Please help me get this straight. Trump's former lawyer, Sidney Powell, now argues that no reasonable person would have believed the claims of election fraud that she and Trump's other minions repeated angrily and loudly over and over again.
This is her defense in a lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems -- if you can call it a defense. I'm no lawyer but it sounds more like an admission of guilt.
This might seem to be academic except that an armed mob screaming "Stop the Steal" stormed the U.S. Capitol seeking to overthrow the election, the worst domestic terrorist attack in U.S. history.
And now one of the people who incited them to riot is essentially saying that they were fools, idiots, and too ignorant to realize that Trump simply lost despite what she, he and their cohorts were saying.
And what of the five people who died as a result?
This is sad but it is also fiercely dangerous. If I were a Trump supporter -- and there still for some unknown reason apparently are millions of them around the country -- I'd be angry that the man I voted for and his legal team considered me so easy to manipulate that they could just spout made-up nonsense and I would fall for it.
The saddest thing of all is that is exactly what happened. Trump played 75 million Americans for fools.
***
Biden is the polar opposite of Trump when it comes to psychodramas -- the biggest "scandal" so far in his administration is that his staffers who want to smoke dope have been told they can do so but only when working from home.
Horrors!
Seriously, Biden is precisely what the country needs in the wake of the disastrous four-year Trump show, as he calmly and systematically battles the pandemic and repairs the economy. The moves he is making are not sexy but they seem to be effective so far.
Assuming Biden is a one-term President, it makes sense for him to move fast and accomplish whatever he can before the mid-term elections next year.
If history is our guide, Republicans are likely to post gains in Congress, perhaps even reversing the current state of Democratic control, which is razor-thin.
Although those of us who long for a peaceful, unified nation may feel a temporary sense of relief, I fear we are merely in the eye of the storm, because the political pendulum will almost certainly swing back.
I wish, I truly wish, for the good of us all that we have heard the last of Trump and all he represents. But I fear this is one wish that will not come true.
***
The News:
* Covid cases rise across more than half of the U.S. as country races to vaccinate (CNBC)
* In wake of Colorado mass shooting that left ten dead, Biden renews call for gun control. (CNN)
* Australia’s Worst Floods in Decades Quicken Concerns About Climate Change -- In a country that suffered the harshest wildfires in its recorded history just a year ago, the deluge has become another awful milestone. (NYT)
* Parents across the U.S. are conflicted about reopening schools. Most are at least somewhat worried that a return to the classroom will lead to more coronavirus cases, but there’s an even deeper fear that their children are falling behind in school while at home. (AP)
* Buttigieg’s Next Job: Selling $3 Trillion Infrastructure Program (WSJ)
* As he tours the country promoting his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, President Joe Biden is already plotting his next big spend -- a $3 trillion infrastructure and jobs package that includes free community college and prekindergarten, and measures to vastly reduce carbon pollution. He'll be looking to help pay with tax hikes on the rich and corporations. (WaPo)
* 11 Years On, the Affordable Care Act Defies Opponents and Keeps Expanding -- More than 200,000 have used a special enrollment period to sign up for health insurance under the act, while Alabama and Wyoming eye the law’s Medicaid expansion. (NYT)
* 'Basically It's A New Pandemic,' Says Merkel, As Germany Extends Lockdown (NPR)
* Sidney Powell argues in new court filing that no reasonable people would believe her election fraud claims (CNN)
* Report: Extremist groups thrive on Facebook despite bans (AP)
* If you're against gun reform, you're not pro-life. (Robert Reich/Twitter)
* Americans Drove Fewer Miles in 2020. Pedestrians Weren’t Safer. -- The number of pedestrians killed in motor-vehicle crashes rose slightly in the first half of 2020, despite a 16.5% drop in miles driven. (WSJ)
* Roger Stone keeps appearing in Capitol breach investigation filings (WaPo)
* Menthol Cigarettes Kill Many Black People. A Ban May Finally Be Near. (NYT)
* AstraZeneca results may have included outdated info. (AP)
*
Redwood Tree Completes 300-Year Plan To Lean Slightly To Left (The Onion)A flute that toots and a bee that stings
A sky that cries and a bird that flies
A fish that walks and a dog that talks
Tomorrow's the day that my bride's gonna come
Whoo-ee, are we gonna fly?
Down into the easy chair
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