#us capitol attack

[meandmybigmouth]

Jamie Raskin: the electoral college is a ‘danger to the American people’

The Maryland congressman says recent changes to electoral college laws are unlikely to stop another January 6

[o-the-mts]

Liz Cheney blocked January 6 scrutiny of Ginni Thomas, book says

Anti-Trump Republican stymied investigation of activist married to supreme court justice, says reporter David Brock

[ms-cellanies]

What happens when you don’t punish insurrectionists? | Steve Phillips

We must not repeat the mistakes of the years after the 1860s war for white supremacy that we call the civil war

[posttexasstressdisorder]

Federal prosecutors warn court of potential deluge of January 6 charges – report

Court officials estimate another 700 to 1,200 defendants could face charges as editor of New York Jewish newspaper arrested

[18kgold]

Capitol attack panel obtains PowerPoint that set out plan for Trump to stage coup

Presentation turned over by Mark Meadows made several recommendations for Trump to pursue to return himself to presidency

I like that they’re using the word ‘coup’, which the targets are too afraid to use (for the most part). Like, it’s worth remembering that if not for the Trump gang’s clumsiness and ignorance of how massive institutional structures work, we’d have an illegitimate government.

Senators and members of Congress should first be briefed about foreign interference, the PowerPoint said, at which point Trump could declare a national emergency, declare all electronic voting invalid, and ask Congress to agree on a constitutionally acceptable remedy.

The PowerPoint also outlined three options for then vice-president Mike Pence to abuse his largely ceremonial role at the joint session of Congress on 6 January [...]: seat Trump slates of electors over the objections of Democrats in key states, reject the Biden slates of electors, or delay the certification to allow for a “vetting” and counting of only “legal paper ballots”.

[...] The Guardian revealed last week that sometime between the late evening of 5 January and the early hours of 6 January, after Pence declined to go ahead with such plans, Trump then pressed his lieutenants about how to stop Biden’s certification from taking place entirely. 

[... T]he select committee said they did find in the materials turned over by Meadows, his text messages with a member of Congress, who told Meadows about a “highly controversial” plan to send slates of electors for Trump to the joint session of Congress.

[espanolbot2]

‘A white nationalist pyramid scheme’: how Patriot Front recruits young members

The rightwing group’s workings resemble a media production company more than a classic neo-Nazi group, researchers say

Not that surprising, when the KKK had a revival in the 1920s after the release of Birth of a Nation (a film credited as the first blockbuster that not only portrayed the Klan in a heroic light but also originated the whole cross-burning thing) it featured a spike in recruitment with many leaders within the organisation operating it as a literal pyramid scheme that preyed on bigots fear and ignorance.

With it working that one guy would hire some people, who would charge people a fee to join, with the more people that joined the more money the recruiters would get (in addition to a cut of the money from selling new members their hoods, robes and merch). They even hired publicists to help them model their image in a manner to inspire more recruitment by appearing to be “respectable”, leading to the Klan being seen as “legitimate“ enough that they attempted to openly run for political office in several states, and even attempted a plan to try and make Oregon entirely “whites only“ (stoking fears about the 0.02% of the population of Japanese-Americans to do so).

This all fell apart though, naturally, as these things often do, when several high ups were arrested and convicted of several crimes (with one killing a rival within the organisation, and another turning out to be a sexual predator who violently assaulted his secretary to the extent she died of her injuries, which conflicted with their constructed narrative about “protecting white women”). Plus the work of journalist and social activist Stetson Kennedy and the creators of the Superman radio show leaking chunks of the Klan’s ridiculous practices to the public, which lead to a generation of kids seeing the Klan as bad guys and Superman villains.

So yeah, hopefully the modern far-right will suffer a similar implosion, helped by the fact that numerous prominent figures (like Trump) are getting increasingly large amounts of charges against them, but we shall see.

[protoslacker]

‘Could I understand the people who rushed into the Capitol?’: George Saunders on how stories teach empathy

The Booker-winning author on how fiction unites us as societies become ever more fractured

An essay perfect for a Sunday afternoon. And within it a link to David Foster Wallace’s Commencement Speech to Kenyon College class of 2005 written by David Foster Wallace, “This Is Water” (a transcript here)

[porterdavis]

Why Trump appears deeply unnerved as Capitol attack investigation closes in

Flurry of recent revelations raises the specter that the committee is swiftly heading towards an incriminating conclusion

Reminder: innocent people welcome the chance to clear their name.