This photo dates from the last Bush administration. With a pair of Jacksonian cannons in the foreground, this was a view once favored by Garry Trudeau in his comic strip Doonesbury. That started during Nixon. It is also a view that is no longer available. The current occupant’s penchant for walls has obstructed this scene. While highly stylized and photoshopped out the yin-yang, my picture manages to project a certain dark and ominous feeling that I had felt at the time. Sunnier days followed, but then there was that darkness again, sort of a night-day cycle. We find ourselves at the end of those dark days and at the dawning of a bright new day. We just have to make it through the next two weeks.

This week in particular, looks like it will be a doozy. Today starts with the seating of a new Congress. As of now, the Senate still has no leader, although I’m sure that Mitch McConnell will act like he still is. That gets decided on Tuesday, or maybe later. You know how these things go. Finally on Wednesday, we have the counting of the Electoral College votes. Normally, a perfunctory affair, this week it should be a real spectacle. However all this turns out there will be one saving grace. We will be graced by a new Netflix documentary series, available Tuesday. Its timing couldn’t be any more perfect then for its coming out to be this week. Hosted by Nick Cage, the History of Swear Words (NSFW, so please mute your Zoom mikes while watching it.), should help you cope, no matter what side of the political divide you come down on. So, put the kids to bed early or maybe just plug-in your headphones, because it’s going to be a bumpy ride. Citizens and lexicographers alike should be able to enjoy this profane, funny, vulgar and educational series. Its viewing should serve you well, especially in this week of all weeks. Cheeses Crisis, just watch the dern show!