The stock market, which has been strong thanks to the good news about coronavirus vaccines, jumped to a record high today on news that President-Elect Joe Biden is planning to nominate Janet Yellen to head the Treasury Department. She will be the first woman to lead the department, and is considered an especially strong pick, particularly at this moment. Yellen is a labor economist and monetary policy expert who cares deeply about issues of inequality, and is respected by members of both parties. She served as the Chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018, and headed the White House Council of Economic Advisers under President Bill Clinton.
This report of the, quite frankly, malevolent doings of Senate Republicans, I pray is fodder for the run-off races in GA to deliver Democrats the Senate majority. Many Americans are in utterly dire need of help, and many Republicans simply do not care. Why should they, since they’ve got theirs? Further, neither Ossoff nor Warnock are millionaires; the Senate needs far more ‘regular folk’ because too many of its ranks enjoy an obscene level of wealth. It changes many people, and not for the better, I opine.
Thank you, Professor Richardson, for being a national treasure!
The childish, petty, and incredibly/increasingly destructive and intentional actions of this regime in a seeming effort to burn it all down on their way out the door is truly stunning. No outright attack by a foreign power could have harmed our nation as deeply and in so many ways as these people have managed to do from within, having been elected to office by the workings of a manipulated and outmoded electoral college system. Mnuchin’s recent actions are especially destructive and cannot be interpreted as anything other that meant to be so.
Yellin’s nomination is good news, as is the announcement by GM and the stock market’s record high. However, (and I hate to be a doomsayer when we all need hope so desperately), we would be wise to remember that republicans ALWAYS play the long game. ALWAYS. It is my opinion that they are doing the same with their destructive actions in the waning weeks of the current regime. Yes, they are trying to make Biden and Harris’s job as difficult as possible, if not impossible. But, why? Beyond sheer spite, that is? If you remember that they always play the long game then it begins to become more clear. They are setting the stage for 2024. The more they can do to ensure the failure of the Biden/Harris administration the more likely their return to power in 2024. The party has shifted dramatically over the past few decades but especially so in the past 4 years. We all seem to agree that it is no more “the party of Lincoln” and is now, unequivocally, “the party of trump” (still can’t bring myself to capitalize his name!). While there have already been some potential candidates voice their interest in running in ‘24 I believe that there will be one that we have not seen yet who will embody all of the worst of trumpism in a much more sophisticated, effective, and incredibly dangerous package than anything we have yet seen. And the perceived ‘failure’ of the Biden/Harris administration to repair the enormous damage that they have done and are doing so thoroughly in the present moment will be their argument for a return to power in the next election. They will be relentless in beating that drum from now until then and, as I mentioned in a previous post here, there will be continued destructive efforts from within, especially if McConnell remains in his current position as majority leader.
Folks, we are in the fight of our lives and it is just beginning. Yes, take a moment to breathe. Or exhale, as some have said. But we cannot assume that all will be well simply because it finally looks like Biden and Harris will transition into power. The trumists will never stop their relentless efforts and neither must we if we truly want a government as described in the Declaration, the Constitution, and the Gettysburg address. Onwards, together.
The GA Dems need to hand McConnell a reality sandwich by electing Ossoff and Warnock. At least, then he will have to be a tiny bit more "caring" about this country, because he won't have the power to do nothing. Such an evil, nasty excuse for a human being, rating right beside tRump. Someday they both will meet their maker and it won't be pretty.
On the other hand, I hope you, Heather, can take moments to enjoy this Thanksgiving, and I wish all here will be safe and thankful that we're looking at a new day.
Back in the 1952 presidential campaign, Adlai Stevenson observed during a speech in Columbus, Ohio: “The strange alchemy of time has somehow converted the Democrats into the truly conservative party of this country — the party dedicated to conserving all that is best, and building solidly and safely on these foundations.”
Thanks for this upbeat account of Biden's first cabinet appointments, "balanced" in a way by the awful news that T and his minions are working to leave scorched earth behind. I have only one question: WHY has Biden yet to appoint an appreciable number of younger people to high positions? The special climate policy post would have been an excellent opportunity for a strong symbolic reachout to younger voters. Nothing against John Kerry, for whom I voted back in the day, but he hasn't run a policy shop in a number of years, and at 76 simply doesn't exude the same symbolic force as a younger name might have done. Biden MUST move to bring in younger people at high levels of his administration, if he wants progressives even to imagine going along with his mainly centrist agenda.
First, your chat last night was a balm for the soul - thank you for that.
The Trump administration’s actions to leave the economy in disarray, to ignore the rising case numbers and deaths resulting from their horrid handling of the pandemic and to generally salt the early in the wake of their retreat is a problem with staggering implications.
Biden is doing everything in his power to get it right – he is nominating solid citizens to fill key posts, actively moving forward to implement strategies to control the virus and expeditiously distribute the vaccine, and he has already succeeded in winning the confidence of the business community. That said, the Republicans seem ready and eager to obstruct the incoming Administration at every turn in what appears to be the closing act of this edition of Trump’s death wish theatre production.
Trump has been campaigning for reelection since the day he took office and a major theme of his campaign is that only he can make America great again. He has vilified Democrats, spread unhinged conspiracy theories and claimed that the election system was corrupt. Nothing has changed and he will continue to tell the big lie as he is dragged kicking and screaming (via Twitter) from the WH.
Bret Stephens, in his opinion piece in the New York Times, “Trump Contrives His Stab-in-the-Back Myth” compares the Dolchstosslegende myth used by the Nazis to topple the Weimar Republic, to the actions and words coming from Trump and his followers.
“What I am saying is that this modern-day Dolchstosslegende, like surf pounding against a bluff, abets future demagogues by eroding public confidence in democratic institutions, until, unprotected, they collapse., like surf pounding against a bluff, abets future demagogues by eroding public confidence in democratic institutions, until, unprotected, they collapse.” (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/23/opinion/trump-biden-conspiracy-theory.html)
This is the challenge we face - to refute the lies, right the wrongs wrought by this Administration, and push forward with an agenda that addresses the root causes of grief and doubt that brought receptive ears to Trumpism in the first place.
To my mind, constructing a Biden administration uniquely to rebuild the government as it was would be more than an error, it would hamstring America in the "new world stucture that will evolve in the coming months and years. The Biden Team must indeed, as he himself has laid down, attract and contain people who have a double expertise generated both by their experience of the past and their capacity to think about new ways of doing it; visionaries, pragmatics and flexible, reasoned leaders who can both perceive the future in its infancy and shape it as it emerges.
When the US Chamber of Commerce complains that a rightwing administration is screwing with them you know things are bad. It's clear that this s***hole administration has decided that people dying by the tens of thousands, massive homelessness and unemployment, and the destruction of the middle class are all fine by them if it f***s up the incoming admin. While only nefariousness is to be expected from this bunch of criminals, thugs, and Uriah Heeps, the stunner is that the Gutless Omnibigoted Poo-boys in the Senate and House are perfectly willing to see their own constituents harmed irreparably in order to soothe their snowflake feelings of ill-usage that a large majority (despite the horrific numbers of neofascists out there) of America rejected them. The culture wars fomented by this collection of criminal co-conspirators will undoubtedly continue but at least the financial markets seem to feel that it is time to put an end to them. Not that that matters at all to the normal people whose lives are lived at $11 an hour.
We are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Thomas Friedman's NYT editorial, Happy Thanksgiving to All Those Who Told the Truth in This Election, recommends we think of the West Point Cadet's oath which " calls upon each of these future military leaders to always choose “the harder right instead of the easier wrong” and to know “no fear when truth and right are in jeopardy.” He then goes on to praise the many civil servants, elected officials and judges who have worked to see this election to its conclusion, which meant choosing "the harder right instead of the easier wrong." He then enumerates the many who have chosen the opposite path and gone along with the Trump narrative and their part in trying to derail the election to further their own or their party's goals. He says, "Shame on all those people...And “shame” is the right word for these people, because a sense of shame was lost these past four years and it needs to be re-established. Otherwise, what Trump and all his sycophants did gets normalized and permanently erodes confidence in our elections. That is how democracies die."
Shame is an old-fashioned idea, but as I read over HCR's litany of their previous and ongoing attempts to derail democracy, prevent the orderly transfer of power and prevent the use of government to help all Americans, not just the wealthy and powerful, I think shame is appropriate. Trying to figure out how best to deliver that message-perhaps letters to the elected officials, the appointed officials and civil servants who have opted for the easy wrongs. Shame can be a powerful force for enforcing societal norms.
Yesterday was the first day since 2016 that I heard a number of people exclaim or write this phrase, “...finally able to exhale.” I feel the same relief. We need to take these good days and save them for the difficult road ahead.
This is the start, our work has just begun...but it’s time to take a breath and recharge. This is the time for the country to come together and gratefully give Thanks. 🇺🇸😊❤️
Thank you, HCR! Staying put. Staying safe. Staying alert. Grateful to be alive. Grateful to my online communities. Grateful to all essential personnel who make my safe life possible. Grateful to every single American citizen who voted Trump out of office. Grateful to BidenHarris and their team. Grateful to activists everywhere, and especially in Georgia who made the runoff election possible. Grateful to every single voice-like HCR-that has worked this year to change life for the better for everyone in this country. Grateful to people everywhere who are helping to feed our hungry this Thanksgiving. Staying angry and hopeful and committed to social and economic justice on Thanksgiving Day 2020. Love you all. ❤️🤍💙
Thank you, Heather, for today’s talk on the history of Thanksgiving. It was a wonderful way to send us off to our own various ways of giving thanks this year like no other. As things calm down, I hope you and Buddy enjoy a day to yourselves, without combing the news for us. Breathe free, take in the season, rest your mind. Happy Thanksgiving!
“[W]e approach this moment with the confidence of experience. We know the American people know what to do.” - Mike Pence.
And so, when an American person, Sherrod Brown, asked someone to put on a mask, another American person, Ted Cruz, said Brown's request was idiotic” and “an ostentatious sign of fake virtue.” To illustrate just how out of touch both Pence & Cruz are, yesterday Texas declared that it had 19,970* new cases of Coronavirus. By contrast, Ohio declared 8,604*, which is still a staggering number. The two sets of numbers reflect he attitudes of the leadership and the citizens of each state; Ohio's leaders and lawmakers are making an effort to tamp down the virus while those in Texas clearly are not.
One of the striking characteristics of the current administration, and the politicians who prop him up, is their excess neglect of the US American people. All the promises of better healthcare, more and better jobs, improved infrastructure never happened. When crisis struck in the form of pandemic the president and his administration decided to turn its back on the expert advice of hardworking, dedicated doctors and researchers in favor of the ridiculous notion that people will know what to do. How? By osmosis? Telepathy? A priori knowledge?
People have asked in these letters what would it take for the country to pull together and work for a common good as happened during WWII. Within a month of Pearl Harbor Roosevelt told Congress and the nation "Powerful enemies must be out fought and out produced". Roosevelt conveyed a deep sense of urgency and stressed unity as the only way to win the war. All people were compelled to contribute to the war effort. And it worked. An entire nation, young and old, successfully mobilized toward a common goal for a common good. But it was a very different time. All news about the war had to be approved by the Office of War Information. There were extremely tight controls about what could and could not be released to the public. Roosevelt was of a mind to communicate one message to all of the people all of the time; he was a very different kind of leader than the one we have now; Trump chose chaos and nonchalance, Roosevelt did not.
Since WWII the importance of the Individual has replaced the importance of We the People. We are suffering the consequences of that shift now. The reassuring thing about the incoming Biden-Harris administration is that they understand the principles of leadership and guidance. They know that sending a unified message, especially during a time of crisis, is the only way to get people to buy into collaborative action. One of their biggest challenges from here on out will be to convey the sense of urgency required so that all people will be compelled to act in the best interests of the country. There will be a lot of resentment as private citizens, some law enforcement and government leaders continue to push back against actions which may curtail personal freedom. But we are not being asked to pick up a gun or a hand grenade and kill another human being, we are being asked to wear a mask, socially distance, not attend social gatherings and events. It's lonely for many of us who are unable to see our children, other family members and friends. But the sooner people take up the cause the sooner we'll win.
“Observers expect [Yellen] to back government spending to address the devastating effects of the coronavirus on the economy, while her background in monetary policy will help her craft a coordinated response between the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department.”
Little of Janet Yellen’s considerable knowledge and understanding will be effective if Biden can’t peal away enough Senate Republicans from under McConnell’s thumb . Even if the Democrats manage to take the two Georgia senate seats, if McConnell decides to treat Biden the way he treated Obama, it’s going to be a slug fest to get even half-measures done.
This report of the, quite frankly, malevolent doings of Senate Republicans, I pray is fodder for the run-off races in GA to deliver Democrats the Senate majority. Many Americans are in utterly dire need of help, and many Republicans simply do not care. Why should they, since they’ve got theirs? Further, neither Ossoff nor Warnock are millionaires; the Senate needs far more ‘regular folk’ because too many of its ranks enjoy an obscene level of wealth. It changes many people, and not for the better, I opine.
Thank you, Professor Richardson, for being a national treasure!
Trump won't have a Presidential Library...he'll have a gift shop.
The childish, petty, and incredibly/increasingly destructive and intentional actions of this regime in a seeming effort to burn it all down on their way out the door is truly stunning. No outright attack by a foreign power could have harmed our nation as deeply and in so many ways as these people have managed to do from within, having been elected to office by the workings of a manipulated and outmoded electoral college system. Mnuchin’s recent actions are especially destructive and cannot be interpreted as anything other that meant to be so.
Yellin’s nomination is good news, as is the announcement by GM and the stock market’s record high. However, (and I hate to be a doomsayer when we all need hope so desperately), we would be wise to remember that republicans ALWAYS play the long game. ALWAYS. It is my opinion that they are doing the same with their destructive actions in the waning weeks of the current regime. Yes, they are trying to make Biden and Harris’s job as difficult as possible, if not impossible. But, why? Beyond sheer spite, that is? If you remember that they always play the long game then it begins to become more clear. They are setting the stage for 2024. The more they can do to ensure the failure of the Biden/Harris administration the more likely their return to power in 2024. The party has shifted dramatically over the past few decades but especially so in the past 4 years. We all seem to agree that it is no more “the party of Lincoln” and is now, unequivocally, “the party of trump” (still can’t bring myself to capitalize his name!). While there have already been some potential candidates voice their interest in running in ‘24 I believe that there will be one that we have not seen yet who will embody all of the worst of trumpism in a much more sophisticated, effective, and incredibly dangerous package than anything we have yet seen. And the perceived ‘failure’ of the Biden/Harris administration to repair the enormous damage that they have done and are doing so thoroughly in the present moment will be their argument for a return to power in the next election. They will be relentless in beating that drum from now until then and, as I mentioned in a previous post here, there will be continued destructive efforts from within, especially if McConnell remains in his current position as majority leader.
Folks, we are in the fight of our lives and it is just beginning. Yes, take a moment to breathe. Or exhale, as some have said. But we cannot assume that all will be well simply because it finally looks like Biden and Harris will transition into power. The trumists will never stop their relentless efforts and neither must we if we truly want a government as described in the Declaration, the Constitution, and the Gettysburg address. Onwards, together.
The GA Dems need to hand McConnell a reality sandwich by electing Ossoff and Warnock. At least, then he will have to be a tiny bit more "caring" about this country, because he won't have the power to do nothing. Such an evil, nasty excuse for a human being, rating right beside tRump. Someday they both will meet their maker and it won't be pretty.
On the other hand, I hope you, Heather, can take moments to enjoy this Thanksgiving, and I wish all here will be safe and thankful that we're looking at a new day.
Back in the 1952 presidential campaign, Adlai Stevenson observed during a speech in Columbus, Ohio: “The strange alchemy of time has somehow converted the Democrats into the truly conservative party of this country — the party dedicated to conserving all that is best, and building solidly and safely on these foundations.”
Ever more true 68 years later.
Thanks for this upbeat account of Biden's first cabinet appointments, "balanced" in a way by the awful news that T and his minions are working to leave scorched earth behind. I have only one question: WHY has Biden yet to appoint an appreciable number of younger people to high positions? The special climate policy post would have been an excellent opportunity for a strong symbolic reachout to younger voters. Nothing against John Kerry, for whom I voted back in the day, but he hasn't run a policy shop in a number of years, and at 76 simply doesn't exude the same symbolic force as a younger name might have done. Biden MUST move to bring in younger people at high levels of his administration, if he wants progressives even to imagine going along with his mainly centrist agenda.
First, your chat last night was a balm for the soul - thank you for that.
The Trump administration’s actions to leave the economy in disarray, to ignore the rising case numbers and deaths resulting from their horrid handling of the pandemic and to generally salt the early in the wake of their retreat is a problem with staggering implications.
Biden is doing everything in his power to get it right – he is nominating solid citizens to fill key posts, actively moving forward to implement strategies to control the virus and expeditiously distribute the vaccine, and he has already succeeded in winning the confidence of the business community. That said, the Republicans seem ready and eager to obstruct the incoming Administration at every turn in what appears to be the closing act of this edition of Trump’s death wish theatre production.
Trump has been campaigning for reelection since the day he took office and a major theme of his campaign is that only he can make America great again. He has vilified Democrats, spread unhinged conspiracy theories and claimed that the election system was corrupt. Nothing has changed and he will continue to tell the big lie as he is dragged kicking and screaming (via Twitter) from the WH.
Bret Stephens, in his opinion piece in the New York Times, “Trump Contrives His Stab-in-the-Back Myth” compares the Dolchstosslegende myth used by the Nazis to topple the Weimar Republic, to the actions and words coming from Trump and his followers.
“What I am saying is that this modern-day Dolchstosslegende, like surf pounding against a bluff, abets future demagogues by eroding public confidence in democratic institutions, until, unprotected, they collapse., like surf pounding against a bluff, abets future demagogues by eroding public confidence in democratic institutions, until, unprotected, they collapse.” (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/23/opinion/trump-biden-conspiracy-theory.html)
This is the challenge we face - to refute the lies, right the wrongs wrought by this Administration, and push forward with an agenda that addresses the root causes of grief and doubt that brought receptive ears to Trumpism in the first place.
To my mind, constructing a Biden administration uniquely to rebuild the government as it was would be more than an error, it would hamstring America in the "new world stucture that will evolve in the coming months and years. The Biden Team must indeed, as he himself has laid down, attract and contain people who have a double expertise generated both by their experience of the past and their capacity to think about new ways of doing it; visionaries, pragmatics and flexible, reasoned leaders who can both perceive the future in its infancy and shape it as it emerges.
When the US Chamber of Commerce complains that a rightwing administration is screwing with them you know things are bad. It's clear that this s***hole administration has decided that people dying by the tens of thousands, massive homelessness and unemployment, and the destruction of the middle class are all fine by them if it f***s up the incoming admin. While only nefariousness is to be expected from this bunch of criminals, thugs, and Uriah Heeps, the stunner is that the Gutless Omnibigoted Poo-boys in the Senate and House are perfectly willing to see their own constituents harmed irreparably in order to soothe their snowflake feelings of ill-usage that a large majority (despite the horrific numbers of neofascists out there) of America rejected them. The culture wars fomented by this collection of criminal co-conspirators will undoubtedly continue but at least the financial markets seem to feel that it is time to put an end to them. Not that that matters at all to the normal people whose lives are lived at $11 an hour.
We are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Thomas Friedman's NYT editorial, Happy Thanksgiving to All Those Who Told the Truth in This Election, recommends we think of the West Point Cadet's oath which " calls upon each of these future military leaders to always choose “the harder right instead of the easier wrong” and to know “no fear when truth and right are in jeopardy.” He then goes on to praise the many civil servants, elected officials and judges who have worked to see this election to its conclusion, which meant choosing "the harder right instead of the easier wrong." He then enumerates the many who have chosen the opposite path and gone along with the Trump narrative and their part in trying to derail the election to further their own or their party's goals. He says, "Shame on all those people...And “shame” is the right word for these people, because a sense of shame was lost these past four years and it needs to be re-established. Otherwise, what Trump and all his sycophants did gets normalized and permanently erodes confidence in our elections. That is how democracies die."
Shame is an old-fashioned idea, but as I read over HCR's litany of their previous and ongoing attempts to derail democracy, prevent the orderly transfer of power and prevent the use of government to help all Americans, not just the wealthy and powerful, I think shame is appropriate. Trying to figure out how best to deliver that message-perhaps letters to the elected officials, the appointed officials and civil servants who have opted for the easy wrongs. Shame can be a powerful force for enforcing societal norms.
Yesterday was the first day since 2016 that I heard a number of people exclaim or write this phrase, “...finally able to exhale.” I feel the same relief. We need to take these good days and save them for the difficult road ahead.
This is the start, our work has just begun...but it’s time to take a breath and recharge. This is the time for the country to come together and gratefully give Thanks. 🇺🇸😊❤️
Thank you, HCR! Staying put. Staying safe. Staying alert. Grateful to be alive. Grateful to my online communities. Grateful to all essential personnel who make my safe life possible. Grateful to every single American citizen who voted Trump out of office. Grateful to BidenHarris and their team. Grateful to activists everywhere, and especially in Georgia who made the runoff election possible. Grateful to every single voice-like HCR-that has worked this year to change life for the better for everyone in this country. Grateful to people everywhere who are helping to feed our hungry this Thanksgiving. Staying angry and hopeful and committed to social and economic justice on Thanksgiving Day 2020. Love you all. ❤️🤍💙
Thank you, Heather, for today’s talk on the history of Thanksgiving. It was a wonderful way to send us off to our own various ways of giving thanks this year like no other. As things calm down, I hope you and Buddy enjoy a day to yourselves, without combing the news for us. Breathe free, take in the season, rest your mind. Happy Thanksgiving!
🍁
“[W]e approach this moment with the confidence of experience. We know the American people know what to do.” - Mike Pence.
And so, when an American person, Sherrod Brown, asked someone to put on a mask, another American person, Ted Cruz, said Brown's request was idiotic” and “an ostentatious sign of fake virtue.” To illustrate just how out of touch both Pence & Cruz are, yesterday Texas declared that it had 19,970* new cases of Coronavirus. By contrast, Ohio declared 8,604*, which is still a staggering number. The two sets of numbers reflect he attitudes of the leadership and the citizens of each state; Ohio's leaders and lawmakers are making an effort to tamp down the virus while those in Texas clearly are not.
One of the striking characteristics of the current administration, and the politicians who prop him up, is their excess neglect of the US American people. All the promises of better healthcare, more and better jobs, improved infrastructure never happened. When crisis struck in the form of pandemic the president and his administration decided to turn its back on the expert advice of hardworking, dedicated doctors and researchers in favor of the ridiculous notion that people will know what to do. How? By osmosis? Telepathy? A priori knowledge?
People have asked in these letters what would it take for the country to pull together and work for a common good as happened during WWII. Within a month of Pearl Harbor Roosevelt told Congress and the nation "Powerful enemies must be out fought and out produced". Roosevelt conveyed a deep sense of urgency and stressed unity as the only way to win the war. All people were compelled to contribute to the war effort. And it worked. An entire nation, young and old, successfully mobilized toward a common goal for a common good. But it was a very different time. All news about the war had to be approved by the Office of War Information. There were extremely tight controls about what could and could not be released to the public. Roosevelt was of a mind to communicate one message to all of the people all of the time; he was a very different kind of leader than the one we have now; Trump chose chaos and nonchalance, Roosevelt did not.
Since WWII the importance of the Individual has replaced the importance of We the People. We are suffering the consequences of that shift now. The reassuring thing about the incoming Biden-Harris administration is that they understand the principles of leadership and guidance. They know that sending a unified message, especially during a time of crisis, is the only way to get people to buy into collaborative action. One of their biggest challenges from here on out will be to convey the sense of urgency required so that all people will be compelled to act in the best interests of the country. There will be a lot of resentment as private citizens, some law enforcement and government leaders continue to push back against actions which may curtail personal freedom. But we are not being asked to pick up a gun or a hand grenade and kill another human being, we are being asked to wear a mask, socially distance, not attend social gatherings and events. It's lonely for many of us who are unable to see our children, other family members and friends. But the sooner people take up the cause the sooner we'll win.
*Worldometer Coronavirus Update, 24 November
“Observers expect [Yellen] to back government spending to address the devastating effects of the coronavirus on the economy, while her background in monetary policy will help her craft a coordinated response between the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department.”
Little of Janet Yellen’s considerable knowledge and understanding will be effective if Biden can’t peal away enough Senate Republicans from under McConnell’s thumb . Even if the Democrats manage to take the two Georgia senate seats, if McConnell decides to treat Biden the way he treated Obama, it’s going to be a slug fest to get even half-measures done.
Thank you Heather. I felt relief today that the Trump sh**show will finally come to an end. It's been a very stressful couple of months.