Deify

PART ONE - JAN. 6, 2021

The following are statements of fact:

The President of the United States of America is disputing an election he lost by more than seven million votes.

The President of the United States of America and his legal team filed more than 60 lawsuits regarding this dispute. Almost all of those lawsuits were thrown out - by Republican- and Democrat-appointed judges alike - for a lack of evidence.

The President of the United States of America pressured political leaders in swing states to overturn the will of the people and award him their electoral votes. 

The President of the United States of America issued vague threats to those same leaders if they were not willing to grant his request.

The President of the United States of America was caught on tape doing the last two things in a conversation with Republican leaders in Georgia.

The youngest adult son of the President of the United States of America directly threatened leaders who oppose his father, stating, "Any senator or any congressman that does not - meaning on (the Republican) side - that does not fight tomorrow [Jan. 6], their political career is over because the MAGA movement is going nowhere."

The President of the United States of America held a rally at the Washington Ellipse Jan. 6 and encouraged attendees to march to the U.S. Capitol building, where he said he would join them.

The eldest son of the President of the United States of America said, at the aforementioned rally, "This gathering should send a message to them: This isn't (the GOP's) Republican Party anymore. This is Donald Trump's Republican Party."

The President of the United States of America said, later at that same rally, "If you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore."

The President of the United States of America returned to the White House while attendees of the Jan. 6  rally marched to the U.S. Capitol building.

 

What followed was simply appalling. Protestors stormed the U.S. Capitol building, pushing past police barricades, damaging the building itself, and breaching the House Chamber. Vice President Mike Pence, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi were evacuated and moved to a secure location. Tear gas was deployed against police and shots were fired. One woman died and at least 25 members of Capitol Police were injured during today's attack.

This happened here. In the United States. The U.S. Capitol is surrounded by armored vehicles, law enforcement and National Guard members as I write this. ABC News reports that 1,700 National Guard members have been called upon to keep the U.S. Capitol perimeter secure. There are still hundreds of protestors on the scene despite the unprecedented military and police presence. 

These are scenes I never thought I would see in the United States as long as I lived. I never thought I would write about something like this, or watch news coverage of something like this. I also never thought I'd write the words I'm about to write, but here we are.

The President of the United States of America is guilty of sedition, treason and insurrection. 

Donald Trump has spent the last two months laying the groundwork for the attempted coup that occurred at the United States Capitol building today. He has been involved in a misinformation campaign for the entirety of his term as president, an effort that significantly increased after Trump was defeated in the 2020 election.

Now, I don't write these words casually. These are significant, severe words that carry significant, severe consequences.

Coup - a sudden decisive exercise of force in politics, especially the violent overthrow or alteration of an existing government by a small group

I'd say a mob showing up at the U.S. Capitol, at the urging of the President of the United States, to protest the incredibly democratic process of confirming the will of the American people, falls under "sudden decisive exercise of force in politics". The fact that mob defied police, damaged federal property, and tried to access the chambers of Congress, covers the "violent overthrow or alteration of an existing government".

Insurrection - an act or instance of revolting against civil authority or an established government

I might suggest a mob revolting against a democratic procedure, one that occurs in a government facility, almost exclusively outside the public eye, without fanfare or news coverage, constitutes revolting against civil authority or an established government.

Sedition - incitement of resistance to or insurrection against lawful authority

"If you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore" sounds an awful lot like the incitement of resistance to or insurrection against lawful authority.

Treason - the offense of attempting by overt acts to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance or to kill or personally injure the sovereign or the sovereign's family

Focus on that first part - it's really important: "The offense of attempting by overt acts to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance." Spending the better part of 2020 running a misinformation campaign about an election, doubling down after you lost that election, trying to use your authority to overturn the results of the election you lost, and capping it off by inciting your followers to "fight like hell" kinda seems like it hits the definition of treason to the letter.

(Definitions courtesy of Merriam-Webster)

Donald Trump should be removed from office. Tonight. Mike Pence should invoke the 25th Amendment during tonight's meeting of Congress and have Donald Trump removed from office, as he has clearly and unequivocally proven he is unfit for the office of President of the United States. 

Donald Trump should spend the rest of his life in prison for what happened this afternoon. Protestors should be jailed for their actions at the U.S Capitol. Any member of Congress who votes against the certification of the 2020 election should be charged with sedition. We are not a banana republic and it is time to start drawing a line in the sand. Those guilty of fueling this fire need to be held accountable.

Mike Pence, Lindsey Graham, Ron Johnson, and every other politician who has stood idly by, or who has actively supported Donald Trump's fire hose of bullshit, isn't suddenly absolved for decrying what happened today. It didn't have to get this far. You had four years to stand up for what was right and you failed. Your personal ambition took precedent over your duty to your office, your constituents and your country.

If you support what happened today, you don't get to claim you support police, because people of your ilk injured 25 police officers and pushed around countless more today. You don't get to claim you're a patriot because what people of your ilk did today is as un-American as it gets. You don't get to claim you love this country because people of your ilk tried to kill this democratic republic as we know it. All you get to claim is that you support an aspiring authoritarian, because that is what he has proven himself to be on countless occasions. 

There are plenty of conservatives in this country who are embarrassed by the representation of their party. I've seen their posts today on social media. This country needs you to take back your Grand Old Party, to wrestle control of American conservatism from extremists who have hijacked it.

PART TWO - JAN. 7, 2021

More than 24 hours have passed since hundreds of insurrectionists, encouraged by the sitting President of the United States, attacked the U.S. Capitol. Five people are dead. Many others are recovering from injuries suffered yesterday. Details have emerged from those who were inside the building during the attack. We know much more now than we did 24 hours ago, when the shock of insurrection on American soil was still fresh in our minds.

Time has also provided us a much-needed chance at perspective. Adding to this entry was probably an inevitability, even if I didn't realize it last night. I needed to try to sort myself as I watched our country turn into a banana republic in real time. 

As I sit here, thinking and writing, some 30 hours after insurrectionists descended upon the Capitol, very little has changed. I'm still heartbroken. I'm still livid. I'm still embarrassed. 

I'm also perplexed how Donald Trump, a day and a half after inspiring an attempted coup, is still President of the United States. He should already have been removed via the powers provided under the 25th Amendment. Trump has proven, beyond a shadow of a doubt, he is unfit for office. He has been building a pyre for months, and at the Washington Ellipse yesterday, with the White House at his back, Trump lit the blaze. 

He deserves no credit for the video he posted upon his return to Twitter, a completely uncharacteristic statement of contrition, unity, peace and progress. You can't start a fire and then pat yourself on the back for asking everyone to grab a bucket of water. Every day Donald Trump remains in office is an embarrassment to our country and an implicit approval of the insurrection that took place yesterday. The longer lawmakers wait to do something about it, the likelier it is we will see more of this behavior.

Charles Frederic Aked said, "For evil men to accomplish their purpose, it is only necessary that good men should do nothing." No man has done nothing more often than Mike Pence. The former Indiana governor was selected as Trump's running mate for multiple political reasons (his connection to the Koch brothers and his appeal to evangelical voters, for example) but one of his most appealing qualities, I assume, was the contrast he struck with Trump. Pence is as exciting as a piece of white bread. He is the polar opposite of Donald Trump, and Trump was probably smart enough to realize that when he selected Pence as his running mate in July 2016. 

Pence acts like a scared child around Trump and his behavior backs up such an assumption. The most firm thing Pence has done in four years is put out a statement indicating he had a responsibility to uphold his oath to the constitution, that he couldn't override the will of the people because his boss said so. What an American hero. Pence continues to do nothing after his boss instigated an insurrection that forced Pence into protective hiding - reports indicate Pence will choose not to invoke the 25th Amendment, the latest and most abhorrent example of Pence standing idly by while the president runs roughshod.

The internet has rightfully skewered South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham for a tweet he published in May 2016, which read: "If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed.......and we will deserve it." Without knowledge of the behavior that followed the tweet, you'd think Graham spent his time railing against Trump's behavior. You would, of course, be very, very wrong. Graham did a complete 180, turning into one of Trump's premier lap dogs. He briefly performed another about-face, decrying the actions Trump inspired on Capitol Hill, before returning to Trump's lap Friday in criticizing bipartisan calls for the use of the 25th Amendment.

Aspiring lap dog, and poor man's Lindsey Graham, Ron Johnson went out of his way to defend the completely baseless claims Trump made regarding election fraud in 2020. Like Graham, Johnson chastised those who took part in Wednesday's insurrection. Johnson has since said he still believes widespread fraud occurred in the 2020 election despite a complete absence of proof.

Just hours after their workplace was attacked, Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) doubled down on their own baseless accusations by objecting to the certification of votes cast in Arizona. It was a shocking betrayal of America by two sitting Senators who almost certainly have eyes on the 2024 presidential race. Both men chose to place personal ambition over duty to their country. Both men should be removed from Congress and charged with crimes against the United States of America.

The FBI has correctly began reviewing pictures, videos and security footage from the siege at the Capitol. Some insurrectionists have been arrested, with many more arrests expected in the coming days. Others have already been fired, most notably the idiot who wore his work badge around his neck during the attack.

They are getting exactly what they deserve for trying to live out the tyrannical fantasy created by their Demagogue-in-chief. Wearing military fatigues and flak jackets while you attack Capitol Police officers doesn't make you a bad ass - it makes you a cosplayer who doesn't have the balls to make a real commitment to defending this country. If you so badly want to wear combat gear, carry automatic rifles and "defend freedom", join the fucking military. Hell, I'll even drive you down to the recruiter's office of your choice. Maybe you can pull your head out of your ass after you see what it really takes for men and women to defend the United States.

And if you support the actions of the insurrectionists on Capitol Hill, you have a choice to make. Your allegiance lies with Donald Trump or with the United States of America. It can no longer be both. The priorities of your demagogue and this country of ours are diametrically opposed. That was proven, in bold colors, yesterday afternoon. So which is it? Will you walk away from an aspiring authoritarian or the country you claim to love so dearly?

PART THREE - JAN. 10, 2021

Headlines from the last three days are still so surreal. Most are hard to believe because they never seemed like something I'd read about this country. Some are surreal because they're defending what happened. 

But many have one thing in common: Things were a lot worse on Wednesday than we initially thought.

Six people have died. That's two more than the terrorist attack in Benghazi, which Hillary Clinton was blamed for even though she wasn't the president. (She was Secretary of State.) To extrapolate the logic of those defending Donald Trump - since most also blamed Clinton for the Benghazi attack - the Secretary of State can be responsible for a foreign terrorist attack in another country but the President of the United States cannot be held responsible for an attack perpetrated by his political supporters on American soil.  

The insurrectionists that attacked the U.S. Capitol were looking for blood. There is very little doubt. To wit:

- Reuters photographer Jim Bourg tweeted Friday: "I heard at least 3 different rioters at the Capitol say that they hoped to find Vice President Mike Pence and execute him by hanging him from a Capitol Hill tree as a traitor. It was a common line being repeated. Many more were just talking about how the VP should be executed."

- White House correspondent Andrew Feinberg also tweeted Friday: "There are multiple photographs of pro-Trump rioters carrying law enforcement-style flex cuffs." Slate has one such photograph: An image of a pro-Trump insurrectionist, dressed in full tactical gear, holding multiple flex cuffs as he walks through the Senate chamber.

- There is video of pro-Trump insurrectionists chanting "Hang Mike Pence!" outside the Capitol.

- Andrew Caballero-Reynolds took a photograph of a gallows that was erected outside the Capitol. The photo is available for viewing via Getty Images. 

- There are reports and videos of pro-Trump insurrectionists attacking members of the media. I wonder where they got that idea.

If you still support Donald Trump and the people who invaded the Capitol building Wednesday, after all the news and other information that has come out in the last four days, you're part of the problem. Your support eliminates any differentiation between you and the insurrectionists who planned unspeakable things on Capitol Hill last week. They are you, and you are them.

Your people did exactly what you (wrongly) accused Black Lives Matter protestors of doing: Attacking police officers. But no police officers died during the countless protests that occurred this summer. Your people beat a police officer about the head with a fire extinguisher. That police officer and military veteran is now dead. Because of your people, the U.S. Capitol is the site of a murder investigation.

A second Capitol Police officer killed himself this weekend after what happened Wednesday. His death was labeled a "line of duty casualty" by a former Capitol Police chief.

That makes two police officers whose blood is on the hands of the insurrectionists and their supporters. What happened to "backing the blue"? What happened to "blue lives matter"? It was all lip service. Your words rang hollow then and they ring hollower now.

You and your people are living out a patriotic fantasy created by Donald Trump himself. Hundreds of your people lived out the deepest, darkest corners of that fantasy on Capitol Hill Wednesday. But fear not: Reality is coming. Reality is the FBI, who has already arrested some of the more conspicuous insurrectionists and will be arresting more. Reality is the friends and family members who are done with you, who will no longer tolerate the horrible alternate reality you live in. Hopefully, reality is watching your demagogue be thrown in jail for inciting an insurrection, for betraying the country he was supposed to honor and lead.

You and your people need to realize words matter. You don't get to pretend anymore that the words he spoke at rallies or his five-year fire hose of tweets don't carry enormous weight. You need to face the reality that thousands, if not millions, of people like you have been empowered by the most powerful man in America to indulge their biases to the fullest extent. That empowerment led to the first assault on our Capitol since 1814. That empowerment led to six deaths and probably would have led to more if the insurrectionists would have had their way.

None of this makes you a "patriot" or a "true American" or any other bullshit title you decide to assign yourself. You're supporting a traitor, plain and simple. 

Look around you. The majority of the country is saying the same thing: Wednesday's events were an insurrection, Donald Trump is a traitor to the United States of America, and Jan. 6 will go down as one of the darkest days in modern American history. The majority of the world outside our borders is appalled by what happened and is actively questioning how something like this could happen in America. Are you so diluted in your beliefs that you think everyone else is the problem? Do you really think the entire world has lost its way and that you're the only ones who see the true way back to good?

Wake the fuck up. You're supporting an authoritarian who is trying to elevate himself over the good of the country you claim to love so much. That very same person has manipulated you for five years. He doesn't give a shit about you. He has weaponized you for his own personal gain and you've gleefully gone along for the ride. 

He isn't going to be around to protect you in 10 days. God willing, he'll be arrested and thrown in jail. Maybe then, you'll finally see the reality of the situation.

But I'm not holding my breath. You're already too far gone.

PART FOUR - JAN. 12, 2021

I've been trying to get some actual sports writing done for a week now. I can't make any real progress because I always end up here. I always end up here because the news about last week's insurrection, and what potentially lies ahead in the next 7-10 days, is terrifying and appalling and I need to write in this space to keep my sanity intact.

News broke yesterday that the FBI had learned of armed protests that were going to take place at every state capital building on Inauguration Day - all 50, regardless of whether the state went to Joe Biden or Donald Trump in November. They have already started boarding up the Wisconsin State Capitol building.

It got much worse today. Reports are surfacing this morning of a briefing that took place Monday night between Capitol Police and Democrats. Why just Democrats? The briefing discussed three demonstrations that are being planned in Washington for Inauguration Day and Congressional Democrats could be in serious danger. 

One plan was called "the largest armed protest ever to take place on American soil." The second was a protest in honor of Ashli Babbitt. She's the insurrectionist who died after being shot while trying to crawl through a window in the Capitol building. Natch, she's now being made a martyr. 

That third plot, though, is downright fucking terrifying. This plan involves insurrectionists surrounding three major government buildings in Washington: The Capitol, to assassinate Democrats and any Republican who did not support Donald Trump's fantasy that he won the 2020 election while also allowing pro-Trump Republicans to take control of the United States government; the White House, so as to protect Trump from harm; and the Supreme Court building, to shut down the courts.

The reports say Capitol Police and the National Guard are preparing for "potentially tens of thousands" of armed protestors and "rules of engagement for warfare" were being established by the group of would-be insurrectionists. 

In addition, a Washington Post report from Tuesday indicated an FBI field office in Virginia issued a warning Jan. 5 of what was planned for the following day. The report read: "As of January 5 2021, FBI Norfolk received information indicating calls for violence in response to 'unlawful lockdowns' to begin on 6 January 2021 in Washington D.C. An online thread discussed specific calls for violence to include stating 'Be ready to fight. Congress needs to hear glass breaking, doors being kicked in, and blood from their BLM and Pantifa slave soldiers being spilled. Get violent. Stop calling this a march, or rally, or a protest. Go there ready for war. We get our President or we die. NOTHING else will achieve this goal.'"

This isn't the act of a lone wolf. This is just one instance the FBI found. There were hundreds upon hundreds of insurrectionists at the Capitol last week looking for blood and there are thousands who will be looking for it in the days to come. 

Remember all the conservatives who claimed the United States would devolve into chaos if a socialist Democrat was elected, that we'd end up like Venezuela or Cuba? I guess we should have listened. Not because they're right - they're not; Joe Biden isn't a socialist (he's barely a Democrat) and the only thing forced upon them would be good healthcare - but because it was a threat. Their actions are turning the United States into a place like Cuba because they want to kill their political opponents, overthrow elected officials and install the leader of their choosing. Truth be told, it isn't about dictatorship at all - it's about having their dictator sit in the Oval Office. They've proven, time and again, that they're fine having an authoritarian in the White House as long as that person shares their views. For four years, they had their way. The country devolved into chaos. And now it's devolving into a banana republic because of their broken interpretation of the truth, of democracy, and of American rights. 

There are good conservatives out there. I know plenty of them. There are good people who voted for Donald Trump. I'm not talking about them. I'm talking about the people who stand behind what has happened since Jan. 6.

You aren't patriots. You're turncoats. You're traitors. You're Neo-Confederates. You will go down in history as such, as wannabe revolutionaries who bought into a campaign of lies wholesale. And you will deserve every bit of it. You've had years to wake the fuck up and months to see the truth about the election. You've chosen ignorance and abject lies over reality. 

Those of us operating in the real world don't have time for you anymore. We have a nation to put back together after you and your kind smashed it to bits last week. We have healing to do after you and your kind set out to reshape this country in your funhouse mirror of a world view.

I'll give the remaining MAGA crowd this: We have needed someone to make America great again for a while. We need someone to make this a country about the people, not the super-rich. We need someone who promotes unity and equality, hard work and the value of telling the truth. Donald Trump is, and always was, fundamentally incapable of being that person. Chances are, Joe Biden isn't going to be that person, either. But he's a step in the right direction, and we have a lot of walking to do.

PART FIVE - JAN. 13, 2021

Another day, another batch of horrifying news and further proof the insurrections who invaded the Capitol one week ago weren't there to protest - they were there to take over and take their opponents out. 

Earlier today, Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) told MSNBC, "The majority of (House Republicans) are paralyzed with fear. I had a lot of conversations with my Republican colleagues last night, and a couple of them broke down in tears - saying that they are afraid for their lives if they vote for this impeachment."

Politico's Tim Alberta backed up Crow's claims, saying "Crow is right," and added, "I know for a fact several members want to impeach but fear that vote could get them or their families murdered. Numerous House Republicans have received death threats in the past week."

While seeking safety during last Wednesday's attack, an unnamed Republican representative from Colorado reportedly said, "My people are outside." 

And in the least surprising development ever, progressive leader and frequent target of the MAGA crowd, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, said there was a point during the insurrection that she thought she was going to die and she feared some of her colleagues on the opposite side of the aisle could reveal her location to the insurrectionists. 

Let that digest. All of that happened on American soil and there a people - a lot of fucking people - who are defending the attempted coup.

It worked. Trump's mob illegally invaded the Capitol and furthered their own political agenda through violence and intimidation. I think there's a word for that. 

 *checks notes*

Yep, there is. The word is terrorism. 

So, on top of insurrection, sedition and treason, you can add terrorism. That's the same tactic groups like Al-Qaeda and ISIS have deployed. That's the very act so many Republicans decried in the wake of 9/11 and in the years since. And it's the same tactic they used themselves when they didn't get their way.

Those "Vanilla ISIS" and "Y'all Qaeda" remarks some people on the left made over the years? You earned it, boys and girls. Everyone left standing behind Donald Trump and his insurrectionists are terrorists all the same as the ones you claim to despise so much.

Speaking of hypocritical bullshit, a Confederate flag made it into the Capitol building for the first time ever last Wednesday. It didn't even happen during the Civil War. So congratulations on that, you "patriots".

I've said this so many times here that it's starting to lose its meaning, but I'm going to say it again: If you took part in last week's insurrection, or if you support what happened on and since Jan. 6, you are a traitor to the United States of America. You are a Neo-Confederate.Your love isn't for this country - it is only for yourself and the people who are exactly like you.