The month is not over, so in the French tradition, I can still wish everyone a Happy New Year. Since I haven't written in a long time, I've managed to wish the a happy new year to friends and family personally over the phone.
There's not much to say. The US election is about to enter into effect. The new Congress has already started. Their busy confirming Trump's cabinet nominations. What strange nominations, too. It seems to me that each one is in opposition to the post he or she has been assigned. For education, someone opposed to public education. For housing, someone opposed to housing. For energy, someone who couldn't even remember the name of the department back when he was a candidate, and who doesn't believe climate change is caused by human activity. For the State Department, someone who has had close business interests in Russia. The list goes on like that. The hearings are interesting, but it's not as though the Democrats will be able to stop the confirmations.
The president-elect, himself, is still in candidate mode. He doesn't believe anything the FBI, CIA, or NSA have to report to him. He seems to get his information from twitter and deliver his thoughts via twitter. His behavior is childish. He's easily angered and reacts immediately to anything that disturbs him with insults. As far as the intelligence reports are concerned, well, he finally concedes that, yes, the Russians were behind much of the campaign havoc, the hacking of the DNC emails, for example. There's a rumor of his being subject to blackmail because of a sex tape the Russians made a few years ago, but it's a rumor and every legitimate news organization is saying it's an unconfirmed report, yet he treats the media as being the source of it and treating it as news. Of course, without the recording, it will remain a rumor - unconfirmed.
There's a campaign to boycott the inauguration coverage. That's easy for me. I won't go to the American Library in Paris to watch. They always show the inauguration, so it's not a big thing that they are doing it, but I won't go. I won't watch any channel, here, that might be covering it. Of course, here, it doesn't matter. It is not something that will enter the ratings. But in the US, the boycott is more difficult because for it to have any meaning, people will have to turn on their TVs in order to be counted, but tune in to a channel that will not be covering the inauguration. The next day, there is a women's march in Washington, protesting the president, protesting the Republican schemes to overturn the Roe vs Wade decision, to do away with legal abortions, planned parenthood, the Affordable Care Act, and more. There are sister marches all over the country and in major cities around the world. I'll be going to the one in Paris. I accept the election. I don't like it, but I accept it. That said, I'll support whatever possible to let the President know it was not a popular or landslide victory and whatever possible to make sure all the progress made in the past 50 years is not swept aside.
Meanwhile, I'm knitting away.
