Never Ever After

Yesterday at breakfast, my six-year-old granddaughter asked: "So Grandpa, you got the vaccine. What if it doesn't work?"

Among their many virtues, children are direct. Grandfathers have their virtues too. "Well, I suppose I'd probably get Covid and fall down dead."

This set off a discussion about vaccines and how the body works to ward off viral infections. She then graphically acted out her interpretation of the body's immune system, looking like a karate master dispatching an opponent.

Once she got that out of her system, our conversation resumed. "So when will kids get the vaccine?"

"It'll be a while yet. Maybe by then the vaccine will be even stronger and even better."

"Yeah like this!" Now she went into full karate attack mode. "Covid will be so scared it will just lay down on the table and die."

"I hope you're right." 

***

Well, now I'm into full-binge mode with Netflix, I can say I am impressed not only with the teenage romance genre, but the social values reinforced by most of the movies and TV series available there. 

Racism, sexism, homophobia, divorce, death, inequality, diversity, sexual attraction, friendship, betrayal, discrimination of all kinds -- these and other important topics seem to be well-covered. The writers who are behind these productions can be proud.

I stumbled into my first TV series, which is called "Never Have I Ever," focusing on an Indian-American girl attending high school in Sherman Oaks, California. The lead actress, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, is fantastic. For reasons a bit hard to fathom, John McEnroe narrates the series. For reasons even more difficult to fathom, Andy Sandberg makes an appearance as a guest narrator.

Maybe they are under contract with Netflix.

Be that as it may, the main character in the series is dealing with the premature death of her father, a controlling mother, two wacky school friends battling their own demons, and a series of confusing relationships with boys.

I burned through all ten episodes of the first season in just a few sittings.

Do I now qualify as a normal American doing what normal Americans do? No comment necessary.

***

The impeachment trial has an air of hopelessness to it. It is the polar opposite of a Netflix series. We all know the bad guy is going to get off scot-free in the end. That phrase originated  from the Scandinavian word, 'skat,' which means “tax” or “payment.” 

Much like a virus, the word mutated into 'scot' to describe a program of redistributive relief to the poor during the 10th century. That's one long time for a phrase to hold up.

*That* phrase, in turn, primarily means to support or prevent something from falling, as in "concrete pillars hold up the elevated section of the railroad."

So, if you follow my reasoning, the impeachment trial is holding up the scot-free ending mainly because our talented Netflix colleagues are not in charge of how the series will end.

With logic like that, I think I prefer the next season of "Never Have I Ever."

***

The heds:

* Impeachment Trial May Hinge on Meaning of ‘Incitement’ -- The Supreme Court has placed strict First Amendment limits on incitement charges in court. But many legal scholars say they do not apply in impeachment trials (NYT)

* State and local GOP committees attack any Republicans who dare turn on Trump (WashPo)

* Dozens of former Republican officials, who view the party as unwilling to stand up to former President Donald Trump, are in talks to form a center-right breakaway party. (Reuters)

* A HuffPost investigation found that multiple men arrested for the U.S. Capitol insurrection have restraining orders against them over domestic violence accusations. Others have faced charges and served prison time for sexual assault. Experts have linked extremism to violent misogyny in recent years, especially in the wake of mass shootings in which the perpetrators had a history of violence against women. [HuffPost]

* A 'Scary' Survey Finding: 4 In 10 Republicans Say Political Violence May Be Necessary (NPR)

* How Right-Wing Radio Stoked Anger Before the Capitol Siege -- Shows hosted by Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and other talk radio stars promoted debunked claims of a stolen election and urged listeners to “fight back.” (NYT)

* Trump’s trial has crystallized the horror of Jan. 6. The Senate must convict him -- Editorial Board (WashPo)

* Donald Trump posted a tweet attacking his own vice president for lacking “the courage” to overturn the election for him ― enraging his Jan. 6 mob even further ― just minutes after learning that Mike Pence had been removed from the Senate chamber for his own safety. Newly elected Sen. Tommy Tuberville told reporters that Trump called him for help in delaying the election certification, but he told Trump that Pence had just been taken from the Senate and he couldn’t talk just then. [HuffPost]

* House managers wrap case, warn Trump could incite more violence (WashPo)

* Desperation grows in battered Honduras, fueling migration (AP)

* “The biggest issue facing dam safety in California is aging infrastructure and lack of money to fund repairs and retrofits of dams.” Fifty years after the Slymar earthquake, California’s dams face new challenges and dangers. [The Los Angeles Times]

* Biden Raises Concerns With China’s Xi in First Call Since Election -- The two leaders developed a friendly relationship during the Obama years, but now face a wide range of contentious issues. (NYT)

* Biden says call with Chinese leader Xi lasted two hours (Reuters)

* BBC World News barred from airing in China: regulator (Reuters)

* Larry Flynt, the founder of Hustler magazine, died Wednesday at 78. Flynt launched Hustler in 1974, and it quickly grew to become one of the country’s most popular adult magazines. In 1978, Flynt was shot and left paralyzed from the waist down. The gunman was a white supremacist and serial killer who claimed he was upset by an interracial photo shoot that appeared in an issue of the magazine years earlier. [HuffPost]

* How Much Does a C-Section Cost? At One Hospital, Anywhere From $6,241 to $60,584 -- New federally mandated disclosures by California’s Sutter Health illustrate the wide disparity in healthcare rates negotiated by insurers. (WSJ)

* The Chevron Refinery in Richmond spilled roughly 600 gallons of “water and petroleum mixture” into San Francisco Bay on Tuesday. [The San Francisco Chronicle]

* The U.S. International Trade Commission banned one of the world’s biggest electric vehicle battery manufacturers from selling in the United States, striking a blow to the Biden administration’s ambitious plan to electrify the nation’s auto fleet. The decision bars South Korean giant SK Innovation from importing its batteries or the components to make them for 10 years. [HuffPost]

* The Killing of George Floyd Tore Minneapolis Apart. Now Comes the Trial. -- As attorney general, William Barr rejected a plea deal days after Mr. Floyd died, worried in part of protesters calling it lenient. Derek Chauvin was set to plead guilty to third-degree murder. (NYT)

* Dave Min, a state senator from Irvine, last month introduced SB-264, a bill that would ban gun sales and shows on all state-owned property in California. [Los Angeles Times]

* ‘There’s Nothing Left’: Why Thousands of Republicans Are Leaving the Party -- Voting registration data indicates a stronger-than-usual flight from the G.O.P. since the Capitol riot, with an intensely fluid period in American politics now underway. (NYT)

* Two cases of the coronavirus variant first found in South Africa were found in Alameda and Santa Clara, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday. The variant reduces the efficacy of some vaccines. [The San Francisco Chronicle]

* A horn made from a conch shell over 17,000 years ago has blasted out musical notes for the first time in millennia. Archaeologists originally found the seashell in 1931, in a French cave that contains prehistoric wall paintings. They speculated that the cave's past occupants had used the shell as a ceremonial cup for shared drinks, and that a hole in its tip was just accidental damage. But some researchers have now concluded something different--the shell, which has been sitting in a museum for decades, was actually modified in sophisticated ways that could help it produce music. (NPR/Science Advances)

* Hawaii's unusual 'o'opu can scale the islands' waterfalls, some more than 300m high. (BBC)

* Report: If Earth Continues To Warm At Current Rate Moon Will Be Mostly Under Water By 2400 (The Onion)

***

"Hold Up"

Hold up, they don't love you like I love you
Slow down, they don't love you like I love you
Back up, they don't love you like I love you
Step down, they don't love you like I love you

-- Songwriters: Beyonce Knowles / Emile Haynie / Deandre Way / Brian Chase / Doc Pomus / Mort Shuman / Ezra Koenig / Thomas Pentz / Uzoechi Emenike / Antonio Randolph / Kelvin Mcconnell / Nick Zinner / Karen Orzolek / Joshua Tillman / Sean "melo-x" Rhoden

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