Enough With The Cutesy Titles, People Are Dead: US Politics January 2021 pt 2

what if the true kamala conspiracy theory is that BOTH biden and harris are going to be overwhelmed by their physical and mental deterioration, giving us _president nancy pelosi_ by fall 2021!??

Inbox: Speaker Pelosi sent a letter late yesterday to Acting Defense Secretary Miller demanding an immediate halt to "the improper process of installing unqualified Trump-loyalist Michael Ellis" as the new NSA General Counsel 72 hours prior to the beginning of the new admin.

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 18, 2021

I won't let on exactly why I unbookmarked, but I will say that it isn't the bleakness. I eat bleakness three meals a day.

I don't want to get in one of the old ILX challops tropes, and I really don't think this stance makes me superior to anyone, but I just really don't think that knowing about or understanding television is important, and considering that I've gone 15+ years without a proper TV or cable, not much is going to change my mind about that. (Yes, I have Netflix).

The video games thing I understand, it's just very much not for me— if I'm going to waste time in a fantasy world, I'd rather be reading. Also, again, raised without TV.

There really needs to be a purge of these Trump turds. The Deep-Clean State.

The lefty journalist David Klion was acquaintances with Michael Ellis in high school and wrote about him a few months ago:

Ellis was awkward and gangly, like the rest of us, but he had a certain old-fashioned gallantry; always well-mannered, always chivalrous. He was intelligent, a star student at Richard Montgomery High School’s competitive international baccalaureate program, from which he would go on to Dartmouth College(where he edited the Dartmouth Review) and Yale Law School. He was an Eagle Scout, a classical music aficionado, and an unabashed snob. He subscribed to National Review and once chided me for reading Entertainment Weekly, and he made a point of not listening to any contemporary popular music—no alternative rock or hip-hop for him. He sometimes wore bowties; he rotated daily between vintage Dwight Eisenhower, Barry Goldwater, and Richard Nixon campaign buttons; and he carried a pocket Constitution to deploy during arguments.

He was by far the more competent and hard-working of the two of us, and his reward for that has been to carry water for both of the most destructive presidents of our lifetime. As our cohort became more politically conscious toward the end of high school, some of the women we knew began questioning how Michael could support a party opposed to their reproductive rights. “Michael’s response was that he didn’t really care one way or another about abortion rights and just enjoyed politics and thought that you could have more fun as a Republican,” one friend and fellow veteran of our Diplomacy games told me.

Speaking of games, Jan 15 New Yorker Radio Hour (incl. xp Mogelson) And a game designer offers insights on how the fantastical, wholly fictional narrative of QAnon has captivated so many people—to such dangerous effect. He also suggests ways to counteract, but I dunno...
Posted here: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/458929150/the-new-yorker-radio-hour

January 6 was as close as we've gotten to actual sedition/rebellion since the end of the Civil War, and it was...not close at all.

Actually, the Jan. 6 assault *was* close. By some reports they were seconds away from getting to Pence, and had they made it into congress with one assault weapon or bomb or grenade - and there *were* bombs and molotov cocktails discovered elsewhere - they could have killed or injured dozens. And they weren't stopped because they were met by overwhelming force or anything, they failed because they lacked the necessary tools (weapons and smarts and imagination). But had they succeeded in that window of opportunity? If several members of congress and/or the VP were killed or incapacitated? I'm not sure what the next step after that would have been. Again, they weren't really *stopped.* They were left wandering around for ages. So were they "close?" Absolutely, as close as anyone has ever gotten to effectively taking out a big part of the government.

xp The game designer recognizes a lot of classic techniques, but says such projects usually burn out after a few years at most---this has become more of a back-and-forth, expansive, Tik Tok-type folk process (my terms---also I recall, maybe from 90s doc, a salesman who shrugged off then-recent"revelations" of certain Mormon documents as bogus: he grew up in this still-golden Promised Land culture, and whattayagonnado anyway)

BREAKING (CNN): Rep. Steve Cohen confirms that Rep. @laurenboebert gave a large tour prior to the attack on the Capitol.

— Jesse Damiani (@JesseDamiani) January 18, 2021

Actually, the Jan. 6 assault *was* close. By some reports they were seconds away from getting to Pence, and had they made it into congress with one assault weapon or bomb or grenade - and there *were* bombs and molotov cocktails discovered elsewhere - they could have killed or injured dozens. And they weren't stopped because they were met by overwhelming force or anything, they failed because they lacked the necessary tools (weapons and smarts and imagination). But had they succeeded in that window of opportunity? If several members of congress and/or the VP were killed or incapacitated? I'm not sure what the next step after that would have been. Again, they weren't really *stopped.* They were left wandering around for ages. So were they "close?" Absolutely, as close as anyone has ever gotten to effectively taking out a big part of the government.

*response deleted*

I'm following table out the door, for a while at least.

but I just really don't think that knowing about or understanding television is important, and considering that I've gone 15+ years without a proper TV or cable, not much is going to change my mind about that. (Yes, I have Netflix).

i guess i should clarify, especially because i think my interpretation of this is shared by virtually no one. when i think about the importance of television, it's not like breaking bad or oz or the robot or something. instead, it's the inbetween, gooey, hard-to-define, forgotten stuff -
the way advertising, the [EDIT: i am a dumbass, so i stopped]

you know what, i watched Being There last night for the first time. that movie kind of gets at why i care about tv

I mean....whether or not we agree it was close, I think we can all agree that most all of us were shitting ourselves itt. I was

i guess unperson's angle was going to be that even if pence had his head blown off, it's not like that was going to make the coup successful. instead it would be a very serious moment and everyone would back off at that moment, realizing that it had gone too far

just a guess though

i think some are also trying to believe in a future that isn't scary. I don't think the cat's going back in the bag. violent acts by right wing terrorists were already a growing problem long before Trump. but he accelerated/legitimized their movements. so now the trash can fire has spread to the entire house

I'm not sure what the next step after that would have been. Yeah, was wondering if this (Jan/ 6) Congressional ceremony is legally crucial, since the states have already certified? I know it's in the Constitution, but as long as surviving, uncaptured members did it before the 20th, maybe *later* on the 6th---?

well technically merely assassinating a President or Veep doesn't make a coup successful. You would have to install a replacement of your own choosing and manage to keep them there (and then you'd be facing off against the US Army).

the coup would have worked if they had somehow convinced the Senate/House at gunpoint to throw out Biden's votes and swing the vote to the House, who would then, also at gunpoint, select Trump.

perhaps that's what he means by "not close", but it isn't as if shooting up House reps and Senators en masse wouldn't be a traumatizing event that forever damaged the country in unrepairable ways

glad Pelosi is escalating on the Ellis bullshit. from what I've read, there are other legal avenues available to Biden if he gets installed. it's not just a position you can fire outright, but if there's shenanigans like what has unfurled, there's options.

the coup would have worked if they had somehow convinced the Senate/House at gunpoint to throw out Biden's votes and swing the vote to the House, who would then, also at gunpoint, select Trump.

perhaps that's what he means by "not close", but it isn't as if shooting up House reps and Senators en masse wouldn't be a traumatizing event that forever damaged the country in unrepairable ways

yeah, exactly. i don't fault anyone for not wanting to use their "imagination" on thinking of how things could have gone - it's dark. but yeah i think honing in on the bureaucratic/legal processes for appointing a successor is kind of a narrow view of things, when you're talking about a coup. when violence and usurping the law become dominant. all these laws, regulations, boundaries we draw between each other, legal precedent, an lifetime's worth of experience and precedents, among all of us - all of that goes out of the window when physical violence overwhelms it.

anyway, it all feels very "two weeks before archduke ferdinand's assassination" to me, but hey what do i know

Meantime, among the clods.

*Texas real estate broker Jenna Ryan says she has no regrets about being in the middle of the Capitol riot.
*“I have no guilt in my heart.”
*She said she decided to go to D.C. after “a very cute guy” invited her to join him aboard a private jet.https://t.co/ChXniozrQU pic.twitter.com/EEjPID4zQw

— Jim Roberts (@nycjim) January 18, 2021

This has probably been shared here, but just in case.

https://projects.propublica.org/parler-capitol-videos/?fbclid=IwAR02DfR422L1s7C4PYgTCTUUCO9VeX_Gg4J0B9j917Nk8T40KyWuItBDW2A

FBI vetting service members ahead of inauguration amid reported fears of insider attack.
The heightened security measures come after former and current members of law enforcement, the military appear to have participated in the Capitol riot.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/military/fbi-vetting-service-members-ahead-inauguration-amid-reported-fears-insider-n1254574

I don't think the surviving/uncaptured members would have caved re throwing out Biden's win---I don't know what I'd do, but...

I've never once been any more upset, or more afraid, or more concerned than I have been for the past four years, not really. It's been a pretty steady unease and anxiety. I wasn't intending to throw out apocalyptic hypotheticals, those hypotheticals have been valid for years now. But the reason the events at the capital were so upsetting is that by definition it was close, or at least much closer than it should have been. The unanswered question is how much more difficult would it have been to get even closer. Dunno, especially considering the general insanity and ineptitude of the White House.

xp To go along with that wouldn't really save anything, prob incl. lives of selves and family, not for long.

I wonder if some of them will want to go after Trump, now that/if he's "failed" them---he's still in charge for now, to whatever extent.

https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-the-capitol-riot-what-the-parler-videos-reveal

i'm working my way through this as well (it's very long, and very good). and this gets to the idea upthread about the number of people at the coup being relatively small compared to the country, and how that's (imo) misleading:

And what struck me most about them is just how much this assemblage of people assaulting the Capitol reminded me of people I had seen and spoken with over the years at regular Republican campaign events, going all the way back to Sarah Palin’s electric appearances in 2008. At my first Trump rally in 2016, at an airplane hangar outside Dayton, Ohio, I had been amazed by the cross section on display: There were husbands in golf caps with well-manicured wives, frat boys, fathers with sons. All of them, all that year, had thrilled to Trump’s toxic rambles about heroin-toting Mexicans, Democratic voter fraud (a theme he had picked up from plenty of more conventional Republican politicians) and “the swamp” in Congress. Never mind that the Republican Party controlled the lower chamber of the legislature for eight years of the decade and the upper chamber for six.

eh, i should pull a "normal person" and just link to the thing that say what i think and then leave

eh, i can never be a "normal person"

i never want to the be the white person in a group telling everyone else that everything is going to be ok because the violent/fascist white people aren't that big of a deal

that may very well correct, but i would very much prefer to be wrong than to be yelling "EVERYTHING'S FINE" in a movie theater that's burning down

also, the violent/fascist/racist white people already destroyed a lot of what i cared about, so it's exactly a bogeyman

if there's a time to be wary about this, i would think it's now?

so it's ^not^ exactly a bogeyman, i meant. no other typos in there though!

if there's a time to be wary about this, i would think it's now?
exactly. i understand not wanting to engage in it deeply. it's the handwaving away that drives me nuts

I think it's yet another ironic aspect of the constant dread of the past few months. We get used to the possibility of disaster, because it has been always imminent. Not unlike the decades long fear of nuclear apocalypse. The threat, whatever it was, was no less in the 80s than it was in the 60s, say, but no one was doing duck and cover exercises in the '80s.

Not to be alarmist, but really think we should brace ourselves for that xxxxp inside job: vetting so very many troops is difficult (more now in DC than Afghanistan and Iraq combined, according to npr today).

it's the handwaving away that drives me nuts

compared to terrorism coming from outside, political violence organized by white US citizens is much easier to assemble and put into action because of their automatic privileges within society. this makes them especially dangerous. having white skin, a good haircut, slacks and a polo shirt gives a person a free pass, no matter how much poison or explosives they are stockpiling.

i was telling Mr Veg yesterday I’ve been experiencing frustration w a friend back in Australia who whenever we talk about Trump she kind of claims ownership along with me or one ups me like yes she’s counting down the days too & shes going to a zoom inauguration party and it drives me crazy like OMG HES NOT YOUR PRESIDENT THIS IS MY TRAUMA YOU CANT SHARE IT

and mr veg was like, hey he stressed everyone out, not just americans & shes prob stressed bc you are her American friend

which makes sense & i feel less mad now

i’ve internalized so much of the anxiety of the past 4 it kinda freaks me out when i sort of see it laid out like that

I appreciate that take VG, as someone who's often frustrated by that as well

I think I can speak on behalf of Canada when I say that Trump significantly stressed 70% of us out, too.

(The other 30% are superfans)

Australian news seems to have really amped up coverage of US politics in the last few years, there’s only so many deaths by crocodile and you’ve got to fill a 24 hour news cycle with something.

Like many other places we get referred trauma because trump has emboldened our own fascist fucks in the coalition and beyond and the PM is a big trump fan, it’s excused his own worst behaviour.

I try to stand back, but American wife and I lived there for 5 years and have a lot of friends suffering; it’s hard not to internalise it.

lol

it's weird seeing 4x4s drive through different parts of greater vancouver with trump stickers and flags

the amount of trump supporters in canada is a lot more than i'd expect

Never seen a trump sticker but one of my neighbors has a Bernie 2016 sticker on his bike. Which says a lot more about my neighbourhood than Australia in general.

Here’s the letter pic.twitter.com/EEjB9yDmfg

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) January 18, 2021

Referring to

Dominion sends a cease and desist letter to Mr. My Pillow https://t.co/dYbExkcrW4

— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) January 18, 2021

In New Zealand we have a New Conservative party. They’re pretty much Trump-like in their policies - xenophobic, racist, etc - but only got about 2% of the vote in a electoral system that allows smaller parties a chance at representation. So Trump’s support is limited here, thankfully.

btw KM just to let you know I did an IRL lol at "(Jill)"

Australian news seems to have really amped up coverage of US politics in the last few years, there’s only so many deaths by crocodile and you’ve got to fill a 24 hour news cycle with something.

Also Australian news has largely stopped bothering to hold Australian politicians or other corruption to account, so some extra room was created.

ain't that the truth

Would be a real tragedy if they bankrupted Lindell and sent him back to smoking crack under a bridge.

That is also because of the contrast, IMO, everyone can look across the pacific and smugly say 200milluon in underserved loot to coalition bowlos or 437 indigenous deaths in custody is that bad*. ‘Our PM may be a prick but at least he isn’t trying to burn everything down’ (except when everything burnt down in part due to his and his party’s capture by the fossil fuel industry)

Apologies, we should take this auspol somewhere else.

*it is that bad it both a tradgedy in its own right but also emblematic of over 200 years of degradation and oppression of First Nations people.

here's my take on the My Pillow guy - he never stopped smoking crack. perhaps he took a break from it but he never stopped.