Thanksgiving Optimism

© by Gerald So | 5:00 AM

Over the sixteen days since Joe Biden was projected to win enough electoral votes to defeat Donald Trump, Trump's insubstantial legal challenge of the vote has crumbled. After ignoring a subpoena to Congress, the Trump appointee overseeing the agency that formally begins the transition of power acknowledged Biden as the winner.

The hard year of COVID-19 wasn't helped by Trump's willful ignorance of the virus. Thankfully science advanced nonetheless, and vaccines will begin to roll out. That is real, good news for the new year. I'm also thankful none of my family has had to be hospitalized with COVID, but I cannot forget losing a family friend in April as well as a parish deacon. Their memories motivate me to maintain distancing and mask-wearing until the crisis is truly over.

ROBERT B. PARKER'S SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME by Ace Atkins

© by Gerald So | 4:30 AM

Atkins' ninth Spenser continuation novel was originally scheduled to be published next Tuesday, the 17th, but printing and distribution issues delayed it to January 12, 2021. Fortunately, Putnam Books publicist Nicole Biton sent me an advance ebook, which I reviewed yesterday at So Much to Talk About.

Calling It

© by Gerald So | 2:00 AM

Yesterday morning, the last major news outlets called the U.S. presidential election for Joe Biden, and unlike Donald Trump, I believe them.

I never voted for Trump, but he had chances to be a good leader and didn't take them, most glaringly with our national COVID-19 response. I have confidence Biden and VP-Elect Kamala Harris are more in touch with the reality of the pandemic and will work better than Trump did with our governors, Congress, our institutions, and on the world stage.