1. CHRISTUS IN MARSHALL WILL NOT LIKELY HAVE MORE VACCINATIONS UNTIL A BIG HUB IS ESTABLISHED IN MARSHALL IN ANOTHER FACILITY (LIKE THE CIVIC CENTER?). THIS WILL HAPPEN WHEN SUPPLIES OF VACCINE ARE AVAILABLE. NO NEED TO CALL THEM. CHRISTUS LONGVIEW IS IN THE SAME SITUATION. WATCH THE PAPERS AND THE NET.
2. VACCINATION SITES IN HARRISON COUNTY, TX VACCINATION SITES IN HARRISON COUNTY, TX:
SUPER 1 PHARMACY ON HWY 59 — 903 938 3096
HALLSVILLE BROOKSHIRE PHARMACY — 903 668 1409
3. MARSHALL/HARRISON COUNTY HEALTH DEPT (BEST VACCINE SITE IN MARSHALL AT THIS TIME)
(and click on the sign up for a COVID 19 Vaccine link) THE INTERNET IS BETTER THAN CALLING OVER AND OVER UNTIL THEY ANSWER. SIGN UP. THEY GET VACCINE SHIPMENTS PERIODICALLY, SO DOES GREGG COUNTY.
BROOKSHIRES ON GILMER RD. LONGVIEW 903-297-6963, SUPER ONE ON HWY.80 LONGVIEW 903-753-1964, SUPER ONE ON HIGH ST. LONGVIEW 903-234-2785, AND BROOKSHIRES IN WHITEOAK, 200 W.US80, 903-297-2785, LOUIS MORGAN #4 IN LONGVIEW 110 JOHNSTON ST. 903-730-6580
6. TRY SHREVEPORT, LA. THEY SOMETIME HAVE VACCINE.
NORTHEAST TEXAS PUBLIC HEALTH DISTRICT WILL BE DISTRIBUTING VACCINE TO ANYONE WHO QUALIFIES REGARDLESS OF COUNTY OF RESIDENCE. NET HEALTH CEO GEORGE ROBERTS SAID THE HEALTH DISTRICT WILL BE HOSTING VACCINE DRIVE-THRU CLINICS AT HARVEY CONVENTION CENTER IN TYLER EVERY WEEK BASED ON AN APPOINTMENT AND WAITING LIST SYSTEM.
THE NEXT DRIVE IN EVENT WILL BE SOON. THOSE ON THE WAITING LIST BE THE FIRST CALLED ON AN APPOINTMENT. GET ON THE WAITING LIST
THE SECOND HUB IN TYLER IS UT HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER AT TYLER: I DON’T KNOW WHEN THIS HUB WILL START DISTRIBUTING VACCINE.
THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF STATE HEALTH SERVICES SAID THAT THIS WEEK MOST COVID-19 VACCINES WILL BE DISTRIBUTED TO LARGE SITES AROUND THE STATE TO VACCINATE MORE THAN 100,000 PEOPLE. THE GOAL IS TO PROVIDE MORE PEOPLE WITH THE VACCINE AND AN EASIER WAY TO SIGN UP FOR AN APPOINTMENT. ALL PHASE 1A AND 1B INDIVIDUALS ARE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE A VACCINE AT THESE HUBS, NO MATTER WHERE THEY LIVE.
PHASE 1A INCLUDES FRONT-LINE HEALTH CARE WORKERS AND RESIDENTS AT LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES, WHILE PHASE 1B INCLUDES PEOPLE OVER 65 OR WITH A CHRONIC MEDICAL CONDITION THAT PUTS THEM AT INCREASED RISK FOR SEVERE ILLNESS FROM COVID‑19.
PEOPLE SHOULD NOT SHOW UP TO A HUB IF THEY DON’T HAVE AN APPOINTMENT. PROVIDERS ARE FOCUSING ON VACCINATING AREAS AND POPULATIONS HARDEST HIT BY COVID‑19, DSHS SAID.
ACCORDING TO THE STATE, VACCINE SUPPLIES ARE LIMITED BUT MORE SUPPLY IS COMING EVERY WEEK.
FOR WEEK FIVE OF THE VACCINE ALLOCATION, NET HEALTH AND UT HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER AT TYLER EACH RECEIVED 1,500 DOSES OF THE VACCINE.
APPOINTMENTS ARE FULL AT UT HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER AT TYLER, BUT UT HEALTH EAST TEXAS SAID THAT OFFICIALS WILL PUBLICIZE THE NEXT APPOINTMENT AVAILABILITY THROUGH THE MEDIA. APPOINTMENTS HAVE BEGUN, AND PEOPLE USED AN ONLINE LINK TO SIGN UP FOR THESE APPOINTMENTS AS WELL.
I WOULD GUESS THAT THERE ARE DRUG STORES IN TYLER OFFERING VACCINE????
IF YOU KNOW OF FRIENDS OR RELATIVE OR ACQUAINTANCES WHO MIGHT HAVE TROUBLE FIGURING OUT HOW TO SIGN UP FOR VACCINATION, PLEASE TRY AND HELP THEM.
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The 21 January story in the Washington Post caught my eye. I immediately thought “Another dumb decision by some bureaucrat.” My second thought was, “That person’s head should roll.”
I worked for the Navy for 32 years. One to the Navy traditions is that managers must be held responsible for bad decisions. It seemed like a simple thing to find the highest level person that decided to move the National Guard to a parking garage.and take action after a review of the situation. It seems like something that could be quick and simple.
When it dawned on me that in the United States of America in 2021 nothing is simple. It’s all political.
For starters this story was reported by the Washington Post and on CNN. For four years Trump has been brainwashing people to believe that everything in the Washington Post is “fake news” and cannot be believed. That means 30% of the people in the country will not believe the story. This leaves only the Democrats, the Independents, and Mitt Romney to believe the story.
I must admit I was wrong once more. Republican Representative Kevin McCarthy, rested after trying to overturn the last election, decided that it was time to blame the Democrats since they had been in power for a day. Ok, let me cut him some slack – they have been in power for a day and a half.
Using our government’s official form of communications, Twitter, Mr. McCarfthy blamed Democrat Nancy Pelosi for ordering the National Guard into the parking garage.
I have never thought of Mr. McCarthy is a mental giant but surely he knows that the Secretary of Defense does not report to the Speaker of the House and the National Guard is in the Department of Defense’s org chart.
To be perfectly fair to Mr. McCarthy, I am not sure Speaker Pelosi knows that the Secretary of Defense does not report to her. After all she did call the Joint Chief of Staff to express her concerns about Donald What’s His Name having the nuclear codes. Fortunately, What’s His Name no longer has a football and only carries golf balls these days.
Hell – after listening to many members of the House of Representatives speak, I feel fairly confident that fewer than 10% of them know the Secretary of Defence does not report to the Speaker of the House. Let me make one correction. Since more women joined Congress after the last election, let me say now 15% of the Representatives know that the Department of Defense does not report to the Speaker.
Since some of you might feel I am being a little hard on McCathy and Pelosi, I would like to conclude by saying that Senator Chuck Schumer and Senator Mitch McConnell have outlived their useful service life and should be put out to pasture with Pelosi and McCarthy. It’s time for them all to develop an exit strategy if one of them knows what an exit plan is.
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Democracy is a cool word: It means, simply, the power in government rests with the people.
Many people believe that to be true. Well, actually, the United States is a democratic socialist republic, which is akin to a democracy, but with more of a “friends with benefits” arrangement.
America in the most recent past was shaping itself into a plutocracy (government by the wealthy) and, the last four years, was leaning toward an autocracy (one person in charge). President Donald Trump, backed by his legislative allies and the Supreme Court ruling that corporations were ‘people’ and could spend as much money as they could afford on political candidates and issues, put into place a take-no-prisoners form of government.
“My wish, my want, my way” was his unspoken Oval Office mantra.
Plutocracy, in its basic form, is inherently bad. It is the ruling of a government by the wealthy class. It is the government of the day in this nation, the government that is making decisions for you and me. Our government is ruled by rich individuals and corporations who push massive amounts of money into the political process in order to control it.
And control it, “they” do. It is a fact that elected federal officials spend more time raising money for their next political race than they do working for the citizens they represent.
We have a distinct separation of the “common” folk in this country and the privileged class; a majority of those money-holders are making sure that the division between the two classes remains a vast chasm, an ever-growing chasm, with the economically middle and lower class perpetually falling lower on societal’s financial ladder.
During the past year, as COVID-19 devastated lives and the economy, the wealthiest citizens gained more wealth; new billionaires popped up like daisies after a spring shower.
The foundation of this country was laid by the mental, financial and physical labors of highly educated (for the time) men, all landholders and relatively wealthy individuals who wanted to control their own destiny. The foundation was solidified by these believers in freedom joining forces with Everyman, all believers in the limitless opportunities this country had to offer.
Over the past 250 years or so, there have been shifts in the individual political power bases of the legislative and executive branches of government, but, mostly, elected leaders tried to work together to ensure that the main principle on which this country took root — “…that all men were created equal…” and maintaining certain freedoms — were sacrosanct. (Women and people of color were afterthoughts then, and to various degrees, are still in that category today.)
Now, due to the philosophical divisions inside both political parties, and the amount of rabid anti-themism exploding from the “Far Left is Best” attack bullies of the Democratic Party and the ultra-conservative, “white-is-right” arm in the Republican Party, the gap between common sense and senseless partisanship is as wide as any time in our history.
The Republican Party is being held captive by a bevy of radicals (some newbies and some old hats trying to stay in power), a corps of Trumpuppet aginners elected on platforms of hate and division. These professional naysayers have pledged to run the country’s fiscal future and global standing aground rather than work for compromise on key issues: pandemic response, education, continued economic recovery, deficit and debt, hand-up funds for the nation’s poor and disadvantaged, the future of foreign aid, immigration reform and right-to-vote issues.
On the other side of the aisle, young representatives joined with long-time socialist advocate Bernie Sanders to demand reforms in climate change, gun laws, introduction of specific socialistic programs, open borders and equality — in human rights and opportunity, but even when the “right” has not been earned or is not fiscally practical.
No longer does the art of compromise have a prominent place in political discourse; the legislative miracles accomplished with Republican Ronald Reagan and Democrat Tim O’Neill are ancient history. President Bill Clinton, despite his personal problems in the White House, built a legacy of compromise with Republicans via the passage of the bipartisan welfare reform act and the bill that unregulated the financial institution (not the best piece of legislation to pass but it was a “compromise”.) Under Clinton, a “free-spending Democrat”, our government had its last budget surplus.
Clinton was not a political chameleon as many opponents charged, then and now; he was a civil rights liberal and a fiscal conservative…perhaps the last of that particular political species we will see in our lifetime. More of his ilk (politically speaking, not on a personal level) is needed.
In a positive political environment, Republicans and Democrats prosper, as both sides use compromise as a way to get at least part of the individual parties’ (and individual lawmakers’) agenda enacted.
In today’s heated environment, which is a buttress of pettiness, rock-hard immovable stances on key issues and political division, rancor and bully-boy tactics is commonplace. Civility is something found only in a dictionary; bile and bitterness flows down the aisles of both houses of Congress like stagnant wastewater.
As a people, we are into using “labels” for individuals and ideas rather than looking at different ways to build a coalition embracing different views to form the basis of compromise legislation.
The overall political picture is further clouded by deep-pocket lobbying groups and special interests that back candidates based on single-issue stances rather than what is the best pathway for the country.
In a word, the present political melting pot is a mess of unappetizing ingredients, heated over a coal-fire of personal dislike, whiney-baby rhetoric and further fueled by our elected officials afraid of being removed from office by a demanding constituency that puts short-term interests over long-term national gains.
Is it too late to stop the slide that could end up with America as a non-player on the global scene? It is not too late. We have a new start with this new president.
But with the specter of Donald Trump hovering over the landscape, with the festering divisions and red-hot political rhetoric heating up social media, with our present crop of ME-in-the-spotlight legislators, and with no way to get them out of the way sans term limits, the present is looking more and more like the future.
Only we, the voters, can change it. The question is: Do WE have the will, the courage, the determination to say, ‘Enough!”
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We know which way Trump’s cult leans Mindless, brainless, feckless fiends They believe all his lies Breaking all rational ties As they create regular chaotic scenes
What is awaiting ahead of us? Do we still fight, scream and cuss? What really lies ahead? Will democracy be dead? Any rational subjects to discuss?
We’ll see the future before too long Let’s stand together and be strong Learn from the past Build our nation to last Let’s make “rights” from all the “wrongs”
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* A misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular person or thing.
“a cult of personality”
If you are a believer in the actions, deeds, musings and pronouncements of President Donald Trump despite his constant stream of lies, deranged attacks on enemies and allies, blatant examples of inciting his followers to commit unlawful acts, and being responsible for the failed efforts to control the pandemic in this country, you are a member of a cult:
If you are a politician and believe your livelihood , your freedom, and, your very life, is umbilically connected to supporting the president, right or wrong, you are a cult member.
If you see Trump as a messenger from God, sent to do battle with the liberal elements trying to turn America into a socialist nation, you are a member of the Cult of Trump.
If you see the president as being solely responsible for the uptick in the stock market and refuse to recognize the steady growth in stocks since 2010, you are a cult member.
If you do not see a
systemic racist bent of the white establishment in the US, or acknowledge Trump actively encourages members of the white supremacy movement, you a card-carry cult member.
If you believe the president is an honest businessman, ignoring his six bankruptcies, thousands of lawsuits from former business contacts, the shutting down of his foundation for misuse of funds, the close of Trump University and massive cash settlement with former students on charges of fraud and giving his cozying up to the world’s most abusive dictators a pass, you are a Trump cultist.
Do you believe the president focused his attention and the immense power of the federal government on attacking the COVID virus and minimizing its effect on US citizens, or still believe the virus is a hoax and scientists are double-dead-dog wrong, you are a cult member.
And, if you refuse to denounce his fiery words on January 6 when he gave his followers tacit permission to “attack” the nation’s Capitol, leading to five deaths and extensive property damage…look in the mirror and you’ll see a member of Trump’s cult.
President Trump incited an insurrection of citizens against the government because he could not accept the absolute fact he lost the 2020 race for re-election.
He will go down in history as a liar, an insurrectionist and the most corrupt president in the nation’s history.
Don’t be a part of that legacy. Make a decision to leave the cult…now.
Help save American by, first, saving yourself.
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“…Despite the outstanding questions and challenges in delivering these vaccines, it is hard not to be excited about these findings and the existence of three safe and efficacious COVID-19 vaccines, with a further 55 already in clinical trials.1…
This is the first report of efficacy against COVID-19 for a non-profit vaccine aiming for global supply, equity, and commitment to low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs),4, 5 and as such its publication is very welcomed.”
J. Harris: Apparently the vaccine hasn’t been well studied in those over 70 Y/O. It did gather some data about immunity after mistakenly using half doses of the vaccine. The vaccine should sell for $2-3/dose.
This is the British/Oxford vaccine and will be used in India as well.
“Most duplicate publications of RCTs conducted in mainland China in this study were cross-language duplicates and unreferenced republications of the main articles. Duplicate publication bias exists when the main articles were published in Chinese, potentially misleading readers and compromising journals and evidence synthesis.”
All phase 1A and 1B individuals are eligible to receive a vaccine at these hubs, no matter where they live.
Phase 1A includes front-line health care workers and residents at long-term care facilities, while phase 1B includes people over 65 or with a chronic medical condition that puts them at increased risk for severe illness from COVID‑19.
People should not show up to a hub if they don’t have an appointment. Providers are focusing on vaccinating areas and populations hardest hit by COVID‑19, DSHS said.
According to the state, vaccine supplies are limited but more supply is coming every week.
For week five of the vaccine allocation, NET Health and UT Health Science Center at Tyler each received 1,500 doses of the vaccine.
NET Health CEO George Roberts said the health district will be hosting vaccine drive-thru clinics at Harvey Convention Center in Tyler every week based on an appointment and waiting list system. To become a part of the waiting list, visit nethealthcovid19.org.
The drive-thru vaccinations began last Friday and Saturday, and the next event will likely be this Tuesday and Wednesday. Those on the waiting list are the first called on an appointment.
Appointments are full at UT Health Science Center at Tyler, but UT Health East Texas said Friday that officials will publicize the next appointment availability through the media. Appointments began on Monday, and people used an online link to sign up for these appointments as well.
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I checked the news shows on several networks this morning. All had Republicans and Democrats on air saying that President Trump committed an impeachable act on January 6, 2021.
There were a variety of viewpoints about whether he should be impeached with only 10 days left in office. The “no” and “yes” answers did not break along party lines. Those that said “no” said it was time for the country to move on. Others thought it was important to demonstrate that the President of the United States is not above the law.
Senator Mitch McConnell has said that if the House impeaches President Trump the trial in the Senate could not start before 20 January. The Senators are on a needed vacation.
It appears to me the solution is simple.
This week the House of Representatives should take up the question of impeachment. I understand that the vote on impeachment could come as early as Wednesday. Every Representative can cast a vote. This will let the voters know whether the Representative supports Donald Trump or the Constitution and the rule of law in the country. By Thursday Donald J. Trump could be Impeached.
This would give Trump a slap on the wrist for trying to destroy democracy in the United States.
The Constitution does not specify when the Speaker of the House has to send the articles to the Senate so she should hold them as long as she wants. She should hold the Impeachment paper. Mitch has said that the Senate cannot take impeachment up until after 20 January so there is no need to clutter his desk with Impeachment papers.
If Trump is a good boy for the next 10 days she could decide to just never forward the Impeachment papers. If Trump is a bad boy and acts up as expected by many, she could send the papers over after deciding if additional articles should be added.
The new Democrate Majority Leader of the Senate could schedule the Impeachment trial if required. Let’s all hope that it will not be required.
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Current Texas Data only intermittently available these days.
J. Harris: I think, on the basis of the currently available information, the vaccines will cover the mutations. I feel more comfortable that two injections are better than one. Some of the information below is understandable.
Current Mutation Info from Hopkins:
EMERGING VARIANTS Information and analyses continue to emerge about newly identified SARS-CoV-2 variants, most notably B.1.1.7 (first identified in the UK) and B.1.351 (first identified in South Africa). Both variants appear to be more transmissible than the variants that circulated earlier in the pandemic, including those that are still circulating widely in most places around the world, but research is ongoing to fully characterize them. Perhaps the biggest concern is the potential that these variants could be less susceptible to newly authorized vaccines or therapeutic drugs. Preliminary research (preprint), conducted by researchers at Pfizer and the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), provides evidence that the Pfizer vaccine is efficacious against both the B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 variants. The study was conducted on blood specimens collected from vaccinated individuals, as opposed to data collected from clinical trials in humans, but it does provide initial confidence that the vaccine will remain a capable tool against the new variants.
Another study published recently (preprint) by researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Seattle, Washington, US), analyzed the effects of various mutations on the virus’ susceptibility to antibody treatments. The researchers found that variants with the E484K mutation, such as the B.1.351 variant, “have greatly reduced susceptibility to neutralization by the…serum antibodies of some individuals.” In fact, they observed decreased neutralization on the order of 10-fold or greater for variants with this mutation. They believe this is a result of changes to the receptor binding domain, which stimulates the majority of the antibody response. Notably, the researchers found that the N501Y mutation present in the B.1.1.7 variant “is unlikely to greatly affect neutralization by most human sera,” an encouraging indication. Further research is needed to better characterize the effects of these and other emerging variants—including their effects on disease severity, transmissibility, and susceptibility to medical countermeasures —but these studies provide insight into the potential impact these variants can have on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yesterday about 12:20 pm I turned my computer on to get an update on the GA Senate race. I didn’t turn my computer off for more than 11 hours as I watched:
a traitorous mob of ….. incited and directed by the President of the United States ransack the Capital building – last done by the British during the War of 1812;
our U.S. Representatives, Senators and Vice President escorted to a “safe building”;
watched for hours as no one or group attempted to arrest the traitors or even remove the traitors from the Capital Building;
eventually watched as the traitors wander off to other areas of the Capital grounds;
listened to reports of our Congress people and the Vice President being returned under heavily armed police, etc. to the Capital;
watched both houses take back up the Constitutional work of counting and approving the previously state approved Electoral Votes and
finally going to bed after the Congress approved the State of Arizona Electoral Votes that of course had been challenged by state’s rights Republicans – have these Republicans no shame.
Most ironic photograph of the traitorous, trump cultist mob are trumpers carrying Confederate battle flags through the halls of Congress. A Republican President and Congress kept an illegal Confederate army from allowing this to happen only to have another Republican President and Congressmen support the invasion of the Capital building by those carrying confederate battle flags.
Saddest photograph was the traitorous trumpers tearing down a U.S. flag flying in front of the Capitol building and replacing it with a Trump flag. If this removal of a U.S. flag and raising of a (foreign) trump flag on the Capitol Building isn’t insurrection, what is?
Tom
Mr. Biden will become President at noon on Jan. 20, and until then the police need to restore order with as much force as necessary. Republicans especially need to speak against trespass and violence. As for Mr. Trump, to steal some famous words deployed in 1940 against Neville Chamberlain : “In the name of God, go.”
Wall Street Journal, Editorial Board
For four years, Trump’s critics have been accused of hysteria and hyperbole for describing his movement as fascist, authoritarian, or lawless. Today, as Congress attempts to certify the election of a new president, the president has vindicated those critics. In attempting this coup, Trump has also vindicated the Americans who voted decisively in November to remove him from office.
Trump has, over his term, lost the House, the presidency and now the Senate. He has turned states like Georgia and Arizona blue. I hope that Republican officeholders, especially in the Senate and House, are learning lessons.
What the pro-Trump rioters attacked was not only a building but also the Constitution, the electoral system, our democratic process. They humiliated the United States before the world and left America’s enemies chortling. They will be remembered as Benedict Arnolds.
Nicholas Kristof, NYT
“Some senators, for political gain, misled supporters about their ability to challenge the election results – some even sent out fundraising emails while insurrectionists stormed the Capital. That stops now –Republicans ought to focus on countering the Democrats’ radical agenda.” Senator Tom Cotton (R)
Republicans blame Trump after his supporters storm Capitol: ‘Enough is enough’
Fox News
Some (not all – Tom) Republicans placed the blame on President Trump after a group of his supporters besieged the U.S. Capitol building on Wednesday, voicing frustration with the president for fomenting the riot with his rhetoric about the election.
Within the span of just a few hours, what began as a rally to support the president descended into a mob that stormed the Capitol during the certification of the Electoral College vote, forcing lawmakers, staff and reporters to shelter in place in both the House and Senate. One woman was shot and later died.
Several in the GOP cited Trump’s refusal to concede to Joe Biden, his threats against fellow Republicans who disagreed with him and his insistence during his 70-minute speech that he wanted followers gathered on the National Mall to go to the Capitol in protest of what he said was a stolen election as the reason behind the violence.
“We witnessed today the damage that can result when men in power and responsibility refuse to acknowledge the truth,” Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., said from the Senate floor. “We saw bloodshed because a demagogue chose to spread falsehoods and sow distrust of his own fellow Americans. Let’s not abet such deception.”
In social media posts later removed by Facebook and Twitter, Trump – who has maintained, without evidence, that the election was rigged – told the rioters “we love you” and “you’re very special,” but asked them to “stay peaceful” and later to “go home.” Early Thursday morning, Trump promised there would be an “orderly transition of power” on Jan. 20 when Biden is inaugurated.
Republicans who have closely aligned themselves with the president over the past four years implored Trump to stand down.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., a 2024 Republican hopeful, said it was “past time” for the president to accept defeat and released a statement calling on Trump to concede.
“It’s past time for the president to accept the results of the election, quit misleading the American people and repudiate mob violence,” Cotton said.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., one of Trump’s closest Capitol Hill allies, said “enough is enough” and told the president to “count me out.”
“Trump and I, we had a hell of a journey,” Graham said on the Senate floor Wednesday night. “I hate it being this way. Oh my God, I hate it … But today all I can say is count me out. Enough is enough. I tried to be helpful.”
Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 Senate Republican, said Trump’s rhetoric “sure didn’t help” matters.
“Certainly encouraging people to go to the Capitol and some of the sort of implied suggestions I think are you know … they just encourage the wrong behavior,” Thune said.
Asked whether he wanted to hear about what Trump said about the violence, Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said he “didn’t want to hear anything.”
“I think it was a tragic day,” Blunt said. “And he was part of it.”
Some of the president’s frequently outspoken critics were more direct, with Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, calling the riot “an insurrection incited by the president of the United States.”
“We gather due to a selfish man’s injured pride, and the outrage of supporters who he has deliberately misinformed for the past two months and stirred to action this very morning,” Romney said. “What happened today was an insurrection incited by the president of the United States.”
The Republican Party is now walking to the edge of moral irredeemability. I say this as someone who, until 2016, had always voted the straight Republican ticket and who, until this week, had hoped that Republicans would hold the Senate as a way of tilting the Biden administration to the center. I say this also of the party generally, and not of the courageous individual Republicans — Brad Raffensperger, Mitt Romney, Denver Riggleman, Larry Hogan, Ben Sasse (the list is depressingly short) — who have preserved their principles, maintained their honor and kept their heads these past five years.
But there is no getting away from the extent to which leading party members and their cheerleaders in the right-wing media are complicit in creating the political atmosphere in which this Visigothic sacking of the Capitol took place.
Some of these charlatans are now trying to disavow Wednesday’s violence in carefully phrased tweets. But Cruz, Hawley, Pence and the other Bitter-Enders have done far more lasting damage to Congress than the mob that — merely by following their lead — physically trashed it. Broken doors can be fixed. Broken parties cannot.
Above all there is the president, not complicit but wholly, undeniably and unforgivably responsible.
For five years, Republicans let him degrade political culture by normalizing his behavior. For five years, they let him wage war on democratic norms and institutions. For five years, they treated his nonstop mendacity as a quirk of character, not a disqualification for office. For five years, they treated his rallies as carnivals of democracy, not as training grounds for mob rule.
For five years, they thought this was costless. On Wednesday — forgive the cliché, but it’s apt here — their chickens came home to roost.
Every decent society depends for its survival on its ability to be shocked — and stay shocked — by genuinely shocking behavior. Donald Trump’s entire presidency has been an assault on that idea.
There is only one prescription for it now. Impeach the president and remove him from office now. Ban him forever from office now. Let every American know that, in the age of Trump, there are some things that can never be allowed to stand, most of all Trump himself.
Bret L. Stephens has been an Opinion columnist with The Times since April 2017. He won a Pulitzer Prize for commentary at The Wall Street Journal in 2013 and was previously editor in chief of The Jerusalem Post.
Tom Allin
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The Republican Party, the entity associated with Ronald Reagan, the Double Bushes and Donald J. Trump, was jerked to Jesus January 6th, 2021 with the defeat of not one, but two, Republican senatorial candidates in the Deep South state of Georgia.
David “Pious” Perdue and Kelly “Billionaire” Loeffler were sent to the political showers by Rev. Raphael Warnock, an in-your-face black activist, and Jon Ossoff, a 33-year-old progressive Jew who is an investigative journalist and documentary producer.
What-the-hell? is that all about? Democrats won? In Georgia?
Four words are the sole reasons for this stunning political upset, and the reasons the U.S. senate swapped from Republican to Democratic Party control. The four words: Donald Trump AND Stacey Abrams.
President Donald Trump did everything he thought he had to do to make sure the two incumbent Republican senators were re-elected. He verbally pounded their opponents, tweeted constantly about the race and how important it was to HIS agenda (forgetting/ignoring he’s on his way out), made several appearances at rallies where he juiced the effort that indicated he was promoting their candidacies and raised money he said would help their advertising efforts in the runoff.
Therein lies a big part of the problem. Trump does not know when to shut up, when to turn off his verbose tweeter and let nature take its course. He badmouthed the Democratic candidates to the point that some on-the-fence-sitters felt sorry for them and cast pity votes; at rallies he talked about the injustices he has suffered rather than concentrate on Perdue’s and Loeffler’s re-election efforts; he raised money, but a lion’s share went into his personal “campaign” chest.
The announcement in the weeks before the election that Loeffler had reached billionaire status, and that Perdue had become even richer during the economic downturn did not help their chances.
But, on the other side of the political equation, there is Abrams, who saw voter suppression ploys by the state Republican Party eliminate her chance to be Georgia governor in 2018. Rather than wailing and whining about that obvious injustice, she decided to change the system with her get-out-the-vote campaign. Her efforts resulted in historic voter registration and in turnout, which led to not only two Democratic senators from the state being elected, but also in the control of the U.S. Senate moving from the GOP to the Democratic Party.
Furthermore, by kowtowing to Trump’s whims and wiles, members of the party he most recently adopted, finds itself on the slippery slope to maintaining any national significance.
Do you see it? Do you see the writing in the Capitol rotunda?
There is no more Republican Party; it does not exist. There is the Party of Trump, and there is the other so-called Republicans who believe in fiscal responsibility and compassionate conservatism. Divided they have no concentrated power; working on opposite agendas, they are murmurs in a hurricane. Shrinking their base instead of becoming more inclusive guarantees – GUARANTEES! – they become an also-ran in any national discussion or election.
If you are a Donald Trump supporter, give him kudos for starting a new political party that will continue to have a divisive impact in isolated political races, but are mere noisy and noxious verbal flatulence in races and issues of national importance.
If you believe the Democrats stole the 2020 presidential election and the Georgia senatorial races, you are double-dead-dog wrong. Blame two people for that political miracle: Donald Trump and Stacey Abrams.
And all of those elements can be directly attributed as a big part of the reason his hand-picked candidates lost, and Democrats control the executive and legislative branches of government beginning January 20, 2011.
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