Kimmel, Colbert, Krugman and Cartoons

Plus Sinead O'Connor and Glen Hansard for St. Patrick's Day

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Jimmy and Stephen both covered the Oscars (including Jimmy’s jokes at the show that night and Trump’s response).

Shocking news this morning, considering, from Joe Kent, who becomes first top Trump appointee to resign anything in protest:

After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today. I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.

Paul Krugman:

Donald Trump is now pleading with other countries to rescue his war on Iran by helping to open the Strait of Hormuz — although Trump being Trump, his pleas for assistance take the form of threats. Regardless, help is not on the way. Germany, Australia and Japan have flatly said no, while Britain and France have been slightly equivocal but at most hinted at willingness to supply forces after the fighting stops.

Why this effectively unanimous rejection? A large part of the answer is that other countries couldn’t secure the Strait even if they wanted to….Beyond that, who wants to take risks in support of a U.S. government that nobody trusts, a government that neither shows gratitude for aid nor punishes those who do America harm?

de Adder:

Brodner:

Goodnight, Loon: A woman in Utah who wrote a children’s book about coping with grief after her husband’s death was found guilty of murdering him.

Bill Scher, Washington Monthly:

Today is the end of an ugly Democratic primary in Illinois marked by massive spending in U.S. Senate and House races by political action committees tied to three groups not known as stalwart supporters of the Democratic Party: the cryptocurrency industry, the artificial intelligence industry, and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

They are not the first special interest groups seeking to influence an election….But this time, lines are being crossed. Instead of honestly supporting their favored candidates based on how they align with their interests, disguised front groups are disingenuously promoting perceived spoiler candidates while dishonestly tearing down their main nemeses.

Music for St. Patrick’s Day

Okay, need to get our Irish up again. It’s my favorite Ireland-related song and one of the greatest of the century—whichever century you want to choose. The exact title has variations, but often “She Moved Through the Fair.” The lyrics are pretty much from 1909 but versions of the melody date back decades before that, perhaps to “antiquity” as one expert puts it. (It is usually considered “Irish” but has also been traced to Scotland.) There are dozens of versions of it by well-known performers, including those who have “adapted” it and changed the title, such as unlikely candidates Led Zeppelin and the Yardbirds.

To my mind, the finest “modern” version is from (no surprise) Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson back in Fairport Convention days. But here is the popular Sinead O’Connor version.

Glen Hansard a few days back on Irish TV with the classic “Cartickfergus.”

From Tune to Toons

Goris:

Brodner:

Ohman:

Bennett

Anderson:

Barry Blitt, back in 2018:

Goris again:

Photo Finish

Continuing my series on the Southwest from the air earlier this month: This is an aerial photograph of Lake Powell, a major reservoir on the Colorado River located on the border between Utah and Arizona.