Never Ending.
Hamilton quite literally sat down in the snow and cried as the kids left for school this morning. He kept looking back at me as if asking, “Aren’t you going to go get them? They’re outside the fence!” Once both kids were out of sight, I brought Ham back inside and gave him a treat and snuggles. Belvedere wasn’t as concerned. He came back in, jumped on the bed, and immediately fell back asleep. Given everything going on, sleep may be the best thing for all of us.
Once again, we’re watching a forecast for incoming snow. We’re not dead center on this storm. What falls today merely replaces what had already melted from Monday’s snow. The bulk of the storm is hitting the Mississippi River valley areas of Eastern Missouri and Western Tennessee, along with Arkansas and Oklahoma. This is an area full of small mountains and tall hills which makes the snow significantly more dangerous than it is here. The risks of multiple car accidents and severe slide-offs are high, even on well-used interstates.
New blazes are making the LA fires worse than they already were. Exhausted firefighters are doing their best but dealing with bone-dry fire hydrants isn’t helping and high winds continue to stoke new flames, making containment of the fire almost impossible. As of this morning, ten people have died so far and over 10,000 structures have burned. Many historic homes and tourist attractions are gone.
Watching political leaders try to put the blame for these disasters on their opponents would be entertaining if so many lives weren’t at risk. The sad fact of the matter is that 2024 was the first year above 1.5C of global warming. I know it’s difficult to talk about ‘warming’ when it’s 19 degrees Fahrenheit outside, but it is the changing weather patterns caused by warming that have put us in this dangerous position. Modern humans have not experienced this level of warming before. We’re not ready, and too many people are looking for excuses rather than solutions.
As Americans, making excuses for what happens to us has become our default setting. Excuses are easier than solutions because they don’t require us to act and don’t need to be founded upon facts. We like taking the easy way out and blaming others for the consequences that affect us all. We don’t know the first thing about taking responsibility for our corporate actions. Yet, nothing we experience today happens by accident. We are to blame. All of us.
Equal to the weather risks we’re facing is the potential to be inundated by bullshit as we go into the weekend. Courts refused to stop the sentencing of the Felonious President-elect today, Congress is attempting to pass sanctions on the International Criminal Court for telling the truth, and SCOTUS is hearing the whole TikTok debacle. Que cable news pundits who, in reality, know nothing but will fill the airwaves with vitriol. Pay no attention to a bit of it. This is all performative nonsense that lacks meaning or consequence. Politicians on one side will pat themselves on the back while the others make more excuses. That’s all they know how to do. No one is governing anything.
Pour another cup of coffee. Our first responsibility is keeping ourselves and our families safe. Only when we’re safe can we begin to help others. The number of people needing help this weekend will be high. Please, do what you can.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention the new strain of norovirus that’s hitting everyone, including cruise ships. It’s not pretty, folks. While norovirus is common this time of year, this strain is particularly contagious and resistant to normal remedies. Wash your damn hands.
Let’s try and keep each other alive.
Monday, January 13, 2025
Cancellation.
Nothing about life has ever been certain, not even death and taxes. Sure, they exist, but what form will they take? Can they be put off for another year? Can you make yours more meaningful than anyone else’s? Life doesn’t come with any guarantees and 2025 seems to be the year the universe has decided to emphasize that point.
Twenty-four people are now known dead in the LA fires. Among the victims, an amputee who died next to his son who had cerebral palsy. A resident who refused to leave died with a garden hose in his hands. Annette Rossilli, 85, insisted on staying in her Pacific Palisades home with her dog Greetly, her canary Pepper, her two parrots, and her turtle. Rory Callum Sykes, a former Australian child star, was at the family’s 17-acre Mount Malibu TV Studios estate, where he had his own cottage when it burned down.
Meanwhile, temps across the Midwest are headed back to the bottom of the thermometer by the middle of the week. While there are currently no expectations for additional snow, the severe cold slows recovery efforts and creates additional health problems, especially for those with pre-existing breathing issues (count Kat in with that group).
You’re not the only one feeling as though you’re fighting an uphill battle alone. Winter is always a rough time for those with seasonal depression, but this January is on track to set a new record for violent deaths, including suicide. 988 calls are up dramatically, but there are still thousands who refuse to reach out for help.
There’s an old maxim stating that ‘If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.’ Governments, local, state, and federal, should be leading the charge at finding solutions, but instead, they are the cause of bigger problems. Plows aren’t where they need to be. Fire hydrants are dry. Resources are mismanaged. Legislators are more worried about which committee they’ll be on than providing assistance for their constituents. They’ll approve billionaires for cabinet positions but won’t provide funding for emergency housing.
If there’s going to be a 51st state, it needs to be Puerto Rico, not Canada or Mexico. Invading Greenland only creates more enemies. Interfering with European elections makes the world more unstable. Any ‘war’ on immigrants could have a devastating effect on Social Security. There’s a reasonable fear of a polio resurgence. Even adults may soon be vulnerable to ‘childhood’ diseases, even if you had them as a kid. All of these are things that governments should be addressing, but no, we’re more worried about the ups and downs of the stock market, making sure the rich get richer.
Here’s an idea: complete tax revolt. If billionaires are taking over the government, then they can bloody well pay for it. They have the cash. They could fund the next four years and still be richer than 99% of us. So, why the fuck are people like you and I paying a fucking dime in taxes? I want a full refund. When governments start doing their job, protecting and helping their citizens, then maybe we can talk about people like you and me participating in its funding. Until then, we should keep our money in our pockets.
We’re going to need every dime we have if we’re to survive this year.
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