“Positivity defeats the virus.”

So goes the thinking among substantial numbers in Mitchell, SD. And not only there. All over the country.

These same “patriots” think their faith will save them, that eating certain foods will offer protection against Covid-19, even as the positivity rate has recently soared to 49% for a time.

There is no getting through to some. They know what they believe, or believe what they’ve been told, and apparently nothing whatsoever is going to convince them otherwise. Wearing a mask is unpatriotic, an unspeakable affront to their freedom as Americans. Someone told them this. And they believe it. Even after their friends and family and neighbors are lowered into the ground.

Lots of reasons to feel numb these days.

Joe Biden’s confirmation by the Electoral College made front page news. A sign of these times, since normally this would garner cursory coverage a bit further back, say in Section D. Not this year, when Donald F. Trump keeps whining about the unfairness and how he really hasn’t lost the election (just ask the bookies!).

Mr. Biden is going to have his hands full, because the nut jobs on the right seem reluctant to let this go. Sounds like they’re on a mission from God. And everyone knows that God’s work often involves firearms, threats of harm, and other totally rational behavior.

The annual Lexus Christmas commercials have been thrust upon us. They really are lame, not to mention rage-inducing. Who the hell drops $40K on a vehicle and thinks this makes for a nice, or appropriate, Christmas gift? I guess there might be a few who can afford to do such a thing.

The same with the GMC commercial that ups the ante with some guy living in his trophy house with his trophy wife, who buys a decked-out SUV and a truck. His and hers. Maybe there’s some sort of tongue-in-cheek hyperbole happening there, or a twisted guilt trip? “The watches are great, honey, but let me show you how much I love you (and let’s not forget me).”

The whole genre seems even more tone deaf than normal this year. Relentless, offensive commercialism, entitlement, and sickening excess. Presented unapologetically, with smiles. As something people just do for the special someones in their lives.

SNL connected with a left hook this past Saturday.

Trump’s last-ditch effort with Texas and the rest didn’t work. It met with the same fate the PA lawsuit suffered- an unsigned response saying the SC would not take the case. The plaintiffs didn’t demonstrate “judicially cognizable interest.” Politico describes this as the latest futile attempt by Trump to “scrap the democratic process to preserve his presidency.”

What else will they do now, to keep the chum in the water and the Base itching for a fight? The GA run-off is still three-plus weeks away. Or is this really just a continuing money-making scheme for Trump, and he truly doesn’t care what happens in Georgia?

Meanwhile, COVID infections and deaths keep mounting, and the strain on hospitals, nurses, and doctors keeps eating away at the system’s vitality.

Such an appallingly deprived lot–Trump and his flunkies, that is.

Abject ignorance. Just about drowning in it. Yet this is the fuel that powers Trump and his seditious efforts at overturning the election results.

He’s still at it, and, somewhat astonishingly, a growing number in Congress are joining in. It might just be a fundraiser, but it’s looking more like a bald-faced power play all the time. And it must not work.

It can’t work. Right?

Right?

(Update– it didn’t work. Turns out Trump doesn’t have the SC in his pocket, after all. I wonder if this comes as a surprise to him.)

Rachel Maddow captured the essence of the moment perfectly last night in her commentary on the latest case being brought before the US Supreme Court by the AG from Texas and 17 other state AGs.

Basically, while Rome is burning, 18 states are just gonna fiddle and waste time and ignore the flames, i.e. the devastation wrought by Covid-19 and the 3054 lives lost on Wednesday.

Remember when it was 1000 people a day, then 2000 people a day? Now it’s 3000 people a day. More than the losses from 9-11, more than the losses from Pearl Harbor, more than the losses from the San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906. Three thousand fifty-four Americans gone in one day from Covid-19.

Yet all that Texas and 17 other states can think about is attaching their wagons to a bogus lawsuit most likely to be added to the growing list of those being laughed out of court.

Or is this one, somehow, going to be the reason that all the rebuffs made to this point have only been near fatal?

What is really frustrating, and not merely frustrating, is that we still can’t rest assured that no path exists for Trump to overturn the results of the election. Even after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a concise, quarter-page, 9-0 rebuke of a Republican attempt to overturn the results in Pennsylvania.

We see that this was a near fatal blow to Trump’s chances. Why is this not the last nail in the coffin? What the hell is left? What avenue still exists for him? How much longer will this nonsense drag on?

Other than being spineless and a flock of ostriches, why can’t members of the Republican party put a stop to this insanity?

So our healthcare system is not only broken, but broke as well.

According to one source, the pandemic has, among other things, shone a light on a system that was already stretched to the limits and suffering from a severe lack of funding.

Also mentioned was that the coronavirus is not as virulent as it once was, and treatments are improving. But you still don’t want to get it! We need to lay low for another couple of months. We’re almost through this. We could have been through this if we had done some simple things from the outset. But water under the bridge, I guess. No crying over spilt milk.

Trump and company really did botch this thing, though. Bigly. In every way possible. Like it or not, they set the tone. They paved the way for, opened the door on, gave imprimatur to the carnage that has ensued. And they were ok with that.

What is frustrating beyond measure today (given that yesterday and tomorrow it was and will be something different) are the conflicting opinions that are currently getting airtime in the same broadcast, and in the midst of continued pandemic precautions. There are lockdowns for many in CA and at the same time a county law enforcement official there babbling on about how oppressive these measures are and how he’s not intending to enforce any of them. No wonder it’s been next to impossible to chart a course!

We’ve been dealing with the irrational and stubborn all along. We’ve been “led” by soulless vermin for four years. We just can’t stop shooting ourselves in the foot. So we’ll be limping to the finish line.

Not one of our prouder moments as a nation.

The other shoe has dropped.

I got word that there may be a Covid case in the congregation, and it has had a chilling effect on worship plans going forward, at least until the middle of January. The precautions we’ve been taking probably worked– the person tested, if positive, most likely was exposed somewhere other than in the church nave– yet I took this as the shot across the bow. Whether the results are positive or negative.

We’re not going to mess with or tempt this virus anymore. We won’t engage in a senseless, unnecessary crap shoot anymore. I know this will be perceived as over-reaction and laziness, and it will disappoint many folks who have their precious Christmas Eve traditions. They may very well be angry with the decision to suspend, perhaps even look for another church to attend. Frankly, that is of little concern to me, since many don’t seem to have much use for attending the rest of the year.

We all just have to deal with this. We’ll be back together sooner than later now, and definitely by the next time around.

Over time, Trump’s pandemic-long covid responses and “advice” grow ever more insidious and despicable. He and his administration, along with Fox News and the rest of the quacks peddling conspiracy theories, have contributed more than anyone else to the situation we are watching grow more dire each day.

There is a real, deadly virus wreaking havoc among us, yet many Americans have parked themselves under the nozzle of bullshit feeding them the lie that there is no virus, or that masks and distancing precautions and gathering restrictions are infringements and somehow un-American. And to top it off, they’ve bought the ghastly herd immunity myth.

How will we not look back on these days without wanting to scratch someone’s eyes out? Without rending our garments and lamenting this descent into sheer, astonishing idiocy?

When everything becomes politicized, all bets are off. The crazies emerge, in this case emboldened by the worst president in many generations.