Four years ago, officers of the law stood their ground to protect Members of Congress and staff as violent insurrectionists stormed the Capitol. These brave officers were beaten, crushed, bear sprayed, maced, and left to defend democracy with their bare hands.
The halls they protected were desecrated by hate and chaos. Offices ransacked. The electoral count delayed.
Today, in a grim irony, Donald Trump took the oath of office under the protection of those same officers, standing in those same hallowed halls he incited violence against just four years earlier.
And in one of his first acts, he pardoned the perpetrators and planners of that violence and sedition.
Trump’s action today is a sick betrayal of the rule of law and adds grievous insult to injury to law enforcement officers. These men and women fought to uphold the rule of law, only to see it mocked by a man who swore just a few hours ago, to God and country, to defend it.
It’s a desecration of memory and the idea of a peaceful transfer of power, and a brazen attempt to rewrite history.
But history will not be rewritten. Not by a thousand lies or a thousand pardons.
Instead, we may be witnessing something worse: the newest milestone along the road to autocracy, in which a president pardons those who do violence on his behalf and encourages others to do the more of the same.
Happy 26th birthday to GDAL ! From the first commit on 1998-10-17 from a small rural town outside of Ottawa Canada, to almost every geospatial software installation on the planet (and satellites and other planets!) in 26 years. The ultimate example of sharing & community. #foss4g
More great news! 🎉Today, 106 days into President Arévalo’s presidency, I introduced a resolution recognizing the indigenous community of Guatemala for their 106 days of fighting for their democracy. Democracy is a fragile thing and is up to all of us to defend it.
I think most Americans would agree, the greatest gift we are getting this year is 3 years of calm, effective leadership with no drama and no hate fueled tantrums.
Thank you President Biden!
Merry Christmas everyone!
Fun fact: a Speaker doesn't need to be a member of the House.
Maybe Dems can make a deal with a few House Republicans and elect Liz Cheney as Speaker? Thoughts?
Editors that I've dealt with over the years usually showed a crushing disinterest in AMLO stories, seeing him as folkloric or eccentric or downright boring. Something has changed with AMLO's international image https://t.co/07rUYHONXw
"The American people should take a moment and say a prayer for Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn. It should be a prayer of gratitude. Whatever ails America, it still produces people like Jimmy Carter."
https://t.co/kGsbMvAD0T
Never forget that the 25 richest people in America paid a true tax rate of just 3.4% between 2014 and 2018 on over $400 billion in wealth gains. The rest of America paid an average of 13.3% in 2018.