The news continues to move at a breathless pace. After making no comments on the January 6 coup attempt since the day after, when he continued his assault on the validity of the 2020 election, Trump today refused to acknowledge he has done anything wrong. He told reporters his speech to the “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington, D.C., that prompted the assault on the Capitol, was “totally appropriate.” He insisted that “other people” had said that the “real problem” was “the horrible riots in Portland and Seattle and various other places.”
My good friend and fellow author, Lucian K. Truscott IV, now has a substack blog. He never puts up stuff - no matter how wild it might sound - that isn't well-sourced.
Here's what he said tonight:
It's being reported that freshman Congresswoman Laura Boebert, the one who tweeted Nancy Pelosi's location during the assault, was photographed leading people on a tour of the Capitol on January 5. The people she was showing around the Capitol were photographed in the Capitol during the insurrection the next day.
Just so you know, members of Congress don't usually take terrorists on reconnaissance tours before they engage in seditious assaults. At least they didn't before Glock-carrying lunatics were elected.
Over the past five years, every bad thing I have come across has turned out to be true. I really wish I could say this isn't true, but damn.... And again, as I said elsewhere, my friend Lucian Truscott is well-sourced (and this fits very closely to things HRC has said in tonight's post):
I got a call tonight from a friend with good connections in the intelligence community. He says McConnell learned something over the last 24 hours that really got his attention and caused him to realize that the Republican Party is in danger of going down if they don’t jettison Trump right now and do as much to distance themselves from him as they are able.
Apparently, the briefing given to members of Congress had some details about the attack on the Capitol that were “chilling and horrific” according to one member who received the briefing. The Wednesday attack on the Capitol, and the plans insurrectionists are making for Inauguration day were described as being made by “an organized group that has a plan.” Members of the Oversight Committee who were present for a second intelligence briefing today issued a statement concluding: “Based on today's briefing, we have grave concerns about ongoing and violent threats to our democracy. It is clear that more must be done to preempt, penetrate, and prevent deadly and seditious assaults by domestic violent extremists in the days ahead."
There are rumblings in the intelligence community that planning for the insurrection on Wednesday reached into the White House to aides of Trump who were reporting to the president. Trump’s Tweet on December 19 apparently tipped off the intelligence community that Trump was in on the planning for the insurrection: “Big protest in D.C. on January 6th,” Trump tweeted in just one of several of his tweets promoting the day. “Be there, will be wild!”
It will be wild. He knew. He fucking knew.
There are other rumblings in the intelligence community that the Department of Defense was told by the White House to “stand down” on January 6, and not to authorize federalizing the Washington D.C. National Guard. That is apparently why it took so long for Democratic leaders to get through to the Secretary of the Army. In the end, the Secretary of the Army and Vice President Pence got together and made the decision to call out the D.C. National Guard. Pence himself was inside the Capitol building while it was under assault and had an up-close and personal stake in things. It’s worth noting that the president is the only official with the authority to federalize the National Guard. This means that Pence and the Secretary of the Army went around Trump in order to call out the Guard and rid the Capitol of the insurrectionists. Technically, they broke the law.
McConnell has heard enough that he has concluded Trump was either fully informed about what was going to happen on Wednesday, or he was in on the planning himself. When it comes out, and it’s expected that it will come out, if the Republican Party is still standing with Trump, they won’t be able to survive it. So McConnell is signaling to his fellow lickspittles that it’s time to throw Trump under the bus and move out of the way. Trump is going down. He will be impeached, and if he doesn’t resign, he will be found guilty by the Senate.
I live on the outer banks of NC. This is Trump land. Yesterday I'm looking for NPR on the radio. I don't normally listen to radio so I don't know where it is. Scanning around I find a station that I think is it because of the tone and the cadence. After listening for a minute it is obvious that I have found, Fox radio. I knew it existed of course but not really. The commentator is saying that the events in the capitol were conducted "by well meaning citizens who were going in to listen to the proceedings. There were some hooligans with them yes but the intent was to listen and hold lawmakers accountable." Literally this is what they said to the Trumpers, in Trump land.
I agree with what is being said by all of you that it is ultimately about the money. Mcconnell's about face is just plain embarrassing. That he can be that bald faced, two faced, illegitimate is stunning. And, it is all good that the Republicans actions within the attack are exposed but I see how this is going to reported out by Fox. And, Fox isn't even the worst is it? The money has bought this. It has bought elected officials too but this constant brain washing of the populace is its real investment. Work like Heather's doesn't ever come near these folks. They don't evaluate what they are hearing or if they do they have several sources of similar disinformation.
I have friends I'm afraid to talk to because they are Foxers and I don't want to get into a fight. They are not stupid people and function otherwise normally in life but have consumed this disinformation for so long that the layers of it in their belief systems are too deep to wade through in anything less than weeks. There is no test for truth in our system. Any Rush Limbaugh can start up and gain a following calling it news regardless of content.
Do we need to draw some kind of a line between what gets to be called News and what is free-speech protected entertainment?
Recently I have been reading some stuff you all may not agree with or be exposed to much having to do with the basis of how people live. There are two widely separated groups it turns out that resonate with this problem. Those that like black and white talk, like structure, like authority (taking it and giving it) and don't like complicated explanations or things that go on past a couple of sentences. They like tweets. And those that read further, figure things out on their own, seek to understand causation and are willing to be unsure if not enough is known. I'm simplifying a complex subject but Yep this is a description of Young souls and Mature souls of which we have a nearly equal number in our population. The understanding that we need to accept is that Young souls will not and cannot be expected to change their basic mode of operation. I also have family that live in and around Boston. So I experience the mindset of that area as well. These two could not be more different. Both are intelligent. Both are capable in the living of their lives but you cannot talk to both groups the same way and be understood.
Somehow Democrats are going to have to come up with a way to talk to my neighbors down here and come up with a way to change the dynamic of Fox news (and the others i'm just using them as the flagship example). As a physician I had to learn to talk to people differently. I had to assess the person in front of me and figure out how to make them understand. Not all doctors can do this. Democrats need to not just talk to them selves and they need to not bring New England rhetoric to NC. And, it is going to be a long haul because the hole is deep.
If this doesn't happen, and or if the Republican party doesn't reform its news, (which would mean that the money behind it changes agenda, somehow, I'm not expecting) then the best we can hope for is the pendulum swing. My friends in Boston, some of them, think this is the best we can hope for, that Biden will pull the country this way enough so that when it swings again there? What? That political philosophy or goal just doesn't track for me. Someone needs to step back far enough to find a path forward not just side to side. Personally, I hate tweets, that's how out of step I am. Birds tweet, Danger Danger, Good Food, Good Food. They aren't having a conversation. Ah well.
Choosing Alamo, TX, for his venue today seems a bit like Guilliani and company going to the Four Seasons Landscape Company. Yes, the famous Alamo is in San Antonio and one should note that the Mexicans won that battle.
I'll just call it that for now because I don't quite have the spoons tonight to explain why calling it "mental illness" would be overly simplistic as well as overly broad. He surely is unable to act or think rationally even about what is truly his own self-interest, much less to carry out the duties of the president. And that should be enough. What he is incapacitated by is, to an extent, incidental.
Mental illness, though, has been thoroughly weaponized and used against women, queer folk, survivors of violence and abuse, and anyone who cannot find a secure place in a culture that requires inhumane levels of "productivity" from the vast majority of its members; so much so that to simply say this president is mentally ill would be cast far too wide a net and potentially ensnare many others who are perfectly fit to serve in office despite carrying a pocketful of diagnoses from the DSM-V.
These days, so many have been diagnosed with one "mental disorder" or another that it is not unlike using a politician's history of smoking pot to disqualify them from office. It just does not mean what many have thought for so long that it meant.
But that he is incapacitated in the sense of unable to act rationally seems glaringly obvious to me.
"It is undoubtedly also of great significance to McConnell that the actions of Trump and his supporters in Congress have led major donors to close their wallets." That's about the only thing that would turn McConnell's head. "Follow the money" - always!!
Mike Pompeo being shut out made my day! That pompous, arrogant - words fail - Maybe Dr. King was right; maybe the arc of the universe IS bending toward justice, at last. I know it's a long process, and we have become so accustomed to instant gratification in our culture. I guess we needed a reminder that that's not how reality works. I know I needed the reminder. I don't want to be like the toddler-in-chief!! 😎
How nice of the Republican leaders to spin 540 degrees and start putting all the blame for this insurrection on Trump, after actively assisting him in achieving this end for over 4 years. Now that their monster has left their control, they are willing to do and say anything to prevent investigations of elected Republican lawmakers, their staff, and their supporters, both state and federal. Please, throw those lower-class, mostly penniless, duped rioters in prison, just don't look too closely at MY dirty underwear! It's a rather low metaphor, but the entire Republican apparatus needs a through and searching colonoscopy.
They need to put the metal detectors at the entrances to the building, with narrow pathways so they can't walk around, and give police clear instructions that they can arrest any congressmember, including senators too, who try to go around
until Wednesday, January 20, 2021 at 12:00:00 noon (Washington DC, District of Columbia time)
The white nationalist type groups have been preparing for war for decades. The continuous dog whistles from DT has built their hopes that Civil War II to assert white privilege and patriarchy is near at hand. I think history will put January 6, 2021, as the date it began. The question is will it be contained in the next few weeks or will it become open violent anarchy and "war". With attacks planned for the US Capitol again and ALL the state capitols we need to hope there is a decisive and effective response. I'm feeling more worried than hopeful tonight.
I sure appreciate all of this information. I wonder what happened to this representative Gohmert who walked around the metal detector? I certainly hope the police stopped him. Why the hell does he think he’s above the law? Law-enforcement definitely should not be messing around now.
Great gathering of fact threads that only an Historian could weave into coherence.
The need to get rid of the dark money PAC's is obvious. The Corporations halting the contributions to the GOP does not affect the Corporate Executives ability to organize financial support to their client Legislators.
But I am mostly taken with the incredibly inept handling of the FBI warnings of January 5 that a bunch of administration officials played volley ball with until late Afternoon when the rioters were already getting tired. I think this emphasizes the Trump style of appointing "acting," key officials on the basis of personal loyalty not ability. If the fumbling was to delay action the principals were treasonous.
Why is no one talking about how much power the corporations have in funding the various political groups through their donations. It is both amazing and frightening how much power the corporate donors have to influence politics and our daily lives.
It is not enough for Republicans to denounce the violence which took place in our Capitol building last Wednesday. Despite this, some are still heard questioning the legitimacy of the presidential election and taking pride in what they consider some positive aspects of the Trump administration. Saying “enough is enough” as Lindsey Graham has done is not enough. What these people must get through their heads, and I include Florida’s two Senators, its governor and most of its Representatives in the House, is that they were the ‘enablers’ who made it possible for Donald Trump’s madness to besmirch American democracy and all for which it stands. No matter how deeply they are appalled by Wednesday’s violence, they must share in the responsibility for it. Their “enabling,” in exchange for the support of the far right, made it possible. Shame on them. The beginning of their redemption will be the impeachment vote in the House, but without a prompt confimation of that in the Senate, including the votes of the "enablers" like Mitch McConnell, Republicans are just full of hot air.
I guess I have reached a point where I listen to a variety of podcasts, read the news letter and a portion of the responses, listen to the evening news from at least two sources (before my dear wife threatens justifiable homicide) and then resolve to stay calm. Wait for the days to pass, and pray for my fellow citizens that violence does not take place.
This morning my skepticism in the motivations of Liz Cheney and Mitch McConnell came to the fore. Cheney is the daughter of the person who I believe most responsible for the fabricated war in Iraq. And I found her politics to be self-serving and uninformed. Her decision to crush the spirit of her sister for politics, made her irredeemable to me. Like her father. For those with little to do but get through the day, read Jane Mayer’s “Dark Side”.
McConnell has had his head spinning moment since the lights went out in Georgia. He is 77 and out of power. His entire career has been for his personal benefit. His state of Kentucky ranks poorly in all measures of daily life for the majority of its citizens. Yet his personal fortunes have flourished beyond belief. So, what ever his motivation in the last few days I think it most to be self preservation.
Quietly in the past few days I think we see what will be part of the solution to heal our country. It is not without conflicted motives, but I think corporate America, including the Uber wealthy, understand that if we go much further with insanity, they will loose. Bigly. We will all loose. We can’t go on denying truth in the physical world. The pandemic is real and will not be the last. The bottom 75% of families (? 90 %) are working to the point of exhaustion every day, but not seeing any progress as to hopes and dreams, which are meager. The young just coming into adult hood look with disdain at the two generations older, asking “what were (are) you thinking!”. Sadly we do not have an answer.
Whatever personal God you believe in will not rescue us. Hypothetically, if god created matter(Big Bang) and matter eventually created cellular life, and evolution brought us to this space and time, then we better get serious about what is important.
30 years ago I knew a woman who went out once a month with some fellas in Baltimore to practice not just semi automatic but even more lethal fire arms. I was told bazookas. Bazookas! I just thought it was weird thinking of her with her perfectly coiffed and lacquered hair and long pointy nails firing off bazookas in the Virginia woods. Later I learned that she was sure there was going to be a race war someday and she was going to be ready. Then more recently I saw those slick NRA propaganda videos and started getting scared. I’d been living away from the USA for 25 years and hadn’t realized how far along far right wing militias had come.I don’t doubt that they have supporters in Congress. On Jan 6, my fears were verified. My family thought I was an alarmist nut. Maybe a little less so now but I can tell they still aren’t listening and believe that nothing like this could ever happen. I mean the ugly part. I hope they are right but I know they are not. We have allowed way too many weapons into our general society.
From the start, I have identified 45 as a totalitarian fascist. It gives me pleasure that, since 6th January, others have begun to see his reckless self-aggrandizement, not to mention his megalomania and push to establish an authoritarian nazi state. That some members of the GOP are beginning to see that now is satisfying, but not enough! Too many are still either blinded by his lies or too interested in their lust for power to be willing to allow for ethical lenses in their vision of what he represents.
Whatever information the FBI has given members of Congress must be detrimental enough to make some Republicans lean towards impeachment.
"Cheney’s statement suggests that part of what is driving the Republican willingness to entertain impeachment is that there will be more coming out about January 6 and Republicans want to dump Trump rather than be associated with him. She wrote: 'Much more will become clear in coming days and weeks, but what we know now is enough. The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened without the President. The President could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not. There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.'"
The sooner this information is made public, the better, but it probably won't do so until after the Biden-Harris inauguration in order to protect intelligence and to capture the seditionists red-handed.
My good friend and fellow author, Lucian K. Truscott IV, now has a substack blog. He never puts up stuff - no matter how wild it might sound - that isn't well-sourced.
Here's what he said tonight:
It's being reported that freshman Congresswoman Laura Boebert, the one who tweeted Nancy Pelosi's location during the assault, was photographed leading people on a tour of the Capitol on January 5. The people she was showing around the Capitol were photographed in the Capitol during the insurrection the next day.
Just so you know, members of Congress don't usually take terrorists on reconnaissance tours before they engage in seditious assaults. At least they didn't before Glock-carrying lunatics were elected.
Over the past five years, every bad thing I have come across has turned out to be true. I really wish I could say this isn't true, but damn.... And again, as I said elsewhere, my friend Lucian Truscott is well-sourced (and this fits very closely to things HRC has said in tonight's post):
I got a call tonight from a friend with good connections in the intelligence community. He says McConnell learned something over the last 24 hours that really got his attention and caused him to realize that the Republican Party is in danger of going down if they don’t jettison Trump right now and do as much to distance themselves from him as they are able.
Apparently, the briefing given to members of Congress had some details about the attack on the Capitol that were “chilling and horrific” according to one member who received the briefing. The Wednesday attack on the Capitol, and the plans insurrectionists are making for Inauguration day were described as being made by “an organized group that has a plan.” Members of the Oversight Committee who were present for a second intelligence briefing today issued a statement concluding: “Based on today's briefing, we have grave concerns about ongoing and violent threats to our democracy. It is clear that more must be done to preempt, penetrate, and prevent deadly and seditious assaults by domestic violent extremists in the days ahead."
There are rumblings in the intelligence community that planning for the insurrection on Wednesday reached into the White House to aides of Trump who were reporting to the president. Trump’s Tweet on December 19 apparently tipped off the intelligence community that Trump was in on the planning for the insurrection: “Big protest in D.C. on January 6th,” Trump tweeted in just one of several of his tweets promoting the day. “Be there, will be wild!”
It will be wild. He knew. He fucking knew.
There are other rumblings in the intelligence community that the Department of Defense was told by the White House to “stand down” on January 6, and not to authorize federalizing the Washington D.C. National Guard. That is apparently why it took so long for Democratic leaders to get through to the Secretary of the Army. In the end, the Secretary of the Army and Vice President Pence got together and made the decision to call out the D.C. National Guard. Pence himself was inside the Capitol building while it was under assault and had an up-close and personal stake in things. It’s worth noting that the president is the only official with the authority to federalize the National Guard. This means that Pence and the Secretary of the Army went around Trump in order to call out the Guard and rid the Capitol of the insurrectionists. Technically, they broke the law.
McConnell has heard enough that he has concluded Trump was either fully informed about what was going to happen on Wednesday, or he was in on the planning himself. When it comes out, and it’s expected that it will come out, if the Republican Party is still standing with Trump, they won’t be able to survive it. So McConnell is signaling to his fellow lickspittles that it’s time to throw Trump under the bus and move out of the way. Trump is going down. He will be impeached, and if he doesn’t resign, he will be found guilty by the Senate.
https://luciantruscott.substack.com/
I live on the outer banks of NC. This is Trump land. Yesterday I'm looking for NPR on the radio. I don't normally listen to radio so I don't know where it is. Scanning around I find a station that I think is it because of the tone and the cadence. After listening for a minute it is obvious that I have found, Fox radio. I knew it existed of course but not really. The commentator is saying that the events in the capitol were conducted "by well meaning citizens who were going in to listen to the proceedings. There were some hooligans with them yes but the intent was to listen and hold lawmakers accountable." Literally this is what they said to the Trumpers, in Trump land.
I agree with what is being said by all of you that it is ultimately about the money. Mcconnell's about face is just plain embarrassing. That he can be that bald faced, two faced, illegitimate is stunning. And, it is all good that the Republicans actions within the attack are exposed but I see how this is going to reported out by Fox. And, Fox isn't even the worst is it? The money has bought this. It has bought elected officials too but this constant brain washing of the populace is its real investment. Work like Heather's doesn't ever come near these folks. They don't evaluate what they are hearing or if they do they have several sources of similar disinformation.
I have friends I'm afraid to talk to because they are Foxers and I don't want to get into a fight. They are not stupid people and function otherwise normally in life but have consumed this disinformation for so long that the layers of it in their belief systems are too deep to wade through in anything less than weeks. There is no test for truth in our system. Any Rush Limbaugh can start up and gain a following calling it news regardless of content.
Do we need to draw some kind of a line between what gets to be called News and what is free-speech protected entertainment?
Recently I have been reading some stuff you all may not agree with or be exposed to much having to do with the basis of how people live. There are two widely separated groups it turns out that resonate with this problem. Those that like black and white talk, like structure, like authority (taking it and giving it) and don't like complicated explanations or things that go on past a couple of sentences. They like tweets. And those that read further, figure things out on their own, seek to understand causation and are willing to be unsure if not enough is known. I'm simplifying a complex subject but Yep this is a description of Young souls and Mature souls of which we have a nearly equal number in our population. The understanding that we need to accept is that Young souls will not and cannot be expected to change their basic mode of operation. I also have family that live in and around Boston. So I experience the mindset of that area as well. These two could not be more different. Both are intelligent. Both are capable in the living of their lives but you cannot talk to both groups the same way and be understood.
Somehow Democrats are going to have to come up with a way to talk to my neighbors down here and come up with a way to change the dynamic of Fox news (and the others i'm just using them as the flagship example). As a physician I had to learn to talk to people differently. I had to assess the person in front of me and figure out how to make them understand. Not all doctors can do this. Democrats need to not just talk to them selves and they need to not bring New England rhetoric to NC. And, it is going to be a long haul because the hole is deep.
If this doesn't happen, and or if the Republican party doesn't reform its news, (which would mean that the money behind it changes agenda, somehow, I'm not expecting) then the best we can hope for is the pendulum swing. My friends in Boston, some of them, think this is the best we can hope for, that Biden will pull the country this way enough so that when it swings again there? What? That political philosophy or goal just doesn't track for me. Someone needs to step back far enough to find a path forward not just side to side. Personally, I hate tweets, that's how out of step I am. Birds tweet, Danger Danger, Good Food, Good Food. They aren't having a conversation. Ah well.
Choosing Alamo, TX, for his venue today seems a bit like Guilliani and company going to the Four Seasons Landscape Company. Yes, the famous Alamo is in San Antonio and one should note that the Mexicans won that battle.
Trump is clearly incapacitated by his own hubris.
I'll just call it that for now because I don't quite have the spoons tonight to explain why calling it "mental illness" would be overly simplistic as well as overly broad. He surely is unable to act or think rationally even about what is truly his own self-interest, much less to carry out the duties of the president. And that should be enough. What he is incapacitated by is, to an extent, incidental.
Mental illness, though, has been thoroughly weaponized and used against women, queer folk, survivors of violence and abuse, and anyone who cannot find a secure place in a culture that requires inhumane levels of "productivity" from the vast majority of its members; so much so that to simply say this president is mentally ill would be cast far too wide a net and potentially ensnare many others who are perfectly fit to serve in office despite carrying a pocketful of diagnoses from the DSM-V.
These days, so many have been diagnosed with one "mental disorder" or another that it is not unlike using a politician's history of smoking pot to disqualify them from office. It just does not mean what many have thought for so long that it meant.
But that he is incapacitated in the sense of unable to act rationally seems glaringly obvious to me.
"It is undoubtedly also of great significance to McConnell that the actions of Trump and his supporters in Congress have led major donors to close their wallets." That's about the only thing that would turn McConnell's head. "Follow the money" - always!!
Mike Pompeo being shut out made my day! That pompous, arrogant - words fail - Maybe Dr. King was right; maybe the arc of the universe IS bending toward justice, at last. I know it's a long process, and we have become so accustomed to instant gratification in our culture. I guess we needed a reminder that that's not how reality works. I know I needed the reminder. I don't want to be like the toddler-in-chief!! 😎
How nice of the Republican leaders to spin 540 degrees and start putting all the blame for this insurrection on Trump, after actively assisting him in achieving this end for over 4 years. Now that their monster has left their control, they are willing to do and say anything to prevent investigations of elected Republican lawmakers, their staff, and their supporters, both state and federal. Please, throw those lower-class, mostly penniless, duped rioters in prison, just don't look too closely at MY dirty underwear! It's a rather low metaphor, but the entire Republican apparatus needs a through and searching colonoscopy.
They need to put the metal detectors at the entrances to the building, with narrow pathways so they can't walk around, and give police clear instructions that they can arrest any congressmember, including senators too, who try to go around
7 days, 8 hours, 8 minutes, 30 seconds
until Wednesday, January 20, 2021 at 12:00:00 noon (Washington DC, District of Columbia time)
The white nationalist type groups have been preparing for war for decades. The continuous dog whistles from DT has built their hopes that Civil War II to assert white privilege and patriarchy is near at hand. I think history will put January 6, 2021, as the date it began. The question is will it be contained in the next few weeks or will it become open violent anarchy and "war". With attacks planned for the US Capitol again and ALL the state capitols we need to hope there is a decisive and effective response. I'm feeling more worried than hopeful tonight.
I sure appreciate all of this information. I wonder what happened to this representative Gohmert who walked around the metal detector? I certainly hope the police stopped him. Why the hell does he think he’s above the law? Law-enforcement definitely should not be messing around now.
Great gathering of fact threads that only an Historian could weave into coherence.
The need to get rid of the dark money PAC's is obvious. The Corporations halting the contributions to the GOP does not affect the Corporate Executives ability to organize financial support to their client Legislators.
But I am mostly taken with the incredibly inept handling of the FBI warnings of January 5 that a bunch of administration officials played volley ball with until late Afternoon when the rioters were already getting tired. I think this emphasizes the Trump style of appointing "acting," key officials on the basis of personal loyalty not ability. If the fumbling was to delay action the principals were treasonous.
Another Trump failure of Governance.
Why is no one talking about how much power the corporations have in funding the various political groups through their donations. It is both amazing and frightening how much power the corporate donors have to influence politics and our daily lives.
It is not enough for Republicans to denounce the violence which took place in our Capitol building last Wednesday. Despite this, some are still heard questioning the legitimacy of the presidential election and taking pride in what they consider some positive aspects of the Trump administration. Saying “enough is enough” as Lindsey Graham has done is not enough. What these people must get through their heads, and I include Florida’s two Senators, its governor and most of its Representatives in the House, is that they were the ‘enablers’ who made it possible for Donald Trump’s madness to besmirch American democracy and all for which it stands. No matter how deeply they are appalled by Wednesday’s violence, they must share in the responsibility for it. Their “enabling,” in exchange for the support of the far right, made it possible. Shame on them. The beginning of their redemption will be the impeachment vote in the House, but without a prompt confimation of that in the Senate, including the votes of the "enablers" like Mitch McConnell, Republicans are just full of hot air.
I guess I have reached a point where I listen to a variety of podcasts, read the news letter and a portion of the responses, listen to the evening news from at least two sources (before my dear wife threatens justifiable homicide) and then resolve to stay calm. Wait for the days to pass, and pray for my fellow citizens that violence does not take place.
This morning my skepticism in the motivations of Liz Cheney and Mitch McConnell came to the fore. Cheney is the daughter of the person who I believe most responsible for the fabricated war in Iraq. And I found her politics to be self-serving and uninformed. Her decision to crush the spirit of her sister for politics, made her irredeemable to me. Like her father. For those with little to do but get through the day, read Jane Mayer’s “Dark Side”.
McConnell has had his head spinning moment since the lights went out in Georgia. He is 77 and out of power. His entire career has been for his personal benefit. His state of Kentucky ranks poorly in all measures of daily life for the majority of its citizens. Yet his personal fortunes have flourished beyond belief. So, what ever his motivation in the last few days I think it most to be self preservation.
Quietly in the past few days I think we see what will be part of the solution to heal our country. It is not without conflicted motives, but I think corporate America, including the Uber wealthy, understand that if we go much further with insanity, they will loose. Bigly. We will all loose. We can’t go on denying truth in the physical world. The pandemic is real and will not be the last. The bottom 75% of families (? 90 %) are working to the point of exhaustion every day, but not seeing any progress as to hopes and dreams, which are meager. The young just coming into adult hood look with disdain at the two generations older, asking “what were (are) you thinking!”. Sadly we do not have an answer.
Whatever personal God you believe in will not rescue us. Hypothetically, if god created matter(Big Bang) and matter eventually created cellular life, and evolution brought us to this space and time, then we better get serious about what is important.
30 years ago I knew a woman who went out once a month with some fellas in Baltimore to practice not just semi automatic but even more lethal fire arms. I was told bazookas. Bazookas! I just thought it was weird thinking of her with her perfectly coiffed and lacquered hair and long pointy nails firing off bazookas in the Virginia woods. Later I learned that she was sure there was going to be a race war someday and she was going to be ready. Then more recently I saw those slick NRA propaganda videos and started getting scared. I’d been living away from the USA for 25 years and hadn’t realized how far along far right wing militias had come.I don’t doubt that they have supporters in Congress. On Jan 6, my fears were verified. My family thought I was an alarmist nut. Maybe a little less so now but I can tell they still aren’t listening and believe that nothing like this could ever happen. I mean the ugly part. I hope they are right but I know they are not. We have allowed way too many weapons into our general society.
From the start, I have identified 45 as a totalitarian fascist. It gives me pleasure that, since 6th January, others have begun to see his reckless self-aggrandizement, not to mention his megalomania and push to establish an authoritarian nazi state. That some members of the GOP are beginning to see that now is satisfying, but not enough! Too many are still either blinded by his lies or too interested in their lust for power to be willing to allow for ethical lenses in their vision of what he represents.
Whatever information the FBI has given members of Congress must be detrimental enough to make some Republicans lean towards impeachment.
"Cheney’s statement suggests that part of what is driving the Republican willingness to entertain impeachment is that there will be more coming out about January 6 and Republicans want to dump Trump rather than be associated with him. She wrote: 'Much more will become clear in coming days and weeks, but what we know now is enough. The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened without the President. The President could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not. There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.'"
The sooner this information is made public, the better, but it probably won't do so until after the Biden-Harris inauguration in order to protect intelligence and to capture the seditionists red-handed.
May the Force be with us all!