Random Notes, December 2019

Happy holidays, all 20 of you:

+ Any hope for removing Donald Trump from office will die in the senate. Even though the impeachment has relatively coasted through the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives --on partisan lines, naturally-- its hard to imagine anyone in the historically unilateral GOP to flip on Trump. History will serve the House Democrats well, but the nation and government alike are polarized. If anything, this will potentially shape up the 2020 election as a feast for incumbents; both the left and right have galvanized their bases, like happy warriors for their respective causes. At least now Trump has the stigma of not being able to be pardoned.

+ I still can't quite make heads or tails of the Bears' rollercoaster season. Perhaps the hype was too much, I don't think any one person or party is to blame. I suppose some of the onus lies on Mitch Trubisky, a capable but admittedly inconsistent quarterback. The defense did their job, as long as Khalil Mack was healthy. Matt Nagy was brilliant one second and confounding the next. At the same time, the Packers and Vikings both improved their respective defenses, and if you look at the big picture, all three teams were just wailing on the Lions. Onward to 2020, I suppose.

+ I haven't seen Episode IX yet, and I have no inclination to see "Cats." No spoilers please, and thank you for asking.

In a Few Days: the year in music, 2019.

(637)