News Of The Week Roundup: Week 2, 2021

We are at the halfway point of the first month of the year and already, America has had more big news than some countries have in a decade. The first week of the year we had the deadly Capitol insurrection. This past week, Donald Trump became the only president ever impeached twice. That impeachment was for his role in the insurrection.

The coming week ahead will be huge in America with the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. In the aftermath of the Capitol violence, Washington D.C. currently looks like a Green Zone with more than 20,000 National Guard troops standing watch. The COVID-19 pandemic meant the inauguration was always going to be smaller than normal. Now, because security is so tight, there will be few if any crowds. In fact, people are being asked to stay away and just watch the history unfold on television.

Some of the biggest stories out of the music world over the past week revolved around the D.C. violence. Jon Schaffer of Iced Earth attended the riot - no word on what will happen to him regarding legal action but a lot his fans are ticked off and so are his bandmates.

Iced Earth’s Jon Schaffer Still Hasn’t Been Charged for Participating in the Capitol Siege https://t.co/vufhuPG8Uj

— MetalSucks (@metalsucks) January 14, 2021

Scary and sobering new reporting and video on the siege from The New Yorker.

NEW: Luke Mogelson’s remarkable video footage of the Capitol invasion, from breaching the first barricades to rummaging through desks on the Senate floor. Stunning, frightening, revolting. https://t.co/XQuqVEPIJY

— Michael Luo (@michaelluo) January 17, 2021

In more hopeful news, Sebastian Bach has announced a tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Slave To The Grind. The tour is set for the fall, pandemic willing of course.

🤞**TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT**🤞
FALL 2021 we Celebrate the 30th Anniversary of #SlaveToTheGrind Across the USA‼ 🇺🇸 From the 1st time we did it in Hollywood 2019 we knew it was meant to be! Dates are BOOKED 🎟 TBA ASAP Bring Bach #RockNRoll to America 🤘😷🤘🙏💉https://t.co/V9lAXzPQyP

— Sebastian Bach (@sebastianbach) January 13, 2021

In random personal finance news, here is a wild story about debt-free guru Dave Ramsey. Seems he runs his Ramsey Solutions empire with an iron fist, getting a little too personal into employee behavior outside of work and ignoring all COVID-19 protocols. I'm a big "no debt" proponent myself (okay, I have a mortgage) and I think Dave has really helped so many people... but this story is bonkers.

. @DaveRamsey wants to run a godly company, without any #COVID19 fearing “wusses.” If you disagree, he told staff, “Don’t let the door hit you in the ass.”https://t.co/3w2cGpFXZh

— Religion News Service (@RNS) January 17, 2021

Finally, happy 99th birthday to our queen Betty White!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Beloved comedic actress Betty White turns 99 today!

BETTY WHITE THROUGH THE YEARS: https://t.co/biaplJCEJI pic.twitter.com/6KY02wCRcs

— ABC News (@ABC) January 17, 2021

Comments

[Him]

I'd likely go to the Bach thing . . . if and when I feel safe. But, if I opt out, I suspect others will have a grand time. If only Bach could keep his foot a bit farther away from his mouth. Sure, he picks some good topics for ire (the ongoing Jericho soap opera is very funny). But he has this tendency to cloy . . . just ask his former band mates as they make soap (which is pretty darn good) and move tables before their next (at some point) show. I think he and Snider share a playbook when it comes to 'staying in the spotlight'. Oh well.

Love me some Golden Girls! Seriously. I think the show is great. My favorite was Beatrice Arthur. But White is a close second. And I have to admit to something: I have seen 'those' pictures of White from back in her youth, the ones with her kerflufinkuken showing. You can't unsee them. God bless White. She can still 'hit' a comedic line perfectly.

In the other news: smart people do dumb things; dumb people do smart things; dumb people do dumb things; smart people do smart things. Sort it out as your inclination suggests.

But I agree with Allyson: living as debt-free as possible, when possible, makes for a saner life.

[steverox]

That Ramsey article is very interesting. Sure sounds like they don't apply their policies consistently, or Chris Hogan should have been fired. I understand that's hard to do as he's a key Ramsey personality, and probably generates a shitload of $$$ for the company.

Plus he's a likeable guy and has one of the smoothest voices for radio.

And to be clear, I personally have no issue with his actions and transgressions, that's his business and between he and his wife. But how he managed to keep his job there after that is - especially if you read the (long) article - nothing short of amazing.

In other news, the lockdown still sucks and it's been over a year since my last live concert, so yeah, there's that. Third world problems, I know.