Elections: Hot potato we fricking did it!!! Turned Georgia blue, swept BOTH seats! Canvassed 49 doors (for no good reason TBH but I figured better than sitting at home, got some exercise and got to see more parts of GA) on Tuesday. Not much mention of AAPI in the press but that’s okay. Watched results on wbstv / c-span.

Met someone who took leave like me – but for an analytics position lol. Ain’t no one asked me to deal with the pandemic, elections like this. Hardly making any progress on trafficking research. Honestly not too proud of myself right now.

Still think a lot more can be do in a decentralized manner, but hard to argue with results. (e.g. competition to have voter registration drives in every high school – though I think that’s moot since you’re registered by default when you get your driver’s license now in GA! Which is pretty darn cool.) (But another goal would be more like “adopt a neighborhood” rather than this turf-cutting. Just have people you talk to every year. Instead of once an election. Feel cut-off from other volunteers. Maybe exacerbated by pandemic. No watch party to see first wasserman, then AP, etc. call the election for Warnock and Ossoff!!)

Capitol riots insurrection: Frickin surreal to see. Heard rumors but dismissed them. Members of congress in plastic gas masks crouched under low balconies.

Todo: Write letters

• support 25th or impeachment moveon.org/removetrump
• ask that all insurrectionists be arrested, at the very least have this on their record in some form. there should be thousands of arrests… cannot allow people to think they have this amount of entitlement and privilege!!
• thank secretary of state of GA Raff. and Sterling
• thank local election officials / staff
• congrats to bordeaux, ossoff, warnock!!

Do research?! Write cat book? T__T I really need to get off news sites.

So glad not to have to listen to Trump’s ranting on Twitter while elector confirmation finished. Watching on https://www.pbs.org/newshour/ . Real world consequences of disinformation…

Too much reddit, 538, twitter. Got to get my own work done. Finish projects so I feel productive again. 2021 off to a shaky start in productivity.

Thoughts: on police: and privilege:

As my friend put it, going to sleep with lack of shooting-ness: Good
Waking up to lack of arrests still: Bad
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-polices-tepid-response-to-the-capitol-breach-wasnt-an-aberration/ 

Was hoping lack of instant arrests vs BLM protests was 1. Trump denying the use of National Guard 2. Pentagon or whomever learning from BLM protests what it means to de-escalate.

But lack of arrests… lack of people on no-fly lists… And then;

“Protesters in Kansas entered the state Capitol building, said Tom Day, the director of legislative administrative services, but they were allowed to stay and remained peaceful as of the late afternoon.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/protesters-gather-outside-state-capitols-nationwide-chaos-sweeps-congress-n1253125

What in the everloving f*ksticks? I’m ashamed. Real ashamed. Ain’t no pretending it’s “bad apples” now hopefully. The contrast is just too severe. I am glad to come to my senses on BLM this year.

(Hope to do some primary research on China, HK and Uighur this weekend. Form some opinions finally, not just feelings)

Those who are peddling lies:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/01/07/us/elections/electoral-college-biden-objectors.html

What draws people to power and to try to keep power like this? Why did they decide to become politicians? It’s certainly not a pleasant job. Bunch of 80 year olds up until 4AM holed up with Covid. (maybe they got vaccines already)

In the meantime, COVID, COVID.
Me: Nearly 4,000 Americans died yesterday
Parents: What? No, the world would be in uproar over that, we would’ve heard! No it was four people.
Me: … of COVID
*crickets*

Deadliest day of the pandemic so far.