The Books of Bokonon

Just four years ago, the US almost experienced a successful coup. That is not hyperbole. It happened. Any of us who were anywhere near a cell phone, computer, or TV would have seen coverage on Donald Trump's self-coup throughout the day, starting at the Ellipse with speeches by Trump and his henchmen that ginned up the crowd to the attack on the Capitol Building grounds. There were injuries and deaths as a result. Congress members' lives were in danger for several hours. The whole thing was so well-documented and footage would continue to stream long after the coup was finally put down. There was no love there. These were not tourists. Even if the insurrectionists don't want to be seen in this light, the reality is that they were terrorists and traitors.  Trump had telegraphed his self-coup well in advance, laying the groundwork in the early fall prior to the election in 2020. The many lawsuits and schemes for fake electors in swing states that went to Biden were part of th...

Hilarity ensued. The scene where a gentleman who asked Trump about the January 6th insurrection was priceless. Like Desi Lydic, I know that look. I got that same look from my dad when I tried something stupid. My now adult kids say that is the look I give them whenever I am just not buying what they tell me. Turns out nonverbal behavior can tell us a lot. We also are reminded of a valuable life lesson: in politics, we use the term "lion's den" figuratively and not literally. That might be important.

First, A Closer Look: Colbert weighs in:

Professor Allan Lichtman and his son, Sam, did a live stream this evening, focused mostly on Jack Smith's court filing yesterday. If you have an hour, it's worth your while to listen. As he sees it, what Judge Chutkan responds will be potentially huge, especially if she orders hearings. That's a distinct possibility.  If you want a sort of big picture analysis that places all of this in context, check it out.

This is the court filing that Donald Trump did not want made public. I've only had some time to check out the coverage of Jack Smith's filing earlier today, but what I've heard and read makes clear that there is damning evidence that Donald Trump bears responsibility for the January 6th insurrection that could have resulted in a coup, reinstalling Trump by fiat in the process. The reason we are even dealing with this is that Jack Smith, in his capacity as Special Prosecutor, had to demonstrate that the charges against Donald Trump were due to his actions as a candidate running for re-election, rather than in his official capacity as President. Today's filing is especially noteworthy given last night's VP debate, in which Trump's running mate, JD Vance, refused to acknowledge that Trump lost the 2020 election. Vance got to try his hand at gaslighting his audience last night ahead of a healthy reminder that Trump not only lost but that Trump tried to illegally ove...

One reason for threatening to pardon the criminals who were convicted for their role in attempting to overturn the 2020 election? Trump, as would-be dictator wants a paramilitary squad to terrorize us. The more goons out loose the better from his perspective, and likely the perspective of his followers. It's weird, un-American and anti-American, but this is what we deal with now when one of the major party candidates openly embraces fascism . They're not even hiding it at this point. Vote like your democracy depends on it, because it does.

If you had told me a couple decades ago that I would agree with anything Karl Rove said, I'd have seriously questioned your sanity. Yet here we are. This post by Digby is worth reading, and better yet, worth listening to Rove himself. The insurrectionists were thugs. They deserve to do time - hard time. Granted, Rove helped create the monster that we are all facing now, but at least he has the self-awareness to understand.

What is your personal memory of the January 6, 2021, attack on our Capitol and Congress? How did you hear about it? How did you react? — Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) January 6, 2023 Today marks the two-year anniversary of Trump's attempted coup that led to the brief disruption of the certification of the electoral vote. That is a day I will never forget. I was working remotely, attempting to get some work completed before the new semester began. My wife had on one of the news channels covering what should have been a routine certification of the electoral votes for each state. I was expecting that some Senators and Representatives on the GOP side would object to the count in some swing states, so that it was likely going to be a long day for everyone in Congress. I went into the living room at some point to see Trump at the Obelisk looking more menacing than usual (which is saying something). I remember Trump telling the crowd to march over to the Capitol Building and that t...