• This is a wonderful story from the Washington Post about a man who can credibly speak 24 languages, a hyperpolyglot.   Worth a read for the positive feel it engenders.

• Once more, Linda Greenhouse in the NYT masterfully opines on Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Senate confirmation hearings (How Low Will Senate Republicans Go on Ketanji Brown Jackson?).  Her conclusion:

“But here’s a judgment I can make with confidence: If and when Senators Cruz, Graham and the rest of them seek redemption for their behavior last week, they won’t find it.”

I’d also recommend Frank Bruni’s writings on the fantastical textings of Ginni Thomas in the Times.  An excerpt:

“There’s no entertaining the thought that a majority of your fellow Americans may not share your views. In an age of extreme narcissism, that’s unimaginable, impossible, phantasmagorical.

If the polls cast you in the minority, they’re wrong. If the vote runs contrary to your desires, it’s rigged. Or those fellow Americans just don’t matter, not like you do. You’re on the side of the angels. They’re trying to shepherd everyone into the abyss.”

• Finally, some cold water thrown on the industry supported studies that suggested alcohol has cardiovascular benefits.  From the study:

Findings  In this cohort study of 371 463 individuals, genetic evidence supported a nonlinear, consistently risk-increasing association between all amounts of alcohol consumption and both hypertension and coronary artery disease, with modest increases in risk with light alcohol intake and exponentially greater risk increases at higher levels of consumption.

Biddinger KJ, Emdin CA, Haas ME, et al. Association of Habitual Alcohol Intake With Risk of Cardiovascular Disease. JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5(3):e223849. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.3849

• Ted Cruz, Linsey Graham, Tom Cotton, Josh Hawley, Marsha Blackburn, now that’s one stellar lineup of diabolical performance artists; no limits on self-interest, but a distinct aversion to honest and ethical assessment.  Oh, the hypocrisy.   I credit republican senator Ben Sasse, who had it right — “A lot of the jack-assery we see around here is people mugging” for the cameras.

Ben Sasse moments after Ted Cruz throws a performative tantrum that was tailormade for Hannity: "I think we should recognize that the jackassery we often see around here is partly because of people mugging for short-term camera opportunities." pic.twitter.com/3YqBgrrXNR

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 23, 2022

• Excerpted from Tom Friedman’s NYT column of March 2022, Xi, Putin and Trump: The Strongmen Follies:

“The last five years have been a master class in comparative politics, because something happened that we’d never seen before at the same time: The world’s three most powerful leaders — Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Donald Trump — each took drastic steps to hold on to power beyond their designated terms of office. One failed. Two succeeded. And therein lies a tale that says so much about our world today.

Trump failed for one very simple reason: American institutions, laws and norms forced him to cede power at the end of his four years — barely — despite both his efforts to discredit the electoral results and his unleashing of supporters to intimidate lawmakers into overturning his loss at the polls.

Putin and Xi fared better — so far. Unencumbered by institutions and democratic norms, they installed new laws to make themselves, effectively, presidents for life.

Pity their nations.

Lord knows democracies have their problems today, but they still have some things autocracies lack — the ability to change course, often by changing leaders, and the ability to publicly examine and debate alternative ideas before embarking on a course of action. Those attributes are particularly valuable in an age of accelerating technological and climate change, when the odds are low that one person in his late 60s — as both Putin and Xi are — will make better and better decisions, more and more alone, as he gets older and older.”

• If you want to know why sane people often object to the Republican agenda, read this:

It’s Rick Scott’s 11 point plan to “Rescue America” (but reads like an authoritarian manifesto).  Some excerpts:

“We will shrink the federal government, reduce the government workforce by 25% in 5 years, sell government buildings and assets, and get rid of the old, slow, closed, top-down, government-run-everything system we have today.”

“Many government agencies should be either moved out of Washington or shuttered entirely. Yesterday’s old government is fundamentally incompatible with the digital era. The permanent ruling class in Washington is bankrupting us with inflation and debt, so they must be removed. For you to have more, Washington must have less.”

“The nuclear family is crucial to civilization, it is God’s design for humanity, and it must be protected and celebrated. To say otherwise is to deny science. The fanatical left seeks to devalue and redefine the traditional family, as they undermine parents and attempt to replace them with government programs. We will not allow Socialism to place the needs of the state ahead of the family.”

“We will secure our border, finish building the wall, and name it after President Donald Trump.”

“Among the things the militant left plan to change or destroy are American history, patriotism, border security, Christianity, the nuclear family, gender, traditional morality, capitalism, fiscal responsibility, opportunity, rugged individualism, the Judeo-Christian ethic, dissent, free speech, color blindness, law enforcement, religious liberty, and private ownership of firearms.”

Wow. This is some truly scary stuff.  Be afraid of these folks.

• Jamelle Bouie has a good opinion piece in the NYT arguing that originalist claims that the founding fathers would support the filibuster, especially those invoking the words of Madison (as did Manchin), are misplaced.

A winter sunset to admire…

• Heather Cox Richardson discusses elements of the proposed Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. It’s worthwhile reading.

• From the January 11 2022 Annals of Internal Medicine. An all too familiar reminder: