Ideas, Opinions, Genealogy, and Book Reviews
Amid all the news about various parts of Trump’s attempt to overthrow the results of the of the 2020 election, it is easy to forget about the fake electors part of the plot. Ironically this campaign’s rallying cry was “Stop the Steal” when their objective was to steal the election themselves.
For those interested in a refresher of this plot, Just Security has just published a Comprehensive Timeline on False Electors Scheme in 2020 Presidential Election
The book “White Rural Rage: The Threat to American Democracy” by Tom Schaller and Paul Waldman brings together a huge amount of information to discuss rural areas, their problems, and potential solutions as well as the current political situation which contributes to these problems and presents a threat to American democracy. I think that may be the longest and most complicated sentence I’ve written lately, so let me explain.
As mentioned previously, I get a daily email from Just Security.
Yesterday’s email mentioned an interesting article on presidential pardons. This power has been abused by numerous Presidents and Donald Trump could use it to pardon himself if re-elected and has also mentioned pardon numerous criminals including those who are in jail after being convicted of crimes in the January 6 insurrection.
The authors discuss the role of Congress in curbing abuse of the presidential pardon and increasing transparency. I hope you find “Congress Can Curb Abuse of the Presidential Pardon Power” as interesting as I did.
I just finished reading “Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point” .
It is by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt whose earlier book “How Democracies Die” I had reviewed about 4 years ago. They are professors of government at Harvard University. They like many other Americans were shocked by the violent insurrection of January 6, 2020.
Continue reading “Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point”
I’ll start by saying this is a frightening book. But then we do live in frightening times. The title is They Want to Kill Americans by Malcolm Nance. When I first saw the title, I immediately thought of foreign terrorists.
But I quickly realized a was wrong. The subtitle (The Militias, Terrorists, and Deranged Ideology of the Trump Insurgency) gives that away. This book is about Americans who wanted to kill other Americans who disagree with them.
Continue reading “They Want to Kill Americans”
I’ve been a fan of Just Security and their new coverage of the January 6, 2021 attack on the United States Capitol. Their coverage of this and other issues has been great. In particular I like their January 6 Clearinghouse .
Continue reading “Primer on the January 6th Select Committee hearings”
Will former President Donald Trump be prosecuted for crimes in his efforts to remain in office despite his clear election loss? I think he should.
There was an article in Just Security a few days ago that lays out the case that his role in the Insurrection of Jan 6 warrants criminal prosecution. It is well worth reading no matter how you would answer my title question.
The official stance of the Republican Party is now that the January 6 committee is persecuting “ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse”. Do these look like ordinary citizens to you?
Picture and credit from It’s only the beginning of the Capitol terror hunt
You may want to watch the whole video. It is long but it gives a good idea on what the present Republican Party considers “legitimate political discourse”.