During impeachment debate one of my republican colleagues just ranted about Robert De Niro, Madonna, and Kathy Griffin saying mean things about trump. He did this to defend trump’s insurrection. I wish I were making that up. This is the republican party.
Again, it was an odd election and there were irregularities. Were there enough to swing it the other way? That is anyone's guess.
It actually isn’t anyone’s guess.
This, too, is an important point.
Quick detour on "hillbilly." I don't like it, and in general try to avoid those kinds of labels. There's the argument over civility, I suppose, which I personally buy -- it's good to avoid gratuitous insults in general. But the actual, stronger argument against it is that it's distracting. First, it makes it easy to then argue over tone rather than the actual substance of an argument.
But it's also often just incorrect, as it is here. It would be comforting to believe these people who violently attacked Congress are stupid, deluded people who don't know better, but that's incorrect. Plenty of "respectable" folks were part of the mob.
Second, even if the mob had been made up exclusively of poor rural people, I'm not inclined to excuse their ignorance by suggesting that they didn't know better and were incapable of knowing better. These were adults, not children. They deserve to be taken seriously. And to take someone seriously means holding them accountable for their actions. "They're too stupid to be responsible" is condescending and overly indulgent.
I have no doubt that many of them sincerely believe the election was fraudulent. To DS note, though, this isn't "anyone's guess." There is no evidence at all that there were irregularities sufficient to change the outcome. In fact, logic and all available evidence tell us the opposite. How could the same ballots -- literally the same ballots -- be correct for Republican congressional candidates who won but fraudulent for Biden? That makes no sense.
If there was sense to be made here, it should have been made in court, under oath. Yet despite many, many, many court cases, no convincing allegation of fraud or election-changing irregularities were made.
There were even several recounts -- a partial one in Wisconsin that ended up slightly adding to Biden's lead, and two recounts in Georgia.
People who believe the election was stolen have chosen to do so. They may very well sincerely hold that belief, but let's be clear that they are adults, they are able to choose, and they have decided to believe lies. They were told likes they liked hearing, and they chose to accept them.
Do the people peddling those lies bear greater responsibility? Absolutely. Trump should be impeached and barred from high office, his lawyers should be disbarred and sanctioned, and members of Congress who went along with this and lied to their constituents should be sanctioned and possibly expelled. But those who choose to believe these lies are accountable too. Trump supporters often whine about not being taken seriously, and I agree. Take them seriously -- hold them accountable.
I'm sure it's evident by now, but I don't care if the term hillbilly offends.
The idea that white folks would object to being collected into and relegated to a group with negative connotations is almost comedic. (Especially since white folks created and defined the group in the first place). Every single person in this country who cannot claim whiteness or benefit from white privilege exists in a group or a box emblazoned with negative connotations and all of those boxes were created by white people to separate us and control us. The difference is that the boxes/groups that we live in strip us of individuality, full citizenship, and prevent us from ever having context applied to our life choices. We do not get the benefit of a doubt in most situations, instead, we are all perceived to have the characteristics and motivations dictated by the box we inhabit and we are treated thusly as a group. And escaping those boxes is close to impossible. On the other hand, hillbilly does nothing to white people- nothing at all. It's a word. Sometimes it means undereducated, sometimes it means simple, sometimes it means unemployed or poor, sometimes it means strong, sometimes it means funny, sometimes it means patriotic, sometimes it means heroic, sometimes it means good American. Most importantly- it's a box that one can escape from.
For my purposes, it's a group descriptor that accurately reflects the general acuity of the people who routinely put themselves or allow themselves to be placed front and center when white folks are protesting anyone else attempting to participate in the American experiment. Members of the elite class who direct and manipulate white society took great pains to cast hillbillies in this role. They chose an image of what they called everyday, 'hardworking', 'simple' Americans with 'simple' needs- unencumbered by fancy ideas about human rights, civil rights, family, religion, advanced education, or gender. They told the rest of us that these plain talking Americans were the real Americans and that their concerns were true and good and paramount. They didn't choose you- middle-class white Americans with passports, two cars, and degrees- they chose hillbillies to represent white America's interests and then told those hillbillies that you didn't care about them and that everybody else had it in for them. So, they're being used, as they have been for generations. Easily manipulated, malleable, white folks who really think the Capitol 'belongs to them'. They're easier to fool and easier to control and there are millions of them standing by waiting for directions. They can be speechified to as heroes saving democracy one day and on the no-fly list the next- and never know what hit them.
We all know that there were mid-sized company CEOs in that crowd, white-collar employees, entrepreneurs, and middle management. Just like we know that plenty of moneyed non-hillbillies voted for a racist and a sexist and benefited handsomely from his tenure. But that's not who the mainstream press took pictures of or interviewed- because they didn't fit the narrative. Instead, they imprinted the insurrection on hillbilly cartoon racists wearing buffalo horns and buckskin, Nazi tats, cargo shorts, and camouflage.
We all know that those folks didn't plan this by themselves. We know that some millionaires had their hands in this, we know that members of law enforcement, Congress, and the federal government had their hands in this. We all know that the Capitol does not get overrun unless it allows itself to get overrun. We know that this story is much larger than most of us will ever know.
But today, the narrative is that one wayward President and a bunch of hillbillies tried to overthrow the government.
On January 6, armed Trumpist militias will be rallying in DC, at Trump's orders. It's highly likely that they'll try to storm the Capitol after it certifies Joe Biden's win. I don't think this has sunk in yet.
This guy is a former journalist but doesn't give a source for this claim, so take it with a big grain of salt.
For my money, if these tours actually took place, these seem like the people who would do them. The worst of the worst.
According to Mikie Sherrill, there is already an investigation into this.
BREAKING - Capitol Building CCTV feeds showed Rep Louie Gohmert GOP-TX, Rep Jim Jordan GOP-OH, Rep Matt Gaetz GOP-FL, Rep Lauren Boebert GOP-CO, Marjorie Taylor Greene GOP-GA, Paul Gosar GOP-AZ, Andy Biggs GOP-AZ were involved in giving ‘reconnaissance’ tours to groups 1/5.
Many Democratic members of the House, in addition to Mikie Sherrill, saw an extremely high number of outside groups in the Capitol. What seems to be the question now is who were the Republicans who led the groups around.
"Many of the Members who signed this letter, including those of us who have served in the military and are trained to recognize suspicious activity, as well as various members of our staff, witnessed an extremely high number of outside groups in the complex on Tuesday, January 5."
Today I joined with more than 30 of my colleagues in requesting an investigation from the Acting House SAA, Acting Senate SAA, and USCP into the suspicious behavior and access given to visitors to the Capitol Complex on Jan. 5, 2021 - the day before the attacks on the Capitol. pic.twitter.com/zpPUSUuSrj
It would sound like a nutty conspiracy theory if it were not for the fact that Mikie Sherrill, a centrist with solid credentials, is raising the alarm. She is from the District adjacent to ours. She is one of those who flipped a District in 2018 and was re-elected in 2020.
At the recommendation of my pastor, I recently read "Caste, The Origins of our Discontents" by Isabel Wilkerson. The premise is that in America we have a caste system much like India and even Nazi Germany. Blacks are at the bottom caste.
I agree with the many commentators including Don Lemon on CNN that the fundamental impetus for the Washington riots is continued racism. And yes this racism was used by the President and other politicians and corporations to enhance their power and money.
One of Wilkerson's conclusions is that "How dare anyone cause harm to another soul, curtain their life or life's potential when our lives are so short to begin with?" The simple truth of love your neighbor as yourself should always apply. I know this may seem too simplistic, but it is a truth from which we need to start all human relations in our complex world.
It would sound like a nutty conspiracy theory if it were not for the fact that Mikie Sherrill, a centrist with solid credentials, is raising the alarm. She is from the District adjacent to ours. She is one of those who flipped a District in 2018 and was re-elected in 2020.
From the Twitter, one suggestion to find a word other than "hillbilly" -
One thing that’s very true is that we need to get rid of the stereotype that white supremacists are uneducated hillbillies. They are our real estate agents, teachers, doctors, lawyers, politicians, etc. This feeds directly into the systemic racism in society today. https://t.co/k6RketsiN6
this is why the claims should be investigated before anyone makes specific accusations against named persons.
I would think it would be easy to look at surveillance video to show whether or not groups were touring the Capitol on Jan 5. It would also be easy enough to determine if any congress people were showing any groups around. But even if there were tours being led by reps, it's not going to be easy to determine any intent. They can say they were simply showing some constituents around the Capitol, and had no idea they were planning anything.
"The business owners, real-estate brokers, and service members who rioted acted not out of economic desperation, but out of their belief in their inviolable right to rule."
"A retired firefighter from Pennsylvania was arrested Thursday morning for allegedly throwing a fire extinguisher that hit three police officers at the pro-Trump riot at the U.S. Capitol as captured on video, U.S. officials said.
Robert Sanford of Chester, Pa., faces three federal felony charges including assaulting a police officer after he was allegedly identified as the person who lobbed a fire extinguisher on the west side of the Capitol, at around 2:30 pm, as the mob crashed past a thin line of Capitol police officers and stormed towards the building on Jan. 6."
this is why the claims should be investigated before anyone makes specific accusations against named persons.
I would think it would be easy to look at surveillance video to show whether or not groups were touring the Capitol on Jan 5. It would also be easy enough to determine if any congress people were showing any groups around. But even if there were tours being led by reps, it's not going to be easy to determine any intent. They can say they were simply showing some constituents around the Capitol, and had no idea they were planning anything.
yes. the smoking gun, of course, would be to find that any of the "tourists" were found to be part of the riot.
Mikie Sherrill was on Maddow last night. When she saw the groups on the 5th, she asked the Sgt at Arms about it, and he didn't know what was going on either.
She said no tours have been allowed since March because of Covid.
30 Congress people signed on to a letter to the Sgt at Arms requesting an investigation.
The full interview is here, but this link might not work for too long:
Audrey Ann Southard spent years helping kids find their creative voices and strengthening her own.
The Spring Hill vocal coach and piano teacher sang like an angel when she posted videos of herself crooning Norah Jones’ Don’t Know Why or belting out Memory from Cats, and when she went to Sicily in 2012 for an international music competition, she won.
That led to a showcase on a stage inside New York’s Carnegie Hall.
More recently, Southard used her powerful soprano to scream at police officers that they should “tell f--king Pelosi we’re coming for her! F--king traitorous c--ts, we’re coming! We’re coming for all of you!” She was part of the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
In a first-person video recorded by YouTuber JaydenX, Southard charges through Statuary Hall — staying within the velvet ropes — and stands at the front of a group blocked by police at a hallway.
The group chants “USA” and “We want Trump” as some men at the front try to talk police into stepping aside.
When an officer says something inaudible on the video to Southard, she replies, “For my son!”
And when one protester tells the crowd that the police might let them by if they agree to be peaceful and quiet, Southard, holding the wooden pole attached to an American flag flat against an officer’s torso, yells: “Bulls--t! They’re going to feel us!”
“We’re pushing through. Boys, ready to go again?” she shouts back to the crowd, before yelling at an officer, “last breath or last bullet, what’s it going to be?”
The crowd forces its way past those officers. Southard disappears from view. The rioters soon bottleneck again at a locked door. The camera looks through a window and trains on an officer’s arm on the other side, holding a pistol. Seconds later, 35-year-old Ashli Babbitt is shot to death.
Earlier that day, Southard, 52, posted a now-deleted live video to her own Facebook page.
“We’re standing in front of the Capitol building, ready to take it,” she said. “It’s gonna be fun.”
Southard declined to talk to the Tampa Bay Times for this story beyond denying she was in Washington, D.C., at all.
Geez...At least you could have gotten my name right, but I guess that would have required more intellectual diligence than you've ever shown. And, BTW, I also hurl "personal attacks" at a few others...You're NOT so special.
That's true. Mr. Seelbach is an equal opportunity insulter.
Thanks. Although there are a few, including you, who I don't believe I ever insulted. Wonder why?
sometimes you even insult the people who are in agreement with you
Geez...At least you could have gotten my name right, but I guess that would have required more intellectual diligence than you've ever shown. And, BTW, I also hurl "personal attacks" at a few others...You're NOT so special.
That's true. Mr. Seelbach is an equal opportunity insulter.
Thanks. Although there are a few, including you, who I don't believe I ever insulted. Wonder why?
sometimes you even insult the people who are in agreement with you
this is why the claims should be investigated before anyone makes specific accusations against named persons.
I would think it would be easy to look at surveillance video to show whether or not groups were touring the Capitol on Jan 5. It would also be easy enough to determine if any congress people were showing any groups around. But even if there were tours being led by reps, it's not going to be easy to determine any intent. They can say they were simply showing some constituents around the Capitol, and had no idea they were planning anything.
A trial prior to putting Americans on no-fly lists wouldn't be such a bad idea either.
Sure the events of last week bother me. I would not characterize it in exactly the way you do.
Regarding leaders instigating violence, the person below is the head of a BLM associated groupmin Utah. He was inside the Capitol on January 6 and apparently took the video of the unarmed woman who was shot in cold blood. Please watch the 2nd video.
this is why the claims should be investigated before anyone makes specific accusations against named persons.
I would think it would be easy to look at surveillance video to show whether or not groups were touring the Capitol on Jan 5. It would also be easy enough to determine if any congress people were showing any groups around. But even if there were tours being led by reps, it's not going to be easy to determine any intent. They can say they were simply showing some constituents around the Capitol, and had no idea they were planning anything.
yes. the smoking gun, of course, would be to find that any of the "tourists" were found to be part of the riot.
Couldn't that be easily done by the FBI with facial recognition and GPS tracking. If these methods show that the same people who were in the Capitol on Jan. 5 were in the Capitol on Jan.6, then the only questions are who got them into the Capitol and whether those people knew that the purpose was for reconnaissance.
nohero