While I Was Out For Surgery, The Country Went Batshit Crazy

I had to have a common surgery on December 11. The surgery went as planned, it was the post-operative complications from the anesthesia that put me back in the hospital for over a week. I was able to come back home this week to recover, in time for Christmas to the relief of my family. I will be fine. Thanks for asking.

I have only been catching up on the news over the past couple of days, and all I can say is “WTF, America? What the hell just happened?”

I see in the New York Times that Donald Trump hosted a cabal of QAnon conspirators in the People’s House – the White House – to plot an insurrection and treason to overturn the results of a fair and free election. Not since the Confederate secession after Abraham Lincoln’s election in 1860 has there been such a collection of vile traitors to engage in insurrection and treason against the United States. Trump Weighed Naming Election Conspiracy Theorist as Special Counsel:

President Trump on Friday [12/18] discussed naming Sidney Powell, who as a lawyer for his campaign team unleashed conspiracy theories about a Venezuelan plot to rig voting machines in the United States, to be a special counsel overseeing an investigation of voter fraud, according to two people briefed on the discussion.

It was unclear if Mr. Trump will move ahead with such a plan.

Most of his advisers opposed the idea, two of the people briefed on the discussion said, including Rudolph W. Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer. In recent days Mr. Giuliani has sought to have the Department of Homeland Security join the campaign’s efforts to overturn Mr. Trump’s loss in the election.

Mr. Giuliani joined the discussion by phone initially, while Ms. Powell was at the White House for a meeting that became raucous and involved people shouting at each other at times, according to one of the people briefed on what took place.

Ms. Powell’s client, retired Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, the former national security adviser whom the president recently pardoned, was also there, two of the people briefed on the meeting said. Some senior administration officials drifted in and out of the meeting.

During an appearance on the conservative Newsmax channel this week, Mr. Flynn pushed for Mr. Trump to impose martial law and deploy the military to “rerun” the election. At one point in the meeting on Friday, Mr. Trump asked about that idea.
Ms. Powell’s ideas were shot down by every other Trump adviser present, all of whom repeatedly pointed out that she had yet to back up her claims with proof. At one point, one person briefed on the meeting said, she produced several affidavits, but upon inspection they were all signed by a man she has previously used as an expert witness, whose credentials have been called into question.

The White House counsel, Pat A. Cipollone, and the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, repeatedly and aggressively pushed back on the ideas being proposed, which went beyond the special counsel idea, those briefed on the meeting said.

Mr. Cipollone told Mr. Trump there was no constitutional authority for what was being discussed, one of the people briefed on the meeting said. Other advisers from the White House and the Trump campaign delivered the same message throughout the meeting, which stretched on for a long period of time.

* * *

Mr. Trump also asked about Ms. Powell being given security clearances to pursue her work, two of the people briefed on the meeting said.

Ms. Powell accused other Trump advisers of being quitters, according to the people briefed.

But the idea that Mr. Trump would try to install Ms. Powell in a position to investigate the outcome sent shock waves through the president’s circle. She has repeatedly claimed there was widespread fraud, but several lawsuits she filed related to election fraud have been tossed out of court.

Mr. Trump has been in contact with Ms. Powell at other times in recent days, even though his campaign last month sought to distance itself from her as she aired wild and baseless claims about Dominion Voting Systems machines, which were used in some states, somehow being connected to a Venezuelan plot to control the election.

* * *

Part of the White House meeting on Friday night was a discussion about an executive order to take control of voting machines to examine them, according to one of the people briefed on the discussion.

Mr. Giuliani has separately pressed the Department of Homeland Security to seize possession of voting machines as part of a push to overturn the results of the election, three people familiar with the discussion said. Mr. Giuliani was told the department does not have the authority to do such a thing.

The conversation between Mr. Giuliani and Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, the acting deputy secretary of the Homeland Security Department, took place in the past week, according to the people familiar with the discussion, who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to describe the conversation.

Mr. Cuccinelli is said to have told Mr. Giuliani that there is no authority by which the agency, which spent the year working with state election officials to prepare for the election, could assert control over voting machines in those states.

It was unclear whether Mr. Trump facilitated the phone call.

I’m sorry, did no one think to call the Secret Service out in the hall to have these conspirators arrested for plotting insurrection and treason against the United States? One doesn’t get any credit for simply pushing back on this plot. Everyone in this conspiratorial meeting, including President Trump, should have been arrested on the spot.

This treasonous meeting was followed up with another treasonous meeting the following Monday [12/21] with traitorous Republican members of Congress who are part of this conspiratorial plot. POLITICO reports, House Republicans meet with Trump to discuss overturning election results:

President Donald Trump huddled with a group of congressional Republicans at the White House on Monday, where they strategized over a last-ditch effort to overturn the election results next month, according to several members who attended the meeting.

Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) — who is spearheading the long-shot push to overturn the election results in Congress — organized the trio of White House meetings, which lasted over three hours and included roughly a dozen lawmakers. The group also met with Vice President Mike Pence, who will be presiding over the joint session of Congress when lawmakers officially certify the Electoral College votes on Jan. 6, as well as members of Trump’s legal team.

“It was a back-and-forth concerning the planning and strategy for January the 6th,” Brooks said in a phone interview.

Other members who were in attendance include some of Trump’s staunchest allies on the Hill, such as Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.), Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Rep.-elect Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).

In addition to the “dozens” of House Republicans who are committed to objecting to the election results, Brooks said there are “multiple” Senate Republicans who are now receptive to the effort, though he declined to name names. Sen.-elect Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), whom Trump has repeatedly praised on Twitter recently, has said he is considering the idea.

The House members are reportedly members of the so-called GOP House Freedom (sic) Caucus, which in reality is a crypto-fascist GOP authoritarianism caucus. Sen.-elect Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) is just a fucking moron.

It is time now to invoke the 14th Amendment, Section 3 against these traitorous Republicans to object to their being seated in the next Congress on January 3:

No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

Again, did no one think to call the Secret Service out in the hall to have these conspirators arrested for plotting insurrection and treason against the United States? Everyone in this conspiratorial meeting, including Vice President Mike Pence, should have been arrested on the spot.

A critical piece to this conspiratorial plot to incite insurrection and treason to overturn the results of a fair and free election is Vice President Mike Pence.  CNN reports, Frustrated Trump met with Pence before holiday break:

Hours before President Donald Trump retweeted a message for his vice president to “act” in stopping the ratification of the Electoral College, he met for more than an hour in the Oval Office with Mike Pence, whom he has complained recently isn’t doing enough to support his bid to overturn the election.

The discussion was “entirely unrelated” to the eventual tweet, one person familiar with the matter said, though would not specify whether the issue of the January 6 ratification in Congress arose. The two men went separate ways for the holiday.

Bullshit! Trump told Pence to do it, and the only question is whether Pence is a patriot who will honor his oath to the Constitution, or whether he will be an obedient lap dog in this plot to incite insurrection and treason to overturn the results of a fair and free election. He has never demonstrated any character or courage before, so I am not optimistic.

As for retired Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, who has so thoroughly disgraced the uniform he once wore as the apparent driving force behind this plot for incitement to insurrection and treason against the United States, he should be recalled to active duty to be court martialed and stripped of his rank and military benefits, and let him spend the rest of his days rotting in Leavenworth prison. Military Retirees Can Be Court-Martialed After All, Appeals Court Decides.

Another piece of this plot to incite insurrection and treason to overturn the results of a fair and free election are the QAnon-MAGA cult red hat thugs who threatened violence against state meetings of electors on December 14. Credible threats of violence’ prompt closure of Michigan capitol to the public ahead of Electoral College vote. Keep a close eye on what Trump and his fellow traitorous Republicans are tweeting to his QAnon-MAGA cult members in the coming week: Trump supporters plan D.C. rally on day Congress certifies election results:

In a tweet last week, President Trump foreshadowed a “wild” protest in the District on Jan. 6 — the day Congress formally counts the electoral college votes — and his supporters are determined not to disappoint him.

This week, Women for America First requested a protest permit for that day. The group of conservative women was at the center of organizing the November “Stop the Steal” rally that drew thousands of Trump supporters to the nation’s capital and this month’s March for Trump that ended in a night of chaos and violence as a group with ties to white nationalism roamed the streets looking for a fight.

Conversations about the January gathering have taken off on chat forums used by far-right groups, including Gab, Parler and Telegram. The Proud Boys, members of armed right-wing groups, conspiracy theorists and white supremacists all have pledged to attend.

Women for America First estimates that about 5,000 people will attend the Jan. 6 rally, which it hopes to hold at Freedom Plaza.

The U.S. Park Service has not yet granted the group’s request, although permits are not typically issued until the week of an event.

Organizers had initially requested space at Freedom Plaza to stage a protest after the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, a Park Service official said. But increasing chatter about Jan. 6 prompted the organization to change its plans.

On the event website, a flier for the demonstration says, “the president is calling on us to come back to Washington on Jan. 6 for a big protest — ‘be there, will be wild.’ ”

The event, on a Wednesday, is to begin at noon and run until 5 p.m.

The escalation of Jan. 6 from formality to protest lies in Trump’s refusal to concede his loss to Biden. The 12th Amendment requires Congress to meet in joint session to count the electoral college votes and declare a presidential winner. That session is Jan. 6.

* * *

Experts on far-right movements warn that January’s rallies could bring with them more violence as Trump’s bid to hold onto power takes its last gasps.

“The violence has ramped up quite a bit,” said Heidi Beirich, a founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism. “What I’m worried about is these street battles getting more fierce and aggressive.”

On Dec. 12, four people were stabbed, one critically, during a chaotic confrontation near Harry’s Bar at 11th and F Streets NW. The bar has become a well-known gathering place for the Proud Boys, a male-chauvinist group that the FBI has deemed an extremist organization with ties to white nationalism — several prominent Proud Boys have used social media to show off wounds they said they suffered in the attack.

Several online posts appear to show far-right demonstrators workshopping ways to smuggle guns into the District, where carrying without a permit is prohibited and guns are banned at all protests.

Other posts include talk of violence and increasing frustrations with D.C. police, who prevented Proud Boys from entering Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House to confront anti-Trump demonstrators this month.

After a day of rallies and speeches, groups of men in the Proud Boy colors of black and gold roamed D.C. streets on Dec. 12, searching for counterprotesters to fight.

They attacked passersby and shouted at police officers who formed lines around Black Lives Matter Plaza and tried to separate groups of brawling people.

The leader of the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, told The Washington Post last week that he and a handful of others tore down Black Lives Matter banners from historically Black churches downtown and set them on fire before a raucous, cheering crowd.

A spokesman for D.C. police said that the investigation is continuing and that the incident is considered a potential hate crime.

The Party of Trump has devolved into a domestic terrorist organization engaged in insurrection and treason against the lawful government of the United States and needs to be monitored closely by law enforcement agencies. It is the antithesis of the Party of Lincoln.