The storm before the calm.

 I had been anxious building up to last week and my specific anxiety proved prescient: 

Anxious on Jan 4th

We are on our way to moving forward - moving forward past family members in charge of important rollouts, past TV personalities in charge of agencies, past governing-by-conspiracy-theory and a dozen other things specific to the last few years that have diminished our lives.

But there is at least one last gasp left in the movement that tried to decapitate the government of our United States on the 6th.

Tomorrow, Donald Trump is going to speak at the Alamo in Texas.  The choice of sending a message by picking a venue is clear.  The Alamo isn't remembered for "Peaceful Transitions of Power".  

The same people who were smart enough to cancel conventions and have as many of their folks work from home as possible when the Pandemic began are smart enough to see the emerging threat now.  Facebook, Twitter, Amazon Web Services, Google.... all of these have made some effort to slow down the coordination of planned violence in the United States.

Violent Coups, Civil Wars, Theocracies, and permanent minority rule are all bad for business. Big Tech has acted accordingly. 

Even people who don't follow the news closely can almost feel "something".  The shelves were clear of many staple items as I stocked up for a family of four.  We are a nation of soft targets, a shooter or bomber convinces of some online idiocy could hurt a lot of people in some city or community he or she decides is "evil".  

The Pandemic is at it's peak here and not slowing down because we chose this particular moment to get extra stupid and belligerent.  The emergency rooms would be in dire straights to treat mass casualties and Covid-19 in most places.

If you lean towards Trump, and you hear me or anyone else dissuade you from joining in the ruckus, please, please.  Don't.  People are losing family, friends, careers, and lives over this and this particular man is - without ANY doubt - not worth it. 

The Anxiety Continues

January 4th and the election concern continues:

I know the Georgia Senate election is tomorrow and the Electoral College results go to Congress and there are bloggers and journalists and analysts and such who are telling me not to worry it is all wrapped up... BUT....

I've had my share of talking heads tell me that Trump wouldn't get elected... or that he wouldn't attack our institutions successfully... or that the world order wouldn't change much... or that Iraq would be all wrapped up in six months....

The point is that I don't take consensus conventional wisdom as a cure for anxiety.

Donald Trump dismissed our Pandemic Taskforce and a not small number of my friends and family legitimately believe all the worlds scientists, doctors, and nations... as well as a million dead... all conspired with a fictional disease to make their Game Show President look bad.  That is some STRONG bullshit right there.  

A man all hopped up on Internet Bullshit suicide bombed Tennessee....  a man all hopped up on Internet Bullshit sabotaged a batch of vaccines... a woman all hopped up on Internet Bullshit kidnapped her child out of care....

A president all hopped up on Internet Bullshit just asked an official to create false votes for him... 

It wasn't long ago I witnessed the U.S. Senate heard a sitting President ask a foreign leader who was asking for American Arms to fight Russian Aggressors "For a favor, though" and that favor was to announce an investigations into his political rival.... and that Senate could not conclude that was an abuse of power.

If that isn't an abuse of power, what is?

So I have no confidence that those Senators will all respect the constitution, or the will of the people, or their oath of office or whatever. I no longer rest safe on their honor.

So I'm worried about the next 14 days.  I'm worried about the pandemic, I'm worried about jobs and work and opportunity and a million other things and I'm most worried that our addiction to Internet Bullshit is throwing a wrench or several in every single serious undertaking that needs to be done to keep the wheels spinning, the lights on, the mouths fed, and so on.