Serendipity, and a Long Road Ahead

A bit of serendipity... At 11:26am Saturday morning, major news outlets began a cascading series of declarations that Joe Biden had won the presidency. Not twenty minutes later, we had a knock on our door. There was a package on the front porch. It seems that a sign we had ordered as a fundraising donation 3 weeks prior had finally arrived. From China, ironically. A 12 inch by 18 inch lawn sign.

Delco, baby!

A little bit of gloating aside (this sign is resting comfortably in the flower bed outside my front door), the Biden transition team is going to face an uphill battle ahead. Our outgoing toddler seems intent on burning the house down on his way out the door. Predictable. Unfortunate, but predictable. Anyone who thought otherwise hasn't been paying attention for the last 4 years. No transition funding from the GSA. No access to security briefings. And Republican leadership sits idly by. There are 52 Republican senators. 4 have called to congratulate president elect Biden. Shameful.

The toddler will continue firing people from important positions, jeopardizing our national security. Secretary of Defense, the most important of all such positions was today, via Tweet of course. Other critical positions will follow. The toddler will no doubt soon begin pardoning every crooked friend in sight. The capstone of this, I am predicting, is that for the first time in American history, a President will preemptively pardon himself. The upside to all of this is that presidential pardons only protect one from federal prosecution. States can still do whatever they want...

On the bright side, Biden announced a Covid advisory board packed with eminent scientists and medical experts. So that's a ray of hope. And to give backhanded credit to our departing toddler, the focus on nothing Covid-related except a vaccine will probably have some benefit. Vaccines are important. Obviously. But so are masks, social distancing and everything else in the meantime. And under a rational administration, I will be willing to believe that science and not political gain will be the determining factor in declaring a vaccine safe and effective. If and when the Biden administration says that a vaccine is safe and effective, I will be first in line. And if it has limited shelf life, I will be first in line for all of my booster shots. Because I believe that a Biden administration endorsement will be for my benefit, and not just for theirs. In Fauci I trust.

On a personal level, Covid is knocking on our door, much like it is knocking on everyone's. People in the high school. People related to the band. People at Grace's work. Everywhere. Record bad numbers every day. Europe is shutting down again. The pain, suffering and tragedy goes on and on, and those least able to protect themselves from it suffer the worst.

It will be a long road ahead, and a dark Covid winter.

But we shall overcome.

We have no choice.