Documenting the Last 240 Hours

In 10 days, Joe Biden will be president.

This thread is to record the atrocities, the crimes, the threats, the racial confrontations, the attacks, the attempts at revisionist history, and all the vile, sordid, despicable attempts by Trump, wretched Republicans politicians, his lickspittle minions, and aberrant followers to wreak havoc and chaos in the hope of attaining vengeance against those of us who resisted right up to Election Day. And won.

We came close to a lynching of the VP on the mall; the assassination by high-powered rifle of the Speaker; the bombing of both parties D.C. HQs. Murder was done. Beating was inflicted. Bullets were fired and have left their scars in the marble. Destruction of the People's House and the taxpayers' Capitol narrowly averted.

Now we are witness to the revisionists and hypocrites attempting to lipstick the pigs who attacked our institution during the last step of the election process. Smarmy Republicans are attempting to turn the violent mob into "poor misunderstoods whose voices weren't heard." White nationalists are being transformed into aggrieved protestors with "legitimate complaints" by the right wing mouthpieces and politicians.

Bloodlust is what we witnessed. Not protest. And we have been promised more. I believe them. If you believe them, write it down in this thread. Don't allow Republican insurrecitionists, and inciters of violence, and politicians of dehumanization try to paint themselves as the victims. And never let us forget what the worst president, if not the worst living figure in power in the world today has done to his own country for the sake of his own ego.

Did you hear about the protest rally in front of the San Francisco twitter headquarters this morning? One protester, two counter-protesters and thirty cops. Communications problems?

It's wooorrrrkkkkkiiiinnngggg
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Lindsey Graham Screams at USCP Officer for Not Defending Him from Trump Supporters During Height of Terrorist Attack

Blue Lives Matter! Remember that Lindsey? Oh -- they only matter when they're attacking black people, not when you're scared to death of the very people you are allied with, eh? Well, they're more militantly racist than you and they're even more devoted to your golfing buddy than you are. They'd die for him. And now you learned something else about them last Wednesday, didn't you?

They'll kill for him. They'll kill white Republicans for him. People like you.

And you scream at a cop who you expect to lay down his life to preserve yours. I can't think of enough adjectives to describe how base and deplorable you are.

Senator Sherrod Brown tried, too. He couldn't really state how worthless he thinks you are after witnessing this scene.

. . .when 175(sic) senators were confined in a room with about 75 staff people, Lindsey Graham, with his mask off, started screaming at one of the officers, I think it was one of the captains, saying, 'How come you didn't protect us?'" said Brown. "This is the same Lindsey Graham that for five years — or for four years, he didn't do it at the beginning — defended and argued for and abetted this president.

"... he was screaming at an officer, he had his mask off, screaming at his officer from five feet away," said Brown. "The same Lindsey Graham that aided and abetted the same number of senators that then a number of them — Lindsey wasn't one of them — but they came back and still sided with these terrorists after the attack on our Capitol. So I don't know what they've learned, but I know what we've learned, and we learned we need to make all of them accountable."

"

>3 Limelite: Well, Lindsey, some of those officers were fellow MAGAts, and were busy helping other MAGAts find their way around the Capitol building.

At least one other officer could have been killed by the angry and racist mob, but the officer made the decision to lure that mob somewhere other than their target.

And knowing this now, Lindsey, as you surely must have learned--you would still not vote to impeach the person who stirred up this vile mob.

Trump declares state of emergency in D.C. ahead of inauguration
MATTHEW CHOI | 1/11/2021

The order, stemming from last week’s deadly riots at the Capitol, allows DHS and FEMA to assist the city in any emergency response.

...D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser...had written to acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf on Sunday, urging the administration to recognize a pre-disaster declaration in the city in preparation for Inauguration Day. She had also requested in her letter to extend the U.S. Secret Service’s National Special Security Event for the inauguration from Jan. 11 through Jan. 24 instead of the previously planned Jan. 19-21. DHS announced on Monday that it was expanding the period to begin Jan. 13.

Wolf announced he was stepping down from his position shortly before Trump’s declaration on Monday, citing ongoing problems surrounding his appointment. An administration official told POLITICO that he was also motivated to step down after the Capitol Hill attack. Wolf had issued a statement the day after the attack urging Trump to condemn the violence. “Any appearance of inciting violence by an elected official goes against who we are as Americans,” it read.

Wolf had intended to stay in his position through the end of the administration to ensure a safe transition to Biden’s team, but he wrote on Monday that he felt confident the transfer would go smoothly...

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/11/donald-trump-dc-state-of-emergency-inau...

Interesting that the New York Post reports the first part of Trump’s remarks this morning but omits how he ended them “but I don’t want violence.”

https://nypost.com/2021/01/12/trump-impeachment-efforts-over-capitol-riot-causin...

We are nearing the last decade of the 19th century. In Britain, Victoria is on the throne and, at more than fifty years of age, in the second decade of her reign. In America --that is to say, in the United States of America-- a generation has passed since the Civil War. Lincoln has passed into the pantheon of immortals. The railroads have criscrossed the continent and the nation has shining cities of skyscrapers under construction from San Francisco to New York. Vaudeville is still going strong, having its best days; but they are now numbered as the motion-picture industry, still is in its infancy, still unable to “speak” audibly, is soon to change all of that. Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse, specifically, are going to change all that with an electric revolution in technology.

Mark Twain the pen-name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, after living in Hartford, Connecticut, had moved to Elmira, New York. That is where another household name in 19th century English letters, Rudyard Kipling, author of Kim, The Jungle Books, then only in his thirties and living in Vermont, having taken up residence there after his marriage in 1892, sought to meet Clemens. Kipling tells of his visit to Elmira in a two-volume memoir of his world travels, From Sea to Sea: Travel Letters (1899)

… “Then things happened somewhat in this order. A big, darkened drawing-room; a huge chair; a man with eyes, a mane of grizzled hair, a brown mustache covering a mouth as delicate as a woman's, a strong, square hand shaking mine, and the slowest, calmest, levellest voice in all the world saying:

“—'Well, you think you owe me something, and you've come to tell me so. That's what I call squaring a debt handsomely.'

“ 'Piff!,' from a cob-pipe. ( I always said that a Missouri meerschaum was the best smoking in the world ), and, behold! Mark Twain had curled himself up in the

FROM SEA TO SEA 171

“big armchair, and I was smoking reverently, as befits one in the presence of his superior.

“The thing that struck me first was that he was an elderly man; yet, after a minute's thought, I perceived that it was otherwise, and in five minutes, the eyes looking at me, I saw that the grey hair was an accident of the most trivial. He was quite young. I was shaking his hand. I was smoking his cigar, and I was hearing him talk — this man I had learned to love and admire fourteen thousand miles away.

“Reading his books, I had striven to get an idea of his personality, and all my preconceived notions were wrong and beneath the reality. Blessed is the man who finds no disillusion when he is brought face to face with a revered writer. That was a moment to be remembered; the landing of a twelve-pound salmon was nothing to it. I had hooked Mark Twain, and he was treating me as though under certain circumstances I might be an equal.

“About this time I became aware that he was discussing the copyright question. Here, so far as I remember, is what he said. Attend to the words of the oracle through this unworthy medium transmitted. You will never be able to imagine the long, slow surge of the drawl, and the deadly gravity of the countenance, the quaint pucker of the body, one foot thrown over the arm of the chair, the yellow pipe clinched in one corner of the mouth, and the right hand casually caressing the square chin : …

“I was burning to ask him all manner of impertinent questions, as to which of his works he himself preferred, and so forth; but, standing in awe of his eyes, I dared not. He spoke on, and I listened, grovelling. It was a question of mental equipment that was on the carpet, and I am still wondering whether he meant what he said.

" 'Personally I never care for fiction or story-books. What I like to read about are facts and statistics of any kind. If they are only facts about the raising of radishes, they interest me. Just now, for instance, before you came in'—

he pointed to an encyclopaedia on the shelves —

“ 'I was reading an article about “Mathematics.'” Perfectly pure mathematics. 'My own knowledge of mathematics stops at “twelve times twelve,” but I enjoyed that article immensely. I didn't understand a word of it; but facts, or what a man believes to be facts, are always delightful. That mathematical fellow believed in his facts. So do I. Get your facts first, and'— the voice dies away to an almost inaudible drone — 'then you can distort 'em as much as you please.' ” ….

Clemens is said to have quipped of his meeting with Kipling “Between us, we cover all knowledge; he covers all that can be known and I cover the rest.”

Today, that latter (“the rest”) would be the special preserve of the anti-Trump horde on whom the wisdom and insight of Clemens' “Get your facts first, and then you can distort 'em as much as you please” is lost.

MSNBC Cuts Off Trump's Austin Remarks

Because they perpetuate known debunked lies about the election and about the insurrection, and about himself. Because they were deemed inciteful to his violent supporters. Portions of his rant were described by commentators as deranged.

"If you read my speech, and many people have done it and I've seen it both in the papers and in the media, on television, it's been analyzed and people thought that what I said was totally appropriate," the president opined. (He also threatened "danger" if impeachment proceeds.)

At that point, Jackson announced that MSNBC was ending the broadcast of Trump's remarks.

"The president has started to, as he occasionally does, as he often does, veer away from the truth," she explained.

No. No one who is a truth teller said anything of the kind about either your behavior (TV-Watcher-in-Chief) or your speech when you told rioters, "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." PolitFact
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Atty. Lin Wood No Can No Longer Practice in DE

In a ruling issued on Tuesday, Judge Craig Karsnitz explained why he was revoking Wood's right to practice.

"During the course of this, litigation has been filed around the country challenging the Presidential election," Karsnitz wrote. "I raised concerns I had after reviewing written decisions from Georgia and Wisconsin. Specifically, in Georgia, a lawsuit filed by Mr. Wood resulted in a determination that the suit was without basis in law of fact. The initial pleadings in the Wisconsin case were riddled with errors.

"What I am always required to do is ensure that those practicing before me are of sufficient character, and conduct themselves with sufficient civility and truthfulness," the judge continued. "The conduct of Mr. Wood, albeit not in my jurisdiction, exhibited a toxic stew of mendacity, prevarication and surprising incompetence.

"What has been shown in Court decisions of our sister States satisfies me that it would be inappropriate and inadvisable to continue Mr. Wood's permission to practice before this Court," Karsnitz concluded.

Amen to that and may more judges in other jurisdictions have only mercy on Wood's soul.
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Republicans Still Trying To Derail the Transfer of Power

1) The FBI, DOJ, and DHS have all been silent about the attack, avoiding any public briefing for fear of offending the president who perpetrated it. (going dark when transparency is paramount to future national security)

2) Administration officials who are ostensibly in charge of homeland security are resigning rather than engaging in crisis management. (abandoning post in crisis)

3) The Senate isn’t even in session. Mitch McConnell cited their vacation as an excuse for not holding a Trump impeachment trial. There have been no hearings about the sacking of the Capitol. (We are in 'national emergency status. McConnell can and should convene the Senate to respond appropriately. Dereliction of duty.)

4) For the first time in the last ten transitions, the GOP Senate is not confirming Biden cabinet members prior to the inauguration. That’s right: There will be no Homeland Security secretary, attorney general, secretary of State, or secretary of Health and Human Services when Joe Biden takes office in the wake of a domestic terror attack during a pandemic which has killed nearly 400,000 Americans. (refusal to perform Constitutional duty)

5) Republican officials continue to call for investigations into imaginary fraud in order to appease the insurrectionists. (election fraud that didn't happen)

6) Several Republican officials have threatened the possibility of more violence if Trump is held to account for his actions. (the impeachment threat)
The Bulwark

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Prominent Mich. Republican Couple Joins Conservative Facebook Group Discussing Possibility of Civil War

Michigan state Rep. Matt Maddock, R-Milford, and his wife, Meshawn Maddock, who is poised to become the next co-chair of the Michigan Republican Party, have joined a Facebook group where members have discussed the possibility of a civil war, decried a ban on open carry inside the state Capitol and hope for a "big cleanup" of elected leaders.

The Maddocks have played a leading role in the effort to overturn Michigan's election results, and the two were in Washington, D.C., when the president's supporters stormed the Capitol building in a deadly assault last Wednesday. Meshawn Maddock helped organize buses bringing Michigan Trump supporters to Washington, and she and her husband spoke during a rally of Trump supporters the day before the violent mob attacked the Capitol.Detroit Free Press
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THERE STILL IS NO DOMESTIC TERRORISM LAW TO ALLOW LE TO EMBED IN ONLINE DARK SITES OR HATE GANGS, ETC. Domestic terrorism has been deemed by the FBI and other security agencies as the Number One National Security Threat

The FBI has received over 100,000 tips identifying the insurrectionist perps.

Georgia Trump Supporter Dead by Suicide After He's Charged in Capitol Riot

Christopher Stanton Georgia (yes, that's his last name) of Fulton County died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest Saturday. Georgia is

charged with attempting to "enter certain property, that is, the United States Capitol Grounds, against the will of the United States Capitol Police." When officers gave several warnings for the group to disperse, documents said they did not. Georgia and the group were placed under arrest as a result.

An Alpharetta Police report shows officers removed two rifles from his home.

I don't believe his suicide is being counted among the numbers of dead associated with the coup attempt as he had no official business, nor was he charged with any violent acts during the insurrection prior to his death.

Deplorable Republican Lawmakers Attack USCP for Requiring They Pass Through Metal Detectors

Oh? You're a precious snowflake and bloated with your own self-importance? What do you do at the airport before being allowed to board a plane -- behave like a petulant brat there, too, yelling and screaming (a la Lindsey Graham) at HS security agents?

No. 2 Republican, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), who was shot by a man in Virginia in 2017 now thinks that sending officials through metal detectors is hindering their ability to do their jobs.
(saying). . .to be scanned made things "untenable" because it "impedes the ability of members to come and vote. This is our job."
(SNIP)
Meanwhile, Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) began shouting at Capitol Police officers, who spent last week putting themselves between members and attackers.
(sounding). . .like he was quoting some of the insurrectionists when he shouted at Capitol Police, "it's my constitutional right" and "they cannot stop me."

Both members previously supported the "Blue Lives Matter" movement. It's unclear if they now oppose police after the insurrection.

Afraid to go on the floor of the House w/o your illegally smuggled in sidearm, boys?

Federal Prosecutors Investigate Possible Seditious Conspiracy Charges in Capitol Assault

Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Michael Sherwin said Tuesday a "strike force" of senior national security and public corruption prosecutors within his office are investigating charges related to the "most heinous" acts that occurred at the Capitol. Sherwin said the team is investigating whether rioters coordinated and planned their assault, combing through travel records, financial information and communications.
(SNIP)
. . .the FBI has opened more than 170 "subject files," meaning individuals identified as potentially having committed a crime either inside or outside the Capitol, Sherwin said.
(SNIP)
. . .some of those already charged with lower-level offenses like trespassing could face more serious felony charges as prosecutors continue to build their case.
(SNIP)
Seditious conspiracy — defined as two or more people who conspire to overthrow the government by force, oppose the government's authority by force, or "prevent, hinder or delay" the execution of any U.S. law by force — is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

. . .a team of prosecutors had also been assigned to investigating assaults on members of the media, some of whom were "specifically targeted" by the mob.

BREAKING: Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen takes to YouTube just as president is removed from it. In 1st on camera appearance since Capitol riot, Rosen vows 'no tolerance whatsoever' for violence and other criminality at Biden inauguration.

Acting Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen's Video Statement on the Seizure of the U.S. Capitol (3:38)
youtube.com
https://twitter.com/joshgerstein/status/1349219926242897920

- Josh Gerstein @joshgerstein | 12:01 AM · Jan 13, 2021:

What Trump basically did in his speech right before the mob descended on the Capitol building was deputize that mob. Basically a go out and get them speech and in that Trump crowd that day were proud boys, 3%'ers, neo-nazi's and white supremacists, Q conspiracists, racist cops, boogalooers, milita men and radicalized military personnel. After that he went up to his room and watched it all on TV.

On the Status Coup youtube page---much of what Ari Melber used in his MSNBC program you actually get to see a lot of raw footage of how organized the attack on the main building was. It wasn't just a bunch of angry citizens (though there were plenty of them too). There were people in that mob who took control and got others to work with them. It reminded me a lot of nature programs. For instance--in a war over a nest seeing one colony of hornets or wasps gradually break down a weaker bee's nest population.The Capitol Police on the spot (or at least the ones that didn't betray and fought back) did their jobs to the best of their abilities and can only be commended for that. There simply weren't enough of them.

YouTube Suspends Trump’s Channel for at Least Seven Days
Daisuke Wakabayashi | Jan. 12, 2021

...YouTube said on Tuesday that it had suspended President Trump’s channel over concern about “ongoing potential for violence,” the latest move by one of the large technology companies to limit the president online.

In a post on YouTube’s official Twitter account, the Google-owned video site said it had suspended Mr. Trump’s account after one of his recent videos violated its policy for inciting violence.

That meant Mr. Trump would not be able to upload new content to his channel, which had about 2.8 million subscribers, for at least seven days. YouTube also said it was disabling all comments on his channel indefinitely.

Older videos that did not violate any policies remained active on his channel...

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/12/technology/youtube-suspends-trump.html

For all those anti-Trump people who cannot recall events older than the "past 240 hours" :

(from The Federalist, Washington, D.C.) 10 Times Democrats Urged Violence Against Trump And His Supporters | January 8, 2021 | By Jordan Davidson | (commentary)
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"While Democratic politicians and the corporate media blamed President Donald Trump for the mob riot at the Capitol on Wednesday, saying his rhetoric incited violence, many of these same lawmakers and bureaucrats have for years called for violence and physical action against those who believe differently than they do.

" 'Hate to break it to you but if Trump had won, there would have been violence on Wednesday, and it most certainly would have been worse. How do I know? Because Democrats have been endorsing violence as a political tactic throughout the Trump Administration,' wrote Grabien founder Tom Elliott on Twitter.

Hate to break it to you but if Trump had won, there would have been violence on Wednesday, and it most certainly would have been worse. How do I know? Because Democrats have been endorsing violence as a political tactic throughout the Trump Administration.

— Tom Elliott ( @tomselliott ) January 8, 2021

"In an extensive thread, Elliott outlined many examples of Democratic politicians and other leftists advocating for violence as a response to conservatives.

"In 2018, Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu of California said on MSNBC that if Trump fired special counsel Robert Mueller, there would be 'widespread civil unrest' as people would 'take to the streets.'

"Similarly, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper agreed that if Trump fired Mueller, it would 'set off a firestorm not only on the Hill but also in the streets.'

James Clapper echoed Lieu — and many other Democrats — saying Trump firing Mueller would result in a 'firestorm … in the streets' pic.twitter.com/4jpBp9fdha

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) January 8, 2021

"That same year, Sen. Cory Booker urged people to answer a 'call to action' to protest at the Capitol. 'Please, get up in the face of some congresspeople,' Booker said at a conference.

"Failed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said civility was only an option if the Democrats controlled the legislative branch. 'You can’t be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for and what you care for,' she said in 2018.

.@HillaryClinton specifically said “you can’t be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for” pic.twitter.com/MAqtMvr6aj

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) January 8, 2021

"Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder encouraged a group of 'liberal activists,' to fight back, a sentiment that was met with applause and laughter. 'Michelle (Obama) always says, "When they go low, we go high," ' Holder began. 'No. No. When they go low, we kick them.'

"In 2019, Rep. Joaquin Castro said Democrats would 'fight (Trump) and challenge him in every way that we can in the Congress, in the courts, and in the streets and protests,' if the president declared a national emergency about a government shutdown.

"In 2019, when Trump was considering declaring a 'national emergency' over the then-gov’t shutdown, Rep. @JoaquinCastrotx said if he did, Democrats would “fight him … in the streets” pic.twitter.com/rxSnSKhhLn

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) January 8, 2021

"Shortly after claiming 'God is on our side,' Rep. Maxine Waters of California also urged activists to physically confront the Trump administration in public places, saying, 'You get out and create a crowd. You push back on them. You tell them they are not welcomed anymore or anywhere.'

"Waters continued her narrative in an interview with MSNBC's Joy Reid, telling people to be 'more forceful, more confrontational, and more prepared to push back on this administration.'

In an interview w/ Joy Ann Reid, Rep. Waters then doubled down on her call to be “more confrontational” w/ Republicans pic.twitter.com/SnXfHc6hJg

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) January 8, 2021

"More recently, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said that, in politics, 'when you’re in the arena, you have to be ready to take a punch, and you have to be ready to throw a punch … for the children.'

"Sen. Jon Tester of Montana took it one step further, encouraging people to 'punch Trump in the face.' " ...

So, what was that about incitements to violence as impeachable offenses? Hmmm?

Nowhere is Trump heard saying,

...", and you have to be ready to throw a punch"

'No. No. When they go low, we kick them.'

Catholic bishops, theologians and periodicals have been prolific in the last few days making statements and reflecting on the violence at the US Capitol. A selection of them has been gathered by the Catholic Peacebuilding Network, here.

Here are a few excerpts which struck me.

Pope Francis

Dear brothers and sisters, I offer an affectionate greeting to the people of the United States of America, shaken by the recent siege at the Congress. I pray for those who lost their life – five – they lost it in those dramatic moments. I reiterate that violence is always self-destructive. Nothing is earned with violence and so much is lost. I exhort the government authorities and the entire population to maintain a deep sense of responsibility, in order to calm souls, to promote national reconciliation and to protect the democratic values rooted in American society.

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops

I join people of good will in condemning the violence today at the United States Capitol. This is not who we are as Americans. I am praying for members of Congress and Capitol staff and for the police and all those working to restore order and public safety. The peaceful transition of power is one of the hallmarks of this great nation. In this troubling moment, we must recommit ourselves to the values and principles of our democracy and come together as one nation under God.

Cardinal Wilton Gregory, Archbishop of Washington DC

Our United States Capitol is sacred ground and a place where people over the past centuries have rightly demonstrated, representing a wide variety of opinions. We Americans should honor the place where our nation’s laws and policies are debated and decided. We should feel violated when the legacy of freedom enshrined in that building is disrespected and desecrated. I pray for safety – of our elected officials, staffers, workers, protestors, law enforcement personnel, and neighbors to the United States Capitol. There are injuries and tremendous harm, including reports about the loss of life. Together, we must intentionally pause and pray for peace in this critical moment. The divisive tone that has recently so dominated our national conversations must change. Those who resort to inflammatory rhetoric must accept some responsibility for inciting the increasing violence in our nation. We are called to be a people of democratic values that respect the opinions of others, even when we disagree with them...

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, usually noted for his right wing views, is on video.

From Catholic Moral Theology

On February 23, 1981, the Congress of Deputies, the lower house of the Parliament of Spain, was meeting to elect a prime minister. Their deliberations were rudely and violently interrupted when Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Tejero led 200 armed Civil Guard officers into the Deputies’ chamber, firing their service weapons up toward the ceiling. (The Civil Guard is the national police force of Spain which possesses a military capability to keep order should the need arise.) They took the legislators hostage. It was the centerpiece of a coup attempt to overthrow Spain’s then new, fragile democracy and restore the authoritarian rule Spain suffered under the late Francisco Franco from 1936 to 1975. What became known to history as 23-F for the date of the action, or the Tejerazo for its leader, failed thanks to the majority of the people and the military and police of Spain wanting democracy, and the courageous and decisive statement make by King Juan Carlos I denouncing the coup. Tejero and his collaborators surrendered to police, were arrested, tried, stripped of rank, and jailed. January 6, 2021 was the United States’ Tejerazo moment...

Donald Trump and his Republican Party collaborators in Congress and a spectrum of Trump’s supporters on the streets of Washington attempted an autogolpe. An autogolpe is when a democratically elected, constitutionally legitimate leader attempts to retain power through unconstitutional means, including force. Like all autoglopes in modern history, dating to French President Charles Louis Napoleon Bonaparte’s seizure of power in 1851, the attack on democratic, constitutional government was led from the executive branch by the head of state. Fortunately for us, unlike Spain, the entirety of the United States’ military and its local and national security services did not collaborate with Trump’s autogolpe. They stood up for the Constitution and protected Congress from Trump’s attack...

The Tablet

The incident in Washington DC was the culmination of years of polarisation and divisions, so much of it fuelled by social media where people increasingly live in their own information ecosystems. In the echo chamber which is the dictatorship of relativism, people are unable to find common ground with those whom they disagree or even see objective truth. Believe what you want to believe, and make the truth what you want it to be. This has had catastrophic consequences for Trump supporters. For months, they have been fed a relentless diet of misinformation that the election was stolen from their president. The baseless claims are without evidence and have been rejected by every court who has examined them. Yet the Trump mob which invaded the heart of American democracy, egged on by an irresponsible president, continue to believe the claims to be true...

Commonweal

The problem isn’t just Trump. It’s Trumpism...

America Magazine

We cannot feign surprise, because for years, the core of Mr. Trump’s appeal has been stoking white resentment at the changing face of America. What we saw today is a clear declaration that many white people would rather live in a white dictatorship than in a multiracial democracy. If democracy means sharing power with people of color, especially Black people, then they want no part of it. Today is the inevitable consequence of the nation’s tolerance of white racism...

National Catholic Reporter

Catholic mob rule and those who support it... But, whether {Trump} is in or out of office, legions of Catholics will remain in wide-eyed support of him, his policies and his actions. They think they are saving the world from Satan...

Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University

The 'Big Lie' is Always Violent: The Inevitability of Insurrection at the U.S. Capitol... The Trump-inspired insurrection at the United States Capitol on January 6 made clear what was always the case: Trumpian-sized lying will cause chaotic political violence. This causal connection... Political lies spread far and wide—like claims that Biden didn’t win the election in the face of overwhelming evidence that he did—always carry within them the logic and lust for violence...

America Magazine

What would St. Thomas More say to Catholic Trump supporters?... "A Man For All Seasons”... The key character in the play is not Sir Thomas More. The audience’s entrance point is “The Common Man”... He saw—and commented on—More’s discovery of his dilemma: a choice between truth and lies... And we saw through the Common Man the cost to More of opting for the truth. When, at the end, the Common Man explains to More that he couldn’t get involved, that he would just go along because he was a plain simple man, Thomas shouts, “O sweet Jesus, these plain, simple men!”

I was thinking Wednesday, during the invasion of the Capitol, of the Common Man, his compromises and the fate of Catholicism in England after More. And I was thinking of those Catholics who voted for Donald Trump. Most of these supporters, I think, were aware of his racism, his brutal sexual behavior, his bullying, his monstrous egotism and his endless lies. And yet they voted for him in the hope that they would get something from him. They felt if they could get what they wanted, the rest would take care of itself...

Commonweal

Taken together, LifeSiteNews and Church Militant garnered nearly 10 million visits to their alt-right “news” websites during the last three months of 2020—a pair of powerful platforms that helped spread bogus election-conspiracy claims to a huge Catholic audience. Along with other far-right websites that cater to Catholics, they pulled out the stops for President Donald Trump, even as he incited his followers to storm the Capitol on January 6. In the midst of the violence, their coverage was promotional; Church Militant went so far as to use Catholic imagery to glorify the rioters. Afterward, there were no apologies. For the most part, these supposedly Catholic websites haven’t received the scrutiny they deserve. Targeted at Catholics, a swing vote, they serve up a potent mix of traditional piety and populist politics...

Crux

Catholic leaders point to dangers of social media after Capitol violence...

National Catholic Reporter

Catholics need to confess their complicity in the failed coup... But also among those with some culpability for yesterday's failed insurrection are more than a few leaders in our church. Catholic apologists for Trump have blood on their hands... This is the culmination of what this presidency has been about from the beginning — and some Catholics have remained silent, or worse, cheered it along, including some bishops, priests, a few sisters, right-wing Catholic media and too many people in the pro-life movement... We're talking to you CatholicVote.org, Attorney General William Barr and other Catholics in the Trump administration, Amy Coney Barrett, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Bill Donohue of the Catholic League, rogue prolifer Abby Johnson. Sadly, the list goes on.

And what about the everyday Catholics — some 50% of them — who voted for Trump this year, after four years of incompetence, racist dog whistles and assaults on democratic norms? Not all were at the "protest" in Washington, but many have supported organizations that fanned the flames. Too many Catholic voters were content to cozy up to Trump in exchange for tax breaks, or Supreme Court judges, or subsidies for Catholic schools. Many of these folks have been shaped by right-wing Catholic media, whether rogue priests on Twitter, websites such as Church Militant or LifeSiteNews, or the Catholic media conglomerate the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN). The latter, with its veneer of respectability, has misinformed millions of Catholics worldwide with its biased news and opinion shows. EWTN anchor Raymond Arroyo, who moonlights on Laura Ingraham's show "The Ingraham Angle" on Fox News, where he is freed from the EWTN's alleged respectability, deserves singling out.

It must stop. If the church is to live up to the teachings of its founder, and if it is ever to be a witness to the culture, it cannot, must not, be a part of what happened at our nation's Capitol. There must be no white Catholic nationalism. And a pro-life movement that embraces white nationalism is not a true pro-life movement. Period...

Wonder if latter part of video is the Parliamentarian's office? I read it was targeted so as to seize the Electoral College certifications, breaking the chain of ownership, thereby forcing states to re-certify. Except that there are four copies from each state: Congress, Archives, state secretary of state, a state judge? Also staffers apparently took the certifications with them when they vacated the chamber(s).

The attack on the Capitol was coordinated and planned.
Here are the insurrectionists talking about the plan, including detailed schematics of the Capitol building.

2:17 ( https://twitter.com/AynRandPaulRyan/status/1349312406804025345 )
From Chris Morris

- Holly Figueroa O'Reilly @AynRandPaulRyan | 6:08 AM · Jan 13, 2021

Fears Trump and Minions Looting White House

Jim Acosta expresses concern on CNN, documenting The Final Days Secret Service should probably stop people exiting the building, search them and check items for Fed. Gov. ID labels before letting them pack it all away in moving boxes. Out of an abundance of caution, of course. Folks make "mistakes." Especially in this withering administration.

Nationwide, Police Officers Turning in Treasonous Colleagues To FBI

The thin blue line has frayed and snapped. Imagine how the loyal American patriot cops felt about their co-workers who betrayed them and democracy by attacking the Capitol, knowing that one of their own was slain and another badly beaten by their own kind

. . .police departments around the country are opening probes into officers accused of attending the pro-Trump "Save America" rally that devolved into a violent assault on the U.S. Capitol — a remarkable crack in the infamous "blue wall of silence" in police culture where brother officers act to defend their own.

"At least 13 off-duty law enforcement officials are suspected of taking part in the riot, a tally that could grow as investigators continue to pore over footage and records to identify participants. Police leaders are turning in their own to the FBI and taking the striking step of reminding officers in their departments that criminal misconduct could push them off the force and behind bars. . .
(SNIP)
The officers. . .are "under investigation for possible participation in the rioting, as well more than a dozen Capitol Police officers who may have assisted the mob that seized the Capitol. The officers — and at least one police chief — came from tiny departments with less than a handful of officers to large agencies with thousands on their force."

The insurgency was so full of anti-American values that it is not really surprising that the violent crowd hosted Boogaloo Bois who have declared they want to kill cops and blacks. They showed they will last summer in more than one incident.

The legendary blue line that once separated Americans into two camps "us" (cops) on one secretive brotherhood side that never talked about each other's less than ethical acts, and "them" (civilians) on whom despicable LE officers practiced brutality, profiling, intimidation, and other crimes while protected by their badges and guns and the thin blue line may be irreparably broken. That would be a good thing.

73% Decline in Misinformation After Twitter Permanently Axes Trump Account

How hard was that Twitter? I bet advertising didn't drop 73%, nor will it. There's not only no excuse not to boot toxic "culture" off social media; there's no reason not to, either.

"Online misinformation about election fraud plunged 73 percent after several social media sites suspended President Trump and key allies last week, research firm Zignal Labs has found, underscoring the power of tech companies to limit the falsehoods poisoning public debate when they act aggressively.

"The new research by the San Francisco-based analytics firm reported that conversations about election fraud dropped from 2.5 million mentions to 688,000 mentions across several social media sites in the week after Trump was banned from Twitter.

"The findings, from Jan. 9 through Friday,. . .offer an early indication of how concerted actions against misinformation can make a difference.
(SNIP)
"The research by Zignal and other groups suggests that a powerful, integrated disinformation ecosystem. . . — was central to pushing millions of Americans to reject the election results. . ."

Pentagon Refuses Traditional Farewell Ceremony for Trump

Disgraceful exit is good enough for deplorable president. Perhaps it’s for the best. Trump has used the military as a political prop since his first days in office, from signing MAGA hats for troops to giving partisan-fueled speeches in the heart of the Pentagon. American’s soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines have been made to stand at attention for Trump’s rants long enough. However, I imagine Trump's demand that a red carpet and a 21-gun salute be given him at Andrews AFB as he boards AF1 was viewed by so me in the ranks as a "missed opportunity." What that opportunity might have been, I won't venture to speculate.

Trump's Laughable Insensibility Remains Intact Out the Door

WaPo Reported that Trump is trying to gull his base donors out of "grassroots" small-dollar contributions that he predicts will reach $2 billion (that's billion with a "b") for a so-called Presidential Library that he wants built in FL.

Everyone knows the man is just this side of being illiterate and was determined to remain so while in the WH. What could possibly fill such a structure? The answer is, of course, autographed copies of his ghost-written book, The Art of the Deal. No doubt the curious who are prone to falling into many of Florida's tourist traps will find themselves required to buy the book in order to be allowed exit from such a non-memorial.

Let's strip this story of all its fake news. Trump wants to con $2 billion out of the lunkheads who think he's the godhead of their Anti-democracy Movement in order to cover a portion of his most pressing indebtedness and build himself a house -- preferably on a golf course he actually owns, not leases the land for -- where he can live out his days in the Sunshine State, becoming more orange and globular like the fruit that made FL famous.

>22 Limelite: We already have a Trump library thread. ;-)
https://www.librarything.com/topic/328437

Trump's Farewell Address To the Nation. . .

"My administration will release the national stockpile of reserved second Covid-19 vaccine doses immediately. I promise that the governor's of our great country will have vaccines in their states within days."

Turns out. . .

Health officials knowledgeable about the matter were told that Operation Warp Speed "stopped stockpiling second doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at the end of last year," the Post noted. "The last shots held in reserve of Moderna's supply, meanwhile, began shipping out over the weekend."

The Moderna doses, fell short of what states had been promised and are all gone in many states already.

The shift, in both cases, had to do with increased confidence in the supply chain, so that Operation Warp Speed leaders felt they could reliably anticipate the availability of doses for booster shots—required three weeks later in the case of the Pfizer-BioNTech product and four weeks later under Moderna's protocol.

But it also meant there was no stockpile of second doses waiting to be shipped, as Trump administration officials suggested this week. WaPo

Tell me, did you expect anything other than a big "Screw you!" from the man who has done nothing but since his swearing in four years ago? If you did, then I've got a bridge I'd like to sell you!

>24 Limelite: I'd also like to hear, in detail, about the great, fabulous, beautiful, biggest and best health care plan that's been in the works for the last four years.

>25 MsMixte: Yes, longest "two weeks" of my life.