Afternoon Tea 1.20.2021 - Moment to Breathe

Have a rest at the fire before continuing your journey...

January 20, 2021

Shockingly and much to my delight, we didn’t wake up on Wednesday November 9th 2016 in the Groundhog Day scenario I had envisioned. Inauguration: Lockdown Edition went off, a terrorist plot to attack the NYC 9/11 memorial was foiled, institutional privilege was documented, and a Mayoral candidate raised Ottoman Empire money. It’s Wednesday, January 20th 2021, and this is the Tea.

US soldier arrested in plot to blow up NYC 9/11 Memorial (AP - News12 Long Island) Cole James Bridges, 3rd Infantry Division out of Fort Stewart, in custody for attempted murder of a military member & material support of Daesh. This is going to get dark.

Police seize firearms from Black men at Virginia rally for gun rights (Reuters) I mean, really y’all. The last few weeks have had some of the most naked displays of privilege and institutional bias media has recorded. Look at this:

Dunn told the assembled reporters and police that his group was openly carrying semiautomatic rifles “in pure defiance” of local laws, and “rocking mags (ammunition magazines) with double the legal limit.”

The Response to the Capitol Riot is Whitewashing the History of Black Insurrection (New Republic) & New Documents Suggest J. Edgar Hoover Was Involved in Fred Hampton’s Murder (TruthOut) One from the 18th and the other published yesterday from documents “liberated” from the FBI. Both seem related.

Wall Street Favorite Raises $5 Million, Jolting New York Mayor’s Race (NYTimes) The ex-Citi VP is raising so much cash the other candidates will get more $$ from the city’s matching funds program. And no, it’s not in $27 increments from the regular folk, common clay of the old east, if you will.

Mr. McGuire’s donor list reads like an index from corporate America, Wall Street, the entertainment industry and real estate. There are at least 20 billionaires on the list, including owners of sports teams and oil company chief executives. There’s old money dating back to the Ottoman Empire, and new money earned with the kings and queens of hip-hop culture.

Fox News is on a Historic Run at Last Place in Cable News. Here Are the Reasons Why. (Mediaite) If you needed a bit more schadenfreude in your day, this will be right up your alley. I thought it was just CNN having a bit of fun, but these numbers are remarkably bad.

This trenchant review of the Trump presidency by @soyouwanttotalkabout pulls no punches and should be the stain he carries everywhere he goes for the rest of his days. And just in case your friends were making the worst comparison in history, Cory Doctorow reminds you that Dubya was also a nightmare.

Let’s All Try And Be Normal (Where’s Your Ed At) I woke up this morning and I had no idea what Biden thought about a great many number of things. That is an unqualified good that we should celebrate.

Silicon Valley elites are poisoning themselves with frog mucus, an ancient practice reported to increase physical & mental strength (Insider) I loved seeing Frog Mucus open for The Disco Biscuits and the Dead at Rainbow Gathering that one time.

With the US in its sights, China moves to restrict rare earths exports. Could cobalt be next? (SupChina) One of the core materials used for components in electric vehicle fabrication, I expect the idea of a Rare Earths Reserve to be floated by the DoD/Pentagon at some point in the next couple of years.

No Rest for the Wiki (Bookforum - Review of Wikipedia @ 20) Wikipedia is our Library at Alexandria and must be protected at all costs.

Song of the Tea: Instead of music, I’d love for you to listen to the words of two, brilliant, wonderful Americans. If you’re looking for light, Amanda Gorman’s illuminating performance of ‘The Hill We Climb’ was so restorative, if I’m reading this right, the Constitution awards her the Presidency.

If you’re still fighting in the trenches, Beau spent 6:40 to produce the final argument you should be making to MAGAts, militia LARPers, and everyone who is still taking about “both sides.” Definitely one to watch all the way to the end if you start it.

It’s not the Beginning of the End, it’s the End of the Beginning. You’ve only just begun to fight.

Yours,T

P.S. I will never understand how they could use YMCA over and over again while hating gay people to the level they did.