Mary Poppins's Bag

The unpacking of the events of January 6 feels like Mary Poppins's bag. We just keep pulling more and more and more out. 

The Insurrection.
Details about the events on January 6 continue to emerge. Every day comes the headline: "It was worse than we thought and it could've been a lot worse." 

Here's just a few stories that we read this week that illustrate the horrors that our lawmakers and police faced.

It's now clear that Vice President Pence was seconds away from being found by the murderous mob. He was just 100 feet away seconds before Officer Goodman led the mob away from the Senate chamber. Pence was moved from the Senate floor to an office with his wife and daughter, but once there, he refused twice to move to a more secure location. The third time the Secret Service did not ask but whisked him and his family away to a more secure room before the mob could find them.

It's shocking to read how the police held off the mob. This article is upsetting, but it's important to know what happened. Badly outnumbered, the police tried their best to hold off the insurrectionists, at great peril to their own safety. 

Two of the most badly injured were Officer Daniel Hodge and Officer Michael Fanone. Hodge was the one crushed and beaten, stuck between two doors. You remember the mob brutally beating Fanone with sticks and a flagpole outside the building. I hope that someday they and all of the courageous officers can have an official commendation for their service to our nation. 

By the way, suspects in both of those officers assaults have been arrested. Here is information about the thug who assaulted Officer Hodge and here is a story about the scumbag who beat Officer Fanone. Here is another article about the two officers and their colleague Officer Christina Laury.

There is more evidence that the insurrectionists had assistance from the inside. Here is a new video in which they discuss floor plans. One woman who is still outside uses a bullhorn to describe the layout and how to access other parts of the building. She says, "Guys I've been in the other room...."

Suspiciously, it appears that the panic button was removed from Rep. Ayanna Pressley's (D-MA) office. It was found so when Pressley and her staff barricaded themselves into her office. There is an investigation underway.

Another of the squad, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) was afraid for her life during the insurrection. She made a video describing her traumatizing experience. She does not describe specifics, but states she and other members were close to being killed. She also states that she did not feel safe being with other members of Congress while they were together in a secure room. Someday we'll hear the details of her trauma. 

The terrorists arrived well-armed. The police have seized a large number and variety of weapons. It was obvious that the mob went to the Capitol to cause violence and injury. It's amazing that there weren't more deaths.

Some of the insurrectionists are hiding under "press" cover. This, along with all the rest of it, is an affront to our orderly society. Give me a break. Their organization is called "Murder the Media." Journalists? Just sickening.

Here is another first-hand account by a (real) journalist, written right after the insurrection.

The Abettors.

Sycophants

Rudy Giuliani had riled up the crowd during the rally by saying, "Let's have a trial by combat!" New York State has launched a disbarment inquiry. I wonder if he'll be disbarred before the impeachment trial? I was sort of hoping to watch the Rudy Clown Counsel Show. Besides disbarment, he needs to be indicted. Rep. Mo Brooks (AL) was also in front of the crowd getting them going.

Members of Congress

We know that many in Congress gave voice to the lies that fueled the insurrection, but it's becoming more apparent that Members of Congress directly helped plan the insurrection. One of the main scum-sucking architects of the insurrection, Ali Alexander, has named three Repug MoC as having aided: Reps. Andy Biggs (AZ), Mo Brooks (AL) and Paul A. Gosar (AZ). Of course, other Representatives need to be investigated as well. There's an investigation underway into Rep. Mikie Shirrell's (D-NJ) observations of suspicious tours being made on January 5. This is such a sad part of the story. It's hard to think that elected representatives would do such a thing. I hope that they are censured and ejected from the House and called to bear consequences by the law. 

Side note: when I was watching the House proceedings that morning, I saw Rep. Gosar declare his objection to Arizona's certification. He was so nervous that he stuttered. It was so apparent to me that in the moment, I even Googled if he is a stutterer. Now I wonder just why he was so nervous. 

Veterans, Active Military, and Police

Also deeply disheartening is that more than a few in the mob were current or former police and military. White supremacy is everywhere. It's angering. Every single one of them took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. They received training in order to fulfill that oath, and they took that training to the Capitol to try to destroy it. They each need to be brought to justice. It's just too much to bear. Here are some articles about them.

• The Atlantic: The Inaction of Capitol Police Was by Design
• CNN: Some national veterans organizations vow to remove members charged in the Capitol riots
• Los Angeles Times: Why veterans of the military and law enforcement joined the Capitol insurrection
• Military Times: How many troops were involved in the Capitol riot? Figuring that out won’t be easy
• ABC News: Military investigating whether service members participated in US Capitol assault

The Heroes.

There were many heroes that day. The jounalists covering the debates who kept taking notes as their lives were being threatened; the Members of Congress themselves; the police outside and inside the building. Other heroes are emerging. 

Geeks save the day! A hacker who goes by "donk_enby" worked fast to archive nearly all of Parler's content since it was launched. This included conversations about the insurrection plans, as well as videos and photos during the riots, complete with metadata such as time and GPS coordinates. donk_enby assures us that all the info she gathered was publicly available. Go, donk! A grateful nation thanks you.

Similarly, props to the people behind Sedition Tracker, your one-stop shop for insurrection investigation information. 

The Capitol Building was, of course, left a mess, once the coup failed and the insurrectionists filed out. They had left trash, debris, and human excrement. Who was left to clean up? Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ), for one. After the business of the day, the tally of Electoral College votes, had been completed, Rep. Kim stayed. Trash bag in hand, Rep. Kim picked up trash into the wee hours of the morning. 

A veterans group, disgusted by the news that some of their former brethren had been in the mob, organized a clean up around the Capitol grounds and throughout D.C. 

And of course, the regular custodial staff that keeps the Capitol gleaming day in and day out. Mostly people of color, they bore the burden of washing the blood, sweat, tears, and shit from every surface in that building. There is a movement to write thank-you notes to them. If you write, I encourage postcards vs. letters. Postcards are safer and will be delivered more timely.

I've written numerous times about Officer Eugene Goodman, who used himself as a decoy to draw the mob away from the Senate chamber. Some lawmakers want to award Goodman a Congressional Gold Medal. Well deserved. 

The Fourth Branch of Government: Corporate America. Heroes?!

Putting financial pressure on the wayward Members of Congress may help get the GOP back on track. Money talks and bullshit walks.

Here are a couple reads on how they are doing this. 

• Business Insider: Top CEOs may cut off funding to Republicans who have supported Trump's election challenge: 'Money is the key way'
• Bloomberg: Here are the U.S. companies hitting pause on political donations.
• The Wall Street Journal: How the Capitol Riot Thrust Big American Companies Deeper Into Politics
• New York Times: Companies Pull Back Political Giving Following Capitol Violence
• And as I noted before, businesses are abandoning their associations with ***** and his brand. 

Ok, ok, I'll allow Big Business getting into the people's business just this once. Next month, let's reverse Citizens United!

The Aftermath. 

Impeachment trial calendar is still up in the air. It is possible that Speaker Pelosi will send the Article of Impeachment over immediately upon the 117th Senate's convening. It's the best way to do it: try him immediately. It may land on the Majority Leader's desk on Inaguration Day. They are smart people; I bet they can figure out a way to conduct a trial at the same time as they conduct other business. 

Preventing him from running again. If the Impeachment² doesn't work to convict, then Congress still has something in their back pocket. The 14th Amendment of the Constitution. It states:

No Person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

It's pretty straightforward, and needs just a simple majority vote. So if the Senate fails to convict him on his impeachment charge, the 14th Amendment could be enacted. Congress should also put it to use for the Members of Congress who participated. 

A man* without a country (I hardly can even call ***** a man). He may have a hard time finding a place to live. Neighbors of his Mar-a-Lago estate, where he plans to go, don't want them there, and they may have him over a legal barrel because of an agreement he signed decades ago. Scotland has said, "Don't come here." He burned his bridges in New York all through the years with his odious behavior, and most recently when he left for Florida and started hating on them. Now, the Mayor of NYC says that ***** is not welcome there. My hope is that New York State and Florida cooperate to get him into cuffs on Day 1 of his civilianhood. There's plenty of room at the Graybar Inn. 

A Day of Reckoning for the Republican Party. It will be interesting to see how they sort themselves out. The old saying about not being able to truly grow until you hit rock bottom may be true here. How rock-bottomer can they get? If they can purge the fringe members and vote to convict, they may start to right their ship. 

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is moaning that if the Senate Republicans vote to convict, a third of the party will leave and destroy the party. And this is bad how.....?

Mike Luckovich

Security Measures forever changed? How long will we have concertina wire around our beloved beacon of freedom? When will it feel safe again? Our government operates openly and publicly. It's important that this tradition continues. How depressing is this photo?

Radio.com

The Investigation.

Here are some of the latest arrests from The Washington Post.

Here is a damn good source. You can follow every arrest, criminal charges, and court proceedings. Follow Sedition Tracker on Twitter or on the web. It's updated frequently. Great stuff! They're coming for you, traitors. “To those of you who took part in the violence, here’s something you should know: Every FBI field office in the country is looking for you,” said Steven M. D’Antuono, head of the FBI’s Washington Field Office. “As a matter of fact, even your friends and family are tipping us off.” (from WaPo)

Four federal departments, the departments of Justice, Homeland Security, Defense, and the Interior, have launched investigations into the security failures. Was it a lack of intelligence? Or a failure to act on the intelligence they had? 

An investigation of the whole set of circumstances is huge. The lead-up and the insurrection itself is a large Fibonacci sequence intertwined with interlinking circles, overlaid by a set of Dali stairs. We know how federal agencies cooperate. They don't. There is a risk of numerous agencies involved in individual investigations not sharing information. I think there needs to be an independent commission to investigate the event in depth and deliver one comprehensive report on how this all came to happen. It was done after the Challenger disaster as well as after 9/11. Both of those tragedies were fairly straight lines compared to this. I'm suggesting this idea to my Members of Congress. 

Drew Sheneman

The Future. In the immediate future, we still face threats against the U.S.Capitol as well as state capitol buildings coast to coast. We're all on edge about the Inaguration ceremony. For the foreseeable future, the National Mall and Capitol grounds have fencing, razor wire (!) and 25,000 National Guard troops milling about. And those troops have authorization to use lethal force if necessary. States also have beefed up security and National Guard troops out in force.

We have a presidential President-elect in the on-deck circle. Biden is laying out plans for COVID response and economic stimulus. He is talking straight-talk to us. It's going to be be fine!

And speaking of presidential. V.P. Pence is acting all presidential the last couple days. He finally called and congratulated Vice President-elect Harris, and also made a surprise visit to the National Guard troops at the Capitol. 

***** has decided he wants a dictator-style military send-off, complete with military band and 21-gun salute, on Wednesday morning. Given that there will be 25,000 armed troops standing around, he will have more attendees than he did at his inauguration. And he gets one more ride in Air Force One! Maybe the flight attendant will let him work the intercom! 

Really? He leaves Washington burning and rides off into the sunset? I hope the Feds are waiting for him at the Palm Beach Airport when he lands. Hmmmm....Sounds like a good movie plot.... Can we cast Kevin Bacon as Christopher Wray? 

For the longer term, we may be able to regain our course when the lies have ended and ***** is gone for good. We made a baby inroad into stopping the lies. The Washington Post reports that since ***** was banned from Twitter, misinformation emanating from the site has dropped a ton. 

Speaking of which....

Corrections and a Cautionary Tale.

I've been proud of my research and dependence on least-biased sources, but lately with the frenzy of information about the January 6 Insurrection, I'm ashamed to say I made errors. I found myself where so many of the actual insurrectionists live. I posted a couple items that I need to correct.

In my last post, I shared a photo of Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) that had been miscaptioned as being taken in from of the Capitol the day before the riot. The photo was actually from December 2019 and was taken at the Colorado statehouse, not at the U.S. Capitol. The photo is real, though. And the people are really flashing white supremacy signs. I apologize for failing to fact-check this photo. 

I also failed to research Melania's weird statement five days after the January 6 Insurrection, a statement that she turned around to make it about her. I got lazy in finding out more about her statement about "salacious gossip, unwarranted personal attacks, and false misleading accusations on me." Luckily, I have a good cadre of Sisters Resisters who pointed me to the correct info. Melania had been conducting a photo shoot inside the Whitewash House that day. She couldn't be bothered to pause for an insurrection of all things. CNN reported this fact. Also, Mel was probably steamed by an op/ed from an old pal.

I confess I also shared that video that Donny Jr. posted of a green-room party before the "rally" on January 6. It was miscaptioned as being taken during the riots. I believed the miscaption and shared it on a couple Facebook groups before learning that it was fake news. 

I apologize for feeding misinformation here. The bigger point is that it is easy to get sucked in by provoking, but incorrect, information. If you don't keep skepticism intact and follow-up with a bit of research, misinformation and lies can quickly lead down a dark path. 

We saw a culmination of that 10 days ago. 

The Past.

I was a little Little Sister Resister when I made my one and only visit to the Capitol Building. My mom and I took a trip to Washington D.C. to visit my sister in 1975. Even then, I was honored to be able to visit the House and Senate Chambers. I aim to get back there and observe again. Here are my passes to the White House, Senate, and House.

The more recent past: In my post of October 29, 2020 which was titled, "Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown" I mentioned a report made by the Transition Integrity Project. The TIP is a bipartisan think tank group. They used gaming theory to predict outcomes after the election. Last summer, they published an extensive report of possible scenarios of a contested election. 

Below is a quote from their report, released on August 2, 2020. (from page 6)

2. A close and contested election may be resolved through the exercise of power, not through the courts.

The scenario exercises developed by TIP were designed to encourage both the Biden and Trump teams to pursue plausible but aggressive actions in order to win. The exercises demonstrated that the very first “move” by each campaign was often decisive; it established a narrative and the overall strategy. In all four of the exercises TIP conducted, Team Trump immediately adopted a strategy of casting doubt on the official election results, even in the one scenario where he later accepted a loss. Team Trump also encouraged chaos and violence in the streets and aimed to provoke Team Biden into subverting norms — even as Team Trump itself sabotaged traditional norms— so that Team Biden could be accused of hypocrisy or illegality.

During the exercises, Team Trump and GOP elected officials took the following steps:

• Calling for recounts in all states in which victory was not already apparent.

• Launching coordinated investigations at the state and federal levels into alleged “voting irregularities” in an effort to undermine public confidence in results that did not go Trump’s way and/or alter the results.

• Attempting to halt the counting of mail-in ballots by filing cases in state court or leaning on Republican leaders to stop vote counting or to certify a result early, without waiting for the certified results from the Secretary of State.

• Turning out their well-organized and committed base to take to the streets in Trump’s favor, in part by disseminating disinformation about the danger posed by pro-Biden demonstrators (e.g., by suggesting likely Antifa violence, etc.).

• Relying on both FOX News and right-wing social media to echo and amplify pro-Trump messages and facilitate the harassment and bullying of election officials, to cause chaos and delay and/or to intimidate officials into taking actions that benefited Team Trump.

• Using federal agencies to justify or support Trump campaign tactics. In one of the more aggressive moves undertaken in one of the TIP exercises, Team Trump had Attorney General Bill Barr order the seizure of mail-in ballots to ensure that vote counting would stop.

And a memory from four years ago:

Facebook reminded me that four years ago today, we were preparing for our own protest. I had posted the above graphic. We, too, felt that an election had been "stolen" from us. ***** had garnered 3,000,000 fewer votes nationally, but was getting ready to occupy the office. But guess what? I was one of 750,000 marchers in Los Angeles, and there was not one. Single. Arrest. 

#ThreeDaysToGo

Impeachment! Impeachment!

It's hard to keep up with all of the action in Washington, D.C. I had been in the middle of writing up a digest and suddenly, there it was! Impeachment Dos!

Impeachment! 

Today the United States House of Representatives voted 229-195 to impeach the 45th president of the United States for a historic second time.

Things went fast.

Last night, the House voted on a non-binding resolution asking the Vice President to invoke the 25th Amendment. Before they even voted on this symbolic resolution, Pence sent a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi saying, nope. 

So they went ahead with the only option left: impeachment.

Remarkably, Republicans stood up and declared their intention to vote for impeachment! Ten House Republicans joined the Democrats in voting to impeach. 

Reps. John Katko (R-NY), and Adam Kinzinger (IL) were among the first to publicly state they'd support impeachment. But most jaw-dropping was Rep. Liz Cheney (WY). Cheney is the #3 Republican in the House, and her state of Wyoming voted for ***** with 70% of the vote. She put her political ass on the line in her show of patriotism. She and her family have a long, deep history in the GOP. She is the daughter of Repug douchebag Dick Cheney. Her blood runs deep red, so this is big.

Her statement was powerful! 

On January 6, 2021 a violent mob attacked the United States Capitol to obstruct the process of our democracy and stop the counting of presidential electoral votes. This insurrection caused injury, death and destruction in the most sacred space in our Republic.

Much more will become clear in coming days and weeks, but what we know now is enough. The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened without the President. The President could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not. There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.

I will vote to impeach the President.

And what's this?! Senate Majority-Leader-for-one-more-week McTurtle is "pleased" about impeachment? So, insurrection is the last the only straw, huh? He gave an impassioned speech on the floor of the Senate moments before the riot last week. The mind reels trying to process the cognitive dissonance in hearing this person actually voice reasonable thoughts.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, while against impeachment, did not whip votes against it. 

These high-ranking Repugs gave a huge signal to both House and Senate Republicans that it's not only ok but desirable to vote in favor of impeachment. There just may be a conviction!! In the end, 10 GOP members voted to impeach.

I watched the proceedings, and at times I felt like throwing something at the TV when the GOP members twisted themselves into pretzels justifying why he should not be impeached. The best economy in history! The Dems have been after him for four years! The left just wants to cancel everything! It's just so devisiiiive! 

And yet, it happened. It's official: ***** is the first U.S. President in history to be impeached twice! Though the label of "impeachment" by itself doesn't mean much other than that designation on his legacy and an extra half-hour lecture in a future history class, conviction is what holds the meat. The Constitution says this about an impeachment conviction:

Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.

Translation: he can't hold federal office again and he does not get to enjoy his perks, like a pension, staff, and offices. Contrary to some chatter out there, he will still receive his Secret Service detail. And he can still be prosecuted by a regular court.

The Constitution is clear about it, but if that's not enough, it was spelled out the same way in the Impeachment Resolution itself. 

The Speaker came to sign the Article of Impeachment in front of the press. She stood at the same lectern that one of the terrorists stole. And with a stroke of the pen, ***** was officially impeached for a second time. 

The timing of the impeachment trial is still up in the air. When Pelosi sends the Article of Impeachment to the Senate is still unknown. The Senate is not due to come back to the Capitol until January 19, one day before the Inauguration, and it will be the new Senate with a new Majority Leader. There were thoughts that instead of sending the article to the Senate right away, perhaps the House would wait until after 100 days of Biden's term so that he can hit the ground running, get his cabinet confirmed, and set his plans for COVID and the economy in motion. President-elect Biden also voiced the thought that, if the trial starts immediately, perhaps the Senate could split their time, spending half their day on impeachment and half the day on other business, of which there will be a lot to get the new administration rolling.

There is the fact that McConnell, still Senate Majority Leader for one more week, is signaling that "his" senators are de-facto allowed to vote for conviction. He finally stated that he will not call them back to session before they are scheduled to return on January 19, so it'll be up to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to conduct the trial. 

It could be a quick trial, because after all, the victims are the witnesses are the prosecutors are the jury.

It will be fascinating to watch what evidence they present. It'll be interesting to see what defense the former president* will try to mount. And who will represent him? Oh, please please please let it be Chief Clown Counsel Rudy Giuliani!

Other news:

Further punishment? There's still speculation about a self-pardon, but his advisors have urged him not to do so. To self-pardon would be to admit wrongdoing. To admit wrongdoing opens one up to civil charges. Think of the civil suits arising from the insurrection! 

And the Constitution is also clear that an impeachment conviction is not the end. He will still be subject for the full weight of the law to come down on him. The U.S. Constitution reads, "the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law."

And for the rest of his crimes, well, he's in a world of hurt. Wouldn't it be delicious if he were roused from his Mar-a-Lago bed at 12:01pm next Wednesday and put into cuffs....

Maybe the most hurtful punishment is that his brand is tanking. Big time. Businesses are fleeing at record speed. 

Other actors in the January 6 Insurrection. There's more and more evidence that there were other bad actors that aided and abetted the mob. 

Police aiders: So, did officers really participate? Yes. Several Capitol Police officers have been suspended. Remember the officer who took a selfie with one of the terrorists? In my last post I speculated he might he might actually be an insurrectionist dressed as a cop. Turns out I was wrong. Well, it turns out I was right, too, I guess? He is a cop, and he did aid and abet the insurrection. He has been suspended. And I hope he is charged. 

And more surprising, and disgusting. It's possible that Members of Congress assisted the terrorists. There is nascent evidence about Repug Member of Congress from Colorado, Lauren Boebert. Newly elected, she had ads promising to take a gun inside the Capitol (and in fact, set off the metal detectors yesterday and caused a dust-up with security). Now she is is being called to resign. 

Boebert apparently tweeted the location of the Speaker as the insurrection was beginning, tweeting, "We were locked in the House Chambers," and a minute later, "The Speaker has been removed from the Chamber." Some allege that this was an attempt to help the insurgents. Earlier in the day, she tweeted, "Today is 1776." This was the rallying call of the insurrectionists before and during the riots. 

Now there is emerging evidence that some unnamed Member(s) gave "reconnaissance tours" to some groups the day before the insurrection. Keep in mind, since the pandemic, there have been no tours of the Capitol building. This is concerning. See the report about Rep. Mikie Sherrill's (D-NJ) observations.

And the photo below was reportedly posted to Boebert's Instagram account the day before the January 6 Insurrection. See those hand signals from some of her friends? That is a white supremacist gesture. Note: This is unconfirmed! If this is incorrect information, I will correct it. 

Remarkably, it appears that members of the military participated, too. In an astounding "Did they really have to say that?" moment, the Joint Chiefs issued a letter warning members of the military that their job is to protect and defend the Constitution. And that violence is bad. 

Arrests. 

Ricardo Caté

Growing up and learning about the Civil War, we were taught that "brother fought against brother." I never could understand that. Now I do. Though ***** is Person One in the January 6 Insurrection, arrests are proceeding apace, thanks to many being turned in by their family members. For example, Larry Rendell Brock, who was carrying flex cuffs inside the Capitol was turned in to the FBI by his ex-wife. And I came across this on the internet. Don't know if it's legit but I like it!

The "Camp Auschwitz" monster was arrested, thank goodness. There have been at least 70 arrests so far, and the FBI is working 24/7 to identify and arrest more. They have over 100,000 tips, photos, and videos to cull. Putting the terrorists on the No-Fly List is being considered. 

The FBI knew about threats. 9/11 much? 

It's not over yet. There are dire warnings about violence to come in the next several days, including a plot to assassinate Democrats in order for Republicans to take over the government. These, in addition to threats against state capitols in all 50 states. It's just too much to think about. 

The Inaguration. The National Guard is coming out in force. The District of Columbia will be occupied by more uniformed military than there are today in Iraq and Afghanistan combined. It's disheartening that our biggest enemy threatening the U.S. is home-grown. Domestic terrorism, in the form of white supremacy, is a clear and present danger. 

Looking at the pictures of these troops getting ready, it's both heartening that our inauguration ceremony will be protected, and horrifying that it needs to be. More photos and video of the troops here. And video here.

AP via Fox News

But there are plenty of other heroes and helpers.

One Hero. Our favorite hero is Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman. Remember the video of him, alone when confronted by a mob of terrorists? Turns out he used himself as a decoy. He saw that the door to the Senate Chambers was still open, so he confronted the evildoers and lured them in the opposite direction of the Senate. Thank you, Officer Goodman!

Oh, Melania. WTF are you talking about? True to the family brand, her official statement about the insurrection was all about her. What the hell?

I am disappointed and disheartened with what happened last week. I find it shameful that surrounding these tragic events there has been salacious gossip, unwarranted personal attacks, and false misleading accusations on me – from people who are looking to be relevant and have an agenda. 

No one knows what she was referring to. I just have to speculate that her husband told her lies; that "many people" were saying XYZ about her. Honey, don't get on that plane to Mar-a-Lago. Run the other way.

The Besties Break. Vice President Pence was livid after the attack. Of course he was! He could've been assassinated that day. It was reported that there was an icy silence between them until yesterday and now they are at a "détente." Just before Pence had set off for the Capitol to oversee the Electoral Count on January 6, ***** said to his Vice President, “You can either go down in history as a patriot or you can go down in history as a pussy.” And of course, afterwards, he sent his murderous mob to go get Pence. And yet, the Vice President refused to remove him from power. 

Thanks for reading LSR's news digest for today. It's a lot to keep up with! More soon!

Lots of thoughts presented randomly by LSR three days after a failed coup attempt.

Lots of thoughts presented randomly by LSR three days after a failed coup attempt.

Note: if you've been reading long, you know that I have rarely used the name of the president* on these pages. I have used multiple and varied nicknames, or "president*" or "45." But I can't even bear to type those any of those monikers. Funny nicknames just aren't funny anymore; I refuse to acknowledge him any more than I need to. So from here on, he will be noted as simple "*****" or as "he." If it's a different "he" I'll try to make it clear. 

We are not much closer to removing him from office than we were on the evening of the insurrection. There is a clamor to remove him from office as soon as possible. Though Speaker Nancy Pelosi has spoken to military leaders about concerns over his access to the nuclear codes, he remains an extremely dangerous man. He is a caged tiger. His allies are fleeing; he has been isolated by his permanent ban from most social media sites. 

On the surface, it appears that we are not closer to removing him, but there has been some movement since I last wrote. And, we don't know what's going on behind closed doors in the Capitol and the White House. The possibilities of ridding the country of him are threefold. Well, rather four-fold, I guess. 

1. Resignation. It's becoming clearer that this just ain't gonna happen. It would be best for him and for us, but his ego won't allow it. It's still a possibility, especially if he is angling for a pardon or if an impeachment stares him in the face. He would be the first president in history to be impeached twice – by two different Congresses. If convicted, he would not be allowed to garner the benefits of an ex-president such as his pension, health insurance, and staff. And he would be disallowed to hold public office again. "Twice-Baked" isn't a designation that he covets. I'd resign if I were him! 

2. Invoking Section 4 of the 25th Amendment. Today, it appears that Pence hasn't ruled out invoking the 25th Amendment. Pence could be a hero here if he could get the Cabinet to agree to remove him from office. It's looking unlikely but remains a possibility. 

So, that leaves...

3. Impeachment. A draft of an article impeachment has been written. It contains one charge: Incitement of Insurrection. Read the draft here. Speaker Pelosi states the House is ready to go forward with impeachment proceedings on Monday, January 11. It would be difficult, but not impossible, to complete an impeachment trial in the days that before Biden's inauguration. It would be a tight timeline to get all the way to conviction. That being said, there is nothing preventing an impeachment trial to continue after he leaves office. Even though there isn't enough time for the matter to be adjudicated in the Senate before President-Elect Biden assumes office, an impeachment trial could still continue. 

There is growing support from Republicans in Congress. Alaska's Sen. Lisa Murkowski was the first to endorse the impeachment idea, Sen. Ben Sasse (NE) has also stated he would support impeachment, and Sen. Pat Toomey (PA) has affirmed that ***** "committed impeachable offenses." To me, these are significant voices.

It is extremely important to proceed with this measure. If it doesn't remove him early, so be it. But we must send a message that we are holding him accountable. This is an important message to our allies, to our adversaries, and to future actors. This is the power available to Congress today. There is no other recourse for accountability until he is a private citizen. Please, contact your Members of Congress and demand that they move forward with impeachment. It doesn't matter that it won't be completed before January 20. As a nation, we must not stand for this behavior!

And the fourth possibility.... He could die in the next few days. It's not pleasant to think about, but he is a desperate, isolated man. He has got to be feeling enormous strain. I've speculated that he has been experiencing transient ischemic attacks (TIAs, or "mini strokes") for a long time. What if he strokes out? Or what if he tries to commit suicide? Please, please, please no! I fervently hope that he doesn't die. Can you imagine the conspiracy theories that would plague us forever? Keep him safe, keep him alive, and let him rot somewhere else. 

The Pence Thing. Pence could be a hero by working to remove him from office. He has absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain. The insurrectionists already want his head – literally. He was a target for the rioting mob, and if the Secret Service hadn't whisked him to safety when they did, we might be talking about much different things today. The insurrectionists and others of *****'s supporters hate Pence already. For the rest of us, Pence could be a moral leader. I already have a tiny bit of increased esteem for Pence, for publicly standing up to him. I have a deep sympathy for Mike being the target of the mob. I truly don't wish harm to come to him. I disagree with him profoundly on political issues, but as he is a fellow earth-traveler, I don't wish him ill. He is doing the absolute right thing by planning to attend the Inauguration. This brightens my heart a little. This is our Democratic Republic's ideals in action.

The Repug Enablers Thing. There are growing calls for GOP apologists such as Sen. Ted Cruz (TX) and Sen. Josh Hawley (MO) to resign, including most recently from Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Cruz's home-state newspaper, The Houston Chronicle. They must resign. They are complicit in this tragedy. Their constituents, and the rest of us, should not stand for them occupying chairs in the Capitol. 

And what about Rudy Giuliani? "Trial by combat!" He incited insurrection too. There are bigger – and more – fish to fry so early on, but at some point he'll need to be called to justice. 

It was worse than we thought. More and more videos and first-hand accounts from Members of Congress, staffers, and journalists are emerging. It's really scary stuff, much worse than we had known or even imagined. And still not as bad as it could've been. For more of a glimpse into the atrocities, you can explore the following sources.

It's tough to watch, but it's important to know what happened. We must all bear witness to the assault that we all endured. Here's an article with tons of links with video and audio from CNN Business about just that.

From MSNBC. Warning: violent images are here. 

Here is my Representative, Rep. Salud Carbajal (D), with his thoughts.

From ABC, Congressman Raul Ruiz (D-CA) gives his first-hand account. You can look for others. Harrowing times.

Here is the account of the journalist who documented that police officer who was chased up the stairs:

Can you imagine what these Congresspeople were thinking at this moment?

Foreign Infiltrates. What if there were foreign actors in the mob? It's not outside the realm of possibility. The insurrection was planned and well-advertised. Russia, for one, would've jumped at the chance to be a part of that action, wouldn't they? (Note: I have not read any evidence for this; it's just my speculation.) Even if they weren't active in the invasion, I bet they Russia is loving what they witnessed. 

Which brings me to: Compromise of Cybersecurity. What wouldn't a foreign adversary do to access U.S. Capitol devices and data? The IT headache of all IT headaches, there are huge security concerns arising from the insurrection. Not only was equipment stolen, but in the scramble to safety, some computers were left open and unlocked, and it wouldn't take much effort to bug offices or compromise systems. Here's a couple sources to read more about this concern: read on Wired or Axios.

Arrests have been happening. They got the guy who stole Speaker Pelosi's lectern, the guy with his feet up on her desk, and the buffalo horns idiot. The FBI also took in that West Virginia delegate who live-streamed his crimes (he resigned his position, by the way. Moron.) They've got thousands to go. Get them all locked up!

So many questions about law enforcement's role. Why was there such a catastrophic failure of the police to be so woefully unprepared? Why the difference in aggressiveness on the part of police vs. other protests, such as BLM? Were there sympathizers actively aiding the insurrection? And why were the insurrectionists simply escorted out, as in this video? I am not condemning the whole of the police presence there. They were badly outnumbered and underprepared, and they were absolutely trying their hardest in a horrible situation. A vast majority of the officers there were working hard to protect and serve. But we cannot ignore the fact that one of the major failings in our society is the racist criminal justice system, starting with racist cops.

A couple of fact-checks here. The journalist who took the video of police appearing to take down barriers to allow the mob to enter states that the police were simply overrun. The officers did not actively assist. The video of the police officer taking a selfie inside the Capitol? There is speculation that the man was an insurrectionist simply dressed as an officer. We need more details. Also, there was another viral video of cops simply escorting invaders out, but that one has been debunked as having been a video from 2017.

The role of law enforcement from the top down should be studied in depth. Perhaps LSR will look deeper at this issue in the future.

The insurrectionists called themselves patriots. This just makes my skin crawl. They certainly are not. 

Freedom of Speech? People on the right have been boo-hooing the "loss of freedom of speech" on social media outlets. This includes ***** himself. News Flash: your freedom of speech has not been curtailed by private media outlets refusing to give you a voice for hate and inciting violence. Didn't you read the Terms of Service before you clicked "Agree"? Hey! You know what you can do? Issue a press release. Go out in front of cameras and make a statement. Answer reporters' questions. You wanna talk? Talk. 

Social Media. And speaking outlets for hate. His mob on the one remaining social media outlet he had access to, right-extremist-friendly Parler, was ready and willing to continue his war. But late on Saturday night, Amazon's web hosting service has kicked Parler off after both Google and Apple discontinued allowing downloads of the app. May this be a day of reckoning for social media, and may there not be another platform for hate arise.

The Inauguration. There are reports that the insurrectionists plan another siege on Inauguration Day. It's really worrying. The Secret Service and every other law enforcement agency must lock down the city to make sure that it proceeds safely. I'm torn. Part of me says, just do it inside, in private, and televise it. But that would be giving in. Our government is public. It is transparent. It may be an important show of the strength of our form of government to go ahead and hold it outside at the Capitol facing the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial, as it has for the last 40 years. In the past, the ceremony has been held in other places, inducing inside the Rotunda and inside the House Chambers. Perhaps since Biden is discouraging crowds anyway, in light of the pandemic, a location should be found inside. 

State Capitols being overrun. This insurrection movement is happening at the state and local level, too. It's a problem that will plague us for a long time. It's definitely a topic for a future post by itself.

Corporate America to the Rescue? For once, corporate pressures on Members of Congress might actually work for the nation's interest. Big Fat CEOs are threatening to withhold dough from Repugs who support him. The editorial board of the Wall Street Journal, perhaps his friendliest legitimate media source, has issued a call for his resignation. Other newspapers are following suit.

Gotta Laugh to Keep from Crying. Sometimes, satire cuts through the pain. Here ya go:

Drew Sheneman

Dave Whamond

this is what the fucking capitol police look like rn. SMFH pic.twitter.com/nQYAcDtkgo

— JOHNNY SIBILLY (@JohnnySibilly) January 6, 2021

...and more astute satire from Colbert, my favorite late-night guy:

Don't forget. Contact your Members of Congress and tell them how you feel. Find your U.S. Senators here, or look up your Representative's official website and email here, or better yet, let Resistbot fax them for you! So easy!

Now, more than ever, we must RESIST!

What now?

Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

The attack on the Capitol was an attack against all of us. The institutions that were assaulted belong to we the people. The people within work for us. They represent us! That was us in there!

Now we start processing the insurrection and ask: What now?

After the initial shock, it really sunk in: it could've been much worse. Think about it: the two people next in line for president, V.P. Pence, and Speaker Pelosi, were in the same building! Every single member of Congress was there. What if the rioters had been more heavily armed? There were bombs placed; there was a cooler loaded with Molotov cocktails nearby. I don't want to imagine what could've happened. 

As it was, there have been five deaths. So tragic. So avoidable. Ashli Babbit, an Air Force veteran who was shot inside; three people outside in separate incidents who experienced "medical issues;" and Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, also a U.S. military veteran, all died. And why?

And so, we demand consequences for the assault on we the people. Now. 

The Instigator-in-Chief must face the full fury of the law. But first, we must remove him. We must not allow him to wreak any more damage on our nation.

There were swift calls for Pence to evoke the 25th Amendment and remove him. Two cabinet members resigned Thursday: Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chow (wife of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell); and Secretary of Educashun Betsy DeVos. Both are cowards in my book: they know agreeing to invoke the 25th Amendment is the right thing, but they won't go on record. So they run. 

Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Schumer called on Pence to evoke the 25th Amendment, or, barring that, they will move ahead with articles of impeachment. After more than 20 minutes on hold, they were told Pence would not take their call. 

There were reports that Pence was the angriest he's ever been. Of course he should be angry! Is he angry enough to do the right thing, or are visions of 2024 clouding his mind? Loyal until the 11th hour, Pence now has a target on his back. Trump's mob wants his head. Will he continue to kowtow to his boss and to them? 

Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Schumer have said that if Pence does not move under the 25th Amendment, they will bring impeachment charges. But it needs to be done fast.

I can just imagine all of the meetings and discussions happening. Are Pence and the Cabinet pressuring 45 to resign? Are they working out a pardon deal so that he will just leave? Are the House and Senate leaders whipping up support for impeachment? They must do it quickly -- like yesterday -- and have no time for debate. A failed conviction would martyr him even more and would be devastating. If they move forward with impeachment, they must be sure to have the votes to convict. 

The best solution, really, is resignation. It's best for 45, it's best for the nation to just get it over with and get him OUT. I hope that the State of New York worked out an arrest warrant last night.

There were baby steps toward meting out consequences:

The Chief of Capitol Police resigned, as did the Sergeants at Arms of the Senate and of the House. We need to know what led to the catastrophic failure of security at the Capitol. There must be investigations into what went wrong. The blame goes deep, all the way to Homeland Security and the FBI. It's a reflection of the deep chaos and corruption in the administration, as well as deep white supremacist roots in this nation. 

People are asking why the different treatment of these white supremacist terrorists vs. BLM protestors? As some astute Twitterer noted, it's kinda like asking where is  Miley Cyrus when Hannah Montana is on stage.

During and immediately after the riot, there were about 80 arrests. But mostly they were for breaking curfew. Most of the rioters were escorted peacefully out of the building and off the grounds. They simply went back to their hotels and back to their wormholes.

We must demand more arrests. The FBI and D.C. police are asking for information about the identities of the insurgents. Idiots, many openly posted their identities and crowed about their actions on social media as they were committing felonies.

And then there were people like Elizabeth from Knoxville, Tennessee. 

This woman was maced inside the Capitol. She told me, "It's a revolution!" pic.twitter.com/hMKYSzrkue

— Hunter Walker (@hunterw) January 6, 2021

and West Virginia lawmaker Derrick Evans. 

Many of the most visible are also the most well-known. I won't give them space here. There is plenty of information about them in the media. As for the rest, many of them are losing their jobs. But they need the full weight of justice to come down. The FBI has set up a website to collect tips here. The D.C. Police are looking for help in identifying people, and they have posted images here. 

Bring them to all justice! 

We must also bring to justice the Members of Congress who explicitly furthered the lies and encouraged these actions, including Sen. Ted Cruz (TX) and Sen. Josh Hawley (MO), seen below saluting the mob outside the Capitol. How is this not sedition?

Because I didn't include images in my last post, here are some summaries of that dark day.

For me, the most striking photo of all the horrendous images was this one.

And the awful video of this police officer:

But there were many horrible images.

Here is a photo gallery from NPR.

Here is a photo gallery from CNN.

Politco: January 6 in 180 seconds

Some video summaries from ABC News:

And as always, an astute summary from Stephen Colbert.

And bonus track from the amazing Randy Rainbow!

You are in charge here: Tell your Representatives and Senators what you want to happen. Resistbot is an easy and fast way to contact them. It's your Democratic Republic to protect.

Day N of the Attempted Coup

Up til today, it had been a bloodless coup attempt. That changed today.

Let's make this clear. We must use the right words for the events of January 6.

An attempted coup. Incursion. Insurrection. Anarchy. Riot. Uprising. Not a "protest" or a "march."

Terrorists. Rioters. Insurgents. Thugs. Subversives. Not "Trump supporters" or "protestors."

This was an attack on the very heart and soul of our Democratic Republic. This was an attack on the very lives of our American citizens. One woman died. Others were injured. Bombs were placed.

Today's events in Washington, D.C. evoked a multitude of emotions, and it's hard to process it all. Words are wholly inadequate to convey what I felt today, but being the wordsmith I am, I will try. 

Disgust. Sadness. Anger. Disbelief. Nausea. Heartbreak. Fear. 

I didn't plan it this way, but I was off work, so being the political geek I am, I was tuned in to the dumb "debate" regarding the objections to the tally of the Electoral College vote, the final certification of Joe Biden's win. I had just listened to Mitch McConnell's speech that he should've given years ago. He actually showed some backbone and patriotism for once. 

Then suddenly there was a flurry of activity in the chambers. Reporters spotted Capitol police. Vice President Pence was hustled out of the chambers. Reporters in the gallery told us that they had been told to prepare to leave their area and go to the chamber, where they would be locked in. He said they were being told to stay away from windows and doors. 

What the....?

Talking heads assured viewers that the Capitol is the safest place around and there are big heavy doors and plenty of security. 

Split screens had shown TRUMP addressing his "rally" as well as their march toward the Capitol building. The network I was watching didn't broadcast his remarks. Later I found out he had said, "We’re going walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators, and congressmen and women. We’re probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them because you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong."

The split screens continued to show his mob advance on the building, climbing the stairs. There were reports of police holding them back with pepper spray. Then all hell broke loose.

Suddenly the Senate chambers were all in a flurry, an adjournment was abruptly called, and the chambers cameras went black. Every one within evacuated to the secure bunkers that are part of the infrastructure of the Capitol complex.

Cameras focused on what was happening outside as well as inside, and there are images and emotions that will never leave me.

I felt devastation when I heard a woman had been shot in the chest and was absolute bereft when I saw glimpses of blood-soaked stretcher rushing by.

I felt angry and assaulted when I saw thugs menacing and taunting a Capitol Police officer as he retreated up the stairs.

I felt fear and disbelief when I saw rioters breaking glass windows of the U.S. Capitol building and climbing through.

I felt horrified when I saw members of Congress, fear crossing their faces, huddled on the ground, donning gas masks. 

I felt a fire of rage when I saw a terrorist grinning as he sat in the chair that moments before our Vice President had sat, overseeing the proceedings as dictated by the United States Constitution. 

I felt a screaming fury seeing extremists wander the chambers of OUR HOUSE. I yelled at the TV: "You're going to jail. And you're going to jail. And you! And you! And you!"

I felt violated when I saw a mobster with his feet on Speaker Pelosi's desk. I felt a chill when I saw a message scrawled on a folder: "We will not back down." 

I felt nauseated seeing the confederate flag within the hallowed halls of the Capitol.

I felt confused when I wondered how "the safest building in Washington" was able to be breached so easily. 

 

I felt disgust when I watched the actions and inactions from the one who threw the match. Like the international evil villain of a movie plot, 45 sat back and watched what he had put into place. He set the mob on their way and retreated to the Whitewash House to watch the destruction on TV. He issued a couple of tepid tweets before sending out a wink and a smile as he lied some more and told his people in a video, "I love you, go home." He said: 

I know your pain, I know you're hurt. We had an election that was stolen from us. It was a landslide election and everyone knows it, especially the other side. But you have to go home now. We have to have peace. We have to have law and order. We have to respect our great people in law and order. We don't want anybody hurt.

It's a very tough period of time. There's never been a time like this where such a thing happened where they could take it away from all of us — from me, from you, from our country. This was a fraudulent election, but we can't play into the hands of these people. We have to have peace. So go home. We love you. You're very special. You've seen what happens. You see the way others are treated that are so bad and so evil.

I know how you feel, but go home, and go home in peace.

I feel shame that the rest of the world sees that this is what we are.

I felt dismay hearing both officials and journalists who have seen the worst of the world's strife compare this to what they have seen in banana republics.

I felt shock that this last attack on the U.S. Capitol was compared to the last one, the one during the War of 1812. 

I feel worry about what is to come in the next two weeks. I feel the fervent hope that Vice President Pence will finally invoke the 25th Amendment and stop this madman from doing more damage. 

 

And then as evening came, I had glimpse of other emotions. I've also felt heartened. Relieved. Patriotic. Optimistic.

I felt relieved when social media platforms blocked SCROTUS's accounts and removed his video.

I felt heartened when Sen. Tammy Duckworth spoke clearly when she said that Congress will not be bullied and forcefully said, "We will start up again. Today." 

I felt encouraged when the Congress dusted themselves off and got back to work, just hours after the crisis. I felt relieved when Sen. Kelly Loeffler showed some integrity and voiced her decision to reverse her decision to object to the certification. 

I felt patriotic when storied lawmakers sang the praises of the best of America in their late evening session. The thugs did not win.

I felt optimistic when I heard many cabinet members are considering resigning and that there is chatter of invoking the 25th Amendment.

I feel resolved that the American people will come together and get through this crisis and come out stronger.

Scorched Earth

It's been a while since I've outlined the goings-on during the transition period. Holidays and my post about prosecution took up some time.

As predicted, the Mango Mussolini has decided on a scorched earth plan. It has been a chaotic, dangerous transition. When last we met, 45's efforts to overturn the will of the people found a brick wall at the U.S. Supreme Court. All told, he has lost upwards of 60 lawsuits. 

After all that, the Electoral College voted and Biden was officially deemed the winner on December 14, 2020. 

And then yesterday, another perfect phone call. 

Ed Wexler

Remember I said we'd have to wait maybe 24 hours after he left the Whitewash House for him to crime again? How about T-minus 17 days? Yesterday, the Washington Post released the tape of an hour-long phone call between SCROTUS and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Agolf Drümpf wanted the secretary of state to "find" 11,780 more votes in order to overturn the election results in Georgia. 

"So what are we going to do here, folks?" he said. "I only need 11,000 votes. Fellas, I need 11,000 votes. Give me a break."

He performed his mobster tactics: flattery, cajoling, and outright threats. Raffensperger didn't budge. And now we have another impeachable offense, a blatant abuse of power and one that may be criminal. Read the WaPo article with audio excerpts, listen to the full tape, like I did, or read the full transcript. It's a portrait of a sad, sad, desperate despot-wannabe. It's rambling; it's bizarre; it's infuriating; it's illegal.

It's a federal and a state offense, so chalk this one up to an impeachable, prosecutable offense. We need to go after this crime. Hard. 

Read others' opinions on the phone call: Carl Bernstein believes it is worse than Watergate's smoking gun. Bloomberg's Timothy O'Brien calls the phone call "Coup Fever."

The taped call (after Agent Orange's 18 attempts at garnering a phone conversation with Raffensperger) begs the question: given that SCROTUS would have needed a few battleground states to win the general election, how many other state officials have been subjected to his tirades? Has he threatened other officials? What other offenses has he committed?

Before the phone call of course, he had been waging his scorched earth campaign.

He issued pardons to a slew of nefarious characters. So much for pardons being used for mercy. Of course he pardoned his partners-in-crime Paul Manafort and Roger Stone, as well as his daughter's horribly criminal father-in-law, Charles Kushner. He handed out pardons to other blatant bad guys. Corrupt congressmen Duncan Hunter, Chris Collins and Steve Stockman were issued pardons for no reason other than they fit SCROTUS's corrupt ideals.

He broke international law by pardoning odious murderers Nicholas Slatten, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty, and Dustin Heard. They were the Blackwater contractors who committed atrocities in Iraq in 2007. This last set of pardons could be a violation of international law. Twitler must be held accountable for this violation, and those murderers should be sent back to prison.

He has thrown the Georgia Senate election into chaos. His "supportive" rally last month for GOP candidates Perdue and Loeffler, turned out to be anything but. As a result, Repug Georgians have vowed to boycott the election based on his cries that the election there was "rigged." And now with the current dust-up regarding the call with Raffensperger, tomorrow's election could be chaotic, contentious, and possibly violent. 

He held up the stimulus package and turned the GOP against each other, furthering the muddle in Georgia. After his own people negotiated the stimulus bill, he balked at signing it. He issued a preference for an increase in payments from $600 to $2000 to every American. This threw his party into a cage-match with Democrats, who supported the idea of a larger payout. Of course, payments ended up staying at $600. After a week of stalling, the president* finally signed the bill, but the delay was such that stimulus payments weren't issued as speedily as hoped, and there was fear that unemployment benefits and safety nets from the previous bill expired. Later reporting indicates that thankfully, there was no gap in payments.

He is awarding Medals of Freedom to gross Repug members of Congress Jim Jordan (OH) and Devin Nunes (CA). I can't think of any two people any less deserving of that honor. 

The GOP continues to splinter. At least a dozen GOP Senators and several dozen Repug Representatives are planning to protest Congress's formal tally of the Electoral College votes, which occurs on Wednesday, January 6. Mitch is losing his iron grip on his caucus. Normally a mundane formality (does anyone else remember the day this happened for past elections?), the members of the "sedition caucus" are throwing themselves on the sword for their Supreme Leader, and damaging their party – and our country – in the process.

Seriously, it may the best thing for the GOP to just get on with their self-destruct mode and rebuild some sort of a semblance of a reasonable conservative party. There's nothing inherently wrong with conservatism. There is something dreadfully wrong with fundamentalist, far-right fascist ideology, which is what the GOP is today. 

Sabir Nazar

Brian Duffy
(and thanks to Big Sister Resister Pagrs for adding to my Moby Dick collection!)

As always, there are positives.

Donny may be looking to skip the country on January 19. A Scottish newspaper, the Sunday Post, has reported that officials there have been told to expect a large plane to land on the day before the Biden's inauguration, and there have been U.S. reconnaissance flights going on above. It'll be good to have his cooties out of the country on our momentous day, but I hope he comes back only when he has to face charges.

There are some heroes! Among those who are defending our Constitution:

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has not backed down against BLOTUS's onslaughts and in fact has faced threats of violence. He remains in the job, overseeing Georgia's Senate run-off election at great personal and political peril. Though he had been an unabashed TЯUMP supporter, and has done some questionable voter purging in Georgia, he has also steadfastly worked to maintain a free and fair election in his state. He's landing on the side of hero in my book.

Gabriel Sterling, Georgia’s voting system official, who last month pushed back on SCROTUS's dangerous rhetoric and baseless claims, again spoke out after his boss's phone call with 45. Sterling is a Republican. And he cares about his state's election. 

Texas GOP Representative Chip Roy, who has stated that U.S. Representatives elected from states that are being contested should not be seated. Hell, yeah. We've been saying that all along. If they are contesting elections that 45 lost, then they are contesting their own elections. Sit down and shut up! 

Dominion Voting Systems is suing TЯUMP lawyer Sidney Powell. I hope they also sue the man himself. The Dominion worker that the campaign, and QAnon, besmirched, and who suffered death threats, is suing the campaign, his lawyers, and conservative media outlets. Go, man, go!

Mitt Romney has been a loud voice of reason on the Right many times, and he spoke out again yesterday, saying the ploy to contest the election results "dangerously threatens our Democratic Republic."

The 10 living Secretaries of Defense, including Ashton Carter, Dick Cheney, William Cohen, Mark Esper, Robert Gates, Chuck Hagel, James Mattis, Leon Panetta, William Perry and Donald Rumsfeld all strongly rebuked the current attempts at a coup and warned against involving the military in a joint letter. It's more than a little scary that they had to use the language they did: "Efforts to involve the U.S. armed forces in resolving election disputes would take us into dangerous, unlawful and unconstitutional territory. Civilian and military officials who direct or carry out such measures would be accountable, including potentially facing criminal penalties, for the grave consequences of their actions on our republic." Still, I'm grateful for them banding together and speaking out. 

Stacy Abrams! She has worked tirelessly to organize in Georgia and get out the Black vote. She and her organization Fair Fight are to credit for turning Georgia blue. Let's help they get that blue stained through and through tomorrow. She's the one who deserves a Medal of Freedom!

...and hopefully: the hero voters of Georgia. Fingers crossed that they will prevail tomorrow and give the Dems control of the United States Senate. Go, Georgia, go!

The finish line is close. Say calm and let's get there.

"The pursuit, even of the best things, ought to be calm and tranquil." – Marcus Tullius Cicero