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

 

Monday Musings - November 30, 2020

 

1. Welcome to the last Monday and also the last day of November 2020. The year has but one month remaining. There are 25 days until Christmas.

2. Well, the Thanksgiving holiday weekend is over and it is back to work for me. I must admit, I think I'd rather be home for some more time. 

3. Family NFL results

   Football Team (4-7) defeat Cowboys (3-8), 41-16

   Steelers (10-0) vs Ravens (6-4) Tuesday, hopefully

4. The Polar Express is up and running. Christmas trees need trains to run around the base. It is just the way that it is and I am lucky enough to have the Polar Express. I think Riordin, my cat, wanted to go for a ride. 

5. The weekend weather was fantastic for accomplishing outside activities. I think I only left the house three times during the five-day mini-vacation that I had. Sadly, however, I could not find time to play golf. 

6. When the NFL teams that I cheer for are not playing, it is almost boring to watch football on TV. The commercials and the breaks in the action make it difficult to keep my attention focused. 

7. Get ready for Christmas--it will be here faster than you think.

8. Today in History. November 30, 1886. Once a hall for operettas, pantomime, political meetings, and vaudeville, the Folies Bergère in Paris introduces an elaborate revue featuring women in sensational costumes. The highly popular “Place aux Jeunes” established the Folies as the premier nightlife spot in Paris. In the 1890s, the Folies followed the Parisian taste for striptease and quickly gained a reputation for its spectacular nude shows. The theater spared no expense, staging revues that featured as many as 40 sets, 1,000 costumes, and an off-stage crew of some 200 people.

Iran’s Nuclear Efforts Pose Growing Threat to Its Foes - The Wall Street Journal

Black Friday Was a Bust for Many Stores, Better for Online - The Wall Street Journal

1918 Germany Has a Warning for America - The New York Times

Thanksgiving Travel Could Seed a Surge on Top of a Surge - The New York Times

Inside a hospital as the coronavirus surges: Where will all the patients go? - The Washington Post

The coronavirus has turned the NFL into a joke, and nobody should be laughing - The Washington Post

OPEC+ to discuss extending oil cuts or gradually raising output, sources say - Reuters

EU starts debate on how best to improve post-Trump U.S. relations, officials say - Reuters

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

It Didn't Disappear

 

I remember the President and many Republicans asserting that COVID-19 would disappear right after the election on November 3rd. Their assertion was that the pandemic was the creation of the Democrats and it was a hoax.

How I wish they would have been right, but wishful thinking and professing an alternate reality does not work. Reality is, after all, real and as a country we are fully suffering unchecked pandemic. Americans are getting infected at ever increasing rates and people are dying. 

As much as we have been trying to cover up the facts and hope that they will get better, the inaction of the current, and fortunately outgoing, administration has only let the virus run roughshod over the American public. Instead of disputing the election results in the courts the administration should be focusing its efforts upon fighting the coronavirus in the streets.

And now the reality of the pandemic is hitting the NFL squarely. A headline in USAToday reports:

The NFL has officially reached its COVID tipping point

The article in USA Today begins:

It was bound to happen, as the last vestiges of the Trump administration continued to ignore a pandemic that moves unabated among us.

It was bound to happen, as various state governors ignored and dismissed mask mandates that would have helped.

It was bound to happen, as the NFL tried to balance a responsible position on COVID while keeping the games going on a no-matter-what basis.

Football is succumbing to the virus at an incredible rate. As teams begins to play their 11th game of the season, it is becoming difficult to field a complete roster for some teams. 

The Ravens and the Steelers, who are scheduled to meet Tuesday night after having their Thursday game rescheduled twice, now have 25 players on the reserve/COVID roster. There is a good chance this game may never be played.

But wait, there's more:

The Broncos do not have an NFL experienced quarterback for today's game. all four of their quarterbacks were placed on the reserve/COVIS roster.

The 49ers may no be able to play their next two home games due to COVID-19 restrictions regarding their stadium.

COVID-19 is real. 

Act like it!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Ride on into Christmas--Full Speed Ahead

 

After surviving Black Friday with my finances intact, it is now time to charge into Small Business Saturday and then onto Cyber-Monday! These days both provide opportunities to separate consumers from their money during this "Most Wonderful Time of the Year."

There always seems to be more shopping to accomplish to get through the season. 

Well, it is time to get into the spirit of the season. The economy is depending upon us to rescue it from recession! Tis the season!

Christmas 2020
Elkridge, MD
November 27, 2020

And then there is the decorating. We are still getting the interior of the house decorated, or Christmasfied. The exterior lights were on for the first time last evening. The house is outlined and we are thinking that we need a bit more color. But, it is the season. I dearly with there was a palm tree in the front yard with lights wrapped around the trunk. That is one of my favorite Christmas decorations. 

Happy Christmas! I hope to hear a lot of that greeting this season and I hope that the arrival of the Christmas season will life the spirits of everyone and help us to refocus upon getting through into the new year healthy and safe. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Black Friday 2020

 

It was different: our Thanksgiving celebration. And not in an entirely enjoyable way. 

There were some lonely periods as Chris and I sat at the eerily empty table first praying and then enjoying our over-stuffed plates which have become the tradition of the day. But the chairs around the table were empty and the house was quiet. Even the bottle of wine, vintage 2005, that I had saved for the day could not erase the feeling that we were missing something even as we were celebrating a great bounty. 

Zoom for Thanksgiving
Elkridge, MD
November 26, 2020

Our family strictly followed the advice of the doctors and the governor because we have been touched by COVID-19 and realize that the threat is real and ubiquitous. We did not congregate and we did not gather to celebrate the day or the meal. It was much like the Ravens football team--we just didn't show up. We did travel to the houses of our family to safely exchange portions of the meal: pies, wine, sweet potatoes, and dressing--but we did not tarry or linger. We enjoyed each other through Zoom, upon which we connected right after the meal. It is too hard to Zoom, talk, and eat simultaneously.

I was disappointed by the choices some of my extended family made regarding the holiday. They apparently do not take the the pandemic seriously and needlessly placed their families at risk by hosting gatherings. And the gatherings were larger than those allowed.  

But today is Black Friday. It is a day devoted to playing Axis and Allies--wait, we are not playing this year due to the pandemic. Resolving the 1942 world geopolitical situation and eating copious quantities of leftovers will have to wait another year. 

But today is Black Friday. It is a day devoted to shopping and malls and getting out with the crowds to ring in the official start of the Holiday Season--wait, no one is going out and there will be no crowds. We will ring in the holiday shopping season from the warmth of our sofa. 

But today is Black Friday. It is a day devoted to decorating the house for Christmas. Now this is something that we WILL definitely do to enjoy and celebrate Black Friday.  

Enjoy the day, if you have it off from work. Be safe and make new memories and traditions. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Thanksgiving 2020

 

The holiday that kicks-off the Holiday Season has arrived!

Elmer, my Turkey
Ready for the Holiday

Thanksgiving is here. The Day of the Turkey! The time to give thanks for our blessings. 

Living under the pandemic has changed our holiday celebration. We will adhere to the advice of the doctors and scientists by celebrating the holiday with family via the best electronics available. I expect to Zoom most of the day. 

This will not be out first solitary Thanksgiving, while I was serving in the Air Force we celebrated many Thanksgivings separated from extended family. I remember many decades ago Chris and I even celebrated Thanksgiving in a restaurant somewhere in the midsection of the country as we were driving from Denver to Upstate New York. And so this will not even be the first Thanksgiving where it is just the two of us. 

We are resilient. The sense of loss of traditions and the change that we are experiencing will not overshadow the holiday or prevent us from remembering the blessings that have been bestowed upon us, even during this pandemic. 

I searched for an appropriate Thanksgiving prayer and discovered the following. It is not an actual prayer that Abraham Lincoln spoke; however, as I understand, it is constructed based upon his thoughts and ideals and written by a Lincoln scholar. Nonetheless, it speaks to what is in my heart as I write this morning.

PRAYER FROM LINCOLN

AT THANKSGIVING

SO, we must think anew,

And act anew.

We must disenthrall ourselves.

We are not enemies,

But friends.

We must not be enemies.

We cannot separate.

There is no line, straight or crooked,

Upon which to divide.

We cannot escape history.

No personal significance, or insignificance,

Can spare one or another of us.

The mystic chords of memory

Will yet swell the chorus of union

To every living heart

And hearthstone,

And again touch

The better angels of our nature.

  Read the Spirit - Prayer from Abraham Lincoln at Thanksgiving

May you find peace on this holiday. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Day of the Turkey

 

I wish this was my garage door

I am hopeful, being ever the eternal optimist, that the mood in the country is beginning to turn. Tomorrow is a time to celebrate and give thanks for the blessings that we have individually, societally, and as a nation. Yes, it will be a different Thanksgiving, we are living during a pandemic--but we should still give thanks and celebrate.

I am especially thankful that the divisive election is over and the healing can begin. I was reminded of something General George C. Patton said during his speeches to the Third Army: Americans play to win all the time. That is one reason this election has been so difficult get past: Everyone is playing to win. But now is a time to soothe the sting of loss and do what Americans have been doing for most of our history--come together and bring our diversity to celebrate our unity. After all  that is what E Pluribus Unum means. We can disagree with each other and still be friends.

I admit that our elected leaders need to demonstrate more bipartisanship, but if We the People show them how to come together and unify after a hard fought election season, then perhaps our expectations will be realized and America can reassume its leadership role in the world.

I was encouraged yesterday when I heard the president-elect say, "America is Back." I have come to understand that "America First" really means "America Alone" and we cannot, nor should we ever think that any form of isolationism will work better that what we experienced 100 years ago. As I watched the interview with President-Elect Biden on NBC last evening, I was struck by the difference in tone he projected. There was no vilification of dissenters and in fact there was a concentrated effort to be inclusive of those with competing thoughts and ideas. That is emblematic of the the abiding greatness of America. We do not have to agree--in fact hopefully from our dissenting views a better plan will emerge; but we must be civil and respectful to each other and all Americans no matter where they hail from. 

Enjoy the holiday. May you find peace. And more importantly, be safe. Don't let your guard down now after nine months and with a vaccine mere months away from being a reality. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Good News for a Change

 

When I turned on the NBC Evening News with Lester Holt last evening I was met with something rare--good news! And not just one piece of stunning good news.

How rare that leading off a national news program there was good news! I was ecstatic.

The good news?

The GSA Administrator has made a decision that will allow the transition of government from the Trump to the Biden Administration to officially begin! The results of the election have been obvious for at least as week now, but without the GSA go-ahead, the connections, intelligence  and authorization to communicate between the outgoing and incoming administrations could not occur.

The second piece of good news? More great vaccine news--continued strong effectiveness for vaccines and the availability will be widespread. And affordable. And early next year.

We have not turned the corner on the pandemic yet, the numbers are still tragically high in terms of deaths and infection rates, but I believe the corner is in sight. Do not misunderstand--the current administration apparently has absolved itself of managing the pandemic and the arrival of the promise of vaccines is a testament to free market business. 

We needed some good news heading into the modified Thanksgiving holiday. Many of us will not be participating in the usual festivities of the season in an effort to ensure that we do not become pandemic statistics.

I enjoyed the news which provided a ray of hope. 

Getting good news was a change from the steady diet that we had been receiving.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD