January 6th Hearings And A Snippet

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Election 2020, Law and justice, Political commentary, Social commentary

I mostly want to talk a bit about last night’s televised hearings, but also have another snippet … or maybe two … who knows?  🤷

January 6th Committee hearings

I watched the televised hearings of the January 6th committee tonight, and I have to tell you, by the time they took a 10-minute recess after the first hour, I was more than ready for a break!  I was shaking and couldn’t catch my breath after watching some of that footage.  I’ve never wanted to hurt somebody more in my life than I wanted to hurt those ugly people storming the Capitol.

The hearing was interesting … nay, fascinating … but not much new information has been presented as yet.  Still, watching the first-hand account by the police officer, Caroline Edwards, who was wounded, knocked unconscious, then resumed her duties to protect the Capitol upon regaining consciousness, only to be injured yet again, was riveting.  She did not cry as she described the ‘carnage’ and ‘chaos’, but I wanted to cry for her.

Initially, the investigation was going to be held by an independent, non-partisan group of people similar to the 9/11 Commission, but the Republicans, namely Kevin McCarthy, protested that they wanted a partisan, congressional committee.  Presumably, he thought this would give him and his minions a degree of control over what information was sought and revealed. His attempt to put two Republican members of Congress on the committee who were to some extent involved in the events of that day, Jim Jordan and Jim Banks, proved his intent, and since then he has made no secret of the fact that if he gets the opportunity after the November elections, he will shut down the committee and destroy its work.  Too late, Kev … we’re seeing it and we cannot … will not unsee it.

That said, I think a non-congressional, non-partisan investigative body would have been a better solution because the Republicans already have and will continue to claim that it’s a “witch hunt” to “get Donald Trump” by “people who don’t like him.”  With a non-congressional, non-partisan committee, it would have been much more difficult for them to make that claim and be believed.  Then again, their followers will believe almost anything, as we saw from the various testimonies tonight by people who honestly (or so they say) believed that Trump had told them to come do their dirty deeds that day.

However, McCarthy forced the hand of Nancy Pelosi and I think she put together a great committee.  Sadly, the two Republicans who voluntarily joined, Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, have been bullied and harassed by their peers in the Republican Party.  Ms. Cheney is holding her own, but Mr. Kinzinger announced early on that he will not run for re-election in November.

Just from what we saw tonight, it appears the committee has done good work, despite the fact that numerous people they needed to talk to have foolishly ignored their subpoenas or refused to answer questions, invoking their 5th Amendment right not to incriminate themselves … meaning, of course, that they are guilty to a greater or lesser extent.  The committee is still gathering information, crossing their ‘t’s and dotting their ‘i’s, and their report will live on far past their tenure in Congress.  I hope … I am sure … that there are numerous copies of the entirety of their work stored in secure locations away from the Capitol just in case some disaster should befall the Capitol.

A seditionist for Governor of Michigan???

Ryan Kelley is … or was … running on the Republican ticket for Governor of Michigan, hoping to unseat Gretchen Whitmer.  His campaign may have just sounded the death knell, though, as on Thursday morning, Mr. Kelley was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for his role in the January 6th insurrection/attempted coup.  Kelley is charged with committing violence against a person or property on restricted grounds, damaging federal property, disorderly conduct and entering a restricted building or grounds without permission.  All four charges are misdemeanors, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office … which I do not understand.  How can these be only misdemeanors?  Violence against a person?  A misdemeanor???  WHY???

Kelley was released after appearing briefly in federal court and was not even required to post bail!  Grrrrrrrrrrrr.  The evidence is incontrovertible that Kelley was at the Capitol on January 6th 2021, but some are already claiming that his arrest was an attempt by the FBI to undermine his campaign for governor.  I said a minute ago that this could be the death knell for his campaign, but on the other hand, seeing how the Republican mentality works, this might just give his campaign a surge!  The nastier they are, the better the Republicans like them.

22 thoughts on “January 6th Hearings And A Snippet”

  1. Pingback: January 6th Hearings And A Snippet — Filosofa’s Word – The Voice of the Voiceless

  2. Reblogged this on It Is What It Is and commented:
    I recorded the hearings … didn’t watch it real time but went to bed quite late watching ALL of it! … Truly, truly, I have no words!! It’s had to believe how close it was … and still it … to destroy the fabric of this nation (however flawed it may be)!!

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Pingback: JANUARY 6th. HEARINGS AND A SNIPPET. |jilldennison.com | Ramblings of an Occupy Liberal

  5. I couldn’t believe, when the committee took its 10-minute recess, that I’d already been watching this for an hour. Time basically stood still for me while the hearing was on. This is a historic moment in our country, one that ALL my fellow countrymen should witness. (I know they won’t.)

    Liked by 2 people

    • Same here! I hadn’t really expected to watch the entire thing, but I was spellbound. Like you, I wish the Republicans would just watch. No, they won’t, but I don’t see how they could continue to call this a day in the park if they saw that footage we saw last night.

      Like

  6. Carl Paladino congressional candidate (R- NY) said ” Adolph Hitler is the kind of leader we need today. We need somebody inspirational. Somebody who is a doer.”

    America somehow, in a deranged astonishing way, has produced people like this and people who will support trump no matter what comes out in these hearings. To people like this, it does not matter and in fact they embrace it. We blame it on Fox News, racism, bigotry, poor education and religious fanaticism, which, in part it is, but there is something deeper at root here, but I don’t know what it is. Evil is the only word I can come up with, but since I’m not religious, I don’t like to use that word. It’s a sickness perhaps, a malignancy, but it’s a force that is spreading I’m afraid.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Funny, ’cause my afternoon post was all about Paladino!!! He is an asshole in so many ways.

      Yes, there are far too many in this nation who seem to live in an entirely different universe — one that is upside down to ours, or a mirror image where our right is their left and vice versa. There is plenty of blame to go ’round … all those things you mention are part of the problem. But, rather than direct my attention to evil, for I don’t believe that people are inherently evil, but become that way through their upbringing, background, education, and life’s experiences. So, rather than evil, I blame human nature … greed, primarily, is at the core of it all. What makes ME happy, what I think MY rights are, without a thought for the fact that children are being killed in schools and going to bed hungry at night, dying from lack of medical care. The difference between us and them isn’t evil, necessarily, but what has caused us to think differently, our background and our life experiences. Those who have never been homeless (I have), have never had to miss a meal because there was no food, have never had to choose between paying the rent or the electric bill, don’t understand the rest of us. Evil, per se, is a summation of their thoughts and actions, their lack of ability to feel compassion because they are too busy worrying about their own happiness and convenience.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Very valid point about upbringing…as they say nature or nuture. I do think there’s something to be said for DNA/genetics in some of these cases also, regardless of upbringing. Born with a mean gene. What makes one child a bully and not the other born into the same circumstances?it’s a mystery for sure.

        Liked by 1 person

        • Oh yes, DNA definitely plays a role. My two eldest children, 16 months apart in age, raised by the same parents in the same home … are as different as night and day! So yes, DNA plays a role. Sigh.

          Like

  7. I am surprised that they have not started saluting and “Heil-ing” each other whenever they meet. (Or at least wearing Jack Boots.) I guess those things are still to come.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Jill, was that a Freudian slip to call Jim Jordan, Jim Jones? Jordan has certainly drunk the Kool-Aid, but he has also helped stir it up and serve it.

    There is footage of Kevin McCarthy speaking on the floor of the House chamber denouncing the January 6 insurrection and pointing a finger at the former president in the week following the event. Now, he pretends as if he never said that.

    The former president is like a toddler in many ways, the hissy fits, the lying, and the blame of others, but one of his ploys is the toddler response when something bad happens, “I didn’t do it.” Why people do not clearly see this person for what he does is beyond me. As an example, when he finally fessed up at a press conference and said Obama was born here, he did what Trump often does, he blamed Hillary Clinton for the birther story – the one he had been repeating for three years. Keith

    Liked by 2 people

    • 😱 That was indeed an unintentional Freudian slip!!! I can’t believe I did that! That’s what happens when you try to engage your brain in the wee hours of the morning, eh? Thanks for pointing it out … I have now fixed it, hopefully before too many people saw it.

      Yes, McCarthy and others condemned Trump in the heat of the moment and the immediate aftermath, but then sought to salvage their political future by backtracking or denying they ever said it. Such cowards.

      Trump has, indeed, acted like a toddler who needed to be put down for his nappie … this is NOT the sort of leader we need, one who whines and wheedles to get his way, pouts when he doesn’t, and denies culpability. I’ll never forget when someone asked him if he was partly responsible for something … I think something related to all the Covid deaths … and he said, “No, I don’t take responsibility at all.” And that was the mantra of his entire term in office. He accepted credit even where none was due, but never once accepted responsibility for a mistake. He cannot … simply cannot be allowed to run again under ANY circumstances.

      Liked by 2 people

      • Jill, we have long discussed, especially with Scottie, that Trump will even throw a family member under the bus to save his hide. Now, he is tossing his daughter under the bus for daring to say her father lost the election. How dare she actually believe the Attorney General who said her father’s election fraud claims where BS. What temerity! Keith

        Liked by 1 person

        • I’ve long said that Trump spares no love for even his family members … not, at least, as you and I would define love. One strike and they’re out! I’m sure Ivanka knew that there would be a hefty price to pay with dear old dad for saying she believed Bill Barr. Perhaps she and Jared are ready to be shed of Daddy Dearest once and for all.

          Like

  9. maybe any further interviews held by the group should be done under the shadow of the gallows the seditionists erected on thar fateful day. Maybe it should actually be used against those traitors who tried to overturn a legitimate election.

    Liked by 1 person

    • I actually had that same thought, but then I thought, no, that would be stooping to their level. Sigh. Some days it’s hard to keep my temper in check and not get down in the mud and fight dirty with them.
      Cwtch

      Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.