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2021-01-07 14:44:44 UTC: UPDATE (See below the fold).
Pro-Trump rioters breach the US Capitol on historic day in Congress:
Supporters of President Donald Trump breached the US Capitol on Wednesday while Congress was meeting to certify the Electoral College's votes for president and vice president.
The Capitol has been put on lockdown and the certification vote has been paused. Vice President Mike Pence was evacuated from the building. House and Senate leadership is safe and in undisclosed locations, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Congress' counting of electoral votes is typically little more than an afterthought. But this joint session was expected to be a contentious affair that would last late into the evening and possibly on Thursday. Some Republicans are objecting to the count and delaying the inevitable certification of President-elect Joe Biden's win.
Also at AlJazeera (In Pictures: Pro-trump mob storms US Capitol building) and c|net (Mob storms Capitol forcing halt of election vote count).
[2021-01-06 22:33:53 UTC; UPDATE] NOTE: This is a chaotic time.
The Electoral College votes are currently being confirmed and tallied. Runoff votes in Georgia are being tallied and the results may swing the balance of power in the US Senate. The Georgia secretary of state [has been] relocated from [State] Capitol for security reasons. Mitch McConnell goes off on Trump. Pro-Trump reporter gloats over access to fleeing Hill staffer's computer. And Trump hand-picks replacement for Atlanta's US attorney after surprise resignation.
Let's please try and keep the discussion civil.
Also, please be polite and share your popcorn!
[Updates Begin]:
(1) Fox News reports Biden's Electoral College victory certified -- hours after Capitol chaos:
The U.S. Congress early Thursday certified the Electoral College vote that gave Democrat Joe Biden his presidential victory -- after a day in Washington that was marred by pro-Trump protesters storming the U.S. Capitol.
Vice President Mike Pence, who had announced he would not overturn the will of voters, confirmed the Biden victory at 3:41 a.m. ET.
Lawmakers had returned to the chamber in an act of defiance, with some Republicans who initially vowed to challenge states' results due to voter fraud concerns announcing they'd instead vote to certify.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called the breach of the Capitol a "failed insurrection," adding that those who "tried to disrupt our democracy" had not succeeded.
(2) President Trump "Responds" via Staffer's Twitter Account after His Account was Suspended:
Statement by President Donald J. Trump on the Electoral Certification:
"Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th. I have always said we would continue our...
...fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted. While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it's only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!"
(3) Facebook, Twitter lock Trump's account following video addressing Washington rioters:
- Twitter and Facebook on Wednesday said they would lock the account of President Donald Trump after he continued to make false claims about the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
- Facebook, YouTube and Twitter on Wednesday removed a video by President Donald Trump addressing Washington rioters.
- Meanwhile, calls are mounting for Twitter and Facebook to suspend Trump's accounts.
(4) The Associated Press has called the results for the Georgia Senate elections: both Democratic candidates defeated their GOP opponents:
With projected victories in the twin races of Warnock and Ossoff, President-elect Joe Biden will have the narrowest majority in the Senate, with both parties holding 50-50 seats apiece, allowing the tie-breaking vote to be cast by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
Also at The New York Times.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 06 2021, @10:54PM (51 children)
Ok: Trump’s full statement on the violence in Charlottesville [youtube.com] published Aug 14, 2017 and available from the Washington Post YouTube channel with a checkmark and everything. From the description:
Rather different take than the popular opinion about what he said. 81,915 views on the video. It's almost like people don't want to see it.
I bet you are quite glad to hear Trump denounced white supremacists so you don't have to hate him for that anymore. And of course you have the intellectual honesty to work to correct the record.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 06 2021, @11:06PM (26 children)
And yet here they are, storming the chambers of Congress. Hmm.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 06 2021, @11:59PM (25 children)
What evidence do you have that they are white supremacists?
(Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @12:38AM
Feelz
(Score: 5, Insightful) by crb3 on Thursday January 07 2021, @12:44AM (22 children)
The Confederate flags they're carrying.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @12:58AM
https://www.ajc.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/photos-they-black-and-they-proud-the-confederate-flag/by06A6ywMrqi7mYP9A1jmO/ [ajc.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @01:10AM (20 children)
Waving a Confederate flag is not a good look and it's not a look I'd go for myself. I'm not prepared to call every single person who waves one or all of the people who are next to people who are waving one as a white supremacist though.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @01:26AM (11 children)
I am. We have had enough of this treason shit!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @01:31AM (5 children)
If you think things are bad now, you're going to love the next few decades.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Thursday January 07 2021, @02:03AM (4 children)
Those may not be fun, but the next few years will be, even from my perspective. Biden or Kamaltoe "Suck cock all the way to the top" Harris will now have to explain to everybody why Antifa, BLM, and COVID-19 will magically disappear -- at least for another 4 years. If they continue the lockdowns, they're gonna get raped in 2022 and recall movements (like Newsom's, already at 60% and rising) will revive bipartisan hatred against the more chosen politicians. The previous 4 years saw the talking heads go from "There's no such thing as a deep state" to "Yes, we are the deep state and only we know what's best for you." Some states will continue to thumb their nose at Washington, and if the Soros-funded ChiCom-aligned lawyers in the ACLU and EFF try to overturn their wishes in the Supreme Court, then we're back to square 1 with Capitols being stormed. Oh, did I mention that people would be continuing to panic-buy guns and ammo at accelerated rates that whole time?
We'll see more and more progressives and other lefties get tastes of their own medicine and fired or arrested for not using proper pronouns, refusing unsafe vaccines, and having family gatherings amidst a hoax "pandemic" that nobody in the checkout line believes -- much less the fuckhuge number of people including health professionals already refusing the vaccine. Women will drop out of sports because they can't compete against trannies. More and more parents will pull their kids out of school because of a few of those previously-mentioned reasons. Young Progressives, already battered with employment prospects, will be forced out of the workplace to make room for minimum-wage Mexicans and Africans while the few who did make it will be forced out in favor of imported Indians and Chinese getting paid a third of their salaries.
More and more people will seek alternatives for news now that everything everywhere is complete bullshit, the NFL and NBA are ruined irrecoverably due to going all-in on the COVID hoax and woke bullshit. Social media will solidify into boring circle-jerks with Trump gone or continue to be fixated on him to the point of looking like deranged weirdos. People won't consume tiresome Hollywood bullshit or TV now that everything is all-agenda, no substance. I won't even tell you what damage woke bullshit did to comedy.
And that's only if the Democrats follow through with what they say they are. Otherwise, Trumpers can laugh at their disillusionment when Biden throws them under the bus and tells them to fuck off -- at least until they pull Bernie and the Squad out from under the coffee table in 4 years to get the morons excited at the prospect of another White Jew (which, unfortunately for them, won't be Bernie) as president.
Might as well make lemonade from lemons.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @03:03AM
Eth has had to move in with family? Can't get another job after the racism incident at his last job? Downward spiral, eh? Poor sot.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @10:41PM (2 children)
Dude...you've got more projection issues than a run down movie theater!
I would like to remind you of your own comment: [soylentnews.org]
You are truly a prescient fellow, just a little bit off on calling which side does all that stuff.
(Score: -1) by Ethanol-fueled on Thursday January 07 2021, @11:34PM (1 child)
That is exactly what happened had there not been cheating.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 10 2021, @07:18PM
A to think people went years thinking you were just a troll and not the racist douche bag you've always been.
You know what, I'm feeling generous. We'll let you have your election fraud claims, but then we'll skip the trials and.convict Trump of treason for colluding with Russia to infiltrate the US presidency. Yo boi is now in prison, and you're still an impotent little prick whose family still hates him.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @01:40AM (1 child)
Throw this white supremacist in jail then: https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ajc/UPENYNAX3BXXYUBCULDXL42CC4.jpg [arcpublishing.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @03:40AM
Hey, that's Thomas. He's my mom's brother.
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Thursday January 07 2021, @02:05AM (1 child)
The US constitution rather clearly defines treason, and waving a confederate flag doesn't count when the Confederacy hasn't existed for over a century. Insurrection, possibly. Sedition, maybe. Incitement to riot, probably. But not treason.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @09:58AM
Wow
"Insurrection, possibly. Sedition, maybe. Incitement to riot, probably."
Let me fix that for you.
Insurrection: an act or instance of rising in revolt, rebellion, or resistance against civil authority or an established government. definitely
Sedition: A revolt or an incitement to revolt against established authority, usually in the form of Treason or Defamation against government. definitely
Incitement to riot: no definition needed, obviously
Treason: likely but this one is legally a bit trickier in the US. Here is what this site had to say about it https://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/treason.htm [criminaldefenselawyer.com]
From the Constitution - "Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court."
The elements of treason are the same under state and federal law:
the defendant owes allegiance to the government, and
the defendant intentionally betrays that allegiance by either
levying war against the government, or
giving aid or comfort to the government’s enemies.
------------------------------
So your equivocations about what happened are a very bad look for you. Insurrection, sedition, and incitement to riot happened 100% by Trump, Giuliani, and the mob that stormed the capitol. Don't shy away from this, that is what happened. Come to grips with it, reject the rightwing terrorism brewing in the US, and help us safeguard our country from such attempted coups in the future.
And yes, possibly treason depending on whether the mob's actions can be considered an act of war. They stormed the capitol with weapons and explosives, and whether the treason can be pinned on Trump with his weasel wording that leaves a legal sliver of doubt is yet to be determined.
Believe your eyes and ears, stop listening to what Fox and their propaganda puppets Hannity and Carlson tell you to believe. Use that brain, read the definitions, and decide yourself.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 08 2021, @07:43PM
you aren't going to do shit, but get exterminated like the bitch-ass, laarping neo-bolshevik's useful idiot that you are.
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Thursday January 07 2021, @07:29PM (5 children)
I am.
The Confederacy stood for white supremacy and slavery. They were very open and explicit about it: Their founding documents said that they were trying to leave the USA because they wanted to preserve slavery and that they thought white people were superior to all others. Their politicians gave speeches in support of white supremacy. Their national policies were very much driven by white supremacy.
And the flag commonly called "the Confederate flag" wasn't actually the flag of the Confederacy, it was a modified version of the flag of one of the armies of the Confederacy, popularized as "the Confederate flag" by the second Ku Klux Klan in the late 1910's and 1920's. It rose in prominence again in the 1950's as a symbol of opposition to the Civil Rights Movement, pushed by the third Klan.
That's what it means, and the people who take part in terrorist actions waving that flag around know full well that's what it means.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @10:19PM (4 children)
So were The Dukes of Hazzard racist KKK members who opposed civil rights? And that's why the flag featured so prominently on their car?
Or maybe, just maybe, the flag had come to represent different things to different people by the late 20th century, but because one minority used it to represent something bad, the media saw this one minority use and pushed the simple-minded narrative that it could only ever represent the one bad thing.
Kind of like how slavery-obsessed Americans new to software development cannot comprehend that the term "master" could be used in any other context than historical slavery in the US, and so demand that the term be censored, and that anyone who refuses to do so is racist.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 08 2021, @12:37AM (1 child)
I remember an essay by an African-American about how when he was a boy, the hottest toy was a model of the Gen'l Lee, the Moonshine Runner of the Dukes of Hazzard. Seemed to have messed him up, later in life, when he came to understand what the flag on the roof, and the namesake, meant.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 08 2021, @03:54PM
Precisely my point - until the moment he was "educated", the flag to him probably just represented a sense of Southern-ness - a shared culture and community. There is no racism inherent in the symbol.
As a parallel to the Confederate flag, the USA itself also had slavery enshrined in its original constitution (eg. the 3/5ths compromise). So where are the demands to ban the flag of the USA?
There is no such demand because in the culture of rich white folks with a platform, what the USA flag means now isn't the same as what the USA flag meant then.
But they will do mental flips and twists to deny that the exact same thing could possibly have happened for the Confederate flag.
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Friday January 08 2021, @04:59PM (1 child)
We're talking about fictional characters here, not real people, so we can't do more than speculate. However, if you had the same show, but the Duke boys were black, do you really think that (a) it would have existed in the 1970's as anything other than a 1-time blaxploitation film, and (b) there would be the same sort of "aw shucks" attitude towards the heroes from law enforcement?
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 08 2021, @07:47PM
who gives a shit, you race traitor cuck?
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday January 08 2021, @02:55AM (1 child)
Except they are, by definition. Look at the rationales the Confederate territories gave for secession. It was ALWAYS about slavery, even though a few of them *tried* to dress it up as "states' rights."
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 08 2021, @04:06PM
Look at the original constitution of the USA and you'll see slavery enshrined within it. So should we burn the stars and stripes?
Or should we accept that symbols can change their meaning over time, and come to represent something disinct from their historical origin?
Or should we just let hate groups adopt and corrupt any symbol (eg. the "OK" hand sign) they choose, and thus make them unusable for the rest of society for all eternity?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @04:34AM
(Score: 3, Touché) by pe1rxq on Wednesday January 06 2021, @11:31PM (21 children)
If it takes you two days to decide that the KKK and NAZIs are bad there is something seriously wrong with you.
(Score: 0, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @12:07AM
Trump is fairly disgraceful but it took Trump 2 days to talk about the event at all. The very fine people statement and the 'condemn totally' statement happened at the same press conference.
Perhaps you won't trust a well known extreme right wing biased news source such as USA Today but don't take my word for it [usatoday.com]:
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @12:11AM (18 children)
I know that USA Today is an extremely right wing biased white supremacist news source that can't be trusted at all but according to them it was only a few minutes between very fine people and Nazis are bad. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/10/17/fact-check-trump-quote-very-fine-people-charlottesville/5943239002/ [usatoday.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @12:41AM (17 children)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @12:56AM (16 children)
Oh I didn't realize that. What two different incidents is that?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @01:09AM (3 children)
The speech he gave to the Left and the speech he gave to the Right. They are so different they must have been separate speeches.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @01:27AM (2 children)
It's not the only time that's happened. It seems like everything that comes out of Trump's mouth is said twice: once to the left wing and once to the right wing. It's amazing too because it happens at the same time on the same TV channel but two completely different interpretations.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by HiThere on Thursday January 07 2021, @02:11AM (1 child)
I've occasionally looked carefully as what he said, and the reason for the multiple interpretations is quite clear. What he said didn't make any sense at all when interpreted literally. But if you insisted on parsing it into something with a meaning, the meaning you came out with was the meaning you attributed to him given that you knew the context in which he was speaking. People normally correct for small errors without noticing. And these were "fairly small" errors...but if taken literally they totally destroyed the meaning. So people assume that the "small automatic corrections" they make need to be loosened a bit to allow larger corrections to be made. So they hear what they're willing to hear in a form that makes meaning possible.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @03:05AM
I concur 100% with your analysis and I have shared parts of it with others before. Trump tends to emit word salad and like art it is highly open to interpretation. I haven't yet seen anything people get worked up over Trump saying actually being worth all the noise made over it. Well, I can imagine such a thing if I come at it with preconceived notions about how much of a $thing that Trump is, be it dictator, racist, or grandma murderer. What I see is some vague mostly nonsense that if any value can be extracted at all involves taking what he says with several heavy grains of salt. He likes to wonder out loud, he likes to talk and think at the same time, he doesn't know when to shut up, and his vocabulary isn't very good. I'd say he embarrasses himself but I don't think he knows what that means.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @04:05AM (11 children)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @04:26AM (10 children)
Is there a point you are making that isn't completely discredited by the fact that the Proud Boys are not white supremicists? BLM group, Proud Boys stand together at Salt Lake City press conference [youtube.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @04:40AM (9 children)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @04:51AM (8 children)
Jesus christ your memory is faulty as fuck. Biden suggested Trump denounce the PB. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-q-drlJg1U [youtube.com]
Three people have microphones: Trump, Biden and Wallace. You can tell it wasn't Wallace who said Proud Boys in that jumble. It sure wasn't Trump.
In all cases the request to identify and denounce Proud Boys by name came external from Trump.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @05:32AM (7 children)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @06:15AM (6 children)
What is the required amount of times to denounce white supremacy then? https://www.factcheck.org/2020/02/trump-has-condemned-white-supremacists/ [factcheck.org]
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @06:19AM (4 children)
Just once if it is a sincere condemnation. Trump's condemnations are the lightest criticism immediately followed by "anteefa is the devil" and how bad liberals are. Pretty pathetic, but hey it lets you trolls pretend like white supremacists aren't white supremacists.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @07:53AM (3 children)
I've been witch hunted enough by you fucks to know that if you actually mean and believe what you said that you are utterly unable to identify who is a white supremacist.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @08:00AM (1 child)
"We found a witch! May we burn her?"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @05:21PM
Does she float?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @08:04AM
Uh oh, your brain is imploding.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @03:30PM
Funny that you ask that right after YOU provide a link showing Trump dodging a specific request about denouncing white supremacy. https://soylentnews.org/breakingnews/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=41509&page=1&cid=1096256#commentwrap [soylentnews.org] It's brave of you to accuse others of a witch hunt after you've shot your own case in the foot.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 08 2021, @07:49PM
kkk: someone had to keep the niggers in check. just a fact.
"nazis": jew slur for the nsdap that brainwashed Goi parrot like good little race traitors.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 08 2021, @12:40AM
Here, read this! Outside your bubble, I know, and you might die, but take a look, anyway.
https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2018/09/biggest-fcking-mistake-ive-made-trump-was-furious-after-he-condemned-white-supremacists-and-neo-nazis/ [thenewcivilrightsmovement.com]
Probably no longer the biggest fusking mistake he ever made.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 08 2021, @12:02PM
The media is very selective about what they quote. Not that Trump doesn't say stupid things but so does Biden. It's just that the media kinda ignores it when Biden does it and they make a big deal out of it when Trump does it.
The fact is that Trump is much more articulate than Biden. It's just the way that the media spins it.
It's sad though that Trump is obviously more articulate and more coherent than Biden. It shows how incoherent our politicians are. Trump and Biden are both clowns.