I have to fight the urge to get burned out following what amounts to a radical right wing (fascist) attempt at taking over our government. I have no problem with actual “conservatives” making their case to the voters and living with the outcome one way or the other. But, when you have a group willing to CHEAT in order to “win” it’s more than problematic and calling the ATTACK on our Capitol Building on January 6th, 2021 “legitimate political discourse” borders on the absurd.

That was the basis of the report by the Republican National Committee where two actual conservatives (who, by the way, I believe I’d disagree with almost 100% of the time, other than their commitment to speaking truth to power – although, both supported individual 1 for four long years virtually ALL the time), Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger were “censured.” Kinzinger was already “gerrymandered” out of his seat and Cheney has been “censured” by Wyoming republicans although she IS running for re-election. (Despite Kevin McCarthy’s suggestion otherwise)

As, so far, a close observer of the so-called “Select January 6th Committee” (1/6) it becomes clearer and clearer to me the “seditious conspiracy” very well could consume a large number of participants, including our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president at the focal point. Based on the information in the several books I’ve read, “I Alone Can Fix It” by Carol Loennig and Philip Rucker, “Peril” by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, “Betrayal” by Jonathan Karl and a couple others that don’t come to mind right now plus the information becoming public daily coming from investigative journalists who are closely following the 1/6 Committee and exposing the evidence of wrongdoing by individual 1 and his sycophants it would SUGGEST the Justice Department be more involved in all of this. For example, I don’t believe Fani Willis in Fulton County Georgia should be “leading the way” in the CRIMINAL investigation of individual 1 and his cohorts in (alleged) CRIME.

Long before the forming of the January 6th, 2021 Select Committee was formed I was predicting there would, ultimately, be the “drip, drip, drip” of the TRUTH about individual 1 and those who “hitched their wagons” to him. At this point in time it appears the “drip, drip, drip” has become like a “faucet” which is wide open and there seems to be something significant “coming out” virtually every day. Will the “TRUTH” make any difference when it’s finally known? I’m guessing NOT with right wing persons I personally happen to know. With many of them I’ll be surprised if they even watch the hearings once the January 6th Committee becomes public.

Democrats are worried that “time will run out on the Committee” because the predictions say republicans are likely to take back the majority in the House in November. Here’s the problem I have with that – if the Justice Department isn’t knee deep in this investigation by then, well, our country is in deep “doo doo.” The CONSPIRACY involves about 100 people around the country who SIGNED forged documents suggesting they were the “electors” from about 7 states – people who could be facing CHARGES in their various states plus individual 1 and all the characters around him suggesting Mike Pense had the “power” to “overturn the election.” They ALL appear to be part of the CONSPIRACY aimed at overthrowing our government.

Maybe the FAKE electors just got “sucked in?” Well, I “get” that republicans have come to the conclusion the laws only apply to democrats and Black people. But here’s the deal: Judges in D.C. who are hearing the cases which are presently being resolved are complaining the Justice Department is going too “soft” on the “enemy combatants” (My term “borrowed” from Bush/Cheney et al) who stormed the Capitol on January 6th, 2021. They’re also suggesting it appears the Department isn’t holding the INSTIGATORS to account. I’ll say this again, I worry Merrick Garland FEARS individual 1’s “base” enough to “look the other way” from treasonous behavior. (TREASON is another word for SEDITION)

I wrote all that a few days ago and have been on a bit of a vacation from venting my frustration at the apparent lack of will coming from the Justice Department. I’ll admit, the SEDITIOUS Conspiracy charges against 11 “Oathkeepers” (I continue wondering to who or what did they take an “oath?”) came out of “nowhere” – so, I still hope Mr. Garland is going to surprise me and there’s some kind of investigation going on behind “closed doors.” However, I have a hard time believing the investigation wouldn’t have “leaked” out if people were being called before a Grand Jury. I’m still hopeful, but it bothers me to think the 1/6 Committee and The DA in Fulton County Georgia are the ones doing this investigation.

That all being said, I FINALLY opened up “Race and Reunion” by David Blight, a professor at Yale University which is a study of the aftermath of the Civil War. I decided it was time for me to refresh my memory of this critical time in our history. Years ago I read several books on Lincoln AND the Civil War, I read the Biography of James Polk who came before Lincoln and Ulysses S Grant who came after Andrew Johnson, Lincoln’s VP and successor. I’m only about 100 pages into this book – it’s a challenging read – but it’s given me considerable “food for thought.”

The first thing which came to mind, for me, is remembering the saying “Those who choose to ignore HISTORY are bound to REPEAT it.” And, the first part of this book has left my mind “swirling” in thought about the relevance of American History post Civil War and what is happening in our nation today. For example, the effort of those in the South, post war, to both “forget” what really happened in the war, but to also attempt to rewrite History in a way to exonerate them from the reality of the war. Additionally, many in the North were way too accommodating, which led to an early end to “reconstruction” in around 1875 and the spreading of the “Lost Cause” among those in Southern States.

This all really reminded me of the attempt by republicans today to “rewrite” the “History” of what happened on January 6th, 2021 – and, there’s all too many of them willing to participate in this and too many willing to simply believe the LIES. January 6th, 2021 was NOT perpetrated by “a normal tourist visit” as in the words of Georgia republican Andrew Clyde – who was seen barricading the House Chamber doors as INSURRECTIONISTS were attempting to break it down. Representative Clyde said, “Calling January 6th an INSURRECTION is a bold faced lie.” Yikes, how do you respond to such STUPIDITY? January 6th WAS in INSURRECTION!

Of course, as I mentioned above, the Republican National Committee (RNC) called January 6th, 2021 “legitimate political discourse.” And, of course, they are doing everything they can to undermine the January 6th Select Committee of Congress which is the entity uncovering a MOUNTAIN of evidence showing January 6th, 2021 was, in essence, an attempt at a coup d’etat. And, the participation, as I stated above in the CONSPIRACY, encompassed allegedly (potentially) HUNDREDS of republicans. Can you picture when the Committee makes their findings PUBLIC, which they’ve promised to do? Just think about how this will make our Justice Department look if it’s not taking LEGAL action against the TRAITORS!

Keep in mind, after the Civil War, the Southerners promoting the “Lost Cause” and in cahoots with the KKK became democrats as they were “melded” (my term) back into the mainstream of politics – this was during the time of President Grant – which, so far, hasn’t been part of the book “Race and Reunion.” Southern politicians were democrats all the way up until the Civil Rights era when Lyndon Johnson correctly predicted him supporting the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 would be the end of democrats dominating the South. Soon, Richard Nixon would implement the so-called “Southern Strategy” in 1968 and the South has been dominated by the republican party ever since.

Of course, now much of the North is dominated by the democratic party so, in that regard, the only thing which has changed is the party names on their office doors. I mentioned above that D.C. Judges are complaining about the “soft” treatment of many of the INSURRECTIONISTS who, in essence, could be called TRAITORS. I point that out because, as I was reading “Race and Reunion” I couldn’t help but see the parallel regarding how right after the Civil War – and certainly after a few years had gone by – there was a reluctance to call those who fought for the confederacy “TRAITORS.” But, to me, in reality, they were – just as those who attempted the coup d’etat on January 6th, 2021 were, in essence, “traitors.”

In their own minds they were “patriots.” However, how can you be a “patriot” if you’re attempting to overthrow your own government? That makes no sense to me. By definition, attempting to overthrow your own government you’d be a “traitor.” Here’s Webster’s definition of “traitor:” “1: one who betrays another’s trust or is false to an obligation or duty 2: one who commits treason.” Here are some synonyms to “traitor:” “backstabber, betrayer, double-crosser, double-dealer, Judas, quisling, recreant, serpent, snake, turncoat.” These, to me, are words befitting those who were crashing through the windows and doors of the Capitol, those who battered the Capitol Police and Metro Police, injuring over 140 and leading to at least five police officers DYING as a result of the siege, those who defacated inside the Capitol and SMEARED it on the walls, those who ransacked offices and STOLE items from various members of Congress of the building itself, etc. etc.

If you watch Fox “news,” “Newsmax” (arguably worse than Fox), “OANN” or you frequent the right wing sections of the internet it’s been bashed into your brain the INSURRECIONISTS actually are “patriots.” In addition, the right wing (heavily armed) so-called “militias” are also referred to as “patriots.” Tucker Carlson, the Fox “news” connection to the white nationalists in America, actually made a “documentary” suggesting January 6th, 2021 was an “FBI false flag operation” as a phony way to “defend” the so-called “patriot!” Huh??? Carlson, in my view, is a wack job and the people who watch him are truly “suckers” for believing his shtick. (I do know, for a fact, that people like David Duke, Don Black, and others connected to the KKK watch Carlson on a regular basis. This comes from Black’s own son.)

History tells us, very clearly, the issue with large portions of America being infected with “white nationalism” is nothing new. It appears IGNORING the issue is nothing new, either. Which is my point regarding the saying “Those who choose to ignore history are bound to repeat it.” Largely in the South, right now, we’re seeing what many are calling “Jim Crow 2.0” with a massive “swath” of voter suppression bills popping up in state after state. Something like 400 bills with at least one potential bill in virtually every state. Of course, some of them will never make it to being a law because of Governor veto pens (mostly democratic governors) but, some already have made it to becoming law – and, again, our Justice Department seems to be helpless in fighting this – plus our Congress is not interested – there’s too many republicans in the Senate for any meaningful Voting Rights legislation to pass (not to mention Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema).

All these voter suppression laws are being passed due to the Supreme Court “gutting” the two provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which would prevent states like Georgia, Texas, and Arizona from passing these draconian laws. Honestly, I’m not sure if John Roberts falls into the category of someone who has ignored History or if he’s a republican from the South. The bottom line is the Voting Rights Act no longer has any “teeth” and the Congress which used to renew it almost unanimously every 10 years now has a republican party “missing in action.” Of course, the republicans believe the voter suppression laws will work to their benefit. There’s NOTHING more important to them than POWER. (Many republicans – some I know personally – don’t believe African Americans should be allowed to vote)

I point this out because the INSURRECTION of January 6th, 2021 wasn’t the first attempt for Americans to overthrow our constitutional republic. Who knows what would have been the result had the confederacy prevailed in the 1860’s and, likewise, who knows what would have happened had the INSURRECTIONISTS succeeded on January 6th, 2021. It begs credulity to believe individual 1 wasn’t sitting in the “White House” for those 187 minutes of INACTION hoping the siege would be successful and the certification of the Electoral College votes would have been stopped. Who knows what would have happened?

Here’s the deal. We ignore HISTORY at our peril. Individual 1 is a CHEATER, a pathological LIAR, and, allegedly, an organized CRIMINAL. (I believe BOTH the Fulton County DA and the Manhattan DA are investigating RICO charges – look it up) Our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president has his legal “issues” closing in on him from multiple sides. Is Merrick Garland “sitting this one out?” In my view, the solution to America’s most serious problems lie in the hands of AG Garland! Individual 1 is a known LIAR, a CHEATER, and “alleged” organized CRIMINAL. His being held to account for his many brazen CRIMINAL acts will go a long way in determining the future course of this great nation.

Final Thought: I’ve compared individual 1 and his administration to the Germans back in the 1930’s and I’ve also pointed out his affinity for authoritarian world leaders, most significantly Vladimir Putin. As a country, we ignore these parallels at our peril. Our constitutional republic has existed for almost 250 years – really a “miracle” when you consider how fragile it is under present circumstances where you have a metastasizing attack coming from within along with an attack via platforms like Facebook coming from Putin himself (Facebook is the home of massive amounts of misinformation along with an algorithm designed to SPREAD it! Along with a CEO focused solely on sucking more people in and finding ways to keep them “sucked in” for extended periods of time.) and, you combine that with a Justice Department which is reticent to respond to these attacks “head on” you can see our constitutional republic is fragile and, in danger.

Then there’s those like Tucker Carlson and some members of the republican party who are regurgitating Russian talking points as an invasion by Russia of Ukraine appears to be imminent. I’m picturing in my mind people like Carlson will openly support Russia if this invasion occurs while continuing to act in what, IMHO, represents, once again, TRAITORS. This very well could be the first time in my lifetime where there’s a serious foreign military conflict where Americans choose to side with our ENEMY simply because they will oppose President Biden under all circumstances. I truly hope the members of individual 1’s CULT wake up before the damage to this nation is near irreversible. Sad!!!

I finished this post several days ago – before Putin’s ordering Russian troops to invade Ukraine. This is a very sad point of time in world History as I ponder the terrible tragedy which is happening to the people of Ukraine as I’m writing this. It appears the Russian troops, at the direction of Vladimir Putin, very well could commit the MURDER of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians – not even considering the devastation which will occur because basic staples of life, including FOOD, In essence, this Russian president has ordered the MURDER of people who actually speak Russian, many BORN in Russia, and many with relatives in Russia – people who posed NO threat to Russia. This will put Vladimir Putin into the HISTORY books next to some of the most SAVAGE leaders in the HISTORY of the world!

Putin is deranged and his commentary would suggest he’s gone off the rails. Just imagine if individual 1 still occupied the Oval Office. Putin is threatening to deploy NUCLEAR weapons. He’s simply a CRAZY person who is a danger to the entire world! Individual 1 is one of his biggest “fans” and it’s almost unbelievable to me so many Americans continue to support him. I believe individual 1 is every much as CRAZY as his mentor Vladimir Putin!