It is hard not to like the Western Conference Champion Denver Nuggets who swept the Lakers. But it is also hard not to appreciate the sustained greatness of 38 year old LeBron James. Last night he played all 48 minutes in a game 7 loss and registered these stats – 40 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists, and 2 steals in the 20th year of his career. What other basketball player does that at that age? Two decades into their careers? If you’re answer is no one, you’re right! Even Kareem didn’t quite reach these lofty heights in his storied and long career.

I agree with Ezra Klein. I don’t think the Supreme Court will rule in favor of Biden if he chooses that option to resolve the present impasse over lifting the debt ceiling. Don’t kid yourself that the right wing majority will have a light bulb moment and, acting contrary to character, see the righteousness of Biden’s position on the one hand and the duplicity of the Republicans in Congress on the other.

Politics anytime, but, especially at this moment and in this era, when our democratic institutions, rights, and values are under unprecedented assault, when the MAGA crowd is itching to take us into the dungeon of extreme authoritarian rule, requires utmost political sobriety and tactical flexibility, an absence of wishful thinking, the limitations imposed on our side due to divided government, and, not least, an ability to control and frame the narrative in a language that millions easily understand.

At a concert last night featuring 3 amazing guitarists – Jim Weider, GE Smith, and Larry Campbell. The set list combined classical and jazz styles and arrangements into a rock and blues motif. Every song in the nearly 3 hour concert was a joy to listen to. Some included vocals, but ‘even where they did, the vocals didn’t dominate the piece. One without vocals was Sam Cooke’s, “A Change is Gonna Come.” The 3 guitarists were accompanied by a young and high energy drummer and a bass player.

Driving home I thought to myself that my $50 ticket was a steal.

Dogma is a tenacious thing, especially when reinforced by institutional pressures, favors, and sanctions. It discourages, even penalizes, independent thinking and inquiry beyond prescribed boundaries. In a changing world, like ours, in which new phenomena, patterns, challenges, and experiences are everywhere apparent, such a habit of mind and organization are obviously counterproductive.

Here is a reply to someone else’s post from a while back. I post it here because it retains its relevancy: Why would you even mention, at some length mind you, “fraudulent” claims of self determination, including the Confederate South, in earlier historical settings since they have no relevance in the case of Ukraine? If total victory in the eyes of Ukrainians is understood as the complete withdrawal of the Russian troops from Ukraine, are you ready to say that is an “illusion?” Are you ready to permanently concede Russian controlled Ukrainian territories to Putin as an acceptable price to be paid in order to commence negotiations to end the war? Would you support the immediate cessation of military assistance from the U.S. to the Ukrainians? And if so, what do think the fate of Ukraine would be in that event? Is it realistic to think that Putin will negotiate in good faith short of a decisive Russian defeat on the battlefield and greater international pressure? Do you understand Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine as simply reactive and defensive? Isn’t it up to Ukrainians to decide the terms of ending the war? Not some sections of the US left? How do you understand the right to self determination? In general and in the case of Ukraine? Can the struggle of the Ukraine people be framed as an anti-colonial war of resistance? Or is it a second order concern in a proxy war between Russia and the U.S.? How extensively have you read Ukrainian sources, including socialist ones, on the invasion and Ukrainian politics?