A Sad Four-Year Anniversary

January 6, 2021, was an absolutely terrifying day. 

It wás a day I could never have foreseen, and it's a day I will never forget. 

I know what I saw on January 6, 2021. I watched in horror. I will not forget. I will not forgive.

I know who was responsible. I know whose words and actions resulted in the deaths of several law enforcement officers. I know whose words results in more than a million dollars in damages to the US Capitol. I know whose words threatened the lives of members of Congress.

I was one of millions of Americans who watched in horror and disbelief as the outgoing president of the United States incited his followers gathered in Washington, DC -- at his invitation to attack the US Capitol building, smash windows, destroy property and hunt down members of Congress. Among those targeted by the mob were then-Speaker of House Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence. And now, after 4 years of a normal presidency led by a compassionate man who genuinely cares about this nation, we are facing four more years of lies, chaos, divisions, graft, corruption and attacks. 

I remember watching the crowds of protesters on television, smashing windows, macing police officers and forcing their way into the US Capitol building, where they did $1.5 million in damage. Members of the US Senate and the House were hustled off to safe places to protect their very lives. Protesters were calling out 'Where is Nancy?' as they searched for then-Speaker Pelosi. 

They constructed a gallows on Capitol grounds, ostensibly for the hanging of Vice President hi I'mPence, who refused to delay or prevent certification of the votes. More than Year 140 police officers were injured in the riot. Some committed suicide in the days following the attack. Attacking America's leadership and congressional building is not making America great again. One would have to be stupid, brain dead or brainwashed to believe this is the way to make a nation great.

All of this was done at the behest of the outgoing president of the United States, in an effort to stop the certification of the Electoral College vote confirming that he had lost the election. 

Despite frenzied calls from members of his staff and administration to call in the National Guard to restore order, the outgoing president refused to lift a finger to stop the protest. Eventually the vice-president called in the Guard after several hours. The outgoing president reportedly watched the riots and the protest on television with great glee. He also refused to call off his goons that were attacking the US capital.

And now, here we are again, with the traitorous former president set to take office again on Jan. 20. He has promised to pardon those traitors who were active participants in the insurrection, setting them loose on our government and citizens once more. 

I am a 23-year employee of the federal government, now retired. I spent the majority of my working life as a federal employee. Watching these goons attack our government buildings and elected officials, with the complicity of the outgoing president and some members of Congress, infuriates me to this day. I love my country and I am proud of my government service.

The former president, who has never been held accountable for his actions that day, is in my opinion guilty of inciting an insurrection. Protesters reported that they showed up because the president told them to. The protests were well organized in advance. This was not a spur-of-the-moment gathering. And they most certainly were not, as one congressional apologist stated, simply a group of tourists vising the nation's capitol. Certain members of Congress were, to one degree or another, complicit in the insurrection, having taken some of the insurrectionists on tours of the Capitol building the day before the insurrection.

This insurrection was not about protecting our freedoms or defending America, as the traitors claim. It was about trying to overturn a free and fair election so the outdoing president could remain in power. He simply could not accept that he was defeated at the polls. And he ran for the highest office in the land in 2024 solely to stay out of prison, He doesn't love this country. He doesn't want -- and never has -- done the work a president should do. He loves the attention, the publicity, the perks. He most certainly does not love America or her people.

The riot of January 6 wasn't about making America great again. It wasn't about patriotism. It was, and still is, about a childish, spoiled narcissist -- now showing obvious signs of dementia -- who has never been held responsible for anything in his life throwing a temper tantrum that resulted in the deaths and injuries of many people.

January 6, 2021, was a very sad and very frightening day in American history. More than 1,200 protesters have been charged with crimes related to the events of January 6. Nearly 900 have pleaded guilty or have been convicted of crimes. Some have been sentenced to several years in prison.

I fear for our country once the instigator and ringleader of the insurrection takes the throne once more. His entire platform is about nothing but revenge and retribution. He has chosen members of his cabinet who are unqualified and whose appeal to him is that they will do whatever he tells them to do.

How far this once great country has fallen.

Stay In Your Own Lane

 I have an idea for this new year, and for always.

How about if we all stay in our own lane and mind our own business?

If I choose not to eat pork, that's my business and nobody else's. Don't tell me that i's OK to ear pork just once. No, it isn't.

If I choose to buy an American car rather than an import, that is my business. If I choose to have my dogs sleep in my bedroom but not on my bed, that is not anybody else's business. If I choose not to drink alcohol -- you got it -- that is my business alone. If I follow a particular religion that isn't yours, accept my decision and move on. I shouldn't have to, and I won't, justify or explain my decision. If I support a woman's right to choose and you think abortion should be illegal, we should agree to disagree. YIf yu love shrimp and I think shrimp are disgusting, great. Your choice is no more correct than is mine. 

See how easy that is? You live your life and let me live mine. If we all did that, the world would be a much nicer, happier, more stress-free place. 

And truth be told, we are not likely to convince others to not eat pork or to buy only American cars or to convert to a particular religion. The only way to force others to follow the same things we follow is by force. And most of us don't want to be forced to do anything. And we certainly don't want to have our choices removed or even limited.

So if I choose to adopt a dog rather than buy one from a breeder, that is my choice. If you choose to purchase a purebred dog from a reputable breeder, that is your choice as well.

We are fortunate to live in a nation where, for the most part, we are free to make our own choices. But sadly, ultra right-wing forces are hard at work trying to take many choices away from us. They are trying to dictate how teachers can teach certain subjects, or which books can be offered in libraries, or when or if women give birth. 

This is wrong on myan many levels. Freedom of choice is one of things that has made this nation great. I don't want to be told how to vote, or which books I can read, or which kind of dog I can have, or where my dogs should sleep.

I want to have my freedoms to choose. And I suspect most people do, too.

I Want To Do More

I started writing this post on January 1, the start of a new month and a new year.

This is the time of year when people make resolutions, pledge to lose weight, be nicer, travel more, whatever. I don't make resolutions. But this year, I want to do more. 

More what? You may ask. I'm not sure at this point. But I want to do more to make this world a better place for people and for non-human animals. Perhaps this week's passing of former President Jimmy Carter, who devoted his life to doing more, has inspired me.

I can do more photography. I can do more writing. I can do more travel. I can donate more money to my favorite charities. I cut way back on my donations in 2024 due to the outrageous cost of everything, particularly food. Both the quantity and the amount of my donations dropped significantly from 2023. For 2025, I want to donate more money. I also want to save more money, to replenish my savings.

I know that 'doing more' is a very vague goal, not the kind of goal recommended by people who know about how to achieve goals.They recommend setting small, achievable, measurable goals. But 'doing more' is the best I can do at the moment.

A lot will depend on what happens in our country under a new, greed-and-chaos-driven administration. Will grocery prices skyrocket from the impact of tariffs imposed on goods imported from Mexico, our number one trading partner? Mexico is the second largest supplier of agricultural products to the US. Canada is the largest.

While no one can predict in detail what will happen, it seems certain that the US is in for a rough, chaotic four years. I will try to do more wherever I can.

Watching with Great Trepidation

New year. New month. New day. New calendar. 

The question, of course, is what will this new year bring? Will it bring success or great joy or prosperity? Or will it bring us failure and sadness and struggle? 

No one knows what this year will bring. The pundits may offer their predictions, but who really knows? 

I think the only thing for certain is that this will be a year of chaos, divisiveness, greed and all the other things the incoming president has promised. And frankly, these are not things to which I am looking forward. 

Mass deportations? Rollback of environmental protections? Tax cuts for the super wealthy? More struggles for the middle and lower classes? Endless insults? Tariffs? I think all of these things are a given. 

I am enjoying watching the various magat factions attacking each other. I can only hope they all self-destruct.

Once again the sane among us will be forced to watch our once-great nation become the laughing stock of the world, thanks solely to the orange skinned buffoon and his sycophants.

This year could be particularly bad with the supreme Court, the White House and both houses of Congress controlled by the same ultraconservative, radical right-wing zealots. 

There really is no way to prepare for what the next 4 years will bring. All we can do is watch with great trepidation and fear for our country.