Sedition

An article published in Rolling Stone names members of Congress and the former Administration directly involved with planning the January 6 rally that turned violent.

Two sources, according to their story, revealed that Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL), Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC), Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), and Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) were all present on "dozens" of calls with organizers of the group. [Additionally, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) was mentioned prominently by the organizer.]

Katrina Pierson was also named by them a "liaison" between the White House and the rally organizers. Mark Meadows was cited as someone who also aided the group.

The former president also spoke to the group, saying that they were going to march to the U.S. Capitol and tell the members of Congress that they needed to hand [him] the election. He promised that he would lead them and walk with them, but that never happened.

Shouldn't expulsion from Congress be expected at the very least? 

Juliette Kayyem offers concise advice:

Mark Meadows, just three words: call your lawyer.

Update (December 14):  A slew of text messages to and from Mark Meadows shows the White House was fully aware of the extent of the insurrection at the Capitol and chose to do nothing in violation of 18 U.S. Code § 1505:

Whoever corruptly, or by threats or force, or by any threatening letter or communication influences, obstructs, or impedes or endeavors to influence, obstruct, or impede the due and proper administration of the law ... shall be fined ... imprisoned ... or both.

Also, Jon Skolnik summarizes the growing mountain of documents related to the coup attempt.

So far, the evidence suggests that [Fuckface] and his allies coordinated a far-reaching campaign of lies – spanning multiple agencies and branches – to cast doubt over the results of President Biden's win.

Update (December 15):  Heather Digby Parton calls it a bad week for von Clownstick.

[W]hen you look at the evidence it's clear that [Fuckface] spent weeks planning to [obstruct an official proceeding] and when his followers resorted to violence to accomplish it, he sat on his hands for hours and watched them do it.

I am not particularly optimistic that any of these cases will come to fruition. But [Dear Leader] and his henchmen are feeling the heat right now for what his long-time fixer Michael Cohen always calls "his dirty deeds" and maybe that's the best we can hope for.

Update (January 2, 2022):  Representative Liz Cheney argues Dear Leader could be charged with dereliction of duty.

The [Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol] has firsthand testimony now that [Fuckface] was sitting in the dining room next to the Oval Office watching the attack on television as the assault on the Capitol occurred.

[He] could have at any moment walked [a] few steps into the briefing room, gone on live television and told his supporters who were assaulting the Capitol to stop, he could have told them to stand down, he could have told them to go home and he failed to do so.

Update (January 4, 2022):  Barbara McQuade explains a range of possibilities:

There is a crime making it illegal to corruptly impede or obstruct an official proceeding, which includes proceedings before Congress. If [Fuckface] had the power to stop that riot from happening and to permit the vote to go forward, his failure to do that could be that effort to corruptly obstruct the official proceeding.

I think we could also look at conspiracy to defraud the United States — that just means trying to impede the normal functioning of government — all the way up to seditious conspiracy, which is a conspiracy to oppose by force the authority of the United States.

I think all of those potential crimes are in play.

Update (March 6, 2022):  U.S. District Court Judge David Carter dismissed John Eastman's claim of attorney-client privilege for withholding emails that may implicate Dear Leader in crimes.  Chair Bennie Thompson and Co-chair Liz Cheney had argued that the Select Committee "has a good-faith basis for concluding that the [former] President and members of his Campaign engaged in a criminal conspiracy to defraud the United States".

We believe evidence in our possession justifies review of these documents. The facts we've gathered strongly suggest that Dr. Eastman's emails may show that he helped [Fuckface von Clownstick] advance a corrupt scheme to obstruct the counting of electoral college ballots and a conspiracy to impede the transfer of power.

Did Manbaby really believe the election was fraudulent? According to testimony from Richard Donoghue, the former guy's reaction when confronted with the lack of evidence was to ask

If I do this, what do I have to lose?

Update (March 10, 2022):  Amanda Marcotte says the conviction of Guy Reffitt on five felony charges is a good start. 

[P]olling and focus group data show there's a massive mushy middle of Americans who don't approve of January 6, but also have been impacted by right-wing propaganda so they don't understand how coordinated, purposeful, and violent the insurrection actually was.

[I]f the DOJ wants these charges to stick, they would be wise to prosecute [Dear Leader]. Otherwise, he has a very good chance of installing himself as president and issuing the mass pardons he has already promised. If only to save their own work product, the DOJ needs to seriously consider charging [Fuckface] for some of his many, many crimes. A public record is nice. Actual consequences for trying to overthrow democracy are better.

Update (March 29, 2022):  Judge Carter rules that Eastman must turn over documents to the Select Committee.

Based on the evidence, the Court finds it more likely than not that [Fuckface von Clownstick] corruptly attempted to obstruct the Joint Session of Congress on January 6, 2021.

Meanwhile, there are details about coordination between Senator Ted Cruz and John Eastman as well as the revelation of a 7 hour 37 minute gap in White House phone records for January 6. 

Update (March 30, 2022):  At least one phone call from the White House was made during that seven hour gap in the call log. That is a violation of the Presidential Records Act.

Update (April 11, 2022):  Representative Liz Cheney says the Select Committee has enough evidence to refer Dear Leader for criminal charges.

I think what we have seen is a massive and well organized and well-planned effort that used multiple tools to try to overturn an election.

[Those involved in planning the events of Jan. 6] knew that they were going to attempt to use violence to stop the transfer of power.

That is the definition of an insurrection.

Chauncey DeVega, in an interview with Hugo Lowell, also summarizes the Committee's findings.

The attack on the Capitol by thousands of [von Clownstick's] followers on Jan. 6, 2021, was not a spontaneous or random event. We now know from Department of Justice filings and other evidence — and what may be the most documented crime scene in American history — that the attack was wholly predictable if not premeditated, and that the goal of [his] followers, which included various right-wing paramilitary groups, was to stop the certification of the election in Joe Biden's favor. In total, the Capitol assault was an integral part of the plot to keep [Fuckface] in power.

Lowell adds:

I believe that [von Clownstick] knew by mid-December. His operatives were putting together a plan, or several plans, to put him back in office. He knew by the start of January about the plan to violate the Electoral Count Act, which was unlawful, and to have Pence insert himself into the certification process to return him the presidency. In total, [the former guy] knew weeks before Jan. 6 the broad brushstrokes of what was going to happen. Closer to Jan. 6, I also believe that [Fuckface] knew of the violence or the potential disruption by force of the certification. I do believe that the committee has reached that conclusion.

[W]hat everyone has to remember is that [Dear Leader] lost the election. [He] wanted to return to office at any cost. If it meant the end of democracy, it meant the end of democracy. That's small change to [him]. He doesn't care.

Update (April 27, 2022):  Heather Digby Parton summarizes the accummulating evidence.

We know that [Fuckface] went to great lengths in the days and weeks after the election to bully, coerce, strong arm and intimidate local and state officials in all the battleground states to illegally overturn the election results.

Throughout this period, various conspiracy nuts, hucksters, crackpots and grifters were running in and out of the White House with ludicrous schemes, pushing conspiracy theories.

GOP leadership knew exactly what [the former guy] did that day and there was a moment in time when they thought it was the end of him — and they were happy about it.

We know everything we need to know. There can be no more doubt in anyone's mind who is paying attention that a coup was plotted and very nearly successful. The only question is if enough people care that American democracy is on life support to keep the people who planned it (or stood by while it was happening) from regaining power in spite of it.

And Amanda Marcotte notes that the fascist cult knows they are lying.

It's telling how right-wingers will ping pong from one conspiracy theory to another, depending entirely on whether it's useful in the moment, and indifferent to whether or not it flatly contradicts the lie they were claiming to believe five minutes ago. ... Being wrong never bothers them, because they think concepts like "true" and "false" have no value at all.

[L]ike their leaders, the Republican base simply doesn't care what's true and, frankly, finds truth to be an annoying obstacle on their way to power. So they're happy to do their part to lay waste to the idea that truth has any value at all.

Truth simply doesn't matter to [Dear Leader] and his followers. All that matters is power, and they will say or do whatever it takes to get it.

Deplorables

As we learn more about the plot to overthrow the 2020 election, Chauncey DeVega notes that Hillary Clinton's warning from 2016 was understated.

Today's Republican Party is in fact a right-wing extremist organization, and fascist in all but name. Its followers and voters embrace and act upon those values and beliefs. To claim that there is some other Republican Party, somehow separate and distinct from right-wing extremism — as too many commentators and political observers do — is to assert a difference that does not substantively exist. Ultimately, Hillary Clinton's [recent] Guardian interview makes clear that she too fails to consistently and accurately describe the party that she warned us about five years ago.

DeVega is not optimistic that the press and political class will respond adequately.

American political insiders are deeply invested in the familiar, nostalgia-colored mores of American politics. To acknowledge the existential threat of the Jim Crow Republicans and the [fascist] movement is too traumatic and terrifying for the political class to properly contemplate. Indifference, fantasy and soothing lies about how everything will inevitably be OK in America appear to offer a much easier path than doing the difficult and dangerous work required to save American democracy.

Matters are now so dire that it is now not a question of whether American democracy will succumb to a nightmare reign of full-on fascism but rather when that will happen. If America's neofascist movement continues to gain momentum, Joe Biden will be relegated to the role of a speed bump or an asterisk in American history.

Global Public Heatlth and Climate

An editorial published in over 200 medical journals calls for worldwide efforts to halt climate change.

We are united in recognising that only fundamental and equitable changes to societies will reverse our current trajectory.

The risks to health of increases above 1.5°C are now well established. Indeed, no temperature rise is "safe".

Thriving ecosystems are essential to human health, and the widespread destruction of nature, including habitats and species, is eroding water and food security and increasing the chance of pandemics.

The consequences of the environmental crisis fall disproportionately on those countries and communities that have contributed least to the problem and are least able to mitigate the harms.

[G]overnments must make fundamental changes to how our societies and economies are organised and how we live.

Update (October 21):  A report published by The Lancet warns about a health crisis.

There is no safe global temperature rise from a health perspective, and additional warming will affect every U.S. region. Today’s adverse health impacts of climate change are varied and widespread. All of us have been or likely will be affected by climate change, with some hazards more easily recognizable than others. Climate change is worsening heat waves, amplifying droughts, intensifying wildfires, supercharging hurricanes, and fueling flood risk through increased heavy rainfall events and rising sea levels.

Misogynist Triumph

Despite nearly 50 years of precedent, the Supreme Court allowed a Texas law to stand that essentially overturns the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.

The new law, Senate Bill 8, effectively bans abortions at six weeks, when many women don't yet realize they're pregnant. It also deputizes private citizens who can receive bounties of up to $10,000 for suing anyone accused of "aiding and abetting" patients who seek an abortion in Texas.

Amanda Marcotte summarizes the stakes.

[T]his support for the Texas law is an open invitation to every state legislature run by woman-hating Bible thumpers to pass versions of their own. Accompanying the law will be more dehumanizing rhetoric, treating women as livestock who can't be trusted to make decisions, or even acknowledged as capable of making decisions. Because debasing women has always been what the anti-choice movement is about. Now Americans will start to see the real life damage such hatred can wreak in women's lives.

Hopefully, David Frum is correct when he warns the GOP may face a major backlash from voters.

Texas Republicans have just bet their political future in a rapidly diversifying and urbanizing state on a gambit: cultural reaction plus voter suppression. The eyes of Texas will be upon them indeed. The eyes of the nation will be upon them too.

Update (September 8):  Amanda Marcotte warns us not to let Republicans off the hook for seemingly saying dumb things.

The Texas abortion ban isn't something that idiot anti-choicers stumbled into by accident. It was carefully crafted by highly educated, intelligent people who spent years researching ways to overturn Roe v. Wade while pretending that's not what they did. They are manipulative and diabolical, and have had incredible success, despite holding views that are wildly unpopular. It may feel good to write such people off as "ignorant," but that is the last thing they are. They're smart as hell, and that is why they're so dangerous.

Update (September 21):  The legal challenges have begun. 

Colossal Failure

As U.S. troops continue to withdraw from Afghanistan, the Taliban are on the verge of reclaiming control of the country. This comes about in a matter of days after nearly 20 years of U.S. involvement. Hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost and $2 trillion wasted that could have been spent much more productively. Lindsey German:

The whole war on terror has proved a terrible failure and this should be admitted. We should also consider how the lives of Afghanis would have been improved if only a fraction of the money committed to this war ... had gone into improving their lives through investment in infrastructure, housing, education, agriculture. That was an opportunity that could have been taken but was ignored in favor of military solutions. And those have brought us to where we are today.

Update (August 17):  Derek Davidson (via Luke O'Neil) notes that the Washington Post exposed 18 years of government lies about the progress of the war--but there's little attention paid to that.

Whatever form the war apologia takes you can be sure that it will be heavily cloaked in claims of deep concern for the Afghan people.

But you shouldn’t for a second suppose that the people who cheerled endless war and occupation in Afghanistan ever did so out of concern for the Afghan people. If the United States were really concerned for the Afghan people it wouldn’t have spent well over a decade ignoring the evidence that its nation building efforts were failing.

And Thom Hartmann offers these reminders for just how much American presidents cared about the Afghan people.

After 9/11 the Taliban offered to arrest Bin Laden, but Bush turned them down because he wanted to be a "wartime president" to have a "successful presidency." ... With that decision not to arrest and try Bin Laden for his crime but instead to go to war, George W. Bush set the US and Afghanistan on a direct path to today.

More recently, [Dear Leader] and [Mike] Pompeo gave the Taliban everything they wanted — power, legitimacy and the release of 5,000 of their worst war criminals — over the strong objections of the Afghan government in 2019 so [the Orange Turd] could falsely claim, heading into the 2020 election, that he'd "negotiated peace" in Afghanistan when in fact he'd set up this week's debacle.

Update (August 18):  Heather Digby Parton places the greatest blame for the failure on George W. Bush.

[P]erhaps the most cynical of all the rationales they offered in those early days before they pivoted to Iraq and pretty much put Afghanistan on cruise control was the unctuous, insincere, marketing campaign they launched to convince the American people that they were fighting the war on behalf of Afghan women. On November 17, 2001, just a few weeks after the attacks, they sent out First Lady Laura Bush to make a speech about the repressive Taliban regime's treatment of women, all of which was true but was clearly designed to make the war into something nobler than the crude act of vengeance it really was. ... There was zero interest in the issue on the right until the Bush administration decided to make it a central rationale for the war in Afghanistan.

Update (August 30):  The U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan is complete. 

Code Red for Humanity

The first part of the Sixth Assessment Report from the Intergovernment Panel on Climate Change finds that

It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land. Widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere have occurred.

Human activities are responsible for about 1.1 degrees Celsius of warming since the late 19th century and warming will likely exceed 1.5 degrees within 20 years.

But it is not just about temperature. Climate change is bringing multiple different changes in different regions – which will all increase with further warming. These include changes to wetness and dryness, to winds, snow and ice, coastal areas and oceans. For example:

Climate change is intensifying the water cycle. This brings more intense rainfall and associated flooding, as well as more intense drought in many regions.

Climate change is affecting rainfall patterns. In high latitudes, precipitation is likely to increase, while it is projected to decrease over large parts of the subtropics. Changes to monsoon precipitation are expected, which will vary by region.

Coastal areas will see continued sea level rise throughout the 21st century, contributing to more frequent and severe coastal flooding in low-lying areas and coastal erosion. Extreme sea level events that previously occurred once in 100 years could happen every year by the end of this century.

Further warming will amplify permafrost thawing, and the loss of seasonal snow cover, melting of glaciers and ice sheets, and loss of summer Arctic sea ice.

Changes to the ocean, including warming, more frequent marine heatwaves, ocean acidification, and reduced oxygen levels have been clearly linked to human influence. These changes affect both ocean ecosystems and the people that rely on them, and they will continue throughout at least the rest of this century.

For cities, some aspects of climate change may be amplified, including heat (since urban areas are usually warmer than their surroundings), flooding from heavy precipitation events and sea level rise in coastal cities.

Update (August 20):  Brian Tokar summarizes key points from the IPCC report. 

The report affirms much of what we already knew about the state of the global climate, but does so with considerably more clarity and precision than earlier reports. It removes several elements of uncertainty from the climate picture, including some that have wrongly served to reassure powerful interests and the wider public that things may not be as bad as we thought. The IPCC’s latest conclusions reinforce and significantly strengthen all the most urgent warnings that have emerged from the past 30 to 40 years of climate science.

Further Warning

An article published in BioScience updates previous warnings to humanity about the climate emergency.

Out of the 31 variables that we track, we found that 18 are at new all-time record lows or highs.