Weekend open thread: What's happening where you are?

Happy New Year to all. Trump will be gone in days. But not without one more doomed-to-failure seditious attempt by him and his enablers to overturn the election, which is now splitting the GOP.

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Hope you’re all enjoying the holiday weekend if you can, even as it’s like none we’ve had before. Here’s a thread to join in and discuss what’s going on where you are, and what’s happening this weekend. So please jump in.

The first week of 2021 looks like it will be highlighted by more seditious actions by the GOP as at least 11 GOP senators are backing Trump’s doomed, last-ditch effort to overturn the election. I’ve written quite a bit about the January 6th assault on democracy. Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, a faux populist Christian dominionist and all around fraud, became the first senator to join GOP House members in saying they will object to the election results at the normally routine Congressional certification. Now other Trumpian opportunists have joined in.

None of this will change the outcome of the election, however, and Joe Biden will be president on January 20th. But we have to keep a sharp eye out for violence Trump is inciting with protests he’s encouraging, which will bring extremists to Washington —and Trump’s impulse to try to bring in the military. I don’t think that will happen, but I’m just not resting until the 20th. One mildly delightful outcome of all this is that it’s putting many GOP senators in a tight spot, taking a vote they don’t want to take, and has Mitch McConnell looking feeble and weak. So, there’s that.

HuffPost Politics @HuffPostPol

The effort to subvert the will of voters is forcing Republicans to make choices that will set the contours of the post-Trump era and an evolving GOP.

huffp.stGOP Fissures Over Trump’s Electoral College Challenge Of BidenThe effort to subvert the will of voters is forcing Republicans to make choices that will set the contours of the post-Trump era and an evolving GOP.

Hopefully all of this is hurting GOP senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, who are having to defend Trump while he and now other GOP senators are telling Georgia voters that their votes shouldn’t count. All eyes are on Georgia for Tuesday’s runoff, as we see record turnout among Democratic voters that is frustrating the GOP. And if Democrats win the Senate, Biden will be able to get major things done.

Even with less than three weeks to go with Trump in office he’s wreaking havoc with regard to the coronavirus pandemic and setting back the progress we’ve made on vaccines, as the rollout has been horrific. Public health officials say at this pace we wouldn’t get enough people vaccinated until 10 years from now. And true to form Trump’s blaming everyone else. Meanwhile, numbers continue to surge, and one model predicts 115,000 more people could be dead over the next four weeks.

I was off from my radio program since Christmas Eve — am back on Monday — and so I tried to enjoy the time by baking, as I was given a huge french bread book. I have already made a few breads and am going to try baguettes — just got the traditional French T65 flour. Who knew there were so many flour numbers (types) among French flours? Well, I know many of you did, actually — but not me. And I spent all day yesterday making puff pastry for the first time — which I definitely know many of you have done — and used it to make pain aux raisin. Came out okay for the first try, but practice makes perfect.

What’s going on where you are and what are you up to this weekend? And what are you thinking about everything that’s going on, including all the ugly theater we have coming up next week?

Join the discussion in the comments. I’ll be jumping in over the weekend too. And Happy New Year to all. No matter the challenges ahead, 2021 is going to be a much better year with Trump gone from the White House.