Joe Henderson: As we say goodbye to 2020, will 2021 be any better? Please??

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Maybe you’ve heard that the year 2021 will arrive soon. I’m certain that at the stroke of midnight on January 1, rainbows will appear through the darkness. Rose petals will fall from heaven and a choir of doves will sing  “Na, Na, Na. Na, Hey, Hey, Hey, Goodbye!”

Yes, 2020 will be gone.

None of us can say with certainty that 2021 will be better than its cursed, vile predecessor, but it sure couldn’t be worse.

Could it? Please, please, please be better.

Well, let’s see.

The virus that shall not be named mutated. That’s bad. People like Dr. Anthony Fauci now say a trip to the grocery for some milk and cookies could PUT YOUR LIFE IN JEOPARDY!!

But it’s just the flu, right?

Speaking of Jeopardy: I’ll take lunatic ideas for $1,000.

The answer is: A black-tie New Year’s Eve gala at Mar-a-Lago with tickets reportedly going for $1,000.

The question: What is President Donald Trump holding while COVID-19 cases skyrocket in Florida?

You can’t make this stuff up. CNN reported that there are 500 confirmed reservations and the main ballroom can hold 200 more. Even though it’s at Trump’s resort, though, the President will not attend. He cut his Florida vacation short and returned to Washington.

Oh, and while we’re on the subject of things you can’t make up, remember those scenes in the old Frankenstein movies where the villagers carry flaming torches and pitchforks as they storm the castle? That might actually play out in real-time on whichever news show you watch.

That’s because some (not all) followers of President (but not for long) Trump honestly believe the election was stolen. Trump has repeated that line of crock for so long, he appears to believe it too. So, when the U.S. Senate next week certifies Joe Biden’s election, the party may just be starting.

Oh, but it gets better. After all, this is Florida.

On Saturday, a group of self-styled, ahem, “patriots” plan to gather outside Rick Scott’s house and DEMAND, I tell you, that he challenges the aforementioned Senate vote.

They posted a call to action on Facebook.

“We are calling on our patriots of SW Florida and Sarasota area to come together for the good of our country and Demand that our Senator Rick Scott contests the results of the 2020 election,” the announcement said.

“Our politicians are elected to work for us and we demand they stand for what is right and hear our voices prior to the opening of the Electoral College vote.”

First, let’s get something straight. Trump lost by 7 million votes. Believing the lie of a stolen election is not patriotic.

It’s another, less-flattering kind of “otic.”

Ah, but let’s look a little closer at this farce, shall we?

Friends of pardoned felon Roger Stone planned the rally. He mentioned recently that he might run against Scott in 2024. That is if Stone isn’t in prison, again, by then for committing another crime.

Coincidence?

Anyone signing on for that ride needs better critical thinking skills.

Oh, and U.S. Senate Republicans now say that golly, gee whiz, no! We can’t give $2,000 checks to Americans barely hanging on because of the pandemic we ignored.

Maybe they should have included another big tax cut for billionaires in the bill.

That’s how these things win support.