I love the smell of Muskrat tears in the morning. Smells like fascism dying.

2020

Week 48: November 23-November 29

23: The CDC has spent weeks pleading with people, asking them to cancel Thanksgiving plans - especially if they include multi-household gatherings or travel. But millions of people travel anyway. The TSA records one million people passing through airport security on Sunday - it’s the largest volume of travellers since the pandemic began. Immunologists warn that these gatherings will set off a new surge in COVID infections.

For the first time in NFL history, a game is officiated by an all-Black crew during Monday night’s match-up in Tampa - Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire

24: Elon Musk surpasses Jeff Bezos to become the world’s richest person. In Alberta Jason Kenney closes schools, implements a new ban on indoor gatherings, and reduces store capacities. The province is now the COVID capital of Canada - one in thirty people in Edmonton has been infected with the virus. My youngest cousin is being treated for breast cancer in Edmonton and the hospital tells her that if the caseloads get any worse she won’t be able to bring a support person to her chemotherapy any longer. Chemotherapy sucks - chemotherapy alone sounds somehow even worse. For weeks the government took a hands-off approach to managing the virus. Kenney & Co blame the recent surge on people acting irresponsibly... and their remedy thus far? Like, just be responsible guys. So its a relief to finally see sensible restrictions. Many of my friends are thrilled to see the government actually taking action - but they know they’ve come far too late. 

Biden begins announcing cabinet picks and advisories this week. He stands on stage with Vice President-elect Harris as he introduces his proposed National Security team. Later this week he will debut the White House’s first all-female communications team, fronted by Jen Psaki.

25: An outbreak of H5N8 bird flu in the Polish village of Wroniawy is discovered - almost a million hens will be culled to prevent further spread. This specific variety of avian flu poses relatively little risk to humans, but can have catastrophic impacts on native bird populations. In Japan, a chicken farm in a prefecture on the island of Kyushu will have to destroy its entire stock of animals after a highly infectious variety of avian flu is detected in dead poultry. This variation - H1N5 - is incredibly pathogenic. Transmission to humans is rare, but the virus has an astounding 60% mortality rate once a person contracts it. So that sounds really fucking bad.

26: Trump announces on Twitter that he will be pardoning former General Michael Flynn, who pled guilty to lying to the FBI during the course of Mueller/Russia investigations. More pardons for Trump associates will follow in December and January. As one journalist writes: It is now clear that for Trump, no matter what the crime — whether it is corruption, lying to law enforcement or even war crimes — justice does not apply to those who have been loyal to him. We have one justice system for his predominantly rich, white and male friends and allies, and another for the rest of America.

Protesters burn American and Israeli flags in Tehran following the killing of a top nuclear scientist - Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA

27: An Iranian nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, is assassinated near Tehran. The scientist is believed to have been an essential figure in the country’s campaign to develop nuclear arms. Iranian officials claim Israel is behind the attack - allegations confirmed by several American officials. Fakhrizadeh was a high priority target for Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad. The assassination will complicate President-elect Joe Biden’s plans to re-engage Iran in nuclear disarmament talks. 

28: This week serves up back to back blows for Trump’s quest to overturn Pennsylvania’s election results and recapture their 20 electoral college votes. On Friday, a panel of appellate court judges rejected the Trump campaign’s efforts to challenge the state’s election certification. Jude Stephanos Bibas, a Trump appointee, wrote “Free, fair elections are the lifeblood of our democracy. Charges of unfairness are serious. But calling an election unfair does not make it so. Charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here... Voters, not lawyers, choose the President. Ballots, not briefs, decide elections.” On Saturday, in front of the state’s Supreme Court, conservative congressman Mike Kelly lost his case to challenge the state’s use of mail-in ballots. The court cited Kelly’s failure to produce even a single instance of fraud despite asking to invalidate the votes of 6.9 million Pennsylvanians. His case was dismissed with prejudice - meaning he cannot return the case to court in the future.

29: Joe Biden emerges in a boot cast after injuring his foot playing with his dogs... a cat is said to be joining the Bidens in the White House. The last feline occupant of 1600 Penn was the Bush twin’s black cat India. But my heart belongs to Socks, the tuxedo cat, who rode on Bill Clinton’s shoulders during walks about the rose garden.

Socks remains the cutest pet to ever live in the White House. And I hold Sunny and Bo in the highest of regards.