— It’s Wednesday, January 5, 2022. It’s the fifth day of the year and the 15th day of winter.

— It’s the 241st anniversary of the capture of Richmond, Virginia, by British forces fighting the American Revolution. They were led by Gen. Benedict Arnold, who defected from the Americans the prior year when he unsuccessfully tried to surrender West Point for a nifty payoff.

Despite other acts of treason against this country – the so-called Confederate States of America comes quickly to mind – the name Benedict Arnold has been synonymous with “traitor” for more than two centuries. 

Perhaps that will change after what happened one year ago tomorrow. If I had to do a word association, the first word I think of when I hear “Trump” is “treason.”

— I haven’t written a post for this blog in a very long time – more than a year. 

I have no answer for why. I’m still pretty opinionated – and I haven’t become any less concerned about things going on around us. But, for some reason, I haven’t been motivated to write.

That’s going to change in 2022. Or at least that’s my New Year’s plan – I don’t like to call it a resolution, but you get the idea.

But I want to start slowly. So I’ll briefly describe five issues I’ve been thinking about that will be my focus over the next weeks and months.

I. THE STUPIDITY OF MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

One thing compounds the gloom of early January 2022: There’s no certainty there will be a baseball season when spring finally arrives.

Last month, the owners locked out the players. The two sides are supposed to be negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement. 

The owners claim to have acted to give some urgency to negotiations – of which there haven’t been any of substance since the lockout began. It could be that the fact there are no games in December defeats the notion of urgency.

Let’s solve this thing, guys. Now.

II. UKRAINE

I don’t know if too many other people noticed, but there’s a realistic chance Russia might invade the parts of Ukraine it hasn’t already occupied.

This is an international crisis. It just doesn’t seem to carry the urgency one would think it should. Will the United States do anything to counteract this? Will it have any allies in doing so? 

These seem like more important questions than whether or not Pete Davidson is dating Kim Kardashian.

III. INFRASTRUCTURE

On Monday, people driving on I-95 in Virginia were trapped – some for more than a day – by a snowstorm.

Yes, there was a lot more snow than was forecast. The weather can pull surprises.

But 27 hours in a car or truck? Really? There was no way to get those people moving?

I find that hard to believe. I’m sitting inches away from a device that can visually connect to my son in South Korea in the next 15 seconds – and yet we can’t get snow off a road.

We have an infrastructure problem. And it’s not just a problem of more – although more would help. It’s a problem of better – we need better ways of traveling, communicating, feeding and powering. 

We are stuck in a 20th century mindset and not thinking of 21st century solutions.

IV. COVID

I’m lucky – nearly two years into this, I haven’t contracted COVID.

I have three shots. I wear KN95 masks. I do whatever I can to stay 6 feet away from people I don’t know. 

I take this damn pandemic seriously. I feel like I’m doing my part. 

But I’m as sick of this nonsense as you are. Again, if I can tap on my iPhone and talk to my son 7,000 miles away in seconds, the wherewithal must be there to end this pandemic. 

And, by the way, if you’re one of these anti-mask, anti-vax nut jobs, congratulations! You’ve prolonged what should have been a short, painful outbreak into a long, even more painful one. 

First prize should be a home in a cave somewhere far away from the rest of us.

V. THE INSURRECTION

When I went to bed early on Nov. 9, 2016, after Donald Trump somehow won the presidency, I thought about how the security I’ve had as an American was about to change dramatically – and actually wept.

Nothing that’s happened since that dark morning has convinced me otherwise. 

We’ve come to expect that people will work, grow old and live in peace. We’ve come to expect that social progress will address long-standing wrongs and make everyone’s life more prosperous and secure. We’ve been living an ideal of equality among Americans, not superiority of some over others.

How do we get back to that concept from where we are right now? Especially after what nearly happened a year ago tomorrow?

I’ll write more about that then.