An "Unprecedented" Week

 I wrote the last post on January 6 before the "unprecedented" events of January 6 took place. President Trump held a rally in Washington DC to protest the meeting in Congress which was scheduled to ratify the electoral college's vote to say that Biden won.  Whether Trump actually and literally incited his supporters to do so or not, the crowd marched to the Capitol Building and got in.  The legislators were evacuated to safe locations where they spent hours until the building could be cleared.  Five people died--one a woman shot by the police and one an officer clubbed by a fire extinguisher.  Photos were taken of a man in the dais where Pence had been presiding; another one of a man with his feet up on Pelosi's desk in her office.  There were Confederate flags, a noose, handcuffs, and lots of MAGA hats.  The capitol police were overwhelmed.

It was a scary day in which the news services were live from the Capitol for hours.   CBS called its broadcast "The Assault on the Capitol."   President Trump was reluctant but eventually was encouraged to call off the protestors and asked them to go home while telling them he loved them and still maintaining that the election was stolen from him.

Thankfully, the Congress reconvened and in the wee hours of the morning, the electoral college ballots were received and all objections were heard and over-ruled.  Joe Biden was recognized as the next President of the United State.  Speaker of the House Pelosi and Vice-president Pence carried on in spite of the dangerous disruption that took place within the walls. 

What will be the results of all this?  Some (even some Republicans) have called for Trump's resignation. Others have asked Pence to engage the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office. The impeachment process has begun in the House of Representatives today but the Senate will not be able to finish the process before Biden's inauguration.  So is it best to let Trump play out his last 8 days in office?  Or is it dangerous given his unstable personality and condition? Is it best to make sure he is rebuked so that this cannot happen again?  Or if impeached and found guilty, that he cannot run for office again?  What about Biden's call for unity in the country?   And the need to get our country over the Covid crisis?  Can that be done if the Senate is totally involved in an impeachment trial?  

I have to stop reading so much of the news and opinions.  I have subscribed to a daily summary by Heather Cox Richardson, a Boston College professor, who is a good person to read as she puts things into historical perspective.  I have "snoozed for 30 days" a couple of Facebook friends who share endlessly negative posts.  I have responded to my former student M who posted a terrible TikTok post of Trump in a patriot costume wrapped in a flag with a very white Jesus' arms around him.  As much as I have avoided politics on Facebook, I had to tell her that post made me sad.  She is the person who asked me in 2016, "Republicans?  Those are the Christians, right?"  I despaired and cried all the way home that day--never dreaming it would come to this five years later.  

Sadly, the Republican party is torn between those who have conservative ideas and those who follow Trump and his "alternative facts."  Bill Belichick refused the Presidential Medal of Freedom Trump wanted to award him this week.  The PGA  cancelled their 2022 event at his golf course.  Twitter and Facebook have refused to allow him to post any more--lest there be more incendiary comments.  

I wonder what I may be posting a week from now--so much has happened in the last week.  

In the midst of all of this, we spent the last week wondering what the results of Jim's January 6 PSA test would be.  It took until yesterday (January 11) to get the results and even then they were not on MyChart.  Jim called the urologist's office directly and was told the number was 0.4 which is a safe low number.  We are very relieved and thankful for that good news.  ----------January 15:  This relief was a bit premature as the number did not get posted on MyChart and when Jim called again, it was not clear that there were any results in on Monday.  So where did that first report come from?   Finally, on Friday, after calling the Urology Care Alliance where he had his radiation last spring, he got confirmation of the results from a very dear and capable nurse there.  Still nothing on MyChart and the urologist's office closed for the day--or the weekend.  Jim told me now that the phone call on Monday was confusing and the number he was told was not clear. Good thing I didn't know that all week.  I was stressed enough!

This blog post needs photos.  But I cannot bear to post or remember the ugly photos of scenes inside the Capitol.  I would like to wipe those images from my mind.