Another one for a nightcap . . .

Letters from an American


December 18, 2020

Heather Cox Richardson


A year ago today, the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald J. Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

In his plea to Senators to convict the president, Adam Schiff (D-CA), the lead impeachment manager for the House, warned “you know you can’t trust this president to do what’s right for this country.” Schiff asked: “How much damage can Donald Trump do between now and the next election?” and then answered his own question: “A lot. A lot of damage.” “Can you have the least bit of confidence that Donald Trump will… protect our national interest over his own personal interest?” Schiff asked the senators who were about to vote on Trump’s guilt. “You know you can’t, which makes him dangerous to this country.’’

Republicans took offense at Schiff’s passionate words, seeing them as criticism of themselves. They voted to acquit Trump of the charges the House had levied against him.

And a year later, here we are. A pandemic has killed more than 312,000 of us, and numbers of infections and deaths are spiking. Today we hit a new single-day record of reported coronavirus cases with 246,914, our third daily record in a row. The economy is in shambles, with more than 6 million Americans applying for unemployment benefits. And the government has been hobbled by a massive hack from foreign operatives, likely Russians, who have hit many of our key departments.

more . . .

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/december-18-2020

This both kills and fits so well.

Wikipedia entry

https://tinyurl.com/y5xt2j2v


God bless the Stax horn section.

The band Tommy sang with in Jackson, Tim Whitsett's Imperial Show Band, is considered to be the first integrated band in Mississippi.

Mini documentary about the concert, under 7 minutes

&list=RD5gQvoinczlw&start_radio=1&t=2




Ruby, My Dear

&list=RD5gQvoinczlw&index=2

Cool bowed bass


It's in a playlist so it might continue to play on through the other cuts.

Source: ABC News

Hospitals nationwide face shortage of medical staff amid spike in COVID-19 cases
Twenty-two percent say they'll face a critical staff shortage in the next week.

ByStephanie Ebbs

November 21, 2020, 4:01 AM

Goshen Health Hospital in Indiana has had to issue a public call for help from people with medical experience. In a Facebook post, the CEO wrote, “We invite you to consider if you are someone who could make a difference.”

The Mayo Clinic in Minnesota is bringing back retirees, redeploying employees from other parts of the country, and reassigning researchers to patient care after 905 employees contracted COVID-19 in the last two weeks.

And in North Dakota, the governor announced last week that to avoid a shortage of staff the state would implement “crisis” guidelines that allow nurses who test positive for COVID-19 to continue to work, as reported by the Grand Forks Herald.

. . . “While hospitals can add beds, it is much harder to bring in additional health care workers, many of whom are justifiably experiencing a significant emotional and physical toll due to the impact of the pandemic,” Nancy Foster, vice president of quality and patient safety policy for the American Hospital Association said in a statement.



Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/hospitals-nationwide-face-shortage-medical-staff-amid-spike/story?id=74319020

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and 'Up On Soul Train' etc.

https://twitter.com/stuartpstevens/status/1329899159139315714