Now the transition of power has been completed without violence, accountability for those responsible for the January 6th riot at the U.S. Capitol will soon take center stage. Law enforcement agencies are actively identifying and arresting the rioters all across the country.
As to what will be the fate of those who incited the rioters, probably the first key indication will be Donald Trump's impeachment trial in the Senate. Now that Mitch McConnell has freed the Republican caucus to vote their conscience, it is conceivable that Trump will be convicted.
That's a start. Other investigations by federal and state authorities may expose Trump and his key lieutenants to further legal liability.
All of this has to happen because we are a nation of laws. But there are many other critical matters that require immediate attention -- the pandemic, climate change, racism, wealth disparity, economic disruption, our Constitutional rights, monopoly power, political extremism and more.
Before he gets to any of this, the way Biden and his regime holds Trump accountable will probably define his first two years in office, maybe more. It's a balancing act, because further alienating the millions of citizens who stand by Trump will not unify the nation, which is Biden's overarching intent.
But allowing what Trump did to go unpunished would be unconscionable. So may justice be done.
***
Friends: Probably like many of you, I'm exhausted. It's partly the pandemic. It's partly Trump. But trying to process the news every day and find something hopeful to say about it -- month after month over the past year -- has drained me. It's required every ounce of optimism and faith in humanity I could muster.
When Biden finally took his oath, I let out a sigh of relief, and then an emotional deflation set in. All kinds of thoughts occurred to me. One was how hard this has been for everyone with chronic depression, just how much energy it has been taking to mask hopelessness with any glimmer of hope.
Then came a new face with a new voice. When I listened to Amanda Gorman's poem yesterday, I broke into tears. Rather than try to write anything myself, I just reposted her words.
She is visible proof that our better nature as a people has prevailed, if only for now. And living proof that words matter. She is a national treasure.
***
Headlines:
* Wall Street sets record as Netflix jumps, Biden inaugurated (WSJ)
* Biden issues mask mandate in federal buildings and on some transportation. (CNN)
* The FBI on Wednesday arrested a Florida-based member of the right-wing Proud Boys group on charges of storming the U.S. Capitol two weeks ago in a crowd of Donald Trump supporters challenging his election defeat, the Justice Department said. (Reuters)
* After Democrats won control of the House of Representatives in the 2018 midterms, they introduced and passed the For the People Act as H.R. 1 — the first bill of their majority. It aimed to restore voting rights, reform campaign finance laws and enhance ethics enforcement. Senate Democrats have now done the same after reclaiming the chamber majority with the introduction of S. 1, their version of the For the People Act. [HuffPost]
* Biden Will Extend Student Loan Payment Freeze Through Sept. 30 (NPR)
* Biden Announces Broad Plan to Reverse Trump Immigration Policies -- Legislation he proposed on his first day as president will give undocumented immigrants the chance to become citizens and restore and expand programs for refugees and asylum seekers. (NYT)
* The country’s top Republicans skipped Trump’s departure ceremony in Maryland. Pence attended Biden’s inauguration ceremony. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell -- who finally admitted Tuesday that the Capitol rioters were provoked by Trump -- accepted Biden’s invitation to attend Mass and also the inauguration. [HuffPost]
* U.S. soldier arrested in plot to blow up NYC 9/11 Memorial (AP)
* Trump leaves a scorched landscape. But Biden brings hope at last. (WashPo)
*
Biden puts U.S. back into fight climate change, including by rejoining the Paris Accord. (AP, CNN)
* Just a half-mile from where Trump spent his last night in the White House, rows of lights on the National Mall marked Joe Biden's first inaugural event. At 5:33 p.m., 400 rectangular lights, each representing a thousand Americans dead of COVID-19, lit up on either side of the Reflecting Pool between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument as bells at the National Cathedral rang 400 times. [HuffPost]
* Controversial head of Voice of America resigns hours after Biden sworn in (WashPo)
* New CDC director takes over beleaguered agency amid crisis (AP)
* Missing: One Black Hole With 10 Billion Solar Masses -- One of the biggest galaxies in the universe seems to lack its dark centerpiece. (NYT)
***
Don't you wanna ride
(This train)
Oh get on, get on (this train)
Thunder's rolling down the tracks
You don't know where you're goin' now
But you know you won't be back
Darlin' if you're weary
Lay your head upon my chest
We'll take what we can carry
And we'll leave the rest
Where sunlight streams
Meet me in a land of hope and dreams
And I'll stand by your side
You'll need a good companion
For this part of the ride
Leave behind your sorrows
Let this day be the last
Tomorrow there'll be sunshine
And all this darkness past
Where sunlight streams
Meet me in a land of hope and dreams
This train carries losers and winners
This train carries whores and gamblers
This train carries lost souls
I said, this train dreams will not be thwarted
This train faith will be rewarded
This train hear the steel wheels singin'
This train bells of freedom ringin'
This train carries losers and winners
This train carries whores and gamblers
This train carries lost souls
I said, this train carries broken-hearted
This train thieves and sweet souls departed
This train carries fools and kings
This train, all aboard
This train faith will be rewarded
This train hear the steel wheels singin'
This train bells of freedom ringin'
People get ready
You don't need no ticket
All you got do is just get on board
On board this train
This train, people get ready
You don't need no ticket (oh I know you don't)
You don't need no ticket you just get on board (people get ready)
You just thank the Lord (people get ready)
-30-
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