January 6th and the 14th Amendment

Let’s start with the Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution which prohibits anyone who “shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof” from running for federal office. This was essentially meant to stop Confederate soldiers and officers from holding or reclaiming office after the Civil War, but if we hold that January 6th was an insurrection (i.e. there was a goal of stopping Joe Biden from being certified as president in order to keep Trump in power), then anyone who gave “aid or comfort” to those who participated in January 6th would be barred from holding office. There’s a test case that’s currently being run on this with Marjorie Taylor Greene, presumably in part for making statements like this:

Jan. 6 was just a riot at the Capitol and if you think about what our Declaration of Independence says, it says to overthrow tyrants.

Or perhaps it’s because reporting has suggested that she along six other members of congress met with the organizers of the January 6th “Stop the Steal” rally in advance of the event.

The results here will be interesting to see not just because they may prevent Greene from continuing to hold office, but also because this precedent could be used to prosecute and remove from office any number of people who have direct connections to the multiple efforts to undermine and overthrow the legitimate results of the 2020 election. This includes Trump, of course, but also potentially includes any state election officials who have taken off specifically with the intent of undermining the democratic process (which many of them are likely stating openly and indeed creating a platform based on it).

Keep an eye out for what happens here, because it could tell us a lot about what’s coming in November and beyond.

Liar’s Circus (Carl Hoffman)

Liar’s Circus by Carl Hoffman

There’s a lot that this book has in common with Dignity, in that the Carl goes around talking to folks in places where Trump voters tend to hang out (VFW, diners, church groups, etc.). He also makes it a point to be one of the first in line to each of the rallies that he attends and befriends several other regular early birds.

My top takeaway was his connection of Trump’s rallies to religious revival movements, and the degree to which participants (including to some degree the author himself) experience a kind of ecstatic state from the power of the lighting, sound, and demonization that are consistent throughout Trump’s rallies.

I found the bits where Carl compares Trump rallies to other “dangerous” environments that he’s covered as a journalist somewhat tedious and unnecessary.

Still, it’s a short read and probably worth it for anyone curious about the feeling of these rallies and profiles the particular type of people who attend them repeatedly.

Ukraine

Let’s start with one part of the reason that rent prices have soared in major cities across the United States and luxury condos have become seemingly the only housing being built: real estate is a great way to launder money and/or to hide pay offs.

Casinos also work well in this regard.

Why else should we care so much about Putin’s Russia?

To start with, because Putin is a key player in building a support network of authoritarian states worldwide. If you are against oligarchy and gangster capitalism, then you should be against any expansion of Putin’s power.

The United States is effectively already at war with Putin, although the combat has primarily taken place on an informational battlefield and through attacks on computer networks and systems.

I won’t claim that the United States is perfect… it’s not for nothing that Putin used the threat of Ukraine becoming a nuclear power to justify invading, an invocation of the Bush doctrine.

Many have pointed out that the day before Russia was bombing Ukraine, the United States was bombing Somalia. I don’t know enough about Somalia to comment on what’s happening there (and probably that’s systemic racism at work… the fact that I know more about Ukraine than Somalia).

My heart stands with those that are suffering authoritarian repression or the violence that results from it (including those in the multitude of countries that are currently occupied to a greater or lesser degree by the US military).