Today, as most people celebrate the Independence of our country, we think of the men and women who not only established our government but enabled it, prodded it, and compelled it—to live up to its ideals. On July 4, 1776, many Americans were not free; many did not have the right to vote or to own property or to be educated. Many did not have the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” We have still not lived up to the democratic ideals that the Founding Fathers put on paper. Currently, nearly half the states have enacted or intend to enact laws making it more difficult to vote, which is an attack on the fundamental promise of democracy: one man or woman, one vote.
We have only recently learned how fragile our democracy is. On January 6, 2021, a large mob stormed the U.S. Capitol in an effort to prevent the certification of the Presidential election of 2020. According to the U.S. Constitution, this ritual of certifying the results of the election is ceremonial; it is not an occasion to overturn the election results. The electoral votes from the states had been counted and certified. In some states they were recounted. The Trump campaign filed scores of lawsuits to overturn the outcome based on claims of fraud, but every such lawsuit was dismissed for lack of evidence, including two appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court, even though it is dominated 6-3 by conservative Justices. Federal judges appointed by Trump, including three on the High Court, threw out his legal appeals
Despite the resounding defeat of Donald Trump in both the electoral college and the popular vote, Trump insisted that the election had been stolen from him. It came to be known as The Big Lie, repeated on a nearly daily basis.
As January 6 approached, Trump tweeted to his followers and asked them to come to Washington, D.C. on thay. He promised that “it will be wild.” As you know, he addressed thousands of his supporters that day to march to the Capitol and to “fight like hell.”
January 6 was the most shameful day in American history, the only day in which large numbers of Americans attacked the seat of their own government. They were seditionists, they perpetrated a violent insurrection, overrunning the U.S. Capitol, brutally beating law enforcement officers. It is almost equally shameful that members of Trump’s party, with only a few exceptions, have minimized what happened on that day. One member of Congress said it was akin to a normal tourist visit. Another described the violence as “peaceful protest.” Rep. Liz Cheney was ousted from her leadership role for acknowledging the seriousness of the insurrection. When asked to create an independent commission to analyze what happened that day, Senate Republicans refused to do so.
The forces of authoritarianism are rising, most notably in China, Russia, Brazil, Hungary, and Myanmar. We need to protect our democracy.
To understand what happened on January 6, please watch this video, created by the New York Times from the cameras of police, insurrectionists, and other sources. You may think you have seen it all. You have not. Watch. Then think hard about what you can do to restore our democratic ideals on this July 4.
January 6, 2021, a day that will live in Qanonfamy
Home on the Range (Donald Trump version)
Oh give me a home
Where the Buffalo roam
Where the Shamans of Qanon play
Where everyone’s yellin’
“The election was stolen”
And the crowd is just rowdy all day
Home home on the range
Where the Shamans of Qanon play
Where everyone’s yellin’
“The election was stolen”
And the crowd is just rowdy all day
Most horrific is the increased numbers of people who actually want to have an authoritarian leader, both here and in the EU. After a surge in France, fortunately, they’ve recently shown a decline, but Germany should be on that list now, too. See this past week’s Frontline for info on the rise of “Germany’s Neo-Nazis & the Far Right” https://www.pbs.org/video/germanys-neo-nazis-the-far-right-reoihr/
The previous guy, his followers and the GOP are all headed in that direction, too. Such scary stuff!!! See “Call it authoritarianism: The Republican Party has embraced an agenda that rigs the rules in their favor. There’s a name for that behavior.” https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2021/6/15/22522504/republicans-authoritarianism-trump-competitive
There’s a name for that behavior.
There certainly is, and we fought a war in the middle of the last century to stop it.
The Idiot never even tried to hide his traitorousness.
“Russia, if you’re listening — I hope you are able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.”
“You will have an illegitimate president. That is what you will have, and we can’t let that happen.”
‘If you don’t fight like hell you’re not going to have a country anymore’
“Because you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong.”
That people like Trump don’t even try to hide their intentions is telling.
It means they whole heartedly believe they will get away with it.
The unequivocal broadcasting of intentions may be the biggest difference between today and past decades.
Many people are acting as if they have impunity.
And, sadly, they may very well be correct in their assessment.
The Times They are a Changin
Nixon tried to cover crimes
But Trump is prone to brag
This defines the “change of times”:
Removal of the bag
Trump has always gotten away with it–with everything. The scope and depth of depravity of what he has gotten away with is astonishing. And an entire American political party has abetted him.
“Getting away* with it” is a way of life for many of those at the top. And a very lucrative way, at that.
Despite the massive fraud committed at JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and other Wall Street banks during and after the last housing bubble, Bernie Madoff was one of the very few to even get prosecuted.
Or more precisely, “Getting my way with it”
Truth that, SomeDAM
I hope to reblog. Wonderful.
Speaking of the denial of the right to vote, CBS Sunday Morning had a segment on Washington, DC, and its struggle for statehood and full suffrage. Gee, guess who is against DC statehood and full suffrage? The GOP, the Goppers say that it’s unconstitutional and can only be realized by a Constitutional amendment. They interviewed some horrific libertarian freak from the Cato Institute (think tank minus the think part) who looked like a combination of a zombie and a vampire. This Cato gargoyle said that if DC residents wanted full voting rights and full representation then they should move to a state! What a heartless vile suggestion. The people in DC can’t just move at a moment’s notice, they have roots in the city, they have jobs and responsibilities. This is why I hate libertarianism, it’s not about liberty but about fascism, pure and simple.
My formulation: Think tank: a place where thinking tanks
The video shows the unmitigated horror of the day up close and personal. It also captured audio of the commands from the insurrectionists. There is no doubt they had help from within, and I sincerely hope the House investigation will connect the dots. This video should be widely shared on social media, although the NYT has disabled the facebook link. I am sending the video to my Florida representatives, and I hope others will send it as well. Thank you for posting this.
“The Estranged Wife of Leader of the OathKeepers Just Launched a GoFundMe to Pay for her Divorce”. The couple’s 6 children were homeschooled. (Buzzfeed 3-26-2021)
SPLC reported 10 years ago that Stewart Rhodes said he had given up on politicians and judges and was focusing on police and military.
The kids have been in school for the last 2 years now. I filed for divorce and a (denied) restraining order almost four years ago. He did go to Yale Law, and it’s made this process a nightmare. After the 6th , I’ve felt a lot safer, there is so much media on him. He is sort of pinned down. He can’t act out in the way that he used to get away with. He’s also been in TX for years, the kids and I are in MT. Anyway I owe so much to lawyers for all his nonsense contesting and absurd legal responses. He is ablosutly a monster. It took years if planning to get out
-In response to the estranged wife comment
The success of anti-government forces in the America democracy achieves the goal of making vulnerable people more vulnerable.
No woman, no wife, no mother should have to live the life you allege in your comment and in the Buzzfeed article.
Your story paints a picture that is consistent with the public’s view of Jan. 6.
Thank you reading and commenting at the blog.
It’s both ironic and sad that many of the capitol rioters (Republicans) had to rely on public defenders for their court appearances. The poor’s access to lawyers is only possible because of a social safety net that is protected by the people and politicians of the Democratic Party.
Blessings to you and yours, Tasha, truth teller. Your bravery is a model to us all!
The Brave Ms. Adams’s Go Fund Me: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-me-divorce-oath-keeper-leader-stewart-rhodes
THank you so much! -very very kind of you
The NYT News Video is DISTURBING to say the least.
Glad you posted this one, Diane.
And then there are the Catholic Bishops in America … OY … boneheads to the max. America is “hard to take.”
All of this stuff is INSANITY to the max.
I would respectfully correct “one man, one woman, one vote” to this: “One citizen, one voice, one vote.” I consider it mandatory that the power of wealth to amplify a single voice in a way that intentionally and inescapably drowns out the voices of others and thereby corrupts political discourse and the political system itself be acknowledged and forcefully rejected.
The Citizens United & McCutcheon decisions, super PACs and dark money, the Gerrymander, all of the intentionally corrupting manipulations of our political systems must be utterly destroyed. Until that is done, America cannot be said to be the land of the free, it’s people cannot be said to have any real, unconstrained freedoms since they do not have the full, unconstrained rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Agree.
Sourcewatch links James Bopp who is general counsel for National Right to Life i.e. denial of adult rights, to the Citizens United verdict rendered by the SCOTUS conservative Catholic majority.
Wikipedia identifies Bopp’s involvement in overturning the 2020 presidential election results. The same paragraphs mention communication between Bopp and Trump’s Jay Sekulow.
Jefferson- In every age and every country, the priest aligns with the despot.
The “architect of Citizens United” was described in an IndyStar article, 3-26-2020, “James Bopp…a devout Catholic…forged a career marked by multiple SCOTUS victories on behalf of conservative causes”.
A reading of the article provides insight into Bopp’s views about legal protections for the LGBTQ community.
Trump just keeps getting away with incitement leading to people dying. The Teflon Don 2.0.
“Taxpayers still paying for Steven Mnuchin’s travel perks” – May, 2021
!!!!!
The public should demand Vlad pick up the tab.
You are a disgusting propaganda spreading hack. You should be ashamed for writing this and you should fact check yourself. Why don’t you include ALL of what President Trump said that day?? Because you are a lying hack and you are exactly the plague that has infected many of Americans. Why not mention Ashli Babbot?? The ONE person who died during an unarmed “insurrection” shot by a cop! Because it doesnt fit your narrative, thats why. You are poison