Last night, remaining news networks called Arizona for Biden. Meghan McCain, widow of Senator John McCain, took this occasion to share a meme, a photo of John with the tagline, “I like people who don’t lose Arizona.” Feel the burn? Following these events, China congratulated Biden on his victory. This leaves pretty much just Putin, Trump and the GOP as holdouts. It has been almost a week since last Saturday, when Joe Biden’s victory was announced. In the interim, we’ve witnessed the hilarious Four Seasons Total Landscaping debacle, but more ominous have been a string of recent administration firings. Leading among those fired officials was Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. Combined with rumors of the potential future sackings of both the FBI and CIA directors, these action raise the specter of a coup. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, might have been joking, when he threw fuel on this fire with a promised, “Smooth transition−to a second Trump administration.” It is uncertain if these words and actions are more coup or con, but a little vigilance at this time wouldn’t hurt.

In other news, we had a pleasant Zoom call with Jay and Carl this week. One topic raised was the idea of a joint summer camping trip. They are not willing to go full pup tent like we have and are more inclined towards renting a camper or a trailer. To this end, Anne has found the following possibility via Needless Markup. While it might not be affordable as a second home, if you sold your house you could probably swing it. There would likely be enough money left to buy a truck to pull it too. Get your motor running, head out on the highway…

Finally, I am infuriated with the New York Times. In particular with their Covid coverage. Since the epidemic has begun, they have run a daily graphic that maps the spread of the disease. Each state is color-coded to represent the degree of infection. Additionally, the top offenders are individually listed. Since this summer, Missouri has been in these ranks. Initially, we were number nine out of nine. Later, this list was expanded and although we had relatively improved (i.e. not sunk as fast as our neighbors), we were still on the list at twelve out of twelve. The pandemic has exploded nationwide and it is bad here too. However, not as bad as elsewhere. Lately, we now sit at fifteen out of an even more expanded list of fifteen of the worst offenders. I have gotten so tired of winning.

1. An autogolpe is a form of putsch or coup d’état where a nation’s leader, despite having come to power through legal means, dissolves or renders powerless the national legislature and unlawfully assumes extraordinary powers not granted under normal circumstances.