TODAY IS GIRL'S DAY

But first, a look at the week to come:

• Donald Trump leads Nikki Haley in the Republican primary, 244 to 24.  1215 clinches the vote.
• Actually, we are in the midst of the DC Republican primary, from Friday through Sunday for 19 delegates.  If Haley is ever to beat Trump, it will be in DC.  
• Donald Trump will crush Nikki Haley in all the 16 Republican primaries on Super Tuesday.
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  The only question about the Republican primary is when Haley will give up.
• Will this happen after Super Tuesday?
• She represents the never-Trumpers, and this could be more than 10% of the Republican Party and Independents, those who will make the difference between Trump and Biden.
• Wouldn't it be nice for Republicans if they kissed and made up, with Haley campaigning WITH Trump into the future?
• If she hangs in there, that will only hurt Trump, for, after all, he is a lout, cheat and a huge threat to American Freedom and Democracy.  If he gets re-elected on November 5, that will the last election in the USA for all that we have represented to the World.  Trump will rig all future elections, and find a way to make ours a monarchy, insuring that one of his family becomes the next POTUS.  He's already done this to the Republican Party.
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  With November 5 eight months away, Joe Biden will kick-off his re-election effort with his first campaign speech, which also happens to be his fourth State of the Union on Thursday.  Last year, 27 million watched.  Sure to be more this next time.  I mean, old, but honest and good old Joe Biden....versus old, but serial liar and soon to be convicted felon Donald Trump

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  Oh, the House of Representatives will take another crack this week to see if it can really shut down our federal government.  Perhaps they will instead try to redeem itself by delaying this embarrassment while passing war funds to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
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  By the way, speaking of Girls' Day, Caitlin Clark today scored 35 points, got 6 rebounds, had 3 steals and dished out 9 assists, as Iowa beat #2 Ohio State.  She also broke the all time scoring record held by Pistol Pete Maravich.  I was there to watch him for all four years at LSU and saw him break that record.

Here is what I know about Japan's Girls' Day.

• There has never been a Girl's Day in Japan.  Hinamatsuri means doll festival, began in the Heian Period (794-1195) on March 3, and became official in 1687.  
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  While there are boy dolls in the country, girl dolls are more prominent, and some took this to be Girl's Day, so families wished young girls health and prosperity.  March 3 was never a national holiday, and this year just happens to fall on Sunday.
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  There was once Boys' Day, on May 5, when paper carp flags were flown, going all the way back to the 12th century.  But the Japan Diet in 1948 changed that to become Children's Day for both boys and girls, and is now a national holiday.  Called Tango no Sekku, historically, on this day, women were asked to purify the house by fixing the roof, and during the Kamakura period (1185-1333) the samurai class switched the focus to boys.  Carp streamers came later, in the Edo period (1603-1867).

Actually, there is an International Day of the Girl Child, but this is celebrated on November 14, declared in 2012 by the United Nations.  It's too new, and no country treats this day as a national holiday.  The day is used here and there to promote women's rights.  In 2016 President Barack Obama issued a proclamation supporting an end to gender disparity.  Can you imagine Donald Trump doing this?

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