January 23, 2021

I admit I have not paid much attention to QAnon or its followers.  Instead, I discounted it as yet another fringe group associated with the ex-president.  An article in today’s paper shed an entirely different light on the movement.  For years adherents have called on the faithful to “trust the plan.”  This was the belief that the president would “orchestrate mass arrests, military tribunals, and executions of the Satan-worshiping, child-sacrificing enemies.”  QAnon asserted that the president was planning a day of reckoning known as the “Storm” when thousands of members of the cabal would be arrested.  The “Storm” was initially said to be scheduled for November 3, 2017, but there were no notable events on that day.  Next the “Storm” was said to take place on January 20, 2021, the day of the presidential inauguration, but no coup took place.  The faithful have been forced to reassess.

When I looked up the group online it called QAnon “a disproven and discredited far-right conspiracy theory.”  U.S. prosecutors have discounted QAnon as “a group commonly referred to as a cult”.  QAnon supporters have accused many liberal Hollywood actors, Democratic politicians, and high-ranking government officials of being members of the cabal.  They have also claimed that the ex-president feigned conspiracy with Russians to enlist Robert Mueller to join him in exposing the sex trafficking ring and preventing a coup d’état by Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and George Soros.  The QAnon conspiracy theories have been amplified by Russian state-backed troll accounts on social media, as well as Russian state-backed traditional media.

When Biden was sworn in on Wednesday the QAnon message boards were bombarded by hecklers making fun of the conspiracy, and prominent posters announced they were stepping away from social media, “if only temporarily.”   Adherents were left with anger, confusion and disappointment as the apocalyptic reckoning failed to appear.  For many, the departure of the past president sowed doubt on the beliefs that had consumed their lives for several years.  Others continued to find cryptic clues in the “17 American flags” behind the ex-president as he delivered his last speech (Q is the 17^th letter of the alphabet).  As one follower wrote, “I believe the game is still being played this is not over.”     

Thoughts:  I have been an adherent of Generational History for 30 years.  This theory of cyclical history suggests a four-stage cycle that changes roughly every generation (20 years +/-).  The theory also identifies that we are in a period where a new prophet is destined to lead the people (good or bad) in a new direction.  That is exactly what QAnon said was happening.  With the collapse of the “Storm,” members are being forced to reevaluate.  This reassessment has happened time and again in the past and is generally associated with apocalyptic overtones.  The news article I read told of various right-wing neofascist groups looking to recruit the QAnon followers left in the vacuum.  Indeed, the game is still being played.  Do the work.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

January 22, 2021

Fourteen days after insurrectionists stormed the Capitol Building the FBI has charged three Oath Keepers with alleged conspiracy charges.  The FBI complaint tells how they planned the attack weeks in advance, coordinated their movements by radio, and entered the Capitol wearing helmets, body armor and military style insignia.  When I checked online, I found that “Oath Keepers is an American far-right anti-government militia organization composed of current and former military, police, and first responders who pledge to fulfill the oath that all military and police take in order to ‘defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic’.”  A total of seven persons have now been charged with conspiracy by the FBI and the Department of Justice.

Since aerial photos are not permitted in Washington, D.C. for reasons of security, reliable numbers for the crowd size have not been ascertained.  It is estimated at between 2,000 to 80,000 (That seems to be a big difference).  It is also not clear how many breached the Capitol doors, although there appears to be several hundred shown by the selfies and phone movies posted online by participants.  So far there have been over 100 arrests and over 300 cases opened against the rioters.  The arrests include a diverse group of people, ranging from supporters of the then president, to right-wing and anti-government groups, to people who just decided to show up.  There might have been a better day to visit.

I read in an article from USA Today that among those charged with alleged crimes are former and current police officers, world class athletes, military veterans, currently elected officials, and grandparents.  This included residents of 32 states and the District of Columbia, with Texas, New York and Florida leading the way.  Their ages ranged from 20-70 and included 85 men and 11 women.  Attorney Aitan Goelman (Oklahoma City bombing prosecutor) stated they came together as a “toxic brew of conspiracy theorists.”  There were a few dozen more arrested for curfew violations on January 6^th.  The focus of the FBI is on those alleged to have entered the Capitol or for crimes related to violence or weapons.  

Thoughts:  Even while I was reluctant again write on the aftermath of January 6^th, the importance of the event make it warranted.  Over the past weeks the news media has vacillated between the wide range of stories vying for our attention: the riot, the inauguration, and a renewed focus on the virus.  Some have suggested we just need to move on.  If we could only forgive and forget we could get back to normal.  That precludes the fact this is the new normal and unless we address the long-term dissatisfaction felt by most Americans we will never come to unity.  We need to call out the racism that sparked the BLM riots.  We need to address the discontent that sparked the Capitol riot.  Until we face who we are and where we have been, we will not be able to move forward.  We will instead just sweep it together with the growing lump of dirt under the carpet.  Do the work.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

January 21, 2021

Presidential inaugurations are typically attended by hundreds of dignitaries, including former presidents, Supreme Court justices, and members of Congress.  That does not include the hundreds of thousands of spectators who spill out across the National Mall.  This year was different.  Instead of massive crowds, a public art exhibition was erected on the National Mall to represent the American people who are unable to travel to the capitol.  The display included nearly 200,000 American flags and 400 lights representing the 400,000 Americans who lost their lives to the pandemic.  Several prominent people and law makers announced they would not attend due to the pandemic or because of security concerns following a breach on the Capitol building two weeks ago.  I think it was their loss.

After the preliminary speeches and invocation, the Biden Inauguration kicked off with Lady Gaga singing the national anthem of the US, the “Star-Spangled Banner.”  The lyrics come from a poem written by an amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, called the “Defence of Fort M’Henry”.  The poem was written on September 14, 1814, after Key witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry by British ships of the Royal Navy in Baltimore Harbor during the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812.  Key was inspired by the large US flag flying triumphantly above the fort during the US holdout and victory.  More than any moment witnessed yesterday, this act made me feel more unified and patriotic than I have ever felt. 

While some chose not to attend, I found it more ironic who did attend.  The caucus members who led the charge to disavow the election, even after the insurrection, were all invited to the Inauguration.  While a few declined, most decided to show up.   They sat united with the less than 1000 invitees to hear Biden’s call for unity.  Three of the more notable quotes I took away from his speech were these.  “I will defend the truth and defeat the lies.”  “Democracy did not die on our watch.”  And finally, that to be a democracy, “takes the most elusive of all things in a democracy, unity.”  It has been a long election year.

Thoughts:  I have not watched much more than the swearing in during past inaugurations.  The crowds, parades, and dinners drug out over the course of hours, culminating in the balls that lasted into the night.  That was changed this year.  Rather than crowds, the media focused on Biden and Harris as they made the normal rounds to the capitol lunch (presentations only), Arlington and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and Biden’s entrance to the White House.  Not lost amid the limited pomp and circumstance was the acknowledgement of those we lost during the pandemic.   This acknowledgement began with the memorial on Tuesday and continued throughout the day on Wednesday.  This was a needed step toward any possibility of unity.  Follow the science.  Do the work.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

January 20, 2021

President-elect Joe Biden is scheduled to be sworn into office as the 46^th President of the United States at 12:00 pm EST.  Biden has promised a series of sweeping actions, most as a series of executive orders within hours of being sworn in.  Biden is proposing a $1.9 trillion coronavirus bailout package that would increase unemployment benefits and generate a new round of stimulus checks.  Another visible change is an expected nationwide mask mandate for all federal locations.  A third promise is to provide 100 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to the public by creating more locations for people to get to the shot.  “On my first day in office, I’ll instruct the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to set up the first of these centers.”  Biden hopes to have 100 federally supported centers across the nation by the end of his first month.  Now we need to find enough vaccine.

History shows us what is accomplished during the first 100 days of the Presidency rarely reflects its success or failure.  Until the first part of the 20th century the “Hundred Days” usually referred to Napoleon Bonaparte’s frenetic activity from the time he escaped from Elba in 1815 until his permanent fall from power after the military defeat at Waterloo.  For American precedents, it was not until the actions of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the 73rd Congress in 1933 that the term became a symbol of executive success.  Roosevelt’s burst of presidential activity has yet to be equaled by any subsequent president and occurred during a unique political moment.  The transfer of power between the unpopular Herbert Hoover (Depression) and the popular Franklin Roosevelt came as the country was gripped in fear.  The official unemployment rate was 25% and America’s economic system seemed to be in free fall.  Perhaps the movement is not as unique as it used to be.

While 100 Days has become a media benchmark, later Presidents rarely marked it as such.  The first 100 days of Roosevelt’s presidency began on March 4, 1933, when he was inaugurated as the 32nd President of the United States.  He had signaled his intention to move with unprecedented speed to address the problems facing the nation in his inaugural address, declaring: “I am prepared under my constitutional duty to recommend the measures that a stricken nation in the midst of a stricken world may require.”  Roosevelt’s specific priorities at the outset of his presidency were getting Americans back to work, protecting their savings and creating prosperity, providing relief for the sick and elderly, and getting industry and agriculture back on their feet.  He immediately summoned the United States Congress into a three-month (nearly 100-day) special session, during which he presented and was able to rapidly get passed a series of 15 major bills designed to counter the effects of the Great Depression.

Thoughts:  Biden’s reaction to the 100 Days is like past Presidents.  It is more an expression than a chronology.  We have been told Biden does have a three-fold direction: creating unity in a divided country, rebuilding the economy and creating jobs, and response to the corona virus pandemic.  While 100 Days is not enough to resolve these issues, there has been a pledge to begin the process on Day 1.   Even with Roosevelt’s ambitious plans and actions, the American economy never righted itself until the industrial response to World War II.  There is a Chinese saying by philosopher Lao-Tze (erroneously ascribed to Confucius), “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”  America’s next journey (and step) begins on Day 1.  Do the work.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

January 19, 2021

Melissa and I went on our second trip since being locked down last March.  The first was a fishing trip to the Little Red in Northern Arkansas.  It was a quick three-day jaunt, but the fishing was great and the time away even better.  Yesterday went took a drive to Sequoya National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Eastern Oklahoma.  This trip was short but still provided a welcome relieve from the monotony of being at home.  I had read this was one of the premiere locations for birding in the Fort Smith area, and it is only 1 ½ hours away.   Even though the website said birds are more likely to be out early or late, we took off mid-morning.  It was cold the night before and I thought even if the birds were up, I did not want to be freezing while I saw them.

As soon as we drove into the NWR we encountered thousands of black birds in the trees lining the road.  They were still roosting because of the cold.   I took a few shots and we moved on.  We passed through empty fields on our way to the river that comprised the center of the Refuge.  There were husks of a variety of field crops being grown and left for the birds to feast on.  As we slowly moved along the road, we passed small lakes and sloughs that were lined by trees.  This really was a haven for all kinds of birds.  We continued slowly winding through the Refuge and encountered flocks, clusters, and individual birds.  About halfway through the tour road we got out and walked along one of the sloughs, finding scores of small birds.  I ended up getting pictures of 15 different species in the three hours were there.

As we left, we once more moved through the blackbirds clustered at the entrance.  When it warmed up, they had moved out of the trees and were working the fields.  Previously I could only make them out as little Black Birds.  As they attacked the fields on the way out, I realized they were thousands of Red-wing Blackbirds.  I mentioned I have been in Arkansas three years and only had three Red-wings’ visit our house feeders, and that was not until this year.  I was amazed by the numbers of birds and we decided to stop and watch them.  As we prepared to leave, they were joined by one of my favorites, a Red-tailed Hawk which soared in a great circle around the fields.  We both agreed this had been a great day.

Thoughts:  I have learned two lessons from birding.  The first was you need to proper equipment to get decent pictures of the birds.  My phone camera was good for close-ups, but it was hard to get near the birds.  My new camera and telephoto make it easier to get photos from farther away.  The second was if you are serious about birding, you need to go where the birds are.  This one trip to NWR scored the same number of species I had recorded in two weeks at my house.  While some birds are attracted to feeders, most prefer to stay in the wild.  Even though I learned these lessons last year, I had not acted on them.  It was easier to keep doing what I had always done and hope for the best.  We have taken a similar approach toward fighting the pandemic.  We refuse to mask, we gather with family for holidays, we protest for our right to gather and party.  Then we are surprised when the cases surge out of control and US deaths pass the 400,000 mark.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

January 18, 2021

While we drove the interstate to work yesterday, I noticed a Highway Police car with its lights on parked at the transfer ramp that led to the bridge over the Interstate.  My immediate thought was to question the logic of stopping a vehicle on the side of a bridge.  It had happened recently, but the traffic was already starting to back up as the big trucks tried to squeeze by the van stopped in the tight spot.  As we neared the van, I noticed the obvious sag on the left side of the vehicle.  I assumed that meant rather than a traffic stop it had a flat tire, and the police were trying to help as they changed it.  While I never heard what really happened, as we got our turn to squeeze past, I noticed both rear tires on the left-hand side had been removed from the van.  It was a wonder there was no additional damage.

When I was in college my mate dropped me off at work and went on home.  Five minutes later they were back in tears.  As they made a right-hand turn a block away the tire sheared off the axel.  When I arrived, the car sat in the middle of the intersection with the rear tire askew and wedged into the wheel well.  I called a tow truck and within thirty minutes we had towed the car to a local repair shop.  I had recently purchased tires and when they were installed, they failed to tighten the lug nuts on one of the tires.  After a few days, the wobbly tire wore through the axel bolts and the tire sheared off.  I guess it could have been worse.  We could have been on the highway rather than making a slow turn.

We had only been in town for three weeks, but I knew the right tow shop to call.  We had packed everything we owned and driven over the Continental Divide of the Rocky Mountains to arrive in Salt Lake City.  As we drove down the Interstate’s exit ramp I braked to a stop.  The car gave a shudder, and I heard a loud thud from the rear of the vehicle.  When I got out to look, I saw the tongue of the homemade trailer I had purchased sheared from the trailer.  While my first thought was for everything we owned, my second was the damage this could have caused if it had happened going through the mountain passes.  This was not the way I envisioned starting a new life in Utah.

Thoughts:  These incidents are just a few of the times I have experienced or seen accidents caused by parts of vehicles being sheared off.  That does not even count the number of times I have seen intact fenders laying at the side of the road.  Most catastrophic accidents happen in the flash of an eye.  Unless you are part of the accident, you rarely hear the story behind what happened or even why.  Instead, we see the scene from afar and guess.  Like my assumption of the police stopping a car on the bridge, quite often we are wrong.  We need to take this lesson with us into 2021.  Things are rarely as clear as we see them from the outside.  Rather than make assumptions about what others did or thought, we need to step back and take time to discover what really occurred.  Otherwise, we may be responsible for causing additional damage.  Do the work.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

January 16, 2021

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I was able to get out for some birding yesterday.  I attended my Zoom call, made a lunch to take, and took off toward three promising spots from last year.  The first was located at a park associated with a lock and dam on the Arkansas River.  I had photographed Cormorants there last year and hoped to do so again.  I saw a Blue Heron, several Coots and lots of Sea Gulls.  I drove up slowly, but the birds saw me and took off.  I was still able to get pictures of the coots and the gulls.  I moved to the other side of the river and got another Blue Heron and some better shots of the gulls.  The day was starting well.

When I arrived at the “Bird Sanctuary” city I had targeted for my second stop I found no birds.  I drove around and finally decided to take off for the lake.  I stopped along the way at an overlook and got a couple of nice shots.  When I got to the lake, I went looking for the Road Runner I saw last year.  It was nowhere to be seen.  I continued to drive around and while I did not see many birds, I did run into a small herd of deer as I came around a bend.  I stopped with them 20’ away.  I slowly lowered my window and prepared my camera.  When I looked through the lens finder, rather than the herd, I saw a closeup of one.  I had decided to only bring my telephoto, and they were too close to get them into my shot.  When I realized my mistake and took a picture with my phone.  Another lesson learned before going to the Wildlife Refuge.

Last year I would go fishing and after getting few bites, I would break out the camera and do some birding.  Yesterday I went birding and while I did get some good shots, I ended up fishing.  On my way home I stopped along a stream and broke out my fly rod.  After setting up, I walked to the stream and managed to get the end of my line mercilessly tangled.  I broke it off and retied.  On my first cast I got an eight-inch Bass to follow my fly to the bank.  While I only fished for 30 minutes (it was snowing), that was as close as I got to a fish.  Still, there is no such thing as a bad day on the water.

Thoughts:  The problem I had last year was being too far away from the birds I was trying to photograph.  While I can get closer with my telephoto lens, I am still struggling with getting a clear focus on the birds farther away.  That does not include the deer I tried to photograph who were too close to get into the picture.  I was again faced with a learning curve as I had to figure how to take pictures and to get both close enough and far enough away to take a photograph.  Learning something new is where the fun is.  We need to learn new ways of dealing with each other to move beyond the hate and disunity we face.  Only through unity will we return to focusing on finding fun in life.  Do the work.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

January 15, 2021

Last night I decided I was going to start getting up early.  I have been waking up early and going back to sleep or just staying in bed playing with my phone (crosswords!).  What I have noticed is when I do that, I never seem to get any of the projects done that I have assigned to myself.  Getting up earlier should add another couple of hours to my day and allow me the time I need.  That does not mean I will work on my projects, but at least I will not be able to blame not accomplishing things on not having enough time.  Since this is my birthday, I figured this was a good time to make a new start.  I set my alarm and hoped for the best.

Even though I had not told anyone of my new resolution, they must have gotten my unsent memo.  My mom IM’d me at 2:20 am to wish me a happy birthday.  I did not get or immediately respond to that message until much later.  Then at 5:50 am my brother wished me a Happy Birthday via text.  This woke both Melissa and I up.  I thought about getting up but that was not the definition of early I wanted to establish.  After hearing the initial beep, and the required follow up telling me I had ignored the first beep, I checked the phone and thanked him for the wishes.  This is around the time Melissa gets up anyway, so she did get up.  I managed to power nap my way back to oblivion.

When I did get up Melissa wished me a Happy Birthday, then mentioned that I was sure up early.  I guess I allowed my sleeping habit to become the norm.  This was more reason to force myself to get up early.  I got ready, read the paper, did my crossword, and had my coffee.  This gave me time to write my Blog and still be ready for my first zoom call of the day.  Even though it is windy for Arkansas, I am wanting to get out of the house and get a good start on a short birding trip.  I photographed a Road Runner last year at this location and I am hopping to see it again.  Maybe if I get back in time, I can take a nap.

Thoughts:  I have mentioned how wellness gurus tell us we need 7 ½ to 8 hours of sleep a night for our bodies to work well.  When told that Einstein only averaged 4 hours a night, one guru responded, “But think what he could have done if he had gotten enough sleep.”  I have talked about habits in the past, and now I am trying to start a new habit.  I have done it one day in a row.  At least it is a start.  A start is what we need to bring unity back to our country.  We need to be wiling to take the first step toward each other.  Even if it only comes from “you,” it still means we are coming closer together.  Do the work.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

January 14, 2021

Once more the grocery has surprised me.  I realize Valentines is only five weeks away, but I was not prepared for the front store display of candy.  What surprised me more was the small size of the display.  When the stores switch the endcaps, they generally do it to provide splash and get you in the mood for buying.  It is on the candy aisle where the change really occurs.  Maybe it was because it was early, but the candy aisle had not changed, just the endcap.  I also wondered at the sparseness of the candy on the endcap.  If this was intended to provide the splash, It did not bode well for the 2021 recovery.

Candy has its main origin in Ancient India.  Between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, the Persians, followed by the Greeks, discovered the people in India and their “reeds that produce honey without bees”.  They adopted and then spread sugar and sugarcane agriculture.  Sugarcane is indigenous to tropical South and Southeast Asia, and the word sugar is derived from the Sanskrit word “sharkara.”  Pieces of sugar were produced by boiling sugarcane juice in ancient India and consumed as khanda, dubbed as the original candy and the etymology of the word.

Holiday candy seems to roll out in a never-ending stream.  Halloween candy came out in September and Christmas candy ran over the top of Thanksgiving.  Actually, the only candy I recall associated with Thanksgiving are the candy corn and the same sugary texture used to make tom turkeys.  Some have gone so far to claim the lesser holidays (not Christmas or Easter) are really a conspiracy devised by commercial ventures.  Valentines brings spending of millions of dollars for dinners, flowers, and candy.  St. Patrick’s Day is clearly a ploy for beer companies.  Even Easter and Christmas seem designed to sell chocolate eggs or hollow Santa’s. Maybe, but only if we believe in conspiracies.

Thoughts:  Conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.  The term has a negative connotation, implying that the appeal to a conspiracy is based on prejudice or insufficient evidence.  Conspiracy theories have been linked to witch hunts, wars, and genocides, and are often perpetuated by terrorists and totalitarian governments.  While conspiracy theories were once limited to fringe audiences, they are now commonplace on social media.  The “Fake News” instigated four years ago is now considered real, and the real news is now considered fake.  Maybe, but only if we believe in conspiracies.  Follow the science.  Do the work.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

January 13, 2021

It never surprises me when several days after a horrific event people come together . . . to point blame.  That was illustrated with an article I read in the newspaper on Sunday.  Right next to an article about the police charging the man who took Speaker Pelosi’s lectern was the result of a poll asking who was to blame for last week’s riot.  While I know it is proper legal jargon to call someone a suspect until they have been convicted, I “suspect” the fact he took a picture of himself walking away with the lectern, proudly posted it online, and was then found with it in his possession at his home could imply he had done so.

The adjacent article declared, “Poll: Many in GOP blame Biden for riot”.  The story went on to report a majority of Republican voters blamed President-Elect Joe Biden for the actions of the Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol on Wednesday.  The poll found 52% of registered Republican voters said Biden was at least somewhat to blame for the violence, while only 28% said it was Trump’s fault.  This matched the 45% of Republicans who said they approved of the storming of the Capitol while only 43% opposed it.  When all voters were counted (not just Republicans), the majority (55%) said Trump was a “great deal to blame,” which splits along the lines of the November election.  Both responses seem to say the same thing, somebody needs to be held responsible, but it is not my people or me.

Sadly, I did not find the results of the poll surprising.  Fox News and other right leaning broadcasts began trying to shift the blame even while the riot was occurring.  Just as Antifa was blamed for the violence of the summer, there are now claims they are responsible for this latest outbreak.  One commentator quipped responding to the Fox News claim that the riot was the work of carefully disguised Biden supporters, “It must have been Antifa elements who caused the riot.  They were there protesting the fact they had won the election and vowing to block the confirmation of their candidate.”  Nobody ever said placing blame had to be based in reality.

Thoughts:  Blaming Biden for the Wednesday riot strikes me as like getting caught with freshly baked cookie crumbs on your face and blaming your mother for making cookies in the first place.  Blaming others (it is never me) also deflects the part we all play.  The protest that preceded the riot had been planned for weeks, and the ensuing march on the Capitol had been known just as long.  Rather than take appropriate precautions, no one bothered to establish adequate barricades or deploy enough police presence to deter the riot.  Instead, we waited until after the riot to step up and place blame on “others.”  There is enough blame to go around.  Do the work.  Change is coming and it starts with you.