Two big "aha" moments for me: (1) "...The committee established that he released the video only after law enforcement was deployed and was gaining control of the Capitol, making it clear the violent insurrection would not succeed." I am now convinced that if law enforcement had not gotten the upper hand, Trump's video would not have been released when it was; and (2) the "Outtakes of the January 7 video recording" showed that on top of his sheer evil nature, Trump is at his core a pathetic excuse for a human being, let alone the Leader of the Free World.
I've noted this before but a major media outlet reported that plan a couple of days before the election and the White House summarily denied there was any such plan.
Yes, Lil' Donny has told us everything in advance. I really have learned very little from the Jan 6 Hearings as almost all we have heard had been reported in Real Time. They have mostly organized things into a more coherent order instead of the firehose which was the Trump Admin and post-Failure.
The Amazing aspect to me is, "How could the tRUmp Campaign have had any false hopes about winning?"
It was obvious to me by mid-May 2017 that Trump would not be able to run another 'inside straight' as he had already made too many bad decisions to receive the "benefit of the doubt" Vote. That was followed by 3 years of more stampeding off in the wrong direction. His Approval rating always hovering around 34-39%.
Then, came 2020 and a little virus from somewhere - possibly, here. By dent of his overflowing Incompetence, Trump managed to turn the most defensible country in World into the Most Infected and Most Deadly Country in the World.
There could have been no rational hope for a 2020 Win after his 1st 6 months in Office.
I have a friend (whose name you would know if I dropped it) who was a member of a group of "senior people in politics and government" who "gamed out" the election in 2020. In late September he told me they had concluded from looking at things being said by Trump at his rallies all year that he was going to claim victory based on the "red mirage" and they feared he would then use it to declare martial law.
And in September 2020 I read Barton Gellman's on-line piece in The Atlantic titled The Election That Could Break America. It was slated for November issue but they knew they needed to get it out sooner. Problem I see is too much good reporting is behind paywalls.
As someone who gets paid for writing, I have to defend the paywalls. We writers have been hit hard by the "Napster attitude" that we're all "sharing" and it's supposed to be "free." Do you work for free? I didn't think so.
Sorry...my comment was intended to point out that due to paywalls the information is not widely out there then. That was all. I want it to be out there. I try to share these important articles as best I can.
OK. I just hear this a lot. There is a "traditional" attitude out there that we writers should want to do it for love of doing it. I do that, but I also have a traditional love of eating regularly, living indoors and paying my bills. :-)
Also, incisive reporting that's behind paywalls gets picked up by other media and is widely available for free, though lacking as much detail. And quality of writing.
I don’t have a problem with paywalls, never did. I understand exactly, and respect, their reason for being. When you’re young and poor, maybe it’s frustrating. Oh well.
My big takes from the hearing were not actually news.
1.
I was gratified to see Cassidy Hutchinson noted again particularly. If the DOJ ever puts a case together, much of her information will not be pivotal, as most of it was circumstantial, and others who were present will be forced to testify. But her testimony during this hearing remains the money shot of all testimony. It repeatedly pointed us in the right direction, for one thing. Not to be overlooked though was how it opened the floodgates for others to come forward. Her patriotism and amazing courage put others to shame. If America remains a free democracy, there should be a statue of her facing the 1/6 committee. I believe she is that historic a figure.
2.
HCR’s question of why the Army was following Pence’s orders has been nagging at the back of my mind as well for some time. I thought it must be a “fog of war” thing and dismissed it. But now I’m wondering what exactly went on to bring the Army to that point.
As for the actual hearing, most of it was just filling in the blanks of what we could have guessed. Trump’s (and Harley’s) poses of courage are simply the outward manifestations of deeply insecure, fearful, wounded and wounding figures.
Although the outtakes should be the last nail in the coffin of the plan for Trump could run in 2024. He’s toast. You can’t recover from the shellacking he took.
Huge kudos to the Committee. They have accomplished an historic mission in shredding Trump, using only Republicans.
I have a neighbor who won’t be convinced, because he won’t watch or read anything that denies his beliefs that Trump is the savior. He has said, “That wasn’t an insurrection.” I then read the definition of insurrection which includes the word ‘violence’. He then claimed that there was no violence that day and what about BLM.
Sounds just like my dt-addicted husband. We watched the entire day on Faux (because he wouldn’t believe it on any news outlet), so I know what dt was seeing. And the “what-about-ism” as though there’s some moral equivalency 🤬🤬🤬
I have much to be grateful for in life, but most of all, that my husband's morals and beliefs are 100% aligned with my own. I have noted your posts before and don't know how your marriage continues. On the rare occasions that we have had opposing viewpoints, my husband and I listen to each other and generally point out something the other had missed and come to agreement. I would like to think that you and your husband would do the same, but it seems as though he doesn't give you that option. It doesn't sound like you are being fully respected. HCR's letter is not an advice column we all read, so I won't offer any advice--just a reminder that there are like minded people here, and generally speaking, disagreements are respectfully discussed. You are supported.
I was raised a republican and was a loyal republican wife for 39yrs, until dt came down that escalator and my husband was so excited, “Yeah, we need him, he’ll bring in the votes!” I couldn’t believe it. I still can’t believe that my dearly loved husband, who really is a Christian (I feel everyone’s eyebrows raise, but trust me, in everything but dt we are in agreement), could support this scum of the earth and his minions. On the other hand, he can’t believe I have abandoned what he sees as the only right way. In December, by the grace of God, we’ll celebrate 46yrs of marital joys and sorrows, because that’s our life. Our only child also supports dt, but I don’t believe he is as addicted as his father because he and I can still talk and disagree respectfully.
I come here for sanity and I thank you and everyone here for that. ❤️🩹
I have a dear friend/colleague who shocked the heck out of me when she told me she was voting for dt in 2016. For the past six years, we've stayed in touch, but have to stay clear of politics because this wise, talented director of my one woman show still supports him. I haven't had the "guts" to ask her what she thinks of the hearings because I don't want to know. I guess what I'm trying to say is that if this difference with a dear friend is so painful for me, I can't imagine what it would be like coming from a beloved husband. So I admire your ability to hold the whole picture of your 46 years, and not "throwing out the baby with the bathwater." Blessings,
Fortunately, you have the right to vote in private. Hang in there and vote for the women and men who will stand against Trump. Your vote can make a difference
Even more thankfully, this is a national requirement so Florida's governor cannot take that away. "The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA), popularly known as The Motor Voter Act, is a legislation that required state governments to allow registration when a qualifying voter applied for or renewed their drivers license or applied for social services. This legislation forced state governments to make the voter registration process easier by providing uniform registration services through drivers' license registration centers, disability centers, schools, libraries, and mail-in registration." https://definitions.uslegal.com/m/motor-voter-act-the-national-voter-registration-act-of-1993-nvra/
sounds like you need a second tv to hear what's going on in the world. in another room. if that riles the man, invite him to take a walk. lock the door.
That's part of it no doubt; also a substantial amount of racism. Again referring to Snyder, The Road to Unfreedom (which I have cited here several times recently), ch. 6, which has a discussion at (what I think is) a more fundamental level. Part of Snyder's argument can be summarized by saying that American society has been "groomed" for decades by Republican ideology and, more recently, before and during the 2016 election campaign, by Russian propaganda, delivered compliments of Facebook, Twitter, etc.
Yes, and blacks and Muslims and Latinas and gays and . . . All the haters, all those who think whites are the superior ones, magnetically drawn to the Fox Noise and Republican club like flies to shit on a hot summer day.
My husband pointed out the same thing about Pence issuing orders to the military. He noted that for that brief moment in time Pence was acting President. The military thankfully didn't tell Pence they would have to wait for orders from the President as they knew full well that orders from Trump would not be forth coming. Dangerous time.
Maybe it was that Kizinger and Lauria are veterans but....I realized last night that Pence would not, could not, assume those duties unless Trump was INCAPACITATED. Perhaps by a bad tantrum?
Is the fact that Pence was apparently the acting president during that time part of the explanation as to why there are no phone logs, diary or SS texts??????? That kind of incident is exactly why the National Archives exist.
In all this time, there have only been 2 black female senators. I’d give a statue to the first one elected to the Senate. The second one is not done yet in her career. Do you all remember who that was?
Don't forget Val Demings, Christine. As you remember, she was on the first impeachment committee, and every time I heard her speak, I was very impressed with her. And Stacy Abrams, though not on Capitol Hill, has accomplished a helluva lot for us.
Was referring to Senate in first remark. I’m not one to forget Val. We have been working very hard in Florida on her campaign to oust Rubio. I love thinking of picking up Senate seat with Val Demings from Florida. Stacy Abrams for Governor of Georgia and then a vice presidential candidate.
Celebrity means you’re at the top. The only way to go is down. I’ve been saying for a long time that he is never going to run for president again, I don’t care what anybody says. His popularity and his trajectory is downward.
The Army would be aware of the rally at the Ellipse, presided over by TFG, and the resulting attack on the Capitol. The Pres was not acting to stop it, so the VP was filling in.
As Pence should have — though constitutionally he lacked the legal authority. It's fair to say Trump was incapacitated, lost in his vicious fantasy of a violent coup. Pence may have not only saved his own life but democracy. I say that with some hesitation because outside of Jan. 6, he's hardly been a profile in courage.
Yes pathetic excuse for a human being PEHB—and I’m inclined to add so are his delusional followers, disciples, cultish lunatics and assorted crackpots. For those of us who sat glued to the television that horrific day— which started out happy because of the Georgia congressional victories—and knew we were seeing an event I can compare to 9/11, but in a kind of slow motion, we kept saying—wait where are the people who will stop this??? What the f—k is going on? PEHB was enjoying everything about his own extraordinary power to orchestrate this event. In November we’ll see how our fellow Americans have digested these facts.
While I like your term PEHB, With respect to D Chump I have long stopped using the word "human being" and substitute "Life Form" (LF).
Encyclopedia Brittanica includes in their definition of human beings as, "Human beings are anatomically similar and related to the great apes but are distinguished by a more highly developed brain and a resultant capacity for articulate speech and abstract reasoning." The one under discussion here has none of these traits.
Allow me to add to your description of the "pathetic excuse for a human being": What we had for a president on January 6th was a three-year old gleefully watching superhero movies and throwing food against the wall (though I don't want to insult any three-year old). And the urgently needed adult (the 25th Amendment) was nowhere to be found.
My letter to Merrick Garland:
June 20, 2022
Dear Attorney General Garland,
I am writing you as a concerned American who fears that our Democracy, something I have always been grateful for and certain that it would be forever safely guaranteed in this country, is now in peril. Donald J. Trump, whose actions have given the green light to racism, misogyny, xenophobia, and violence, has proven in broad daylight that he doesn't give a hoot about it.
Had Robert Mueller indicted Trump and taken him off the streets as he deserved to be, our Democracy would not have come perilously close to extinction on January 6th, and you would not be in the unenviable position of having to decide on something as unprecedented as indicting a former president. Remember, though, that this would not have been a first if Richard Nixon had not resigned and President Ford had not pardoned him.
I write the following as a mental health therapist. Knowing full well that Biden had won in a free and fair election, Trump would have stopped at nothing, no matter how illegal he knew his action to be, going as far as allowing murder to have been committed, for only one reason. It is much more deeply psychological than holding on to power. His father imbued in him from childhood, that the worst thing anyone can be in this world is a loser. Ingrained in every fiber of his mind and psyche, accepting loss would be an existential threat to him--the same as dying. Therefore, he must propagate the lie to save his life. Being a loser is simply not an option. This is why Trump has manipulated his followers to have election officials in place who would overturn the election results if he runs again and loses. This cannot be allowed to happen. There are clear reasons why charges such as "seditious conspiracy" exist, and why the framers called for a peaceful transfer of power between factions in Articles 1 and 4 of our Constitution.
As a result of the January 6th Select Committee's herculean effort of scrupulously laying out the facts, thus far the majority of Americans polled believe that Trump should be indicted and convicted of his crimes. For the sake of our Democracy, I hope that you will uphold your promise--that no one is above the law and if found guilty, regardless of the individual's position and whether or not they were at the Capitol, they will be duly prosecuted. I trust that you will follow through and do your part.
We have seen so many around trump that day interviewed or commented on. What they were doing, when they were doing it. But what was Melania doing? Where was she? Her husband is refusing to stop a riot on the seat of power in the USA. What was SHE doing? Her nails?
I saw something yesterday where she said she wasn't aware of what was going on. Notice that nobody hoped that she would show up....it was Ivanka and Jared.
TPFG was waiting for 1 thing. For the SS to tell him VP Pence had left the building, so Grassley could take control and hold a vote NOT to certify the ballots/electors.
So glad you mention this. Grassley was in on it, at least enough to be waiting in the wings for Pence not to be available. But what specifically did Grassley know? The J6 committee has its hands full, but I so want an investigation of the role of members of Congress in the attempted coup. Those guilty need, at the very least, to be removed from office.
As much as we've learned, there are still many gaps — this one, for example, and the specific planning that Trump, likely through cutouts like Roger Stone and others, did with the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. And who built and planted the two bombs?
I wish they had gone into why the National Guard, police, FBI and other forces were not sent until very late in the day and requested by Pence. They said it takes hours to get them in place? But they all knew of the credible threats? And no answers about the Pentagon's silence.
AND General Milley didn’t want to be played like he had during the summer protest and church bible photo shoot.
So there are two things going on at DOD, during the riot/coup.
SS texts, calls, and radio should have alerted The capital police, DC police, The National Guard of Maryland in Virginia, homeland security, as well as the Pentagon as soon as they recognized the crowd in size and how the crowd was armed. these are all part of the national security apparatus and not having the Secret Service records is not helpful at best, it is nefarious, at worst it is seditious / treason.
I’m especially glad that Hawley was shown to be an absolutely venal, craven opportunist. I hope the history books juxtapose the raised fist photo beside the still of him running for his life. That’s how he should be remembered.
While I am glad that Hawley’s true colors were revealed, I rejoice in the fact that Heather begins with the respect and friendships that this committee has engendered from members of opposing parties.
Thank you, Heather for highlighting the fact that we don’t have to live with constant hatred and anger, that appreciation, reverence, and esteem can exist between peoples of distinct political ideologies.
“The committee’s chair, Bennie Thompson (D-MS), is isolating with Covid, so Vice Chair Liz Cheney (R-WY) presided over the hearing. She began with a tribute to Representative Thompson. Scott Simon, the host of NPR’s Weekend Edition, noted that ‘the Democratic chair of the committee just gracefully, and with full confidence, turned over the running of tonight’s hearing to the vice-chair, who happens to be of another party, and they spoke with mutual trust and respect. That’s how it’s supposed to go.’”
And I reiterate: “That’s how it’s supposed to go!”
I cried with relief while reading the first section of the letter, Rowshan. With a torrent of tears pent up just waiting for some kind of example and an acknowledgment of “That’s how it’s supposed to go!” Since that day in January 2021.
I am so grateful to Rep Bennie Thompson’s leadership and to the Committee. For the connotation and feel passed on specifically to the American people that have been waiting for that exact thing. “That’s how it’s supposed to go!”
Thank you, Professor Richardson. That was a mic drop.
Yes...."that's how it's supposed to go." but for me, Cheney's remarks about the courage of women coming forward, and the important role women can continue to play was equally satisfying. White men should be worried about the wrath of women as we come together to bring this country back to sanity.
In nearly every mythological construct of the world, the ocean is a vast feminine entity -- Neptune and Poseidon notwithstanding. Water itself is symbolic of both invincibility and power. Water's function is to sanctify and purify the earth.
When the blue wave does come (and I am convinced it will be on the order of a tsunami), it's going to be feminine energy that will be unleashed. The force of that wave can, and probably will, wash away and cleanse the stagnant, malignant residue of selfishness and greed that has for far, far too long permeated our elective and appointed offices.
Tsunami indeed. Suburban women the Repubs are counting on are incensed about having their reproductive rights stripped away! In the privacy of the voting booth they're going to take control of their bodies again.
Having seen so many other mother's children gunned down, they're going to choose candidates who will pass sensible gun laws to protect their children.
Nicely put. I was just talking to my LMT yesterday who likes to fish, but most of all, be on the ocean. I also feel so connected because to me the ocean is primordial as it is also for him.
Minor point: Neptune and Poseidon are the same entity--the former is the Roman name, the latter, the Greek name (Thanks, Monica Feuermann and Ann Scattergood Fogg (my fifth and sixth grade teachers, both exemplars of feminine wisdom and energy)
David, I am well aware of the Greek vs Roman names -- my point was that even though the Greeks and the Romans thought the ocean was personified by a male, if you look at other world myths, most of them ageed to worship the ocean, water, and the sea as a feminine entity. In Java, she is Nyai Loro Kidul (Queen of the Indian Sea). In Egypt, she was Neith ("The Terrifying One"), Hawaiian myths have her as Namaka. Mayans had Ixik. The Aztecs had Chalchiuhtlicue (no, I cannot pronounce it). Australian aboriginals believed in Eingana, a creator goddess.
That struck me too. The females were very clear about their disgust and they didn't waffle about it knowing that they are now targets for the lunatic fringe. And the women from Georgia whose lives have been turned upside down by that same lunatic fringe. Yesterday I happened upon a story about citizens contacting the mayor of Gladstone, a city to the southeast of Portland and part of the metro area. Soon both of them received nasty posts from her sister who is absolutely the lunatic fringe and a pal of the Proud Boys. There was a lot of BS from the mayor about her sister, but in the end why did she let her sister know. One of the individuals is a male educator and of course, was accused of being a pediphile. Proud Boys business cards showed up on the lawn. This is what is going on all over and people will have to have lots of courage if they chose to speak out in any way. Brown shirts resurrected.
Michele, YES! “Brown shirts resurrected.” These are the Fascists out in the open. This country needs an education on what that looks like. And what it means. That includes everyone.
Cheney herself has done a wonderful job. I suspect I don't agree with her on any normal policy positions, but IMO she is an American hero and richly deserved her profile in courage award.
Her closing statement was stunning. Appealing to supporters by telling them djt used their patriotism and sense of justice as a weapon against their nation was spot on. I can’t help but wonder if she got through to any of them.
And we need to act quickly. Women have been demoted to second class citizens. Our dignity, health and safety are secondary to any fetus we might carry. Women who miscarry are being denied standard of care. Will a new version of fugitive slave act be reinstated to haul fleeing women back for forced births?
It was all I could do not to to continuously guffaw during the last few moving and powerful minutes last night as Twitter kept refreshing the Josh Hawley scamper!!!
Oh I love my clever sisters across this nation who will continue the emasculation of the selfish, pompous, suit n'ties who think they have answers to our health and freedom. Unitas!!
I, too, am grateful for the strength, leadership and oaths to our Constitution of Rep. Bennie Thompson, Rep. Liz Cheney and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (the latter two, both Republicans who stand for the rule of law before party) and every other member on the committee. I sent a thank you letter to Rep. Thompson and Cheney several weeks ago to express my gratitude and support. (I live just a few short miles from Wyoming's border. I wish I had the ability to vote in support of her continued service.)
I've been seeing the Uvalde police as intensely human and evidence of why we should not put the human drive for survival as the failsafe between guns and children. Turning on the responders has been a right powerful way to turn the eye away from the fact that if the gun wasn't there, there wouldn't have been need for the police.
I'm a retired deputy, and I spent my last 5 years working as the daytime contract deputy in a small town south of Eugene. I called myself "Ally of Mayberry" and that was really a pretty accurate description of what my job entailed. The band kids called me "Deputy Tuba" (I sat in with them for pep band and for a couple concerts).
After Sandy Hook in 2012, I met with the elementary school principal, and ended up having several meetings with staff. I helped them with designing a more secure way to control visitors to the building, and some other ways to "harden the target" of the school without turning it into a prison. I also told them what to expect from law enforcement (I had helped design our agency's "active shooter" protocols after Columbine) and after I detailed the protocol (get three officers on scene, and go in to neutralize the shooter) I told them reality: there was a 50% chance that it would take a minimum of 5 minutes to get that personnel on scene. I told them that our office (two contract deputies and a resident deputy for south Lane county) could get at least two of us there within 3 minutes, and that regardless of protocols, we'd go in then.
I was never put in that position. I know that I had done the work, both tactically and mentally, to be ready to go in, and that I would have. Tactical training is only part of it. Every cop has to do the mental work necessary to prepare themselves for that event. It ain't easy, and it is scary as hell.
The fact is, that in our country today, we love our guns more than we love our children. It is as simple, and awful, as that. In no world should children be decapitated by semi-automatic rifle fire with a high capacity magazine loaded with rounds designed to do the maximum damage to the human body.
I am very thankful for the many things I was prepared to do that I never had to do.
I got into quite a quagmire on my Facebook page when I posted a political cartoon that had two panels; one with a teacher protecting a room full of kids, and another with a teacher, armed with a pistol, with all the kids standing behind her, and I asked my teacher friends how they felt. It disintegrated when all of my RWNJ friends chimed in.
Love This! "The band kids called me "Deputy Tuba" (I sat in with them for pep band and for a couple concerts)."!! I worked closely with our community police officer when I was running our community school programs. The officer would even come to Friday night junior high dances! And he could dance! What a wonderful impact on the "tough" kids! Sadly, one time we had to use the dance to set up a sting on 2 teens, who, after witnessing their mother being shot to death by her druggee boyfriend in Florida, stole a car and drove - one 15 yrs old, one 13 - back to Michigan, stealing and dealing all the way home. I rarely gave up on a kid, but ... that's also why we have community police officers.
Having 2 retired/1 current CPD members of my family, one thing does come to mind: I am always amazed that the group which supposedly staunchly supports police (but beat the sh!t out of them on 1/6) so vehemently demands the right to own semi-automatic weapons that in many cases result in the criminals/crazies having much more firepower than the POLICE!! Why is that allowed?
I admit that had it been one of my family policemen running in with a handgun to confront someone with an assault rifle......well, hard choices and thoughts there.
And 100% agreement with the last statement in your post! As my husband commented about the Indianapolis mall shooting where the shooter was killed by an armed "good guy"--had the crazy not had the assault weapon to begin with, those three killed would not have died. Yes--an armed "good guy" can stop a shooting, but not until shooting has already started.
I'm not one to delight in the misfortunes of others. But Hawley is an exception. The irony is, well, delicious: his raised fist to the mob (no doubt something he planned) and then prancing with fright to escape those whom he had incited.
He's just another privileged white pretty boy with a good education but devoid of character. And how exactly do you prance like that without a backbone?
Yes that IS the way our representatives are supposed to do their jobs. And right now Cheney & Kinzinger(sp?) are stellar examples. BUT in the back of my mind is the knowledge that neither of them voted against their party on any of the attempts to pass good legislation - it was always with their party. I'm grateful for all they have done in this effort to bring DJit to hopefully the consequences he deserves or close to it, but their party matters above all. And the gun control, abortion, voting rights - Party first.
I'm sorry if this puts a pall on the good news, but removing Djit is likely creating a path for DeSantis & others. With the focus on DT - the Repubs are moving along on their next agenda.
You landed on the reason why I worry long term about how governable the country will be in the decades ahead. The differences, as in 1860, seem fundamental, and we are split pretty close to 50-50. You either believe in a woman’s right to control her reproductive fate or you don’t. You either believe in LGBTQ rights, including the right to marry anyone you choose, or you don’t. You either want to fight climate change or you don’t. I don’t hate people who disagree with me, but neither do I want to say that’s it’s okay to take away what I regard as fundamental human rights or to sit idly by while planet burns up. Sometimes I really don’t mind being old. The America I live in now is turning into the Mississippi of my youth.
It is scary - in more ways than one. I didnt list climate change in my examples - but thats the biggest one of all. All those years ago, when I first registered to vote - of course did so as a Republican - for no other reason than thats what my parents were & I knew no different. But over the years, I voted more & more with the Democrats & in 2016? Made the change. I could never stand Djit from the first time I heard anything about him and my opinion hasnt changed. I worry for my kids, grandkids & great grandkids.
Maggie/NYS I agree completely. Liz Cheney is very impressive on the J6 committee, but doing your job is a low bar to clear. It's only notable at this point because the vast majority of Republicans are not doing their jobs. She went on about brave women last night, but she is a conservative and in her world women should remain second class citizens. So I'm not on the "statue for LC" bandwagon just yet.
Jim, that was actually one of the "soundtrack" clips someone posted on Twitter. A friend sent me the link. Also the Benny Hill theme (a notorious misogynist who also loved to dress up in women's clothing).
The videos effectively ruined Hawley. He will never run for the Presidency now. It is historic that there are those type of moments that kill a politician's career. I am especially thrilled about this. It is a shot across the bow to other Republicans in a big way.
I hope you’re right. The world thought Nixon was politically dead after losing the gubernatorial race in ‘62. And who among us would have given Biden a chance after the Neil Kinnock debacle in ‘88 (though thank God he rose again)? In every era, there’s a Republican toady I can stomach less than all the others. In this era, it’s nip and tuck between Hawley and Graham.
I wonder if Hawley or Alito or any of these aspiring white pseudo-Christian authoritarians stop to think that maybe some of their very own close neighbors revile everything they do and stand for? Nah… they are all much too self-absorbed, self-centered, and self-righteous to give a second thought to that.
Another bingo, the cult will not deprogram themselves. Fox will make sure of that. When will Rupert be called to account, and be ostracized as happened elsewhere. Times a wasting
I am dumbfounded by those who have seen or listened to this, and still maintain their devotion to the devil, but sickened by those who prefer just to ignore the entire situation?!
Yet we have President Biden who is a man of integrity, not self absorbed but truly devoted to the country in doing what he can for our country, citizens and World and he is constantly battered by the ratings, press etc. Wake up be and be grateful for the job he is doing to help us get back on track, all while Republicans undermine him🤨. Exhausting!
the tabloid journalism that creates that narrative is a close cousin to the evil we experienced with the last administration. Virtue doesn't sell in the media, but scandalous events, or a scandalous spin on everything else, tends to draw attention. the malaise runs through and through.
Even if they would not vote for him, they would still support his policies! They stuck around because they LIKE his policies. All those sitting on the sidelines are stuck. They may feel squeamish about his methods, but they liked the results of his policies, the direction of his policies. By the way it was 110F in Tucson yesterday. Much of America is sizzling. Europe is in flames. Great trump policies & judges strip our ability to tackle the most existential threat next to trump; the Climate. Women have LESS Rights today because of trump judges. Voters have LESS rights because of trump judges. Ukraine is in month Five of a War with Russia that could have been disincentivized if we had rushed the congressionally approved weapons they requested back in 2019. But trump wanted a quid pro quo. This is the American vision his supporters want. They will want it from who ever can deliver it, even if trump fades into ignominy.
I don’t think most of them knew what they wanted beyond feeling good…that they mattered. It wasn’t about the country, imo. It was about the ego. The religious zealots always know that and will make common cause with the devil to get what they want, too, which has nothing to do with God and everything to do with the nation’s monied or baron class. It is thus in England and is the same here.
If you believe in eliminating government business regulations, controlling women, giving free access to guns, states rights and suppression of voters, you think Trump has dine good. Unfortunately there are millions of Americans who think so!
Fox will always be around to twist things to their convenient point of view for the sole purpose of making money. Advertising doesn’t affect them any way at all so advertisers pulling their support doesn’t mean a thing. It’s the cable subscriber that supports them. So even if you don’t watch it you are supporting them. If they were off basic cable and became a subscription channel their income would drop precipitously. Maybe not enough to change things but certainly enough to get their attention
My husband and I cancelled our cable about six years ago. Too much money for being forced to accept a monopolistic, no-choices “bundle” of channels that included many we actively avoided, like the expensive sports channels, the shopping channels, the self-aggrandizing evangelizing TV preachers, and of course, the bullshit river of Fox “News”. We don’t miss what cable offers.
That is the way of the future. The more people do that the less fox gets (and all the other ones). Someone will invent a box making it easier to switch between streaming channels. (Maybe they have…)
Two big "aha" moments for me: (1) "...The committee established that he released the video only after law enforcement was deployed and was gaining control of the Capitol, making it clear the violent insurrection would not succeed." I am now convinced that if law enforcement had not gotten the upper hand, Trump's video would not have been released when it was; and (2) the "Outtakes of the January 7 video recording" showed that on top of his sheer evil nature, Trump is at his core a pathetic excuse for a human being, let alone the Leader of the Free World.
And Bannon describing the sequence of events before it happen, showing Trump planned the whole thing.
I've noted this before but a major media outlet reported that plan a couple of days before the election and the White House summarily denied there was any such plan.
Yes, Lil' Donny has told us everything in advance. I really have learned very little from the Jan 6 Hearings as almost all we have heard had been reported in Real Time. They have mostly organized things into a more coherent order instead of the firehose which was the Trump Admin and post-Failure.
The Amazing aspect to me is, "How could the tRUmp Campaign have had any false hopes about winning?"
It was obvious to me by mid-May 2017 that Trump would not be able to run another 'inside straight' as he had already made too many bad decisions to receive the "benefit of the doubt" Vote. That was followed by 3 years of more stampeding off in the wrong direction. His Approval rating always hovering around 34-39%.
Then, came 2020 and a little virus from somewhere - possibly, here. By dent of his overflowing Incompetence, Trump managed to turn the most defensible country in World into the Most Infected and Most Deadly Country in the World.
There could have been no rational hope for a 2020 Win after his 1st 6 months in Office.
Agreed, but somehow "rational" didn't enter into any of this.
Wide spread Lunacy!
I have a friend (whose name you would know if I dropped it) who was a member of a group of "senior people in politics and government" who "gamed out" the election in 2020. In late September he told me they had concluded from looking at things being said by Trump at his rallies all year that he was going to claim victory based on the "red mirage" and they feared he would then use it to declare martial law.
And in September 2020 I read Barton Gellman's on-line piece in The Atlantic titled The Election That Could Break America. It was slated for November issue but they knew they needed to get it out sooner. Problem I see is too much good reporting is behind paywalls.
I've read them all:
https://www.theatlantic.com/author/barton-gellman/
As someone who gets paid for writing, I have to defend the paywalls. We writers have been hit hard by the "Napster attitude" that we're all "sharing" and it's supposed to be "free." Do you work for free? I didn't think so.
Sorry...my comment was intended to point out that due to paywalls the information is not widely out there then. That was all. I want it to be out there. I try to share these important articles as best I can.
OK. I just hear this a lot. There is a "traditional" attitude out there that we writers should want to do it for love of doing it. I do that, but I also have a traditional love of eating regularly, living indoors and paying my bills. :-)
Good call. I'm an artist and one of the most important things to learn is to value your work and charge for it.
Also, incisive reporting that's behind paywalls gets picked up by other media and is widely available for free, though lacking as much detail. And quality of writing.
I don’t have a problem with paywalls, never did. I understand exactly, and respect, their reason for being. When you’re young and poor, maybe it’s frustrating. Oh well.
Gellman's piece was prescient.
My big takes from the hearing were not actually news.
1.
I was gratified to see Cassidy Hutchinson noted again particularly. If the DOJ ever puts a case together, much of her information will not be pivotal, as most of it was circumstantial, and others who were present will be forced to testify. But her testimony during this hearing remains the money shot of all testimony. It repeatedly pointed us in the right direction, for one thing. Not to be overlooked though was how it opened the floodgates for others to come forward. Her patriotism and amazing courage put others to shame. If America remains a free democracy, there should be a statue of her facing the 1/6 committee. I believe she is that historic a figure.
2.
HCR’s question of why the Army was following Pence’s orders has been nagging at the back of my mind as well for some time. I thought it must be a “fog of war” thing and dismissed it. But now I’m wondering what exactly went on to bring the Army to that point.
As for the actual hearing, most of it was just filling in the blanks of what we could have guessed. Trump’s (and Harley’s) poses of courage are simply the outward manifestations of deeply insecure, fearful, wounded and wounding figures.
Although the outtakes should be the last nail in the coffin of the plan for Trump could run in 2024. He’s toast. You can’t recover from the shellacking he took.
Huge kudos to the Committee. They have accomplished an historic mission in shredding Trump, using only Republicans.
I have a neighbor who won’t be convinced, because he won’t watch or read anything that denies his beliefs that Trump is the savior. He has said, “That wasn’t an insurrection.” I then read the definition of insurrection which includes the word ‘violence’. He then claimed that there was no violence that day and what about BLM.
Sounds just like my dt-addicted husband. We watched the entire day on Faux (because he wouldn’t believe it on any news outlet), so I know what dt was seeing. And the “what-about-ism” as though there’s some moral equivalency 🤬🤬🤬
I have much to be grateful for in life, but most of all, that my husband's morals and beliefs are 100% aligned with my own. I have noted your posts before and don't know how your marriage continues. On the rare occasions that we have had opposing viewpoints, my husband and I listen to each other and generally point out something the other had missed and come to agreement. I would like to think that you and your husband would do the same, but it seems as though he doesn't give you that option. It doesn't sound like you are being fully respected. HCR's letter is not an advice column we all read, so I won't offer any advice--just a reminder that there are like minded people here, and generally speaking, disagreements are respectfully discussed. You are supported.
Thank you so much, Miselle.
I was raised a republican and was a loyal republican wife for 39yrs, until dt came down that escalator and my husband was so excited, “Yeah, we need him, he’ll bring in the votes!” I couldn’t believe it. I still can’t believe that my dearly loved husband, who really is a Christian (I feel everyone’s eyebrows raise, but trust me, in everything but dt we are in agreement), could support this scum of the earth and his minions. On the other hand, he can’t believe I have abandoned what he sees as the only right way. In December, by the grace of God, we’ll celebrate 46yrs of marital joys and sorrows, because that’s our life. Our only child also supports dt, but I don’t believe he is as addicted as his father because he and I can still talk and disagree respectfully.
I come here for sanity and I thank you and everyone here for that. ❤️🩹
Similar to your situation: how does George Conway abide Kelley Ann Conway?
I have a dear friend/colleague who shocked the heck out of me when she told me she was voting for dt in 2016. For the past six years, we've stayed in touch, but have to stay clear of politics because this wise, talented director of my one woman show still supports him. I haven't had the "guts" to ask her what she thinks of the hearings because I don't want to know. I guess what I'm trying to say is that if this difference with a dear friend is so painful for me, I can't imagine what it would be like coming from a beloved husband. So I admire your ability to hold the whole picture of your 46 years, and not "throwing out the baby with the bathwater." Blessings,
Like Miselle, I am so blessed and grateful to have a partner completely on the same page as me.
Fortunately, you have the right to vote in private. Hang in there and vote for the women and men who will stand against Trump. Your vote can make a difference
Have done & will continue to do. Thankfully Florida still offers voter registration when you get your driver’s license.
Even more thankfully, this is a national requirement so Florida's governor cannot take that away. "The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA), popularly known as The Motor Voter Act, is a legislation that required state governments to allow registration when a qualifying voter applied for or renewed their drivers license or applied for social services. This legislation forced state governments to make the voter registration process easier by providing uniform registration services through drivers' license registration centers, disability centers, schools, libraries, and mail-in registration." https://definitions.uslegal.com/m/motor-voter-act-the-national-voter-registration-act-of-1993-nvra/
You have my sympathy, Suzanne. Talk about a challenging situation.
Thank you, Michael. Kind of like teaching 7th & 8th graders, which I have also done 😉
sounds like you need a second tv to hear what's going on in the world. in another room. if that riles the man, invite him to take a walk. lock the door.
That's actually a great idea. Close the door and tell him to ask permission to enter and watch without comment unless you ask for it.
🤭😄😆😂🤣
Wow. How do you do it, Suzanne.
These people just can't trust anything that goes again their ideology, even in the face of overwhelming evidence.
At their deepest core, they are terrified of women getting power.
That's part of it no doubt; also a substantial amount of racism. Again referring to Snyder, The Road to Unfreedom (which I have cited here several times recently), ch. 6, which has a discussion at (what I think is) a more fundamental level. Part of Snyder's argument can be summarized by saying that American society has been "groomed" for decades by Republican ideology and, more recently, before and during the 2016 election campaign, by Russian propaganda, delivered compliments of Facebook, Twitter, etc.
Divered compliments of faux entertainment
And a black woman, oh my.
Yes, and blacks and Muslims and Latinas and gays and . . . All the haters, all those who think whites are the superior ones, magnetically drawn to the Fox Noise and Republican club like flies to shit on a hot summer day.
And there are over 74 million just like him
My husband pointed out the same thing about Pence issuing orders to the military. He noted that for that brief moment in time Pence was acting President. The military thankfully didn't tell Pence they would have to wait for orders from the President as they knew full well that orders from Trump would not be forth coming. Dangerous time.
Maybe it was that Kizinger and Lauria are veterans but....I realized last night that Pence would not, could not, assume those duties unless Trump was INCAPACITATED. Perhaps by a bad tantrum?
Is the fact that Pence was apparently the acting president during that time part of the explanation as to why there are no phone logs, diary or SS texts??????? That kind of incident is exactly why the National Archives exist.
Correct!
Did “the military” want to avoid a martial law order from DT?
If he runs, I hope he's the nominee. It will ensure a Democratic victory.
Like the word that was difficult for him to pronounce in the Jan. 7 post-insurrection video, Trump is so "yesterday."
Great points well made. I like the Cassidy statue idea.
The Nation has the by far the best headline: "187 Minutes of Treason."
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/january-6th-hearing-trump/?custno=&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%207.22.22&utm_term=daily
In all this time, there have only been 2 black female senators. I’d give a statue to the first one elected to the Senate. The second one is not done yet in her career. Do you all remember who that was?
And Representatives in the House? Maxine Waters, Sheila Jackson Lee, Barbara Lee among other notable black women.
At this point in our history and going forward, I’d like to see future statues and/or awards commending black Women.
Who are going to lead in saving Democracy. Historic figures.
Unita! 🗽
Don't forget Val Demings, Christine. As you remember, she was on the first impeachment committee, and every time I heard her speak, I was very impressed with her. And Stacy Abrams, though not on Capitol Hill, has accomplished a helluva lot for us.
Was referring to Senate in first remark. I’m not one to forget Val. We have been working very hard in Florida on her campaign to oust Rubio. I love thinking of picking up Senate seat with Val Demings from Florida. Stacy Abrams for Governor of Georgia and then a vice presidential candidate.
Thank you for your work Christine!
My wife knows who the first black senator is. I’d probably have to look it up. Shirley Jackson?
Carol Moseley Braun
Ah yes.
Celebrity means you’re at the top. The only way to go is down. I’ve been saying for a long time that he is never going to run for president again, I don’t care what anybody says. His popularity and his trajectory is downward.
Dear Roland,
Your beliefs on this give me hope. 🤞🏻💙🤞🏻
The Army would be aware of the rally at the Ellipse, presided over by TFG, and the resulting attack on the Capitol. The Pres was not acting to stop it, so the VP was filling in.
As Pence should have — though constitutionally he lacked the legal authority. It's fair to say Trump was incapacitated, lost in his vicious fantasy of a violent coup. Pence may have not only saved his own life but democracy. I say that with some hesitation because outside of Jan. 6, he's hardly been a profile in courage.
I agree with everything you say.
Thanks for that. I was out of the country for the hearing where Ms. Hutchison testified, but I'm going to go find it at watch it right now.
This may not be complete, but a good, spine-tingling “chunk” for sure:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bTKdGIaZmQM
Thank you so much!
That would be a great statue, for sure.
Yes pathetic excuse for a human being PEHB—and I’m inclined to add so are his delusional followers, disciples, cultish lunatics and assorted crackpots. For those of us who sat glued to the television that horrific day— which started out happy because of the Georgia congressional victories—and knew we were seeing an event I can compare to 9/11, but in a kind of slow motion, we kept saying—wait where are the people who will stop this??? What the f—k is going on? PEHB was enjoying everything about his own extraordinary power to orchestrate this event. In November we’ll see how our fellow Americans have digested these facts.
While I like your term PEHB, With respect to D Chump I have long stopped using the word "human being" and substitute "Life Form" (LF).
Encyclopedia Brittanica includes in their definition of human beings as, "Human beings are anatomically similar and related to the great apes but are distinguished by a more highly developed brain and a resultant capacity for articulate speech and abstract reasoning." The one under discussion here has none of these traits.
Unfortunately those lunatics and crackpots are in every family. And they never seem to be the brightest bulbs on the circuit.
Allow me to add to your description of the "pathetic excuse for a human being": What we had for a president on January 6th was a three-year old gleefully watching superhero movies and throwing food against the wall (though I don't want to insult any three-year old). And the urgently needed adult (the 25th Amendment) was nowhere to be found.
My letter to Merrick Garland:
June 20, 2022
Dear Attorney General Garland,
I am writing you as a concerned American who fears that our Democracy, something I have always been grateful for and certain that it would be forever safely guaranteed in this country, is now in peril. Donald J. Trump, whose actions have given the green light to racism, misogyny, xenophobia, and violence, has proven in broad daylight that he doesn't give a hoot about it.
Had Robert Mueller indicted Trump and taken him off the streets as he deserved to be, our Democracy would not have come perilously close to extinction on January 6th, and you would not be in the unenviable position of having to decide on something as unprecedented as indicting a former president. Remember, though, that this would not have been a first if Richard Nixon had not resigned and President Ford had not pardoned him.
I write the following as a mental health therapist. Knowing full well that Biden had won in a free and fair election, Trump would have stopped at nothing, no matter how illegal he knew his action to be, going as far as allowing murder to have been committed, for only one reason. It is much more deeply psychological than holding on to power. His father imbued in him from childhood, that the worst thing anyone can be in this world is a loser. Ingrained in every fiber of his mind and psyche, accepting loss would be an existential threat to him--the same as dying. Therefore, he must propagate the lie to save his life. Being a loser is simply not an option. This is why Trump has manipulated his followers to have election officials in place who would overturn the election results if he runs again and loses. This cannot be allowed to happen. There are clear reasons why charges such as "seditious conspiracy" exist, and why the framers called for a peaceful transfer of power between factions in Articles 1 and 4 of our Constitution.
As a result of the January 6th Select Committee's herculean effort of scrupulously laying out the facts, thus far the majority of Americans polled believe that Trump should be indicted and convicted of his crimes. For the sake of our Democracy, I hope that you will uphold your promise--that no one is above the law and if found guilty, regardless of the individual's position and whether or not they were at the Capitol, they will be duly prosecuted. I trust that you will follow through and do your part.
Sincerely,
Sophia
An excellent letter. Thank you for sharing it.
We have seen so many around trump that day interviewed or commented on. What they were doing, when they were doing it. But what was Melania doing? Where was she? Her husband is refusing to stop a riot on the seat of power in the USA. What was SHE doing? Her nails?
I think she was looking for her jacket.
I really don't care, do u?
ok sorry I just had to type that ;-)
I saw something yesterday where she said she wasn't aware of what was going on. Notice that nobody hoped that she would show up....it was Ivanka and Jared.
The poor stepmother gets no respect. Maybe it’s because she’s a Golddigger and doesn’t deserve any.
I just think of her as a gold digger and not as a stepmother.
I believe she was conducting a photo shoot of some news rugs. As a First Lady should! <sarcasm>
She is quoted to say she was "taking inventory" of the "improvements" she and TFG made in the White House. Maybe like the golden toilet?
Or the toilet in which he threw papers during one of his childish tantrums?
Yes. And hair.
“What was SHE doing? Her nails?”
😆😆
TPFG was waiting for 1 thing. For the SS to tell him VP Pence had left the building, so Grassley could take control and hold a vote NOT to certify the ballots/electors.
So glad you mention this. Grassley was in on it, at least enough to be waiting in the wings for Pence not to be available. But what specifically did Grassley know? The J6 committee has its hands full, but I so want an investigation of the role of members of Congress in the attempted coup. Those guilty need, at the very least, to be removed from office.
As much as we've learned, there are still many gaps — this one, for example, and the specific planning that Trump, likely through cutouts like Roger Stone and others, did with the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. And who built and planted the two bombs?
September.
I think there will be some indictments coming from now to September from DOJ.
Agree. I think the biggest ones will follow in Q1 2023.
“I so want an investigation of the role of members of Congress in the attempted coup.“
Amen, Brother.
He was truly pathetic in the outtake....slamming the podium, etc.
That behavior has been described often by those who know him well. But seeing it was still shocking. He's one sick puppy.
My first thought after seeing that clip was — save that moment and use in campaign ad for him or his cult.
Some day we will see the Celebrity Apprentice footage with all its petulance and racist + sexist + anti-gay slurs. That’ll be interesting.
Puke.
The guy is a wreck. A mental case. That evidence has been so well shielded from us. But not forever.
You would be less surprised after reading Mary Trump's book about him.
I wish they had gone into why the National Guard, police, FBI and other forces were not sent until very late in the day and requested by Pence. They said it takes hours to get them in place? But they all knew of the credible threats? And no answers about the Pentagon's silence.
Lot of TFG crony’s at Pentagon.
AND General Milley didn’t want to be played like he had during the summer protest and church bible photo shoot.
So there are two things going on at DOD, during the riot/coup.
SS texts, calls, and radio should have alerted The capital police, DC police, The National Guard of Maryland in Virginia, homeland security, as well as the Pentagon as soon as they recognized the crowd in size and how the crowd was armed. these are all part of the national security apparatus and not having the Secret Service records is not helpful at best, it is nefarious, at worst it is seditious / treason.
Margaret Wyatt…That is my big question! And why so few Capitol Police? Who made that happen?
Well put. Trump is a hollow being and a wimp.
I’m especially glad that Hawley was shown to be an absolutely venal, craven opportunist. I hope the history books juxtapose the raised fist photo beside the still of him running for his life. That’s how he should be remembered.
While I am glad that Hawley’s true colors were revealed, I rejoice in the fact that Heather begins with the respect and friendships that this committee has engendered from members of opposing parties.
Thank you, Heather for highlighting the fact that we don’t have to live with constant hatred and anger, that appreciation, reverence, and esteem can exist between peoples of distinct political ideologies.
“The committee’s chair, Bennie Thompson (D-MS), is isolating with Covid, so Vice Chair Liz Cheney (R-WY) presided over the hearing. She began with a tribute to Representative Thompson. Scott Simon, the host of NPR’s Weekend Edition, noted that ‘the Democratic chair of the committee just gracefully, and with full confidence, turned over the running of tonight’s hearing to the vice-chair, who happens to be of another party, and they spoke with mutual trust and respect. That’s how it’s supposed to go.’”
And I reiterate: “That’s how it’s supposed to go!”
I cried with relief while reading the first section of the letter, Rowshan. With a torrent of tears pent up just waiting for some kind of example and an acknowledgment of “That’s how it’s supposed to go!” Since that day in January 2021.
I am so grateful to Rep Bennie Thompson’s leadership and to the Committee. For the connotation and feel passed on specifically to the American people that have been waiting for that exact thing. “That’s how it’s supposed to go!”
Thank you, Professor Richardson. That was a mic drop.
Unidad. 🗽🇺🇸
Yes...."that's how it's supposed to go." but for me, Cheney's remarks about the courage of women coming forward, and the important role women can continue to play was equally satisfying. White men should be worried about the wrath of women as we come together to bring this country back to sanity.
In nearly every mythological construct of the world, the ocean is a vast feminine entity -- Neptune and Poseidon notwithstanding. Water itself is symbolic of both invincibility and power. Water's function is to sanctify and purify the earth.
When the blue wave does come (and I am convinced it will be on the order of a tsunami), it's going to be feminine energy that will be unleashed. The force of that wave can, and probably will, wash away and cleanse the stagnant, malignant residue of selfishness and greed that has for far, far too long permeated our elective and appointed offices.
Tsunami indeed. Suburban women the Repubs are counting on are incensed about having their reproductive rights stripped away! In the privacy of the voting booth they're going to take control of their bodies again.
Having seen so many other mother's children gunned down, they're going to choose candidates who will pass sensible gun laws to protect their children.
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
Ooooo. I love your comment and will swim in it for awhile. Thank you, mlbrowne.
Unita. 🗽
Nicely put. I was just talking to my LMT yesterday who likes to fish, but most of all, be on the ocean. I also feel so connected because to me the ocean is primordial as it is also for him.
Amen. May it be so.
Minor point: Neptune and Poseidon are the same entity--the former is the Roman name, the latter, the Greek name (Thanks, Monica Feuermann and Ann Scattergood Fogg (my fifth and sixth grade teachers, both exemplars of feminine wisdom and energy)
David, I am well aware of the Greek vs Roman names -- my point was that even though the Greeks and the Romans thought the ocean was personified by a male, if you look at other world myths, most of them ageed to worship the ocean, water, and the sea as a feminine entity. In Java, she is Nyai Loro Kidul (Queen of the Indian Sea). In Egypt, she was Neith ("The Terrifying One"), Hawaiian myths have her as Namaka. Mayans had Ixik. The Aztecs had Chalchiuhtlicue (no, I cannot pronounce it). Australian aboriginals believed in Eingana, a creator goddess.
ml, I LOVE this. Thanks for updating my knowledge of mythology
¡Las mujeres unidas jamás serán vencidas! The women united shall never be defeated! Salud! 🗽
Si! Women with courageous men by their sides. https://youtu.be/Cuzl_QTBlWI
Salud, Cathy! Unidad! 🗽
Koch SISTERS anyone ? (From 2014):
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/koch-brothers-now-meet-koch-sisters/story?id=25983879
That struck me too. The females were very clear about their disgust and they didn't waffle about it knowing that they are now targets for the lunatic fringe. And the women from Georgia whose lives have been turned upside down by that same lunatic fringe. Yesterday I happened upon a story about citizens contacting the mayor of Gladstone, a city to the southeast of Portland and part of the metro area. Soon both of them received nasty posts from her sister who is absolutely the lunatic fringe and a pal of the Proud Boys. There was a lot of BS from the mayor about her sister, but in the end why did she let her sister know. One of the individuals is a male educator and of course, was accused of being a pediphile. Proud Boys business cards showed up on the lawn. This is what is going on all over and people will have to have lots of courage if they chose to speak out in any way. Brown shirts resurrected.
So much less stylish than the shirts of many colors that We the People, all of us this time….are wearing.
Unita, Michele. 🗽
Unita, Christine. They are thug style with wannabe military colors. I prefer the colors of the rainbow.
Michele, YES! “Brown shirts resurrected.” These are the Fascists out in the open. This country needs an education on what that looks like. And what it means. That includes everyone.
Well, only some white men, I venture to suggest.
I hope WOMEN are up for the task.
I don’t hope for one second, I KNOW!
Unita, Cecilia. 🗽
Cheney herself has done a wonderful job. I suspect I don't agree with her on any normal policy positions, but IMO she is an American hero and richly deserved her profile in courage award.
Her closing statement was stunning. Appealing to supporters by telling them djt used their patriotism and sense of justice as a weapon against their nation was spot on. I can’t help but wonder if she got through to any of them.
You describe perfectly my feelings during the hearing, Pam. That was the second time that tears came to my eyes. This time with fire and resolve.
Unita, Sister. 🗽
And we need to act quickly. Women have been demoted to second class citizens. Our dignity, health and safety are secondary to any fetus we might carry. Women who miscarry are being denied standard of care. Will a new version of fugitive slave act be reinstated to haul fleeing women back for forced births?
That similarity to the Fugitive Slave Law has already been discussed in Robert Hubbell's 7-15-22 piece: https://roberthubbell.substack.com/p/corrected-echoes-of-a-shameful-legacy
Thanks for the link Barbara. Hubbell articulates the problem well.
Rise up and take charge!
Right on, Pam!
The examples they have been setting are simply wonderful, Christine! I’m so delighted with the outcomes of their humanity! Unidad!
It was all I could do not to to continuously guffaw during the last few moving and powerful minutes last night as Twitter kept refreshing the Josh Hawley scamper!!!
Oh I love my clever sisters across this nation who will continue the emasculation of the selfish, pompous, suit n'ties who think they have answers to our health and freedom. Unitas!!
The Josh Hawley scamper will make a great campaign ad for his next opponent!
I, too, am grateful for the strength, leadership and oaths to our Constitution of Rep. Bennie Thompson, Rep. Liz Cheney and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (the latter two, both Republicans who stand for the rule of law before party) and every other member on the committee. I sent a thank you letter to Rep. Thompson and Cheney several weeks ago to express my gratitude and support. (I live just a few short miles from Wyoming's border. I wish I had the ability to vote in support of her continued service.)
Hawley’s example of manliness can be summed up easily “Hawl-Ass”. Perhaps his idea of manliness is part of the problem. Uvalde Police come to mind.
I've been seeing the Uvalde police as intensely human and evidence of why we should not put the human drive for survival as the failsafe between guns and children. Turning on the responders has been a right powerful way to turn the eye away from the fact that if the gun wasn't there, there wouldn't have been need for the police.
That is an interesting point. If I may...
I'm a retired deputy, and I spent my last 5 years working as the daytime contract deputy in a small town south of Eugene. I called myself "Ally of Mayberry" and that was really a pretty accurate description of what my job entailed. The band kids called me "Deputy Tuba" (I sat in with them for pep band and for a couple concerts).
After Sandy Hook in 2012, I met with the elementary school principal, and ended up having several meetings with staff. I helped them with designing a more secure way to control visitors to the building, and some other ways to "harden the target" of the school without turning it into a prison. I also told them what to expect from law enforcement (I had helped design our agency's "active shooter" protocols after Columbine) and after I detailed the protocol (get three officers on scene, and go in to neutralize the shooter) I told them reality: there was a 50% chance that it would take a minimum of 5 minutes to get that personnel on scene. I told them that our office (two contract deputies and a resident deputy for south Lane county) could get at least two of us there within 3 minutes, and that regardless of protocols, we'd go in then.
I was never put in that position. I know that I had done the work, both tactically and mentally, to be ready to go in, and that I would have. Tactical training is only part of it. Every cop has to do the mental work necessary to prepare themselves for that event. It ain't easy, and it is scary as hell.
The fact is, that in our country today, we love our guns more than we love our children. It is as simple, and awful, as that. In no world should children be decapitated by semi-automatic rifle fire with a high capacity magazine loaded with rounds designed to do the maximum damage to the human body.
Thank God that you were not put in that position, Ally, as we appreciate your thoughtful comments and insightful expertise here!
I also appreciate your comment about not "turning it into a prison"--because that is exactly what the GQP seems to want.
I am very thankful for the many things I was prepared to do that I never had to do.
I got into quite a quagmire on my Facebook page when I posted a political cartoon that had two panels; one with a teacher protecting a room full of kids, and another with a teacher, armed with a pistol, with all the kids standing behind her, and I asked my teacher friends how they felt. It disintegrated when all of my RWNJ friends chimed in.
Love and appreciate who you are and what you have done & do, Ally!
Thank you.
Love This! "The band kids called me "Deputy Tuba" (I sat in with them for pep band and for a couple concerts)."!! I worked closely with our community police officer when I was running our community school programs. The officer would even come to Friday night junior high dances! And he could dance! What a wonderful impact on the "tough" kids! Sadly, one time we had to use the dance to set up a sting on 2 teens, who, after witnessing their mother being shot to death by her druggee boyfriend in Florida, stole a car and drove - one 15 yrs old, one 13 - back to Michigan, stealing and dealing all the way home. I rarely gave up on a kid, but ... that's also why we have community police officers.
Oh, MaryPat! The best and the worst in one short paragraph. I hope someone saved those two kids.
😭
Agreed!!
Having 2 retired/1 current CPD members of my family, one thing does come to mind: I am always amazed that the group which supposedly staunchly supports police (but beat the sh!t out of them on 1/6) so vehemently demands the right to own semi-automatic weapons that in many cases result in the criminals/crazies having much more firepower than the POLICE!! Why is that allowed?
I admit that had it been one of my family policemen running in with a handgun to confront someone with an assault rifle......well, hard choices and thoughts there.
And 100% agreement with the last statement in your post! As my husband commented about the Indianapolis mall shooting where the shooter was killed by an armed "good guy"--had the crazy not had the assault weapon to begin with, those three killed would not have died. Yes--an armed "good guy" can stop a shooting, but not until shooting has already started.
What a world we live in.
I'm not one to delight in the misfortunes of others. But Hawley is an exception. The irony is, well, delicious: his raised fist to the mob (no doubt something he planned) and then prancing with fright to escape those whom he had incited.
He's just another privileged white pretty boy with a good education but devoid of character. And how exactly do you prance like that without a backbone?
Great comparison. UPD is a disgrace to the badge.
I am going to be using that one...thank you.
You are so right.
Yes that IS the way our representatives are supposed to do their jobs. And right now Cheney & Kinzinger(sp?) are stellar examples. BUT in the back of my mind is the knowledge that neither of them voted against their party on any of the attempts to pass good legislation - it was always with their party. I'm grateful for all they have done in this effort to bring DJit to hopefully the consequences he deserves or close to it, but their party matters above all. And the gun control, abortion, voting rights - Party first.
I'm sorry if this puts a pall on the good news, but removing Djit is likely creating a path for DeSantis & others. With the focus on DT - the Repubs are moving along on their next agenda.
You landed on the reason why I worry long term about how governable the country will be in the decades ahead. The differences, as in 1860, seem fundamental, and we are split pretty close to 50-50. You either believe in a woman’s right to control her reproductive fate or you don’t. You either believe in LGBTQ rights, including the right to marry anyone you choose, or you don’t. You either want to fight climate change or you don’t. I don’t hate people who disagree with me, but neither do I want to say that’s it’s okay to take away what I regard as fundamental human rights or to sit idly by while planet burns up. Sometimes I really don’t mind being old. The America I live in now is turning into the Mississippi of my youth.
It is scary - in more ways than one. I didnt list climate change in my examples - but thats the biggest one of all. All those years ago, when I first registered to vote - of course did so as a Republican - for no other reason than thats what my parents were & I knew no different. But over the years, I voted more & more with the Democrats & in 2016? Made the change. I could never stand Djit from the first time I heard anything about him and my opinion hasnt changed. I worry for my kids, grandkids & great grandkids.
Maggie/NYS I agree completely. Liz Cheney is very impressive on the J6 committee, but doing your job is a low bar to clear. It's only notable at this point because the vast majority of Republicans are not doing their jobs. She went on about brave women last night, but she is a conservative and in her world women should remain second class citizens. So I'm not on the "statue for LC" bandwagon just yet.
To borrow from Monty Python, "Brave Sir Robin did bravely run away."
“Run away!! Run away!!” Monty Python
Del Shannon time
My Little Runaway
Beach Boys: "Run, run, run 'til your Daddy takes the T-Bird away"
Jim, that was actually one of the "soundtrack" clips someone posted on Twitter. A friend sent me the link. Also the Benny Hill theme (a notorious misogynist who also loved to dress up in women's clothing).
Heres the link. https://mobile.twitter.com/the_mal_gallery/status/1550289866411634689
My fave, Linda, is the wimp running to the tune of the BeeGees singing “Stayin’ Alive”.
Unita! 🗽🎼
"Yacketty Sax"
The videos effectively ruined Hawley. He will never run for the Presidency now. It is historic that there are those type of moments that kill a politician's career. I am especially thrilled about this. It is a shot across the bow to other Republicans in a big way.
At last, a Democratic version of Dukakis in the tank...
Or the Dean scream
My thoughts exactly.
I hope you’re right. The world thought Nixon was politically dead after losing the gubernatorial race in ‘62. And who among us would have given Biden a chance after the Neil Kinnock debacle in ‘88 (though thank God he rose again)? In every era, there’s a Republican toady I can stomach less than all the others. In this era, it’s nip and tuck between Hawley and Graham.
Cruz is on my list
Best clip of the night! I can see the campaign ad when he runs for re-election
Absolutely! Sharon Mudgett
The countless mocking Twitter memes are so entertaining.
Running chickens. 😂😂
My neighbor in Vienna VA!!
Ask him what brand of running shoes he favors...
He could do commercials!
So sorry...I have Alito in my hood 🙁
I wonder if Hawley or Alito or any of these aspiring white pseudo-Christian authoritarians stop to think that maybe some of their very own close neighbors revile everything they do and stand for? Nah… they are all much too self-absorbed, self-centered, and self-righteous to give a second thought to that.
ew
He won’t be remembered at all.
And still the former president has strong support within the Republican Party?! When is that dam going to burst? Perhaps never?
The problem isn’t Trump. The problem is the huge block of our fellow citizens who still, STILL! say they would vote for him if he runs again.
Reasonable people can disagree. What do we do with unreasonable people? Millions of them!
Another bingo, the cult will not deprogram themselves. Fox will make sure of that. When will Rupert be called to account, and be ostracized as happened elsewhere. Times a wasting
Faux must be shut down to stop the programming of vulnerable minds.
I am dumbfounded by those who have seen or listened to this, and still maintain their devotion to the devil, but sickened by those who prefer just to ignore the entire situation?!
Exactly how I feel. Saddened, frustrated.
Yet we have President Biden who is a man of integrity, not self absorbed but truly devoted to the country in doing what he can for our country, citizens and World and he is constantly battered by the ratings, press etc. Wake up be and be grateful for the job he is doing to help us get back on track, all while Republicans undermine him🤨. Exhausting!
the tabloid journalism that creates that narrative is a close cousin to the evil we experienced with the last administration. Virtue doesn't sell in the media, but scandalous events, or a scandalous spin on everything else, tends to draw attention. the malaise runs through and through.
Including Ted Cruz (TX Senator) who has stated he will not watch hearings. Why not? And he labels himself as a constitutional lawyer.
🤣😂😅 🤣😂😅 🤣😂😅 🤣😂😅
What a load of B.S.! I can't stand that man.
I hadn't heard that..what a pig!
please don't insult pigs
And you believe him????
It gives them plausible deniability. They don't want to know, that way they don't have to explain their views.
grrrr
Even some witnesses say they would vote for him again “because of the good he has done”. What good? Tell me!
Even if they would not vote for him, they would still support his policies! They stuck around because they LIKE his policies. All those sitting on the sidelines are stuck. They may feel squeamish about his methods, but they liked the results of his policies, the direction of his policies. By the way it was 110F in Tucson yesterday. Much of America is sizzling. Europe is in flames. Great trump policies & judges strip our ability to tackle the most existential threat next to trump; the Climate. Women have LESS Rights today because of trump judges. Voters have LESS rights because of trump judges. Ukraine is in month Five of a War with Russia that could have been disincentivized if we had rushed the congressionally approved weapons they requested back in 2019. But trump wanted a quid pro quo. This is the American vision his supporters want. They will want it from who ever can deliver it, even if trump fades into ignominy.
Michele, thank you for your splendid use of ‘ignominy’, an underappreciated word. May its usage rise like the morning sun.
I don’t think most of them knew what they wanted beyond feeling good…that they mattered. It wasn’t about the country, imo. It was about the ego. The religious zealots always know that and will make common cause with the devil to get what they want, too, which has nothing to do with God and everything to do with the nation’s monied or baron class. It is thus in England and is the same here.
Needed to look it up, public shame or disgrace, yes a really fine word I didn't know!
If you believe in eliminating government business regulations, controlling women, giving free access to guns, states rights and suppression of voters, you think Trump has dine good. Unfortunately there are millions of Americans who think so!
These are the same people who couldn't pass a citizenship test. *eye roll*
❤
Three SC justices
That is what I’d like to know. He did make the rich richer!
He made himself richer just by golfing at his own resorts and we paid for it.
I was wondering the same thing.
Fox will always be around to twist things to their convenient point of view for the sole purpose of making money. Advertising doesn’t affect them any way at all so advertisers pulling their support doesn’t mean a thing. It’s the cable subscriber that supports them. So even if you don’t watch it you are supporting them. If they were off basic cable and became a subscription channel their income would drop precipitously. Maybe not enough to change things but certainly enough to get their attention
My husband and I cancelled our cable about six years ago. Too much money for being forced to accept a monopolistic, no-choices “bundle” of channels that included many we actively avoided, like the expensive sports channels, the shopping channels, the self-aggrandizing evangelizing TV preachers, and of course, the bullshit river of Fox “News”. We don’t miss what cable offers.
That is the way of the future. The more people do that the less fox gets (and all the other ones). Someone will invent a box making it easier to switch between streaming channels. (Maybe they have…)
I tried to "like" your comment, but Substack seems to have problems changing that attribute of the comment sometimes.
I am in the process of switching off cable. This old dog is trying to learn new tricks. Painfully slow. Where is the granddaughter when you need her.
❤
I have a friend who called their cable company and got FOX removed from his line-up. He got a $15 credit on his bill.
I did not know that was possible! We all need to do this! En masse!
Can you ask (if it’s not too much) who their cable co was?
Wow. I will try that!