I'll be what I am, a solitary man.

  While I'm trying to think of something clever, let's go ahead and knock out The News. It was a pretty good week's worth of work if I do say so myself. Then again, weeks like this last one are like mana from heaven for journalists. That it has been an active one is an understatement.

 Monday was the first glimpse at some of the fallout from the Trumper Temper Tantrum on January 6 that got five people killed and over 25,000 members of the National Guard station in Washington, D.C. Wednesday brought the sublime joy that is Trump's second impeachment. He can finally brag about doing something no other president has done.

We took a look at Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package Thursday, what it contained, and why some folks were miffed at it. I'm not talking about Republicans, who can't get hard if they don't know poor people are suffering. I'm talking about the leftists raising Cain because the stimulus check was $1,400 (plus $600, making $2,000) instead of $2,000 right on top of everything.

 Maybe so. As I've said quite often, we here in Enon Holler operate under the axiom "money talks and bullshit walks." I think a lot of the other aspects of the package that help the truly up against the wall - like unemployment benefits and food programs - but there's definitely room for more jingle in everyone's jeans. Plus, the changing dynamic in the Senate opens up the possibility of better things to come.

 Dropping back a bit, I really feel for the people who live in D.C. right now with it full of soldiers and promises of butthurt suburbanites cosplaying another insurrection. After living in college towns and particularly New Orleans, I know how tourists sometimes ignore that their destinations actually have people who live there for reasons other than to bring them their food. Washington is full of folks, something like almost 700,000, and a fairly decent whack of them have nothing to do with what's going on in the Capitol.

 There's been a few verified reports of Trumpists harassing the locals, sometimes violently, when said local was just trying to get home from work. That whole affair just screams "I demand to speak to your manager" from privileged, entitled yuppies who can't accept the rest of the country thinks their baby is a tedious asshole.

 While I'm no fan of the FBI, of course, it's been amusing as hell to watch those yay-hoos having to deal with the consequences of their actions. What did they think would happen? That no one would doubt they had the right? Well... yes, that's exactly what they thought.

 I do think it's going to get worse, though, and Wednesday's inauguration is going to be a mess. As much locking down of Washington the officials are trying to do, Trumpists still think they're entitled to overturn the election and that God is on their side. And the Republicans that are encouraging them are louder than the ones trying to get them to act like they're from somewhere.

 This sort of scene is being repeated in state capitals across the country, I'm being told. I confess, I don't have a clue as to what to do about it or how to make it change. This isn't due to Trump, he's just a symptom of the disease. This has been brewing for years, probably my whole life and decades before. I think it speaks a lot about the rot at the core of the American Dream that we're so easily led to this point.

 It'd help if GOP lawmakers would quit encouraging this behavior and stop pretending that making sure everyone can afford health care regardless of their employment status was the first step to communist totalitarianism. This isn't a "both sides are bad" thing, and if you're given to expressing such trenchant comments I'm more likely to ignore everything you say.

 Anyhow, I think that's good enough. I dug into a bit of Disco Elysium the other night and it's looking to be a pretty cool ride. Right now, I'm on an Arthur Alexander streak and that's always highly recommended. Beyond that, I don't know. Enjoy your weekend, friends and neighbors.