Dispatches From the Fortress – Day 358

So today is the day when, according to QAnon supporters, Donald Trump will be re-inaugurated as President because the U.S. government has been illegitimate since 1871 and he will today seize control of it and make things legit again. I look forward to this not happening and to all the QAnon folks wondering if maybe — just maybe — they've based some of their expectations on false premises.

Scanning the web this morning, I see messages from people in Texas and Mississippi celebrating the "freedom" they now have to stop wearing masks and to congregate in large groups. I wonder if any folks in those states feel less free to go into a supermarket now. On Twitter, I saw one of my favorite political writers, Will Saletan, say that in Texas, the main argument against masks is like, "Look, libtard: If you think brakes work, put them on your car."

I also see a lot of messages from people who think the government or The Biden Administration banned those Dr. Seuss books or forced Mr. Potatohead to go unisex. One guy was even ranting about how they'd banned Kermit the Frog who I don't think has been banned by anyone. I thought a core tenet of Conservative thinking was that private industries should be free to do whatever they think will maximize profits.


My TiVo, in recording John Oliver last Sunday, also nagged a hunk of the Woody Allen/Mia Farrow documentary. I will not judge it based on the few minutes I saw but what I saw seemed pretty loaded with music and camerawork designed to provoke emotional, as opposed to logical judgements.

Reviews like this one that list all the aspects of this case that went unmentioned have me sticking to my position: No one is honestly investigating this matter. I'm not sure if there's any reason to investigate this matter, given how few minds seem open to being changed.

If there is another documentary on the subject — and I'm not suggesting that there should be — I would pay attention if it followed this rule: That if the documentarians take the position that the painful memories and accusations of one allegedly-abused child must be heard and taken seriously, they extend that to all allegedly-abused children reared in the same house. (And yes, I know: These filmmakers asked for such interviews but reportedly at the last minute and not in a way that made those asked feel they'd be treated the same way.)