early April. Then SOTH AOC is POTUS?

  68. based on the pics we’ve SEEN, one can only imagine what Putin has on JD

  71. If Putin packs up and goes home there can be peace. He doesn’t want peace. He wants his piece. Dodo too.

  72. Almost went to the Oscars 47 years ago. Helpful hint, do not break up with the actor before the show. Still on the bucket list.

  73. by “peace” they mean surrender to them

    i suppose licking a bully’s asshole is more peaceful than being bashed in the head by him

    that’s the “peace” they’re talking about

    sorry, done mincing words

    it’s gonna get me minced, eventually

    Lets gooooo

  76. i don’t think AOC is old enough to be President

    i can’t think of any good candidates that haven’t already had their characters preemptively smeared by the right-wingers

    oh wait, she is exactly 35, AOC for Prez tomorrow 🇺🇸

  77. I mean, I like Jasmine Crockett, too. Both she and AOC are speaking out more than Hakeem, who still seems to be under the impression that the old rules still apply.

    Don’t think the Oscars bit with Adam Sandler in a hoody went over the heads of some so as to intentionally not tick off Adolf?

  78. if you or i like someone it means they’re unelectable

    and while that’s funny it’s not a joke

    it’s a handy means of assessment

  79. At this point, as much as I disagree with her on most things, Liz Cheney even looks like a breath of fresh air.

    So glad the documentary film winners for the Palestinian/Israeli film spoke up about that situation, and about our country.

    The short-form documentary woman spoke only vaguely about this country’s chaotic situation.

    Were folks warned to watch their words tonight?

  80. “Conclave” looks good but that seems like an overdone topic

    i’ll end up watching it regardless

    ok enjoy the show
    Slava Ukraine 🇺🇦
    Impeach and remove trump/vance 🇺🇸

  81. Conan: You know, Anora is having a good night. That’s great news. Two wins already. I guess Americans are excited to see somebody finally stand up to a powerful Russian.

  82. I’m still awake. Just fired off spicy emails to my Senators.

    Honestly, given the rest of the show and the winners this year, I should’ve turned the TV off after Ariana & Cynthia sang.

  83. https://www.aarp.org/social-security/ssa-workforce-reductions.html

    “A Feb. 28 statement from the SSA set a target of reducing the SSA workforce from about 57,000 employees to 50,000, a 12 percent cut.”

    “[SSA] is closing two internal units: the Office of Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity, which handled discrimination complaints, disability accommodations and other equal employment opportunity issues; and the Office of Transformation, which coordinated agency-wide strategic initiatives and customer-service projects such as modernizing the SSA website. Their employees were placed on administrative leave.”

    ”More than 68 million Americans receive Social Security and 183 million workers pay into it.”

    So, far fewer are receiving than are paying in right now. Hmmm.

  84. https://www.mediamatters.org/project-2025/national-and-local-meteorologists-express-alarm-trump-administration-implements

    “Al Roker detailed the many functions that make NOAA and The National Weather Service vital agencies. In another post, Roker added, “Folks, NOAA/NWS is more than just forecasts. It’s fire weather. It’s severe weather outlooks. It’s climate. It’s information that our FARMERS use day in and day out making us the breadbasket of the world. This agency monitors our oceans, our fisheries health. It touches our lives in ways you cannot even imagine.” 

    “Tim Buckley/WFMY: Put in tv terms, when we show you current temps / winds / radar it’s from the NWS. When we cover tornado warnings, they come from NWS. Sure we make our own forecasts, but the US weather models are maintained by NOAA / NWS. Nobody is a good weather forecaster without good data.”

    One of the things I told my Senators to restore was NOAA, because your constituents live in tornado alley, after all!

  85. got to sleep early to get a good start to the week, woken up by a… thunderstorm?

    pod save guys now all fully woken up

    yeah, by the time the untertrumpers realize what they gave away it will be too late to get any of it back

    How do you reconstitute institutions cultivated over generations once those institutions are destroyed? You don’t

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