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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So, that leaves...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

From MSNBC. Warning: violent images are here. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Drew Sheneman

Dave Whamond

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

— JOHNNY SIBILLY (@JohnnySibilly) January 6, 2021

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

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

Now, more than ever, we must RESIST!