Will today do a better sunset than yesterday?
Will today do a better sunset than yesterday? Charles Mudede

What are we going to do about all of this lawlessness on I-5? Our liberal politicians, it seems, are just too soft when it comes to the criminals who rule this freeway almost every day of the week. KIRO 7 now reports that just yesterday a "driver was shot in his leg while driving on Interstate 5 near the West Seattle freeway." The victim claims that some person in another car pulled out a their heat and popped him "while driving northbound on I-5 near the West Seattle freeway." Local businesses have had it up to here with this violence. Politicians! Do something about it, or else Amazon will find a new town that lives by the rules of civilized people.

When will the great David Horsey devote one of his famous and very influential editorial cartoons to this surge of criminals on I-5? We're waiting for you Horsey.

What to expect today? Skies that are mostly free of clouds, and a sun that promises to set even more magically than yesterday's one. And if the skies are clear before dawn tomorrow, you can look up and see Mars, Venus, and Saturn hanging out in the sky like old tight friends who meet on a moonlit street and ask one another: What's happening, brother?

Those in the know are now claiming that the repair of West Seattle Bridge, which was closed near the beginning of the pandemic, will conclude somewhere in the middle of this year. The fear for a moment was the "ongoing Seattle-area concrete strike" would do a number on this project. But, as MyNorthwest reports, a "recent decision of the Teamsters to allow select workers to cross strike lines" brought the future of this bridge's reopening nearer to the time were are in right now.

A 13-year-old driving a car in downtown Tacoma killed a man driving a motorcycle. An adult was in the passenger seat. Both adult and girl were uninjured.

Are you ready for a second booster? FDA is saying that starting today, those over 50 will have the option of a fourth jab in the arm. But some local doctors are skeptical about the effectiveness of this booster on tamping down the pandemic globally. For example, the head of the Allergy and Infectious Disease Division and University of Washington School of Medicine, Dr. Anna Wald, told KIRO 7 that they are "not sure that [a fourth dose] is going to make a big difference in our fight against this pandemic.” The doctor is of the opinion that the government should be more concerned about those who have not been vaccinated. Believe it or not, a whole lot of people out there are still playing games with the deadly virus.

Russia is promising to "drastically reduce" its destruction of life, limb, and property in Kyiv. Apparently, the old Bear is having difficulty staffing its "special operation," which has now entered its fifth week.

Oil prices fell sharply and stocks went up because, according to the New York Times, "investors" believe some progress has been made in the "Russia-Ukraine peace talks." However, do not expect pain at the pump to end any time soon. Instead, count on the major liberators of carbon in the world to continue wringing every possible penny out of those who use the most irrational mode of transportation ever conceived by the third chimpanzee.

Seven hours and 37 minutes of the calls Donald Trump made in the White House on the day his three-month-long coup attempt became violent are missing. No one knows where they are or have gone. They just vanished like that. Poof.

Washington Post:

The lack of an official White House notation of any calls placed to or by Trump for 457 minutes on Jan. 6, 2021 – from 11:17 a.m. to 6:54 p.m. – means the committee has no record of his phone conversations as his supporters descended on the Capitol, battled overwhelmed police and forcibly entered the building, prompting lawmakers and Vice President Mike Pence to flee for safety.

Dan Savage has this to say:

Speaking of the slap that woke up the Oscars on Sunday: It's still making news ("How an Oscars photographer captured the moment Will Smith slapped Chris Rock"). Indeed, it might be here to stay, here for as long as humans are here. CNN reports that Will Smith is now doing his best to kiss and make up with Chris Rock. Smacking the taste out of the comedian's mouth was, according to Smith, "unacceptable and inexcusable."

Says a strip club in Vancouver BC:

And then there is this:

Nevertheless, this is still Hollywood's best ever slap:

Super-rich Kim Kardashian offered something of an apology to all of the working-class people she described as lazy ("get your fucking ass up and work"). Her words: "I’m really sorry if it was received that way." She really was trying to inspire people, not hurt their feelings or anything like that.

Let's begin this beautiful morning with my favorite R&B jam of the first decade of the present millennium, J*DaVeY's "No More."