If you have ever played any trivia game with me, you know all too well that while I have areas in which I know enough to be of value to my team, “sports” is not one of them. I once almost watched a Super Bowl game, maybe I saw the first 5 minutes, and then some hot spinach dip came out of the oven, and it turned out that the mother of the host also had no interest in football, so we absconded with the dip, walked to my house, and watched the Puppy Bowl.
But today, I’ll be watching the game and rooting for the Birds. It turns out that the owner, Jeffrey Lurie, and the players are registered Democrats, in contrast to the majority of that other team, who are MAGA-acolytes. This makes it an easy decision for me.
The Eagles will not only be playing to win, but also to help the healing necessary for a city scarred by the plane crash last week. This article talks about how sports can be healing for “group grief” and lists some of the kids the team will be playing for.
Because of YOU, it’s working
All last week, people took to the streets. A week ago, Indivisible called for a protest outside the DC Treasury building on Tuesday night, and that took off amoungst Indivisible members to the end that 31 Reps and Senators ended up speaking at the protest.
Throughout the week there were more protests in DC, as well as throughout the country. In blue and purple areas, and even in red states. This makes a HUGE difference.
In addition, people have been calling, emailing, and texting their Reps and Senators. Even Alaskans.
So please, PLEASE, keep contacting! Yeah, if you’re calling there’s a lot of busy signals, but that just means it’s overwhelming the system. Believe me, the callers aren’t calling to say “good job” - they’re calling for the same reason you are!
And don’t forget to call your state’s Attorney General. Unless you live in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island or Vermont. Those 13 states are suing over DOGE. See if we can’t get more states to join them. Remember to tell your AG that you object to Elmo Muskrat and his gang of juvenile delinquents accessing YOUR private information.
If you’ve got a Senator or Rep who is voting the right way, make sure to Resistbot them a thank you! They, and their staffs, will appreciate it.
And remember to take to the streets. Protests REALLY MATTER. If you’ve never protested before, tomorrow, my post is filled with helpful tips!
Fun “I told you so”
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know I’ve written many times that those cretinous criminals would overreach, make all sorts of mistakes, and as regards deportation, pick up fewer people, and lack the space for them. So, they’re releasing migrants. No room. That Gitmo plan for 30,000 humans? They sent TEN. Don’t get me wrong, they’re rounding people up. But local neighbors are standing up with their camera phones and, in some cases, yelling at the jackboots. Often, they leave with many fewer people than they intended.
Fair Warning
Respiratory illnesses are on the rise throughout the country. I’m going to spare you all the detailed medical and epidemiologic information, just know that flu peaked earlier this cycle, and it shouldn’t be peaking again. Case data here. The prevalent diseases include Influenza A, Covid, RSV and, wait for it, potentially bird flu. (Sorry.) In NYC they are sub-type testing all ER flu patients for H5N1, on the advice of the CDC. I don’t know which other states/localities are following this advice. Also in NYC and some surrounding counties, they have shut down poultry markets.
Schools in multiple states have closed intermittently due to the extent of illness.
TB is also on the rise, not just in Kansas in January, but also in the past week in North Carolina. Oklahoma is concerned. No one seems to know why the rate is increasing, and no one knows which state will be afflicted next.
Therefore, if you’re sick, STAY HOME. If you’re not sick, consider masking everywhere you go. And remember, you can still get vaccinated for flu, Covid and RSV. The 3 teenagers who died recently in San Diego from flu were part of the 80% of kids in the San Diego area aged 5 - 17 who were not vaccinated this year.
Some of you remember all the information I shared when Covid started (before it was even called Covid) back in December of 2019. And how happy I was that it wasn’t airborne, according to the WHO and the CDC, right up until the minute it was. So I’m keeping an eye on bird flu, hoping to disseminate information ahead of the curve.
Here in the US, we can count on the fascist regime working to keep information ABOUT EVERYTHING from we, the people. Also, that they will make very bad choices in terms of what they send out as propaganda. I suspect that one of the reasons that there is no bird flu in cattle in Europe, but there is here in the states, is because American farmers feed cattle chicken poop, and no one in Europe does. Not making this up. There’s not enough information for a causal link, but it’s something to keep in mind as we navigate respiratory illness outbreaks.
It’s not anywhere near time to think about pandemic and lockdowns (and there will be NO lockdowns of any sort under the fascists) but PLEASE consider protecting yourself and your loved ones.
Back to the Super Bowl
I think it will be an exciting game. I say that with my “vast” experience of having seen exactly one football game in my life (two weeks ago). Thus, I don’t know what constitutes an “exciting” football game. But I’ve prepared some of my favourite snacks (normally for political events, but I like them) and I have actual food to feed my husband and the dogs.
ENJOY!! And for a few hours, don’t think about anything but football. Unless it’s boring, then watch Puppy Bowl which is ALWAYS great!
Jessica, thank you! I will heed your advice…enjoy my day and the game! Although I will admit I just left VMs for our Senators re: Patel. I also left a VM yesterday for our state AG. I use 5 Calls - and they have the AGs phone number now listed. Yay!!!
Tune in a little before gametime, so you don't miss Jon Batiste sing the national anthem.