by John Walters

Tweet Me Right

Eerie drone footage shows the deserted streets of Wuhan, the city at the center of the coronavirus outbreak. https://t.co/LneUp0nzO4 pic.twitter.com/U77cc69ixe

— ABC News (@ABC) February 6, 2020

Starting Five

Profile In Courage*

*The judges will also accept “When The Mitt Hits The Fan”

Inside the Senate chamber, Republican senator Mitt Romney of Utah casts the lone dissenting vote in his party during the impeachment balloting. Before just four senators who chose to watch in person, the 72 year-old senator gives the speech of a lifetime. Not just his. Ours.

Watch as Mitt Romney gets choked up explaining that taking an oath before God is very important for him: "As a senator juror, I swore an oath before God to exercise impartial justice. I am profoundly religious. My faith is at the heart of who I am." pic.twitter.com/J8UnFsYoKS

— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) February 5, 2020

At least in the moment, this is the political equivalent of that dude in Tiananmen Square standing up to that tank back in the summer of 1989. But history will be very kind to Romney for having the courage to choose integrity over party loyalty.

holy shit this ad pic.twitter.com/DAoYxfkeya

— Adam Parkhomenko (@AdamParkhomenko) February 5, 2020

Two days in a row, President Trump thought he’d be taking a victory lap and instead was upbraided first by Nancy Pelosi and now by Romney. As for the latter, his act of defiance took far more courage because it meant he had to break ranks.

And Romney’s fellow GOP senators all agree with him; they’re just too craven to stand up to the Bully-in-Chief for fear that their careers as GOP politicians will take a fatal blow. And maybe they’re right. Mitt’s simply too rich and too old (and he already lost his presidential run 8 years ago) to care.

All it takes is one decent human being to foment a revolution.

Kirk Out

Granite-jawed actor Kirk Douglas, most renowned for starring in Spartacus and for being the father of Michael Douglas, passes at the age of 102. Douglas was born in December, 1916, nearly five months before the day on which this year’s presumptive Oscar winner, 1917, takes place (April 6, 1917).

Other Douglas films to catch: Paths Of Glory and The Bad And The Beautiful.

Mayor B (But Which One?)

Seems that the Democratic race for president will be impacted mightily by one if not two men who answer to Mayor B: South Bend, Ind., mayor Pete Buttigieg, who appears to have inched out Bernie Sanders (by 1/10 of a percent) in the Iowa caucus and former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg, who is running laps around all the other candidates in terms of ad spending.

Of the two, we think the incumbent hates the idea of facing Bloomberg, who turns 78 on Valentine’s Day, more than Buttigieg, 38.

Speaking of B-list candidates, we predict Joe Biden will be out of the race by mid-March. He’s the “No one can agree on any toppings, we’ll just get a plain cheese pizza” candidate, which might have worked before the entire Burma mess/Trump power play move. Now we feel people are just tired of it all. You read it here: Biden will drop out soon after Super Tuesday.

Run The Canyon

Here’s the story, from Outside magazine, of the nascent Canyon X Half-Marathon that is staged each November near famed Antelope Canyon in northern Arizona, on the Navajo Nation land.

If you have a trail-running and/or natural wonders jones, this race may be for you. But it’s not easy to reach. About a 90-minute drive north of Flagstaff, we reckon. But you’ve seen the pics of Antelope Canyon, yes you have.

Five Films: 2010

1. The Social Network: It opens with the greatest break-up scene in recent memory, as Rooney Mara tells Jesse Eisenberg’s Mark Zuckerberg that the reason he’ll never be a great catch has nothing to do with his height or his jawline or his athleticism or his inability to be accepted into an eating club. It’s because he’s an asshole. It’s Sorkin at his very best. The rest of the film glides off this incredible opening scene.

2. True Grit: A remake, with Jeff Bridges in the John Wayne role as Rooster Cogburn. For those of us who never saw the original, this more than suffices.

3. 127 Hours: How interesting can 100-plus minutes of our protagonist literally being stuck between a rock and a hard place really be? Turns out, pretty interesting. How many of us would cut off our own arm in order to survive? I think I’d take the “L” there.

4. The Fighter: The ultimate “If he fights again, I’m taking the kids to my sister’s” film. But man, how outstanding is Christian Bale in this movie! He’s battling Ryan Gosling for best male actor under the age of 50.

5. The Town: Ben Affleck tries his hand at “Hey, what mighta happened to my character from ‘Good Will Hunting’ if Will did move away and I stayed behind? Not a classic, but there are some memorable scenes here. My favorite is when Jon Hamm shakes down Blake Lively. They’re both terrific in small roles.

Never saw: “Inception” or “Toy Story 3.” As for “The King’s Speech,” good but I’d rather binge-watch The Crown.