WE DIDN'T SEND HIM THERE TO VOTE HIS CONSCIENCE

Apparently, they sent him there to do anything Trump asked. The title is a semi exact quote from a Republican official in Pnnylvania. He was reacting to Senator Toomey's vote to convict Trump. In general, Toomey is not one of those communists trying to take over the country. By and large, he is a conservative Republican. While Toomey did vote to convict, he had a major advantage. He had already decided to retire and was not going to run in 2022. So the Trumpsters did not scare him. Many other Republican state committees are censuring their Representatives and Senators for voting the "wrong" way. Rep. Adam Kinzinger's family wrote vulgar angry letters essntially disowning him. Worse, they got them published. Moving on. --JM wrote to tell me what a "joyous moment" it was to see Kamala laugh so often. After so much darkness emasnating from the White House. --BTW, anybody hear from Stephen Miller? --The Republicans basically chose Greene over Cheyney. Cheyney being another one of those Commies who spoke against Trump. --Anyone else bothered by the length of Rachel's intros? Or the length of her questions? She just goes on and on sometimes. --Bruce has had a bad few weeks. Got trashed for being in a Super Bowl ad for Jeep--which I kinda liked. But then we later learned he got arrested for DWI. Oh my. --Rand Paul was very busy doing work while the House managers presented their case. And Hawley was doing paperwork in the gallery. --Ted Cruz needs to shut up along with Ron Johnson and Marco. Step aside and grow a pair. All excited about 2022,they are. --Amanda Gorman's poem diuring the Super Bowl was wonderful. I love how she recites and uses her hands as part of the presentation. --Watched "One Night in Miami". The guy playing Clay/Ali was so so good. Meanwhile, I grew up there but due to segregation, that could have been set on Mars for all I knew about that part of the city. --Marilyn Stasio has been my reviewer of choice for a long time. Every 2 weeks or so, she reviewed mystery novels in the NYT book review. I learned about Rankin, Adler-Olsen, French, and many others from her columns. She is no longer a regular reviewer and will appear every so often. Hope the new person is as good. I will miss Marilyn. Next to the wedding announcement writers, she was my most favoirite Sunday writer. --A year ago I celebrated a birthday by taking out three of my favorite relatives for dinner. That was the last time I have eaten inside a restaurant. It means that not only am I coming up on another birthday, it also means we have been "inside" for a bit more than a year. It is getting to be grueling and yet I know I have it better than many many others. --I have yet to be vaccinated and l refuse to cheat. I should be able to get my first shot next week. --For a manager with a serious background in Health Care, Charley Baker really screwed up the vaccine distribution process. I had come to like the guy a lot and then this mess. --Someone else I liked is our about to be Secretary of Labor--aka Marty the Mayor of Boston. He totally blew the process of replacing the retiring Police Chief. Almost immediately, the new guy was found to have been charged with dom4estic abuse a bunch of years ago. Marty picked a good time to leave town. --If anyone ever wanted to appoint me to a big position that required deep back ground checks, I would have never been hired. Lots of stuff has been swept under my carpet. A SPORTS NOTE I knew it. I warned all of you about Pedey not being a HOF worthy second baseman. Sure enough, the following week the talking heads and other sports media types started advocating for him. No fucking way. Shalom. Shalom

THEY BLEW IT AGAIN

They have all the latest electronic gizmos. They have NWS updates. They have the European model and they have the GPS model. They have the models they designed at their own stations. They have all this and they still got it wrong. As late as 5 p.m. yesterday, they told me (personally) that we would be getting 10-14 inches of snow. Schools, (which barely are open anyhow) cancelled whatever in person classes they had. Cities declared snow emergencies and told people they could park in city lots overnight. The Weather Channel folks were the worst--virtually hysterical as they described how bad it would be. And then and then--if there was 3 inches when I woke up this morning, that would be a lot. Don't tell me about all the places that got gigantic amounts of snow. With all their models, they should be able to differentiate between the city and a town ten miles away. As I have said before--if I had done my job this badly, l would have been let go. But all of them are now alerting us to some other MAJOR storm next week. Moving on. --Larry King died last week--and I have an anectdote. Back in the day, a close relative of mine was a journalist for the Miami Herald. He was very SMART and very IMPORTANT. He frequently appeared on King's radio show which broadcast from a houseboat on Indian Creek on Miami Beach. I was allowed to sit in every so often. Way cool. And my memory is that King was very nice. WIOD on your dial. --What I consider a little known fact about the inaugeration--one of the songs sung was by Woody Gluthrie and another was by Leonard Cohen. That was a message from Biden to us about diversity and the new world order. --Did you see Kamala swear in the 3 new male senators? One was Jewish (GA.), one was an African American (GA.). and one was Hispanic (CA.). All of these men sworn in by an Afican/South Asian female Vice President. --Beyond whatever else elections represent, they also mean we are sending people to offices(at the local, state, and national levels) to make decisions. Not to eqiuivocate, not to be wishy washy,and certainly not to complain that they have too many issues to deal with. So it is the old thing about walking and chewing gum at the same time--they apparently cannot multi task and would likely choke on their gum if they were walking. --I am already tired of the media's impatience with Biden. As I write this, he has not been in office for two weeks and some of them are already telling us about his "problems". And, oh my, what impact will this or that have on the 2022 elections. Enough--try and give the man and his extraordinarily bright helpers some time. That woman who does the press conferences makes Kaleigh seem like an infant. --A bunch of revisionist stuff is going on about Deborah Brix. So what if she quietly travelled the country to help state governments deal with the virus. She also stood next to POTUS as he lied his pants off about fake science. --Poor Kelly Loeffler--she lost and is now selling her interest in the Atlanta WNBA team. The same mainly African American women who publicly supported Warnock. --I would pay big bucks to see Rubio battle Ivanka in the Florida Republican primary. A Brief Sports Note Dustin Pedroia was overrated and if his name gets mentioned in a sentence about the Hall of Fame, you red flop fans should be embarassed. Shalom

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Fill in whatever title you want or--don't fill in anything. I am fresh out of catchy titles for this blog. I can no longer pretend it cannot get worse before it does get worse. So rather than struggle for a thougtfuil headline, I decided to encourage you to let your own mind wander and figure soethihng out. Moving on. --I watched it live and got scared. I have listened to the talking heads every day since January 6 and got more scared. And,now, I am scareder still about the inaugeration and the lead up to it. John Klelly has reappeared to tell us how bad things are--even though he was enabler in chief for a good chunk of time. I don't want to hear from Kelly or any other person who never spoke up until people had died and there was blood spilled. Kellye Anne? please. Scaramucci, please. Republican enablers all. their silence and, in some cases their explicit support, allowed this POTUS to get away with inciting this mayhem. Not intersted in any of them attempting to resurrect their reputations. I hope they are all un3employe3d forever and a day. I am done with that crew. -- A memory. ln 1968, the summer olympics were held in Mexico City. Tommie Smith and John Carlos won gold and silver in either the 200 meters or the 400--i forget which. What I haven't forgotten is that they each raised black gloved hands and bowed their heads at the playing of the national anthem. It was a sacrilege to see Josh Hawley raise his left hand (sans glove) to encourage the rioters. Even after the riot when the chambers were "safe", Hawley still went ahead with challenging the electoral votes. --Question--Am i supposed to praise that Raffensberger guy for doing his job and upholding the constitution? Not here and not until he backs off from supressing Georgia voters. --I know the virus is out of control. But callilng each case or each death as a record setter does not set the right tone. Records get set in sports or someplace else for positive occurrences. Not for deaths partly caused by the mishandling of the virus. --One picture after the riot really hit me. It was a picutre of the African American capitol staff cleaning up the mess left by the predominantly white rioters. On their lhands and knees cleaning up our capitol. --How did you like the guy with the "Camp Auschwitz" tee shirt? A fine exapmpe of manhood that. Wonder what Jared and Ivanka thought of it. --What do you make of a Jewish man and an African American man winning senate seats in that hot bed of progressive politics, the state of Georgia. I never expected both to win. I will say Kelly Loeffler is an idiot. --So, the Republicans have about 5 days to muck things up--as of an hour ago they already postponed the first scheduled confirmation hearing. Cannot wait until MItch gets kicked to the sideline. --In the Department of Who Cares--Sheldon Adelson has passed away. --Keep all fingers and toes crossed in advance of and during the inaugeration. Shalom.

I'M WORKING TIRELESSLY FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

Well not exactly. First of all, I'm not out on a Florida golf course even though,technologically speaking, I could work from there. Second, being a retiree, I'm not workinng at all. Third, the virus has me virtually home bound too frightened to go out except to get my scripts and/or buy food. Fourth, I'm very busy psychologically pardoning all the people who have offended me over the years and did not show me sufficient loyalty. That list is long and takes up a lot of time. Finally, the light out here in the mall's parking lot is terrible and my beach chair is not as comfy as my bed. But down here in Florida, the elderly are prioritized over health care workers thanks to our great Governor. So I'm in the first come/first served line for the vaccine. Hope they don't run out. --Who cares that Barr left? He already gutted DOJ and gave all sorts of support to POTUS. I hope he never finds another job--tho I expect there are other heartless lawyers out there ready to hire him. --I hate it when I get messages from political fund raisers who ask me to join ther "team" or be part of their "family". I am not on any team and only a member of my immediate family. I cannot understand if these folks believe those words are so enticing and creating some sort of inducement to send more money. Arggh. --Is anyone else sick of POTUS stealing headlines from Biden? A wise nwoman I know believes that after 1/20, the media companies should join forces and eliminate all POTUS headlines. --Glad Mike Flynn got pardoned. Now he can devote all his efforts convincing POTUS to invoke maritial law. That shit is scary, folks. --And, I do worry about the relative silnce of those militia groups. We have not heard too much from them but they are not gone. POTUS will be back in DC urging them on next week. --Every time I read or her that Congress is on the verge of making a big decision and isn't that going to be dfifficult--I think what else are they supposed to do except make decisions. Tough luck if they are difficult. Make some decision and move on. Mitch and the gang are not doing brain surgery. Truly, I could make some of these decisions in half the time. --Heard a Richie Havens CD the other day. He sang a Jackson Browne song called "Lives in the Balance". I believe Browne originally sang it in the 1970's. It could be about 40 years old. Yet, the words are so relevant today that it is worrisome that some things have not changed. Seriously, people are dying and some folks are worried about budget deficits but did suppport those tax cuts. --I hope all of you, if celebrating, had good holidays. SPORTS SENTENCE: The loss of Chara to the Bruins is far less consequential than Brady's loss to the Pats. On the other had, Chara is a much more consequential person. HAVE A HAPPY AND HEALTHY 2021. Shalom

30 DAYS AND COUNTING EVERY SECOND

At this point, I am fairly confident that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be sworn in just about one month from now. I have much less confidence that POTUS will put on his big boy pants and act like a grown up. Bad enough to ignore the hacking stuff; but to remain silent in the face of COVID and its devastating impact is--I'm not sure what word fits here. People are dying and there is not one word of support for the families who have lost loved ones. Have to move on. And no word from him about why each state's vaccine allotments have been cut. --That Loeffler woman running for Senate in Georgia is an idiot and happens to have that Ivanka look--barbie dollish and running on empty upstairs. Oh, she did not know the guy she was posing with was a member of a neo nazi group. Absolutely not. Serioiusly? I kind of think the Dems will not win both seats. But she is the most vulnerable of the two Republican candidates. --I love this item. The day the FDA approved the Pfizer vaccine, MSNBC had as a guest a Doctor from Childrens Hospital right up the street. Name of Ofer Levy. Me,I am thinking he might just be a member of my tribe. As the interview concludes, Ofer reminds us all that it is Hannukah and he wants us to know it is a holiday marked by lighting candles. He then links the holiday to the vaccine which symbolically is illuminating our way out of the COVID tunnel. --Not suirprisingly, POTUS has no empathy--just acts like a baby who takes his toys and runs home. We always knew he was missing a few key genes. One factoid for me is that every time I think he has gone way too low--he manages to go lower. With Tucker and Sean egging him on, he is living either on fantasy island with Fernando Llamas (look him up) or on Gilligans Island. I really wonder what the MAGA people think about this. --State dollars are in very short supply here so I get it that the MBTA (our transit syustem) needs to think about budget cuts. But the impact on people who use that system and frequently are low income people of color--those cuts have to be delayed and, if not, will force more people into their own cars. --Those pathetic congressmen/women from both parties cannot fucking make a decision--what else do they have to do now that the election is over? This is not brain surgery. It is support for the people thqat got them elected. --One thing the POTUS administration has suceeded in doing is expediting the execution of Federal death row inmates.Trying to squeeze them in before that ol lefty Joe Biden arrives. --Barr really was the handmaiden to POTUS. And no one should say one kind word about him. Ditto for Steven Miller. --On a more somber note: DH has been my friend for just about 70 years. I learned that his wife passed away recently. Thinking of him and hoping he has all the support he needs. I hope some of you had a Happy Hannukah. And a merry christmas to those of you celebrating. SEE YOU IN A HAPPIER AND HEALTHIER 2021. Shalom

WHILE I AM ON THE MIDNIGHT TRAIN, GEORGIA IS ON MY MIND

Thanks to Brother Ray and Sister Gladys for loaning me this title. I won't be on the train but it is on my mind. I do not believe both Georgia senate seats will be won by the Democrats; but I am feeling like one of them may. My totally uninformed thought is that Reverend Warnock has a better shot than Jon Ossoff. First of all Kelly Loeffler is an idiot. Plus I happen not to like Jon at all. POTUS is there today and maybe he will totally go off script and fuck things up. Whatever--if I am Joe, I am on the phone today with Romney. He is a Senator who actually has congratulated Joe and who mght actually in some rare instances cross the aisle and vote with the Democrats. Those other Repbublican snators are plainly embarassing themselves and this country. Not even acknowledging the victory--a bunch of babies. Moving on. --Kayleigh refused a question from a CNN reporter because the reporter was an "activist". What does that mean to a liar like Kayleigh? She is like the asskisser from High School who got better grades than me. Even though I was smarter!!! --John Kelly came to the party way too late. I am not interested in his opinion of POTUS now--not after he was one of the chief enablers just a year ago. --Will not even waste words on Lindsey Graham. --The election is over folks--Joe won by almost 8 million votes. And yes, I do know POTUS got a bazillion votes also. Too bad for his supporters. But he can say whatever he wants about fraud. But it is OVAH as we say in the Hub. --The virus is rampaging through the upper Midwest. Governors who fully bought into the rants of POTUS and chose to ignore Dr. Fauci--those governors are now dealing with major increases in the incidence of the virus. They are also states with limited mdical care and likely chose not to expand medicaid options even though much of the financial increaes were reimbursed by the Feds. Just saw a video of the South Dakota Governor bird hunting and dropping a pheasant or two. Great shooter but not a big believer in science. --I believe in a free press and free speech. But I am already sick of the media for being already critical of Joe for not doing this or doing that. He is 5 weeks away from the inaugeration. Then he has 4 years. Judge him after January 20th. I know these are the same people who heavbily criticized POTUS; but at least those comments were based on actual performance not future predictive decisions. --What was that crap dripping off Rudy's face? He realy has gotten.unhinged--have you seen him in action recently? --The Globe reported about a wild turkey who attacked some folks. Big headline along with a cat rescued from a fire. Yikes. --Jacob Sobronoff is an MSNBC reporter. Just read his book about the separation of children from the3ir parents at our southern border. Makes me want to drain the swamp of heartless bureacrats who just pass the buck. At its heart,however, the book is so so sad and should embarass us all. --On the other hand, Carl Hiasen's recent book is a laugh a minute and is set near Casa Bellicosa in Palm Beach. That is a made up name for Mar -a-Lago. --No good deed goes unpunished cagtegory. The Children's Museum announced that Stonewall Kitchen will open and operate a cafe at the Museum. Stuck there with kids, food becomes impportant as many of you know. But lo and behold, they will serve PB and J. So all the anti peanut folks are up in arms. You just cannot win. Please do not tell me abouit peanuit allegies--I am aware of that issue. Happy holdays to all of you. Hope in the coming year, you remain healthy and stay safe. See ya in 2021. SHALOM

P.S.

Whoops, almost forgot--I also want to acnowledge all the Vets out there especialoy RD. Peace