Hey, Dear Reader. It’s mid-morning here in New Hometown, Florida on Tuesday, February 9, 2021. It’s chilly outside; the temperature is 68˚F (20˚C) under foggy conditions  – there’s a Dense Fog advisory that expires at 9 AM Eastern Daylight Time. With the wind blowing from the south at 3 MPH (5 KM/H) and humidity at 94%, the feels-like temperature is 68˚F (20˚C). The forecast for today calls for partly sunny skies and a high of 82˚F (28˚C). Tonight, skies are expected to be mostly cloudy. The low will be 64˚F (18˚C).

Today’s top story is, of course, the first day of Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate, where he stands – figuratively, since it is likely that the former President will be at Mar-a-Lago – accused of inciting the assault on the U.S. Capitol on January 6 after convincing a large number of his followers that the 2020 Presidential election was rigged and that he, and not the current President, Joe Biden, was the winner.

For more than eight months, the Democrats’ impeachment managers will argue, Trump waged a campaign of lies about the validity of mail-in ballots (which was a huge concern to many voters due to the COVID-19 pandemic) to sow the seeds of doubt and distrust among his cult-like “base” (the so-called MAGA crowd) about election integrity and the need to vote from home before, during, and especially after the election.

According to What you need to know about Trump’s 2nd impeachment trial and how to watch in the ABC News website:

Former President Donald Trump’s historic second impeachment trial is set to begin Tuesday afternoon and will focus on his alleged role in inciting the deadly Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6.

Despite Trump being out of office, some Congress members are determined to hold him accountable and stop him from holding future office, which senators could also vote for if he’s convicted.

Of course, the chances of Trump’s conviction by the Senate are slim to none; even though the Republicans no longer have a majority in the upper house of Congress, most GOP Senators have indicated they will likely vote to acquit.

Again, per the ABC article:

However, the majority of Republican senators are likely to vote for an acquittal, as they did during Trump’s first impeachment. On Jan. 26, in a 55-45 vote, most Republicans voted that the trial was unconstitutional. For Trump to be convicted, all Democrats and 17 Republicans must vote yes.

Bottom line – and I have no illusions to the contrary – the Republican Party will more than likely get its way and Trump will not be convicted. Heck, it’s not even known if the impeachment managers will be allowed to call witnesses. Plus, it remains to be seen what –  other than the “this whole thing is unconstitutional” argument – Donald Trump’s defense team will use. Knowing Trump, it’s always possible that he can continue arguing that he won the election and that the Democrats – using various methods – stole his victory at the polls on November 3.

I will – more likely than not –  watch at least some of the coverage today on TV, even though I’m 99.99999000779% sure that he’ll get an acquittal from spineless GOP Senators, including my state’s Rick Scott and Marco Rubio.

“One Ring to Rule Them All….”

While I watch the proceedings of Trump’s second impeachment trial this afternoon, I’ll also be on the lookout for the latest addition to my 4K UHD Blu-ray collection – the nine-disc The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy, which will include the theatrical release and the extended editions of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. From what I’ve seen on Blu-ray.com, the set only offers the movies (the theatrical editions get one disc each, while the extended versions get two discs per film) and no extra features.

 Here’s what Randy Miller III says about this set from Warner Bros. in The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy 4K Blu-ray Review: Twenty-one hours of walking. (November 27, 2020):

Continuing their banner year for 4K catalog releases, Warner Bros. has released Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy on the format as a complete set that includes the theatrical and extended cuts of each film. This surprise holiday release tests the waters as a nine-disc “movies only” edition, with each theatrical cut getting a triple-layer 100GB disc to itself and the extended cuts split between two discs apiece. An even more lavish trilogy collection — with the possibility of brand-new extras — is planned for release sometime in 2021.

Warner Bros. also released The Hobbit trilogy in this fashion, but since I hardly ever watch the prequels to The Lord of the Rings, I am not going to buy that set. I’m not that deep into Tolkien, so it’s surprising that I even bought this LOTR set on 4K UHD. I did enjoy Peter Jackson’s first ventures into Middle-Earth and would love to see them on 4K (and get the digital codes for streaming them as well), so I can justify the $89.99 I paid for this set. The Hobbit? Not so much.

As of 6:19 AM – the last progress report I received from Amazon – my order is at a distribution center 12.1 miles away. The status says, “Arriving today by 10 PM,” so it is not yet out for delivery; this will probably change by 10:45 or 11 AM.

I’m not a betting man, but I am reasonably sure that my package will arrive from Mordor (ha ha) before 5 PM.

Stay tuned!