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ICYMI: Posts from the Week

Undermining Biden, Supporting Putin: The Dangers of the Sportification of Politics

I really liked this post. I think the sportification of our politics explains a lot about our current situation and tells us where we’re headed. I chose the Heckle and Jeckle montage in honor of the Heckle and Jeckle of SOTU, Loaded Boerbert and Mad Dog Greene. I wanted to use that iconic photo of them standing and shouting, but there were none available with the open license. Heckle and Jeckle fit them pretty well.

It was another week in which the week’s news and work requirements completely kicked my ass. Since every week in recent and mid-range memory has been pretty much equally tough and kicking my ass pretty consistently, I reckon the problem is me and not the world. Don’t get me wrong, y’all, we are living through extraordinary times of unparalleled stress and strain. It is just that I’m no longer coping as well as I could or even should.

I’ve always preferred seeing the hand of god in my life or at the very least Jungian synchronicity rather than coincidence and random chance. And, this week god was talking to me through a post on twitter. This particular twitterer posted a tweet telling the world that she has started Lexapro for her anxiety and depression, and I though, Why haven’t I tried Lexapro? I’ve known about it for a decade or more. Zoloft hasn’t been effective in treating my anxious depression, so why not give it a try?

Well, y’all. I’ve decided that my anxiety is just out of control and it has pushed me to use old dysfunctional coping mechanism, i.e. procrastination and avoidance, which has triggered my dysthymia as shit piles up around me like snow in the Yukon Territory. I’ll start adding the Lexapro watch to this here posting just for fun.

The Weekly Reading

We’ve all been following the news out of Ukraine and the blogosphere has responded in kind, too. This is the perfect issue for explaining how I select posts and articles for this column. The rule is simple. I look for things that interest me and that most of my readers won’t find in their media perusals. So, don’t expect much on Ukraine and SOTU except that which I found particularly meaningful and somewhat obscure.

Ukraine News

In this section I’ll draw from the legacy media, blogosphere, and obscure professional media sources.

• UKRAINE COUNTER ATTACKS and retakes Mykolaiv Oblast governor, Vitaly Kim. According to Wikipedia, an oblast is a province. Apparently, the Russians took the city of Kubalinko on or about 4 March. By 6 March, the Ukrainiens had driven them from the city in the Kherson. If you’re following the link, you’ll have to use Google to translate from the Ukrainien. I got the article through The Kyiv Independent. (Pravda)
• DIVIDE AND CONQUER is Putin’s strategy when making the world safe for authoritarian oligarchies, again. Putin used disinformation campaigns against the Western democracies. By now it is clear that Trump was taking his marching orders from Putin. (Dave Dubya’s Freedom Rants)
• THE GIVING SPIRIT has gripped the world and donations are pouring out the hearts, minds, and wallets of individuals, organizations, and governments for Ukraine. Between the volume and Putin’s attack on Ukraine’s infrastructure, it’s been tough going to get the money and goods to those who need them. (NBCNews)

Other News Sources

From the legacy and other professional media sources, I gathered these articles:

• IT’S A DUD! Can you imagine having been gone through the humiliation that Harvey Weinstein has gone through after his Me Too debacle and then further debasing yourself by smuggling Milk Duds into prison? And now you can’t even have your precious Milk Duds because the guards on to your bullshit! (NBCNews)
• APPALLING! Jamaican novelist, Marlon James, is writing a fantasy series that is best described as RR Martin meets Wakanda. Apparently, he’s taken a page out of William Faulkner’s approach and is basically telling the same story but from the perspective of different characters, one character’s perspective per book. Sounds fascinating. If you’ve read the first one, let us know what you thought of it in the comments. (The Guardian)
• THE 50th IDITAROD! In case you aren’t sportsed out after the Olympics, paralympics, and Super Bowl — I know, I know, (a) no one watched the Olympics this year and (b) nobody ever has followed the paralympics — but still in case you’ve got room for one more sporting event under your belt, the running of the 50th Iditarod starts from Sunday 6 March! (NBCNews)

The Blogs

The blogosphere was hoping this week with all kinda interesting stuff that isn’t Ukraine!

• BOUNDARIES, PLEASE! In a piece that is near and dear to Ye Olde Blogge’s heart, we get some advice on the proper boundaries in relationships, especially when the violations are red flags of abuse. (Observations of a Cynical Mother)
• WEAR CLEAN UNDERWEAR! It is timeless advice that is useful any time any where, but especially for those dental visits. No one needs any more worries when they’re in the CHAIR, right? (Red’s Wrap)
• LOVE IS BLIND or so they say. Maybe it is more that we fall in love with the person we imagine our special someone to be with the only real question being whether the relationship will survive as reality intrudes. If that special someone is in the dark tetrad of personality characteristics, probably not, but at least the door prize will keep you in therapy for a number of years! (Carla Corelli)
• GIVE UP! It was Ash Wednesday this week! See? I told you it was a busy week! And, a very good question is what did you give up for Ash Wednesday? It’s kinda like a New Years resolution, ‘scept it has an extra heaping helping of Christian guilt, too. Let us know what you gave up in the comments! (bluewater)
• LADY DAY is an inspiration to a grieving widower, and she can inspire you and me, too! Billie Holiday had to cope with far too much with far too little in a society that was far more exploitative of her than it will ever be of me. There are definite lessons to be learned there. (On Being Gay and Grieving: My Personal Journey)

Our Special Friends

Here’s the part where we give back to those who have given Ye Olde Blogge so much!

• A NEW STORY, PLEASE: Bobcabkings offers a quote of the day — a favorite regularly occurring post — and this one suggests that American liberals need to come up with a new story that is as compelling as the one being told by MAGA if we want to change for the better. (Of Cabbages and Kings).
• OUT! OUT! DAMN SPOT! In news that surprises absolutely no one, Amazon and Jeff Bezos committed themselves to eliminating a human workforce and if they can’t do that, depriving their employees of any dignity or self-respect. Amazon is OUT of the retail book and technology business! (Mock Paper Scissors)
• FAKE SMEARS?!? Mad Dog Greene is back in the news again. This time she’s accusing the media of smearing her face with fake smears, I’m not sure whether she was binge watching porn or being told about the subway assault in which a woman’s face was smeared with feces. Either way, Mad Dog seems easily primed. (Homeless on the High Desert)
• UKRAINE UKRAINE UKRAINE! If you’re worried that you’ve missed some Ukraine news this week or have missed out on one of the more insightful breathtaking hot takes or one of the idiotic ones, Burr has the links and snark to keep you informed! (Fair and Unbalanced)
• THE ENEMY OF MY ENEMY… ye gods, say it isn’t so! Rick Scott fires back at McConnell from the op ed pages of the Washington Post! Let’s let them fight it out and, hopefully, neither one will have anything left by the time the midterms roll around. (Scottie’s Playtime)
• AMERICA DOESN’T NEED A FIRST RATE CONGRESS! Judging by what the GQP is running in elections these days, you’d think they weren’t planning on governing if they get elected anyway. Apparently, Morgan Ortagus plans on giving Sen Marsha Blackburn some competition for the most know-nothing Tennessean in Congress. I don’t drive. I don’t know that will ring in my ears forever. Mike’s Blog Roundup is being curated by Batocchio. (Crooks and Liars)
• IS NUCLEAR WINTER a cure for climate change? Infidel explains the ins and outs of Putin’s nuclear bluster amongst all of his other blusterings. (Infidel 753)

Welp, that’s how I kept myself occupied this week. Let us know how you did, too, in the comments!

Huzzah!
Jack

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“salvation” by 8bitbeauty is marked with CC BY-NC 2.0.