Tag Archives: DC riot

DC riot

‘Political obituary?’ Do ya think?

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Lindsey Graham is finally — finally! — beginning to talk some sense as it regards the man he once opposed for the presidency and then became one of his go-to suck-ups once he got elected in 2016.

The South Carolina Republican senator said that the Jan. 6 insurrection that POTUS 45 incited could become his “political obituary” if he fails to get over the fact that he lost the 2020 presidential election.

Could become? Really, senator? Do you mean to suggest that the former Insurrectionist in Chief might be able to salvage his reputation if only he were to admit that President Biden won?

I am semi-glad to hear Graham speak some semblance of truth to his former adversary-turned-No. 1-golf buddy. The South Carolinian is still being terribly muted in his assessment of the damage that the former POTUS is delivering to our cherished democracy.

As Newsweek reports: “What I say to him is, ‘Do you want January the 6th to be your political obituary?'” Graham, an ally of the former president, told The New York Times for an article published on Saturday. “‘Because if you don’t get over it, it’s going to be.'”

Lindsey Graham Warns Trump That Jan. 6 Riot May Be His ‘Political Obituary’ (msn.com)

The events of 1/6 are going to stand alone among the hideous events of U.S. political history. To suggest that it wasn’t an insurrection against the democratic process is to ignore with willful prejudice what the entire witnessed on that day.

The former POTUS incited a mob that was spoiling for a chance to do what it did, which was storm Capitol Hill, beat police officers with flags and assorted other weapons, crap on the floor of the Capitol Building, shout their desire to “Hang Mike Pence!” and stop the certification of the Electoral College tally that elected President Biden and Vice President Harris.

The ex-Traitor in Chief has refused to atone for any of it.

Yeah, it’s his “political obituary,” all right.

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What did he know … and when?

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By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

The U.S. House select committee probe into the events leading up to 1/6 and, of course, the calamity of the day itself is bound to uncover some seediness the likes of which we might never have seen.

This notion, as has been reported by major newspapers, that POTUS 45 urged the acting attorney general, Jeffrey Rosen, to “call the 2020 election ‘corrupt’ and leave the rest to me” is of particular concern.

It suggests to me that this probe is going to grow many more sets of legs before too long.

The investigation must go on and it must be done fairly and without bias. Is it possible? I believe it is if Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., understands fully the gravity of what is at stake. He’s a smart man and he gets it. Of that I am certain.

There has been considerable reporting in recent days about the former Insurrectionist in Chief’s “coup” attempt and how close it allegedly came to succeeding. I am wondering, though, whether the closeness of that dastardly act is real.

Still, the notion that he would mount daily pressure on the acting attorney general to simply label an action to be “corrupt” without a hint of evidence is disturbing in the extreme.

Oh, there will be much more to examine.

The committee is taking a break from its public hearings. It is gathering evidence behind the scenes. It is mustering material to issue subpoenas for witnesses to testify. Would one of those witnesses, by any slim chance, happen to be the former Liar in Chief? Oh, I do hope that comes to pass, given that he cannot invoke the power of the office he once occupied to slither his way out of testifying.

This will be fun to watch. Yes?

DC riot, national news

‘These officers are heroes’

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By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Yes, they are, Mme. Vice President.

So it was today when VP Kamala Harris along with President Biden conducted a White House ceremony to honor the Capitol and Metropolitan DC police officers who stood up against a rioting mob of terrorists who on 1/6 stormed the Capitol Building.

The mob’s intent was clear: to prevent Congress from doing its constitutional duty to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election. Was that an insurrection against the government, against our democratic system? Yes. It was. There can be no doubt.

The president and vice president today honored the men and women who stood in the breech against the mob, those who were incited by the individual who lost the 2020 election, the 45th POTUS.

I was struck today by three aspects of the event as I watched Biden sign the resolution that honors the police with the Congressional Gold Medal.

One was the presence of the children who took part in the ceremony. President Biden took a moment to hand out the ceremonial pens to the children and then instructed them to give the pens to the officers gathered behind the desk where the president sat and signed the resolution.

Another was the presence of U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, a Missouri Republican — the only GOP lawmaker present at a ceremony meant to honor the officers who protected all the members of Congress who were threatened by the terrorists. The absence of other key GOP leaders — such as Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell and House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy — is a shameful example of their political fealty to the twice-impeached former POTUS.

A third key point was the strong language that Biden and Harris used to describe the events of 1/6. They didn’t pussyfoot around what the whole world witnessed that day. We watched a frontal assault on our democratic system. We watched an insurrection take place in real time.

And yet, there are members of the very legislative body those officers protected who refuse to acknowledge the heroism and the patriotism of the officers who stood in harm’s way. They have disgraced their high office.

Enough about them. The men and women will be honored forever and ever for their courage in the face of blind anger and hatred.

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Diversionary defense emerges

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Those who seek to “defend” the attack of 1/6 on the U.S. Capitol do so in the form of a diversionary tactic designed to take our minds off the issue at hand.

Which is that a mob of terrorists assembled on the Ellipse that day and were incited to storm Capitol Hill to overturn the result of the 2020 election that delivered the presidency to Joseph R. Biden Jr.

Now comes the so-called “defense” of those actions by suggesting that law enforcement knew days ahead of time that an insurrection would occur but did nothing about it. The cops didn’t take any measures to defend the seat of our government, the argument goes.

And that is supposed to excuse what happened that day?

Good grief! The cause of the riot and its impact on our system of government is at issue. Whether the cops knew ahead of time that a monstrous riot was about to occur, in my mind, is beside what I believe is the fundamental point of the House select committee examination of the events of 1/6.

House committee members want to know what happened to produce the riot, what the 45th POTUS was doing as the riot was occurring, to whom did he speak and what he did tell them. The panel also wants to find solutions to prevent future attacks from occurring in the manner of the one that unfolded that day.

We all witnessed a history-shattering event. It was the first time in our nation’s history that a transition of power from one presidential administration to another erupted in violence. The attack was brutal, it was horrifying and it stained our national reputation indelibly. There surely can be some remedies found to prevent future eruptions if we can determine ways to make the police more responsive to terrorist threats.

However, I would prefer to spend far less time arguing over whether the cops did enough to stop an event  that well might have been unpreventable and devote the bulk of the committee’s time to examining what did, in fact, take place.

We need answers to a lot of questions.

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Will the riot stand as ‘1/6’?

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Here is my thought of the moment.

When you mention “9/11,” we know what you’re talking about. Same for when you say “Dec. 7,” as we all know what that date signifies.

My curiosity makes me wonder whether society will recall the insurrection that occurred on Jan. 6, 2021 simply as “1/6.”

I happen to believe that the insurrection ranks right up there with the events of 9/11 and Dec. 7, 1941. They all stand as “dates which will live … in infamy.” 

I will not accept — indeed, I never have accepted — the reluctance among some Americans to refer to the riot of 1/6 as an insurrection. It most certainly was all of that. I consider it a full-out frontal assault on our democratic form of government.

On that day, members of both congressional chambers — led by Vice President Mike Pence — were in the process of certifying the Electoral College totals that resulted in President Biden’s election. The terrorists who stormed the Capitol Building intended to prevent that certification from occurring. My goodness, we have them saying so in recordings taking in real time as the mob stormed the Capitol and killed and injured several individuals who were trying to stop them.

Few events can be identified merely as dates on a calendar.

Let it be noted that on this day moving forward, your friendly blogger will refer to the assault on our democracy as “1/6.” The worst assault on our nation’s Capitol since the War of 1812 ranks right alongside the violence that brought us the war against international terror and the attack that dragged us into the Second World War.

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GOP duplicity: simply stunning

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

The duplicity and hypocrisy being shown by congressional Republicans is an astonishing sight to those of us who believe in fairness and good government.

The GOP caucus in Congress is hell bent on supporting Republican-controlled state legislatures — such as in Texas — for their effort to curb “widespread voter fraud” that doesn’t exist. The GOP caucus is resisting efforts to approve the John Lewis Voting Rights Act named after the late civil rights icon. Why? They suggest that legislatures have the answer to how to ensure free and fair elections while preventing vote fraud that — I state again — does not exist.

Meanwhile, the same GOP caucus turns its back on the impact of the Jan. 6 insurrection incited by the former Seditionist in Chief. People were killed. They were injured. A mob comprising thousands of domestic terrorists stormed the Capitol Building that day to prevent the certification of the 2020 presidential election.

The GOP response? Nothing, man! They have been delivered tangible, visible, visceral proof of extreme malice among the rioters who wanted to “hang” Vice President Pence that day. Meanwhile, the former POTUS did nothing to stop the riot. He reportedly cheered them on from the safety of the White House.

And this doesn’t seem to bother most members of the GOP caucus in Congress? My goodness. I am ashamed of them all.

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These men are true heroes

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

While watching the four D.C. and Capitol police officers testify before a House committee on the harrowing events of Jan. 6, I was drawn back to an experience I once had while working in Amarillo, Texas.

I also was reminded of something I have believed for as long as I have believed anything: police officers perform heroic acts every day. 

In 2003, I attended a citizens police academy hosted by the Amarillo Police Department. It was an 11-week course that acquainted class members with many aspects of police work.

I long have believed in the heroism that officers perform while protecting us. I also am aware of the heat many of them have gotten in recent years over the manner they have behaved and the injustice they have delivered at times in the performance of their duty.

The men who spoke to the House select committee about what they experienced during the Capitol Hill insurrection brought much of that belief into vivid view as I recalled my brief exposure to police work during my academy stint.

These four men demonstrated their heroism on that terrible day. They have earned our eternal respect and gratitude.

 

DC riot

That’s it! Blame Pelosi!

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Ahh, yes. The Republican counter strategy to the congressional hearing that commenced today to examine the Jan. 6 insurrection is taking quick shape.

The GOP is seeking to turn our attention to the Democratic speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. The Republican top guns are asking: What did the speaker know in advance of the terrorist riot and why didn’t she do anything to stop it?

You got that? I think it’s called “projection.”

The House select committee today heard from four Capitol and Metropolitan police officers who were among those who were injured in the melee that erupted when POTUS 45 incited the mob to march on Capitol Hill; he wanted them to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election.

The mob broke into the Capitol Building, defecated on the floor, sought out Pelosi and chanted “Hang (Vice President) Mike Pence!”

They launched an all-out assault on our democratic process. Meanwhile, the then-Liar in Chief did not a damn thing to stop the riot.

So now the moron’s GOP allies want to project blame for the riot on Pelosi?

Give me a f***ing break!

None of us should stand still for this trash. The GOP continues to downplay the significance and the horror of that event. Indeed, it should stand directly next to other infamous dates in our history: 9/11, Dec. 7, to name just two. 

For the Republican congressional leadership to seek to divert our attention away from the cause of the insurrection is reprehensible on its face. Then again, it only goes to prove that they cannot defend the indefensible.

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No huggin’ and kissin’

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

The U.S. House of Representatives select committee assigned to get to the truth behind the Sixth of January insurrection against our democratic process convened its hearing today.

The nation saw a good bit of video from the treasonous riot by terrorists who stormed Capitol Hill that day.

What the did not see was anything resembling what the 45th POTUS said occurred. We didn’t see “huggin’ and kissin'” by D.C. and Metropolitan Police officers with the crowd that stormed Capitol Hill.

Oh, no. We saw violence in the flesh! We saw men and women beating officers within an inch of their lives. We heard them scream “traitor!” at police officers seeking to defend the Capitol against the riotous mob.

Hugging and kissing? It, um, wasn’t there.

And yet … we are going to hear an interpretation of those hideous events by Republican defenders of the former Insurrectionist in Chief. They will seek to turn the tables on Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who appointed the select panel. They will wonder out loud about security concerns that Pelosi reportedly knew prior to the riot.

The former POTUS hasn’t yet taken an ounce of responsibility for inciting the riot. He hasn’t yet accepted that he lost the 2020 presidential election. The ex-Moron in Chief hasn’t yet done a single thing to demonstrate loyalty to the Constitution, to the government, to the sacred democratic process.

The select panel, which comprises seven Democrats and two Republicans, will seek to get to the truth behind what happened that day.

If I could ask one thing of the panel, I want them to look at this: I want them to probe deeply what the then-POTUS was doing inside the White House while the mob threatened to hang Vice President Mike Pence. 

What’s more, let us not be shy or coy about what we’re talking about here. The riot was an insurrection in its purest form. It was a day — to borrow a phrase — that will live in infamy.

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Alternative reality vs. the truth

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By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

You might recall how POTUS 45’s senior policy adviser referred to “alternative facts” as they regarded the size of the inaugural crowd on Jan. 20, 2017.

Here we are, more than four years later and the ex-POTUS’s corps of cultists are wrapped in an alternative reality as the House select committee commences its hearing into the insurrectionist riot of Jan. 6.

The House panel, comprising Democrats and Republicans, are going to sift through a mountain of facts relating to what the entire world witnessed on that horrible day.

However, I fear that none of those facts will sink in to the noggins of the cultists who continue to believe The Big Lie that POTUS 45 spews forth, the lie that sparked the riot of Jan. 6.

What I witnessed that day was an all-out assault on our democratic process. The terrorists sought to prevent the certification of the 2020 presidential election and hand the presidency back to the Insurrectionist in Chief who lost to President Biden.

The alternative reality will be a difficult wall to knock down. I sincerely wish the select committee well as it pores through the evidence we all witnessed in real time.