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Today is inauguration day! I don’t really know what to say other than today feels better than yesterday simply because we have serious people now in charge of our government. Good luck Joe and Kamala!

Pain

Undeniably, there is pain in this country. America is being hobbled by it. As this suffering continues to manifest into vile partisanship, hatred of the other, conspiracy theory after conspiracy theory, and senseless violence, it’s clear to me there is nothing we can do to really progress until we address this pain on a massive scale. To hell with infrastructure week/year, we need to rebuild over the next few decades to get to where we need to be. And to do that, we need to take on the suffering, fully. We need to be people-focused, not capital-focused, which is what we've always been. To hell with money, without a healthy citizenry, in both mind and body, there is no future. We must, must, must, take on this pain.

You can call it a “nanny state” all you want, whatever, we need a government who truly cares about the people it governs. It’s a fundamental change for America which will require a large majority of the people who call this nation home to go through that change together. That’s the work that needs to happen. Everything we do must be an answer to the question “does this help reduce some of the pain?” Because if not, there’s no point. Does this reduce some of the pain, even just a little? That’s what needs to happen. Right fucking now.

Round and Round, Year 6

Can you believe our luck? Spaceship Earth hits a massive rough patch with the worst person America has to offer as the world’s more powerful man. We’re all worse off than we were 4 years ago. Don’t let any shitbird tell ya different.

But the design must go on. No let up, no quit. We don’t know what the future holds. We don’t know how long this lasts. We don’t know when we come out on the other side. But we do know, we’ll be here.

Is there any coming back from this unscathed?

No, of course not. 2020 could go down in our history as the bottom. One can only hope. That still won’t stop us from putting our own mark on it. This is how we saw it.

This is how we felt about it. This is what we did during the great unraveling. Fist in the air in the land of hypocrisy.

This Year

As we get into things, here’s how I hope to approach this year:

  • Really get after it – work hard

  • Appreciate I get to do this job – gratitude

  • Be positive, when possible – outlook: hopeful

It won’t be easy. But with all the people out there trying to make a difference in our current state of affairs, I know it’s possible to move the needle. And we’ll make it happen together.

How I got through 2020

There’s a whole lot that goes into a journey through a pandemic. After the halting of normal life, then comes what gets filled into the void. There’s no dates with the lady, nights at the bar, lunch with the fellas, live shows at the club, or hitting up the cinema.

No, there’s only the slow, steady routine of making sure you survive in whatever way you can. And part of my slow, steady routine involved one very important thing: NBA2K.

A steady dose of video game hoops kept my mind active at the times I really just wanted to shut if off, either with booze or television. I can honestly tell you my mind felt productively engaged when in the throws of an 82 game season hoping to make the playoffs with my 40 year old thumbs.

It’s been about 18 years since I played video games of any kind, aside from Beercade outings, which were very much unserious. 15 years since Goldeneye or FIFA or Tony Hawk. And even longer since NBA Jam or Crazy Taxi or anything from EA.

So I was rusty. It took me a bit to understand how video games even worked in the year 2020. And it took some “practice games” before I was able to not get my ass handed to me by the computer on anything that wasn’t the easiest setting. But I eventually got there. It all came back. Like riding a bike you say? Yeah, like riding a bike.

And I loved it.

I love NBA2K.

Why do I love it so much? Because it’s all new again. I look forward to it. It’s exciting. It’s challenging. It’s putting me through the paces and at the end of the day none of it matters at all. Which is so very important. There’s no social media likes or comments of any kind. It’s just me and the computer, 6 minute quarters, the roar of the crowd, and what I can only assume is the best sports game there is.

After the sun sets, work and home obligations are done for the time being, the house is quiet, and I have a sliver of time to do with what I will, I NBA2K with the best of ’em. On the second setting, NBA Finals champion and all.

And that, my friends, is how I got through 2020.

The Top 10 Albums of 2020

So 2020, and then some. I too would prefer to wear a black and white skeleton outfit all day long because we’re always just running, the machines are going to rule soon enough, the trail of dead we’re leaving behind is massive, and I just wanna dance. Even though this is quite a hard life we’ve all found ourselves in. But most people gonna say what they wanna say. What am I? Is my only logical option to transform into the wind? Fetch me the bolt cutters and get me the fuck out of here!

See you all on the other side, in one form or another.

Megan for Nebraska

Posters, apparel, buttons, koozies, pens, and more.

Instead of a traditional end-of-the-year fundraiser or yet another virtual networking event, we are launching our campaign store today!  At the doors, on social media, on the phones, and all over the district, I am listening to you and the issues that affect you. Please support my campaign and my hardworking staff by making a purchase from our new campaign shop, and spread the word!