The Capitol Cops and Rioters - WSJ

Americans watched as far-left radicals rioted in many cities, including D.C., attacking police officers and damaging federal property. Democratic leaders were slow to condemn this violence, and progressive prosecutors have been reluctant to press charges against many participants. All of this contributes to a culture of impunity around political violence and emboldens bad actors.

Insurrection Demands Forceful Response - WSJ

Some liberals appear to have shed their reservations about the use of force now that the mob carries different signs and chants different slogans. Some of the same pundits who called roughly half the country “fascists” last year for thinking troops may be necessary to restore order now ask where the troops were on Wednesday. Perhaps they’ve learned the lesson that political violence leads to more political violence.

Sen. Cotton’s point: all insurrection, regardless of affiliation, must be snuffed out under the full weight of law.

Actions by Police Before Trump Supporters Attacked Capitol Backfired Spectacularly - WSJ

In a letter to federal officials on Monday, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser urged federal law enforcement to maintain a light footprint for Wednesday’s protests, seeking to avoid the type of show of force that had inflamed tense situations in the city last year.

Donald Trump’s Final Days - WSJ

It is best for everyone, himself included, if he goes away quietly.

Trump Circumvents Twitter Ban With Emergency Alert System - The Babylon Bee

“The Apprentice just is not as good since I left. Very sad to see the end of a once-great show. Sad!”

Trump Suspended Indefinitely From Facebook Amid Pressure on Social Media to Clamp Down - WSJ

Danielle Citron, a professor at the University of Virginia Law School and longtime member of Twitter’s Trust and Safety board, has previously argued in favor of suspending Mr. Trump’s account, citing harm to public health and U.S. democracy.

Perhaps Trump could suggest that he was merely saber rattling.

Trump’s Trumpian Final Days - WSJ

The conventional wisdom is to blame all this on Mr. Trump for making “baseless claims” about the election. A more honest assessment of the damage done during Mr. Trump’s four years in office would require everyone in politics to take a long look in the mirror.

We can get through this, if we embrace humility.

One may ask: What has been more damaging to Americans’ trust in their political system—the low-rent QAnon fantasy or the white-shoe conspiracy of the Steele dossier?

South Korea Pushes Iran to Release Seized Oil Tanker - WSJ

“We are not hostage takers,” Iran’s government spokesman, Ali Rabiee, said the day after the tanker was seized.

I could never be a spokesman.

Ignorant Republicans Riot And Don’t Even Get Any Big-Screen TVs - The Babylon Bee

“One thing is clear,” said one political analyst. “These people obviously don’t know the sweet, sweet justice of lugging a 60-inch TV back to your apartment to show how much you care about your cause.”

Yesterday, as an angry mob of thousands stormed Capitol Hill, threatening the American system of government, I sat in my living room. Historically, when mobs storm seats of government, they declare a new government. Yesterday’s violence resulted in a few selfies and nothing more. Criminal charges are sure to follow, as they should.

Many were shocked that the riots finally made their way to the Capitol, but we’ve watched the slow march over the past 10 months. Businesses, the homes of local politicians, and even Federal courthouses came under threat from riotous mobs last year. Remember the riot of Inauguration 2016? Dozens arrested, all charges dismissed, no consequences. 2020 was the summer of love, didn’t you hear? Not rioters, just mostly peaceful protesters.

There is a brokenness in our system, but our system was never perfect. We’re a people striving in the world’s first long-term experiment of democracy to form a more perfect Union. We’re blazing a trail, and there will be hiccups. It’s a mistake to believe that this is the darkest time in American history. The Civil War was pretty rough, so was December 1941. The Civil Rights movement did not succeed without enduring horrible violence. As we have before, our nation will prevail.

Here is the real dichotomy. If you went onto the websites of the legacy media, or choked yourself in the toxic environment of Facebook or Twitter yesterday, you would’ve thought that the Republic was over. But if you looked out the front window of your house yesterday afternoon, you would’ve seen just another January day. Thousands rioted in the Capitol, while hundreds of millions of Americans went about their lives, working, and raising their families. The picture of America broadcast on TV and re-tweeted throughout the internet is wholly disconnected from the real America.

A word about credibility. Politicians, never wasting an opportunity, jumped all over the news of yesterday. Many who decried the federal government’s deployment of officers to protect the US Courthouse in Portland last summer complained about the lack of an overwhelming police presence at the Capitol. Some spent months joining the chorus of “defund the police,” and yet who did they ask to save them as they took cover on the floor of the United States Congress? We all make mistakes and take positions, only to change them later based on new information. That’s a sign of maturity. I hope that all political figures understand that virtue signaling does lead to very real and devastating results for people.

Since November 2016, we’ve heard endless conspiracy theories about foreign influence, a special counsel that found nothing, an impeachment over maladministration, and daily cable news innuendo. A large group of political leaders cried wolf again and again, decimating their credibility on the topic of Trump. So yesterday, when the wolf was quite real, who was left to believe them? A cautionary tale to keep a firewall between policy debates and ad hominem attacks.

If you were to look at a list of policy achievements from the Trump Administration, it would be a fairly successful if not boilerplate conservative agenda. Unfortunately, the personality of the man ran rough shod over those achievements. While many have predicted the downfall of Trump since June 2015, and several attempts were made, in the end, it was only Trump that could bring down Trump.

Jeremy Beamon, writing today:

Trump, the disrupter, delivered in a bad way - Washington Examiner

We had only a hint of what Trump, chaos agent, meant until today. And his trespassing crusaders wrecking-balled his last shot at persuasion. I can only imagine that it really, truly ended today.

In two short months, Trump has managed to set the stage for a complete unraveling of his administration’s accomplishments and threw away any chance of his recapturing the presidency in the process. His temper tantrum resulted in double losses on Tuesday, loss of control of the Senate, and the cherry on top of it all was Wednesday’s violence. We have just witnessed the end of Trump as a national figure, a Greek tragedy played out on a national stage.

Misery is sure to ensue in the near-term, with more lockdowns, re-regulation, higher taxes, and a repeat of the anemic economic “recovery” of the early 2010s. But this is the beauty of the American system. Sometimes one party is in control, and at other times another. In the end, though, no one is in power long enough to completely trash the entire system. And for that, we owe a debt of gratitude to our Founding Fathers.

Dinner is served! One of my favorites.

Mostly Peaceful Protestors Breach US Capitol - The Babylon Bee

some peace-loving and very non-violent protestors stormed the Capitol building in Washington D.C. and attempted to occupy it in support of Trump.

Who knew that with just a decade of hard work, Twitter and Facebook could turn our country into this.

The taxing authority failed its audit, resulting in a loss of $1.75M in school funding from the state, which the property owners must now bear.

I’ve called them three times about a single question, and gotten three separate answers.

Losers.

Mandatory WhatsApp Privacy Policy Update Allows User Data to be Shared With Facebook - MacRumors

Users that agree to the updated terms will have their WhatsApp account registration and phone number, transaction data, service-related information, interaction information, mobile device information, IP address, and “other information identified… or obtained upon notice to you or based on your consent,” shared with Facebook.

What could be better?

U.S. Postal Service Wishes Everyone A Happy Thanksgiving - The Babylon Bee

“We at the United States Postal Service wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, a happy holiday season, and a pleasant, stress-free 2009 to come.”

9 Things You Need To Know About The Georgia Election - The Babylon Bee

8) Remember to wear a poncho just in case pipes start bursting as soon as Republicans start winning. Plumbing tends to explode at opportune times.

Google Hasn’t Updated Its iOS Apps Since the Day Before Apple’s New Privacy Labels Requirement - MacRumors

Google will surely have to update its iOS apps eventually, so it will be interesting to see what the privacy labels reveal about the company’s data collection practices.

Will it be, tho?

My former electricity provider informed me in November that they overbilled me 42% of the time that I was their customer. They promised to send me a refund.

It arrived today in the form of a prepaid debit card. The card is issued by Wirecard, a company that collapsed in 2020 under the weight massive financial fraud. It expires in 6 months, at which point I’ll be charged a $3.50 monthly fee.

Needless to say, I filed a complaint with the state regulator.

My Boker folding knife came today. Will be my EDC for a few days so I can practice sharpening on it.

Forgive me, Benchmade!

Julian Assange: U.K. Judge Denies Wikileaks Founder’s Extradition to U.S., Citing Suicide Risk - WSJ

“The overall impression is of a depressed and sometimes despairing man who is genuinely fearful about his future,” she said, rejecting the U.S. extradition request.

I hate consequences, too.