Trying to calm my anger since witnessing the coup attempt on Wednesday incited by Donald J. Trump and others, I first listened to as many love songs on YouTube as I could stand before switching to a three-hour compilation of Bob Dylan's greatest hits.
That was the right choice because rather than dissipating, my riteous anger grew.
This is not the time for patriotic Americans to shrink back into silence, comforting ourselves that this monster is only in office for a few more days.
That is not the point. As an elected official, Trump already is history. He has no remaining power as those few still around him are looking for ways to get away if they can and the national security apparatus is telling its officials to stay on high alert and disobey any irrational orders he may try to issue.
He is a mad man, but more importantly he is a traitor.
As a society we must have the strength to place him on trial for his crimes. Of course this will make him even more of a martyr than he already is, but the alternative is unthinkable. If he can get away with this, anyone can.
And they will try to.
The prosecutors can start with Donald Trump, Jr., Rudy Giuliani, and others who spoke at the Wednesday rally urging the crowd to march on the Capitol. They deserve to be tried, convicted and sentenced as well.
In our lifetimes, we have seen the end other dictators came to -- Mussolini, Hitler, Sadaam Hussein, Gaddafi. Trump deserves no better than they got but as we are a nation of laws, he will be given a fair trial and a just punishment rather than being beaten to death in a gutter.
That is all right. May Justice Be Done.
* Army Secretary Says A 'Non-Scalable' 7-Foot Fence Is Going Up Around U.S. Capitol -- Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said the fence will be in place for at least the next 30 days. He added that 6,200 members of the National Guard will be in the region by this weekend. (NPR)
* Donald Trump’s Final Days -- The best outcome would be for him to resign to spare the U.S. another impeachment fight. (Editorial/WSJ)
* "No one around (Trump) will listen to his orders. He's a very flawed human being" (Former WH Chief of Staff John Kelly to CNN)
* Trump spent more than 24 hours after instigating a mob to violently storm the Capitol trying to escape reality.Cloistered in the White House, Trump raged uncontrollably about perceived acts of betrayal. He tuned out advisers who pleaded with him to act responsibly. He was uninterested in trying to repair what he had wrought. And he continued to insist he had won the election, even as his own vice president certified the fact that he had not. (CHRON)
* Two of Trump's Cabinet secretaries -- Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos -- are resigning over the riot Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol. The secretaries were among a number of administration officials who announced they were leaving in the wake of a mob of pro-Trump supporters breaching the U.S. Capitol. (CNN)
* Trump has increasingly isolated himself in the White House, relying on a small group of diehard loyalists and lashing out at those who dare to cross him, including Vice President Mike Pence, said four sources familiar with the matter. (Reuters)
* How Social Media Made the Trump Insurrection a Reality (New Yorker)
* On Far-Right Websites, Plans To Storm Capitol Were Made In Plain Sight (NPR)
* As images and social media posts of Wednesday's insurrection at the U.S. Capitol circulate online, some of those who were present are being identified, and some have lost or left their jobs because of it. (CNN)
* 'What Happened Yesterday Is Textbook Terrorism,' D.C. Mayor Says (NPR)
* U.S. lawmakers say police downplayed threat of violence before Capitol siege (Reuters)
* Senate Leader McConnell Accepts Resignation of Senate Sergeant-At-Arms (NPR)
* The U.S. Capitol Police confirmed the death of one of their officers late Thursday from injuries suffered when a mob of Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol a day before.Capitol Police said in a statement that Officer Brian D. Sicknick died at approximately 9:30 p.m. ET Thursday "due to injuries sustained while on-duty." (CNN)
* Federal investigators are looking at everyone involved in the unrest at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, including the role Trump played in inciting the crowd, the acting U.S. attorney in Washington, DC, said Thursday.Asked directly by a reporter on a press call if investigators were looking at the role Trump played at the rally, acting U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin said, "We're looking at all actors here and anyone that had a role and, if the evidence fits the elements of the crime, they're going to be charged." (CNN)
* U.S. airlines, airports tighten security in DC-area after unrest (Reuters)
* American Airlines is banning alcohol on flights to and from Washington, DC, as the aviation industry ramps up safety measures following the Capitol riots (Business insider)
* Bring the Insurrectionists to Justice -- The politicians who egged them on should also be made to pay a heavy price. (Peggy Noonan/WSJ)
* The framers would have seen the mob at the Capitol as traitors (Stamford Advocate)
* YouTube Announces New 'Strike' Policy Punishing Channels Posting False Claims (popculture.com)
* Facebook Bans President Trump From Posting For The Rest Of His Presidency (NPR)
* McConnell and McCarthy have led Republicans to disaster -- they must go...(WashPo)
* Simon & Schuster Cancels Plans for Senator Hawley’s Book --The publisher faced calls to drop the Missouri Republican’s upcoming book, “The Tyranny of Big Tech,” following criticism of his efforts to overturn the presidential election. (NYT)
* Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine appears effective against mutation in new coronavirus variants -study (Reuters)
* ‘We’re Probably Not Alone’: Harvard Astronomer Believes Alien Debris Passed Earth In 2017 (CBS)
***
When blackness was a virtue the road was full of mud
I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form
Come in, she said
I'll give ya shelter from the stormAnd if I pass this way again, you can rest assured
I'll always do my best for her, on that I give my word
In a world of steel-eyed death, and men who are fighting to be warm
Come in, she said
I'll give ya shelter from the stormNot a word was spoke between us, there was little risk involved
Everything up to that point had been left unresolved
Try imagining a place where it's always safe and warm
Come in, she said
I'll give ya shelter from the stormI was burned out from exhaustion, buried in the hail
Poisoned in the bushes an' blown out on the trail
Hunted like a crocodile, ravaged in the corn
Come in, she said
I'll give ya shelter from the stormSuddenly I turned around and she was standin' there
With silver bracelets on her wrists and flowers in her hair
She walked up to me so gracefully and took my crown of thorns
Come in, she said
I'll give ya shelter from the stormNow there's a wall between us, somethin' there's been lost
I took too much for granted, I got my signals crossed
Just to think that it all began on an uneventful morn
Come in, she said
I'll give ya shelter from the stormWell, the deputy walks on hard nails and the preacher rides a mount
But nothing really matters much, it's doom alone that counts
And the one-eyed undertaker, he blows a futile horn
Come in, she said
I'll give ya shelter from the stormI've heard newborn babies wailin' like a mournin' dove
And old men with broken teeth stranded without love
Do I understand your question, man, is it hopeless and forlorn
Come in, she said
I'll give ya shelter from the stormIn a little hilltop village, they gambled for my clothes
I bargained for salvation and she gave me a lethal dose
I offered up my innocence I got repaid with scorn
Come in, she said
I'll give ya shelter from the stormWell, I'm livin' in a foreign country but I'm bound to cross the line
Beauty walks a razor's edge, someday I'll make it mine
If I could only turn back the clock to when God and her were born
Come in, she said
I'll give ya shelter from the stormWeb results
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