Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Beware of advice from anyone for whom Democrats are “they” and not “we.”

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

Republicans don’t trust women.

We’ll be taking my thoughts and prayers to the ballot box.

Celebrate the fucking wins.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

Second rate reporter says what?

Republicans: “Abortion is murder but you can take a bus to get one.” Easy peasy.

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

American History and Black History can not be separated.

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

When you’re in more danger from the IDF than from Russian shelling, that’s really bad.

Dead end MAGA boomers crying about Talyor Swift being a Dem is my kind of music. Turn it up.

Let’s finish the job.

Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.

No Justins, No Peace

You are here: Home / Civil Rights / Criminal Justice / The Trump Insurrection: Look for the Helpers Heroes

The Trump Insurrection: Look for the Helpers Heroes

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Goddess forgive me, I suspect one difference between Officer Goodman and Officer Sicknick is that Goodman knew these thugs couldn’t be reasoned with. Per USA Today:

A Capitol Police officer is being hailed as a hero for drawing an angry mob away from the entrance to the Senate floor Wednesday as rioters smashed their way into the U.S. Capitol.

In viral video from the scene, the officer is seen glancing to his left and notices the unobstructed hallway to the Senate as he was chased up a flight of stairs. The officer, identified by CNN as Eugene Goodman, at first tried to block an open door before realizing he was alone and being pursued.

Goodman, armed with a baton, pushes the leader of the pack, a man wearing a black QAnon shirt later identified as Doug Jensen from Des Moines. Jensen was focused on Goodman and appeared not to notice the open hallway leading to the Senate chambers.

Jensen chased Goodman, who led him and the mob away from the Senate floor. The group, all white men, followed the Black officer into a group of police in a back corridor outside the Senate…

“As trump’s fascist mob ransacked the US Capitol, this brave USCP officer kept murderous rioters away from the Senate chamber and saved the lives of those inside. God bless him for his courage,” Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-N.J., said in a Twitter post Sunday.

The fallout came quickly for Goodman’s lead pursuer. Jensen, 41, was arrested by the FBI at 1 a.m. Saturday at his Iowa home and booked into the Polk County Jail. Jensen’s employer, Forrest & Associate Masonry in Des Moines, announced Friday that he had been fired….

Reader Interactions

186Comments

  1. 1.

    Ken

    Jensen’s employer, Forrest & Associate Masonry in Des Moines, announced Friday that he had been fired

    I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of reading announcements like this, especially since as more of them mount up, they can’t all eke out a living on wingnut GoFundMe appeals.

  2. 2.

    cain

    Of course they’ll say it is staged. It’s all about being fake news when it doesn’t align with their story. Nothing to see here – same old playbook. So glad that we were able to avoid disaster thanks to this cop.

    ETA: awww.. yeah i keep WINNING! #2 BABY!

    ETA2: ???? ???✊✊

  7. 7.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    Thank you for stomping on that ridiculous thread by John. Middle-age ain’t gonna serve him very well since he’s always been 40 going on 100. I want everyone to write an essay. Party time!

  8. 8.

    PPCLI

    As we learn more about what happened, I look forward to more stories of the heroism of individual officers who behaved with great bravery and fortitude. No doubt they were ill-served by their superiors, and actively undercut by the administration, but they did what they could and they deserve recognition for that.

  12. 12.

    Ohio Mom

    It’s just perfect, white supremacists outsmarted  by a Black man. The moral here isn’t hard to find.

  21. 21.

    germy

    Some more of that sweet access gossip from Ms. Haberman:

    A lot has happened in the last week, including the president losing his Twitter feed, impeachment coming to the fore and the PGA withdrawing from Trump National. He’s “gutted” by the PGA move, a person close to the White House says.

    — Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) January 11, 2021

    He’s angry about impeachment, people who have spoken to him say. But the reaction to the PGA decision was different order of magnitude.

    — Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) January 11, 2021

    Losing twitter and then that golf bullshit…. that’s what’s really eating at him.

     

    I’m laughing

  22. 22.

    Booger

    I was a bike messenger in D.C. back in the day. Before those chuckleheads set off that bomb in the Capitol in 1983, a regular person could pretty much have free reign of the building–both sides, the various floors, you could even walk up to the SCIF that’s part of the rotunda dome. I once passed Jesse Helms in a semi-hidden corridor, where he was muttering–and I kid you not–“barf, barf, barf…”

    But even as a yoot in shorts and a tee shirt, I always has pleasant interactions with the Capitol Hill Cops who searched my backpack and wanded me through. And I always had a magical feeling when I passed by Statuary Hall and hustled up the circular marble steps to go to the document room. And these fucking ignorant, self-important, entitled shitbirds just trampled all over the whole thing like it was their own pigwallow back in bumfuck, not the seat of the free world.

    Federal Death penalty? Sure enough.

  25. 25.

    germy

    NEWS: The US Capitol Police has had to respond to "a couple of incidents" of officers threatening to harm themselves in the wake of the attack on Capitol Hill. This includes a female officer who turned in her own weapon for fear of what might happen.

    — Michael Kaplan (@mkaplantv) January 11, 2021

  26. 26.

    Emma from FL

    @Ohio Mom: When I saw that video the first thing that crossed my mind was “typical white racists, they got distracted from their actual targets by a running Black man”. I felt like crap immediately because it wasn’t funny in any way but really, they are a bigger stereotype than any their carry in their heads about the rest of us.

  27. 27.

    ItinerantPedant

    Anyone else noticed that Eugene Goodman looks like Al Powell of the LAPD response to the crisis at Nakatomi Plaza?  Have Eugene and Al ever been seen in the same place at the same time?

    Or should we just ensure that every policeman hired from now on be a slightly portly Black man?

  30. 30.

    Kattails

    @Ken: Not vegan, silly, organic. He will only eat stuff that doesn’t have pesticides. Because we know how environmentally aware all Trumpsters are. And you know how important his physical health is to him right now and for the next, oh, say 10 years.

  40. 40.

    dmsilev

    @germy:

    Losing twitter and then that golf bullshit…. that’s what’s really eating at him.

    I actually believe it. He craves “respect” from the social elite, and he fancies himself as a mover and shaker in the world of golf. He’s wanted to host PGA title events, Opens (particular at that Scottish travesty of his), etc. for years and years. The Championship tournament that the PGA just stripped from his club was first scheduled something like 6 years ago. And now it’s gone and will never ever come back.

    Schadenfreude.

  42. 42.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Emma from FL: More than that; the blackman in this story used that mob’s blind, stupid hate against them.

    Who’s the superior mind now, Klantards?

  45. 45.

    Brachiator

    “As trump’s fascist mob ransacked the US Capitol, this brave USCP officer kept murderous rioters away from the Senate chamber and saved the lives of those inside. God bless him for his courage,” Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-N.J., said in a Twitter post Sunday.

    I would like to see Trump, Pence and McConnell formally praise Officer Goodman.

    But I am not holding my breath.

  46. 46.

    trollhattan

    @germy:

    Can Roger Goodell please call Trump and tell him, “You’re still not allowed to buy a team, buddy.” then hang up?

  47. 47.

    patrick II

    @Ohio Mom:

    That really was remarkably quick thinking on the part of Goodman.  Not everyone faced with an advancing mob would stay calm enough and with the wits about them to bait the mob and then run away (but not too fast) like that.

  49. 49.

    JoyceH

    @germy: 

    I’m laughing too. Earlier today I said to a friend, he’s lost the election AND the PGA – I wonder which bothers him more?

  50. 50.

    Mary G

    Pretty soon problems like these will be coming down like rain, I hope:

    (WaPo)
    Trump’s nonprofit inaugural committee improperly paid a $49,000 bill incurred by his company, D.C. attorney general alleges

    President Trump’s private business failed to pay a $49,000 hotel bill incurred during Trump’s 2017 inaugural — and then, after the bill went to a collections agency, Trump’s nonprofit inaugural committee agreed to pay the charge instead, according to a new filing from the D.C. attorney general.

    D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine (D) had already sued Trump’s 2017 inaugural committee, alleging it had wasted donors’ money on an overpriced, barely used ballroom at Trump’s own D.C. hotel.

    On Monday, Racine added an allegation to that suit. He said the president’s inaugural committee — a tax-exempt charity — had improperly paid a bill it did not owe, using nonprofit funds to pay a bill owed by a for-profit business.

    “The Trump Organization was liable for the invoiced charges,” Racine’s office said in the filing. “The [Inaugural Committee’s] payment of the invoice was unfair, unreasonable and unjustified and ultimately conferred improper private benefit to the Trump Organization.”

  52. 52.

    debbie

    I’ve been worrying about this officer since Friday. I worried about what would happen to him if the mob caught him and was so relieved to find out this morning that he was intentionally running to where he knew there would be back-up.

  53. 53.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @dmsilev: I gather twitter is a double tap on Donny the Dunce; he craves the attention twitter gives him with the likes and he uses the twitter to change the subject when the pressure is on. Basically Trump can just spam out dumb insults until he can strike a nerve on someone.

  54. 54.

    germy

    @dmsilev:

    He must have been under the influence of amphetamines when he decided to run for president.  He could have sat on his money, kept doing his  “wealthy and savvy businessman” act to his heart’s content.  He could have launched TrumpTV and spent four years heckling President HRC for fun and profit.

    He’s got to be wishing right now he hadn’t done this.  (Just like the rest of us wish he’d never done this.)  He’s brought so much heat on himself now.  I hate what he’s done to this country but I’m glad he’s fucked himself and his stupid family, too.

  55. 55.

    JMG

    Trump was repudiated by LITERAL country club Republicans. There are thousands of members of the PGA of America, and maybe seven Democrats among them.

  56. 56.

    raven

    @debbie: He started to go for his taze but didn’t, if the shit had got too real he had his nine and knows how to use it. Those fuckers would have retreated most ricky tic if he capped one.

  57. 57.

    Patricia Kayden

    Whoa!

    Two US Capitol Police officers have been suspended and another individual has been arrested for their alleged involvement in the riot on January 6th, according to Rep. Tim Ryan, who chairs a House panel probing last week’s events, per @ryanobles @AnnieGrayerCNN— Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 11, 2021

  59. 59.

    trollhattan

    @Mary G:

    Now that we can buy 1TB flash drives, I’m wondering how many it will take to hold documentation of all Trump’s crimes, frauds, unpaid bills, etc.

    Poor historians will be rasslin’ with him for decades to come.

  60. 60.

    germy

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    The owner of Newsmax saw him at Mar a lago and Trump threatened him for referring to “President-Elect” Biden.  Trump told him he could destroy his organization with “one tweet”.

    Twitter was his superpower, apparently.

  63. 63.

    debbie

    @raven:

    I would hope so, but jesus, the way the officer who died was overwhelmed by the crowd and beaten was absolutely terrifying.

  66. 66.

    trollhattan

    @Patricia Kayden:

    “Which side are you on?” comes to mind, considering many of those cops were in the struggle of their lives. How could those turncoats ever face their fellow officers again?

  69. 69.

    Kattails

    “Melania Trump was photographing rugs while the Capitol fell” via Vanity Fair.

    I’m so sorry that her reign did not turn out as she’d hoped. //

    @germy: That does make me sad.  It’s still hard to see how and why it all played out, but they were certainly vastly outnumbered and with out backup.  The shame belongs, like so much else, with Donald Trump and every enabler who helped him. I’m sure Joe Biden will have some words of comfort when it comes to his attention.  One of the things that has impressed me, in fact, is his and Jill’s seeming close attention to so many small but meaningful gestures.

  70. 70.

    Comrade Colette

    @Punchy: @raven:

    Wolf, in a letter to Department of Homeland Security staff, said his resignation “is warranted by recent events, including the ongoing and meritless court rulings regarding the validity of my authority as Acting Secretary.”

    Fucking lying whiner.

    ETA: English needs a new word for lying and whining at the same time. Actually, we’ve needed it for four years, but I expect there to be a surge in demand.

  71. 71.

    Just Chuck

    @Booger:

    these fucking ignorant, self-important, entitled shitbirds just trampled all over the whole thing

    Enough about the republican senators, what about the rioters?

  72. 72.

    JMG

    It is starting to dawn on attendees who maybe didn’t riot on 1/6 that the jolly pictures of themselves they posted on social media are gonna have severe negative consequences beyond legal ones. Here on the Cape, the owner of Arnold’s, one of the most popular lobster, fried clam tourist trap restaurants, was an attendee who did that. He removed the post on Facebook and is now groveling fiercely, hoping that by June, people here will forget what he did in January. They won’t.

  77. 77.

    debbie

    @raven:

    I don’t doubt that. I was trying to find that soonergrunt thread, but he’s got a couple of videos of people being arrested at the airport (can’t tell if it’s arrival or departure). Nothing more than whiny babies.

  79. 79.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @JMG: It’s a little unnerving none of the charges (I’ve seen so far) include sedition or insurrection. But a felony conviction will result in losing their right to vote, so there’s that..

  80. 80.

    Brachiator

    @germy:

    The owner of Newsmax saw him at Mar a lago and Trump threatened him for referring to “President-Elect” Biden. Trump told him he could destroy his organization with “one tweet”.

    Trump was certainly full of himself. Got a kick out of all that presidential power.

    Too bad he could not kill the goddam CoronaVirus with “one tweet.”

  81. 81.

    LeftCoastYankee

    This is the first video I saw on that day on MSNBC.  My first reaction was WTF is he doing… its seemed really bad that he was isolated, but it was hard to tell if was trying to slow them down or lead them on.

    I thought maybe he was buying time for others to get up the stairs, but when he got to the landing it was just him and the media/video guy tucking in behind the riot-geared cops lined up there.

    Finding out he was luring them away is amazing.  Scary to see, but glad it worked out.

  82. 82.

    Just Chuck

    @raven: If he was holding them back with his baton, it’s a strong possibility that his gun could be taken from him.  Especially since he wouldn’t have both hands on the baton.  Plus there’s the whole calculus of firing on an angry mob.

  84. 84.

    Spanky

    @Four Seasons Total Landscaping mistermix:

    Yup! Nothing to see here:

    Now DailyMail.com can reveal that Chansley has been living with his mother Martha, 56, since January 2019 when he was booted out of his $899-a-month apartment in Phoenix, Arizona, owing $1,247 in rent arrears.
    The 33-year-old has no job and, say neighbors, is often seen wandering the streets near her $199,000 Glendale home dressed in his horned shaman get-up.
    Another neighbor, who asked not to be named, said he often sees Chansley dancing on the roof of his mother’s home – describing it as ‘bizarre’.

  88. 88.

    JMG

    @Just Some Fuckhead: Many of the charges are placeholders to get the arrestees into the system based on what they can show they did just from the video. Once in the system, they can be investigated at a more measured pace.

  89. 89.

    Comrade Colette

    When I first saw the video of Officer Goodman, I thought the stopping and starting at each landing and flight of stairs looked intentional and almost practiced. I assumed he was deliberately slowing down the progress of the invaders to buy time for others to respond and to get lawmakers, etc. out of harm’s way. He did indeed accomplish that, but his quick thinking, situational awareness, and sheer bravery went way beyond delay tactics.

  90. 90.

    Kattails

    @HumboldtBlue: I’ve mentioned Bandy Lee’s work here several times.  She’s been ardently pushing for Congress to recognize the danger Trump posed. Glad to see Scientific American interviewing her, maybe it will give some more credibility and a wider audience. She pulled no punches about the stuff we might be facing in the last couple of weeks.

  92. 92.

    Brachiator

    @trollhattan:

    Now that we can buy 1TB flash drives, I’m wondering how many it will take to hold documentation of all Trump’s crimes, frauds, unpaid bills, etc.

    Poor historians will be rasslin’ with him for decades to come.

    And it seems like only yesterday that Trump was musing that his visage should be added to Mount Rushmore, as one of the greatest presidents ever.  And he used to have feverish dreams about getting a Nobel Peace Prize.

    He will be remembered all right.  The Great Orange Loser and National Disgrace.

  96. 96.

    Spanky

    @Spanky: This, of course, is just one of the losers who didn’t have a real agenda in storming the Capitol. Not sure we’re going to be reading much about the more serious threats before they’re arrested, but I would hope not.

  101. 101.

    D Gardner

    @Comrade Colette: I’ve always liked the word “whinging”, which I believe is more commonly used in the UK. Maybe it can be a semi-portmanteau of “unhinged” and “whining”.

  102. 102.

    Elizabelle

    @HumboldtBlue: @Kattails:

    Thank you for the links. Will read the Sci American piece now.

    WRT Bandy Lee: have heard of her before.

    And — FWIW, the late Mr. Lee Bandy was longtime political columnist for Columbia SC’s The State newspaper. The “dean” of SC journalists. So hers is an easy name to remember.

  103. 103.

    Kent

    @Ken:Jensen’s employer, Forrest & Associate Masonry in Des Moines, announced Friday that he had been fired

    Glad to see all those deep-cover ANTIFA folks are being fired!

  108. 108.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @D Gardner: Might be a regional thing. I’ve heard West Virginians other than John use the word. Also, heard it used by western Pennsylvanians. Never heard it used in Virginia.

  110. 110.

    trollhattan

    @Spanky:

    Heat eventually makes you crazy.

    A buddy is a freak magnet, with more freak stories than could be told in two hours. IDK what it is about him, but have observed it firsthand. We were walking to lunch one hot (at least 95) midsummer day and coming the other way is a guy wearing a full-length fur coat and speedos, that’s all. Yeah, he just had to stop and talk to Robert, I might as well have been invisible (major plus). The longer summer goes on, the more frequent these encounters become.

  113. 113.

    Cacti

    It’s a story as old as America itself.

    Enraged white mob seeks to commit violence on nearest person of color.

  115. 115.

    Kent

    @Spanky: The question is how did he get from AZ all the way to DC in the middle of winter?  Hitch hiking?  Is there some MAGA ride share forum on Parler?  Or did some MAGAt buy him a plane ticket?  Be curious to know.

  116. 116.

    Mary G

    Oh dear, maybe he can get a landscaping job

    Inbox: New York State Bar Association moves to remove Rudy Giuliani from membership— Josh Lederman (@JoshNBCNews) January 11, 2021

  119. 119.

    Kent

    @Comrade Colette:Wolf, in a letter to Department of Homeland Security staff, said his resignation “is warranted by recent events, including the ongoing and meritless court rulings regarding the validity of my authority as Acting Secretary.”

    He’s fleeing his responsibility under the 25th Amendment.  Craven coward.

  120. 120.

    Mike in NC

    I read where an Army captain from Fort Bragg (current name) led a group of 100 to DC, but fortunately they weren’t soldiers, just a bunch of local deadbeats. She later resigned.

  121. 121.

    PPCLI

    @Just Some Fuckhead: It could be that they are charging them with what they can nail down right now, in order to hold them, and then as they interrogate and investigate they’ll add more.

    For example, I am quite sure that retired Air Force Officer with zipties guy communicated extensively with other like-minded types, and that could lead to conspiracy charges, perhaps.

  122. 122.

    Calouste

    @Kent: IIRC he has been spotted at all kinds of Q/shitgibbon/other nut job events. Somehow he got there as well, and I don’t they were all within a bicycle ride from where he lives.

  123. 123.

    cain

    @HumboldtBlue:

    I read teh Qanon has wakened the deep state. I don’t know how you are going to beat an adversary that has members of congress, military, and others – eg they have some political power. They are embedded everywhere.

    On the other hand, the 2A folks thinks they can fight the govt using guns. If you are head of a household, the govt will basically freeze all your assets, finances, and turn off the power. Eventually, you’ll be groveling back – of course, you could run into the woods – but I don’t think any of these idiots can actually survive. But hey at least they have a gun!

  127. 127.

    Subsole

    @Ken: He’s probably on that 500 lbs of raw steak a day paleo shit.

    Lots of anti-gmo, “they’s puttin’ kimikals in muh food” in that crowd.

  129. 129.

    jl

    As I noted in a previous thread, Sicknick’s parents say he was a Trump supporter, but was nice to everyone, regardless. Anyway, it’s a free country so OK, if he obeyed the law and did his duty. Edit: and apparently he did do his duty to the cost of his life.

    But some Trumpsters are throwing that in the face of people who don’t support insurrection. Sort of like “Hey we murdered a cop who supported our hero, that’s a big problem for you libs, waddaya say now… huh?” Like libs are in a dilemma because of that.

    Weird, stupid and sick.

  132. 132.

    Kattails

    @HumboldtBlue: Just read the second one.  I like the tone– Like, “guys, remember that scene in Indiana Jones where he gets stuck in the snake pit?  That’s you now. Good luck”.

    Damn, I have so many bookmarks and saves in this computer I’m gonna need a bigger hard drive.

  136. 136.

    Brachiator

    @HumboldtBlue:

    I have mixed feelings about the Sci Am piece.

    I think this misses something.

    The leader, hungry for adulation to compensate for an inner lack of self-worth, projects grandiose omnipotence—while the followers, rendered needy by societal stress or developmental injury, yearn for a parental figure.

    This skews too much to the nonsense that Trump supporters suffer from “economic anxiety.” It does not adequately deal with the anger, resentment and racism that is at the heart of Trump’s appeal to many of his supporters.  There is a political dimension that goes beyond psychological injury.

    But this is absolute gold

    He will have no limit, which is why I have actively advocated for removal and accountability, including prosecution. We need to remember that he is more a follower than a leader, and we need to place constraints from the outside when he cannot place them from within.

    Maybe it’s because he misses his daddy and his mommy, but Trump has no inner moral compass, nothing that ever tells him that he has gone too far. Throughout his administration, pundits would blabber nonsense about “adults in the room” and always exult that “now that “So and So” is onboard, Trump will have some counsellor who he must listen to.” Instead, Trump would inevitably tire of any attempt to be reined in and dump the supposedly tough advisor.

    And of course, the GOP leadership decided early on to kiss Trump’s ass. They still foolishly believe that they are politically immune to anything that Trump might try to do to them.

  138. 138.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @PPCLI: With the media and everyone else calling Wednesday’s failed coup a “riot”, I am not hopeful. I suspect the outcome here will be dialing this down to something less threatening to our system.

  139. 139.

    tokyokie

    @Ksmiami:

    that the very people who run around claiming white superiority are the most inferior morons…?

    Back when he was a talk radio host, Larry King would get an occasional phone call from a white supremacist who’d whine, “I’m being discriminated against because I’m white.” To which King would invariably replay, “No, you’re being discriminated against because you’re stupid.” And to this day, I have a soft spot for Larry King because of that.

  140. 140.

    MomSense

    @Ken:

    Ha!  I don’t know why but your comment cracked me up.  Setting aside the horror of all of it for a second, these fucking people are all so unbelievably strange. A fur wearing vegan violent shaman?  WTAF

  142. 142.

    jl

    Collins takes her game up an order of magnitude of notches. So she thinks Trump incited a mob to disrupt the democratic process, and refused to protect federal elected officials under attack, but is coy about whether she’ll vote to convict him at trial?

    @StevenTDennis

    ” Susan Collins won’t say how she’ll vote on impeachment.

    BUT she charges Trump here with 1) inciting a mob intent on disrupting democracy & 2) refusing a request from senators to immediately call on the mob to leave.

    I think 2) might be crucial to how some senators vote. ”

    https://twitter.com/StevenTDennis/status/1348723921575702531

  146. 146.

    MomSense

    @Emma from FL:

    I’m afraid to hope this will give law enforcement and members of Congress empathy for our students and the will to support gun violence legislation to protect them.

  148. 148.

    HumboldtBlue

    @Brachiator:

    They still foolishly believe that they are politically immune to anything that Trump might try to do to them.

    Read a report earlier that pointed out freshman GOP reps got no guidance from leadership other than to “stand with Trump.” They’re gonna find out what that means over the next few months.

  149. 149.

    Kent

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:@Kent: I don’t think so, his legality in that position was questionable at best.

    Yea, but no one seems to know what the 25th Amendment actually means.  By the time they actually litigated who can sign, Trump would be gone anyway.

    I expect Wolf is also fleeing to avoid any responsibility for any security failures in the upcoming inauguration and around the country.  DHS has a lot of domestic police forces that will be deployed.

  150. 150.

    Kattails

    @MomSense: Hoarse retweeted “seriously, this guy needs to count his blessings. All the fur and horns, he’s lucky he wasn’t shot by jr or Eric.”

    There are a few giggles over at his twitter, like Amazon will be sending Parler a huge usage bill on Jan.31, especially because of all the primo evidence that got downloaded.

  151. 151.

    Ken

    @HumboldtBlue: freshman GOP reps got no guidance from leadership other than to “stand with Trump.”

    Wonder how long the Republican party will follow their 2020 platform?  Especially now that “do whatever Trump wants” is complicated by his absolute inability to communicate, since Twitter yanked his account.

    The real tell will be whether they keep that for the 2024 platform.

  155. 155.

    RSA

    @Comrade Colette:

    Wolf, in a letter to Department of Homeland Security staff, said his resignation “is warranted by recent events, including the ongoing and meritless court rulings regarding the validity of my authority as Acting Secretary.”

    I’m giving Wolf’s statement more thought than it’s worth, but I think when people talk about “meritless” it’s usually about court cases that haven’t yet been decided, not court rulings. Court rulings stand unless they’re overturned, and an executive branch weenie has nothing to add to the process.

  156. 156.

    Subsole

    @trollhattan: I think that depends on the balance of who agrees woth whom in the dept?

    The more I read about all this and how the higher ups left them hanging, I remembered something a friend of mine said, back during the Bush years:

    For background, he was a LRRP in Vietnam. They would drop him and like three guys off in the deep jungle and they would hunt the VC.

    He didn’t talk much about it, and I never asked. The only thing he said was that they made you a LRRP if they wanted to get rid of your ass.

    I think a lot about that, lately.

  160. 160.

    raven

    @Subsole: LRPS. Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols mission was to “reconnoiter”. The “hunted” vc in the sense that they gathered intel but their mission is not to engage.

  161. 161.

    HumboldtBlue

    @Subsole:

    I think it’s becoming increasingly clear the law enforcement commanders from the Capitol Police, DHS and even the FBI were complicit in this attack.

    One of the first quotes I saw from a reporter on scene was from a cop — “I bet they want us around now.”

  163. 163.

    Kattails

    @Platonicspoof: this plus Chad Wolf stepping down was a topic with Nicolle Wallace a bit earlier. We have major homeland security threats and no one of experience in charge.

    My Congresswomen are solid but my Governor is Chris Sununu, a Trump enabler/party line guy.  Might just call and leave a message. Not polite. Every last one who let this shit slide over the last four years– it’s going to come down on everyone.  The nation does not deserve this.

  164. 164.

    Captain C

    @geg6: I don’t know where they’re keeping him, but Maricopa County jails aren’t known for their gourmet food. People should be treated at least minimally well in jails, but you’d need up arrow notation to write the number of concerns I have before this sad Nazi’s tender appetite.

  165. 165.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Kent:

    Yea, but no one seems to know what the 25th Amendment actually means.

    I’m not sure, most of the discussion that I’ve  seen revolves around the text of the Amendment, there are laws that clarify this.  I’ve not seen any discussion of those laws.

  167. 167.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @Platonicspoof: Shouldn’t be a surprise. The vast majority of elected Republicans still won’t tell their derp base the election wasn’t stolen, most likely because they themselves lack the critical thinking skills required to know that.

  169. 169.

    Geminid

    @Mike in NC: I read that the Army captain was already on her way to being separated from the Army because of her participation in a local demonstration this summer. One commenter to the story pointed out that she can resign, but the Army doesn’t necessarily have to accept the resignation if they have other plans for her. Like a courtmartial.

  170. 170.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @LeftCoastYankee: I dunno, I’m still stuck on how do you assault the Capitol – the first branch of government – while it’s in session and live to tell about it?

    I guess I’m some kind of fucking Polyanna.

  174. 174.

    Brachiator

    @HumboldtBlue:

    I think it’s becoming increasingly clear the law enforcement commanders from the Capitol Police, DHS and even the FBI were complicit in this attack.

    One of the first quotes I saw from a reporter on scene was from a cop — “I bet they want us around now.”

    Now here’s some deep psychological shit. Perhaps reacting to the criticism of bad cops (not all cops), these mooks saw themselves as would-be white “saviors.”

    They were going to restore the tarnished honor of white dopes in general and white cops in particular. It would be more glorious than 911.

    They must have been stunned to be met more with revulsion than adulation by the public.

    They did not have much of a plan beyond being hailed as heroes.  I hate to even consider how they intended to make Congress change the votes. Or what might have happened had the people inside not found shelter and escape.

  176. 176.

    Captain C

    @trollhattan: He’ll then try to found the TFL, which will make the San Antonio Gunslingers look as well run as the San Antonio Spurs during the Duncan era.

  179. 179.

    lee

    Just tweeted this story @John.

    For you gamers: This is a real life ‘pulled aggro and kited the mob’

  180. 180.

    catclub

    @JoyceH: Earlier today I said to a friend, he’s lost the election AND the PGA – I wonder which bothers him more?

     

    at least he has no worries about the pandemic.  Checked out on that about April.

  181. 181.

    catclub

    @Kattails: The nation does not deserve this.

     

    The nation came within about 5% of deserving it. IOW, 45% of the US voters deserve it and asked for it.

  183. 183.

    The Fat White Duchess

     

    @germy: Except… he was broke, and in debt to Russians, and thought a faked presidential run would boost his brand.

  185. 185.

    cain

    @Brachiator:

    There are goddam videos of cops being beat by a guy holding the U.S. flag. I mean for all their reverence and patriotism they are revealed as the thugs they are.

    Speaking of which – the street where the man put up a fresh blue lives matter flag has taken that flag down. He probably did not want to advertise (as do other Trumpers in my neighborhood) since it is now quite clear that to show any sentiment might make you an insurrectionist.

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