Trump told them to do it
The Pennsylvania decision:
On January 6 my country was attacked. I had already read the transcript of Trump's Jan 2 call to try to bully election officials in Georgia into falsifying their election results. On Jan 6 I was worried that there would be violent conflicts between the Trump people and counter protesters. Once it became clear that the Capitol building was being attacked I kept waiting for Trump to call off his supporters. One tweet would have made all the difference. Trump's incessant lies about the election results were the direct cause of the attack on the capitol.
I would have preferred that the impeachment trial be delayed for a couple of months while the Biden administration focused on critical issues including the pandemic and the economy. although Trump's misconduct has been so inexcusable that it cannot be ignored. I wrote most of the following essay on February 9. Since then I have been watching the impeachment trial.
Many Trump followers sincerely believe that the election was "stolen". They were told by their president to "Stop the steal". Trump and other members of his administration. Trump kept saying "Stop the steal" even after the states had certified their election results. At that point the only way to stop the transfer of power would be a violent overthrow of the transition process. Trump and his minions were demanding that the proper and peaceful outcome of the election be Stopped.
Attendees at President Donald Trump’s rally in Dalton, Georgia, on January 4 who wanted to log in to the Make America Great network had to enter the phrase into their devices: “SeeYouJan6!” Trump was in town that night ostensibly to boost two Republican Senate candidates, but he spent much of his speech railing about the “stolen” 2020 election—and inciting supporters to descend on the nation’s capital two days later. “They’re not taking this White House,”* he declared, Marine One spotlighted behind him. The crowd roared. “We’re going to fight like hell.”
*my boldface
The courts made it quite clear that there were no legal grounds to overturn the election. Some of the judges had even written biting comments about the attempt by Trump's lawyers to disenfranchise voters. Trump undoubtedly knew this on January 4. Trump had already been told by the top election official in Georgia that the election recounts showed that Biden had won in Georgia. Trump's attempts to pressure election officials in swing states had not succeeded. On January 4 Trump knew that there was no legal way he could keep Joe Biden from "taking" the White House.
Trump . . . repeatedly shared a slickly produced video, titled “The Plot to Steal America,” that warned ominously of a Chinese communist scheme involving Biden, the Democrats, and the news media, and called for Trump supporters to mobilize. “We know that our rights don’t come from the government, but from God,” declared the narrator, . . . “And we will fight to the death to protect those rights.” In a tweet the day after Christmas, Trump suggested that if the Democrats were in his position, the “Rigged & Stolen” presidential election would be considered “an act of war, and fight to the death.”
Encouraging followers to "fight to the death" might have been considered as a tasteless campaign slogan before November 3. After the election even a guy with gold-plated toilets could not reasonably claim that it is an "act of war" for the other candidate to get more votes. Most people in the US were raised to respect the Presidency, whatever we may think of the person holding the office. When the President calls the country to arms citizens must take the matter seriously.
Some of our fellow citizens listened to Trump's commands to "Stop the steal" and believed that they had to defend out country by attacking Congress to overturn the results of the election. On January 6 violent overthrow of the government was the only way they could prevent Joe Biden from becoming president on the January 20. They decided to follow Trump's orders. This does not excuse the individual seditionists. Even soldiers who are normally required to follow orders must disobey illegal orders. The leader of the insurrection, Donald J. Trump, shares the blame for their misconduct and for the deaths on January 6, 2021.
Jorge Riley, a Sacramento, California, resident and former member of the California Republican Assembly group, posted on Facebook the day before the insurrection, “Do you really not get what is going to happen on the 6th? I absolutely am looking forward to that and NO MATTER WHAT THERE IS NOTHING THAT CAN STOP IT!!!!” An FBI statement of facts says Riley posted more than 150 messages, photos, and videos between January 6 and January 8 describing his activities in DC, including a post the morning of the 6th stating, “I’m here to see what my President called me to DC for. Hello from Sacramento!!!” In video footage cited by investigators, Riley referenced election fraud as a reason he stormed the capitol: “We stopped the steal, because they were in there and they weren’t going to stop the steal, so we stopped the steal. We took our country back. Fuck you guys.”
The leader of the insurrection, Donald J. Trump, shares the blame for the misconduct of his followers and for the deaths on January 6, 2021. The majority of the followers were not career criminals. They committed crimes because Trump encouraged them to do so.
Gina Bisignano, of Beverly Hills, California, was identified by the FBI in multiple videos encouraging rioters to bring weapons and fight Capitol police, and in other instances shouting grievances and conspiracy theories through a megaphone: “We the people are not going to take it anymore. You are not going to take away our votes…This is 1776, and we the people will never give up. We will never let our country go to the globalists.” . . . [To] a tweet posted on December 19, 2020 by President Trump: “Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!” Bisignano replied in a tweet of her own: “I’ll be there.”
Joshua Black, . . . said he’d been “pretty upset” because “they stole my country.” Black said that Trump’s speech at the White House the morning of January 6, in which Trump scorned Vice President Mike Pence for failing to stop the election certification, fueled him and other rioters: “Once we found out Pence turned on us and that they had stolen the election, like officially, the crowd went crazy. I mean, it became a mob. We crossed the gate.”
In his January 6 speech before the attack on Congress, Trump had criticized Vice President Pence for refusing to illegally set aside the election results. Then Trump gave instructions to his followers to go to the Capitol building. Apparently Trump was watching the assault on the building on TV. Instead of doing his duty and telling his supporters to stay out of the Capitol building, Trump tweeted an attack on the Vice President of the United States. While Trump's seditionists were breaking into the Capitol building to find the Vice President Trump tweeted:
"Mike Pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify, USA demands the truth!"
There is a good chance that Trump knew the crowds were chanting, "Hang Mike Pence". It is not know if Trump knew that they had built a gallows on the Capitol grounds. Mike Pence's wife and daughter were with him and it is difficult to think how the mob could have treated them.
Daniel Goodwyn of San Francisco is a “self-proclaimed” Proud Boy whose social media posts included the #stopthesteal hashtag and references to Trump’s widely known comments from fall 2020 that the Proud Boys should “stand back and stand by.” . . . [In] a tweet by Goodwyn from November 7: He encouraged fellow Trump supporters to protest at their local state capitols and to “Await orders from our Commander in Chief.”
The Third Circuit Court in Pennsylvania found that there was no reason to overturn the choice of the voters in Pennsylvania. All the other judges who were asked to throw out votes refused to do so. Many of the judges were appointed by Republicans. Trump knew this.
Trump's mob was not told any of this by Trump. Instead they were told repeatedly that the election had been stolen, and that they had to fight to keep Trump in the White House. Calling on citizens to "fight" to keep the White House was only appropriate as campaign rhetoric before November 3.
Comments
I see Russiagate...
In a similar light to "stop the steal". It is easy to criticize the rethugs for their naivety. And in fairness, the dim(wits) didn't storm the capitol, however they continue their myth in the same way I suspect "stop the Steal" will remain with us.
To my mind the nation would be better off if Biden would just pardon Trump, and perhaps get some gratitude from the rethug crowd. I live in the red world and believe me they hate Biden in the same way the dims hated Trump. I think impeachment is problematic for several reasons - one being that about half the country voted for Trump (so half the country is being alienated), another being that impeachment is to remove a sitting president and Trump is already out of office, yet another reason is we know it WILL fail (no way 17 rethugs commit political suicide), so why stir up shit just cause you're pissed off, and finally I think it is a foolish strategy to prevent Trump from running in '24 cause he's likely to split the rethug party into a Lincoln vs Trump branch. The dimwits have a habit of shooting themselves in the foot (largely to appease their corporate masters).
And yes the attack on the Capitol was not good, but impeachment WILL not heal anything...just the opposite. Bring home the forever war? No thanks.
I know mileage varies among our C99 community, but I think impeachment is a bad idea now (and over Ukraine). Vengeance is mine saith the dims (as they continue to divide the country).
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Division and distraction
Seems to be the primary MO of this circus.
Same as it ever was.
question everything
Indeed!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Yes, no more talk about stimulus checks. No more talk about
mortage and rent relief.
My ox is not being gored - yet. When Biden cuts my SS and federal pension and the inevitable market crash destroys my rollover IRA and TSP, it will be a different story.
Blue collar to white collar to blue collar wasn't bad enough.
I fear is will be cold basement flat to single family home to homeless.
The food stamp cuts will be coming too.
Honestly, I'm starting to question the morals and beliefs that I was raised on. Why behave honorably with men who have no honor? Why carry allegiance to a Constitution that is effectively dead? Democrats want strong man rule by fiat? The reign of terror? Well, then I'll follow the next man on a white horse who promises to take care of me. You don't follow Marquis of Queensbury rules in a dockside fight!
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Way true
Some thing I read on the arrested rioters. Near 20% of them had gone through foreclosure or bankruptcy and had serious money problems. So a portion of Trump followers were people angry and screwed over by the system. Trumps siren song about China and jobs won them over. I guess it's easier to just call them all racists.
There is going to be another Trump. The republicans saw how much he did to dismantle everything they disdained with ease. Next time they'll perfect their methods and do far more damage to us.
Why a Trump could be president
and why the next will be much worse.
https://benjaminstudebaker.com/2020/08/31/the-left-case-against-supporti...
Yes Trump gave republicans everything they wanted, but democrats wanted those things just as badly. Notice they were not outraged over the tax cuts, the deregulations, the increasing murderous poisoning of our lives and environment and everything Trump did had the kudos of both parties.
Imagine if Bernie, Nancy, Chuck, AOC ect said to call your GOP repreps and let's stop this from passing. Nope. Absolute silence for 4 years when they weren't just willingly funding his projects.
And if Dems really, really think Trump is guilty as charged then will they bring criminal charges against him? I doubt it. Just like Bush got away with invading Iraq, demolishing the country and setting up the ME for destruction and mayhem with Pelosi's complete blessings since she admitted that she saw the evidence on Saddam and said it was BS, but refused to impeach Bush. Just couldn't do it cuz pukes impeached Clinton for lying about his blowjob. Go figure. Complicit in murder, Nance.
A few thousand property crimes vs millions of crimes against humanity. Tell us again Bernie who is thee most dangerous president?
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
Also
way true
@Lookout I was worried about what
I was worried about what Trump might do between Jan 6 and Jan 20. When the House passed the Articles of Impeachment it did seem to get Trump to stop stirring up his followers. Once Jan 20 had passed I did not feel that there should be any hurry to pursue the impeachment trial.
The real priority now needs to be letting Trump followers know that the election really was not stolen. I would also be extremely angry about the election if I had believed Trump's lies. It was obviously not OK to beat the Capitol police with baseball bats, flagpoles and fire extinguishers. It was a great relief to me on Jan 6 to find out that none of the congresspeople had been physically harmed. I am not a fan of Mike Pence so I was surprised at the extent of my relief that he had escaped.
I do agree that at this point the Trump fanatics are not ready to hear the truth about the attack on the Capitol. Since the Dems insisted on going ahead with the trial right away I do want to see an effort to let people know that the election results were accurately reported. I am not sure about the best way to spread the truth though.
Hey, I didn't like the attack...
nor the stop the steal lie. There was obvious complicity at the Capitol as well...opening gates, posing for selfies with protestors and so on...perhaps even Capitol tours for protestors led by reps. And despite warnings for days in the twittersphere a lack of defense at the Capitol (as contrasted with the troops and beatings of BLM protesters)? All of these items are bad. All deserve investigating, but that isn't happening...all the marbles are about impeachment.
Just sayin' impeachment ain't gonna make it better.
The other issue to me is if they had wanted to impeach Trtump emoluments was the route. Why didn't they....cause (with perhaps a few exceptions) they are all knee deep in profiting from their positions.
We have the best government money can buy.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Unfortunately the impeach in February ship has already sailed.
I very much agree that in 2019 it would have been much better to impeach over emoluments. By all accounts there would have been plenty of evidence. Swampy acts of selling out the country for profit would have been more irritating to ordinary citizens (including me).
Attacking and breaching the capitol building with the intent to stop the final vote counting and to kill off a few political opponents needs to be discouraged. I do think it would have been better to first get correct information about the election out to the more conservative parts of the country.
Since the Dems in the House decided to force a trial immediately the situation still needs to be defused. I just do not know how to get the truth out and decrease the anger levels in this country.
Squirrel!
I'm betting they all know what you consider to be "correct information". Also betting that if you change "conservative" to "liberal" it would be close to what they're saying/thinking. It also sounds like you think they're stuck in the 1800s and have no way of obtaining information without being told by someone personally.
How would they know what to believe anyway? How do you know what to believe? How does anyone know what to believe? I believe that cia dude was being truthful when he said that when everything we believe is a lie, they will have done their job (or something like that). Since I believe that, I question EVERYTHING else the government or the MSM says.
As far as the impeachment, I believe it's all just theater to distract from shit that really needs to be done.
Besides that, the election was stolen. Maybe not in the general, but no one can convince me that the primaries were not rigged. Rigged primaries = rigged election. So now we'll end up with a president that got what? Less than 1% of the vote? (Talking about KH since I very much doubt Joe Dementia will last 4 years.)
I agree that the system of primaries is a problem.
Even when there are not shenanigans each party primary picks candidates who are preferred by a small number of the most extreme followers from their side. Then they complain that so many people stay home instead of voting.
My biggest objection to Trump's recent actions is his attempt to use violence to stop the vote counts. Encouraging assassination of political enemies cannot be permitted. In this case Trump's public attacks on Mike Pence and Governor Whitmer do not leave any doubt about his inexcusable use of intimidation to get his way. Hopefully criminal investigations will discourage future politicians from traveling this route.
I also blame Trump for creating a situation where there is a risk of a SuperPatriot Act that will take away whatever civil right we still have. Existing laws should really be adequate to stop the gullible types who are OK with supporting criminal attacks on government functions.
Who told you that, Pelosi?
Got tape or video? Why haven't I seen it on the news? Why isn't it on the internet?
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Try watching C-span.
I have watched the whole impeachment trial on C-span. I was watching on Jan 6, the day that Congress was counting the votes. They had to stop when the Capitol building was attacked. I already knew most of the information presented at the trial. The whole thing is being shown on C-span. I cannot get the clips to embed but here is a clip showing that the capitol was attacked on Jan 6.
[video:
]
[video:
]
Read my essay again.
Seems more like the Capitol was "harassed"
which I think comes under the heading of "trespassing with malicious intent". (Not A Lawyer!)
But all this booga-booga scare talk about "attacks" plays right into the hands of the REAL fascists - the hidden ones in the Deep State who think things would be a lot better (FOR THEM!) if they were running things and all those ignorant peasants were kept in their place, out of sight, out of hearing, out of mind.
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
No thanks, I don't watch propoganda
The film clip I saw on WGN-TV showed him saying "Go, demand your rights, but peacefully!"
I say again, what I've posted before, "Do you think MLK was guilty of inciting to riot? let alone "insurrection".
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Very well said! Thank you
for putting that so well. This mirrors my thinking pretty much exactly.
The Dem party primaries are a farce, there is no doubt about that. I don't even see how it can be said to be "rigged" when the party said in open court that they have the right to pick who they want, and the whole voting thing is not even necessary except as "input" from the voters. Input which they can then ignore. They have proven several times now that they mean this, and will keep doing it. This is why trying to take over the dem party is a no-go, in my view.
Now the republicans have a more direct winner-take-all primary process that gives their voters more power to select the nominee. The republican establishment didn't want Trump any more than the Dem establishment wanted Bernie. The difference is, the dems were effective at stopping Bernie but Trump just steamrolled the party and its chosen ones the entire way. (And even then, every primary he didn't win he insisted has been fraud and was rigged against him -- because for Trump, he never loses. He either wins or was cheated.)
But then when we get past talking about their primary systems and look at the general election, those are different. They can be tampered with and elections can be stolen: see 2000 and 2004, for examples. But we know those happened, because there is actual evidence of it.
We also know that in every election there are problems and unfairness and manipulations of various kinds to sway the outcomes. So sure, let's say every election is "rigged" by the various sides to try to be the winners.
For our society to continue to function at all, there has to be a base level agreement among all the populace that in this country, we vote and the winner takes power, and the loser goes on to something else or their next attempt at winning. The bloodlust gets channeled into elections. Because we don't want everyone to be murdering each other over politics. That is going too far. All the "fighting" and "revolution" metaphors and rhetorical blustering in politics is now being waved around to suggest that trump somehow didn't take it to a whole new level. But he did, and I agree, as you say, that cannot be allowed to simply go by as unremarkable or remotely acceptable.
The impeachment is a weak and clearly ineffective tool to address this problem. It was, I believe, necessary nonetheless. But it will fail to achieve anything beneficial.
I too am worried about the way our society seems to be devolving into a fact-free environment, where getting to any common understanding of what is true feels essentially impossible. You know, for the past four years I've felt that Trump hadn't been as bad as many had feared... but now as I look at what has happened in terms of breakdown in the world around us, I do see a disturbing picture of what his reign has brought forth from the shadow-world into manifesting in a physical and dangerous form.
Sorry to digress. Thanks for the essay!
Your comment nicely summed up the important point.
I have read enough history about monarchies and the ways the "nobles" changed their rulers. The fields of the peasants had a tendency to get trampled in the process.
Exactly.
That would have opened up Uranium One
They can't go after crooked deals and payoffs that they are hip deep in.
IMO, "Stop the steal" is no worse (or better than "RussiaGate".
Are Pelosi and Schiff being impeached for the RussiaGate lie?
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
"Trump is Putin's puppet" - Hillary
Democrats for 4 years: "Trump is an illegitimate president because Vladimir Putin put him in office" which went on and on even after Robert the Swan Mueller said unequivocally that there was no evidence whatsoever that anyone from the Trump campaign worked with Russia to affect the election even tho it was a given that they did although they never showed any evidence of that. Ask any Dem if they believe that Putin put Trump in office.
Now just imagine Hillary or any Dem saying that Trump must be removed from office. How many might have thought that meant violently? Just saying. And yes Trump went further than that. His entire presidency was said to be illegitimate and the f'cking dems have pushed us to a New Cold War with Russia. Yes up to and including possibly allowing Ukraine into NATO. This is on Biden and dems now. I do not want to die in a nuclear blast which is damn near guaranteed with Hill Air Force Base 20 miles away.
Russia Gate and QAnon are the flip sides of the same damn coin. IMO. Both were a psyop run by someone in government. Both campaigns pushed people's beliefs to the max without a care in the world. With Russia Gate we had the whole damn Dem party pushing it. Be fun to find out who was behind the Q phenomenon.
One more thing. Both Pelosi and Schumer as well as all GOP leaders were very aware of the reports of violence on the 6th. As republicans have pointed out the speaker of the house is responsible for safety. What was her role in having the guard stand down? Why was she speaking to the military leaders if that part wasn't in her line of duty? She asked the generals what they would do to prevent Trump from accessing nuclear weapons. Like just one person has a way to do that all by his lonesome. Fear mongering BS. Nothing more. What did she tell them? When the hell will we see public hearings on how the events were allowed to unfold the way they did because there was no police presence like there would have been if it had been a bunch of leftists going to the capital. And why aren't members of congress upset that some police officers let the crowd in? Hmm I'd be worried bout that.
And why did democrats and the media lie to us for over a month about Officer Sisknick (sp) who was said to have been killed after being hit in the head with a fire extinguisher when the autopsy showed no signs of blunt force trauma to his skull?
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
Gawd's nightgown
More fear mongering. Like anyone would have been able to use it.
Military officials were unaware of potential danger to Pence's 'nuclear football' during Capitol riot
Boy wasn't it close when the mob was turned at the LAST Minute to get Pence to safety? What? Didn't the watchers see how violent the crowd had gotten and that people were breaking into the capital? You wait till the last minute to evacuate the 2 people in the line of succession. The Last Minute? Okay. Maybe more heads should roll. Let's get to those investigations.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
I wasn't aware of that!
I keep hearing over and over that rioters murdered him.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Big news yesterday
I thought it'd been reported here. The officer who was said to have been killed by capital rioters and was allowed to lie in state at the capital because of his actions was not hit in the head nor did he have any signs of trauma. He died from a stroke. He had been hospitalized, unless that was another officer who also had a stroke, and his CO reported his death prematurely. Bottom line he did not die from line of duty injury as far as it's known, but the media sat on the info for over a month. Greenwald wrote about it and the NYT may have the article.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
They are saying it was due to inhalation of bear spray.
Apparently high levels of the stuff can be quite dangerous.
One of the other officers had a heart attack but it was not fatal.
I was really angry about the tear gas the cops used on the BLM protesters last summer and bear spray is much stronger.
Is this new news?
Thanks for the update. The articles I read were about how he still died from a head injury weeks after they knew that he didn't. No retractions. Lots of people are upset about that because it plays right into fake news. And the leftist media was all fake news with Russia for 5 years. And still are cuz we want Ukraine in NATO. Gotta have the rubes behind the good guys. Right?
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
NATO won't be complete
...without a Neonazi brigade from Ukraine.
I'm surprised that people still cannot see who is organizing and managing the protesters who showed up at the Capitol, armed for a break-in; who maintains contact with all of them and keeps them motivated and misinformed on a daily basis.
Right under everyone's noses — out in the open — these would-be patriots and defenders against government tyranny are organized. Their simmering resentment is intensified with lies and conspiracies. The recruiters help the angry patriots find one another so they can make plans to exercise their god-given rights and take back their country.
Apparently the orchestrators and their activities are completely invisible to the Left and to Progressives. They must be invisible because no one is investigating the US laws that were deliberately revoked to make these subversive activities legal in the US. The political superpower that makes Donald Trump unstoppable is the Republican-owned media monopoly that controls the network of the nation's AM Radio broadcast spectrum. Donal Trump is a cutout. He doesn't know these recruiters or their "rebels" in-the-field. He doesn't collude with them and pass them secret messages. Yet, within days of the Capitol break in, all of the AM radio recruiters received the same official memo warning them to lay low and cease their activities until this blows over.
Trump Derangement Syndrome has been controlling the loyal opposition for this entire time. Clearly, nothing is more important than focusing all available political energy on a revenge Impeachment right this very minute and the Democratic voters agree. Polarizing Congress and paralyzing all future action on behalf of the People is the way to go. "Sorry folks. The Republicans have our hands tied. Be sure to vote in the mid-terms, which are right around the corner."> The impeachment will fail, of course. But the consequences should be a doozy.
Pompeo is demonstrably crazier than Trump, and far more dangerous. He says he may run for President in 2024. Do the Democrats think their impeachment of Trump will inspire Republicans to nominate a moderate next time? Or, at the very least, a Neocon. The Republicans have built an election mechanism that is a lot more powerful and immediate than anything the Democrats have. It has captured the voters of rural America, coast-to-coast, who are angry, emboldened, and completely bamboozled. The Republican mechanism feeds their anxieties and delusions with modern-day versions or Civil War-style reenactments.
The Democrats have a media mechanism of their own at the national-level. It gaslights urban voters with James Bond-style narratives about Russian spies and Chinese hackers. They produce Mad Magazine style-evidence like the Dirty Dossier and Russian Advertising Company clickbait cartoons. These egregious media abuses are nothing more than another layer of election corruption, which sits on top of the Citizens United cartel, which provides the Election money pump. That cash flow sits atop of several deep hard layers of voter suppression, which is glued to even harder layers of vote theft and gerrymandering.
Is Congress blind to the Election Industry or are they are too busy suppressing news and speech that will expose their ongoing betrayal of the working class? Or does this Fake Democracy crime spree continue because it would be a suicide mission to call attention to it at this point? What it should mean to you is that neither reform nor revolution are possible. As millions before us have learned, you adapt or you get out of the way.
Oc course not
I have been posting an article on how the next Trump will be much worse and more authoritarian with the smarts to get his plans enacted. Might be in this essay. Let me know if you're interested and I'll pm you it.
And don't forget the power of the Koch organizations strewn throughout many state legislatures and getting their agendas passed. I am betting someone from the Koch group called Dem leaders and told them to wrap this up. Notice how it was wrapped up immediately after they decided to call witnesses that were very damning to Trump and they did not want him convicted. But then neither did democrats because of the fundraising they can do if Trump threatens to run again. Or just does what he does best. He is their cash cow. And others from their type of groups added pressure. The business leaders, corporations and many, many others tell congress what they will and won't do, write their bills for them and pay them to keep their mouths shuts. This whole farce was a distraction from what Biden is ramming thru and appointing some heinous people to his admin that have a long history of war crimes.
Best summary evah!
Funnier than hell watching people make up excuses for dems bailing on witnesses even tho those same folks hammered the GOP for not calling any. Now it is A-OK. Yesterday they were tearing dems a new A hole. Today they're giving them a pass. LOLLs.
Absolutely agree with this:
The spying apparatus is so entwined we will never find out how entwined it is with our daily lives. Just like fascism is already here, so are all the perks that come with it. SO what can we do? Vote 3rd party? Seems like the best bet. Unless you understand that there is no way to compete with the power and the money of those who actually set the terms here. And that includes many foreign governments that pour money into Pacs, Dark money Pacs and gawd knows where it all comes from Going up against the Israel lobby alone would cost big buckaroos for sure.
No and of course they will....
Pelosi is always thinking how she can grift off whatever happens and would jump over a dollar if it'd save her a dime. I see it is a game with high consequences, but to them that is all it is for them. A game. For us it is life or death for many in dire circumstances. And both parties will not address the underlying issues in the country. Especially generational poverty and environmental conditions that make their lives so much worse than just being poor.
I rec'd your comment last night and it is new today. Please what did you edit?
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
What a lot of people are missing, basically because our
citizens are so undereducated when it comes to the law and the First Amendment, is that Trump's speech before the attack on Congress does not fit the requirements and guidelines of the SCOTUS ruling in Brandenburg v. Ohio. He would likely be acquitted in a regular court of law.
"Without the right to offend, freedom of speech does not exist." Taslima Nasrin
Brandenburg allowed speech that did not cause immanent harm.
There is plenty of video of the immanent harm caused by Trump's speech. Several source I read made pretty much the same points as the article quoted below:
The author of this clerked for Antonin Scalia.
The final straw for me was that Trump did not tweet or go on Fox news or OAN to tell his mob to leave the capitol building. If he had not meant for the crowd at his earlier rally to invade the Capitol building he could have easily stopped them with a tweet or two. Instead Trump sicced the mob on Mike Pence.
You a "Science Teacher", and misuse English?
"ImmAnent" = internal, indwelling, most often used in a religious context.
"ImmInent" = about to happen.
You made the same mistake twice, once in the heading and once in the text.
And why in the world would you give so much credibility to someone who clerked for Antonin Scalia, one of the most corrupt members the Supreme Court has ever had?
Don't forget that the entire weight of the Media-Intelligence Complex has been and is being brought to bear on the Evilness of Trump, and that none of them will allow anything favorable to be said about him, nor will they repeat it if some other source says it. It's All Propaganda All The Time.
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
Cheap shots and ad hominem attacks?
We should be better than this. Look, anyone can make spelling and usage mistakes, especially when writing quickly in a conversation setting. I am a technical editor with 30 years of experience and I make spelling and grammar errors and use the wrong word sometimes when I'm not paying close attention to such things. This is not a professional publishing environment where such time and scrutiny is required, especially in the comments where people are talking about stuff at a fast pace. Give us a break.
We should not be using that to tear down a person who has contributed an essay and opened a discussion on a controversial topic.
There's been recent discussion here on why some people have gone from here or write less or feel unwelcome to participate. This kind of personal attack just because you disagree with someone's point of view is a big part of why.
Also, obviously, the point of citing that piece written by a former Scalia clerk is that Scalia was a hard-core partisan republican and perhaps that is reflected in his choice of clerks? So maybe that was written by someone who is a partisan and yet still spoke to the issues aside from that. Scalia's inherent unfairness was in contrast to this piece.
I'm sad to see people upvoting this ad hom attack on the author of this essay. If you don't agree with their views, either argue it on the merits or just go read something else, but this kind of personal attack is designed to make people with differing views feel unwelcome here. That is not what I thought this place was supposed to be about.
Making the same mistake *twice* is no accident
When someone claims teaching credentials, they are automatically held to a higher standard of spelling and grammar than us lowlifes. They're supposed to know this stuff.
I find it hard to believe that autocorrect would choose the rare "immanent" over the commoner "imminent" - though admittedly I have seen stranger errors. But it's on the user to catch and re-correct. Rush too much, and screwups happen.
This is for everyone:
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
The media reaction is twofold
One is now that Biden’s president the media is fawning all over them even though Jen P is still the mouthpiece for the organization you posted.
The second is that as you said nothing good can be said about Trump. Rising had a show this morning and a woman attacked Van Jones for working with Trump on criminal justice reform and how does he explain THAT?!? Umm what?
But you’re right we are still being pummeled with propaganda. It’s hard to know where the line is. For me anyway.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
Very fair. Aren’t “Science” and “Teacher” both un-ironic signals
and symbols that automatically tend to evoke authority, admiration, and respect, along the lines of “Now listen, I am a category of person who does know what they’re talking about more than just any average person (Science), and my day job is educating the still ignorant (Teacher)”?
Rationalize, justify, excuse the rudeness
Just never again pretend that this place welcomes people with opinions, points of view and writers that don’t toe the line around here.
If this was a post talking about science or teaching and had a condescending tone, you and “Maven” and the other people who upvoted this nasty swipe might have a point.
But it’s not that. It’s a personal essay about a political issue. There is NO reason for this except to make the person feel unwelcome here and try to shame them into silence — because you disagree with the opinion.
Maven has a user name that identifies herself as a trusted “expert” who knows it all. Has she ever made a mistake of any kind? Outrageous!
Y’all are being totally disingenuous here. You know it too. Very sad. Next time the topic comes up of why this site struggles with keeping and growing the active membership here, remember, this is part of why. Keep driving people away, then scratching your heads wondering where everyone went. Great attitude.
No, a "maven" is a *self-styled* expert
who may or may not know what s/he is talking about. (Yiddish has a lot more nuance than English.)
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
You can disagree with the dictionary if you want to
You are still not responding to the point I'm making. You attacked this writer with a petty personal insult because you don't like their point of view.
Lots of people joined you.
That makes me not want to be here.
I have been seriously thinking since the recent meta discussions about upping my contributions and also possibly writing more or even taking on an open thread.
The nasty responses here made me rethink that. Now I feel like, who needs that kind of stress? I will inevitably make typos and spelling mistakes. I might get things wrong or, god forbid, express a contrary opinion.
Now it's fine to overlook errors as long as someone stays in line with the approved group think. But someone says an unpopular view, and people like you sit here waiting to pounce on any little thing so that you can put them in their place and shame them. It is terrible behavior. I am sorry to see you do this, and it's even worse to see a gang of people piling on. I really did think people here wanted to be better than this.
Just because English hijacked the word
doesn't mean they got the definition right. https://jel.jewish-languages.org/words/347
Money quote:
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
Are you ever going to address the actual issue?
I guess not.
Other people said it better.
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
So "Our Revolution" is treason?
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
The Jan 6 attack on the Capitol had NOTHING to do with Bernie
Trump put them up to an effort to stop the counting of the votes ("Steal").
If the mob had caught Bernie there is a real risk that they would have beaten him to death. When the riot was in progress on Jan 6 I was afraid for AOC and all the women in Congress if the Proud Boys caught them. There was a real risk those misogynists would get very violent with any women who have power. There was also extra danger to anyone the mob recognized.
But "Revolution" means violent overthrow
IT'S THE EXACT SAME SITUATION!
I think your hatred for trump blinds you to the damage to society that the Dems are doing by ripping up the law for political vengeance.
I do really think you would be more at home at dkos.
Yes, variant opinions are allowed here. I, myself, am considerably to the Right of most (but left of the (D) party).
Variant opinion, but not partisan propaganda.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Electing Bernie would NOT have been violent.
Electing Bernie would have helped get Medicare for all and other good policies. The election of Franklin Roosevelt resulted in many good policies, not the overthrow of an elected government.
There are none so blind than those who will not see
Keepon believing Schumer & Pelosi and the other DNC stooges.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
It's not even close to the same situation.
Please remind us, exactly when was the invasion of the capitol by Bernie supporters? I somehow missed it.
Talk about partisan propaganda! Again with this shit of trying to drive off people who don't toe the line with the popular opinions. This is disgusting.
Oh and by the way, it is the LAW that impeachment is expressly set out as the correct and lawful way to address a situation where a public official fails so specularly. Check the US Constitution.
I heard there are people now calling for recalls of Gavin Newsome and Andrew Cuomo. I am sure you will be right on top of railing about this horrifying breach of all that is holy and a disregard of the law, hum? Oh wait, no, you won't, because you're a partisan hypocrite. I think you are so blinded by rage at the democrats that you fall for a scum bag like Trump.
And telling people directly that they should leave here and go to daily kos -- because you disagree with their views -- is beyond the pale.
Who the hell is supporting this? I really want to know why.
Trump is not an elected official.
Go ahead piss on the law. you will wind up drinking it.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
If you have some basis for your opinions please cite sources
Your repeated posts have made it quite clear what you think. Seven Republican senators voted to convict and McConnell voted against conviction but essentially supported the views I expressed in my essay.
Your middle-school type insults are not constructively contributing to the discussion.
Legal scholars disagree on whether Trump's speech
met the parameters of Brandenburg v Ohio....
https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/could-trump-face-charges-for-spe...
Doesn't matter now, though, does it? Trump gets another gift from the Democrats... a headline with the word "Acquitted" in it.
"Without the right to offend, freedom of speech does not exist." Taslima Nasrin
What even more people are missing is that
impeachment is not a criminal trail.
In a criminal trial a lot of things would be different. Like, in a criminal trial there would be jury of people who have sworn to be impartial and find according to the law and the facts presented. If almost half the jury voted before the trial even started that they believe it should not even happen and they won't consider fairly or ever convict, those people would not be on the jury.
But of course the senate is not a jury. And impeachment is not a criminal proceeding. The same rules do not apply. How real criminal trials with juries are (supposed to) work is interesting as its own topic, but completely irrelevant to impeachment.
If found 'guilty' Trump cannot be incarcerated or fined for his actions. There are no criminal penalties of any kind. Again, because this is not a criminal trial. Impeachment is about fitness for duty as a public official, a subjective opinion, and the worst possible penalty is to be fired from the job.
And in this case, he can't even lose his job, because he was already fired by the voters. So at worst he would get a note in the history books, and maybe possibly might lose his lifetime government benefits. Oh noes! And of course we all know that even that will never happen. He is 100% above the law and his 'jurors' already said they will let him off and still line up to lick his boots.
Yay for due process. ha.
No, it's not a trial. it is a prosciption!
Openly designed not to remove a bad official who is already gone, but to prevent a political opponent from running for office. To prevent nearly half the voters from voting for their choice.
This is monstrous. Would you think the same if they were impeaching Bernie over "revolution" with the expressed desire that he never again run for office and having a chilling effect on anyone else who opposes a certain political party?
What if Trump and the Republicans had ex post facto impeached Obama? Would you feel the same way?
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
If Bernie Sanders or Barack Obama had a mob invade the capitol
then yes, I would feel the same.
Well, I would if Trump had a mob invade the Capitol
A mob did invade the capitol, but there is ZERO public evidence that trump ordered, conspired, or otherwise had anything to do with that.
He bloviated his worthless opinions to a crowd of his followers. He may even have funded their trip to come to his rally. When civil rights demonstrations turned violent, did you say the leaders were at fault? When the Million Man March disrupted DC, did you call it an "insurrection"?
In the USA that I knew, and is apparently dead, proof was needed for official condemnation. Not suspicion. Not made up crap like Russiagate. Do you think Russiagate is real? Why not? Doesn't further your political goals? Isn't it tribalistic?
the Law must protect the unlovely and disdained as well as the admired and powerful or it is not Law, but just words covering up tribalism. it's called CIVILIZATION.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
You do not have the first clue about anything you're saying
You sound hysterical. And I do not mean funny. I'm not going to answer you further because you're not being honest and it's a waste of time arguing with a partisan troll.
I am non-partisan
YOU are the one lapping up Schumer's & Pelosi's vomit!
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
What is going on here
is that the Owners are getting us peons used to a permanent heavily-armed explicit military presence in DC, and razor wire barricades around all of our government installations. Real military. Not just the toy soldier 'roid-rage FEMA/DHS/cop types with all the cool gear, but the actual fucking regular military. I know that there wasn't much difference before, but there will be zero difference now. 6 months of other 24-hour-news-cycle shiny objects, and nobody will remember that for the longest time, maybe a couple hundred years, there weren't all those fighting vehicles dug into pits with full fire coverage and command of every approach and exposure, oh by the way aimed at US.
The camel's nose is now in the tent. I know that the poor people of Washington DC were hoping to achieve statehood at some point. Unfortunately, what they've now achieved is garrisonhood. Welcome to Joint Base YouLoseSuckers..., America's very own Green Zone!
Don't get me wrong: I hate the assholes who did this. The protestors were played like musical instruments, got to have their 4 hour tantrum in the sun, and just paved the way to make sure that nobody else will ever upset the peace and tranquility of Our Sacred Halls Of Government ever again, no matter how real, valid, or emergent their grievances might be.
And as for Trump? Whatever. It is all Kabuki- the senate isn't going to do jack regardless of facts or rhetoric. So this impeachment is a complete waste of time, just like the last one. We're just 20 steps further down that greasy slope towards all citizens being classified as enemy combatants until proven otherwise. Not a fan.
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
If they don't convict,
the Republic is over. We can forget any pretense that we are a "democracy" or that we base our way of life on the rule of law.
Every one of those senators that votes not to convict, should be targeted for removal post haste. Their votes not to convict should prove they don't believe in the rule of law nor that waging insurrection against one's own country is a high crime and misdemeanor, worthy of impeachment.
Personally I think a firing squad in central park would be too good for that dirty rat, but we have "laws", that apparently, I'm supposed to obey so I'll just say they need to convict his ass.
Which I have zero faith they have the courage to convict him. On the flip side everyone should acknowledge those senator's support for Trump should be regarded as TREASON and dealt with accordingly.
At some point this country will reach a certain point and will just implode.
C99, my refuge from an insane world. #ForceTheVote
I agree that there is almost no chance of conviction.
Trump will get to keep taking the financial benefits given to retired Presidents.
I do hope that the state of Georgia will convict him on charges of election tampering. There are plenty of angry Republican in Georgia and plenty of undeniable evidence. It will also be interesting to see the progress of investigations in NY and NJ.
Ironically a conviction in the impeachment trial might have decreased the enthusiasm for pursuing criminal and civil penalties against Trump.
I'm hoping Dominion and other software companies will sue him
They've already filed huge lawsuits against Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani and Fox News and maybe more that I haven't heard about. They are being very proactive in getting the record out there. I read a funny article yesterday about Sidney Powell fleeing from the process server. So funny, a month ago she was demanding her day in court to Release the Kraken! and now she is running from the opportunity to get into a court room and lay all of her evidence out there for the public eye! But noooooooo! Instead she literally runs away.
But Powell and all the rest of them lied about the election did so only and directly because of Trump and their cult-like loyalty to feeding his ego and childish whims. He is the one who originated the lie about the election being stolen, and demanded his sycophants come up with a story to back him up. He used his twitter account to spread the same lies about their companies. So I think they should sue him too. So far they have not. Perhaps waiting for the impeachment show to end first? Time will tell.
At any rate, it should be interesting to see Powell finally get her day in court. I am excited about seeing a real live Kraken.
Those lawsuits should be interesting.
I hope that they make the information they get during discovery public.
Like you, I would love to see Trump answer a suit from them.
If they DO convict, the Republic is over!
And the oligarchy stands open to all. One political party can "impeach" someone from another party who is not in office so that they can select who is their opponent. That's not a republic, it's an oligarchy.
I'm surprised some bank CEO doesn't take the presidency in person.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
But isn't that truly American?
F-Ked if you do and F-Ked if you don't!. We lose the Republic no matter what.
I admit, it's really hard letting go of these "idea's" of Democracy, Republican form of government, the Rule of law, Equal Justice Under Law, when time after time, none of them are ever upheld, when we as a country need them most.
C99, my refuge from an insane world. #ForceTheVote
I get the feeling
that boat left the dock a while ago. Why didn't dems chant "stop the steal" in 2000? Why do they insist on following the parliamentarian "manners" when the fascists ignore or twist them into weapons?
Personally, I think the Tbaggers won. Trump was the perfect choice. He knocked off and pissed on all the republican elites in the primaries, and he delivered a republican wet dream, remaking the government.
I caught a bit of radio chatter about r's and d's that said "If somebody is punching you, and you don't punch back, why should they stop?" The dems punch back at the left (when they don't feel they need them) so they've shown they can fight. I just don't think they really feel they need to when they can run on "well the other guy is so much worse."
republicans made Clinton testify
they sent him a subpoena that made his appearance mandatory. Of course they couldn't make him talk, but dems didn't even go that far. And where are the witnesses of the actual crime committed? Sedition and trying to overturn the US government is what he is charged with. Why not throw the whole damn book at him now to ensure that the truth is told? Ok, the truth as we know it... ok, never mind. But this kabuki theater show is just that. Meanwhile how many have died. Been evicted. Had utilities shut off because we still don't have the $2,000 checks that they promised would go out immediately IF WE GAVE DEMS THE SENATE. Not $1,400 or any fine print.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
I agree it would have been better to wait a couple months
for the Senate trial. We do need to know what happened, but it could have waited a couple of months. I also agree about the checks; they should be $2000.
Not true - Clinton did not testify at his impeachment trial
I had to look this up to refresh my memory, but that is incorrect information. There were in fact no witnesses who testified during the Clinton impeachment or his trial in the senate. The only 'testimony' presented was in the form of video recordings, including one of Bill Clinton from a deposition that had been taken before the impeachment process began, as part of the earlier Paula Jones lawsuit.
Still whistling into the wild wind... I know. But there are such things as facts, darn it. And they do still matter, at least to me.
Dammit
wrong again.
Thanks!
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
The House charged him with
Incitement to Insurrection, against the US government. Which, a conviction of impeachment would kick in the 14th amendment, which would bar him from ever running or holding public office again.
I don't disagree we need those checks now! They should have been out the door in the 1st week Biden took office, but we see how the Democrats are once again, going back on their promises, just like Obama did on the Public Option.
C99, my refuge from an insane world. #ForceTheVote
If they had any evidence at all
Biden should have appointed a special prosecutor and arrested Trump and brought him before a federal grand jury in DC. That's how a nation of laws works. Not a lynch mob made up of corrupt politicians (the House).
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
I'm absolutely convinced
the ruling class does not want Trump back in 2024. They will do whatever is necessary to neutralize him.
He may wind up bunking with Snowden. What a hoot that would be.
IMHO
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
But would we wish that on Snowden?
Somehow I cannot imagine Trump being a willing or desirable babysitter for the Snowden's new baby.
He could always go buy himself a tropical island
and declare it a micronation, "Trumplandia" or some such. Just as long as he goes away and never comes back!
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
Good discussion on the
make-up of many of the people at the capitol. Please don't help the peasants but go ahead and vilify them when they attack you for not helping them. What a joke.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36rzHyLV1XE&feature=youtu.be]
Edited to add:
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-2ccWmzgbg]
Trump may have encouraged folks, but the dimwits had their hand in it by not passing ANY relief before the election in order to stop a Trump re-election. They are ALL complicit and should ALL be impeached.
TERM LIMITS IS THE ONLY ANSWER, short of starting a new government.
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
Trump invited them and then did NOT pardon them.
One of the reasons I want to see Trump impeached is that he talked a bunch of ordinary people into coming to DC and breaking laws. Nearly all of them would have just protested in legal ways if Trump had not encouraged them to break laws.
If Trump is not impeached he gets to keep retirement benefits worth a great deal of money. Meanwhile his followers who get arrested have their lives destroyed.
He set them up. He told them "I'll be there with you"
when he called for the crowd to turn and march on the capitol building. He said he was going to be there with them, he said "we're going to go to the capitol... and I will be there with you" and then he promptly got back into his limo and went back to his fortress in the white house to watch the fire he'd just started and see how it would spread and grow.
People ask why he did nothing to stop it. This is not hard. He didn't stop it because he was enjoying it and didn't want it to be stopped.
He's like a troll, in the internet sense of that word; i.e., the only thing he really enjoys is creating chaos and feeling powerful as he watches the world dance at his fingertips. The emotional pain and, if possible, also physical damage inflicted on other people is a feature, not a bug.
I do believe now, after reading several books that discuss his life and personality over decades, written by people who knew him well, that he is truly incapable of empathy on any level; no one is real to him, people are just actors on his never-ending reality-tv show life.
Some of those people who believed him and are going to spend a long time in jail for it are responsible for their actions, even if they had anxiety. Wow, I have suffered from severe anxiety and panic attacks at times over the past year. So has everyone else I know. We do not all lose our minds and join a militia to stage a new civil war, or follow the obvious lies of an obvious mad man.
Part of me is sympathetic to these people who are guilty primarily of being highly suggestible and susceptible to cult indoctrination, exacerbated by stress and anxiety. The people who voluntarily drank the poison Koolaid at Jonestown (and gave it to their children) all died for their faulty thinking and vulnerability.
It's a problem. It does not mean they can be let go. And it certainly does not mean that El Trumpo is not the cult leader who took them down this path and took advantage of their need for somewhere to target their anger. The weirdest part is he never did a thing to help those people when he was president. Not one thing. Yet many were still willing to die for him. Mind boggling. Now that he's completely thrown them under the bus to save his own ass, I wonder how many are finally questioning their willingness to drink his personal brand of Trump Koolaid.
I agree
Trump wound them up and set them lose on the capital, plus you add in his 4 years of questionable comments while speaking from behind his power as president and it looks like an open and shut case. For politics. How would it hold up in criminal court? If there’s any chance that he would be held accountable there then I want to see him charged federally. It’s not fair that only the people that believed him are the only ones punished.
And what’s going to happen on Mar 4th in Washington? The Q folks think that Trump is going to reinstated as president then. Rumors are that Trump hotel has upped its prices for its cheapest rooms. People were pissed after Biden coronation, but someone involved in Q roped them back in for the 4th. Wonder if Biden’s troops will watch over it?
Wish you’d comment more often.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
“Woke” academics invoke “muscular activism” against journalists…
The short-circuiting of protest culture away from non-violent open discussion to plain old mob force did not begin with Trump. Supposedly progressive figures in leadership roles more than played their part.
https://www.qwant.com/?q=we%20need%20some%20muscle%20over%20here%20missouri
People in Europe have other things to worry about besides Bad Orange Man. It hasn’t even been half a year since this happened, and it’s already down the memory hole for mainstream media and politicians:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8852237/Islamist-terrorist-film...
What do the leaders of the Free World™ intend to do about that kind of incitement under the cloak of religion?
Ultimately, it’s all just a clash and battle of narratives:
https://caityjohnstone.medium.com/the-real-world-and-the-narrative-world...
That’s why everyone can get away with treating Russiagate and murder-by-fire-extinguisher as fact long after they’ve been proven baseless.
The republicans declared war on us
a long time ago. Time and time again the democrats were neutralized into helplessness. Unless they learn how to fight, clean, dirty, whatever, we're dead. Trump showed what you can get away with, and as loose a cannon as he was, he's just the prototype for what is going to come next election republicans win, except more ruthless and smart.
This impeachments out come was decided the second the dems announced its start date. Republicans Benghazi'd and email'd and Obamacare'd day in day out to harass dems. Will the dems do the same? Or is it comity and bygones?
As long as the politicians manufacture disenfranchised citizens that mob is going to grow.