Why? Because what am I going to do? Have 3 flags, one each for Ukraine, Israel, and Palestine?
What a mess - everywhere. Maybe China will invade Taiwan soon!
Until then (!), I would like to share the single most intelligent and balanced thing I've seen, heard, or read to date on the subject of the current war between Israel and Hamas. As there is more than ample coverage of this topic, I do not plan on covering it often, if at all, in the future.
But unless something drastically changes, what follows captures my feelings precisely, and I want to go on the record.
Ideally, you'll listen to the podcast. If not, I've put the transcript in a shared Google doc. Ezra is Jewish, and his horror and fear as such are beyond palpable and sincere in the podcast. So is his humanity and ability to understand the complexities of the situation. I believe you'll find the 10 minutes well-spent.
And for the record, the title of the podcast refers to hoping Israel learns from the horrific mistakes America made after 9/11.
Sorry for the bummer on a Friday. But it's warranted.
FROM THE UNWASHED MASSES
I guess I can lighten it up here. I got two fun responses to my "R-Word" post. First up is the plaid-clothed one, the gold medalist retiree Max Ryder.
And I thought the bad “R” word was going to be “Republican”.
Welcome back big fella, hope you got some “R&R” on your recent getaway.
And then there was this blast of raw comedy from Chicago, via Steven Simon.
My kids now put the "R" word on the level of the "C" word, the "F" word, and others. Pretty soon every letter will have "a word". We are grooming a generation of fucking retards.
Please don't cancel Steven, although I doubt that's possible.
Thank you for reading this newsletter.
KLUF
Featuring "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" and on one of rock's all-time best live albums, here is my favorite Beatle George Harrison on his other-worldly Live in Japan. If you're not familiar with this record (it somehow hasn't been played to date on KLUF), I sure hope you'll put it on. George's performance is timeless, and loathe him as I might, Clapton doesn't do too bad, either.
