Daniel Hodges: "They Called Me a Traitor"

Officer Daniel Hodges of the Washington Metropolitan Police Department, who was severely beaten and nearly crushed to death by J6 rioters four years ago, gives his reaction to Tyrant Trump's pardoning his assailants:

 

Here's the footage of Hodges being attacked and crushed in a doorway, very hard to watch:

 

Officer Hodges, by the way, is back on the job guarding the Capitol and fulfilling his sworn duty to the American public, even after all he's been through. What a man.

Listen to these Republican snakes and slugs brushing off questions about the pardons. And Susan Collins is, of course, concerned. 

   

Rep. Eric Swallwell (D-Calif.) says, "Trump does not back the blue, he backs the coup." (Turn up the volume.)

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Michael Fanone: "I Have Been Betrayed by My Country"

In the wake of Trump's pardon of more than 1500 J6 rioters, Anderson Cooper spoke tonight with Michael Fanone, the D.C. police officer who was savagely beaten and nearly killed during the attack on the Capitol.

"This is what we have become as a nation," Fanone said.  "We are self-centered, we are violent, and we are indifferent to the suffering of our neighbors."

I'm sorry I have lived this long, to see the filthy degradation of my country.  And the long, dark night has only just begun.

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Dick Cheney Condemns Lying Coward: "He Knows It"

I never expected to post a video from Dick Cheney on the Blue Truck, but I agree with every word he says here: 

 

I commend Mr. Cheney for speaking the truth so plainly - even though his hands are not clean - and I very much admire his daughter Liz for putting the whole story of Trump's failed coup on record. 

But the Republicans are far gone. They are hellbent on turning the United States into a fascist dictatorship, one state at a time, and are nearly there already in Texas, Florida, and other places. But what can be done to stop them? 

Where are the voices of outrage and oh-hell-no from the Democratic side? Where are the good guys in the white hats riding into town to stop the crooks from terrorizing the citizenry and burning down the place?  

The thug party has a plan and a playbook they've been working on for years, step by step, to pack the Congress, the courts, the state houses with their henchmen, even down to the cellular level of county commissions and school boards.  What exactly are the Democrats doing to stop this collapse of democracy besides sipping their lattes and playing with themselves?  No, really, tell me -- I'd like to know.

Edging with Russia and China doesn't count.

Maybe I'm just out of the loop - I don't watch TV news and I'm not on Facebook or Twitter. Maybe there is a peaceful, patriotic movement arising to defeat all the lies with truth, and dictatorship with democracy . . . maybe millions are even now being enlisted in a righteous crusade to restore our country to what it was meant to be: one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. 

(If that's not too racist/misogynistic/transphobic/culturally insensitive/too many carbs/contains nuts/disturbing/triggering/ polluting/fattening/uncool/something only boomers do.)

But all I hear are crickets.

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Biting the Hand That Protects You

 

For a whole day it seemed that the world was really becoming a better place.  But how silly of me.  It's just the same old world with the same mixed-up people in it after all, as an egg flipped over is still the same old egg in the same old skillet.  Here is ingratitude, defined:

Politico reports (emphasis mine):

Thousands of National Guardsmen were forced to vacate congressional grounds on Thursday and are now taking their rest breaks outside and in nearby parking garages, after two weeks of sleepless nights protecting the nation’s capital in the wake of the violent Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol.

One unit, which had been resting in the Dirksen Senate Office building, was abruptly told to vacate the facility on Thursday, according to one Guardsman. The group was forced to rest in a nearby parking garage without internet reception, with just one electrical outlet, and one bathroom with two stalls for 5,000 troops, the person said. . . .

Guard leadership did not make the decision and are “doing their best to provide rest shelter for troops who are still on 12-hour shifts protecting the Capitol and congressional grounds,” the second Guardsman said.

“There really may be an important reason for us to vacate and it just hasn’t been well communicated yet,” the second Guardsman said.

I suppose some prissy bitch, of either gender, decided they were offended by all those smelly troops sleeping on the floors of Congress.  So send them to sit in a garage, they're only soldiers.  How fucking stupid - and ungrateful.  Makes me furious.  But I'll stop right there.

Update, 1/22/21, 8:30 a.m.:

Apparently, lawmakers in Congress were as outraged last night as your Head Trucker was, and according to this report the troops have now been allowed back into the Capitol.  

 

However, other reports say some outraged state governors have already ordered their troops to return home. Your Head Trucker says the leadership of the Capitol Police needs to be shaken up and tossed out if they don't have any more damn sense than to pull a stunt like this. Police leaders also dropped the ball big fucking time by allowing the attackers to even get close to the doors of the Capitol on January 6. Some heads have rolled already, and this incident indicates to me that others need to follow.

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McConnell: Trump Provoked Mob with Lies

Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell, Majority Leader of the Senate, spoke quite plainly on the floor of the Senate today about Trump's role in the attack on the Capitol two weeks ago:

.@senatemajldr on the U.S. Capitol Attack: "The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people." pic.twitter.com/QIeviyHkl3

— CSPAN (@cspan) January 19, 2021

McConnell - if the wily old pol can be believed - said all the right things an American patriot should say, and said them clearly and concisely.  Hmm. This could turn some GOP senators around. Maybe there's a chance of convicting Trump after all. 

Bonus: "Drunk on propaganda" -- A disgusting new video shot by a reporter during the attack shows six minutes of the wild-eyed mob invading the Senate chamber, with dipshit "horned man" leading them in prayer from the rostrum: 

 

Ex-FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe comments: "It's insanity. It has all the hallmarks of a riot of extremists who have been pushed to that point by a charismatic leader - in this case, it happens to be the President of the United States."

See more and worse of reporter Luke Mogelson's footage at the New Yorker.

 

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What I'm Watching: American Reckoning

 I don't know about you fellas, but after a week of high alarm and deep stress your Head Trucker has felt spent the last couple of days:  sort of in a daze, unable to listen any longer to the news and the flood of dire what-ifs about the coming days.  I slept ten hours last night and needed every bit of it.

The House did the supremely right thing, impeaching Trump for his heinous misuse and abuse of the Presidency: a testament to future generations of the enormity of his crime.  I doubt that the Senate, when it gets around to considering the Article of Impeachment, will do much to punish him.  Be that as it may, Trump will not have an easy time of it in retirement from office, considering how many state and federal officials are drawing up plans for his prosecution on one charge or another.  

And when and if his deluded followers wake up to the fact that he lied to them too, he may be in even bigger trouble.  I do think he will sooner or later reap what he has sown; and then there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

You all may be in recovery mode today too, and not ready to hear any more just yet about the events of this historic week.  But just for the record, I present here a couple of excellent summations of how we got to this point in American history.  

From the Washington Post, a review of the week just ended: 

From PBS NewsHour, Judy Woodruff hosts a wide-ranging discussion of how Trump has dragged the nation to this point:

N. B. -- Your Head Trucker does not necessarily agree with every point made in the above discussion; perhaps another day I will post my thoughts and views on these matters, but right now I'm tired of thinking about it, and looking forward to a brighter day under the incoming President - whom God preserve.

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Choose You This Day

A mob of Trump supporters surround the gallows on which they intended to hang Vice President Mike Pence at the Capitol, January 6, 2021.
Click to enlarge.

Choose you this day whom ye will serve . . .

-- Joshua 24: 15

Click here for CNN live coverage of impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives.

Many fine speeches were made on the floor of the House today; here are two that your Head Trucker thinks particularly well done, covering all the essential points of the case. 

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi gives the opening argument:

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer gives the closing argument:

Update, 3:36 p.m., Texas time-- The House of Representatives has just voted to impeach Trump, 232-197.  Ten Republicans voted with the Democrats to impeach.  Four Republicans did not vote.  House has now adjourned until January 15th.  The Senate is in recess until January 19th, when the Article of Impeachment will be presented to them.

For the benefit of my overseas truckbuddies, it is important to understand that impeachment is not the same as removal from office.  Rather, an impeachment by the House is equivalent to an indictment by a grand jury; the Senate then acts as a court to try the case, and either convict (by a two-thirds majority) or acquit the President, who would cease to be President immediately upon conviction.  Trump was previously impeached by the House in December 2019, but acquitted by the Senate in February 2020.

The Constitution gives each house of Congress the authority to set its own rules of procedure; thus, the Senate does not have to follow the ordinary rules of procedure used in federal courts.  Furthermore, it is up to Congress on its own authority to determine what constitutes the "high crimes and misdemeanors" (not defined in the Constitution) for which a president can be impeached.

Even if the Senate convicted Trump of the charge specified in the Article of Impeachment, the only effect would be to remove him from office - and that will be moot, as Biden will already be President by the time the Senate decides the case.  For Trump to be barred from running for office again, or to lose his post-presidency benefits, the Senate would have to vote specifically on those points.

Full text of the Article of Impeachment below the jump - or see PDF in original format here.

Trump: Don't Blame Me! Fear the Dangerous Dems!

Trump flew down to Alamo, Texas, today to have another look at his magnificent border wall - the first public appearance he has made since last week's attack on the Capitol by the mob he incited.  

Senator Lindsey Graham went with him on Air Force One - yes, that same Lindsey Graham, Trumpmeister's most faithful pup, who last week had to hide from the murderous throng, and later said on the floor of the Senate, "Count me out.  Enough's enough."

 

 Now he's trotting along behind his master again - as a dog returneth to his vomit. 

It's also reported that last night Trump had a "good conversation" with Vice President Mike Pence - whom Trump never called to check on while enraged fanatics were running through the halls of Congress shouting, "Hang Mike Pence" - and erected a gallows complete with noose on the grounds outside.  Last week, it was reported that Pence was "very angry" with Trump - but bygones are bygones, it seems. I guess they kissed and made up. What they talked about has not yet been reported, but you can bet it wasn't a Sunday school lesson. 

By the way, Trump isn't visiting the Alamo, which is in downtown San Antone, but the pee-mite town of Alamo, a mere suburb of the much larger city of McAllen, a farming center in the Rio Grande Valley. Still, the name of the Alamo is highly symbolic of a last stand, a fight to the death against tyranny, etc. - and you can believe that that, in and of itself, is a dog whistle to Trump's fanatical followers. 

Here are various clips of Trump's remarks today, in which he typically absolves himself of all responsibility for last week's insurrection and warns that impeachment is "very dangerous to America" - another dog whistle - trying to paint the Democrats and everyone else who doesn't kneel before him as the real threat to the country. 

Of course everything he says, including a, an, and the, is a total fucking LIE. He is so eaten up with conceit, he can't breathe without lying, just to glorify himself.  He has no remorse and no conscience.  He sicced a mob of killer dogs on the members of Congress - Republicans and Democrats alike - including the next three persons in the line of presidential succession.  And instead of lifting a finger to stop the attack, he sat in front of the television, gleefully watching the chaos he caused.

OF COURSE THIS MONSTER SHOULD BE REMOVED, IMPEACHED, ARRESTED, PROSECUTED AND JAILED FOR HIS CRIMES.  THERE IS NOTHING TO DEBATE OR ARGUE ABOUT.  ENOUGH IS ENOUGH IS FUCKING ENOUGH.

 

And then there's this:  Don't expect many Republicans to vote for impeachment or any other anti-Trump motion - even if they know that Trump is a huge fraud, they are terrified of being murdered by the frenzied MAGA mob, as freshman Republican Congressman Peter Meijer of Michigan explains:

 

As it was written:  Sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind.

Update, 7:55 p.m.--Pence Declines to Invoke 25th Amendment.

Well, there it is.  The Senate is in recess and will not even receive the impeachment papers until January 19th at the earliest - a day before Biden's inauguration.  So we just have to wait it out now, and pray God the monster doesn't go "wild" again.  God help us all!

But I have to believe the monster will not live happily ever after.  Sooner or later, somewhere or other, he will meet his nemesis, as tyrants always do.  What goes around, comes around.

 

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Untethered from Reality

For the record, here are some statements on CNN yesterday that lay bare the motives and delusions of Trump's fanatical followers.  Of course, everything these commentators say about Trump and his worshippers has always been apparent to all undeceived, clear-eyed Americans, ordinary citizens and honest politicians alike, from the day Trump announced he would run for president in 2015. We have feared what happened last week from the outset - and for good reason, as these commentators explain. 

 CNN's Alyson Camerota calls out Trump supporters:

 

 Ana Navarro calls bull on Trump's "conservative values":

 

Erin Burnett decries the Republican legislators who sucked up to Trump after warning voters against him:

 

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Schwarzenegger Denounces Trump, Calls for Unity

Wow. Former Republican governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger in a powerhouse statement has just denounced Trump and his enablers as Nazi-like liars and enemies of democracy, and calls on Americans to unite behind Joe Biden. This you have to see, fellas.  I think my overseas truckbuddies will appreciate these remarks as well, coming from an Austrian-born immigrant to these shores.

 

Quote:  

President Trump is a failed leader.  He will go down in history as the worst president ever.  The good thing is he will soon be as irrelevant as an old tweet.

Your Head Trucker is proud to hear him testify. This will reach some hearts and minds that badly need a wake-up call. Thank you, Conan!

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Lying Brownnoser Ted Cruz Tells The Big One

Please forgive my lapse into intemperate language, fellas, but I feel it is my journalistic duty to report plainly to you about thus stinking scumbag who, though he has a seat in Congress, does not represent me or my fellow Texans in any moral sense.

Your Head Trucker well recalls that during the presidential campaign of 2016, Texas Senator Ted Cruz - after Trump had insulted Cruz's wife and accused Cruz's father of conspiring to assassinate John F. Kennedy - was the very last big Republican politician to oppose Trump.  Cruz swore and be damned that he would never, ever support Trump, and held out all the way to October, I think.  And then, just a few weeks before Election Day - inexplicably - Cruz suddenly went crawling on his hands and knees to kiss Trump's ass.  He even recorded some videos or robocalls for him, I believe.

And all this long time, obedient sub boy Cruz has kept his nose right there, supporting everything Trump said or did, and never a breath of criticism.  And on Wednesday, minutes before Trump's mob attacked Congress, Cruz was on the floor of the House, front and center, leading the legislative attack on the electoral vote, the legitimate will of the People, as Cruz's dungeonmaster bid him do.

All that was bad enough.  But yesterday, Cruz had the brazen gall to go on television and tell the Big Fucking Lie that he has "disagreed with the President's rhetoric and language for the last four years."  Proving beyond all doubt that even after his filthy coup attempt failed miserably, Trump still has Cruz's balls in his back pocket.

CNN's Erin Burnett gives all the evidence, past and present, that anyone could need to condemn Cruz as the desperate, conniving monumental liar that he is:

No admission of wrongdoing, no remorse, only a glaring untruth.  Lying bootlicker Cruz has enabled a would-be dictator at every step of the way, tried to overthrow the election, perverted his oath to support the Constitution, and made himself a laughingstock.  He should leave D. C. as soon as Trump does, and in like shame.

Update, 8 a.m.--I'm not the only Texan who's steamed.  The Houston Post castigates Cruz, calls on him to resign:

"U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz lied to Americans about widespread voter fraud that never existed," the Editorial Board writes. "He should resign and deliver Texans from the shame of calling him our senator." https://t.co/WzHyZ8xolH

— Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron) January 9, 2021

Editorial: Texans backed Trump over democracy https://t.co/6Y6MHiZ3id

— Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron) January 9, 2021

Update, 1/10/21, 12:15 a.m.--On Friday, President-Elect Joe Biden went there: he called out Cruz (and his partner in crime Hawley) by name as being partners in the Big Lie, which he compared to Goebbel's propaganda in Nazi Germany. 

See also:  Never Forget What Ted Cruz Did - New York Times, 1/11/21

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Who Saved America?

Since Wednesday's attempted coup, it seems to me that the mood of the whole country has changed; at least the failed assault on democracy has clarified some formerly die-hard Trump enablers' minds.  You know the ship is going down when the rats start jumping overboard, and plenty are scrambling away from the S. S. Trump even as I write, it seems.  

I can't compete with the news media in reporting all that is happening in Washington and elsewhere today, but I will say this:  despite some woe-is-us editorials I've seen, your Head Trucker is confident that all shall be well in America.  Our democracy was jumped by some muggers the other day and took a few body blows, but did not go to the mat.  The Constitutional order held; the will of the People was honored by the vast majority of members of Congress, doing their duty according to law.  

Your Head Trucker will admit that he wept when Mike Pence announced that Biden and Harris had been duly elected the next President and Vice President of the United States.  The system worked - not because it is perfect or because we are perfect - but because fundamentally decent men and women would not let it fail, even in the face of armed attack.  In fact, with only a handful of exceptions, our Senators and Representatives on both sides of the aisle seemed to surmount their ordeal with renewed determination to preserve and defend the Constitution of the United States.  I'm sure I am not the only ordinary citizen who feels we owe them a great debt of gratitude.

Already, a new wind arises in this nation, dispelling the fog and miasma that oppressed us.  The sun is rising, the land is bright, a new day has begun.  Let us walk forward together in trust and hope, and fear not.  The road ahead may be steep, but take heart:  it leads us onward and upward again.

But let us not forget what just happened - and what might have happened.  For the record, here are some scenes and voices worth remembering, for one reason or another. History will judge who the true patriots were.

Thank God they didn’t get to him in the Capitol building. Perhaps there are consequences when the President of the United States lies to millions of his supporters telling them the Vice President has the unilateral ability to overturn the result and ensure a second term of Trump. https://t.co/lAWqN1RDgS

— Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) January 8, 2021

Some of the Trump fanatics constructed a gallows near the Capitol reflecting pool and another group of them fashioned a crude noose from stolen AP camera cables and hung it from a tree. https://t.co/kz1tK8TfXA pic.twitter.com/9ovr1q7rEY

— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) January 8, 2021

 

 And finally, on his Wednesday night show, satirist Stephen Colbert provided a scathing summation of the day's events:

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Pelosi and Schumer Call for Trump's Removal

Whoa.  Senate Majority Leader Schumer just called on Vice President Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office.  Pelosi did the same in a simultaneous news conference in the House.  Things are moving at warp speed in Congress - your Head Trucker applauds this development.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calls on @VP Mike Pence and Trump’s cabinet “to remove this president by immediately invoking the 25th amendment.” If they do not act, Congress may be prepared to impeach him.pic.twitter.com/lcUjGlZpPV

— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) January 7, 2021

Meanwhile, CNN's Van Jones makes a razor-sharp point about race in America, as demonstrated by the outrageous failure to stop or even arrest the invaders of the Capitol yesterday - all or most of whom were white:

  

President-Elect Joe Biden also noted and condemned the racial disparity:

Biden: "No one can tell me that if it had been a group of Black Lives Matter protesting yesterday, they wouldn't have been treated very, very differently than the mob of thugs that stormed the Capitol. We all know that's true, and it is unacceptable. Totally unacceptable." pic.twitter.com/TfWa25VzEt

— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 7, 2021

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