Texas Abortion Ban Results in Increase in Newborn Deaths & 16 Nobel Economists Warn Against Trumponomics
Texas Abortion Ban Results in Increase in Newborn Deaths & 16 Nobel Economists Warn Against Trumponomics
What I’m Discussing Today:
Kareem’s Daily Quote: Maya Angelou speaks to being mindful of what impression we leave people with.
Texas abortion ban linked to 13% increase in infant and newborn deaths: Gov. Abbott promised to eliminate rape in Texas; instead, Texas leads the country in rapes and rape-related pregnancies. How that affects their near ban on abortion.
Trump would make America’s inflation crisis worse, 16 Nobel economists warn: But what do they know, right?
Kareem’s Video Break: A fusion of Irish dance and hip-hop is as good as Snoopy’s “First Day of Spring” dance.
Phoenix police use excessive force and racially discriminate, Justice Dept. says: Systemic racism exists, so why are Republicans so aggressive about denying it?
New Yorkers Were Choked, Beaten and Tased by NYPD Officers. The Commissioner Buried Their Cases: How is this justice?
California prosecutors used anti-gay slurs to refer to prospective jurors: This is not what is meant by “a jury of one’s peers.”
Kareem’s Kvetching Korner: Virginia city repeals ban on psychic readings as industry grows and gains more acceptance: When is something made-up free speech and when is it a scam?
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis Play “Ida’s Crusade”: When jazz is played with a full orchestra, there’s a richness and weight to the sound that makes it resonate beyond the walls around us.
Kareem’s Daily Quote
I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
poet Maya Angelou (1928-2014)
I’m of two minds about this lovely quote. On the one hand, I agree that the details of our encounters with people can blur into one vague inkblot, but that the feeling we get when we see a person or know we are about to see them is a visceral reaction that is a distillation of all previous encounters. In short, I may forget what their opinions were about the movies or books we discussed for hours at dinner, but a deep, inarticulate part of my being remembers how they treated me, reacted to me—and made me feel.
On the other hand, sometimes what you specifically said or did is how you made them feel. I clearly remember insults and praise I received in the past and how it made me feel hurt or joy. I also remember things I said in my past that caused hurt or joy. I can remember simple acts of kindness toward me that were so insignificant to the person doing it that they probably forgot it within minutes. But it has lingered in my DNA for decades.
Let’s not quibble. The takeaway here is that our goal should be to leave an impression on people that evokes a feeling of happiness. This is not always possible with some people who are intent on leaving the opposite impression. In the end, I like to imagine that when someone says, “Kareem’s coming over for dinner,” those they’re speaking to don’t sigh heavily, roll their eyes, and think, “Let’s get through this.” Instead, I want them to smile and feel a tick of pleasant anticipation and think, “This will be an enjoyable way to spend my time.” And when I leave, they think, “That was nice. We should do it again sometime.”
It doesn’t matter whether the interaction is a minute in an elevator or an evening at a banquet, the time when we brush up against others is our opportunity to make that time—our most personal and precious commodity—joyfully memorable.