Real Life Is Not Twitter

Or a video game. 

See Robert Stacy McCain, at the Other McCain, "Practically everybody on Twitter today [yesterday] is sharing their opinion of what happened Wednesday in Washington, D.C. Not only are Democrats using the mob scene at the Capitol to smear all Republicans as traitors, etc., but a lot of “conservative” are making a point of how much they deplore the unruly rabble. See, it is not enough — from the moralistic standpoint of political Twitter — that we refrain from bad behavior, but we are expected to ostentatiously proclaim how much we despise those who do. To maintain one’s status as a pundit, you must “distance” yourself from Those Deplorables Over There, heaping up a pile of epithets and pejorative descriptors, to make clear In No Uncertain Terms that you’re a Serious Intellectual, rather than part of the lumpenproletariat."

PREVIOUSLY: "Video of Shooting Death of Ashli Babbitt (GRAPHIC WARNING)."

'The Associated Press reported the Capitol Police turned down offers of help to deal with pro-Trump protesters from not one but two law enforcement agencies, opting to treat Wednesday's rally as if it were a free speech demonstration...'

I saw the A.P. story earlier and tweeted it. 

I'm coming back to this now, because a Capitol Police officer was killed yesterday in the line of duty. 

At USA Today, "DC riots live updates: Capitol Police officer dies from injuries; FBI offers $50K reward for pipe bomb suspect info":

WASHINGTON — A U.S. Capitol Police officer died Thursday after being injured when supporters of President Donald Trump raided the Capitol building on Wednesday, bringing the total number of fatalities to five.

Brian D. Sicknick "was injured while physically engaging with protesters" on Wednesday, USCP said in a statement. He returned to his division office and collapsed, then was taken to a local hospital where he died Thursday evening.

"The death of Officer Sicknick will be investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch, the USCP, and our federal partners," the USCP said in a statement.

Sicknick had been with the USCP since July 2008, and most recently served in the department’s First Responders Unit, officials said in a statement. ...

Before sunrise Thursday, the lawn in front of the Capitol was nearly deserted and silent, a stark contrast from the cheering and chanting of Wednesday's massive crowd that eventually devolved into chaos.

Thursday showed little evidence of the pro-Trump mob that breached the U.S. Capitol, forcing the certification of President-elect Joe Biden's victory to be postponed in an attack that left four demonstrators dead.

The Washington Post reported several dozen people arrested Wednesday made first appearances in court Thursday.

Also Thursday, U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund, whose department was severely criticized for its flawed response to Wednesday's attack, resigned abruptly.

The Associated Press reported the Capitol Police turned down offers of help to deal with pro-Trump protesters from not one but two law enforcement agencies, opting to treat Wednesday's rally as if it were a free speech demonstration.

The lack of preparation and support allowed rioters to breach the Capitol building with little resistance, endangering legislators and resulting in a mob scene that sent shudders throughout the world.

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser was among several critics who called the police's actions “a failure.”

But "many others" (the story continues) --- meaning in particular the far-left cable network pundits --- claimed "racism" in the alleged "disparate" response between Wednesday's events and the D.C. protests following George Floyd's death last year, and this (of course) was evidence of the "systemic" injustices that privileged "white supremacist domestic terrorism" over Black Live Matter "peaceful protesters."

Now, apparently, Democrats think is the winning message, damn the "unity" agenda the president-elect has been proclaiming this past two months. 

And don't let Bowser off the hook either. According to the Twitter chatter today, she apparently told the D.C. National Guard that only "unarmed" units would be allowed at the Capitol, and should they need more firepower, they'd have to return to their barracks and come back with the needed firepower later. She's on video saying "the Metropolitan Police Department has been deployed to assist the U.S. Capitol Police ... in restoring order..."

As Stars and Stripes reported, "The initial 340 [National Guard] troops activated earlier this week were deployed without firearms or other weapons and without body armor."

And also seen on Twitter, "In a letter to federal officials Monday, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser urged federal law enforcement to have a light footprint for Wednesday’s protests, seeking to avoid the type of show of force that inflamed tense situations last year."

And according to this report at Politico, President Trump had authorized acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller to "take any necessary steps to support law enforcement..."

Great call, Muriel!

This country is totally FUBAR. (*Eye-roll.*)

Video of Shooting Death of Ashli Babbitt (GRAPHIC WARNING)

This is a point-blank video, and again, you have been warned. 

At Legal Insurrection, "Video of Shooting Death of Ashli Babbitt Raises Questions About Use of Deadly Force."

That video is posted to Twitter, which no doubt will be removed for violating the platform's ever-changing "terms of service."

Fortunately, for truth and posterity, copies of the video have been made, and hosted on non-Google platforms. 

See Law Officer, "Videos show shooting of Ashli Babbitt during Capitol crisis."

And to remind you of how leftists have politicized her death, just one quick search on Google and this is among the first three articles to pop up, at NBC News (where else?): "Woman killed in Capitol was Trump supporter who embraced conspiracy theories: Social media profiles connected to Ashli Babbitt were almost singularly focused on radical conservative topics and conspiracy theories."

They're smearing her, a dead woman who cannot stand up to defend herself against such typical leftists demonization. 

Shame. Shame. Shame. 

I personally wouldn't have stormed the Capitol building. But I wasn't there, so I can't say if this woman acted recklessly or thought she was doing her patriotic duty. 

Either way, it's a tragedy. 

She was an Air Force veteran. She was loved. The L.A. Times has some background, "Woman fatally shot in U.S. Capitol was a San Diego resident, family says":

Business records show Babbitt was the CEO of Fowler’s Pool Service & Supply Inc. in Spring Valley. Her husband is listed as the company’s chief financial officer.

In an email Wednesday evening, Babbitt’s ex-husband, Timothy McEntee, called her “a wonderful woman with a big heart and a strong mind.” McEntee said he and Babbitt were married from April 2005 until May 2019. Her Facebook page indicates she remarried that year.

“I am in a state of shock and feel absolutely terrible for her family,” McEntee wrote. “She loved America with all her heart. It’s truly a sad day.”

McEntee and Babbitt served together in the U.S. Air Force while married. McEntee wrote that he instantly recognized Babbitt when he saw a photo of the woman who was shot.

"[I] immediately knew it was her but was unaware she was in town so I initially had doubts because she lives in California,” McEntee wrote. “But [I] reached out to a friend and he said she was in town for the rally.”

Her Twitter account included a photo posted in September of her in a “We are Q” shirt in front of a harbor, with hashtags that included #TrumpBoatParade2020.

The post also included the initialism WWG1WGA — “Where we go one, we go all,” — used by followers of QAnon, which promotes baseless conspiracy theories.

Yes. Baseless. (*Eye-roll.*)

The Mob Assault on Capitol Hill Is Simply Another Entry in the Catalog of American Decline

I would like to be blogging more, but frankly, I'm overwhelmed with just tying to sort through the news to get at least some semblance of the truth. 

Also, my older sister's son has died ---- I just got the news yesterday, of all days ---- so my regular news and blogging routine is a bit messed up right now. 

I should have more posts throughout the day, but either way, don't miss this piece from Michael Lind, at the Tablet, "The Five Crises of the American Regime":

In the past eight months, two Capitol Hills have fallen. Two shocking events symbolize the abdication of authority by America’s ruling class, an abdication that has led to what can be described, not without exaggeration, as the slow-motion disintegration of the United States of America in its present form.

The first occurred on June 8, 2020, when the Seattle police evacuated their East Precinct building in the city's Capitol Hill neighborhood. Left-wing rioters stormed the police headquarters and looted it. For 24 days, Seattle’s government allowed would-be revolutionaries to create an anarchist commune, acting out the fantasy of “abolishing the police” embraced by much of the American left as well as liberals who should have known better. This anarchist commune, created in the midst of nationwide protests against the death on May 25 of a Black Minnesotan, George Floyd, in police custody, was the scene of the fatal shootings of two Black men before the police finally shut it down on July 1.

On Jan. 6, 2021, America’s elite abandoned another Capitol Hill to rioters. After President Donald Trump stirred them up in an incendiary address in which he claimed that Joe Biden had stolen the presidency from him, a mob of right-wing radicals broke into the United States Capitol, where the certification of the results of last November’s election results was taking place. Like the leaders of Seattle in June, America’s congressional leaders abandoned their posts and fled. In the ensuing chaos, the Trumpist rioters, mostly men wearing MAGA hats or more exotic outfits, posed for selfies in the well of the House chamber or in the legislative offices they broke into. A police officer killed a female rioter. Three others died as a result of “medical emergencies.” As in Seattle’s Capitol Hill, so in America’s: The forces of legitimate authority and coercive order for a period were nowhere to be seen.

What is the meaning of these dystopian scenes? Many Democrats claim that Republicans are destroying the republic. Many Republicans claim the reverse. They are both correct.

The leaders of both parties have weaponized anarchic mobs against their rivals—the Democrats, by tacitly encouraging and bailing out foundation-funded NGO staffers with secret identities and superhero-style antifa outfits during the tolerated riots of summer 2020, and now the squalid, defeated demagogue Donald Trump, unleashing his own costumed followers on the U.S. Capitol itself. As a rule, comparisons between the United States and Weimar Germany or late republican Rome are misleading, but when rival elite political factions tolerate or encourage mob violence in the streets, the comparisons might be forgiven.

A building can rot from within for a long time, before an earthquake or a fire reveals the depth of its structural decay. The COVID-19 pandemic, and the economic disaster that the subsequent lockdowns have produced, no doubt have influenced the timing of the present crisis of the American regime. But the real cause of the crisis itself, I would argue, is the confluence of five crises: A political crisis, an identity crisis, a social crisis, a demographic crisis, and an economic crisis.

Keep reading.

Protesters Storm Capitol, Halting Electoral College Certification

 At Instapundit, "They are inside the Capitol, with reports of one person shot in the chest":

UPDATE (FROM GLENN): I’ve been mostly offline this week as I recover, but this isn’t right, tempting as it is to call this “mostly peaceful” or somesuch after the past year’s sanctioned riots. Follow the PJ Liveblog for minute by minute coverage. Excerpt:

PREVIOUSLY: "U.S. Capitol on Lockdown!"

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U.S. Capitol on Lockdown!

I've postponed even turning on the news this morning, but the first thing I see on CNN is the pro-Trump protests against the Electoral College count.

It's gonna be a long day in U.S. politics, considering the Georgia results last night. 

I'm praying no one gets killed. 

In any case, at the Hill, "Capitol placed on lockdown, buildings evacuated amid protests."

Check back for updates.

Added: 

Security personnel have drawn their weapons in an armed standoff at the door of the House floor, and Speaker Pelosi's office is literally "occupied"!

'A Mother's Birthday Greeting to Her Son'

A beautiful, wonderful short post, from Phyllis Chesler:  

I can still remember the exact moment of his birth, how small and wet he was, and how unexpectedly blonde. He was gasping for air, needed oxygen, and I was completely worn down by a 32 ½ hour labor. But, within an hour, I was up and filled with the most incredible joy. Giving birth to life is a unique rite of passage, both divine and yet incredibly human, the stuff of mortal beings, the way of female flesh. I was so overcome by it all that I wrote a book With Child: A Diary of Motherhood, which some publishers turned down because, as one editor said: “You can write about important things, why waste your time on this?” Another editor said: “You will not be a normal mother, other women will not be able to relate to your experience.” Arnold Dolin, a wonderful man and a wonderful editor, published it. When my son was eighteen, he wrote the Introduction to the book. He is a beautiful writer and I will forever admire his words.

But oh, how quickly his childhood was over. One minute it was here—diapers and Barbar-the Elephant King, Paddington Bears, and Cabbage Patch Kids, and all those little action figures (I called them boy dolls), and then it was all gone in only an eye-blink of eternity...

Keep reading.

 

'Hot af with a cute smile...'

Seen on Twitter.

Wright Thompson, Pappyland

At Amazon, Wright Thompson, Pappyland: A Story of Family, Fine Bourbon, and the Things That Last.

'Just think of Todd as a former — and current — Democratic Party operative, who gets quite cross when called on his leftwing bias, and it all makes sense...'

From Ed Discoll, at Instapundit, "CHUCK TODD MELTS DOWN: Liberal Media Scream: Smug Chuck Todd to senator, ‘I’ve had enough of hearing this!’"  

'This Is How Civil Society Disintegrates' (VIDEO)

Great video, c/o AoSHQ, "New York State Considering Bill Giving Mass-Murdering Governor Power to Imprison People Suspected of Being Sick and Forcibly Medicate Them."

Andrew Cuomo's last forcible-patient-relocation program consisted of stuffing covid-infected nursing home residents back into their nursing homes, guaranteeing that the entire home would be infected.

How many will he murder with his new power to forcibly cram people suspected of being sick with people who actually are sick?

Remember when we heard the Chinese were welding people inside their apartments and we thought, "Well, at least we're not an authoritarian communist state"?

We're now an authoritarian communist state...

Keep reading.

At the link: Canada's a "communist state" these days. That Gatineau raid is really frightening. 

At the video, "Is Canada becoming a police state? Gatineau (Quebec) police break up "unlawful" New Year's gathering. Of 6 people. The level of police force being deployed for Covid "restrictions" is getting obscene. ":

Will Trump Torpedo Republican Chances in Georgia?

We'll find out tomorrow, with luck, lol.

At the Cook Report, "One Day Out: Will Trump Torpedo Republican Chances in the Georgia Runoffs?"

RELATED: At LAT, "Georgia’s political change came fast but has deep roots," and NYT, "Georgia Is Getting More Blue. The Senate Races Will Tell How Much."

President Trump 'Could Ditch' Joe Biden's Inauguration

We'll see. I mean, it's not like "ditching" Biden's inauguration is going to bring down the American republic, despite the hysterical cries of the leftists everywhere.

At the Scotland Herald, "Donald Trump 'could ditch inauguration' with Turnberry trip'":

Speculation is mounting that US President Donald Trump could be planning to snub the inauguration of successor Joe Biden - by flying to Scotland.

President Trump has made no secret of his disdain for his election loss, and continues to dispute the result which saw his Democratic challenger elected to the White House by a record margin of votes.

Now Prestwick Airport has been told to expect the arrival of a US military Boeing 757 aircraft which has been occasionally used by Trump, on January 19 – the day before Mr Biden takes over.

This chimes with reports in the US that Trump will announce a 2024 re-election bid during a flight on one of the President’s official Air Force One planes on inauguration day.

Veteran NBC reporter Ken Dilanian tweeted: “Trump may announce for 2024 on inauguration day. Either way, he won’t attend the inauguration and does not plan to invite Biden to the White House or even call him.”

Every plane Trump flies in has a special call sign, including his own personal Boeing 757, which has the call sign Tyson 1.

Air traffic controllers receive details of the arrival of a plane with a US special call sign weeks in advance but are not told exactly which plane when the booking is made.

A source at Prestwick airport, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Sunday Post: “There is a booking for an American military version of the Boeing 757 on January 19, the day before the inauguration...

Still more.

I hope he does "announce for 2024," heh.

 

Lindsey Pelas Sand Dunes

I can't post this one to the front page, heh. 

Check it out on Twitter.

BONUS: "Lindsey Pelas Nude and Topless LEAKED!!"

Horrific Head-On Crash Near Fresno Kills 7 Kids, 2 Adults (VIDEO)

This makes me sad, really sad. I mean, I first saw the story at the New York Time and I couldn't understand why. What the hell happend. And the story only got worse. Wrong-way driver swerved into the opposite lane after driving on the shoulder and over-correcting getting back on the road.

Terrible. Horrible. Awful.

At the Fresno Bee, "CHP seeking answers after 7 children, 2 adults die in Fresno County head-on crash and fire":

California Highway Patrol investigators Saturday asked for the public’s help to determine more about what led up to a south Valley tragedy, as seven children were among nine people killed when an SUV and truck crashed head-on and the truck caught fire near Coalinga.

The children, all riding Friday night with one adult along a rural highway in a Ford F-150 truck that the CHP said had enough seat belts for six people, are believed to range in age from 6 to 15.

But the only person identified as of Saturday afternoon was Daniel Luna, 28, of Avenal, who was driving the other vehicle, a Dodge Journey.

Those who reported the crash came on the scene after the collision, prompting the Highway Patrol to solicit calls from anyone who might have seen what happened.

“When the fire was extinguished, tragically it was discovered there were eight occupants — seven of which appeared to be juveniles — inside the Ford,” CHP Capt. Kevin Clays said at a Saturday afternoon news conference in Coalinga. “We are working with the Fresno County Coroner’s Office to identify the occupants.”

What is known, Clays said, is that about 8 p.m., Luna was in a 2013 Dodge Journey traveling south on Highway 33, south of Sutter Avenue, about midway between Coalinga and Avenal. The driver of a 2007 Ford F-150 was northbound on the highway. How fast the vehicles were going remained under investigation.

As the vehicles approached from opposite directions, the Dodge veered onto the dirt shoulder, then back across the road into the opposite lane resulting in a head-on collision with the Ford.

The Ford came to a stop on the shoulder, caught fire and was fully engulfed, Clays said.

The Dodge came to rest in both north and southbound lanes...

 

College Virtual Choir Delivers Beautiful Ensemble Performance

From the performing arts department at my college. 

Wonderful.

Californians Ignoring Lockdown Orders — Just Like the State's Democrat 'Leadership'

A nice piece. Well done.

At Just the News, "Californians doing as their elected leaders do — ignoring lockdown orders":

California has now seen 2,345,909 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and more than 26,000 have died from the virus, according to the state's public health department.

The number of cases spiked in mid-July, held steady through August and then plunged in September and October, according to state government numbers. But cases began rising in mid-November, hitting previous peak numbers from the summer (about 10,000 per day) — and never stopped going up. By Thanksgiving, they were running 15,000 a day, and the day after Christmas they hit more than 50,000.

Government officials have repeatedly locked down the state. On Dec. 3, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a new "stay-at-home" order, which prohibited residents from gathering; ordered essential businesses such as grocery stores to operate at 20% capacity; shut down bars, wineries, salons and restaurant dining; and allowed hotels to remain open only for critical infrastructure support.

But that didn't work, either. On Dec. 22, Newsom said: "Based upon all the data, it’s very likely that we're going to extend the stay at home order." A few days later, he did just that.

But with the virus spiking in early winter, reports emerged that Californians weren't really curbing their gatherings or reducing their ventures outside of their homes.

"California residents have not greatly reduced their visits to stores and workplaces since Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered them to stay at home in early December," the Modesto Bee reported based upon a review of mobility trend data collected by Google from cell phones.

"From Dec. 12 through Dec. 18, visits to California stores and restaurants were down an average of 31% compared to a January baseline," the paper reported. "That’s only slightly different than the 27% decline in visits during the same week a month earlier — before the severe shutdown — and well short of the decline in visits seen during April...

Keep reading. 

You have the California legistlators flying off to Hawaii for rest and relaxation after just telling (legislating) the rest of the state's residents to stay home.

And Dianne Feinstein? Walking through Dulles International without a mask right after calling for mandatory masks for all airport and aviation workers:

Shortly before the sighting, Feinstein penned a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration. "I write to urge you to implement a mandatory mask policy for all airport and airline employees and passengers as cases of coronavirus continue to surge," she wrote. "I ask that you issue guidance as soon as possible so passengers can have a clear understanding of the requirements and so that we may reduce exposure for workers and travelers alike."

Speaker Pelosi comes up too, that vile hypocrite.

Will Biden Take On Our Alarming China Problem?

Nah.

The Bidens are in bed with the C.C.P.

It's Glenn Reynolds, at the New York Post:

America has a China problem. And so do the Democrats and President-elect Joe Biden.

While everyone worried about the Kremlin the past several years, Beijing ran wild. And it still is. Will the Biden administration do anything about it? Or will it be OK with Chinese influence?

Back in 2015, China was behind a massive hack of records in the Office of Personnel Management, an attack so far-reaching and damaging, experts dubbed it a “Cyber Pearl Harbor.” In addition to federal personnel records — a gold mine for blackmailers and identity thieves — the hackers also stole even more valuable military and intelligence records.

The forms stolen were Standard Form 86, in which employees in sensitive positions list their weaknesses: past arrests, bankruptcies, drug and alcohol problems and the like. The 120-plus pages of questions also ­include civil lawsuits, divorce information, Social Security numbers and information on friends, roommates, spouses and relatives. Yet the Obama-Biden administration did little.

In 2018, Politico reported on extensive Chinese influence operations throughout the United States, and especially in California, where the Chinese Ministry of State ­Security has a special dedicated unit. When Free Tibet and Falun Gong protesters staged a march in San Francisco, the Beijing regime mobilized thousands of Chinese students in America — with threats of withdrawn grant funding if they didn’t cooperate — to stage a counterprotest. There were even box lunches provided.

And The Daily Beast reported about the same time on Chinese influence operations in America, quoting a former CIA official to the effect that Beijing’s goal was to “turn Americans against their own government’s interests and their society’s interest.”

Since then, we’ve seen one arrest after another involving US professors in the pay of the Chinese government. In 2020, 14 academics were arrested for alleged illegal Chinese ties — at places ranging from Harvard to UCLA to Emory to the University of Kansas...

Still more.

 

Cancel Abraham Lincoln?

Following-up, "The Canceling: America's Growing Political Crisis."

At LAT, "Cancel Abraham Lincoln? San Francisco grapples with the president’s legacy":

The statue sat like a red stain on the lawn in front of San Francisco City Hall. Abraham Lincoln’s chiseled face was covered in paint, his etched name highlighted in the bloody color at the base of the monument.

As San Francisco, like many parts of the country, grapples with how best to memorialize historic figures, the statue of the 16th president sat red-faced — literally — in front of the government building the day after Christmas.

City workers cleaned the sculpted artwork on Monday, said San Francisco County sheriff’s director of communications Nancy Hayden Crowley.

“The damage to the statue was superficial,” Crowley wrote in an email. “President Lincoln has been restored.”

But questions about a San Francisco-sized blot on Lincoln’s legacy remain.

Some social media users opined that the vandalism intentionally coincided with the 158th anniversary of the Dec. 26, 1862, hanging of 38 Native Americans on the president’s watch. According to the Associated Press, a U.S. military commission sentenced 303 Sioux fighters to execution, following the 1862 Dakota War, also known as the Sioux Uprising. Lincoln reportedly reviewed each case and decided there was evidence to convict 38 of them. The sentences of the remaining 265 were commuted.

Regina Brave, an elder in the Oglala Sioux Tribe, said the event’s history had been handed down among her people for generations. Living in South Dakota as an activist, the 79-year-old said she once supported the idea of tearing down Mt. Rushmore. But ultimately she concluded that monuments ought to remain intact, saying they are a useful way to remember bygone leaders — and their faults, including Lincoln’s.

“Hey, he’s dead,” Brave said. “But it’s worth remembering. That’s part of our history — to remember these events...

Well, at least somebody on the left has some common sense, but Ms. Regina really is brave!

Still more.