In Case You Missed It (v63)

It's a chilly morning here; grab your cuppa and warm yourself up with this review of last week's pastiche. 

If your Sunday School lesson had a theme song, it'd have to be Georgia on My Mind, as we had discussions with both of the Democrats in the January 5th Senate runoff. Rev. Raphael Warnock sat with Jake Tapper in the CNN SOTU classroom, and Jon Ossoff chatted with Martha Raddatz in the This Week with George classroom. Here's a bit of their conversation.

In response to her question about his opponent, Sen. David Perdue, getting 90K more votes, he said he wasn't worried. He's focused on "organizing and running the largest voter registration and turnout effort in American history," and taking aim at the folks who'll become eligible voters between now and the runoff on January 5th. He also said

The GOP at the national level has no leader, has no message and has no vision other than stopping Joe Biden. But we are in a crisis; we need leadership; we need to make sure that Joe Biden can govern and this administration is successful.

The background music for your Extra Credit? Maybe 'My Corona,' a take on The Knack's classic 'My Sharona,' as the post focused on all things pandemic. Dr. Michael Osterholm, the University of Minnesota infectious disease guy and member of the Biden COVID-19 Advisory Board talked with Chuck Todd on MTP, and Dr. Anthony Fauci joined Tapper down the hall. Here's a shot of that (see what I did there?)

Having effective vaccines on the horizon - Pfizer is likely asking the FDA for an Emergency Use Authorization, and the Moderna vaccine may be even more effective than Pfizer's - is great, but Fauci pointed out,

...we have to get people to take the vaccine. So, if we get the overwhelming majority of people taking the vaccine, and you have, on the one hand, an effective vaccine, on the other hand, a high degree of uptake of the vaccine, we could start getting things back to relative normal as we get into the second and third quarter of the year, where people can start thinking about doing things that were too dangerous just months ago.

But, he cautioned, just wishing those things were so isn't enough. We have to make it happen, and he emphasized, again, we have to do the "fundamental public health things" to get us where we want to be.  

I had a couple of half-baked posts in draft that never made it out of the gate on Tuesday, so next up was my wonder-full rant for Wondering on Wednesday. I'm tired of it all, I am. In particular, I'm tired of the Rs not acting like decent Americans, like constitution-protecting Americans, like respecting the vote Americans, and all the other Americans I wish they'd try and emulate. Musically? How about Earschplittenloudenboomer, the Steppenwolf classic that hums along nicely and then, after a slight pause, explodes. 

I couldn't care less about your self-preservation either, truth be told. I care a helluva lot more about our country and how we move on from a loser to the next guy, and I care about silly traditions like making it possible for the incoming team to be successful, and for the country to be successful. I don't have to like the person who's leaving, although sometimes I have. I don't have to like the person who's coming in, although sometimes I have. I don't have to like our traditional processes for shifting from one president to the next - but we have to have a process and we DO have a process, and we should be FOLLOWING the process, and YOU should be a part of ensuring that we DO JUST THAT.  He's YOUR guy - you've made that clear over and over and over.

Boom. BOOM. BOOM.

By the time Friday came around, there was so much material, a 'bad week' list maker could still be sitting here two days later trying to curate it all. I tried, in your TGIF, to do the week justice. Here's a slice.

Also, on the 'not knowing what to think' front, I wonder why we're not hearing from the folks who are always complaining about bail reform...I mean, Kyle Rittenhouse, who gave someone money to purchase what was described as an assault-style weapon, then got a ride from his home in Illinois to neighboring Wisconsin, where he used the gun to kill two and injure another man, has been released after posting a $2M cash bond.  Why is he out on bail? Why aren't people outraged by that? 

Honestly, some of the folks who made the bad week list - Rudy, and Steve Bannon - have Been Down So Long it Looks Like Up to them. 

On Saturday, a friend reached out with a funny idea, and asked me to 'Sue-perb' it for him. And that's who we ended up with these Thoughts on Winning, in which we explore a way for the president to save his orange face, Mike Pence to be president for 50 days or so, and

And, finally: At noon on January 20, 2021, Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. will become the oldest President ever. And then, shortly after  that, Pamela Camela Carmella Kamala Harris will become the firstiest Vice President ever. The first woman, the first black, the first Indian American, the first Chucks-wearing, the first rain-dancing, and, probably, the coolest Vice President since Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. jogged around the White House with Barack Obama.

Simon and Garfunkel's 'Concert in Central Park' version of America, with its references to Pennsylvania and Michigan, and an actually massive crowd, seems an appropriate way to close out this musical review of the week that was.

I'll be back later with your Sunday School.