The Golden Ticket

 So I got my vaccine yesterday, amusingly enough at the Vikings headquarters in Eagan:

Purple pride

It was the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine, which requires only a single dose, so I will not have to return to the Vikings fortress. After 24 hours, the side effects have been minimal; a little bit of a runny nose and general fatigue, but I've been able to work and approach normal productivity. And if everything goes as it should, I will be able to say I'm fully vaccinated within a month. 

Most importantly, I have my card, which may shape up to be the most important document in my possession if the gubmint has anything to say about it:

As coronavirus vaccinations slowly release the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new question is emerging: Should countries and the private sector embrace the idea of a digital vaccine passport for travel, working and dining? Though proving you're vaccinated to travel isn't a new concept (some countries have required yellow fever vaccines for years), doing so for COVID-19 would be on a far grander scale than ever before.

This is a terrible idea, for all the obvious reasons. If your ability to travel, to conduct your life in a normal fashion, to have a life at all, are contingent on jumping through a hoop of Joe Biden's choosing, we're well and truly screwed. But why should I worry? Dobie Gray explained it to us way back in '65:

I'm in with the in crowd (Do-do-do)

I go where the in crowd goes (Do-do-do)

I'm in with the in crowd (Do-do-do)

And I know what the in crowd knows (Da-da-da-da)

It's worth noting I got my vaccine because I got the call from the State of Minnesota, after providing the grandees a lot of information that has nothing to do with my actual need for the vaccine. At this point, it's still a lottery and there are others I know who likely are at greater risk than I was, but they wait. But I have the card, the golden ticket. Does it make sense?

The blog is still alive

Have not written lately. Obviously.

Needless to say, much is going on. I will get back to weighing in soon. Thanks for reading!

Welcome back my friends, to the Chauvin that never ends

 We're going to be starting the Derek Chauvin trial tomorrow and Minneapolis will again be in the spotlight. I haven't gone downtown much in recent months to see the fortifications for myself, but there's enough concertina wire and barricades up around the government center to stop much from happening at the place where the trial will take place. 

Tunnel of love

I don't know who the grandees are trying to protect, but this sort of fortification suggests an extraordinary level of fear. The trial is going to last for at least a few weeks and while there are certainly going to be all manner of protesters downtown, it's highly unlikely that anyone is going to breach the perimeter, but I also think the problems will be elsewhere in town. 

The problem for the local government is simple enough -- the optics of George Floyd's demise are both egregious and potentially incorrect. Although Keith Ellison and his merry band of prosecutors will never admit it publicly, they don't have an airtight case. It's quite possible Floyd was already a dead man by the time Chauvin got to the scene. He had a lot of fentanyl in his system at the time of death, quite possibly a lethal dose. His defense team will certainly present evidence to that effect to the jury. 

I sincerely hope Ellison and his team have an answer prepared. If not, someone may end up on the business end of that concertina wire.