Four Seasons Total Landscaping

[Nubbins]

So, holy fuckin shit, today huh? Nice knowing you guys.

[nacho]

So, holy fuckin shit, today huh? Nice knowing you guys.

I'm still speechless (and awake...)

[Nubbins]

Same here... still trying to wrap my head around this.

What's the over/under on Trump resigning before Jan 20? I say the odds are good, particularly if he hasn't damaged his relationship with Pence so much that he'll manage to eke out a pardon.

[nacho]

Same here... still trying to wrap my head around this.

What's the over/under on Trump resigning before Jan 20? I say the odds are good, particularly if he hasn't damaged his relationship with Pence so much that he'll manage to eke out a pardon.

Oh, man, he only has 11 days left. Nothing's going to happen.

And all these assholes are planning to march again on the 20th...which will be even worse than this if they do.

[nacho]

More and more this feels like a proper, organized coup. The rioters who were prepared for stronger resistance and had zip ties, the methodical way they went about this, the cops in the crowd. That one cop that's being chased is leading folks to where he thought (and there should have been) a whole bunch of cops. But then he gets up there and finds himself alone at a door that is never unguarded.

[Nubbins]

More and more this feels like a proper, organized coup. The rioters who were prepared for stronger resistance and had zip ties, the methodical way they went about this, the cops in the crowd. That one cop that's being chased is leading folks to where he thought (and there should have been) a whole bunch of cops. But then he gets up there and finds himself alone at a door that is never unguarded.

This is what I've been saying and feeling since I watched this unfold live on Wednesday... how is it possible they got so far so fast with so little resistance? I also read this morning that rioters breached the House floor at 2:16 pm, one minute after Capitol Police had finished escorting everyone to safety.

Gallows erected outside, reports of people talking about assassinations, chants of "Hang Mike Pence"... not a good look for the MAGA crowd at all.

And why did it take so long for cops or the National Guard to show up? Who was pulling the strings there?

What was Trump doing, like... minute by minute... as this unfolded?

It's such a weird feeling... I feel like we lived through another 9/11 of sorts? That's what it feels like in my guts, anyway. I also feel conflicted... that something needs to be done now and he needs to be removed from office or forced to resign, but I'm also aware that everything needs to be set up for as smooth a transition to Biden's administration as is possible and he needs to be given space to act quickly on his priorities in the first 100 days.

I guess my fear is the longer consequences for this are held off, the more time Trump and his team/apologists/supporters have to change the narrative... although, this one's gonna be mighty tough for them to change, you know, given that they're domestic terrorists at this point.

[nacho]

And now they're arresting capital hill cops and DoD officials for involvement and collusion.

Ryan confirmed that there are approximately 10 to 15 Capitol Police officers under investigation for their behavior during the riot, but he did not have specific details.

This was a fucking organized coup.

When that bitch got shot through the throat, the rioters called for a medic...and had medics ready to treat her.

[Nubbins]

And now they're arresting capital hill cops and DoD officials for involvement and collusion.

Ryan confirmed that there are approximately 10 to 15 Capitol Police officers under investigation for their behavior during the riot, but he did not have specific details.

This was a fucking organized coup.

When that bitch got shot through the throat, the rioters called for a medic...and had medics ready to treat her.

I feel like it's going to take years for all that happened that day to come to light. None of the details that keep coming to light make this seem like just a protest... it was organized and came incredibly close to succeeding in... something.

Watching the House debate impeachment. I know it's a tired cliche, but we really do inhabit two realities in America. The fact that there are Republicans who can muster the nerve to stand up and speak out against impeachment in the interests of "unity" is just astounding to me. They're basically objecting to the rushed process of the impeachment, not the actual offenses themselves. I know I'm a biased liberal, but holy fuck... what does Trump have to do to lose their support if an attempt to violently overthrow the government isn't enough?

Also, bracing for more violence this week...  I will be amazed if we get through inauguration without more bloodshed.

[nacho]

Oh, shit, I was glued to the TV all day yesterday. I couldn't believe some of the GOP. The lunatic ranting and essentially being dragged away from the podium routine is what got me.

Okay, you have a side to argue. But...does it help that side if you act like a rabid madman howling at the moon? All the Dems did these measured, sometimes impassioned speeches with time left over whereas half the GOP thought they were on The Gong Show.

And then the near party line vote. That amazed me as well. Only 10 of them broke ranks? Even their own party leaders are saying we need to "purge" Trump.

[Nubbins]

It's all playing political chess, even something as clearly un-American as a Capitol fuckin siege. I guess it shouldn't really surprise me. All the people sticking with Trump are still betting his masses of followers will follow and bolster their own campaigns.

Trumpism is probably here to stay in some form or another, but as far as Donald's sway on it goes, I think he's toast. We'll see the GOP limp away and come back in two or four years with a Trumpist who actually knows what they're doing and that's when we'll be in real trouble. I sometimes wonder how much Trump's bumbling, self-obsessed MO on the daily actually may have saved us from the worst of the possibilities he presented had he been a competent human being. Although, 10 months into a pandemic, social unrest unlike any we've seen since the 60s, a completely devastated economy, historic unemployment, and on the brink of our second Civil War... not sure how much worse it can get.

[nacho]

It's all playing political chess, even something as clearly un-American as a Capitol fuckin siege. I guess it shouldn't really surprise me. All the people sticking with Trump are still betting his masses of followers will follow and bolster their own campaigns.

Trumpism is probably here to stay in some form or another, but as far as Donald's sway on it goes, I think he's toast. We'll see the GOP limp away and come back in two or four years with a Trumpist who actually knows what they're doing and that's when we'll be in real trouble. I sometimes wonder how much Trump's bumbling, self-obsessed MO on the daily actually may have saved us from the worst of the possibilities he presented had he been a competent human being. Although, 10 months into a pandemic, social unrest unlike any we've seen since the 60s, a completely devastated economy, historic unemployment, and on the brink of our second Civil War... not sure how much worse it can get.

I have been talking to folks a lot about the fall of the Roman Republic. It all starts 40 years or so before Caesar with Sulla's dictatorship where he slowly dismantles the sharply divided Republic. His actions push the polarization (the elite vs. the common folk) to insane levels and results in a 50/50 divide in the senate, essentially crippling any progress Rome can make.

Sulla has an ignominious exit and essentially lives in sad exile, writing his memoirs, and being an occasional statesman for his extremist supporters in the Senate. His actions and precedents, though, pave the way for Caesar. i.e., that "Trumpist who actually knows what they're doing and that's when we'll be in real trouble."

All this is good news if my Roman analogy steers the course. If the American Republic fails we can look forward to an authoritarian regime that puts us in the center of a kleptocratic, culturally-genocidal empire that lasts for hundreds of years! We're, arguably, already at that stage. *hums McDonald's jingle*

[RottingCorpse]

All this is good news if my Roman analogy steers the course. If the American Republic fails we can look forward to an authoritarian regime that puts us in the center of a kleptocratic, culturally-genocidal empire that lasts for hundreds of years! We're, arguably, already at that stage. *hums McDonald's jingle*

Sorry? I couldn't hear you with this revolver in my mouth.

I can't believe the softball media coverage on this. Usually, I roll my eyes at the "I can't believe the softball media coverage on this" people, but I'm just shocked that it's mostly covered like, "Just another day in Trumpland." "He'll be gone soon." "Don't look this way. Look that way."

I'm actually pretty terrified about tomorrow. I've seen more than one comparison of the National Mall to the Baghdad Green Zone. I fear downtown DC in the 2020s is going to resemble downtown Beirut in the 1980s for the foreseeable future. I think the U.S. is about to get a (long overdue?) taste of what its like to live in one of those countries we destabilize.

I'm absolutely terrified about tomorrow.

[nacho]

So I've been crying since Gaga took the stage. So far so good. All the church bells have been ringing since he was official, here in the burbs and all across the city.

[RottingCorpse]

Man, that has to feel great. DC has been a city under siege for close to a year now.

I'm just happy comeptenet people are going to be running shit fro a t least a little while. It transcends politics for me almost. Just give me some actual god damned leadership.

[Nubbins]

Jen Psaki's press conferences are so polite! I'm not used to the press secretary complimenting reporters' masks vs shouting their questions down as fake news.