Good morning.
Friday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of forty-three. Sunrise is 6:38 AM and sunset 5:37 PM, for 10h 59m 10s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous, with 53.2% of its visible disk illuminated. Today is the {tooltip}four hundred seventieth day.{end-texte}Days since Trump’s election, with 11.9.16 as the first day.{end-tooltip}
On this day in 1945, U.S. Marines on Iwo Jima capture Mount Suribachi, where they raised two American flags (the second flag-raising was captured in an iconic Associated Press photograph.)
On this day in 1846, malted-milk magnate William Horlick is born: “A noted food manufacturer and philanthopist, Horlick arrived in the U.S. in 1869 and settled in Racine. In 1872 he moved to Chicago with his brother and began to manufacture food products. In 1876 his company moved to Racine where he began to experiment with creating a dried milk product. In 1887 he trademarked Malted Milk. In 1889 he opened a company branch in New York City and another in England the following year. He constructed additional plants in Racine in 1902 and 1905. The company name was changed to Horlick’s Malted Milk Co. in 1906. This success enabled Horlick to achieve a widespread reputation as a philanthropist in Racine. He also helped fund the first Byrd expedition to the South Pole and the Amundsen expedition to the North Pole. After his death in 1936, control of the company passed to his son, Ander James Horlick.”
Recommended for reading in full —
➤ Ellen Nakashima, Karen DeYoung and Liz Sly report Putin ally said to be in touch with Kremlin, Assad before his mercenaries attacked U.S. troops:
A Russian oligarch believed to control the Russian mercenaries who attacked U.S. troops and their allies in Syria this month was in close touch with Kremlin and Syrian officials in the days and weeks before and after the assault, according to U.S. intelligence reports.
In intercepted communications in late January, the oligarch, Yevgeniy Prigozhin, told a senior Syrian official that he had “secured permission” from an unspecified Russian minister to move forward with a “fast and strong” initiative that would take place in early February.
…
The recent incident took place on the night of Feb. 7-8, when a headquarters base of U.S. troops and their Syrian allies, located near a strategic oil field several miles east of the river and close to the town of Deir al-Zour, was attacked by 300 to 500 “pro-regime” forces.
The Americans quickly mobilized a ferocious response, including AC-130 gunships, jet warplanes and Apache attack helicopters. After three hours, the attacking force retreated, leaving behind what the U.S. military said was about 100 dead attackers. No casualties were reported among the Americans and their allies, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
(Our fellow Americans were victorious here, successfully defending themselves, and inflicting a deserved blow against Russian mercenaries. Americans at home who support Putin – including Trump’s servile response to Putin’s Russia – provide support for America’s deadly – literally deadly – enemies.)
➤ Mark Mazzetti and Maggie Haberman report Rick Gates, Trump Campaign Aide, to Plead Guilty in Mueller Inquiry and Cooperate:
WASHINGTON — A former top adviser to Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign indicted by the special counsel was expected to plead guilty as soon as Friday afternoon, according to two people familiar with his plea agreement, a move that signals he is cooperating with the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.
The adviser, Rick Gates, is a longtime political consultant who once served as Mr. Trump’s deputy campaign chairman. The plea deal could be a significant development in the investigation — a sign that Mr. Gates plans to offer incriminating information against his longtime associate and the former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, or other members of the Trump campaign in exchange for a lighter punishment.
The deal comes as the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, has been raising pressure on Mr. Gates and Mr. Manafort with dozens of new charges of money laundering and bank fraud that were unsealed on Thursday. Mr. Mueller first indicted both men in October, and both pleaded not guilty.
➤ Do all Christians believe that the Earth is for humanity to exploit? No, not all:
Actually, what God told us was something else: “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it” (Gen 2:15). But we have done too much tilling and not enough keeping. https://t.co/R49J2EFXco
— James Martin, SJ (@JamesMartinSJ) February 23, 2018
➤ Do all Christians believe that God, Himself, grants an express right to gun ownership? No, not all:
Others may believe this, but the Catholic Church does not teach that individual civilians have a natural right to own a gun. While recognizing the natural right to self-defense, the US bishops have also repeatedly called for major restrictions on gun ownership. https://t.co/1yaWZL4o28
— Matt Malone, S.J. (@Americaeditor) February 22, 2018
➤ Rep. John Lewis reminds us, from a tweet in 2016, that there’s sometimes good trouble:
Sometimes you have to get in the way. You have to make some noise by speaking up and speaking out against injustice & inaction #goodtrouble
— John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) June 22, 2016
➤ So, How Long Are You Contagious With The Flu?: