Tag Archives: DC riot

Donald Trump, national news

Bring on the clones!

President Biden has called a leading opponent of California Gov. Gavin Newsom a “clone of … ” oh, you know, the immediate former president of the United States.

I just refer him by various epithets and a mention that he once was the 45th president of the U.S. of A.

Cult leaders have this way of building followings that comprise many such “clones.” Larry Elder, a right-wing talker/blowhard/Big Lie conveyer is just one of ’em.

Newsom figures to survive the recall effort launched against him in the Golden State. Then he can get back to governing and trying to (a) deal with the climate change-induced wildfires and (b) wage war against the COVID 19 pandemic.

What happens now with the cultist who rose to become a leading challenger to the governor? He’ll try to parlay his enhanced celebrity status into some sort of mini-following of his own out west.

This guy Elder is just one of the sickening consequences of the wreckage left behind by the 45t POTUS. He ain’t alone. We have seen and heard from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, congressmen and women from various states throughout the old Confederacy.

My “favorite” clone happens to be Kevin McCarthy, the GOP House leader from California (which goes to show that not all Californians can be labeled as far-leftists). McCarthy actually has said some harsh things about the 45th POTUS in the immediate wake of the 1/6 insurrection. Then he backed off. Now he opposes any independent probe into what happened that terrible day when terrorists stormed Capitol Hill to overturn the certification of the 2020 presidential election.

McCarthy also is a clone of the disgraced, twice-impeached ex-Liar in Chief. McCarthy is a disgraceful political hack. Enough about him … the loser.

The Cult Leader in Chief is leaving us with a shameful legacy of lying, political perversion, sedition and conduct that I would consider to be treasonous. He won’t darken the White House door ever again. His clones will keep up the fight whenever they have a forum to spew their filth.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news, DC riot, national news

Keep eyes on all the balls

It was 20 years ago this weekend when terrorists yanked us out of our anti-terror lethargy.

Two decades on and we’re still — at least I hope — on high alert about foreign terrorist organizations that want to harm Americans.

It was said not long after 9/11 that “there is no question about ‘if’ we get again, but only ‘when.'” We haven’t been hit in the manner we experienced on that gorgeous Tuesday morning in New York, in Washington and in Shanksville, Pa.

Guess what. We have more causes for concern now than perhaps we had on 9/11.

President Bush, on whose watch the 9/11 terror attack occurred, warned us anew over the weekend about the threat of domestic terror. We must remain vigilant, alert and ready to respond to the corn-fed, home-grown, right-wing (mostly) terrorists who lurk among us.

We saw evidence of the domestic threat on 1/6. Yep, those who stormed the Capitol Building, threaten to “hand” the vice president of the United States, sought out the speaker of the House of Reps and defecated on the floor of the halls of government were dangerous in the extreme.

What does mean in terms of lessons learned from 9/11?

It tells me we need to keep our eyes peeled not just offshore, but in our own backyard as well.

I am going to implore our members of Congress — specifically the men who represent my interests — to stand with the president in the event he is forced to respond to domestic, as well as international, terrorists. U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz and U.S. Rep. Van Taylor — all of whom are Republicans — need to adhere to the time-honored axiom that partisanship should end when our national security is threatened.

That means when threats arise from the heartland as well as from foreign lands. There can be no difference in the ferocity we respond.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

DC riot, national news

President Bush speaks blunt truth

Former President George W. Bush told the world a blunt truth while honoring the heroes who confronted foreign terrorists on 9/11.

He said this:

“We have seen growing evidence that the dangers to our country can come, not only across borders, but from violence that gathers within,” Bush said in a speech Saturday to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks at the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, Pa.

“There is little cultural overlap between violent extremists abroad and violent extremists at home,” he said. “But in their disdain for pluralism, in their disregard for human life, in their determination to defile national symbols, they are children of the same foul spirit.”

“And it is our continuing duty to confront them,” Bush added.

Yes, Mr. President. It certainly is our duty.

Sadly, tragically and to his everlasting shame, one of President Bush’s successors not only has failed to “confront” the enemy within, he has encouraged them to act. I refer, of course, to the 45th POTUS — the dipsh** who shall remain nameless in this blog.

I understand that President Bush’s remarks have been hailed by Democrats and irked supporters of the 45th POTUS. Hmm. Imagine that, if you dare.

I cannot help but wonder why in the name of all that is holy does anyone object to the words of a former wartime president on whose watch we sought to confront international terrorists. Of course he is correct about the threat of domestic terrorists. He echoed the words spoken two years ago by FBI director Christopher Wray — appointed by POTUS 45 — who said the same thing about the domestic terrorism.

I will stand with President Bush on this one.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

DC riot, national news

Well … how should this end up?

The following comes from Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America.

It states: No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may be a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

Let’s see now. How is this going to play out?

A House of Representatives select committee is in the process of rounding up phone records of members of Congress or any other communication they might have had with White House officials on Jan. 6. Oh, that was the date of the insurrection that the former POTUS sought to incite, the one that sought to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

A number of those messages apparently involve Republicans who supported POTUS 45’s phony allegation of “widespread voter fraud.” Now, were they culpable in inciting the riot that resulted in the deaths of police officers and others? Or did their acquiescence contribute to the mayhem that occurred on Capitol Hill on 1/6?

You know who some of them are, right? GOP Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri, and Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Matt Gaetz of Florida and Jim Jordan of Ohio … just to name five of ’em!

Most of us know the truth about the election, that President Biden won it fairly, squarely and legally. We also know what we witnessed on 1/6, the cursing, screaming, the battering administered by the terrorists who stormed into the Capitol Building.

The question of the day, in this context, appears to be this: If the select panel determines that members of Congress aided and gave “comfort to the enemies thereof,” will Congress have the courage and commitment to the oath they all took to remove them from the halls of power?

I hope they will. I fear they won’t.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

DC riot

Lt. Byrd saved lives

Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd says he fired a fatal shot during the 1/6 terrorist attack on the Capitol Building only after the rioters refused to heed his commands to cease their assault.

The shot he fired killed Ashli Babbitt, who’s become a martyr among the insurrectionists/cultists who stormed the building.

I believe Byrd is a hero who saved an untold number of lives by acting as he did. Indeed, the Capitol Police internal investigation has cleared Byrd of any punishment for his deed.

Babbitt was one of thousands of rioters who stormed the Capitol after being egged on by the 45th POTUS to “take back our government.” From whom, of course, remains a mystery. I guess it’s the so-called “deep state.” Babbitt sought to break into the building. Byrd yelled at her to back off. She refused. He fired his pistol and Babbitt, an Air Force veteran and QAnon believer, died in the melee.

Lt. Byrd saved lives. He acted heroically as did all the officers who sought to prevent the mob from overturning the results of a free and fair presidential election.

I am damn proud of Michael Byrd.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

Officer reveals himself

Now we know the name of the Capitol Police officer who shot Ashli Babbitt during the 1/6 insurrection.

His name is Michael Byrd, a lieutenant with the Capitol Police force.

Lt. Byrd is a hero. He stopped a woman who was trying to break through a door during the hottest moments of the riot. He fired a single shot at her. Babbitt died that day.

Now we also hear from Byrd himself that he has been the target of death threats, racist attacks (he is African-American), and has been called a “murderer” by the 45th president of the United States, in whose name the terrorists attacked the Capitol Building on 1/6.

Byrd spoke to NBC News anchor Lester Holt. He felt he wanted to reveal his identity to put to rest some semblance of the mystery surrounding the shooting of Babbitt.

I feel the need to mention three things about Babbitt. She was an Air Force veteran. She also was an ardent supporter of the 45th POTUS and a believer in the QAnon conspiracy insanity that drives so many of those who adhere to the cult of personality associated with the former Insurrectionist in Chief.

Babbitt was not “murdered” by Lt. Byrd. He was doing his job, which was to protect members of Congress against the angry mob that sought to prevent Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election.

The most shameful consequence of all of this, of course, is the Republican lawmakers’ refusal to grant Congressional Gold Medals to the law enforcement heroes who stood in harm’s way to protect them.

One hero is Michael Byrd.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

House panel gets to work

U.S. House Select Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson is a serious man.

The Mississippi Democrat is so serious that he has decided to go for the jugular in his panel’s search for the why, how and wherefore of the 1/6 insurrection incited by the then-president of the United States of America.

The scope of the documents he is seeking is breathtaking.

He wants to know what POTUS 45 allegedly did to keep a grip on power after he lost the 2020 election to President Biden. He has seeking documents from the National Archives, the Pentagon, the White House, the ex-POTUS’s lawyers.

We all know what happened on 1/6. The former president encouraged an angry mob of terrorists to take back the government. They went to Capitol Hill shouting their desire to fulfill the former POTUS’s wishes.

This investigation in truth should be handled by an independent commission. The Senate Republican caucus blocked that event from occurring. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi chose the select panel and gave the chairman’s gavel to Rep. Thompson.

I wish the chairman well — along with the rest of the select panel — as they take the deep dive into what the hell happened that day and  as they search for recommendations to keep such a horrific act from ever recurring.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

DC riot

Officer acted correctly on 1/6

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By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Ashli Babbitt was a casualty of 1/6.

She died while trying to break into the Capitol Building, along with several thousand of her fellow terrorists/rioters/insurrectionists. A Capitol Police officer shot her to death.

Well, today the Capitol Police internal investigation released its decision, which is that the officer did nothing wrong. That Ashli Babbitt was killed by an officer performing his lawful duty to protect the nation’s seat of government.

Now, is this the end of it? Hardly.

I fully expect there to be plenty of growling and grumbling from those who believe the officer went beyond his orders to protect the Capitol Building.

Internal Probe Clears Officer Who Shot Capitol Rioter Ashli Babbitt | HuffPost

I want to be clear on a couple of points. I am saddened that the 35-year-old Babbitt died in the melee. However, the Air Force veteran was breaking the law at the time of the incident. She was trying to smash her way into Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office lobby when the officer, a lieutenant with the Capitol Police force, fired his weapon at her.

No one should have been died or been injured in the chaos that unfolded on 1/6. Then again, the mob should not have stormed into the Capitol Building, beaten security officers with poles, or sprayed them with chemicals, or crapped on the floor of Congress. Nor should they have been threatening to “Hang Mike Pence!” or sought Speaker Pelosi by chanting her name in that frightening cadence we all could hear on the audio recordings taken of the event.

Pelosi has impaneled a House select committee to examine all the details of the 1/6 attack on our government. She vows a thorough probe. Congressional Republicans oppose this investigation for reasons that seem clearer by the day: They don’t want to be implicated in any fashion by what the panel determines.

Now, though, we have completed one key element in that probe. The investigation into Ashli Babbitt’s death will go down as a tragic consequence of the riot that sought to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

local news

No mention of 1/6

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

A town hall meeting in Rockwall, Texas, this week produced plenty of fiery rhetoric from a congressman who represents the Northeast Texas region contained in the Fourth Congressional District.

Rep. Pat Fallon came loaded with plenty of ammo to fire at President Biden over Afghanistan (the withdrawal), infrastructure spending, COVID-19 and the Democratic House caucus over the rules it is imposing over the way lawmakers behave.

But … no mention from Rep. Fallon about 1/6 and — if you’ll excuse my use of a term not heard among members of the GOP caucus — the insurrection incited by the former Insurrectionist in Chief.

Nor was there any mention of the riot from any of the folks crammed into a Rotary Club office to hear from their congressman.

Now, I suppose I could have raised the issue, given that I was there covering the event for a local weekly newspaper near where I live. Indeed, I did give it some thought. Then it occurred to me: If I raise the issue and ask Fallon why he and most of his fellow congressional Republicans refuse to examine the why and wherefore of the attack on the Capitol, I would have become part of the story.

I feared the folks in the audience would have turned on me, given that Fallon already had taken shots during his remarks at what he called “the mainstream media.” The audience also took a dim view of the media’s coverage of the 2020 election,

My task while there was to report on the event, to record what Fallon said and to chronicle the town hall meeting for the readers of the newspaper for which I write. That’s it, man. I did my job.

However, it did frustrate me a little to hear not a word from Rep. Fallon — an ardent supporter of the former POTUS — about his take on what went down on 1/6 and whether he believes POTUS 45 was in any way culpable in provoking the attack that sought to overturn the results of a free, fair and legal presidential election … which the former president lost to Joe Biden.

Well, I know the answer to that notion. I just wanted to put him on the record. Oh well. There might be another time. I’ll wait.

national news

Liz Cheney: doomed!

(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

As I watch the once-great Republican Party devolve into a collection of cultists, I am left to lament the pending political demise of a GOP politician who has the temerity to stand for the rule of law.

U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming is facing a certain primary challenge next year. She now appears likely to lose that contest to a challenger who has swilled the Kool-Aid dispensed by the former Insurrectionist in Chief.

This pending turn of events saddens me terribly.

It’s not necessarily that Rep. Cheney stands tall in my gallery of political heroes. I am not a fan of her conservative politics. I am a fan of her stand against the former POTUS’s actions on 1/6 when he incited the riot of terrorists who stormed the Capitol Building and sought to stop the certification of the results of the 2020 presidential election.

The House of Representatives impeached the ex-POTUS a second time for that act. Cheney joined a handful of Republican lawmakers who voted to impeach him. She has stood firm on the oath she took to defend the Constitution. Cheney said the party is not beholden to any individual.

For that she is going to face a stern primary challenge in Wyoming. I fear she is going to lose. She might lose bigly.

The country would be worse off if she is replaced by another cultist.