Hiking at Burke Lake – The situation in Texas – Navalny sentenced – The status of COVID vaccinations in Fairfax County – The QAnonCasualties forum – Evening statistics
My microspikes have certainly been put to use this season. I did not venture far, going merely to Burke Lake; but the trails were icy underfoot and the spikes were decidedly useful. Some of the others on the trail looked at me with surprise as I went by without any fear of slipping. However, a couple of joggers were going on with an equal degree of confidence, and I can only suppose that their running shoes had a comparable amount of traction. It was brilliantly clear today, and not very cold – just below freezing, which in the clear sunshine felt quite comfortable. The circuit around the lake was much less crowded than usual, the majority of park patrons being daunted by the trails conditions; and as a result I was able to pause at the various viewpoints at my leisure, without being disturbed by others. I cannot remember, in fact, when I was last able to step out on the fishing pier close to the trailhead parking area to savor the view in solitude.
The conditions here formed a great contrast to the conditions of the Midwest. Biden has declared a state of emergency for Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, in which states over 70 deaths have occurred as a result of homes losing their heat amid bitter sub-zero temperatures. It may be noted, incidentally, that the governors of both Texas and Oklahoma are Republican; but Biden has not allowed party politics to interfere with the responsibilities of the Federal government. Kevin Stitt, the governor of Oklahoma, has gone out of his way to praise Biden for his prompt response in the matter. Biden had planned to visit Texas next week, but added that he will go only after he is assured that the effort of accommodating him and his entourage will not impose too much of a burden on the state’s strained resources. Representatives Penny Morales Shaw, Sheila Jackson Lee, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Sylvia Garcia are busily working together to fill boxes at the Houston Food Bank. AOC raised more than $3 million to aid the Texans affected by the crisis before she left for Houston. All of these four representatives are Democrats. Not much has been heard from their counterparts on the other side. On the whole, I would say that the Republicans in the state are not showing to advantage during this crisis. Their performance, or lack of it, may affect the Texas elections in 2022.
Alexei Navalny, Putin’s most persistent critic, has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for breaching his parole terms while he was recovering in Germany – recovering, it should be added, from an attempt to poison him. The assertion of Putin’s government that denies complicity in this attempt has the amount of credibility that official pronouncements from the Russian government generally display. European Union leaders are considering sanctions in response to Navalny’s arrest and will be meeting with two of Navalny’s top aides in Brussels this coming week. Navalny has responded to his sentencing with composure, even with something like cheerfulness, saying that he does not regret his return to Russia and urging his followers to continue their resistance.
Dr. Fauci still urges us to avoid indoor dining at restaurants, bars, and any crowded event, either indoors or outdoors. The vaccine has mitigated matters but the percentage of the population that has received it is still relatively small. I can attest to this last assertion of his through personal experience. I have been continually checking a website that gives the status of vaccinations in Fairfax County. Currently those who registered on January 18th are being allowed to make appointments. This status has been unchanged for over a week, which is not surprising: over 40,000 people registered on that day. I myself registered on the 22nd. At this rate, it will be well into March before I can even make an appointment to receive my first dose. There are over 93,000 registrants on the wait list for Fairfax County, and the number of vaccinations administered this week was just under 16,000. The wait list, it should be noted, consists of members of the group for Phase 1B, so the majority of people under 65 who are not in the health care industry will have to wait considerably later.
A Reddit forum called “QAnonCasualties” has appeared, addressing the concerns of relatives who are forced to stand by helplessly as a parent, spouse, sibling, or child is sucked into the QAnon cult and refuses to respond to any treatment or persuasion that would enable him (I use the masculine pronoun for convenience, for the cult members are overwhelming male) to accept the fact that Trump has lost the election and to liberate themselves from the neurotic fear of an imaginary Satanic cabal. Many of the posts make for depressing reading. “Another family wrecked,” one subscriber wrote about her husband. “He’s gone from the kindest, chilled man to constant anger and major depression. I’m at a loss, not so easy to walk away either – been together 20 years, married 14, 2 kids under 10, mortgage.” Conspiracy theories are nothing new, of course, but the availability of social media in recent years has now made them chillingly easy to sustain. The atmosphere of uncertainty fostered by the pandemic has of course exacerbated the problem. The QAnonCasualties forum has 130,000 subscribers, showing how widespread this phenomenon is.
If I have mentioned Donald Trump in previous entries to the point of obsession, this forum exemplifies the reason for my aversion towards him. He is, quite simply, a toxic influence. He demoralizes everything that he touches. The relief that I feel as a result of his losing the election is greatly impaired by the fear that this influence will continue to linger and that he will cast his dark shadow over American politics for a long time to come.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 111,634,729; # of deaths worldwide: 2,471,412; # of cases U.S.: 28,702,557; # of deaths; U.S.: 509,854.