“A slaughter”

The Case for
Political Exile for Donald Trump   

The Case for Political Exile for Donald Trump suggests We the People  exile The Donald as Napoleon was exiled. I second that. 

Indeed, why not exile The Donald - and family - to Thomas island. This is the 70–78 acres (28–32 ha) island in the subdistrict East End of Saint Thomas, owned, from 1998 until his 2019 death, by Donald’s friend American convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein . 

***

Cry, the beloved country. Doctor reacts to US Covid-19 numbers: 'It's a slaughter' as forty-four states see a rise in hospitalization and the number of daily new cases in the US… 

News blues…

Another example of Karma at work?

The Alaska congressman who once ridiculed the seriousness of the novel coronavirus, calling it the “beer virus,” said on Thursday he is now infected with it.
The announcement by Representative Don Young comes as the state’s governor on Thursday warned that health-care and public-safety systems were at risk of being overwhelmed by the rapid spread of the virus across Alaska.
Young, the 87-year-old Republican who is Alaska’s sole U.S. House of Representatives member, made the announcement on Twitter.
“I have tested positive for COVID-19. I am feeling strong, following proper protocols, working from home in Alaska, and ask for privacy at this time.”

With so many of Trump’s do-nothing-about-Covid cabinet and more than 130 Secret Service protectors infected, one might reconsider Karma. Hinduism and Buddhism state that the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, decides their fate in future existences. 
Or, as Westerners put it, “What goes around, comes around…. 

***

News from the neighborhood. Today, while bantering with gals in a hair salon (see details below), I carefully asked what the women thought of the US election and the results.
An elderly woman to my right said, “I think Trump’s an idiot.”
A younger woman on my left said, “I think Trump’s great! He’s a strong leader.” She added, “Bidden (her pronunciation of ol’Joe’s name) isn’t a strong leader.”
Another woman chimed in, “South Africans love Trump!”
The elderly woman to my right opined again, “They’re idiots, too!”
Usually, I’d chime in with my firm opinion – at least say, snidely, “I’m with her” and point to the woman on my right. Instead, I corrected pronunciation – “It’s Bye-den, not Bidden,” - and not only refrained from offering my opinion, I changed the subject. Me not opining shows I am capable of holding my tongue. Progress!
Nevertheless, Trump as a “strong leader”?
Baffling.

***

A message to the citizens of the USA from UK actor and comedian John Cleese (Monty Python, Fawlty Towers, etc.): "Britain is Repossessing the U.S.A."

In light of your failure to nominate competent candidates for President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately.
Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except Arkansas, which she does not fancy).
Your new prime minister, Boris Johnson, will appoint a governor for America without the need for further elections.
Congress and the Senate will be disbanded.
A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed.
To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:

First, look up "revocation" in the Oxford English Dictionary, then:  

1. Look up aluminium, and check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing it.
2. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'favour' and 'neighbour.' Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters, and the suffix -ize will be replaced by the suffix -ise. Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up 'vocabulary').
3. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as "like" and "you know" and “right?” is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as US English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take account of the reinstated letter 'u' and the elimination of -ize. You will relearn your original national anthem, God Save The Queen.
4. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.
5. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not adult enough to be independent.
6. Guns should only be handled by adults. If you're not adult enough to sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist then you're not grown up enough to handle a gun. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. A permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.
7. All American cars are hereby banned. They are crap and this is for your own good. When we show you German cars, you will understand what we mean.
8. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrification will help you understand the British sense of humour.
9. The Former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline)-roughly $10/US gallon. Get used to it.
10. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.
11. The cold tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager.
12. South African beer is also acceptable as they are pound for pound the greatest sporting Nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of British Commonwealth - see what it did for them.
13. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English dialogue in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater.
14. You will cease playing American football. There is only one kind of proper football; you call it soccer. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies). Don't try Rugby - the South Africans and Kiwis will thrash you, like they regularly thrash us. No more Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl, Cereal Bowl or Super Bowl. From now on..... get used to the World Cup.
15. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware that there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the South Africans first to take the sting out of their deliveries.
16. You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad.
17. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776).
18. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 pm with proper cups, never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; strawberries in season.

God save the Queen.
John Cleese

(FYI: The humor in Cleese's  message may appeal only to those deeply familiar with USA/UK cultural differences with a soupçon of British colonialism....) 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Except for my own snip-snip-snippings and cut-cut-cuttings, I’ve not had a “real” haircut in 7 months. Today I splurged with a professional cut at Rene’s salon, Classic Cuts. What a treat to be among chatty, vivacious (if uninformed) people!
Moreover, Rene remembered me from 7 months ago when we’d discussed the neighborhood: she once lived in a house on the same short street.
Today, I learned that she’s in touch with Johan, a man whose father purchased this house when Johan was two years old (he’s now in his early forties). These days, Johan lives in Pretoria (aka, for South Africans, as “behind the boerewors curtain.” For non-South Africans: boerewors, Afrikaans for “farmers’ sausage,” denotes a long, no link-cut-as-needed, uniquely South African “meaty treat” – and implies conversative views.)

I asked Johan if the smallest pair of the children’s footprints memorialized in concrete – shown here, on left - were his. They were.
He shared that his father had built the garden pond – although the current pond configuration sounds different to his father’s version.
Peoples’ history. I love it!

***

Mint plants run rampant in this garden. I don’t mind; mint is fragrant, what’s not to like?
Last year, I tried, unsuccessfully, to make mint jelly. Mint has no natural pectin and, alas, my attempts to add pectin failed: my mint jelly never gelled. Instead, I have a large jar of mint syrup. Surprise! Mint syrup is the perfect ingredient for the Cuban mojito cocktail. Ice, soda, two spoons of mint syrup, and a dash of rum. Unlike many South Africans, drinking alcohol is not my regular habit. Lockdown has persuaded me, however, of the efficacy of an occasional “sun-downer” while relaxing on the bank of the pond – albeit a solitary activity since I’m starved for company. I purchased a bottle Bicardi white rum: R199.99I/ US$ 12. (Compare this to the fancier brands that cost into the range of R400 to R500/US$26 to US$32.)
In the past, my mojitos required mulling mint and sugar, adding ice, adding soda water, and topping off with rum. Nowadays? Two spoons of mint syrup, ice, soda water, and rum. Voila. Mojito-in-a-moment!
Cheers!
Hiccup!

Trumplandia

Ben Hovland was nominated by President Donald Trump last year and unanimously confirmed by the Senate to run the US Election Assistance Commission. This includes testing and certifying US voting machines and working closely with other federal agencies that oversee elections, like the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
Today, Ben Hovland says that Trump’s false post-election claims are, "baffling", "laughable" and "insulting"  …. "At a minimum, it's insulting to the professionals that run our elections and hopefully that's the worst that comes of it…. “Our people [are] doing their jobs but they don't feel safe doing it. That is a tragedy. That is awful. These are public servants. This isn't a job you do for glory or to get rich."
In other words, its business as usual in Trumplandia…

News blues…

Catching up and catching on? Are governors of US states beginning to get a clue about coronavirus?

As COVID-19 cases continue to surge nationwide, several states announced new restrictions on Friday in an effort to stymie the spread of the virus.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) announced a two-week “shelter in place” order which will go into effect on Nov. 16. All nonessential businesses will need to cease in-person activities and on-site dining will be prohibited, among other restrictions, Grisham said.
Oregon too announced a similar two-week “freeze,” which will take effect on Nov. 18.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) said Friday that his state would also be tightening its coronavirus restrictions, including reducing the number of people allowed at gatherings — both outdoors and indoors — from 250 to 25 and lowering the age at which children need to wear masks from 10 to 5.
In West Virginia, Gov. Jim Justice (R) announced a new “ultra mandatory” mask policy, which would require people over the age of 9 to wear face coverings in public buildings at all times.

Catching on and catching up? Not so fast… the whackadoodles continue the whackadoodleitude:

President-elect Joe Biden says he'll personally call red state governors and persuade them to impose mask mandates to slow down the coronavirus pandemic. Their early response: Don’t waste your time. 
Almost all of the 16 Republican governors who oppose statewide mask mandates are ready to reject Biden’s plea… and declared [this] in public statements — even as they impose new restrictions on businesses and limit the size of public gatherings to keep their health systems from getting swamped.

Remember when Trump introduced the term “sh**hole countries”? We the People need a fitting term for asinine and dangerous-to-public-health governors.
It’s not only the economy, stupids! 

 ***

The Lincoln Project is back!
1962  (0:25 mins)
Democracy  (1:00 mins)

Healthy futures, anyone?

“…Solely cutting emissions is not enough.”

The former archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and the leading climate scientist Michael Mann are among a group of prominent environmentalists calling for the “restoration of the climate” by removing “huge amounts of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere”.
Net zero targets have been a focus of governments, local authorities and campaigners in their attempts to address global heating. The authors of Friday’s letter, however, say that although stopping emissions is “a necessary prerequisite”, governments and businesses must be more ambitious and work to “restore the climate” to as safe a level as possible.
The letter states, “The climate crisis is here now. ”

Editorial comment: Actually, the climate crisis is here now, but it was raised as a news items decades ago:

THIRTY YEARS AGO, the potentially disruptive impact of heat-trapping emissions from burning fossil fuels and rain forests became front-page news. 
It had taken a century of accumulating science, and a big shift in perceptions, for that to happen. Indeed, Svante Arrhenius, the pioneering Swedish scientist who in 1896 first estimated the scope of warming from widespread coal burning, mainly foresaw this as a boon, both in agricultural bounty and “more equable and better climates, especially as regards the colder regions of the Earth.”
There were scattered news reports through the decades, including a remarkably clear 1956 article in the New York Times that conveyed how accumulating greenhouse gas emissions from energy production would lead to long-lasting environmental changes. In its closing the article foresaw what’s become the main impediment to tackling harmful emissions: the abundance of fossil fuels. “Coal and oil are still plentiful and cheap in many parts of the world, and there is every reason to believe that both will be consumed by industry so long as it pays to do so.”

The deadly combo: human nature and inertia.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

After a couple of days bobbing in the morose waters of Pandemic Fatigue, I turned to my mental-health restorative: the garden and the stream. Despite giving succor to my nemesis – mosquitos – the garden pond revives me. (I try to balance my antipathy for mosquitos with facts. It helps – sort of…. https://www.thoughtco.com/what-good-are-mosquitoes-1968303 ) Pond pleasures include noticing how healthy and bountiful are the various plants I added to the pond garden last fall (“autumn”). And noticing the seasonal rhythms of plant life: dragonflies, tadpoles and frogs, birds. Alas, no sign of the goldfish I added in April: happy kingfishers, no doubt.

***

My mother becomes more confident steering her auto-wheelchair. Alas, she only uses it when I’m there; she does not practice driving it when I’m not there.
Yesterday, we broke out of the confines of the Care Center and into the surrounding parking lots. I’m glad she’s becoming more adept at the single hand control although she still hangs her arms over the armrests and still loses control at inopportune times, particularly negotiating doors and gates. While she frets at my insistence she cover her arms and elbows with towels as padding against injury, so far she’s not refused to do so.
Two days ago, another elderly woman using a walker outside the Care Center fell on concrete and tore a large L-shape flap of skin off her arm. Luckily, I was about to use the same back entrance to the Care Center and was able to help her within seconds of her fall. I did not witness the fall, but I suspect it came about through some mix up with her small dog on its leash as she negotiated the concrete slope through the gate. This highlights my concern with my mother who purchased the auto-wheelchair so she can “take Jessica – The Dog – out to walk.”
First, Jessica is not particularly interested in walks on a leash. I attest to this as I take her out each time I visit. She’s interested in being outside, sniffing, peeing, and then returning inside.
Then, Jessica is undisciplined. My mother believes dogs should be “happy” and discipline makes them unhappy.
Additionally, Jessica is a big dog and not leash trained. I shudder to think of the combination of my mother, the auto-wheelchair, the leash, and The Dog outside the Care Center.
What can go wrong, will go wrong.
My role? Air my concerns. Then shut up.

Friggatriskaidekaphobia

Friggatriskaidekaphobia: A morbid, irrational fear of Friday the 13th. 

Frigga - the name of the Norse goddess for whom “Friday” is named and triskaidekaphobia, meaning fear of the number thirteen.
Among South Africa’s progressive community, Donald Trump is known as the Sentient Naartjie – a naartjie (“nar-chi”) being a bright orange colored tangerine-like citrus. These days I suffer Trumpthenaartjiephobia – the fear of how far Republicans will go to permit the orange-haired madman to exact revenge on We the People of the United States.
It’s way past time for the white straight jacket and the escort under guard from the White House.

News blues…

As the “adrenaline-infused mallard”  in the White House continues to ignore it, the United State's surging coronavirus outbreak is on pace to hit nearly 1 million new cases a week by the end of the year — a scenario that could overwhelm health systems across much of the country…
Governed by Greg Abbott, a Republican mask-denier, Texas this week became the first state to surpass 1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases. 
Mississippi’s Governor Tate Reeves (Republican) said that under his leadership, his state will not cooperate with a national lockdown order, should President-elect Joe Biden implement one next year.  This, in response to one of Biden’s newly appointed COVID-19 task force members floating the idea of a four-to-six-week lockdown to attempt to get the coronavirus under control.

You know, kinda, sorta like We the People of South Africa have been doing for the last 232 days. (Lockdown helps … although South Africa’s overnight tally of confirmed new cases was more than 2,000.)

What the word for Republican fear of lockdown? 

***

Meanwhile, a further explosion of Covid cases. 

***

Healthy futures, anyone?

From the author of “Annihilation,” Jeff VanderMeer, “the truth is some version of the apocalypse is inevitable" …

The question is whether we can mitigate it to the point where it’s livable.
… the coronavirus in the sense is part and parcel of the climate crisis. It is not divorced from it. It is linked to things like habitat loss and habitat degradation and the fact that we have to not just have green tech. We have to have biodiversity on our planet in order to survive. And so it’s almost weirdly this invisible thing has made visible the cracks in our systems and the faults in our systems that we need to desperately fix in order to deal with the next thing and to deal with the climate crisis in general.

Listen to a conversation with Jeff VanderMeer and Kara Swisher 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Our gardener has two young children, a ten-year-old girl, and a seven-year-old boy. I’ve never met these children, but I regularly enquire about them. The pandemic prevented childrens' full weeks of schooling and, currently, each of the gardener's children attend school two days per week; one on Monday and Tuesday, the other on Wedneday and Thursday; neither attends on Fridays. 

During the early days of lockdown, the children stayed home for several weeks straight. I purchased assorted books, crayons, pens, coloring books to assist their parents with keeping the kids busy. (Imagine being confined to a small house with two lively children and a pandemic raging outside!) Today, keeping in mind that the children are now seven months older, I replenished the assortment, adding a set of glitter glue pens for the upcoming holiday season. 

Intriguingly, in this village in Midlands, KwaZulu Natal, the only coloring books I could find were Euro-centric. At least 97 percent of the books' illustrations depict Euro-centric characters – white pirates, Snow White, Nordic princesses, etc. - rather than Afro-centric. I scooped up the only coloring book that depicted a young African girl in tribal costume carrying a pot on her head, and a giraffe. (I look forward to finding a wider, Afro-centric selection in the local city. Much of what is sold in South Africa these days, however, comes from China.)

***

The garden pond is alive with little critters. I wasn’t wearing my glasses when I spotted the latest batch of critters hatched in the pond. They looked like a species of tadpole (“polliwog”), but smaller. Intrigued, I peered closely. Surprise! The critters are mosquitos! The large pond, epicenter of my gardening joy, is a hot bed for my insect nemesis.
Since adult mosquitos love snacking on my blood, I may be the only person in South Africa who owns – and uses – a functional mosquito net (opposed to the “out of Africa” prop used for interior design). My net is voluminous and black – the only color available at Cost Plus in Oakland California when I purchased it more than a decade ago. I set it up during last week's very hot spell, and have slept well under it.
“Anopheliphobia,” a branch of entomophobia, fear of insects, is fear of mosquitos - derived from Greek “anopheli,” mosquito. This phobia is linked with pruritophobia, fear of itches, since mosquito bites are itchy.
Combine anopheliphobia and pruritophobia with Trumpthenaartjiephobia and I may be ready for a white straight jacket.

Veterans Day

Numbers for end of Lockdown Week 33

Worldwide (Map)  
November 12 – 52,070,000 confirmed infections; 1,274,000 deaths
October 15 – 38,426,375 confirmed infections; 1,091,250 deaths

US (Map)
November 12 – 10,258,100 confirmed infections; 239,700 deaths
October 15 – 7,911,500 confirmed infections; 216,860 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal)
November 12 – 740,255 confirmed infections; 19,951 deaths
October 15 – 696,420 confirmed infections; 18,155 deaths

A somber Veterans Day in the United States yesterday. With 136,000 newly confirmed cases across the country in one day, we learn that,

More than 4,200 veterans have died from Covid-19 at hospitals and homes run by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and nearly 85,000 have been infected, according to the department. 
That death toll does not include an untold number who have died in private or state-run veterans facilities, including the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home in Massachusetts, which had nearly 80 deaths earlier this year. Two former administrators were charged with criminal offenses after an investigation found that “utterly baffling” decisions caused the disease to run rampant there.
American veterans are especially vulnerable to COVID-19 because of their age and underlying health conditions, some of which can be traced to exposure to the Vietnam-era defoliant Agent Orange and smoke from burning oilfields in the Persian Gulf.

News blues…

President Ramaphosa addressed the nation last night.  (36:11 mins) 

Key takeaways:
Virus still present across the land yet South Africans are forgetting this
Highest number of weekly new cases and deaths (more than 2,000 new cases today)
Covid far from over – and will remain “for some time to come”
Kudos to front line workers…
SA’s response widely recognized and commended around the world
Toll on health and wellbeing of SA
92 percent recovery rate
Pay attention to Eastern Cape with a resurgence: 50 percent higher number of cases now
Too many large gatherings, not enough mask wearing
Government response:
Implement resurgence plan: intervention include primary health care outreach, contact tracing, readiness
Wake up call: cannot relax or be complacent
Extending national state of disaster to Dec 15
Second area of concern:
Festive season – people want to travel, relax, gather and this poses a great threat to managing the pandemic
What we know and what we need to do:
Wear masks
Avoid poorly ventilated buildings
Don’t let your guard down
Download free Covid alert app
Public intervention:

Testing:
Vaccine coming… need about 750 million doses thru Africa
Manufactured in SA, too, to ensure sufficient supply to SA and continent
Social benefit intervention:
Economic reconstruction – from relief to recovery
Covid 19 grant extended to Jan 2021
UIF extended for another month
Alcohol sales back to regular hours
Travel returning to normal 

From Wed Nov 25 to Sun 29 – 5 days of mourning of Covid 19 and Gender-based Violence (GBV): 6 am to 6pm - wear black arm bands.

***

Healthy futures, anyone?

Disinformation and misinformation is the name of the game these days. Confusion reigns. For example, Tuesday’s post  presented information that Covid recovery plans threaten global climate hopes. Today, news reports, “Renewable energy defies Covid-19 to hit record growth in 2020: International Energy Agency expects green electricity to end coal’s 50-year reign by 2025" 
At the same time, “Rolls-Royce vows to create 6,000 UK jobs with nuclear power station plans: Engineering firm is part of consortium pushing for government backing."

There is no agreed upon way forward for healthy futures - at least not by public figures. 

Seeing is not believing....
Meanwhile, "fears for a million livelihoods in Kenya and Tanzania as Mara River fish die out: water biodiversity is on the brink, with dire consequences for the region known for the zebra and wildebeest migration":

Fish are being driven to extinction in the Mara River basin, putting the livelihoods of more than a million people in Kenya and Tanzania in jeopardy, according to WWF.
A report  by the wildlife NGO details how farming, deforestation, mining, illegal fishing and invasive species could sound a death knell for the transboundary river. 

The first stocktake of biodiversity in the river basin identified 473 native freshwater species including four mammals, 88 waterbirds, 126 freshwater associated birds, four reptiles, 20 amphibians, 40 fishes, 50 invertebrate species and 141 vascular plants. 

We, the people (who pay attention) know the Covid-19 pandemic is an outcome of humans’ dysfunctional relationship with nature.  Yet, as in so many other areas of public life, we continue to push against this inconvenient truth, pretending “technology”, “science”, “know-how” will overcome.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

The weather in this part of KZN – the Midlands – reflects my mood: damp, somber.
The birds continue cheerfully to twitter and build nests. Time for me to take a lesson from these extraordinary creatures and cheer up!

Vaccine on the horizon

(c) Rico

I was tempted to title today’s post, “Is he gone yet?”… and focus – again – on the Trumpster and his ongoing temper tantrums about the Losers who made him a Loser by losing an election.
In the US, this period is called “lame duck,” but as Naysan Rafati, of International Crisis Group, puts it, “This is less a lame-duck period and more of an adrenaline-infused mallard.” 
Indeed, Trump will do a lot of damage to the American cultural psyche and, likely, to domestic and international relations on his way out, but he IS on his way out. 

It's time for him to move on - and for me to change the subject, too. Goodbye, already! 

News blues…

Dr Fauci on Pfizer’s 90 percent effective Covid-19 vaccine: Yes, there are challenges ahead, including convincing the public to continue (start?) to implement ongoing public health aspects to protect oneself (wear masks, socially distance, sanitize) but the vaccine looks very promising….  (3:53 mins) 

***

At the same time, “Don’t Get Too Excited About the Coronavirus Vaccine. It’s unmitigated good news. But it would be a tragic mistake to relax our vigilance right away.”  

***

State hospitals in South Africa’s Nelson Mandela Bay ran out of intensive care beds on Monday 9 November as coronavirus infections in the Eastern Cape’s biggest metro edged closer to 5,000. The district manager for the Department of Health in the metro, Dalene de Vos, said there were 4,546 confirmed cases of coronavirus infections in the metro — an increase of 692 over the weekend. 

On the other hand, the U.S. has surpassed 1 million new confirmed coronavirus cases since the start of November - 100,000-plus cases a day for 10 days!

Healthy futures, anyone?

Could listening to the deep sea help save it? 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

I’m suffering pandemic fatigue. Yesterday was as bad as its been for me over these 230 days. I hit a wall. Constant rainfall – same today – added to my morose state. On such days, it is particularly important that I “change the channel” – focus on something nourishing. Instead of staring at my belly button and feeling hard-done-by, I edited my blog that shares my ceramic sculptures. Take a look…  And, yes, thank you, I do feel better. It’s still raining, but I’m more motivated and more centered. I guess it doesn't take much to get me going...

Stay or go?

Trump’s dilemma: should I stay or should I go? The Clash put it to music…  (3:00 mins)

News blues…

We, the People are exposed to mountains of media each day and, as the Trump election fiasco continues, it becomes increasingly difficult to discern what is based in fact or fantasy, in truth or lies, and satirical or serious news. For example, choose from the following headlines (answers below):

1. Trump Claims Over 70 Million Biden Votes Came From People Who Should Be Dead
2. Trump is devouring fast food — and aides are ‘lighting scented candles’ to cover up the stench
3. Donald Trump Jr. Refuses To Step Down From Post Of President’s Oldest Son
4. After Baseless Trump Claims, Barr Says DOJ Can Investigate Voter Fraud Allegations

Answers:

1. Satire, from The Onion 
2. Truth, from Rawstory 
3. Satire, from The Onion  
4. Truth, from Huffpost 

***

Currently popular, the term “inflection point” refers to selecting one possible direction over another possible direction - and that both directions are inherently equally valid.
In fact, we face a choice between a culture based on “traditional” values – integrity, honor, respect for other people and points-of-view, respect for justice and the law, and a shared moral code – and a culture based on an any-deceit-that-works-at-the-moment, authoritarian-whim-based, emotion-driven culture.
The United States – and, therefore, the world – are at an inflection point, the consequences of which are grave.
It’s frighteningly unclear which direction we’ll choose.
Warning: unless Trump and Trump-supported cabinet members are charged with their crimes against the US Constitution and US law, the second choice will triumph, whether expressly chosen or not.
Sobering, no?

***

The Lincoln Project looks on the bright side:

It took all of us.
Just 72 days remain in Donald Trump’s first, and only, term as president.
While Trump Republicans continue to kick, scream, and cry fraud without evidence, the real world is moving on and looking forward to the next administration, and the next chapter in America’s story.
World leaders were quick to congratulate President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris, as were the likes of President George W. Bush, Senator Mitt Romney, and a handful of other Republicans who aren’t willing to deface our free and fair elections for political points.
We, the People, have spoken.
A truly American coalition of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans delivered Joe Biden the largest victory in American history, with 75 million votes for the Biden-Harris ticket—and counting.
However, as we saw play out last week, the margins in several key states were narrow—meaning it took every single voter within this coalition to deliver this result.
This win belongs to all of us, including you.
Donald Trump is the first-ever president to be impeached, lose the popular vote twice, and lose re-election. A trifecta of failure fit for the most un-American president in our history.
Looking ahead, our work is far from over.
Over 71 million Americans voted to keep Trump in power, to continue on our path of destruction and chaos, and ultimately, for an illiberal takeover of our democracy.
Luckily, there are more of us than there are of them.
With several Trump enablers remaining in office, control of the Senate could be in the hands of Georgia. Senators Perdue and Loeffler must once again face voters for a runoff on January 5 in the ultimate test of their loyalty: America, or Trump?

Healthy futures, anyone?

Covid recovery plans threaten global climate hopes as countries pour money into fossil fuels to fight recession 

In at least 18 of the world’s biggest economies, more than six months on from the first wave of lockdowns in the early spring, pandemic rescue packages are dominated by spending that has a harmful environmental impact, such as bailouts for oil or new high-carbon infrastructure, outweighing the positive climate benefits of any green spending, according to the analysis. Only four countries – France, Spain, the UK and Germany – and the EU have packages that will produce a net environmental benefit.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Pandemic fatigue, coupled with California homesickness, has kicked in BIG TIME for me.
South Africa has a term for how I address these feelings: vasbyt
Vasbyt is advice from then-conscripted SADF recruits who served compulsory military service, from 9 months to 2 years.
The Afrikaans term means, literally, bite down; figuratively it means “keep a stiff upper lip,” or “grin and bear it.”
I’ll try….

“You’re Fired!"

© Illustration: Chris Riddell 

Photo essay: Americans celebrate the incoming 46th president  

News blues…

Brace yourself! Trump “is not going to accept defeat — he is psychologically incapable of that….” 

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While the current US president nurses his ego, Covid-19 blossoms.  
The current tally for confirmed infections around the world? Fifty million! And more than one and a quarter million dead. The United States still leads in numbers: 10 million confirmed infections and close to quarter million dead.
South Africa’s infections are resurging too.  
Isn’t it beyond time for a real, functional, implementable plan?
That plan must address “virus/ pandemic/ lockdown fatigue” – a term so amorphous that it’s difficult to address - other than, “suck it up - or run the real risk of dying a miserable death!”

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The Lincoln Project: Dawn  (0:55 mins)
Meidas Touch: Bye Don: Joe Biden Elected President of the United States (1:44 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Talking about lockdown fatigue… I, too, suffer this malady. Seldom at a loss for things to do, these pandemic-driven days, I – like many others - have more time than usual on my hands. The things I’d like to do – find and settle into a ceramic studio, join outdoor hiking and bird watching groups – all include other people. And other people include the potential of contracting Covid-19. With my mother living amid other elderly at-risk people, going on outings feel like an unaffordable luxury during a surging pandemic.
I, like the rest of the humans around the world, need a viable strategy to stimulate both mind and body and stay safe. Pandemic life is complicated.