Thoughts

07
Jan
2021

Nothing Funny

A mob acting in President Trump’s name stormed the Capitol on Wednesday.

Sorry, no humor today. I can’t think of anything funny. Instead let’s talk for a second about the mob of insurrectionists who stormed our Capitol yesterday to try to prevent Congress from carrying out its constitutionally-mandated duty.

First, we know that if this had been a mob of black people storming the Capitol, the police would have opened fire with deadly force. BLM protesters have been routinely met with rubber bullets, beatings, tear gas and worse. After George Floyd’s death, Federal law enforcement officers swept people up in unmarked vans and used troops and pepper spray so that the President could pose in front of a church.

Second, how could the police be so unprepared. During the recent BLM rally, the city was in virtual lockdown but yesterday the police seemed to be unaware that anything was going to happen. This, even though the event had been advertised on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and various other social media channels. It’s hard not to believe that some of the police were complicit with the rioters, especially when you see Capitol police posing for selfies with them. The police reported that they arrested some 50 people. I can remember some anti-war protests where thousands were arrested. I guess the police thought that these insurrectionist thugs were okay guys.

Third, it’s interesting to see all those who have been enabling Trump and his lies and dismantling of our governmental institutions now pretending to discover that he’s not a nice guy. We can start with Mike Pence and Mitch McConnell both of whom seem to have rediscovered democracy and the constitution after four years of supporting the man who tried to dismantle both. Then there are organizations like the US Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers and so forth which were quite happy to bask in Trumps benign gaze and wallow in his money but now see which way the wind is blowing. What hypocrites! There are also those who repeated his lies to curry his favor even though they know they weren’t true, they knew the election wasn’t fraudulent and there weren’t millions of fake votes and Trump didn’t win by a landslide. But they repeated these lies anyway. They need to go.

Fourth, there are the social media companies which made lots of money repeating and amplifying his lies and the lies of others. We know that Facebook and Twitter and YouTube make money every time one of those lies is repeated and read again. It’s amusing that some of them have now decided that maybe Trump’s ungrammatical squeekings and calls to violence need to be…moderated.

Finally, there are the rioters themselves. How ironic to see them wearing ‘Make America Great Again’ hats while actually making America look like some third-rate banana republic. They should be ashamed of themselves. I’m certainly ashamed of what they’ve done to our country and its image abroad. They acted like ignorant thugs. They need to go home and shut up.

I should add that all of this took place on a day when almost four thousand Americans died of Coronavirus. Truly a sad day.

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Posted by Tom in Politics & Government, Thoughts
22
Nov
2020

Anniversary!

It’s our anniversary today and we had our regular anniversary celebration: good champagne, of course along with fresh seaside oysters. Each oyster has a spoonful of good vodka in the shell along with some creme fraiche and excellent caviar. Yummy!

Posted by Tom in Thoughts
21
Nov
2020

Down we go

Daily Covid-related deaths per NYT

Despite the approaching holiday season, it’s a grim time in many ways. New reported Covid-19 infections in the US reach new records daily and the number of deaths is increasing every day. About 2000 Americans died of Covid-19 yesterday (a bit more according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University, a bit less according to the New York Times). Our President shows zero interest in providing any leadership or dealing with the growing national crisis in any way.

There’s more. The pandemic is driving our country into recession and Congress, after passing the CARES act in the spring, has failed to act in any way to address the economic dislocations caused by the pandemic. Let’s look at what is coming up.

The extended unemployment benefits established by the CARES Act will expire the day after Christmas. 7.3 million Americans who receive Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (supplemental insurance for gig and self-employed workers) will see it end on December 26. Another 4.6 million will have their extended unemployment benefits expire on that day.

On December 31st, the eviction moratorium ends and those who have been unable to pay their rent are subject to being evicted. State and local funding from the CARES Act expires. Small business debt relief ends.

There’s more! Student loan forbearance ends on December 31. The refundable tax credit for paid sick leave runs out.

Remember how the President made a big deal of deferring certain payroll taxes (FICA and Medicare) for employees and employers? Well that runs out on December 31 and the deferred amounts will then have to be paid back.

Of course all of this will have an immediate negative impact on our economy not to mention the personal impact on millions of our fellow Americans. So what actions are the President and Congress taking to avert these problems?

Nothing.

To be sure, the House of Representatives has passed two separate relief bills but the Senate has refused to take up either one of them because he is afraid to allow recorded votes on either bill.

So here we sit. Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted by Tom in Politics & Government, Thoughts
05
Nov
2020

Takou

Takou

Patrice and I are sad to report the death of our dear cat, Takou. Takou shared our home and our hearts for sixteen years.

Like all of our cats, Takou was a rescue and was a very happy cat. He became Chief Cat in our house in 2014 upon the death of the previous Chief Cat, Zuki. Takou took his duties as Chief Cat very seriously and kept a sharp lookout for other cats wandering in our yard or neighborhood whom he thought posed a threat. When he spotted one he raised an alarm and enlisted his under-cats – Kitsumi and Panje – to race with him from window to window to keep watch until the threat was gone.

Takou was a mighty hunter. It was a rare day when he didn’t stalk and capture his favorite toy, ‘Froggy’ and carry Froggy through the house loudly and proudly announcing his victory. He was also proficient at stalking the red dot although, despite his claims, he never actually caught it.

As a young cat, Takou engaged in an extensive study of squirrels and their behavior. From his office atop a cat tower on our screen porch he studied them for hours. We believe he was on a first name basis with some.

He was careful to take care of himself. He made very sure he got enough to eat and plenty of sleep. He supervised the under-cats when they got treats and, if they didn’t eat them fast enough, Takou would show them how it was done. He had a dozen or so special sleeping places around the house which he used regularly.

Takou was a special cat to us. We gave him the best life we could and he was a happy cat. We will miss him terribly.

Posted by Tom in Thoughts