309 yes, and...




Yes, and...



Sometimes in life, for perspective, I like to remove the labels. Take all the words away from a situation, and just look at the visuals.

Where are the people? We, the people?

What does it mean, this no audience? In a year of unprecedented actions, and stay at home orders divided on red and blue lines, it is certainly more caution from a blue player. But what else is going on?


Here's what I saw on that stage: fear. Isolated leadership, surrounded by masked troops. And empty fields filled with patriotic flags. 

(The universe, however, conspired to light our TV up with a rainbow, and tell me to chill out.)

Or, simply, more caution in a pandemic. After a coup attempt. 

Anyway, I'm happy to have that voice out of my head, too. And Joe seems nice enough. Plus Kamala!!!


Deb stuck around to watch the virtual parade, and it had plenty of people, even token rednecks. So there was at least an awareness that there was no we the people among the pomp and circumstance.


And I think the whole "no audience" choice was made before 1/6, so maybe it really was about Covid. (Although, again, I stress, if you're going to keep us away, why not keep everyone away? Why do the powerplayers get to act like everything is normal?)(Well, normal plus masks minus balls.)(No pun intended.)


Still, if you look at this whole situation from a Hunger Games perspective, it's not a good look. 


Even if you look at it from a foreign perspective. If I saw any other country where a president said an election was false, then had an attempted coup, then the people who outed him installed their president in a closed ceremony with no audience... Well, I certainly wouldn't assume everything was a-ok.

And of course, there was the total sweeping under the rug of everything. And I suppose that's good, we don't need to give that tired liar any more air. But still, the visuals were so close, such a reminder of two weeks ago... And not a peep. Like it didn't happen. We just need some unity. 

And that's true. We do.


Kept it local for the dancing.

At top, friend The Urban Gardener got his first vaccine shot two days ago. City Hall, a semi-copy of the capitol building, had extra security. With the arrests of the 1/6 crowd still ongoing, it seems like most of the insurgency decided to watch on TV, too.


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