A more perfect union, or a more normal year?

"Some things needed to have a more normal year are out of our control. Others are not. We need to focus on what we can control. On what is needed to allow people to work normally, kids to go to school normally, and all of us to once again, recreate normally."

Okay. I would like to have addressed this article as just a "more perfect union", but I could not. Why? First and foremost, we have Slo Joe in office. Enough said there. BUT - what I can do is address things which we can control. Like what? Normalcy. Most people I have talked to and asked what their hopes and dreams are for this new year, give me a similar answer. They just want things to be as normal as possible. Actually, compared to last year, "more normal" should not be that hard.

Meanwhile, we have a $2T stimulus bill which is somewhat bogged down in Congress right now. Why? Too many bells and whistles, which are not Covid related. So here is my thinking for Congress. Keep the stimulus checks, and scrap the rest. Then (get ready for this one), put a trillion dollars in the bill for replacing (finally) our ancient and fragile electric grid. Replace it with with a smart, robust, and reliable grid. A grid which will protect us against natural and un-natural EMP events, cyber attacks, and yes, even weather events.

Right now, if anybody in Texas was reading this, they would be scratching their collective heads. Normal? How can you have "normal" when half of your water pipes are broken, and you have water damage which borders on the extreme? Well, here is a "duh!". What happened in Texas should have never happened. It was a failure to plan. Something unforeseen and catastrophic could happen to the power grid again this summer. Or next month. As said in the military, failure to plan is planning to fail.

Having a more robust electric grid ranks right up there with having Covid under control. How can I conflate these two issues? If we had some kind of a major event which disabled our ancient grid, one which crippled part of the country, it would make last year's Covid disruption look like a walk in the park. If nothing else, what happened to Texas last week should have been a HUGE wake up call. Fixing our grid is a matter of national security. Plus, it would create thousands of jobs. It is all upside. With all the BS that we spend money on, why this important issue always falls off the table, is beyond me.

Some things needed to have a more normal year are out of our control. Others are not. We need to focus on what we can control. On what is needed to allow people to work normally, kids to go to school normally, and all of us to once again, recreate normally.

We need Congress to get off their asses and focus on the main thing. And that main thing is keeping us secure while living lives as normally as possible. That is what 2021 should be about. No more, no less.