Today, on the same day that the remains of Capitol Police Officer Brian D. Sicknick, killed in the January 6 insurrection, lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda, the House impeachment managers filed their trial brief for the upcoming Senate impeachment trial of former president Donald Trump. The charge is that he incited the insurrection attempt of January 6, 2021, in which a mob stormed the Capitol to stop the counting of the certified electoral ballots for the 2020 election.
Reading this this morning reminds me of what I went to sleep watching from the US Capitol. The respect being shown to Office Brian Sicknick is what's right about America. The fact that this is happening shows how we need to repair so much in America. And having President Biden and the First Lady show up, and show up quietly, shows we have competent, caring and decent leadership back in the White House. January 6 is a date that we must remember as a day that terror struck this country -- and it was instigated by the then-still-President of the United States. Let us learn. Let us place a higher value on facts and truth. Let no government employee like Ms. Conway ever try to say there was something truthful in alternative facts. Brian Sicknick died for his country. A country the President takes the oath of office to protect.
We are witnessing one of the greatest instances of mass insanity in history. If we assume a certain number of wealthy people and racists voted for Trump out of perceived self-interest, knowing full well that Trump is a pathological liar, that leaves roughly 30-40% of the American electorate whom we can consider to be literally delusional, wacko, bonkers, nut cases.
Failure to convict Trump in the Senate and/or try him in a court of law would be a disaster, confirmation that our system of government, our Constitution and our way of life are a total failure. National suicide.
1. If Donald Trump had not assembled a mob on January sixth, worked them into a frenzy with lies about a stolen election snd sent them to the Capitol to “Stop the Steal”, Officer Brian D. Sicknick would still be alive. He was only 42 years old. It makes me heartsick. Donald Trump has Officer Sicknick’s blood on his hands.
2. Donald Trump was still President when the House of Representatives impeached him. Mitch McConnell refused to call the Senate back into session and have the trial in the Senate until after the Biden inauguration. Then he voted to investigate whether it was constitutional to impeach a past president.
Rest in Peace Officer Bryan Sicknick. Pray for Justice.
I was particularly interested this morning to see the NYT's detailed vote map showing with "horrifying" clarity, with my apologies for the generalization, of the Urban-Rural divide. Does living in the country drive people crazy so they buy Trump's lies and accept the strict and varying limits he would impose on freedom? Is city living so "bad" that they have no choice but to vote for the party that will "save" them? Is it a question of population density? Is it a question of availability of public services? Is it about the number of ancestors you can trace since the first "got of the boat".....and in what condition you were placed on that boat? Is it strictly about money....the very rich and the very poor "whites" in the rural areas and everyone else of all colours and means in the subdivision/tenement/condiminium?
The cities are growing and the country population is declining. Is it enough to say, time will solve the problem? Do we want an empty countryside? Do we want people to have the power or for wealth to decide? Hell No! Time to get to the root of the problem and not just to assuage the symptomes of what is driving us apart and to stop Trump or his ilk happening again.
Today AOC's regular message detailed her experiences on Jan 6 in the Capitol siege, which actually lasted several hours. She and my Rep Ayanna Pressley came within moments of serious harm, but they boosted each other's confidence and made it through. Who knows the effects of the day's trauma on so many Congress and staff people? Not to mention CP officers who did their duty, including Brian Sicknick, who gave his Last Full Measure of Devotion. The more details that emerge concerning the insurrection, the more urgent the need to vigorously prosecute all responsible parties to the full extent of the law, from the former president on down.
The harrowing documentary "Downfall" (below) should be seen by all who care about America. Perhaps as outsiders, the Australians saw clearly how best to present one of the most terrifying events in our history, one for which justice is essential. Warning: though it's not graphic, the shooting of the female insurrectionist is clearly shown. Someone really dies in this film.
The coverage of Novalny's court appearance and sentence to 2.5 more years in a Russian prison after recovering from the attempt on his life drives my thinking that such authoritarian power as Putin's in Trump's tool box shows the necessity of conviction and bar from ever holding office not only in the Senate but in SDNY and other courts for crimes yet to be exposed. Trump must be stopped totally.
I ask, once again, what happens if the Senate fails to even rule that Trump shouldn't be eligible to run for office again, one of their two choices upon conviction? HCR has expressed some optimism that eventually we'll do the right thing. Personally, I think that assumes facts not in evidence.
Somewhere along the line we've lost the desire or courage to hold public officials to account for transgressions, large and small. Despite publicly recorded video, audio, documentary, and/or photographic evidence, time after time we've seen politicians (and others) deny their intent, involvement, or responsibility for what they've done. When such an event comes to light we usually get the crisis PR chestnut of "I'm sorry if I've offended / hurt / insulted / pick your verb anyone. I've learned from my mistake and will endeavour to do better in the future."
We now have 90% of GOP Senators saying they won't convict Trump on his second Impeachment charge. No surprise here, because to try and convict Trump would lay bare their own culpability not disavowing Trump's objections to the election's results, let alone their previous support and enablement of the former president's antidemocratic efforts.
They've called the Impeachment politically motivated or divisive or in conflict with president Biden's calls for unity. They day that, because Trump's out of office, it would be unconstitutional. This allows them to have a trial but still be seen as not turning on Trump, which is now feared more than the "wrath of God" even for so many "Christians." Also, his hastily cobbled defense team said that even if impeachment was to be Constitutional, Trump was only exercising his First Amendment rights to free speech, and that his words of January 6 didn't incite a crowd to crash the Capitol Building in order to stop Congress's counting of the certified election results. They've conveniently failed to account for the body of tweets and comments prior to and after the November 3rd election that set the stage and tone to actively interfere with the 1/6/21 Congressional activities.
And yet - many have improbably objected to an election in which Trump was defeated but they themselves may have won. They go on the Sunday morning circuit and refuse to acknowledge there legality of Biden's victory. They're beginning to say that they disagreed with Trump the whole time, or that's what's past is past and shouldn't be revisited. And after these nearly impossible logical contortions much of the public refuses to call them out.
We continue to elect and reelect representatives who may have low approval ratings at home, who have actively supported policies that are, at best, cruel and prejudiced, and Stu worst, are immoral, unethical, and possibly illegal. We continue to elect representatives who have no compunctions about b fudging the facts, if not outrightly lying to those who voted them into office. We commuting to elect representatives whose primary objective is to perpetuate their job and allow their party to retain power instead of fighting for their constituents regardless of how many tweets are slung at then. To borrow a phrase, "this is not who we are" Rather, it say "this is not who we should be." Our loyalty shouldn't lie with politicians, but with our neighbors and communities. We heard before that most soldiers will say they're not motivated by the political argument for why they're at war, but to support and protect their teammates. Should our elected officials fail to pursue and establish accountability, they will have set the stage for any and all future erosion of our system of government.
Biden wasn't my choice but he was my only choice. I'm glad he's there and, at first glance, trying to unwind some of the worst of Trump's decisions, but I have to question whether I feel that way only because Trump was so objectively awful, or because Biden knows how to better work three levers of collaboration. He has a lot on his plate - the coronavirus, av economy decimated by said virus, repairing alliances, and restoring domestic and international conference in America's principles and capabilities. But we have this crisis of accountability as well. I know Biden's loathe to interfere with the workings of Congress or the Justice Department, prefering to operate within the guidelines of Article 1. The Republicans will, without irony,?try to frame him and the Democrats as the source of our troubles instead of assuming any responsibility themselves or even attempting to redeem themselves by collaborating in good faith for the greater good, not their own interests. We can't allow three GOP to lay this all at Biden's feet. If we, the citizens of the USA, aren't willing to demand better, it's hardly fair to lay that failure off on Biden.
Prior to the rioti said to my wife that I thought Pence and other Republicans must be exhausted by Trump and would welcome a return to somewhat less chaos. So far, 2021 has proven me wrong. Under the circumstances it's hard to believe that our form of government stands any chance of lasting through another assault by someone much smarter and knowledgeable than Donald Trump.
I am hoping (actually praying) that the House Managers have actual video footage of some of the seditionists in Congress letting people inside of the Capitol before the insurrection happened. I want to see them all squirm and sweat.
Good morning all! Morning, HCR! NPR's Morning Edition has some very good stories this morning about the impeachment trial coming up and does a good job of explaining how the procedure can be viewed--the "indictment" occurred in the House and the trial is in the Senate. If one takes that analogy further, nothing prevents the trial from happening even if the person indicted is no longer in the position he held at the time of indictment. That is, indeed, how trials work. The problem is that convincing 17 Gormless Obfuscating Puffball senators to stop lying and cheating, and to actually serve as legislators and representatives of their constituents, is probably an impossible task. The "defense" that Cheeto's new team of "lawyers" (I use that term advisedly) has proposed is no defense at all. To claim that his "free speech" should not be blamed for what happened is ludicrous, especially in the face of evidence that some of his own staff apparently coordinated with the coup plotters and insurrectionists. In addition their claims of unconstitutionality have been debunked by a large majority of constitutionalists. But the GOP has decided to hitch their wagon to the totalitarian train and they won't budge because NONE of them have (1) courage; (2) a moral or ethical code; (3) honor; (4) a soul. They ditched those way back in the 1960s when they decided that promoting racism and misogyny was a good way to get elected.
Given the likelihood that Cheeto will not be convicted by a 2/3 majority in the Senate--although a simple majority will vote to convict him, I imagine--the only alternative is the one that I suspect might actually work: bury him in lawsuits, bury his followers in lawsuits, bury the pols who support him in lawsuits, and hit them all in their financial underbellies. This is the USA: ethics whisper, money screams. It is not the satisfying solution but, like Dominion's lawsuits, it is more likely to conclude in an appropriate way.
But may I also add some stuff about how heartening the last two weeks have been? In a real way, Biden and Harris have done some extraordinary things in being clear, in not leading with their egos, and in being interested in making sure that people hear about what they are doing s that the lead doesn't get buried. And for the very first time, an openly gay person has been confirmed by the Senate (despite the a-hole homophobes Cruz and Co) for a Cabinet position. This made my day yesterday. And what I want is more news like that and a big wet blanket over the Cheeto and his minions.
1. If Donald Trump had not assembled a mob on January sixth, worked them into a frenzy with lies about a stolen election snd sent them to the Capitol to “Stop the Steal”, Officer Brian D. Sicknick would still be alive. He was only 42 years old. It makes me heartsick. Donald Trump has Officer Sicknick’s blood on his hands.
2. Donald Trump was still President when the House of Representatives impeached him. Mitch McConnell refused to call the Senate back into session and have the trial in the Senate until after the Biden inauguration. Then he voted to investigate whether it was constitutional to impeach a past president.
Rest in Peace Officer Bryan Sicknick. Pray for Justice.
The news is saying he won't be convicted. This is heartbreaking. Letting him go is a clear and present danger to all, including and especially, those in the building with gun toting members.
I get quite literally sick to my stomach at the thought that the Senate won’t convict the then president; my anxiety ratchets up to 11.
As to the assertion that that the election got stolen by votes that were cast “illegally” under voting laws passed by states but not by state legislatures, I call bulls**t. The voters who took advantage of being able to vote by mail were registered voters who had every right to vote, and to vote safely during a pandemic. The defense lawyers would have everyone believe that the state legislatures would not have approved any changes to mail voting system in their state, but they don’t know that, and certainly can’t prove it.
Also, the argument that a president can’t be convicted in the Senate after he has left office is beyond the scope of the impeachment indictment, and should not be allowed to be argued there. It seems like that is an issue to be argued before the Supreme Court only after the Senate trial concludes.
IMO, the future of our nation’s democracy depends on the Senate convicting t****, and the republican party getting out from under his influence.
We watched the heart-breaking Capitol ceremony in silence. Also in tears. Grief about Officer Sicknick. A life so full of promise reduced to a small, wooden box. Grief for his family. Grief for our country.
The United States of America has at least temporarily lost its place on the moral high ground from which to credibly pontificate about democracy. Take, for example, Russia's prosecution of Alexei Navalny. His crime was breaking parole by going to Germany so he wouldn't die from the poison the Russian government sanctioned/administered. Difficult for the U.S. to play its traditional moral compass card when our democracy had an epic fail, culminating on January 06.
The trail of literal and virtual damage and destruction via Donald J Trump is so far incalculable. But it's a thing.
It’s all over... Axios may have taped. Insanity beyond doubt. Russia, Russia, Putin flushed, follow the money, money down the drain, easy come, easy go, the Queens Flash is busted by a white Swan, the Eisenhower Nixon Rockefeller Ford GOP is vanishing, destroyed by The Big Lie...
I’m just going to write a little bit to bring us back to the central issues. The appearance of Urban vs Rural, the perpetuation of the Big Lie, and why and how did we get here and why are we trapped here. To me these are the actual issues and while I understand the need to express our emotional outrage staying in it isn’t going to resolve the underlying causes and issues. (this is sounding too righteous)
Solutions are only made to look complicated because people in power don’t want change. Real solutions are actually simple.
Urban vs. Rural, I have lived rural or semi rural my whole life. I don’t like cities can’t understand why people would want to live so crammed together. I do understand that I’m not the only person voting democrat in a rural area but I have felt each time like my vote doesn’t count. That is because of our winner take all voting system. This simply isn’t working for our country any longer. So we don’t have to deconstruct gerrymandering, we don’t have to rebuild the Electoral College we just have to tabulate one citizen one vote majority rule.
Why is that hard to do? It is a simple straightforward law change that could be written in a single sentence. Why is that not happening? The answer is also not complicated IMO. The answer is -> super wealth.
The Big Lie, and by this I’m not just referring to the current example of it though of course I do agree this is the most glaring example. However, we have been lied to for a long time. HCR wrote about this recently. The economy, that is the general over all economy, does better when an active government manages it than it does when pure capitalism is given a free hand. We have 40 years of modern experience to document this since Regan but it has been written about since capitalism was invented. The solution is not complicated it is regulation and taxes . It is not socialism. It is not unpatriotic. It is simply the way capitalism works best for the general population.
And Why don’t we have this? The answer is -> super wealth. IM not so HO.
Unfortunately super wealth doesn’t come with enlightenment. Rather it comes from a place of self-centered psychology that never quite gets beyond fear. Super wealth is created when regular wealth isn’t enough. This is young soul territory, the period where self-preservation, self-identity, self-focus are perfected and manifested but wholeness, oneness, community, greater good, the elevation of service as the highest goal, aren’t really in the picture yet. Perhaps there is a grander purpose for the phenomenon of super wealth in the world just now but I’m not seeing it.
After the Nazis fell in WWII, the world asked how Germans could have been so gullible to follow such an evil dictator who would lead them to the slaughter. We must ask ourselves the same question. How, in the face of overwhelming facts, could a chunk of the American electorate swallow such glaring lies about the election, Antifa, Qanon and partisan bullies? We must dig deep for reasons, but I'm afraid we're not going to like what we find.
Let's begin with the American Revolution. In the late 1700's colonists were becoming increasingly literate and newspapers (newsletters, really) such as the Pennsylvania Journal and Weekly Advisor influenced and fueled passions to fight against oppressive English monarchy. One could argue that without these primitive means of communication with rural communities our fight for independence at least would have been delayed. These newspapers voiced a call to arms.
Flash forward 250 years. Communication with the masses by is as easy as a click of a button. The difference, of course, is that there are so many points of view it can be problematic to rouse and sway insurrection. So discourse shifted to what Professor Heather Cox Richardson (Letters From An American--the best political commentary in the country) so eloquently points out: The Big Lie. Right wingers jumped on the collective bandwagon with enthusiasm to be able to play war. But this doesn't explain why they took the bait. The explanation is darker and delves into the underbelly of the American psyche.
All humans wish to belong and seek others with whom they have the most in common. Those who protest in the name of freedom and equality grow their ranks together. But now, as a direct result of the Internet Age. people can band together and feel validated even is their base argument is a Big Lie. The differentiation between truth and lies no longer matters. What matters to the participants is they feel life now has meaning, that they belong to something greater than themselves, that their lives now have worth, widely accepted facts notwithstanding.
The result of this new paradigm is that morality has been subjugated by collective human action. "We'll follow our leader to the edge of the cliff and gladly jump!" It's identical to the mass hypnosis of Nazi Germany, but this time we can tweet about it, thus somehow further validating our existence. But to what end? Anarchy? It is said that a sucker is born every minute. Our fear should be that have already begun to mobilize, again.
Reading this this morning reminds me of what I went to sleep watching from the US Capitol. The respect being shown to Office Brian Sicknick is what's right about America. The fact that this is happening shows how we need to repair so much in America. And having President Biden and the First Lady show up, and show up quietly, shows we have competent, caring and decent leadership back in the White House. January 6 is a date that we must remember as a day that terror struck this country -- and it was instigated by the then-still-President of the United States. Let us learn. Let us place a higher value on facts and truth. Let no government employee like Ms. Conway ever try to say there was something truthful in alternative facts. Brian Sicknick died for his country. A country the President takes the oath of office to protect.
We are witnessing one of the greatest instances of mass insanity in history. If we assume a certain number of wealthy people and racists voted for Trump out of perceived self-interest, knowing full well that Trump is a pathological liar, that leaves roughly 30-40% of the American electorate whom we can consider to be literally delusional, wacko, bonkers, nut cases.
Failure to convict Trump in the Senate and/or try him in a court of law would be a disaster, confirmation that our system of government, our Constitution and our way of life are a total failure. National suicide.
This is it, folks.
1. If Donald Trump had not assembled a mob on January sixth, worked them into a frenzy with lies about a stolen election snd sent them to the Capitol to “Stop the Steal”, Officer Brian D. Sicknick would still be alive. He was only 42 years old. It makes me heartsick. Donald Trump has Officer Sicknick’s blood on his hands.
2. Donald Trump was still President when the House of Representatives impeached him. Mitch McConnell refused to call the Senate back into session and have the trial in the Senate until after the Biden inauguration. Then he voted to investigate whether it was constitutional to impeach a past president.
Rest in Peace Officer Bryan Sicknick. Pray for Justice.
I was particularly interested this morning to see the NYT's detailed vote map showing with "horrifying" clarity, with my apologies for the generalization, of the Urban-Rural divide. Does living in the country drive people crazy so they buy Trump's lies and accept the strict and varying limits he would impose on freedom? Is city living so "bad" that they have no choice but to vote for the party that will "save" them? Is it a question of population density? Is it a question of availability of public services? Is it about the number of ancestors you can trace since the first "got of the boat".....and in what condition you were placed on that boat? Is it strictly about money....the very rich and the very poor "whites" in the rural areas and everyone else of all colours and means in the subdivision/tenement/condiminium?
The cities are growing and the country population is declining. Is it enough to say, time will solve the problem? Do we want an empty countryside? Do we want people to have the power or for wealth to decide? Hell No! Time to get to the root of the problem and not just to assuage the symptomes of what is driving us apart and to stop Trump or his ilk happening again.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/upshot/2020-election-map.html
Getting Trump definitively out of the way is extremely important, but he is a symptome and not the cause of the problem.
Today AOC's regular message detailed her experiences on Jan 6 in the Capitol siege, which actually lasted several hours. She and my Rep Ayanna Pressley came within moments of serious harm, but they boosted each other's confidence and made it through. Who knows the effects of the day's trauma on so many Congress and staff people? Not to mention CP officers who did their duty, including Brian Sicknick, who gave his Last Full Measure of Devotion. The more details that emerge concerning the insurrection, the more urgent the need to vigorously prosecute all responsible parties to the full extent of the law, from the former president on down.
The harrowing documentary "Downfall" (below) should be seen by all who care about America. Perhaps as outsiders, the Australians saw clearly how best to present one of the most terrifying events in our history, one for which justice is essential. Warning: though it's not graphic, the shooting of the female insurrectionist is clearly shown. Someone really dies in this film.
https://iview.abc.net.au/video/NC2103H001S00
The coverage of Novalny's court appearance and sentence to 2.5 more years in a Russian prison after recovering from the attempt on his life drives my thinking that such authoritarian power as Putin's in Trump's tool box shows the necessity of conviction and bar from ever holding office not only in the Senate but in SDNY and other courts for crimes yet to be exposed. Trump must be stopped totally.
I ask, once again, what happens if the Senate fails to even rule that Trump shouldn't be eligible to run for office again, one of their two choices upon conviction? HCR has expressed some optimism that eventually we'll do the right thing. Personally, I think that assumes facts not in evidence.
Somewhere along the line we've lost the desire or courage to hold public officials to account for transgressions, large and small. Despite publicly recorded video, audio, documentary, and/or photographic evidence, time after time we've seen politicians (and others) deny their intent, involvement, or responsibility for what they've done. When such an event comes to light we usually get the crisis PR chestnut of "I'm sorry if I've offended / hurt / insulted / pick your verb anyone. I've learned from my mistake and will endeavour to do better in the future."
We now have 90% of GOP Senators saying they won't convict Trump on his second Impeachment charge. No surprise here, because to try and convict Trump would lay bare their own culpability not disavowing Trump's objections to the election's results, let alone their previous support and enablement of the former president's antidemocratic efforts.
They've called the Impeachment politically motivated or divisive or in conflict with president Biden's calls for unity. They day that, because Trump's out of office, it would be unconstitutional. This allows them to have a trial but still be seen as not turning on Trump, which is now feared more than the "wrath of God" even for so many "Christians." Also, his hastily cobbled defense team said that even if impeachment was to be Constitutional, Trump was only exercising his First Amendment rights to free speech, and that his words of January 6 didn't incite a crowd to crash the Capitol Building in order to stop Congress's counting of the certified election results. They've conveniently failed to account for the body of tweets and comments prior to and after the November 3rd election that set the stage and tone to actively interfere with the 1/6/21 Congressional activities.
And yet - many have improbably objected to an election in which Trump was defeated but they themselves may have won. They go on the Sunday morning circuit and refuse to acknowledge there legality of Biden's victory. They're beginning to say that they disagreed with Trump the whole time, or that's what's past is past and shouldn't be revisited. And after these nearly impossible logical contortions much of the public refuses to call them out.
We continue to elect and reelect representatives who may have low approval ratings at home, who have actively supported policies that are, at best, cruel and prejudiced, and Stu worst, are immoral, unethical, and possibly illegal. We continue to elect representatives who have no compunctions about b fudging the facts, if not outrightly lying to those who voted them into office. We commuting to elect representatives whose primary objective is to perpetuate their job and allow their party to retain power instead of fighting for their constituents regardless of how many tweets are slung at then. To borrow a phrase, "this is not who we are" Rather, it say "this is not who we should be." Our loyalty shouldn't lie with politicians, but with our neighbors and communities. We heard before that most soldiers will say they're not motivated by the political argument for why they're at war, but to support and protect their teammates. Should our elected officials fail to pursue and establish accountability, they will have set the stage for any and all future erosion of our system of government.
Biden wasn't my choice but he was my only choice. I'm glad he's there and, at first glance, trying to unwind some of the worst of Trump's decisions, but I have to question whether I feel that way only because Trump was so objectively awful, or because Biden knows how to better work three levers of collaboration. He has a lot on his plate - the coronavirus, av economy decimated by said virus, repairing alliances, and restoring domestic and international conference in America's principles and capabilities. But we have this crisis of accountability as well. I know Biden's loathe to interfere with the workings of Congress or the Justice Department, prefering to operate within the guidelines of Article 1. The Republicans will, without irony,?try to frame him and the Democrats as the source of our troubles instead of assuming any responsibility themselves or even attempting to redeem themselves by collaborating in good faith for the greater good, not their own interests. We can't allow three GOP to lay this all at Biden's feet. If we, the citizens of the USA, aren't willing to demand better, it's hardly fair to lay that failure off on Biden.
Prior to the rioti said to my wife that I thought Pence and other Republicans must be exhausted by Trump and would welcome a return to somewhat less chaos. So far, 2021 has proven me wrong. Under the circumstances it's hard to believe that our form of government stands any chance of lasting through another assault by someone much smarter and knowledgeable than Donald Trump.
I am hoping (actually praying) that the House Managers have actual video footage of some of the seditionists in Congress letting people inside of the Capitol before the insurrection happened. I want to see them all squirm and sweat.
Good morning all! Morning, HCR! NPR's Morning Edition has some very good stories this morning about the impeachment trial coming up and does a good job of explaining how the procedure can be viewed--the "indictment" occurred in the House and the trial is in the Senate. If one takes that analogy further, nothing prevents the trial from happening even if the person indicted is no longer in the position he held at the time of indictment. That is, indeed, how trials work. The problem is that convincing 17 Gormless Obfuscating Puffball senators to stop lying and cheating, and to actually serve as legislators and representatives of their constituents, is probably an impossible task. The "defense" that Cheeto's new team of "lawyers" (I use that term advisedly) has proposed is no defense at all. To claim that his "free speech" should not be blamed for what happened is ludicrous, especially in the face of evidence that some of his own staff apparently coordinated with the coup plotters and insurrectionists. In addition their claims of unconstitutionality have been debunked by a large majority of constitutionalists. But the GOP has decided to hitch their wagon to the totalitarian train and they won't budge because NONE of them have (1) courage; (2) a moral or ethical code; (3) honor; (4) a soul. They ditched those way back in the 1960s when they decided that promoting racism and misogyny was a good way to get elected.
Given the likelihood that Cheeto will not be convicted by a 2/3 majority in the Senate--although a simple majority will vote to convict him, I imagine--the only alternative is the one that I suspect might actually work: bury him in lawsuits, bury his followers in lawsuits, bury the pols who support him in lawsuits, and hit them all in their financial underbellies. This is the USA: ethics whisper, money screams. It is not the satisfying solution but, like Dominion's lawsuits, it is more likely to conclude in an appropriate way.
But may I also add some stuff about how heartening the last two weeks have been? In a real way, Biden and Harris have done some extraordinary things in being clear, in not leading with their egos, and in being interested in making sure that people hear about what they are doing s that the lead doesn't get buried. And for the very first time, an openly gay person has been confirmed by the Senate (despite the a-hole homophobes Cruz and Co) for a Cabinet position. This made my day yesterday. And what I want is more news like that and a big wet blanket over the Cheeto and his minions.
1. If Donald Trump had not assembled a mob on January sixth, worked them into a frenzy with lies about a stolen election snd sent them to the Capitol to “Stop the Steal”, Officer Brian D. Sicknick would still be alive. He was only 42 years old. It makes me heartsick. Donald Trump has Officer Sicknick’s blood on his hands.
2. Donald Trump was still President when the House of Representatives impeached him. Mitch McConnell refused to call the Senate back into session and have the trial in the Senate until after the Biden inauguration. Then he voted to investigate whether it was constitutional to impeach a past president.
Rest in Peace Officer Bryan Sicknick. Pray for Justice.
The news is saying he won't be convicted. This is heartbreaking. Letting him go is a clear and present danger to all, including and especially, those in the building with gun toting members.
I get quite literally sick to my stomach at the thought that the Senate won’t convict the then president; my anxiety ratchets up to 11.
As to the assertion that that the election got stolen by votes that were cast “illegally” under voting laws passed by states but not by state legislatures, I call bulls**t. The voters who took advantage of being able to vote by mail were registered voters who had every right to vote, and to vote safely during a pandemic. The defense lawyers would have everyone believe that the state legislatures would not have approved any changes to mail voting system in their state, but they don’t know that, and certainly can’t prove it.
Also, the argument that a president can’t be convicted in the Senate after he has left office is beyond the scope of the impeachment indictment, and should not be allowed to be argued there. It seems like that is an issue to be argued before the Supreme Court only after the Senate trial concludes.
IMO, the future of our nation’s democracy depends on the Senate convicting t****, and the republican party getting out from under his influence.
We watched the heart-breaking Capitol ceremony in silence. Also in tears. Grief about Officer Sicknick. A life so full of promise reduced to a small, wooden box. Grief for his family. Grief for our country.
The United States of America has at least temporarily lost its place on the moral high ground from which to credibly pontificate about democracy. Take, for example, Russia's prosecution of Alexei Navalny. His crime was breaking parole by going to Germany so he wouldn't die from the poison the Russian government sanctioned/administered. Difficult for the U.S. to play its traditional moral compass card when our democracy had an epic fail, culminating on January 06.
The trail of literal and virtual damage and destruction via Donald J Trump is so far incalculable. But it's a thing.
It’s all over... Axios may have taped. Insanity beyond doubt. Russia, Russia, Putin flushed, follow the money, money down the drain, easy come, easy go, the Queens Flash is busted by a white Swan, the Eisenhower Nixon Rockefeller Ford GOP is vanishing, destroyed by The Big Lie...
https://www.axios.com/trump-oval-office-meeting-sidney-powell-a8e1e466-2e42-42d0-9cf1-26eb267f8723.html?utm_campaign=organic&utm_medium=socialshare&utm_source=email
I’m just going to write a little bit to bring us back to the central issues. The appearance of Urban vs Rural, the perpetuation of the Big Lie, and why and how did we get here and why are we trapped here. To me these are the actual issues and while I understand the need to express our emotional outrage staying in it isn’t going to resolve the underlying causes and issues. (this is sounding too righteous)
Solutions are only made to look complicated because people in power don’t want change. Real solutions are actually simple.
Urban vs. Rural, I have lived rural or semi rural my whole life. I don’t like cities can’t understand why people would want to live so crammed together. I do understand that I’m not the only person voting democrat in a rural area but I have felt each time like my vote doesn’t count. That is because of our winner take all voting system. This simply isn’t working for our country any longer. So we don’t have to deconstruct gerrymandering, we don’t have to rebuild the Electoral College we just have to tabulate one citizen one vote majority rule.
Why is that hard to do? It is a simple straightforward law change that could be written in a single sentence. Why is that not happening? The answer is also not complicated IMO. The answer is -> super wealth.
The Big Lie, and by this I’m not just referring to the current example of it though of course I do agree this is the most glaring example. However, we have been lied to for a long time. HCR wrote about this recently. The economy, that is the general over all economy, does better when an active government manages it than it does when pure capitalism is given a free hand. We have 40 years of modern experience to document this since Regan but it has been written about since capitalism was invented. The solution is not complicated it is regulation and taxes . It is not socialism. It is not unpatriotic. It is simply the way capitalism works best for the general population.
And Why don’t we have this? The answer is -> super wealth. IM not so HO.
Unfortunately super wealth doesn’t come with enlightenment. Rather it comes from a place of self-centered psychology that never quite gets beyond fear. Super wealth is created when regular wealth isn’t enough. This is young soul territory, the period where self-preservation, self-identity, self-focus are perfected and manifested but wholeness, oneness, community, greater good, the elevation of service as the highest goal, aren’t really in the picture yet. Perhaps there is a grander purpose for the phenomenon of super wealth in the world just now but I’m not seeing it.
After the Nazis fell in WWII, the world asked how Germans could have been so gullible to follow such an evil dictator who would lead them to the slaughter. We must ask ourselves the same question. How, in the face of overwhelming facts, could a chunk of the American electorate swallow such glaring lies about the election, Antifa, Qanon and partisan bullies? We must dig deep for reasons, but I'm afraid we're not going to like what we find.
Let's begin with the American Revolution. In the late 1700's colonists were becoming increasingly literate and newspapers (newsletters, really) such as the Pennsylvania Journal and Weekly Advisor influenced and fueled passions to fight against oppressive English monarchy. One could argue that without these primitive means of communication with rural communities our fight for independence at least would have been delayed. These newspapers voiced a call to arms.
Flash forward 250 years. Communication with the masses by is as easy as a click of a button. The difference, of course, is that there are so many points of view it can be problematic to rouse and sway insurrection. So discourse shifted to what Professor Heather Cox Richardson (Letters From An American--the best political commentary in the country) so eloquently points out: The Big Lie. Right wingers jumped on the collective bandwagon with enthusiasm to be able to play war. But this doesn't explain why they took the bait. The explanation is darker and delves into the underbelly of the American psyche.
All humans wish to belong and seek others with whom they have the most in common. Those who protest in the name of freedom and equality grow their ranks together. But now, as a direct result of the Internet Age. people can band together and feel validated even is their base argument is a Big Lie. The differentiation between truth and lies no longer matters. What matters to the participants is they feel life now has meaning, that they belong to something greater than themselves, that their lives now have worth, widely accepted facts notwithstanding.
The result of this new paradigm is that morality has been subjugated by collective human action. "We'll follow our leader to the edge of the cliff and gladly jump!" It's identical to the mass hypnosis of Nazi Germany, but this time we can tweet about it, thus somehow further validating our existence. But to what end? Anarchy? It is said that a sucker is born every minute. Our fear should be that have already begun to mobilize, again.