It’s been over a week since pro-Trump rioters descended upon the Capitol in a failed coup attempt. The semi-orchestrated act of calamity left five dead and implicated unnamed Republican lawmakers, who have been accused of assisting the rioters who were trying to interrupt the House and Senate meeting to officiate President-elect Biden’s electoral college victory. Accusations have swirled suggesting Republican lawmakers with provided “reconnisance” of the Capitol building the day before the siege. The names of the accused haven’t been revealed yet, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants to make it absolutely clear that if they were, in fact, involved in the Capitol attack, they’re in big fucking trouble.
During a Friday afternoon press conference, Pelosi said that “if they aided and abetted the crime, there may have to be actions taken beyond the Congress in terms of prosecution.”
“We really lost our innocence,” Pelosi added, speaking of the attack, and that while the Constitution mandates America be ready to defend itself from foreign enemies, it calls for defense against domestic attacks as well.
“Now we have to protect ourselves from enemies domestic,” Pelosi said. “How close within? The investigation will let us know.”
Of course, the nation’s so-called innocence was lost well before the events of January 6, and the ever present threat of right-wing domestic terrorism is one of the few constants of the last decade. But nitpicking aside... the most shocking thing about this is that the names of the accused elected co-conspirators haven’t leaked yet. Lawmakers are really keeping their mouths shut, it seems, but my curiosity is burning.
Please, just give us a little hint. Are they a Q-weirdo? Does their name rhyme with Padison Lawford? Come on...
Anyway, Pelosi didn’t just have threatening words for lawmakers. She also went off on alleged rioter Robert Keith Packer, who was photographed wearing a “Camp Auschwitz” sweatshirt. He has since been arrested.
From Politico:
Pelosi, in particular, singled out a participant in the violence who was wearing a sweatshirt that read “Camp Auschwitz,” a reference to the concentration camp at which more than 1 million Jews were systematically killed during the Holocaust. Pelosi described a congressional delegation visit to some of the most notorious Nazi concentration camps that she described as a “transformative” moment for lawmakers who were overwhelmed by the “dehumanizing of people” that occurred there.
“To see this punk with that shirt on and his anti-Semitism that he has bragged about to be part of a white supremacist raid on this capitol requires us to have an after-action review,” Pelosi said.
Pelosi is big mad, gang.
Despite the fuckery of the last week—lawmakers fearing for their lives, President Trump being impeached again—Team Biden are proceeding business as usual with inauguration plans. Yep, it’s still going to a public event. Yes, it’s going to be outside. No, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, they can’t delay it until covid-19 has dies down, the date is literally marked down in the Consitution. And, yes, Lady Gaga will be there.
From Politico:
Lady Gaga will sing the National Anthem at President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration next week, with Jennifer Lopez also slated to perform, Biden’s inaugural committee announced Thursday.
Other participants at the Jan. 20 swearing-in ceremony will include Father Leo J. O’Donovan, a Biden family friend, who will deliver the invocation; Andrea Hall, president of the International Association of Firefighters Local 3920, who will lead the Pledge of Allegiance; Amanda Gorman, the first National Youth Poet Laureate, who will perform a poetry reading; and Reverend Dr. Silvester Beaman, another longtime Biden family confidante, who will offer the benediction.
And the Biden-Harris team have also released an official inauguration playlist, featuring artists from Sza to Led Zeppelin.
From Variety:
Now available on all the major streaming services, the playlist goes free-range at times, with vintage and contemporary inclusions that haven’t necessarily been staples of the pre-election campaign, from the Average White Band’s classic instrumental “Pick Up the Pieces” to the modern Black Lives Matter-centric group Sault’s “Free.” Current Grammy nominees Dua Lipa and Kaytranada show up, as do such relatively of-the-moment artists as Burna Boy, the Internet, MF Doom, Major Lazer and Tame Impala. Boomer tunes are well represented, too, between Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Led Zeppelin and Bob Marley.
Sorry, now I’m just imagining Biden vibing to MF Doom. This truly is the weidest timeline.
- Uh, My Pillow Guy update? It looks like he’s... trying to get some martial law started?
- Speaker Pelosi is proposing a fine for politicians who skirt past newly implemented metal detectors. Let’s see which Republicans are willing to dole out cash to prove a stupid point. [HuffPost]
- It, uh, looks like we’re in for a covid-19 vaccine shortage already. Cool, great, what could go wrong? [Washington Post]
- But hey, look:
- Andrew Yang’s New York City mayoral run is already causing “bodega” drama on Twitter:
- Soul destroyers and bloodsuckers, otherwise known as debt collectors and payday lenders, scooped up over $500 million in federal pandemic relief. [Washington Post]
- Trump’s execution spree took another life Thursday night:
- The NRA has filed for bankruptcy. Thoughts and prayers or whatever. [CNN]
- Okay, this is just funny: