One thing I’ve learned in my life is whenever someone knows they’re wrong, they will do anything and everything to tell you that you’re the one who’s wrong. I was working at a job during the summer of 1994 where one of the managers of K-Mart whose idea of being a supervisor was to yell and berate people was trying to convince me I was slacking on the job. Why? Because I had been working mostly through my shift and needed a break. I had even been working through my scheduled break.
So, when it seemed things were slower down, I asked him. He said yes. Not 10 minutes later into a 15-minute break, he called me to the front of the store. This was his way of dealing with employees he had an issue with and that was to embarrass and humiliate them in front of the customers and other employees. He wouldn’t back down that he had approved my break less than 10 minutes earlier and told me that I had taken it earlier.
People said I shouldn’t worry about this, but I had to. This type of behavior is so common in America partly because we allow it. Needless to say, I turned in my notice right after that. I didn’t need to have some grown man who thought criticizing someone 16-17 made him feel more like an adult. Besides, it was K-Mart. By 1994, K-Mart was on the decline anyway. It only got worse.
The Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection coup attempt was just that. It wasn’t a peaceful protest that turned violent. Now, I do agree some people went there foolishly thinking that it was just going to be a peaceful protest. And as the shit hit the fan, they got caught up in the moment and went illegally into the U.S. Capitol Building. However, this isn’t storming the field after your favorite team wins the big game.If you have to go in through a broken window, that should be your first sign, this isn’t a guided tour.
There were people there, such as the Proud Boys and other terrorists groups, who went there fully intent on detaining, kidnapping, threatening and killing people in Congress and anyone who got in the way if it came to that. They had nylon-tie handcuffs and they had firearms. They only went there with the intention to use violence to get what they want. You don’t dress in tactical gear for a peaceful protest or a tour. Unfortunately for them, they don’t know much about how government works.
What do they think would’ve happened? They were going to kidnap and kill Nancy Pelosi? They were going to put a gun to Mike Pence’s head and tell him what to do? Pence was heavily guarded by the U.S. Secret Service. He was second in line to be the President. There’s no way a few guys who had been shooting at paper targets were going to take Pence down. And even if they strong-armed Pence, he still couldn’t do it.
So, what was the next option? Take the President Pro Temp to do it? All of this was going on while the world is watching. There’s no way it would’ve stuck. Also, the minute lives of Pelosi or Pence were risked heavily, there’s no way these people would’ve gotten out of the Capitol Building without being detained and/or shot. The reason the police and authorities looked so calm escorting and letting some people out of the Capitol is that they weren’t armed. (And most of them were white, but that’s a different story.)
Let’s look at this scenario. Pence and Pelosi and other Congressmembers have been harmed physically. At this point, the Capitol is under immediate seige and no one is coming out without be taken down by force or by gunfire. It just boggles my mind, people thought this was going to happen the way they wanted. It shows you how ignorant and dangerous some people are.
The Jan. 6 hearings were held for the first time on June 9 after 18 months of the incident. Four hours passed from the time they began to march on the Capitol until finally Pence was able to get the National Guard to quell the violence. Donald Trump didn’t do it. The sitting President of the United States didn’t want to quell an insurrection coup attempt that was very violent.
Five people died and three Capitol Police officers died from injuries sustained afterwards. Now, Trump and the Republicans are trying to say that Trump was trying to do something about it all along but it took time…for four hours. People are criticizing the Uvalde, Texas police for not doing anything at the Robb Elementary School. But we’re going to give Trump the benefit of the doubt on Jan. 6? No. We’re not.
It’s probably no surprise Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming) is part of this House select committee. People like Cheney spent years “fighting monsters” as Friedrich Nietzche has quoted and they became monsters. Years ago, Joe Walsh was a Tea Party favorite in the aftermath of the election of President Barack Obama. But by the time, Trump was in office, Walsh had become an outspoken critic of him. And rightfully so, he was.
Cheney and Walsh are two examples of what happen when Frankenstein’s Monster takes over. The Tea Party brought out all the racist and bigots who had been hiding for years. All these people who could make a social media post or form a group of misinformation and they’d have people believe it. Who cares if it was true? Walsh, who appeared on MSNBC after the hearing has become the epitome of the enemy of my enemy is my friend. I don’t like him. He did some bad things. Maybe he and others like Bill Kristol need to realize the damage they’ve done and reign it in.
Walsh, Kristol and so many others have been pushing for this moment since the early days of Richard M. Nixon and his administration. For Christ’s sake, Trump got Roger Stone in his administration. And while Cheney’s father, Dick, and Donald Rumsfield were key figures in the administration of President George W. Bush, they knew there were limits. But there was always that monster down in the basement angry to get out. You can only keep it caged so long before it finds a way to get out and wreck havoc.
The Republican Party since the Civil Rights Era and the Nixon Administration became a party built on white supremacy and male supremacy. The Reagan-Bush Administration was able to make it popular among Middle Americans but it was there hiding like a phantom menace waiting to strike. There were going to be a psuedo-fascist form of government only obsessed with control by any means necessary. When gerrymandering has failed, they did the last desperate act and that was to attempt to overthrow the government.
Twice in 20 years, the Presidency went to one who didn’t get the popular vote. Since 1992 a Democrat President has been selected by the majority of the people in every election but only once in 2004. And some would argue that W. shouldn’t even been in that position in the first place. Also, if we weren’t in the middle of two wars, would we have selected him? If Hurricane Katrina had hit in 2004, he wouldn’t have been re-elected.
And as we’ve seen since Hurricane Katrina, it’s harder for the Republican Party to spin it this narrative. So, now they’re only trying to appease to the few voters who will never believe it was anything but a peaceful protest spoiled by a few people. That’s why Fox News has refused to air the hearing live on TV. There’s no way they can spin something that is live and beyond their control. They need that time to cut and edit footage and to have people look for ways to make it about something else. They didn’t even cut to commercials on Tucker Carlson’s show out of fear someone might cut to the hearing.
And as a firm supporter of journalistic integrity and the First Amendement, I feel we ought to consider the possibility Fox News, OAN, Newsmax and Infowars are somewhat responsible for the events of Jan. 6. Where is the line drawn and did they cross over it? If you can’t yell “fire” in a crowded place, how does this not constitute inciting a riot? If a bartender can’t serve an alcoholic drink to an very inebriated person, isn’t this the same as feeding people false information?
The crazy part aboout Fox News is that they’re still stuck in the past. It’s not like all households have just one TV set. Who still has cable or satellite TV in this day and age except the older demographics Fox News has catered to? Those old women crying in 2009 they “want their America back” are the ones still not realizing they can watch Tucker and the hearings on a separate medium at the same time. I watched it on MSNBC through Peacock.
But they’re still wanting to gaslight the few people who will be hearing from Fox News pundits and those in Congress and the Senate who could’ve been murdered on Jan. 6, 2021 that it was no big deal. People like Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) are trying to convice as many voters as they can that it was no big deal. They need to be re-elected. They need to remain in power.
What will happen in 2025 if Joe Biden of whoever is the Democratic nominee wins and they’ve learned from the mistakes of Jan. 6? They don’t know who McCarthy or McConnell are and they will start firing. However, I feel we’re never going to have a certification of the election ballots without a much tighter security at least for 10-20 years down the road. I’m almost anticipating an earmark in the budgets for more National Guards, more police and more Social Security agents to be on the job during this joint meeting of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The Jan. 6 hearings may result in very little charges or a conclusion, but we’ll never be this gullible again to believe there can be a peaceful exchange of Presidential administrations for many decades or ever again. Originally, when Dwight Eisenhower was going to be inaugurated, he and his wife, Mamie, refused to meet with Harry and Bess Truman for tea and scrumpets prior to the ceremony. This was long considered one of the biggrest middle fingers in the exchange of power.
But as conservatives still continue to downplay the hearings, it means that they’re trying to deter the heat. If it’s true that some Congress members are wanting pardons, it means that we haven’t seen the last of this. And quite frankly, I think some Congressmembers did have some culpability in the events on Jan. 6. And they shouldn’t receive pardons. We need to quit acting like these people we elect are far better than the rest of us. The world won’t fall apart if they are tried and convicted. If we have treason and sedition charges in this country, they should apply to everyone who tries to overthrow the government, whether it’s a former President or a plumber from the Midwest who thinks he’s a patriot.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 