A Safe COVID Activity

 

SPCA Lights on the Bay
Sandy Point State Park, MD
December 9, 2020

Quite by surprise last evening, I discovered a safe COVID activity to get out of the house and enjoy the Christmas season. It was a spur of the moment activity to go and view the Christmas Lights as Sandy Point State Park which support the SPCA of Anne Arundel County. The display is called Lights on the Bay. 

SPCA Lights on the Bay
Sandy Point State Park, MD
December 9, 2020

When we were initially heading out, I had though we were off to see the Symphony of Lights at Merriweather Post Pavilion, but no, we were driving to the foot of the Bay Bridge to enjoy a Christmas light display that we had never visited.

The drive to the bay was pleasant, even in rush hour traffic. The rush hours seem better with more people working from home and schools shuttered. We arrived shortly past 5 PM before the crowds but just after dark. 

SPCA Lights on the Bay
Sandy Point State Park, MD
December 9, 2020

It was a pleasant drive through park enjoying the multitude of lights. Additionally, for a few extra dollars, we purchased some special glasses which transformed the the lights into either reindeer or snowmen. The glasses are fun and definitely worth the couple of extra dollars. Important safety tip: Do NOT drive with the glasses on.

The best part, there was no contact with other people--it is a safe COVID-19 activity. The cost is $20 per vehicle and the glasses were 2 for $5 or 1 for $3--which also is extremely reasonable. I am told, visit on a weekday, early. The admission process is a bit slow, but it helps to keep from having too many vehicles in the park. We were able to proceed at a slow and enjoyable pace without needlessly creating a traffic back-up.

Finding safe things to do during Christmas.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Transitions

 

I have been keenly interested in the people that the president-elect has been selecting to be his key advisors. President-elect Biden is doing exactly as I had hoped in surrounding himself with brilliant people from whom he expects to get good advice. That does not mean he will follow their advice,  but it means he will have the solid, scientific, logical advice upon which to base his decisions.

One choice which is causing concern among some democrats in the choice for Secretary of Defense, General Lloyd Austin, US Army Retired. The problem is that he has been retired only five years and the law requires seven years of retirement before being selected to lead the Defense Department. That requirement has been waived twice before, most recently for Trump's choice of Mattis. 

But interestingly, it is from the democrats where the objections seem to be rising and this shows that despite irrational fears to the contrary, should the democrats win the Senate as a result of the Georgia run-off, there is little concern that a sweeping tidal wave of change will occur. The democrats, unlike the republicans, are not in lock-step. 

The bigger threat, in my mind, is that if republicans retain control of the Senate, they will block key appointments and strangle the ability of the new administration to get the country moving again. Having control of the Senate ensured that Trump was able to fill appointments pretty much at will--for all the good that did. 

The transition is underway and, as I wrote, I am encouraged. Hopefully, after the celebrations of January 20, 2021, the new administration will be up and running and change will begin sweeping across America--in a good way. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

And the Dolphins Remain

 

I watched the Football Team defeat the Steelers last evening and preserve the 1972 Dolphins as the only team to post a perfect season and win the Super Bowl in the history of the NFL. 

It was a tough loss for the Steelers. It was a trap game--the team was coming off a tough win against the depleted Ravens last week and looking forward to the strong Buffalo Bills team next week. In between were the seemingly hapless Washington Football Team with a lowly 4-7 record. But, the Football Team has been playing much better lately with a strong defense and Alex Smith, their quarterback, getting the feel for the game after reassuming the starting role following his disturbing injury two seasons ago.

The Steelers loss, however, makes the playoff race a bit more interesting. For Washington, they are definitely alive tied atop the NFC East with good prospects for winning the division, which is the only way an NFC East team will be in the playoffs. And in the AFC, the struggle between Kansas City and Pittsburgh for the best record will continue for a few more weeks. Unlike Kansas City, which clinched a playoff spot this past weekend, the Steelers have a tough schedule and will need to defeat the thundering herd of the Buffalo Bills (9-3) as well as the Colts and Browns to clinch a playoff spot--unless the Ravens provide an assist by defeating the Browns next week. 

I have to confess, I am excited that the Team with "No Name" is in the playoff hunt! It would be weird if they won the Super Bowl and everyone had to accept that a team called Football Team (FT) is on the Lombardi Trophy!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - December 7, 2020

 

1. It is the first Monday of December and there are just three Mondays remaining in the year. I cannot believe how quickly the year is coming to a close.

2. There are 44 days until Inauguration Day--January 20. It will be a very different inauguration--no parades, no spectacle, but still as meaningful and important for our country and our society.

3. Christmas is but 18 days from now. 

4. Today is Pearl Harbor Day. 2403 U.S. personnel lost their lives as a result of the attack on Pearl Harbor. On December 2, 2020, 2885 Americans were lost due to COVID-19.

5. Family NFL Results

    Football Team (4-7) vs Steelers (11-0) tonight

    Ravens (6-5) vs Cowboys (3-8) Tuesday night

6. If the COVID-19 U.S. deaths continue and approach the numbers projected, they will get close to the 620,000 deaths estimated for military forces from all causes during the Civil War. 

7. The vaccine is coming! The vaccine is coming! But probably not until next summer for most of us!

8. Today in History. December 7, 1941. At 7:55 a.m. Hawaii time, a Japanese dive bomber bearing the red symbol of the Rising Sun of Japan on its wings appears out of the clouds above the island of Oahu. A swarm of 360 Japanese warplanes followed, descending on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in a ferocious assault. The surprise attack struck a critical blow against the U.S. Pacific fleet and drew the United States irrevocably into World War II.

Soaring Metals Prices Signal Bets on Global Recovery - The Wall Street Journal

Georgia Rejects Trump’s Request to Reverse His Election Loss - The Wall Street Journal

Barr Is Said to Be Weighing Whether to Leave Before Trump’s Term Ends - The New York Times

Rudy Giuliani Tests Positive for Coronavirus, Trump Says - The New York Times

Unemployment, sick leave and housing aid are set to expire in weeks, threatening Americans with sudden financial ruin - The Washington Post

What you need to know about Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines - The Washington Post

Exclusive: U.S. preparing new sanctions on Chinese officials over Hong Kong crackdown - sources - Reuters

Melbourne welcomes first international flight in five months as COVID curbs ease - Reuters

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

In the annals of American history, only a few events are so well-known and so deeply rooted in national remembrance that the mere mention of their date suffices to describe them. Of these occurrences, none could have had more significance for our Nation than December 7, 1941.

On that Sunday morning, 45 years ago, the Imperial Japanese Navy launched an unprovoked, surprise attack upon units of the Armed Forces of the United States stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. This attack claimed the lives of 2,403 Americans, wounded 1,178 more, and damaged our naval capabilities in the Pacific. Such destruction seared the memory of a generation and galvanized the will of the American people in a fight to maintain our right to freedom without fear.

Every honor is appropriate for the courageous Americans who made the supreme sacrifice for our Nation at Pearl Harbor and in the many battles that followed in World War II. Their sacrifice was for a cause, not for conquest; for a world that would be safe for future generations. Their devotion must never be forgotten.

We honor our dead by solemn ceremony. We do so as well by protecting the Nation and the freedom they protected and by forging the resolve, the strength, and the military preparedness necessary to deter attack and to preserve and build the peace. As President Franklin Roosevelt told our Nation the day after Pearl Harbor was attacked, ``It is our obligation to our dead -- it is our sacred obligation to their children and our children -- that we must never forget what we have learned.''

We have not forgotten, nor will we. We live in a world made more free, more just, and more peaceful by those who will answer roll call no more, those who will report for muster never again. We do remember Pearl Harbor.

The Congress, by Public Law 99 - 534, has designated December 7, 1986, as ``National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day'' and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this day.

Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim December 7, 1986, as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, and I call upon the people of the United States to observe this solemn occasion with appropriate ceremonies and activities and to pledge eternal vigilance and strong resolve to defend this Nation and its allies from all future aggression.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this second day of December, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and eleventh.

Ronald Reagan, 

Proclamation 5582 -- National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, 1986, December 2, 1986

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

More of the Same

 

The president had the opportunity to make believers out of millions of Americans yesterday, but all that he did was to deliver more of the same.

The contrast between the two administrations, the outgoing one led by Trump and the incoming one led by Biden is stark.

The personal vilification and vile attacks upon others coupled with falsehoods and factual inaccuracies with laser focus on his grievances and almost no empathy for the millions of Americans suffering the effects of COVID-19--either medically, financially, or psychologically will become a sad exclamation point on the past four years and likely erase any good that the Trump administration did.

His legacy is also in ignoring and underestimating the veracity of the coronavirus. In watching his speech yesterday, I did not see many facial coverings in the crowd. I fear for the people who attended the rally. The speech is available on YouTube, which is where I watched it. 

During the rally yesterday, the president read off a long list of facts which he professes indicate that he did not lose the election, but he missed the analysis of all of the individual facts when they are aggregated--it was personal. The republicans down-ticket did well and Biden did not have coattails because the American electorate focused, in a manner never seen before, upon the singular job that he was doing as president. And resoundingly, by more than 7 million votes, voted to remove the president from office and go in a new direction. It was personal--that is what the statistics show. Had there been fraud, the republicans would not have done so well down-ballot--that they did well is a sure sign that the election was not rigged as he continues to profess. 

Holding super-spreader events, as happened yesterday, fanning the flames of unrest with fake facts, and under-estimating the impact of the coronavirus is his legacy, sadly. 

By contrast, the hopeful, unifying tones of the incoming Biden administration are reassuring. Instead of ignoring the "elephant in the room" and staying that it is not his problem, the president-elect and his team are already planning to attack the coronavirus head-on. There is work to do in the country and the incoming teams seems well postured to tackle these problems. And let's look at the stock market--it set a new all-time high in the days after it was clear the Biden was the president-elect and had managed to remain close to those levels. The new administration is engendering something ewe haven to seen in a while--hope!

There is hope that in 45 days we no longer will have to suffer with more of the same.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Seasonal Finances

 

Mysteries of money and finance during the holiday season--

If I buy something that I hadn't planned to buy because it was on sale, how much money did I save?

But, if I buy something on sale, that I needed and was preparing to buy, but would not buy it at the regular price because it was too high--did I save anything? 

Similarly, if I wait to buy something that I need and want until it goes on sale and I would not have bought it at the regular price, did I save anything? 

How much is something worth? 

I have a complicated answer for that question.

Something is worth what it will cost to replace it. The amount that someone will pay to buy something only reduces the the amount that it will take to replace the item, but that is not its true value. We need to remember the total value of an item when buying new items. 

For instance--cell phones have gotten to be incredibly expensive. If I have an iPhone 7 and want an iPhone 12--how much is my iPhone 7 worth? Easy, it is worth the cost of the iPhone 12--which for the sake of argument is $1000. If I can sell my iPhone 7 for $100, then its cash value is $100, but it's worth remains $1000 and I have to find an additional $900 to replace the iPhone 7.  

Happy Christmas--don't go broke saving money.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

An Alarming Start to the Day

 

Sometimes I think the alarm system in my home is more trouble than it is worth. As an example, for two of the past three nights one of the sensors has thrown a code when the outside temperature fell too low and set off the alarm waking the entire house.

The siren is loud. 

It requires me to get out of bed and reset the system and of course check and confirm that it is a false alarm.

This particular sensor has been having periodic issues like this for over a year--but only during the winter season. I thought I had fixed it, but not. It woke us us again this morning, although only 30 minutes before my normal alarm. 

I am going to order a new sensor. 

It is going to be a long day.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Thursday Thoughts - December 3, 2020

 

It is an amazing time of year. 

Christmas is the next holiday up--and we are still fighting the COVID pandemic. So much for holiday parties. That will keep many of us a bit more sober and able to enjoy the season. 

This will be a good year to evaluate traditions and determine if they enhance the holiday or have become stressors that might best be forgotten next year when I believe things will return to something more normal. This will also be a good year, with so many things canceled, to discover what we individually need to make the season joyful--if we can even find joy amid the pandemic and suffering. It may be in giving of ourselves that we find true peace and joy.

There is a Kenny Chesney song that reminds me to find the joy in life and I sing along every time I hear it. It is called Get Along. And the refrain is as follows:

Get along, on down the road
We've got a long long way to go
Scared to live, scared to die
We ain't perfect but we try
Get along while we can
Always give love the upper hand
Paint a wall, learn to dance
Call your mom, buy a boat
Drink a beer, sing a song
Make a friend, can't we all get along

This song contains some good advice.

Can't we all get along? 

I hope you are blessed this Christmas season. Yes, it is different from Christmases before, but blessings sometimes are wrapped differently.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

He Really Said That

 

If I said something like what I heard yesterday as part of my official duties, I would be removed and likely prosecuted. There s a toxic environment in The White House right now that the electorate has addressed.

I do not understand why is it OK for and why do Americans approve of people working for the president to say: "he should drawn and quartered, taken out at dawn and shot?"

Trump Lawyer Calls for Ousted Cybersecurity Chief to Be 'Taken Out at Dawn and Shot'

As quoted from Newsweek:

On Monday afternoon, Joe diGenova, a lawyer for the re-election campaign of President Donald Trump said that Chris Krebs, the now-former director of Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) who was in charge of maintaining election security, "should be drawn and quartered, taken out at dawn and shot."

We DO NOT LIVE IN AN AUTHORITARIAN state!

Statements like the one that diGenova made are not OK. It sounds like something that a despot like Kim Jung Un would say and then do. Yet, our president, my president, allows people with these anti-Constitutional views to advise him and work for him. I wonder if The White House will try to "walk back" this statement today?

A statement like that made against a private citizen, which Chris Krebs now is, are illegal! It is a threat! And given the history of the current administration we know that there are dangerous forces out there, like the ones that planned the kidnapping, trial, and execution of the Michigan governor (for background see NPR); who might take action on an utterance such as the one diGenova made. In my view, diGenova should be disbarred and prosecuted.

Sadly, he really said that. 

And we wonder why the divisions in America are becoming so concrete and difficult to bridge?

I am encouraged by the speech and tone of the incoming administration.  Maybe things can and will change and we will become a nation united again.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Beware the Beginnings

 

The campaign to confuse and confound Americans by instilling doubt in the security and honesty of the election system continues unabated by President Trump despite repeated failures in the courts where evidence and not allegations are required to support claims.

Yesterday, one of my favorite morning email reads, Wake up to Politics reports:

• Trump told reporters for the first time last week that he would leave the White House if Biden’s win is finalized by the Electoral College next month. However, he has continued to falsely claim that the election was “rigged” and that he was the true winner. “What kind of a court system is this?” he asked in a Fox News interview on Sunday, bemoaning his repeated legal failures. 

I have an answer for that question! It is a court system that requires proof. Proof is the one thing lacking from the fraud allegations espoused by the president's legal team. They say they have signed statements and documents and depositions, but in fact they have nothing but here-say and anecdotes.

I read a thought provoking Opinion piece in the New York Times yesterday which drew similarities between the the Trump "Stop the Steal" strategy with one used by the Germans after the end of World War 1 which convinced the populace that Germany did not lose the war. It was written by Jochen Bittner and is titled

1918 Germany Has a Warning for America

I am going to quote the last two paragraphs from the opinion piece in hopes that they will encourage you to click on the link and read the entire historical perspective. 

In such a landscape of social fragmentation, Mr. Trump’s baseless accusations about electoral fraud could do serious harm. A staggering 88 percent of Trump voters believe that the election result is illegitimate, according to a YouGov poll. A myth of betrayal and injustice is well underway.

It took another war and decades of reappraisal for the Dolchstosslegende to be exposed as a disastrous, fatal fallacy. If it has any worth today, it is in the lessons it can teach other nations. First among them: Beware the beginnings.

Beware the beginnings! Food for thought. What may be underway here is not aimed at 2020, but at 2024 and beyond. The fate of our Republic hangs in the balance.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD