Friday Talking Points -- A Day Of Infamy
[Program Note: -- Due to the seriousness of events this week, we are pre-empting our usual Friday Talking Points format to instead bring you a free-form rant. Because if ever there were a week where a rant was needed, it was indeed this one.]
The sixth of January, 2021, has already gone down in American history as a day of infamy. This is, of course, the same phrase Franklin Roosevelt used to describe the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and it certainly seems appropriate right now.
For the first time since August of 1814, the United States Capitol was attacked. Back then, it was British troops who were at war with America doing the attacking (and burning the building down on their way out). This week, it was a violent anarchist mob encouraged, aided, abetted, and incited by the sitting president of the United States. Five people have died as a direct result of this attack on democracy, one of them a police officer.
This is more than just another protest, folks. In all of the District of Columbia's history -- including during the Civil War -- the Capitol has never been beseiged and invaded in such a fashion by Americans. There have been large groups of protesters on the Mall before -- up to a million of them at a time, for some causes -- but they've never violently occupied the legislative seat of out government before, no matter what they were protesting and no matter how angry they were. But this time -- even though the agitators were openly publishing their calls to arms and their intent to disrupt Congress in the Capitol -- neither the F.B.I. nor the Department of Homeland Security even bothered to do a threat assessment beforehand.
Up until this week, the Capitol Hill police were generally regarded as the nation's experts in crowd control and protest security. They should be; they probably provide security for 300 protests or more each and every year. Some would say they were even too heavy-handed in their policing methods, but none of that was on display this Wednesday. There simply was no overwhelming force deployed, the officers who were there were overwhelmed within about a half an hour, and there was no counteroffensive for three whole hours, during which time the cops pretty much just melted away. PBS reporter Lisa Desjardins (who pretty much deserves a Pulitzer for her reporting from inside the Capitol all day) witnessed a mob breaking into the front doors of the Capitol, and she gave an eyewitness account that there was not a single cop to be seen anywhere while this happened.
Where the cops were seen, sometimes they appeared to be genuinely helpful to the rioters. Barricades were opened up for them, and at least one cop posed for a selfie with a rioter. Another was seen gingerly leading a woman down some stairs and supportively holding her hand.
As many very quickly pointed out, the difference in response from federal officers and agents was markedly different than how Black Lives Matter protests were handled, all throughout last summer. One particularly poignant photo of an overwhelming line of riot-gear-clad officers guarding the Lincoln Memorial during a B.L.M. protest starkly showed how differently demonstrations are handled when the participants are Black and White. Donald Trump's photo opportunity with a borrowed Bible in front of a church that didn't invite him (and whose minister later denounced him) was brought up as well, since peaceful protesters were cleared with maximum federal force in order to allow Trump's propaganda photo to be taken.
To put it all another way, if these had been Black people attempting to storm the Capitol, there would be dozens of bodies on the ground and rivers of blood running down the steps before a single one of them got inside the building. Live ammunition would have been deployed at will. The clouds of tear gas would have been so thick it would have been impossible for the news organizations to even see the building. There would have been thousands of arrests, not fewer than 20. And they would simply not have been allowed to leave the building and just stroll back to their hotel -- they'd be on dozens of buses heading to jail, instead. This is White privilege, folks, right in front of everyone's eyes.
Within approximately 24 hours, the sergeants-at-arms of both the House and Senate had resigned, as well as the chief of the Capitol Hill police. That's a good start, but nowhere near sufficient.
Five people died in the United States Capitol, one of them a police officer who was savagely beaten with a fire extinguisher. He is now a martyr to democracy. Four people died in Benghazi, Libya, and Congress spent approximately the next two years launching investigation after investigation into the circumstances. Investigations into the police planning and response to Wednesday should begin immediately after Joe Biden is sworn into office and Chuck Schumer takes control of the Senate. Hard questions need to be asked, including why the Pentagon was refusing both the mayor and the governor of Maryland's request to send in some National Guard troops to retake the Capitol. Both requests were reportedly turned down. The D.C. National Guard is not under control of the mayor, it is under control of the president.
There is no better argument for why D.C. deserves statehood than that. In fact, it should be one of the first orders of business for the new Congress to tackle.
But let's not lose focus on why the phrase "a day of infamy" is so justified. Donald Trump committed an act of sedition against the United States government and our Constitution. The same Constitution he swore an oath to uphold and defend "against all enemies, foreign and domestic." He fomented an insurrection against Congress doing its constitutional duty by ending the process of a presidential election. His goal was to halt the process so Joe Biden wouldn't be officially declared the winner of an election he plainly and clearly won. Trump did all of this by flat-out lying to the public, ever since Election Day. And then he raised a mob and told them exactly what to do -- which they then did. They attacked the Capitol and Congress. Some might quibble over what exactly to call this (was it a coup attempt or treason?), but no matter what term you favor, everyone can agree that this was monstrously un-American.
Vice President Mike Pence is reportedly refusing to do his clear constitutional duty in supporting the movement to use the 25th Amendment to remove Donald Trump from office for being unfit for service. This leaves impeachment as the only route to get rid of him before Joe Biden is sworn in on the 20th. "But doesn't impeachment take weeks and weeks, and is therefore pointless since he'll be gone anyway?" The answer to that is: "Who cares?"
It is the sworn duty of the House of Representatives to impeach Donald Trump as soon as is possible (Monday morning, one would hope). There is no reason to hold any committee hearings at all. A first-year law student could present the case, because it is so damning and so self-explanatory. I have no legal training, and yet I bet I could do a decent job of presenting the case:
Exhibit A -- the audio of Trump's call to the Georgia secretary of state, where Trump tells him "I need 11,780 votes."
Exhibit B -- Trump's tweets and utterances encouraging everyone to come to D.C. on the sixth, including his promise that "It's going to be wild."
Exhibit C -- The entire video history of the rally held on the Ellipse on the morning of the sixth. This would include video of Rudy Giuliani calling for "trial by combat," Donald Trump Junior's promise: "we will never, ever, ever stop fighting," Lara Trump's statement that: "The fight has only just begun. Our family didn't get in this fight for just four years. We're in this fight to the bitter end."
This would also include Trump's speech, where he said things like:
"They rigged an election, they rigged it like they've never rigged an election before.... We won it by a landslide. This was not a close election."
"We will never concede."
"We got to get rid of the weak congresspeople."
"Walk down Pennsylvania Avenue" and "take back our country."
"Walk down to the Capitol."
"Fight much harder."
"You'll never take back our country with weakness."
Exhibit D -- A sampling of news media video and social media video (posted by participants in the riot) which show the U.S. Capitol being beseiged and overtaken by a violent riot.
Exhibit E -- the medical records of the police officer who died.
Exhibit F -- Trump's first video message (which was eventually taken down from Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram) to the rioters and anarchists, which includes the lines: "remember this day forever," and: "We love you. You're very special."
Exhibit G -- Pentagon memos and affidavits showing both the D.C. mayor and the governor of Maryland asked to send in the National Guard -- a decision only Donald Trump could approve -- and were repeatedly refused any help, while the Capitol had already been invaded and occupied.
I rest my case.
Donald Trump incited and abetted this riot, before, during, and after the fact. Ivanka Trump tweeted her approval of the "American patriots" -- while the rioters were inside the Capitol. This is both disgusting and very, very dangerous. Which is why Donald Trump needs to be impeached for a second time.
So what if he'd already be out of office by the time it finished? Impeachment has one other important function as well as removal from office, because Congress has the power to bar someone from ever holding federal office again. This would kill any hopes Trump has of running again in 2024 -- which would actually be a giant relief to most Republicans in Congress, truth be told. So it is not impossible that such an impeachment would succeed. The Senate is not scheduled to return to its session until the 19th of the month, one day before Biden will be sworn in. Which means that any Senate trial would take place under the control of Chuck Schumer, not Mitch McConnell.
The best insider account of how Donald Trump spent his day this Wednesday comes from the Washington Post. The whole article is just breathtaking. Here are a few key excerpts:
One administration official described Trump's behavior as that of "a total monster." Another said the situation was "insane" and "beyond the pale."
"He is alone. He is mad King George," said a Republican in frequent touch with the White House. "Trump believes that he has these people so intimidated they wouldn't dare mess with him. I think Trump doesn't understand how precarious his situation is right now."
. . .
As for Trump, one of the people said, "he was completely, totally out of it." This person added, "He made no attempt to reach out to them."
Instead of exercising his commander-in-chief duties to help protect the Capitol from an attempted insurrection, Trump watched the attack play out on television. Though not necessarily enjoying himself, he was "bemused" by the spectacle because he thought his supporters were literally fighting for him, according to a close adviser. But, this person said, he was turned off by what he considered the "low-class" spectacle of people in ragtag costumes rummaging through the Capitol.
. . .
"He kept saying: 'The vast majority of them are peaceful. What about the riots this summer? What about the other side? No one cared when they were rioting. My people are peaceful. My people aren't thugs,' " an administration official said. "He didn't want to condemn his people."
"He was a total monster today," this official added, describing the president's handling of Wednesday's coup attempt as less defensible than his equivocal response to the deadly white-supremacist rally in 2017 in Charlottesville.
. . .
White House aides tried to get Trump to call in to Fox News Channel, but he refused. He at first did not want to say anything but was persuaded to send tweets. Then they scripted a video message for him to record, which he agreed to distribute on Twitter. But the president ad-libbed by including references to false voter fraud claims that they had asked him not to include, the administration official said.
. . .
A former senior administration official briefed on the president's private conversations said: "The thing he was most upset about and couldn't get over all day was the Pence betrayal.... All day, it was a theme of, 'I made this guy, I saved him from a political death, and here he stabbed me in the back?' "
So the president of the United States was "bemused" by what he saw on television. But he was annoyed that they were "low-class," and not dressed properly. You just can't make this stuff up, folks.
Every living ex-president denounced Trump's actions. Three out of four of these (Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama) are Democrats. But even Republican George W. Bush was pretty forceful in condemning what had just happened:
Laura and I are watching the scenes of mayhem unfolding at the seat of our Nation's government in disbelief and dismay. It is a sickening and heartbreaking sight. This is how election results are disputed in a banana republic -- not our democratic republic. I am appalled by the reckless behavior of some political leaders since the election and by the lack of respect shown today for our institutions, our traditions, and our law enforcement. The violent assault on the Capitol -- and disruption of a Constitutionally-mandated meeting of Congress -- was undertaken by people whose passions have been inflamed by falsehoods and false hopes. Insurrection could do grave damage to our Nation and reputation. In the United States of America, it is the fundamental responsibility of every patriotic citizen to support the rule of law. To those who are disappointed in the results of the election: Our country is more important than the politics of the moment. Let the officials elected by the people fulfill their duties and represent our voices in peace and safety. May God continue to bless the United States of America.
He wasn't the only Republican denouncing Trump. In fact, several people who worked directly for Trump did so as well. Mitt Romney did so during the debates (which finally were allowed to take place, after the building had been cleared of insurrectionists), and he minced no words:
We gather today due to a selfish man's injured pride and the outrage of his supporters who he has deliberately misinformed for the past two months and stirred to action this very morning. What happened here today was an insurrection, incited by the president of the United States.
. . .
No congressional audit is ever going to convince these voters, particularly when the president will continue to say the election was stolen. The best way we can show respect for the voters who are upset is by telling them the truth!
He got a big round of applause for that line. Romney also put out a statement:
Today, the United States Capitol -- the world's greatest symbol of self-government -- was ransacked while the leader of the free world cowered behind his keyboard -- tweeting against his Vice President for fulfilling the duties of his oath to the Constitution.
Lies have consequences. This violence was the inevitable and ugly outcome of the President's addiction to constantly stoking division.
Even Lindsey Graham denounced the efforts to overturn the election from the Senate floor (although many pointed out that Lindsey looked and sounded like he had had quite a few drinks before his speech), concluding with: "Count me out. Enough is enough."
Here is Jim Mattis, Trump's first secretary of Defense:
Today's tyranny, an effort to subjugate America's democracy by mob rule, was fomented and directed by Mr. Trump. His effort to destroy trust in our election and to poison our respect for fellow citizens has been enabled by pseudo political leaders whose names will live in infamy as profiles in cowardice.
William Barr, who was Trump's lickspittle attorney general before he left (right before Christmas), also had some strong language to denounce what happened. He called Trump's actions "a betrayal of his office and supporters," and stated further: "orchestrating a mob to pressure Congress is inexcusable."
Mick Mulvaney, who used to be Trump's chief of staff, resigned his special envoy post, saying: "We didn't sign up for what you saw last night. We signed up for making America great again. We signed up for lower taxes and less regulation. The president has a long list of successes that we can be proud of. But all of that went away yesterday."
John Kelly, also a former Trump chief of staff, was even more blunt, saying the violence "was a direct result of [Donald Trump] poisoning the minds of people with the lies and the fraud."
Retired four-star general Barry McCaffrey was even clearer: "This is an overt coup attempt against the Constitution and to take over the government of the United States. This wasn't a momentary, impulsive crowd. This was deliberately structured by Trump, almost all out in the open."
The Wall Street Journal ran an editorial calling on Trump to resign.
In other words, the dam has finally broken. Trump went too far, even for those who have been riding on his coattails for four years now. Even Republicans are now denouncing him.
Of course, those of us on the other side of the political aisle have been warning that something like this could happen for four long years now. What happened Wednesday was shocking, but it should have come as a surprise to precisely no one.
Donald Trump has been a blight on American democracy from his initial entry into the presidential race. He has destroyed so many norms of behavior it is impossible to count them all. He will exit office having told in the neighborhood of 30,000 lies to the American public while he was president. He got more and more dangerous as the election approached, right out in the open for all to see. Once the election did happen, he retreated into a fantasyland where he had clearly won (because everyone around him had assured him that it simply was not possible for him to lose). And he started amplifying his delusions and spiraling down further into madness.
Wednesday was just the final result, but it didn't happen in a vacuum. Ever since the election, Trump has been aided and abetted by every single Republican who had not congratulated Joe Biden on his victory (and there were precious few of those). They enabled Trump's delusion. They fed it. They defended in on television, in the hopes that Trump would see and maybe praise them on Twitter.
In the end, Trump proved himself to be exactly what we've been saying he is all along: a bully, a thug, and a man-baby who operates by tantrum alone. That is who has been leading our country for the past four years. So please, spare me the surprise, Republicans. If you had eyes to see, you could have figured it out long ago, so don't even try to say how shocked you are now when you've been enabling his worst impulses all along.
All along, Republicans have excused Trump's infantile and vicious behavior. They've pooh-poohed it as just "Trump being Trump," as if the words of the president just somehow did not matter to them. "Oh, he's only kidding," or "he's just being sarcastic," and a few dozen other similar bromides were the stock in trade of Trump's minions and apologists. They could always rationalize and justify what Trump had said, somehow. And, sadly, for the most part the news media just took everything at face value and refused to say things like: "The president lied to the public today about a very dangerous issue." It wasn't until the Capitol was under assault that these reporters finally snapped out of their own delusion and started reporting what was before their very eyes in plain language.
We now have a delusional president who cannot face reality and has retreated into a fantasyland inside his own head. And he still has the nuclear codes. Mike Pence is the ultimate coward in all of this, because a clearer case for invoking the 25th Amendment is indeed hard to imagine.
In the most literal way possible, Trump lied and people died. That alone is sufficient reason to expel him from office.
[BREAKING NEWS: Twitter has just "permanently suspended" Donald Trump's Twitter account. If they can do it, so can Congress....]
In fact, that seems like a great place to end this. A truly fitting end, in fact.
-- Chris Weigant
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
Cross-posted at: Democratic Underground
Gawd, I hate to say "I told y'all so" but I've been afraid of something like this happening since the runup to the election. And again, I caution everyone that we're still not out of the woods yet.
There is still too much craziness and too many Repug enablers. Does anyone really think all of this is going to just disappear come January 6th? Trumpism, like the Covid, is going to be with us for the foreseeable future.
Yeah, Brother, tis truly a fitting way to wrap up this week's TrumpTV episode.
it's one thing to have seen this coming as the logical conclusion of the past four years. it's another thing entirely to watch it happen in real time. somehow, no matter how clearly we anticipated it, it's quite hard to be emotionally prepared for the event when it happens.
Capitol Hill Police had made it clear to federal agencies that they did not want a repeat of the BLM protests where nameless agency troops were running around policing and arresting protesters. They believed that they could handle the crowds.
Did they underestimate the numbers that would show up? Probably.
Did they know or even consider that the President of the United States would speak at a rally on the 6th claiming that he would be leading the charge on Congress? Hell to the NO!
Why did police just let the crowd walk through the barricades? If I had to guess, it would be because they had been told that there was no backup coming to help them and the officers in the field chose to deescalate. The only other choice would be to start firing on the crowd. That would be the next step up on “use of force” ladder. This is what they were yelled at for not doing during the BLM protests. Now, they are being yelled at for doing what the general public had told them was the appropriate way to handle angry crowds.
Capitol police also had many of their officers not working due to the pandemic and they were greatly understaffed it appears.
I would encourage anyone screaming how this proved how differently police treat the races to step back and recognize that this proved that the police do try to follow the will of the general public. Race is not a factor in how police policy instructs them to act — they do not have one set of rules for whites and a different set of rules for non-whites. People wanted police to give in to crowds of people breaking the law and not use physical force to compel compliance with lawful commands. So you believe the police mishandled the BLM crowds with their actions, but you are mad that they did not do it again with the Trump criminals. Do you not realize that it is YOU that are calling on the police to base their response on the race of those that are breaking the law?
Regardless of everything I have stated above, those in charge ignored the writing on the walls and were caught flat footed. They must be held accountable.
[Due to the seriousness of events this week, we are pre-empting our usual Friday Talking Points format to instead bring you a free-form rant. Because if ever there were a week where a rant was needed, it was indeed this one.]
In view of the seriousness of events this week, and while the usual FTP format is being pre-empted, understandably, in favour of a free-form rant, I hope everyone will still come to the CW Sunday Night Music Festival and Dance Party, open-theme version. Because if ever there were a Sunday night where we needed to find some solace in music, it will be this one.
Peace and love.
Rumor here in SF has it that Nancy has the vote to do it on Monday. Does any one think that Moscow Mitch has had enough of Trump and will allow the thing to go through the Senate? Although I would hate to see the smirk on Trumps face as he is frog marched out of the White House on Biden's inauguration day. All the TV crews would be pulled away to cover the historic event of the first president ever to be evicted from office at the point of a bayonet! Even I would pay a lot of money to see that!
Russ,
I believe there will be many after-action reports of how five people died as the US Capitol was breached and descecrated on national television and on the world stage as people everywhere looked on in horror.
The US Capitol, for God's sake!!!
Law enforcement handled this day like any other day at the Mall. They didn't handle it like any other protest day at the Mall, completely regardless of who the protesters were and despite weeks of warning of who the protesters would be.
If this horror had developed spontaneously, even after an inciteful warm-up at the instigating of the White House, then your analysis of police simply being overwhelmed and afraid to climb the ladder to deadly force without regard to race or political persuasion would make more sense.
Anyone watching the events of January 6 at the US Capitol and remembering the multi-racial and multi-generational mix of protesters in DC during the summer cannot help but to ask the questions that are being asked. Hopefully, answers will be provided. Because the deadly riots we witnessed this week at the US Capitol demand answers about how law enforcement mishandled this situation even with all of the advance public information and intelligence they must surely have had.
Yup.
SF Bear,
It seems that Trump will leave Washington with a whimper, before Inauguration Day. And, that is as it should be.
As dangerous a president as I believe Trump has been from the beginning, I have learned that trying to impeach and convict him is a losing bet.
But, if people insist on pursuing this avenue, then I would at least hope that a second article of impeachment would be added if only to memorialize his wholly incompetent handling of the pandemic. Which I believe to form solid grounds for having him relieved of his duties as president.
E.M. I do not know why you say impeachment i a "losing bet". I believe it is imperative that he be held accountable for his actions just as every other human on the planet. We hold everyone to account from a paring scofflaw to a war criminal why should Trump get a pass? What does that say about us as a people how will that deter future wanna be dictators (who will probably be smarter than Trump)from engaging is similar behaviors? Giving him a pass will set a terrible precedent for the future. We owe it to our posterity to impeach him.
If Mitch and the GOP want to continue to bow to Trump that is on them but the rest of us need to do the right thing.
That should be parking scofflaw
[6] McConnell has already decided to schedule the beginning of the senate trial for the 19th.
SF Bear,
E.M. I do not know why you say impeachment i a "losing bet".
I didn't say that.
JFC,
Does that mean that you think he will actually be convicted? And, would that preclude him from ever seeking public office again?
Twitter says he was banned because of his two tweets after he was allowed to tweet again. The first glorified his cult and told them more lies. The last one said that he would not be at the inauguration (wink wink, nudge nudge).
Indeed. What does Trump think will happen at the inauguration?
[14] Who knows if he'd be convicted? It would only preclude that if he's convicted. Most of the elected senators probably hate his guts. It would be in their party's best interest if he was banned.
[16] The appropriate question is: what does he want to incite at the inauguration? He is apparently heading for the Mexican border on the 19th and not planning to return to Washington.
The senate trial could be scheduled a little earlier if Murkowski followed through on her threat to leave the GOP and threw the majority leader position to Schumer. Anyone wanna bet on that outcome?
The orange one's best bet for avoiding prison is to resign in exchange for a promised pardon from Pence, but he's apparently counting on pardoning himself.
Joe Manchin (barf) is already a problem.
Fat Donny has managed to get a couple more Twitter accounts that he had access to banned. He's not going to be satisfied with talking to the nazis on Parler.
Rachel Maddow pointed out that two-thirds of the senators in the room is what's needed for a conviction. GOP senators could just not show up for the vote if they wanted to let it happen w/o voting to convict. Anyone wanna bet on that outcome?
Liz,
If this horror had developed spontaneously, even after an inciteful warm-up at the instigating of the White House, then your analysis of police simply being overwhelmed and afraid to climb the ladder to deadly force without regard to race or political persuasion would make more sense.
I do not disagree with you on the fact that those in charge of the police failed to be properly prepared for what was coming. The officers in the field had no say in that matter — they did the best that they could with the numbers that they had to work with. The use of federal police forces from other agencies to patrol the crowds rioting was universally attacked as being “excessive” during the BLM marches even though their numbers were necessary to keep the rioters/protesters back.
I literally had someone argue that the police used excessive force against black protesters and failed to deescalate when the crowd pushed forward just months ago...and they were upset that the police did not use “excessive force” (not actually excessive, but citizens cannot handle being yelled at without bruising these days) with this crowd and actually did choose to deescalate this time!!! WTF!
People screamed when the police brought out the heavy crowd control equipment — claiming that militarization of the police is a horrible thing! Now when the police chose not to use the equipment meant to deter the violence that we witnessed in the Capitol because of the public’s demands, maybe we should have realized that when we restrict the police from doing what is necessary to protect us because it makes us “uncomfortable” to view; we cannot be surprised when they cannot protect us properly!
When you scream to strip the budgets of police departments that simply follow the proper procedures to handle crowds because your uneducated opinion is that they are going too far, do not bitch when you actually get your way!
Well, the police didn't 'choose' to deescalate this time.
And, I hope that last bit wasn't addressed to me.
I know it wasn't. :)
I just don't think we should get distracted from what really happened this week.
And, I hope and pray we don't see a repeat or worse on Jan 17th all across your country and on Inauguration Day.
@russ,
i'm usually right there with you defending law enforcement. and maybe you're right that the officers in the field felt de-escalation was a better move, given their own numbers and the numbers they faced. but an appeal to hypocrisy on the part of BLM supporters ignores the whole point of their complaint. you're turning reality on its head just like michale does - perhaps in more measured rhetoric, but essentially the same argument. observing racial disparity makes the observer racist? the individual cops in the field don't have to be bigots for the system to be inequitable.
JL
Liz,
No, I was not addressing you towards the bottom of my rant...sorry, I should have made that clear. And I am not forgetting the events of what happened in DC. I question what would have happened had the police put up a greater fight... would those Molotov cocktails been used? There were too many armed people in that crowd to believe the crowd would not have used them. Why were so many people walking around with zip flexcuffs? Who were they planning on restraining? The officer who was killed died from his injuries after being struck in the head by a fire extinguisher. Trump should face negligent homicide charges at least!
JL,
Am I really? I was describing a conversation that I had had where I was told that the person was upset that the police did not abuse the crowds with excessive force! When I pointed out that a rioter had been shot and killed, they replied “Good!” If you believe that is me turning their complaint on its head, then I will have to agree to disagree with you. I do not support excessive force ever being tolerated regardless of the victim’s race. Someone upset that the police did not use excessive force based on the race of those they were engaging seems to fit the “racist” definition to me.
JL,
I want to be clear that I am not saying that institutional racism is not a real problem in our justice system. It is.
Do I think that more people would have been shot by the police had the rioters been black? Most definitely. But notice I am not saying the white woman being shot was not justified. It was justified. I do find it strange that the media is not so upset that the police killed another rioter. Race is not the factor that determines my support or disapproval of the police’s actions.
The Capitol Hill police did not use deadly force when they were legally authorized to do so in many, many of the videos that I have seen.
I couldn't agree more, CW... Well written and on point-ish.
I think Trump himself deserves the coward of the day award, Pence still struggled to fulfill his constitutional task, despite having hooligans wondering the hallways a few hours earlier demanding his execution.
no no no...
Forget Pence, Trump is, was, and will be the reason this went down. whether Trump was the brains of this brainless operation, time will tell. I doubt it though, Trump is like a child with a book of spells he can't read but can employ, eventually, he opens a nasty one and it wreaks havoc.
LL&P
Biden's speech yesterday was a tour-de-force. He bashed Trump without mercy, pulling no punches.
A drubbing so complete, I was agog.
The Trumpian era is going to be analyzed to pieces in the post-Trumpian era, as I'm glad it will. This shit can't be allowed again, and those involved need outing and shouting down for their part.
The GOP needs to have their part in this sorry tale exposed to the hilt. They are down now, keep them down, hit again and again until they cry, uncle.
You know damn well they wouldn't hesitate to do the same were the roles reversed.
LL&P
Chris, I am very disappointed that you've allowed Trump to once again hijack the agenda. The first FTP of the New Year should have been a celebration of the astonishing victories in Georgia, of Biden's selections for the coming administration, and other foreward-thinking messages.
Whether Trump is impeached on 19 January or not, America and the Democrats in power face many challenges - and with the elections of Warnock and Ossoff, many opportunities.
Behold the lies and conspiracy theories from another obsessive-compulsive guy with an "only I can fix it" sales pitch as our orange nightmare fueled by lies and conspiracy theories careens toward its disastrous conclusion.
Russ,
Yeah, I know you weren't addressing me at the bottom of your rant - no need for apologies. :)
I question what would have happened had the police put up a greater fight... would those Molotov cocktails been used?
I just question why law enforcement didn't prepare for this event - and by that I mean the White House Rally - they way they have prepared for other protest events like the BLM protest in DC during the summer.
Did they think that Trump supporters weren't going to be a problem? I guess we'll find out eventually what entered their thinking around this.
Trump should face negligent homicide charges at least!
Agreed! I think this would be better than trying to impeach him again without assurances that he will be convicted in the senate.
italyrusty,
Chris, I am very disappointed that you've allowed Trump to once again hijack the agenda.
Seriously?
File this story under: Duh!
It was the single worst personal decision of my life
I have a question: Given the growing (albeit belated) consensus that Trump is a dangerous lunatic who can, and happily would, do lasting damage to the republic to serve his own ego, and given all the measures that are being discussed to prevent further damage, what about the SC justices he appointed (for life) and all those federal judges (also for life)? Maybe there should be a rethink of those?
On what basis?
Honestly, I don't have a solid basis. I'm just infuriated that despite everyone agreeing that he's a wrong 'un his enduring works will live on
Alin[42],
I see.
Well, it seems there are a lot of vestiges of the Trump admnistration that will have to be tolerated.
I would take some solace, though, in the fact that the SC justices and some of the federal judges he has appointed have recently acted in ways that uphold the independence of the judiciary. Which can't have gone unnoticed by Trump. :)
Fair :-)
Don,
I'm not a fan of term limits.
And, most decisions by SCOTUS that people don't like can be rectifed by Congress, no?
Just had a thought - will there be a Trump presidential Library?
[48] If somebody pays for it, which seems likely.
It does seem like an oxymoron - a library for the illiterati.
[48] Elizabeth Miller wrote:
"Just had a thought - will there be a Trump presidential Library?"
I bet Moscow and Saudi Arabia are available locations. Maybe right even next to a Trump Arabian golf course and resort.
John M
If nothing else, the Saudi Arabian golf course will have 'world-class' sand traps!
ListenWhenYouHear
Granted all that you say, but still:
Ask any African American about the difference in police response, see what answer you get....
If it had been a Black Lives Matter rally instead of a Trump rally...
If it had been Obama exhorting the crowd instead of Trump....
What you saw was white privilege on fill display. Karen entitlement on maximum steroids.
These white people walked around the Capitol like they did, without masks, faces on camera, taking selfies with police, because they KNEW that being white, they had nothing to fear from the police. In their minds, they owned the place, and the police were not just their friends but their allies. They didn't just believe that they would not be shot, but that they would not even be arrested. Anything otherwise was not even remotely conceivable to them.
Contrast that with every black person who says they fear for their life the moment a police office pulls them over for a broken tail light.
Then tell me again how there is not a difference in response based on race, even if it is an unconscious one.
It is NOT a contradiction in terms to either point that out, or to ask the the response be toned down on the one hand and escalated up on the other.
The GOAL is EVENEHANDEDNESS, that the response be the SAME and EQUAL, not disproportionate.
When BLM protested at the Lincoln Memorial, the police showed up for war to protect a stone statue from a peaceful protest.
When MAGA supporters ransack the Capitol as a riot mob, the police are nowhere to be seen, even though everyone knew what was being planned DAYS in advance.
One was black and peaceful, the other was a white riot.
Please, give me another explanation for the police difference other than race.... PLEASE
John M,
I believe that LWYH is Black, so ask any AA about the difference is the wrong approach. Replace any with many.
JFC,
While I have been described as “5’8”...6’3” with the afro”, if you were playing Scrabble and had the tiles: R,G,G,I,N,E...you would be correct to call me a GINGER.
So, that was you in Room 222?
So.... you've got a RED afro?
Looks like the insurrection included quite a few current police officers, state representatives as well as ex-military. Here [buzzfeednews.com] is an interesting recount of the situation by a couple of black Capital Police Officers. Even beyond Trump, there is something in the background that is just not right here.
On the other hand, this entire election has not been without it's moments of humor and irony: The woman who got trampled was waving a "Don't tread on me" flag...
You just know that John Cleese is jealous that he didn't think of that first.
I was way off in [19]. It would apparently require unanimous consent to reconvene the senate before the 19th (or something like that).
@bashi [59],
yikes, that account you linked to is absolutely scary. i think any active police or military officer who participated as part of the capitol mob should not be a police or military officer any longer.
JL
Bashi,
Thanks for posting that report. So sad.
I hope there will be pubic hearings on what happened.These heroic officers need to be thanked for what they did that day and know that they are loved and not alone.
Joshua is right - any member or former member of the the US military or law enforcement who participated and spread their hate should not be in uniform any longer and they should be arrested and face all manner of repercussions.
Thanks for the link, Bashi. The report is saddening, but not surprising.
Remember the Republican 2012 reckoning that never happened? The RNC "post-mortem" report released by Trumpanzee Reince Shortbus that they completely rejected? It recommended outreach to women, African-American, Asian, Hispanic and LGBT voters and comprehensive immigration reform. What would their post-MAGA autopsy look like?
McKay Coppins had an interesting take on what that debate might look like:
1. Do we acknowledge reality?
2. Do we concede elections that we've clearly lost?
Feel free to offer your own agenda items for them to consider (ignore).
Republicans: Please don't do impeachment. It's too divisive.
After 5 years of 24/7 divisiveness dialed up to 11, this level of hypocrisy should be stunning, but it's about as surprising as Fat Donny inciting nazis to attack the Capitol to overturn his election loss.
CW-
This is an outstanding FTP!
Since Pearl Harbor has a lock on Day of Infamy I propose that Day of Ignominy be assigned to The Sacking of the Capital Building.
One of the scariest moments of this past week was when Trump said that all of this is just the beginning. What does he have planned for his time as former president? I shudder to think.
We could all use a little break from this insanity known as US presidential elections, right?
So, let's have a few hours of fun, inspiration and our very own brand of humour at the CW Sunday Night Music Festival and Dance Party. I propose an open theme for tonight ...
Before the horrific events of Wednesday, I had planned to play the music of someone many of you may know but who I just recently learned about. She is from Washington, DC and is a songbird like no other. After the insurrection on the Capitol, I have decided not to postpone playing her music here tonight because it is actually the perfect time for it!
So, I hope to see everyone here tonight and I look forward to listening to all of your selections!
[65] John From Censornati wrote:
"McKay Coppins had an interesting take on what that debate might look like:
1. Do we acknowledge reality?
2. Do we concede elections that we've clearly lost?"
I would add:
3.) Do we stop believing in dangerous myths that cannot ever be refuted?
What we are seeing is a visceral reaction to the ultimate culmination of:
1) The New Deal 2) The Civil Rights movement 3) The Women's movement and 4) The Gay Rights movement
Also consider: Republicans have now lost the popular vote in 7 out of 8 of the last Presidential elections and in 4 Presidential elections in a row, something only exceeded by FDR and Truman winning 5 popular votes in a
row.
Republicans can only increasingly rely on non democratic means to hold onto power: Packing the courts with conservative judges, the electoral college, holding onto the Senate at all costs, gerrymandring, etc.
What galvanizes the Republican party base is: Taking Back America, which to them means: beating up anti-racism protestors, smashing the left, sending security forces after immigrants, black people and Muslims, while protecting and glorifying Trump and his supporters as mythic American heroes. America is only for people who look like themselves, the "true" "patriotic" Americans.
It's also why QAnon now and the John Birch Society before them, imagine a secret cabal of communist Satan worshipping cannibalistic liberal pedophiles that they need to go to war against.
The only way to stop the advance of the new multiracial more liberal democracy that America is becoming is for them to lock up all the liberals without apology. Trump came to save "THEM" so his losing could never possibly be TRUE, it shatters their myth of salvation.
You cannot reason with delusional people or have a discourse with people who can't even agree on facts or reality. You also cannot reconcile two diametrically opposed visions. Democrats can work with reasonable conservatives, the "Never Trumpers" but the true hard core Trump believers are a permanent lost cause. And a dangerous one. As they lose at the ballot box and turn to other means.
We are in for a long siege.
But, none of that precludes escaping the insanity for a few hours this evening, right?
I'm not quite as pessimistic as some of you are. The sacking of The House of Reps was a reflex spasm from a dying movement. The only personality driving this movement is Trump...everybody else is expendable, as hundreds of zealous idiots are going find out when they are ID'd and dragged into the legal pit of doom.
Rather than carry ziptags for prisoners, they should have packed Nazi's
Cat just posted too early ...nice kitty, now go away.
Rather than carry zip tags for prisoners, they should have packed Nazi's Little Helpers - by which I mean Cyanide Vials. There will be a vast game of Prisoner's Dilemma which the Prosecution knows how to play and the Dress Up Revolutionaries don't. Lawyers are expensive. Good lawyers are more expensive still.
"Dont't go running to a shelter, take a Nazi's li'l helper.
Play some Stones tonight.
Absolutely, positively, unequivocally - some Stones will be on the menu tonight!
Hey, TS, do you have any special requests?
That darn cat! I knew something was up ... :)
Menu?? Of course, I meant 'playlist'!
Dominion Voting Releases The Kraken On Sidney Powell
In a 124-page complaint, Dominion sues Powell for $1.3 billion. This is not a pardonable event; perhaps Powell should find a good lawyer.
Well, THAT put a smile on my face! This is a non-frivolous lawsuit if ever there was one. She may not know how to deal with it.
What we have here is the potential for a whole lot of good and it could go a long way toward setting the record straight, everywhere ... or, at least in some places where it needs being set straight ... or is that asking for too much?
Is everybody ready for tonight? I'll get things going in a while unless someone beats me to the punch. Ahem.
Welcome, everyone to the CW Sunday Night Music Festival and Dance Party!
First off, a special thank-you goes out to JFC who helped me create my Rolling Stones collection, recommending certain essential albums over others - seven in all! Though I've always liked their music I had never purchased any of their albums until very recently and so JFC's advice was invaluable.
So, why the sudden urge for Rolling Stones albums? That's simple, really. On August 5, 2019 it was announced on my favourite radio station by the CEO of TheMuseum in downtown Kitchener, my home town and where I still reside, that the Rollings Stones exhibition, UNZIPPED, which has been touring world capitals, would be making its Canadian premiere in November 2021 and would run for about three months. Kitchener would, indeed, be the only Canadian stop for this phenomenal, closing in on sixty-year retrospective of all things Stones, from their music to their vast impact on the realms of art, fashion, design and film. See http://www.unzippedkw.ca for more!
Anyway, tonight let's have a listen to the Stones performing Paint it, Black from 1966,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flSmiIne-4k
Damn!
Welcome, everyone, to the CW Sunday Night Music Festival and Dance Party!
First off, a special thank-you goes out to JFC who helped me create my Rolling Stones collection, recommending certain essential albums over others - seven in all! Though I've always liked their music I had never purchased any of their albums until very recently and so JFC's advice was invaluable.
So, why the sudden urge for Rolling Stones albums? That's simple, really. On August 5, 2019 it was announced on my favourite radio station by the CEO of TheMuseum in downtown Kitchener, my home town and where I still reside, that the Rollings Stones exhibition, UNZIPPED, which has been touring world capitals, would be making its Canadian premiere in November 2021 and would run for about three months. Kitchener would, indeed, be the only Canadian stop for this phenomenal, closing in on sixty-year retrospective of all things Stones, from their music to their impact in the realms of art, design, fashion and film.
Anyway, tonight let's have a listen to the Stones performing Paint it, Black from 1966,
Oh, yes, the link for the song ... :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flSmiIne-4k
Remember, everyone! One link, one link only ... unless you prefer to get fancy about it. Heh.
Okay! Let's change things up a little, here's a favourite of mine by John Mellencamp, R.O.C.K in the USA!
Feel free to join in on the fun and dance around your living room!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgtmStUrXMQ
Time for one of my favourite Prism - Ron Tabak Era tunes ... because, well, we all need a little Open Soul Surgery, from time to time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BYoQiI71jc
I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N46DHEtWEm4
Shine A Light - the Stones live in Amsterdam
That's one of my favorite Stones tunes.
Knockin On Mine
A little Bruce Springsteen, if you please ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXRaUdJoHNA
Can't Get Started
I might play a few of your favourite Stones tunes before this night is through!
Never Aim To Please
Heh.
I like Bash and Pop!
Okay, everybody ... time to get things turned up a notch and get this party rollin' ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--AvCsh48bk
Who's tending bar tonight, anyways?
Gimme one bourbon, one scotch and one beer ...
We Didn't Start the Fire
Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray
South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio
Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television
North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe
Rosenbergs, H-bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom
Brando, "The King and I", and "The Catcher in the Rye"
Eisenhower, Vaccine, England's got a new queen
Marciano, Liberace, Santayana, goodbye
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning, since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No, we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it
Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev
Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc
Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, Dacron
Dien Bien Phu falls, "Rock Around the Clock"
Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning team
Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland
Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Krushchev
Princess Grace, Peyton Place, Trouble in the Suez
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning, since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No, we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it
Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac
Sputnik, Chou En-Lai, "Bridge on the River Kwai"
Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle, California baseball
Starkweather homicide, children of thalidomide
Buddy Holly, Ben Hur, space monkey, mafia
Hula hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go
U2, Syngman Rhee, Payola and Kennedy
Chubby Checker, Psycho, Belgians in the Congo
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning, since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No, we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it
Hemingway, Eichmann, "Stranger in a Strange Land"
Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion
"Lawrence of Arabia", British Beatlemania
Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson
Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British politician sex
JFK – blown away, what else do I have to say?
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning, since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No, we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it
Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again
Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock
Begin, Reagan, Palestine, terror on the airline
Ayatollah's in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan
"Wheel of Fortune", Sally Ride, heavy metal suicide
Foreign debts, homeless vets, AIDS, crack, Bernie Goetz
Hypodermics on the shore, China's under martial law
Rock and roller, cola wars, I can't take it anymore
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning, since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
But when we are gone
It will still burn on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on
... or Gimme Shelter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIQ9-CfELNo
This one you have to turn up loud - it's American Music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6i5NY7iZ8o
Nice one, Kick!
Elizabeth Miller
98
Gimme one bourbon, one scotch and one beer ...
Here you go... one glass
.
.
88888888888888888888888888888
8_____8_____8_____8_____8__8
88___888___888___888___888_8
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88___888___888___888___888_88888888
8_____8_____8_____8_____8_888888888
88___888___888___888___888_8888888888
888_88888_88888_88888_88888_8____88888
88888888888888888888888888888______88888
888_88888_88888_88888_88888_8_______88888
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8_____8_____8_____8_____8__8________88888
88___888___888___888___888_8_________88888
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8_____8_____8_____8_____8__8________88888
88___888___888___888___888_8________88888
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Elizabeth Miller
98
Gimme one bourbon, one scotch and one beer ...
Here you go... one glass
88888888888888888888888888888
8_____8_____8_____8_____8__8
88___888___888___888___888_8
888_88888_88888_88888_88888_8
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8_____8_____8_____8_____8_888888888
88___888___888___888___888_8888888888
888_88888_88888_88888_88888_8____88888
88888888888888888888888888888______88888
888_88888_88888_88888_88888_8_______88888
88___888___888___888___888_8________88888
8_____8_____8_____8_____8__8________88888
88___888___888___888___888_8_________88888
888_88888_88888_88888_88888_8_________88888
888_88888_88888_88888_88888_8_________88888
88___888___888___888___888_8_________88888
8_____8_____8_____8_____8__8________88888
88___888___888___888___888_8________88888
888_88888_88888_88888_88888_8______88888
88888888888888888888888888888_____88888
888_88888_88888_88888_88888_8____88888
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Elizabeth Miller
98
Gimme one bourbon, one scotch and one beer ...
Here you go... one glass
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Wow. Okay, I think I've had my limit. :)
Let's slow things down a bit ... Wild Horses
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0QATz8aEAc
Imagine ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2hvkPyiAFE
Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto No. 2, I. Moderato
That's musical genius. :)
Indeed. I'm enjoying this ...
Oh, Lennon... another musical genius. Best song ever.
As promised, I would like to share some music that I just very recently discovered by stumbling upon a facebook post by April Wine's lead singer, Myles Goodwyn. It is a sad story of a beautiful voice taken from us too soon and before most people even knew who she was.
The two pieces I'm going to highlight this evening are from a performance in 1996 in Washington, DC at Blues Alley. Just months after this performance, she was diagnosed with cancer and died later that year.
Here is Eva Cassidy, a native of Washington DC, with her exquisite version of Over the Rainbow, live from Blues Alley,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rd8VktT8xY
And, here she is with Autumn Leaves.
Can't wait for my Eva Cassidy - Live at Blues Alley cd to arrive ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXBNlApwh0c
This is a short documentary about Eva Cassidy - Live at Blues Alley and how lucky we all are to have her live performances which were recorded there in 1996
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEqzTlZdfSo
Eva Cassidy - Tall Trees in Georgia.
Just 'cause.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbQst5HZj6E
Well, that was fun.
I'll end my portion of our little soiree with a fun tune from the Rolling Stones.
You can't always get what you want ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqMl5CRoFdk
And, when the music's over ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgPaqi7Dpdg
... turn out the light.
I disappeared because I watched that entire documentary. Wow.
... turn out the light.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcGT9wTpCn8
That was nice but I didn't like the ending.
Yeah, that documentary was just premiered a few days ago. I ordered the Live At Blues Alley after watching it.
I wonder if Chris knows that club ...
Good night!
Okay, so I can't sleep ... stumbled across this analysis of Eva Cassidy singing Over The Rainbow by the one and only, Fil from Pegasus. I love this guy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBTCX_U8nVM
I personally prefer Jocko Bumplet's rendition of "Glockatoni in Puce".
EM [95],
B&P is Tommy Stinson from the Replacements and that's an angry post-breakup song directed at Paul Westerberg. They eventually got over their hostilities.
Helicopters are buzzing over DC. Something's up.
Well, there is a "peaceful" transfer of power days away... makes sense under the circumstances.