Change clocks back one hour overnight: March 9, 2025

 At 2 a.m. Sunday overnight

move your clocks' hands

forward one full hour to adjust for

Daily Savings Time !

The Brutalist (Feature film) - playing at Celebration Cinema (Grand Rapids)

 celebrationcinema.com/films/detail/The-Brutalist

The Academy Award winner is currently playing at

Celebration cinema, Grand Rapids North, MI

2121 Celebration Drive NE

1:30 p.m. // 8:30 p.m.

run time: 3 hr. 35 minutes

director: Brady Corbet

all screenings of this film include a 15-minute

intermission

Selma (AL) Jubilee - March 9, 2025

selmajubilee.com

Noon - 12:30 p.m.

March to restore voting rights

Foot of the Pettus Bridge,

Selma, AL

on Water Avenue.

Pre-march rally at

Brown Chapel AME Church,

410 Martin Luther King Street

2 - 6 p.m.

60th Bridge Crossing

Super Soul Benefit Concert

Selma Amphitheater

MONDAY March 10 - 

FRIDAY March 14, 2025

"Selma to Montgomery" March

Scott Bessent speech on "American Dream"

Friday March 7, 2025

he dismissed widespread

concerns among the U.S.

citizenry about rising prices:

The American dream

is rooted in the concept

that any citizen can achieve

prosperity, upward mobility,

and economic security.  Too

long, designers of multilateral

deals have lost sight of this.

International economic

relations that do not

work for the American people

must be re-examined. . .

TRANSLATION: treaties that

bring stability and predictability

to keep prices low are superfluous

for secretaries of the Treasury

and for billionaire donors / 

new members of the MAGA

establishment (Cabinet 

non-experts who will fire

dissenters often indiscriminately).

Lee Dudek - MAGA acting commissioner Social Security - revenge and retribution

In an act of 

revenge & retribution_,

SSA acting commissioner

(not Senate-approved as of

March 2025) Lee Dudek

reversed course after

vindictively acting to change

national procedure just for

new parents of Maine newborns

requiring they visit a SSA 

office for birth "enumeration."

This incident, Thursday and

then-cancellation Friday, follows

a Trump - Gov. Janet Mills

clash at White House meeting

of POTUS with all state

governors.  Trump and Mills

exchanged words over the

administration executive order

signed by Trump to exclude

transgender athletes . . . Feb. 2025

the then-acting SSA Comissioner

Michelle King resigned over

attempts by DOGE officials'

requests to access data on

all citizens' Social Security

accounts. . .the hill.com article

Greenland's March 11, 2025 elections and what they mean re: Trump "buying Greenland"

57,000 residents to vote

2nd Tuesday

March 2025

POTUS 47: Trump 2.0 news analysis

a dizzying rhetorical tactic of

shifting positions like quicksand,

muddying his messages,

and contradicting himself,

sometimes in the same day. . .

nytimes.com/2025/03/008/us/news/trump-third-term-gaza-contradictions.html

"Bless the Lord for all His works" (Creation Hymn: Ben Sira / Sirach chapter 39)

Translation: NRSV

set forth in Walter T. Wilson (Eerdmans

Critical Commentary 2023) pages 429-30

Verses 12 - 35 in 39th Chapter

I have more on my mind to express;

I am full like the full moon.

Listen to me, my faithful children,

and blossom

like a rose growing by a stream

of water [ Dead Sea Scrolls

Hodayot IQH XIV, 14-16 ]

Scatter the fragrance, and sing

a Hymn of praise; bless the

Lord for all his works!

Ascribe majesty to his name

and give thanks to him with

praise, with songs on your

lips, and with harps;

this is what you shall say

in Thanksgiving:

All the works of the Lord are very good,

and whatever he commands will be done

at the appointed time [ Genesis, ch. 1 ].

No one can say, 'What is this?'

or "Why is that?' --

for at the appointed time all such

questions will be answered.

At his word the waters stood in a heap,

and the reservoirs of water at the word

of his mouth.

When he commands, his every purpose is

fulfilled, and none can limit his

saving power.  The works of all are

before him, and nothing can be hidden

from his eyes.  From the beginning to

the end of time he can see everything,

and nothing is too marvelous for him.

No one can say, 'What is this?' or

'Why is that'-- for everything has been

created for its own purpose.

His blessing covers the dry land like a river,

and drenches it like a flood.

But his wrath drives out the nations,

as when he turned a watered land into salt.

To the faithful his ways are straight,

but full of pitfalls for the wicked.

From the beginning good things

were created for the good,

but for sinners good things and bad.

The basic necessities of human life

are water and fire and iron and salt

and wheat flour and milk and honey,

the blood of the grape and oil and clothing.

All these are good for the godly,

but for sinners they turn into evils.

There are winds created for vengeance,

and in their anger they can dislodge mountains;

on the day of reckoning they will pour out

their strength and calm the anger

of their Maker.

Fire and hail and famine and pestilence,

all these have been created for vengeance;

the fangs of wild animals and scorpions

and vipers, and the sword that punishes

the ungodly with destruction.

They take delight in doing his bidding,

already ready for his service on earth;

and when their time comes, they never

disobey his command.

So from the beginning I have been convinced

of all this and have thought it out and left it

in writing:  ALL THE WORKS of the Lord

are good, and he will supply every need

in its time.

No one can say, 'This is not as good as that,'

for everything proves good in its appointed

time.  So now sing praise with all your

heart and voice, and bless the name of the Lord!

Celia Cohen & Andrew Rohrbach

Prosecutors (Southern Dist. of New York,

Dept. of Justice) who held high-ranking positions

in the U.S. Attorney's office

have been placed on administrative

leave by Pam Bondi's Justice Dept.

(Trump-Vance Cabinet, Executive

Branch, Fed. Govt.).  They had worked

tirelessly on a number of crime & corruption

cases -- the Top official Emil Bove III ordered

a stop to the case against current NY City

Mayor Eric Adams -- without warning

they were escorted out of the lower

Manhattan building (U.S. attorney's office)

Friday March 7, 2025.  The two had written

Atty. General Bondi that a quid pro quo

had been offered of IMMUNITY for

Adams' full cooperation with the 

Trump-Vance efforts to gain

MASS DEPORTATION of immigrants. . .

Stand up for Science Rally March 7 I.U. School of Medicine, South Bend, IN

IU S. Bend Medical School cancer researchers

rallied March 7, 2025 AGAINST

the Trump-Vance administration proposed 

funding cuts.

South Bend / Notre Dame researchers and

scientists are united in the rally with a total

of 31 other cities.  Locally, researchers at IUSB and

St. Mary's College also participated.

A national rally was held noon Friday led by

Dr. Francis Collins, who left a job as the

Presidential Science advisor and head of N.I.H.

photos / story from the Lincoln Memorial Rally

at the DC mall NYTimes.com/2025/03/08/science/

march-for-science-trump-protest.html

One in three women and one in four men

will develop cancer in their lifetime:  cancer

affects so many people in our communities!

Five staffers (sent by Musk) photographed entering Africa Foundation Building, fight follows from Board

CNN.com online coverage

Staff from the DOGE entered the

office of the Africa Foundation and

the Senate-confirmed Foundation board

fought back, requiring court intervention.

Photos published 

A judge ruled Thursday afternoon,

keeping the Board intact for a few

days until the emergency court hearing 

would take place.

cnn.com/politics-african-development-

agency-standoff

March 6, 2025

Athena lander soft-landed on Moon 12:31 p.m. EDT

Thursday March 6, 2025

 Intuitive Machines moon

mission made its final

descent to the lunar

surface . . .

cnn.com/intuitive-machines-

im2-moon-landing

Sean Duffy defends Air Traffic Controllers

March 6 Thursday evening

Musk and the Senate-approved Secy.

of Transportation Sean Duffy went

back and forth about the state of the

FAA (Federal Aviation Administration)

equipment state for tracking air traffic

and what kind of fix is needed.

Mr. Duffy stated that the under-21-yr.

old staff of DOGE was trying to fire

air traffic controllers.

You Lie!

Duffy insisted, "It was not";

he had heard it directly.

Give me their names! tell

ME their names!

Duffy replied, There are no

names since he had stopped

their firing. . .The exchange

ended when POTUS Trump

2.0 told Duffy he had to hire

traffic controllers from M.I.T.

who "need to be geniuses!"

nytimes.com/2025/03/07

Musk lambasts State Dept. with Rubio attending Cabinet meeting with other Senate-approved members

You have fired NOBODY!

yelled the tech billionaire /

campaign donor (originally

born in S. Africa); Secy. Rubio

(former U.S. Senator from FL)

had been privately furious with

Musk ever since D.O.G.E. 

shuttered an entire agency 

supposedly under the State

Department (I.E. USAID). . .

nytimes.com/2025/03/07/

us/politics/trump-musk-

doge-power.html

Complications from MEASLES

According to KidsHealth dot-org

Measles (Rubeola)

can lead to

ear infections

croup

diarrhea

pneumonia

encephalitis

death

UPDATE:

March 2, 2025

Google search shows that RFK, Jr.

Health and Human Services still

acts in a stand-offish manner as far

as explicit recommendations for

parents to seek MMR Vaccination

and Boosters

[CNN update that discusses under

vaccination rates below 95% 

recommendation for national

safety / health ]

Cryptocurrency Conference -- Trump family has Crypto business World Liberty International

Friday hosts at the White House Conference

1600 Pennsylvania Ave., D.C.

are

AI & Crypto Czar

David Sacks 

Adviser on digital assets

Bo Hines

Trump fulfilled his campaign

promise to create a 

cryptocurrency strategic reserve.

This summit is first in many steps

to figure out how to control

cryptocurrency and future profit-

taking. . .

npr.org/ 

Trump property purge to include national park visitor centers, museums

Washington Post has uncovered

plans to sell in a widespread 

manner across 50 states

and the District of Columbia

National Park

Visitor Centers &

Museums

washingtonpost.com/

PLANS of

Trump-Vance Administration

[ first 46 days since inauguration ]

Markwayne Mullin -- knows that legislators show up drunk at work

POLITICO revealed from offhanded

remarks made by incumbents such as

Markwayne Mullin

(Jr. senator - OK) that

Senators and Congress

Representatives show

up drunk to cast votes

on the floor . . .

POLITICO Magazine

03/07/2025

Immigrants await Trump "mass DEPORTATIONS"

 Atlanta Journal Sun ajc.com

details how newest immigrant residents of the 

Peach State are awaiting the promised "mass"

trials and DEPORTATIONS they do not yet

see from the Trump - Vance administration.

From countless and varied mass rallies,

Trump has not delivered in his term's

first 45 - 50 days the mass arrests and removals.

FDA Food Director

 Director Jim Jones

resigned March 2025;

he is among dozens of high-level

federal officials who have quit 

in protest or have been forced out

amid the upheavals the Trump-Vance

has unleashed

see WASHINGTON POST.com/

Cod liver oil (Vitamin A), steroid, antibiotic : not standard treatment for Measles let alone "preventative"

HHS Cabinet Secretary RFK, Jr.

recommended in a Fox News interview this week

(March 2025) the unconventional treatment regimen

of cod liver oil, an antibiotic, a steroid which

was publicized and highly recommended by Texas

doctors.  Problematic for the nation's health and

wellness however is that a Doctor RFK Jr. is

taking cues from is a disciplined physician who

in 2003 was fined by the Texas Medical Board for

unusual usage of risk-filled medications!

Richard Bartlett, M.D.

His recommendations/treatment

regimen during COVID-19

was unscientific and unsupported

by evidence CNN.com/

kennedy-measles-texas-doctor-

treatment/index.html

Repeal of the CHIPS act -- $52 billion headache

In his joint Address to Congress,

POTUS demanded of Speaker Johnson

that he "get rid of the CHIPS act and 

whatever's left, use it to reduce debt or

any other reason you want to."

This bipartisan legislation was favored

by all Democrats and 17 GOP Senators and

24 House Republicans. . .to gut or demolish

it as one of Biden's signature accomplishments

would run afoul of the beneficiaries of the

act to reduce dependence on Taiwan's chip

making factories. . .

Will Johnson do this to please Trump and

keep him in the graces when visiting

Mar-a-Lago?  -- remains to be seen . . .

Flip-Flop on permanent "Daylight Savings Time" -- Dec. 2024 Trump favors it, now declines to change nationwide

the Hill announced that

Trump signalled to a press inquiry

that Daylight Savings Time will

not be ending nor made permanent;

reversing what he said in December

2024.

when a lot of people like it and a lot

don't -- it's 50 - 50 -- what else do 

we have to do ? ? ? The Legislation

to make it permanent has never

succeeded in both House and Senate

therefore never making it to the

Oval Office desk for signature . . .

Federal Department of Education not yet closed March 6 - 7, 2025

Friday 7 March 2025 - FOX & FRIENDs show interview

Secy. Linda McMahon acknowledged that there

is anxiety among her 4,200 staff; she says she doesn't

want to cut money for schools but only wants to

"raise test scores!"

Fox News.com/

_________________________________________________________

The signing of a draft executive order that shutters the Department of

Education, helmed by his longtime friend and campaign donor,

Linda McMahon will neither take place today (Thursday 3/6/2025)

nor Friday (3/7/2025).

A date to mark for the history books since GOP presidents since

Reagan, two Bushes, Trump 1.0 : none of them succeeded at

that shutdown of services to students, teachers, families in the U.S.

Trump reverses eff. date Tariffs over terms of USMC treaty he signed in First Term (2017-2020) ; Economic shock / consumer hits

He announced at noon (March 6, 2025) that he would 

not raise a 25% Tariff on all of Mexico's exports

received into the USA;  his threat to do so would have

violated the terms of the United States-Mexico-Canada

trade "deal" / treaty he made in his initial term of office.

This exemption according to his social media "tweet"

will last until April 2, 2025.  He admitted that he had

spoken directly with Mexico's president, Claudia

Sheinbaum.

UPDATE (March 8, 2025):

Tariffs proposed and in place for April 2, 2025

could cause a

1 percent rise in inflation; cut

growth by half a percentage point;

and cost the average household

$1,600 in disposable income

mlive.com/news/after-stock-market-

sinks-trump-delays-some-tariffs-on-

mexico-and-canada.html

Marty Makary once called U.S. Food system "poison" is now nominee of Trump for FDA

AP NEWS com

details how Marty Makary, a Johns Hopkins 

University surgeon and researcher rose to

national attention by skewering the medical

establishment in books and papers -- now he

will become ascendant in the RFK, Jr. HHS

system of federal investigations and regulations

and system updates.

apnews.com/article/fda-trump-makary-vaccines-

ultraprocessed-foods-safety . . .

Trump plans to deport 240,000 Ukrainians who fled to U.S. after 2022 invasion

Exclusive

REUTERS has learned that the Trump-Vance

administration is planning to revoke the 

temporary legal status of some 240,000

Ukrainians who fled the conflict with Russia;

this action would put them on a fast track to

deportation.

reuters.com/ 

Agricultural Goods -- Tariffs to be imposed by Trump (Lutnick, Commerce Secy.)

Details about the Steel and Aluminum

Tariffs and the upcoming Tariffs (some

reciprocal) with many nations over

Agricultural Products / Goods.

Tariff is Trump's "most beautiful word".

thehill.com/ homenews / Senate/

trump-tariffs-republican-whiplash

Trump Admin. negotiates directly with HAMAS : Trump issues "last warning" at Joint Congress address

 Simultaneously the Trump-Vance admin. admitted

that it was negotiating directly with the Terrorist group

that had and still holds Israeli and international hostages

from the Oct. 7 attacks while

"Last Warning" Rhetoric was voiced in part of the

100-minute Trump Rally address held at the Joint

Session of Congress, Senate, and Cabinet officials

(most Senate approved but some still on way to

receiving approval from GOP Leader Thune and

the body of 100 Senators representing 50 States).

Trump boldly exclaimed that he would

send Israel everything it

needs to finish "the job" /

"Not a single HAMAS

member will be safe 

if you don't do as

I SAY."

Karoline Leavitt was

left to explain how

Adam Boehler (pick for

Hostage "CZAR") would

manage that break with policy

of no direct talks with terrorists

Linda McMahon -- Congress must vote to close her Dept.

 Washington Post online article details that

a draft executive order for POTUS to even-

tually sign will shutter the federal Cabinet-

level department (begun in the Carter-Mondale

admin. and the 1970s era Congress).

Deep cuts to the Education Department are

already expected in the immediate weeks

and months of 2025.

Seven Social Movements that Changed America

New book by historian Susan Gordon for Live right Publishers (515 pages)

Ku Klux Klan (1920s revival);

Settlement Houses;

Bread & Roses (feminist mvmt.);

Combahee River Collective;

Montgomery (AL) Bus Boycott;

United Farm Workers (C. Chavez); Dr.

Townsend call for Pensions (S.Security).

Eric Adams (Quinniapac University poll results)

 Poll numbers from

a March 2025 survey

show that 56 percent

of New York City voters

believe the incumbent 

Mayor should resign while

72 percent of Democrats

also affirm that outcome.

nytimes.com/2025/03/05/

nyregion/eric-adams-poll-nyc-mayor.html

Wed. March 5, 2025

Just 20 percent of New Yorkers approve of the

job performance of Mayor Eric Adams.  His corruption

charges have been dropped by the D.C. Dept. of Justice

(headed by Pam Bondi, Trump-Vance Cabinet) and top

prosecutors resigned their positions in the fallout over

that reversal of direction after Jan. 20, 2025.  A variety

of candidates have emerged to contest his being

the winner of a mayoral Primary in the Democratic

Party and the eventual popular election.

Bezalel Smotrich

Far-right combative Finance Minister in

the Netanyahu Cabinet (Israel),

Bezalel Smotrich,

met Wednesday with his counterpart

in the Trump-Vance administration,

Secy. of the Treasury Scott Bessent.

They issued a joint statement

to enhance collaboration between Israel

/ Jerusalem and Washington / Mar-a-lago

on issues such as economic policy,

technology, and financial regulation.

Smotrich gave wholehearted approval

for Trump's announced "Riviera on the

Mediterranean" plan for the forced

dislocation of Gazan residents ahead of

America's "owning" the Gaza Strip and

erecting a new district of condos and

Trump casinos as well as luxury accommodations.

Smotrich holds a powerful role in distributing

for the West Bank / Palestinian Authority

and a role in the defense ministry that

has allowed him to advance Jewish settlement

in the West Bank.

Hayden Haynes

Capitol Police (D.C.) reported after the 9:20 - 11 p.m.

"Joint Address" by POTUS to the Congress, Senate,

and members of SCOTUS electing to be there as

well as the Trump-Vance Cabinet, they arrested

on DUI Charges the Chief-of-Staff for Speaker

of the House Michael Johnson (Louisiana).

The arrest took place after the vehicle he was

driving backed into a parked Capitol Police

vehicle nearby.  Capitol (House administrative)

authorities reported that Haynes has worked for

more than a decade for Speaker Johnson and was

trusted to serve the Louisiana politician his entire

tenure in Congress.  He was released with a

citation rather than taken into police custody and

jail and would have a court date within weeks.

His case will be prosecuted by the D.C. Attorney

General rather than Pam Bondi, the Attorney General (DOJ)

of Trump-Pence administration itself.

Jeffrey Seller

 Producer of the "Hamilton" musical

Jeffrey Seller

announced Wed. March 5, 2025 that the

production would NOT return

to the Kennedy Center, D.C.

for a March 3 - April 26, 2026

third run.  "The actions of the

new Chairman of the Board of

the Kennedy Center (I.e. Donald J.

Trump) demonstrate that contracts

and previous agreements simply 

cannot be trusted." -- further details

variety.com/2025/music/news/hamilton-

cancels-kennedy-center-run-trump-takeover-

1236328684/

In early February, POTUS announced firings

and named himself the new Director of the

Kennedy Center for the Arts, District of

Columbia.  Trump's nominated "President"

of the Kennedy Center is former ambassador

to Germany Richard Grenell.  On "X"/Twitter

social media he called the production's

cancellation a "publicity stunt" -- NPR coverage

today 6 March 2025.

Hymn on Creation (see also Book of Genesis chapter 1)

Ben Sira 42: 15 - 25

I will now call to mind

the works of the Lord,

and will declare what

I have seen.

By the world of the Lord

his works are made;

and all his creatures

do his will.

The sun looks down on

everything with its light,

and the work of the Lord is

full of his glory.

The Lord has not empowered

even his holy ones to recount

all his marvelous works,

which the Lord the Almighty

has established so that the

universe may stand firm in

his glory.

He searches out the abyss

and the human heart; he

understands their innermost

secrets.

For the Most High knows all

that may be known; he sees from

of old the things that are to

come.

He discloses what has been and

what is to be,  and he reveals

the traces of hidden things.

No thought escapes him,

and nothing is hidden from him.

He has set in order the splendors

of his wisdom; he is from all

eternity one and the same.

Nothing can be added or taken

away, and he needs no one

to be his counselor.

How desirable are all his

works, and how sparkling they

are to see!

All these things live and remain

forever;  each creature is 

preserved to meet a particular

need.  All things come in

pairs, one opposite the other,

and he has made nothing incomplete.

Each supplements the virtues of

the other.  Who could ever tire

of seeing his glory?

NRSV translation; Commentary by 

Walter T. Wilson (2023, Eerdmans)

ISBN 978-0-8028-8176-2

Reconcilers

II Corinthians 5:21 - 6:7a NRSV Update ed.

For our sake God made

the one who knew no sin

to be sin, so that in him

we might become the

righteousness of God.

As we work together with

him, we entreat you also not

to accept the grace of God

in vain.  For he says

Isaiah 49:8

At an acceptable time I

have listened you, and

on a day of salvation I

have helped you!

Look, now is the

acceptable time;

look, now is the day

of salvation!  We are

putting no obstacle in 

anyone's way, so that

no fault may be found

with our ministry, but

as servants of God we 

have commended

ourselves in every way!

in great endurance,

afflictions,

hardships,

calamities,

beatings,

imprisonments,

riots,

labors,

sleepless nights,

hunger;

in purity, knowledge,

patience, kindness,

holiness of spirit,

genuine love,

truthful speech,

and the power of God.

Irony: Edwin Marshall Good, Professor of Religion & Hebrew, Stanford Univ.

Prof. Good defines

Irony

as a perception of incongruity which is stated in a

suggestive rather than a direct way, which rests on

a stance in Truth, and which has an implicit or

explicit solution"

The chapters in his book

Irony in the Old Testament (1965: Westminster)

are essays on various books / sections / narratives

of the Old Testament (TANAKH).

Jonah,

I Samuel (story of King Saul)

Genesis

the poetic or rhetorical books

he next turns to are:

Isaiah

Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes)

Job.

For example, he find ISAIAH

expressing irony through the

techniques of:

ironic metaphor,

attribution,

wordplay,

understatement,

exaggeration,

and conceptual irony.

The ironic vision stands

in the service of faith's

communication.  The presence

of irony becomes a possible

touchstone to the presence of

liberating faith whose urgency

lies with the faith itself, and

not with the faithful.

America wants change: a responsible way not a reckless way

 Following the 9:20 - 11 p.m.

Speech of POTUS to the joint session of

Congress, his Cabinet (some not yet

approved by the GOP-lead Senate), and

members of the SCOTUS (Supreme Court

justices including Stephen Breyer, retired)

Elissa Slotkin spoke

from Wyandotte, MI

in a Democratic response

to the campaign rally-

rhetoric of Trump 2.0.

apnews.com/article/trump-

slotkin-response-fae53. . .

Get Greenland "any way we can"

Trump in 2025 address to joint session of

Legislative Branch --

pledges to reclaim the Panama Canal 

[he specifically referred

The Panama Canal was

built by Americans for

Americans. . .we didn't

give it to China, we gave

it to Panama, and

we're taking it back. . .]

and to

get Greenland

any way we can

(March 3: (9:20 p.m.

address))

Associate Justice Kavanaugh

Brett Kavanaugh, POTUS Trump's

second nominee to the Supreme Court

continues to stand along with GOP

lawmakers during the Trump Address.

Rising and applauding enthusiastically

again, repeatedly.  Other justices present

remain seated for the purpose of listening

during the remarks to a bipartisan audience. 

BFF and World's most Affluent Tech-oligarch

Elon Musk

will be on hand

for  POTUS address

March 4, 2025:

presumably as a "friend"

supporter-donor as well

as a corporate recipient of

much of the Federal program

in space, among other Pentagon

and expenditures / / /

The "days of being ruled by

unelected bureaucrats are over"

POTUS says in address --

the Democrat lawmakers as well

as independent legislators point

to the Balcony where Musk is sitting

Blue and Yellow Scarves

Some legislators in the joint session of Congress for the

POTUS address on national priorities

will be wearing Blue and Yellow

Scarves to call attention to the fight

for survival by Ukraine's military and civilian

who fight off daily Russian army attacks.

yet-to-be-confirmed U.N. Ambassador-designate

Elise Stefanik walked into the chamber as if

one of the 20 or so Cabinet members . . .

The timing of the Address was delayed at

its start until

9:14 p.m. Eastern

following "USA, USA" began at 9:20

lasting 1 hour 40 minutes

Shin Bet admits intelligence lapse and how its policies led to Oct. 7 Massacre

March 4, 2025

NY TIMES online article 8:30 p.m.

Israel's domestic service assumed failure

to heed warning signs of HAMAS attack

about to occur Oct. 7, 2023.  But it also

faulted Netanyahu's government for policies

that had allowed HAMAS to quietly amass

weapons, collect funds, and gain support,

among other failures.

nytimes.com/2025/03/04/world/middleeast/

israel-oct-7-attack-shin-bet.html

Federal properties "for sale" list -- starts Monday March 3 with 443

According to Washington Post.com

the Trump-Vance General Services

Administration (GSA) listed

on first Monday of March

443 properties

"not core to govt. operations";

HOWEVER, on Tuesday 3/4/2025

123 of them

disappeared from the GSA Listing

excluding 100% of them being

in the District of Columbia

VP Vance offends NATO allies (U.K. & France) in Tucker Carlson brag/challenge

JD Vance has sparked a storm of criticism

in Britain after declaring that an "American

economic deal in Ukraie was a "BETTER
SECURITY GUARANTEE

than

20,000 troops from some

random country that hasn't

fought a war in 30 or 40 years

Britain and France both fought alongside

U.S. coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan;

the NATO Article 5 - which declares that an 

attack on one member state is an attack

against them all -- had been invoked

following the Al-QAEDA attack of

9/11/2001.

nytimes.com/

vance-ignites-outrage-

in-Britain [March 4,

2025]

Trump-Vance CDC (Center Disease Control) sends Disease Detectives to TX

The CDC has no authority to go into Texas or

any other state on its own; when an outbreak

occurs, the agency must be invited in by

state health officials --

RFK Jr. said last week that the Trump admin.

was supporting the TX Dept. of Health thru

technical assistance and vaccines including

sending 2,000 MMR  shots and

providing laboratory support

for better tracking the virus

that is causing the lethal outbreak.

UPDATE: March 8 -

230+ cases reported in W. Texas

and New Mexico

Cathy Harris, MSPB chair

District Judge Rudolph Contreras

ruled 4 March 2025 that Trump-Vance-Musk

cannot illegally fire her during her term (til

2028) unless she is fired for cause.

cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-congress-address

3-4-25/index.html

As Chair of a critical agency that reviews federal

employee firings, she can stay on the job !

POTUS lacks the authority to to remove Harris

at will . . .

Rosa DeLauro (Connecticut)

The ranking member (D) on the House

appropriations committee has said,

No Way !

to the GOP-MAGA proposal of a 

stopgap spending bill that maintains

last year's levels.  This CR is promoted

by Trump and his "House speaker" mike

Johnson (Louisiana).

Details at thehill.com/ homenews/house

dealauro-stopgap-spending-bill

Elissa Slotkin - a Centrist politician with deep National Security credentials

Junior U.S.

SENATOR from

Michigan

(replaced Debbie

Stabenow)

Elected to Congress in 2018;

she worked as a CIA Analyst

and in National Security posts

for the Obama and W. Bush

administrations --

won Senate seat despite Trump

gaining the plurality of Presidential

vote in Michigan last Nov. 2024.

Her reply began after 11 p.m. Eastern

since the address to Congress 

lasted 1 hour 40 minutes.  She

spoke to Americans seeking change,

not a reckless path but a responsible

way!

Government Shutdown Deadline

March 14, 2025

Arab League meets in Cairo to discuss Gaza rebuilding

Will Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi monarchies

(22 countries : Bahrain and Qatar 

among them)

emirates fund a rebuilding of Gaza Strip

that keeps Palestinians in place?

DETAILS at NPR.org coverage

March 4, 2025 meeting to reject Trump

call to displace Gaza long-time residents/

in favor of "Riviera of the Meditteranean"

scheme / real estate "vision"

npr.org/2025/03/03/g-s1-51326/

gaza-reconstruction-cairo-egypt

Greenland voters face referendum March 11 -- choices loom in near future

apnews.com coverage of whether

Greenland native residents want

full independence from

Denmark; young

generation express

angst over [questions

re: vote turnout / result]

Greenlanders don't want

to be Danish; Greenlanders

don't want to be American;

Greenland is not for sale

article/buy-greenland-trump-

united-states-denmark . . .

Gratitude is due to the Ukrainian Soldiers who shed their blood -- Rebuttal to Trump/Vance Oval Office verbal abuse of Zelinskiyy

Who is

Lech Walesa (Polish

Solidarity leader)?

co-signer with Polish

political prisoners of an

"Open Letter" to Trump

voicing "horror and disgust"

at his scolding last week at

a White House signing ceremony

for "mineral rights" / rare earths

transfer to the U.S. Treasury (Scott

Bessent, Secretary) to "pay back"

the military aid / weapons / technology

used since the 2022 invasion of

Ukraine by the Russian army of Putin.

nytimes.com/2025/03/03/us/politics/

lech-walesa-trump-letter.html

Avocadoes, Tomatoes, Cars: impacts to be felt immediately on American consumers & wallets

Global Tariffs

Trump imposed 25 percent tariffs on

Canada,

Mexico,

China --

impact and price hikes 

to be felt immediately

in American consumption

"marketplace/s"

James Dennehy

Top FBI agent in NY City office

has been forced out of his job,

following clashes with DOJ

officials over Trump-Vance

administration directives

nytimes.com/2025/03/03/nyregion/

nyc-fbi-agent-james-dennehy-forced-out.html

We will not bend.

We will not falter.

We will not sacrifice

what is right

for anything or

for anyone.

Thomas Corry, HHS assistant Secy. of Public Affairs resigned Friday Feb. 28

Story at CNN.com

March 3, 2025

Thomas Corry provided no reason in his post

Friday after clashing with RFK, Jr. and his aide

Stefanie Spear who appeared to be running

communications within HHS.  The conflicts

included management of the agency during

the measles outbreak in W. Texas and New

Mexico recently.

Stock Markets tumble as POTUS announces tariffs on China plus neighbors Canada & Mexico

11 a.m. Tuesday Dow has fallen 800 points;

Markets open March 4 after Trump announced

First Monday of March Tariffs - 25% / 15%

CNN.com

Dow Jones slid 650 points as investors expect

prices to rise monumentously with imposition

of Tariffs on N. American neighbor economics

Erin Boyd and Mark Moore

 SOURCES Quoted in CNN story

cnn.com/2025/03/03/politics/

usaid-reinstates-contracts-for-georgia-company

/index.html

Mark Moore is the founder of MANA nutrition

who received cancellation notices for the

peanut butter-based lifesaving paste for

starving children

Erin Boyd, USAID nutritionist laid off

from the agency in Jan. 2005, shortly

after the Trump-Vance Inauguration

indoors at the Capitol Rotunda. . .

USAID contract (with Georgia, USA Company) to aid malnourishment

CNN Reports that

Elon Musk has relented

and WILL restore funding

to Georgia Company that

feeds malnourished children

cnn.com/

Musk and budget-slashers

thought US AID was wasteful

100% -- "America First" philosophy

leads to starvation for the malnourished

NPR / PBS News / Marist Poll ahead of Tuesday 9 p.m. Trump Address before Joint session Congress

Poll results

53% of respondents believe

the State of the Union is NOT

STRONG;

54% say the country is 

headed in the WRONG Direction.

Christian Stocker (March 3 took office as Austria's Chancellor)

Austria (Western Europe)

has a new leader after a five-month

wait for a 3-party government:

Austrian People's Party

(conservative); Social

Democrats (center-left);

Neos (liberal)

abcnews.go.com/

Austria's new government

takes office today

Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon) - March 14, 2025 after 12:01 a.m.

1:09 a.m.

Partial eclipse begins as the moon

enters the outer part of the shadow

and begins to subtly dim.

2:26 a.m. Totality

6 a.m. The whole process should

conclude

All lower 48 states

of the USA should 

have a view; a dark

environment away from

city lights makes for

the best spectating!

Nick Enrich, acting administrative director for USAID Global Health

Lifesaving humanitarian assistance

has NOT been implemented under a

waiver to cuts targeting foreign aid --

nbcnews.com/news/us/news/

usaid-official-leave-barriers-life-

saving-programs-preventable-death-

rcna194455

March 3, 2025 -- he was placed on

leave Sunday after saying those moves

will lead to preventable death and

threats to national security . . .

Musk posts false information about funding that expired in Bush admin. -- more exposed by watchdogs

UPDATE: March 4 -- another

erasure / alteration of 1,000 contracts

the Musk committee claimed to have

"saved four billion" -- actually now

ZEROED and omitted. . .

NYTimes.com/2025/03/03/us/politics/

doge-musk-contracts-wall.html

_____________________________________

A completed fed. grant for $144,000

that ended June 30, 2005

was claimed on

The Wall of Receipts

as saving $53.7

million from the Coast

Guard list of appropriated

monies / funding

nytimes.com/2025/03/02/

us/politics/doge-musk-contracts

-error.html

N.I.H. gross misstatement

by DOGE was that a contract

for three admin. assistants that

cost $1.4 million actually

when cancelled would save 

taxpayers $149 million. . .

Slava Ukraini

Glory to Ukraine :

uttered by presenter

Darryl Hannah

of FILM EDITING award

at Oscar ceremony

March 2, 2025

She held up two fingers in

a peace sign as she voiced

her support with the term

which translates to

Glory To Ukraine!

She backed the besieged

nation's people in 2022 shortly

following the vicious Russian

invasion -- writing on social media

We stand with you &

all the victims of brutal

dictators & senseless

wars

No Other Land -(best documentary) - Oscars 2025; BEST International Feature winner

Basel Adra & Yuval Abraham

co-Winners of 

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE - short

2024 - film producers of "No Other Land"

were self-introduced as two "brothers" Israeli & Palestinian;

Winner of INTERNATIONAL FEATURE

was "I'm Still Here" entered by 

Argentina

Secretary of State Rubio bypasses Congressional oversight for 2,000 lb. bombs to Israel

Using "emergency authority"

former Senator Rubio of FL now 4th

in Presidential succession sent $4

billion in weapons to IDF (Israel's

army and offensive troops) in order

to face no questioning from Congressional

oversight / legislative prioritizing . . .

Sat. March 1, 2025

Zelinskiyy to meet King Charles (U.K. monarch) -- BBC

bbc.com/news/articles/ce98v8mnxm3o

The elected leader of the besieged

Ukrainian people met at Sandringham

Sunday (March 2,

2025) the recently crowned monarch of

the United Kingdom (England, Wales,

Scotland, N. Ireland) today following

an E.U. (European Union) - Ukraine

emergency summit at London, England.

That is the King's Norfolk residence.

Israel halts all aid into Gaza as Cease-Fire expires

 Israel announced Sunday morning

March 1, 2025

the halting of all goods and humanitarian

assistance immediately, hours after 

proposing to its antagonist HAMAS

a temporary extension.

nytimes.com/2025/03/01/world/middleeast/

israel-cease-fire-proposal.html

Perpetua of Carthage (North Africa) - martyred in A.D. 203 under Emperor Severus

The feasts of Roman

Catholic martyrs PERPETUA

and FELICITY is

March 7 annually.

Because of their Christian

faith and testimony in

Carthage, they refused

to recant or deny their

baptism and discipleship;

the two were thrown into

an arena of wild animals

but survived.  Then Emperor

Severus commanded that

they be put to death by the

sword.

Major General Cedric T. Wins

This first black leader of the

Virginia Military Institute,

the oldest state-supported

military college in the

United States; all enrolled

students participate in reserve

officers training, a pathway to

leadership roles in the U.S.

military.  General Wins,

an alumnus, was appointed

to the job in 2021, although

he began on an interim basis

the year before.  He was fired

by the board 10 - 6, without

giving an official reason for

the decision, after a closed

session that lasted more than

two hours.

3/2 online article in NY TIMES.

Wins was responsible for removing

the statue of Confederate general

"Stonewall" Jackson that had

been prominently positioned

on campus.

Do American residents / citizens / students-workers "only" speak English?

No

an estimated 42 million

speak Spanish at home

and 3 million are Chinese

speakers.

Polling and survey data

demonstrate that 3/4 of

Americans speak only

English at home. However,

in Puerto Rico, 94 percent

of residents speak Spanish.

This Presidential Proclamation

(1 March 2025) also overlooks

the native language movement

and expressed wishes of

tribal groups ranging from

native Alaskans to 

the Cherokee (many states)

as well as the Navajo / Dine' 

(170,000 speakers).

Holocaust Remembrance Day - begins at Sundown

April 23, 2025

(80th Anniversary

of the NAZI death

camps in E. Europe

and Germany

Moveable Religious Observances (Februrary- April 20) - year of our Lord 2025

from OLD FARMER's ALMANAC (2025)

page 149

Septuagesima Sunday : Feb. 16

Ramadan begins Sundown Feb. 28

Orthodox Lent begins March 3

Shrove Tuesday is March 4

Ash Wednesday is March 5

40 days of Lent follow thereafter

Conclusion of Ramadan is March 31

Passover begins Sundown April 12

Palm Sunday (all calendars) Apr.13

Easter (Western & Orthodox) April 20

PASSOVER concludes April 20

Harbor

Subject Matter

Niles, MI Book Discussion Club

NDL

nileslibrary.com/single-event/subject-matter-

book-club-5-2-2/2025-03-11/

To Meet in the Community Room

Niles District Library

620 E. Main Street, Niles, Michigan

49120

Free and open to public reading /

discussing patrons (age 18+)

see ADULT SERVICEs during library hours;

phone 269-683-8545

nileslibrary.com/

Ukrainians

REUTERS Headline

Ukrainians reel from 

crisis in U.S. political

ties (Trump - Vance

and part of Republican

elected MAGA ) after

Trump - Zelinskiyy clash

in Oval Office, 1600

Pennsylvania Ave., D.C.

No "deal" signed with

rare earth and valued

minerals (lithium, uranium,

cobalt, titanium, lanthanum,

cerium, europium)

www.reuters.com/ 

Pope Francis / Franciscus health (updated March 2025)

Please pray for the leader of

Western Christianity's Roman

Catholic and Eastern rite churches

(affiliated historically with 

that Episcopal leadership)

before March 2013 he

was Jesuit cardinal

Jorge Bergoglio of

Buenos Aires, Argentina --

he is a humble and

compassionate world

leader based in

Vatican City, near

Rome, Italy -- currently

hospitalized for +10

days and on emergency

ventilation /breathing assist

[elected 13 March 2013

after retirement of Benedict

XVI Feb. 28 that year]

UPDATE (March 2, 2025):

Friday (Feb. 28) he suffered

a bronchial spasm and inhaled

vomit after a coughing fit.

He was NOT intubated and

remained alert and conscious

at all times.

March 4 is PACZKI Day

Tuesday before Ash  Wednesday

also known as Shrove Tuesday

Mardi Gras

a day to savor and wait in line for

the Polish American pastry that

is fruit-filled or creme : most popular

are Apple, Strawberry, Lemon, Apricot,

Raspberry, Custard

also standard ones like Prune

and Bavarian Creme or Cream cheese

AVAILABLE at many Michigan

bakeries but get there early on 

March 4, 2025

March 2025 statistics for this blog

 March 1 - 31, 2025

Statistics day-by-day, and for

entire month / this blog

Seeking Faith and Understanding

started in 2007

Saturday 3/1 = web visits 696

Sunday March 2 = 470

3/3 = 452

3/4 = 488

3/5/2025 (Ash Wed.) = 544

3/6 = 583

3/7 = 574

3/8 = 498

First Sunday Lent =

3/10

Entire March visits = 4,305

Blog Entries / chapters / essays = 81