Afternoon Tea 1.6.21 - Trial By Combat
Is it a breach if you're let in by the cops who are supposed to arrest you?
(Editor’s Note: Our apologies for any whiplash between Stacy memes and media surrounding the Trumpalo infestation of the Capitol Building.) Held the Tea a little later today, as we all got to watch the most poetic expression of privilege in America’s history. To be clear, this tantrum of adolescent rage would have a body count in the dozens at this point, if it was anyone but America’s favorite failson, leading the privileged-but-recently-aggrieved.
Stacey Abrams Talks 2020, AOC, and the Future of the Democratic Party (Teen Vogue) Instead of linking one of the zillion bad takes that were written today, read this interview with Stacey Abrams from back in September. It lays out why today happened better than anyone on TV will for years to come.
Democrat Jon Ossoff Has Defeated Republican David Perdue (BuzzFeed News) While it hasn’t been called, there’s only a 0.4% gap between Ossoff & Perdue, they’d probably be challenging it even if it was however many votes Biden is up by at the moment. So, I’m going to be annoying and call it. This loss resulted in a capstone moment from everyone’s Dark Carnival Pokémon:
But seriously, how much money do I have to donate to Puerto Rico to be able to fist fight Giuliani in Trial By Combat. I’ll start the training montage today.
The Rally To Whine About Feelings quickly devolved into a literal hate rally, complete with insurrectionists, Boogaloo Boys, and of course, out and out Nazis. If that was as far as America sunk today, it would’ve still been a stain on our history.
The Capitol Police allowed the insurrectionists to not only enter the Capitol Building, but enter armed, and bring those arms onto the Senate & Congressional floor. Instead of confronting these insurrectionists and securing the building, the Senate was adjourned with VP Pence & the Senate being forced to flee, War of 1812 style. What followed was a jamboree of bad behavior that leftist or even humanist protesters would have been turned into a fine red mist for attempting. Instead of listing off the litany of terrorist acts, I’ll just note this was a real thing that happened today:
The Defense Department refused a request from DC gov’t officials to deploy the National Guard (who were out in FORCE for any melanated protests), so I assume Trump ensured that request was refused. We later found out that not only did the Capitol Police let the insurrectionists in, but they were taking selfies with them on social media.
Two hours after the MAGAt infestion began, the National Guard was allowed to begin to clear the Capitol Building of domestic terrorists.
In retaliation, VP Pence unfollowed Trump on Twitter.
At 4:19 PM Trump got on the Twitter, told people to “go home” and that the election was stolen. I’m not even going to link to it, because even Facebook is backpedaling on Trump. We’re now at the point where Trump will tell his terrorists to “stand back and stand by” again, and see no issue with what happened today. While the ATF & Sergeant at Arms was tasked with clearing the building, I assume these insurrectionists will be taken out for Burger King this evening and then released.
While many colleagues of mine were stupefied by the events of the day, the activists that have spent their lives in the streets who I am honored to call friends, were not. This was just the most crisp example of privilege America has ever witnessed. The shock from those who think America’s justice system is equal, or that the BLM protesters should have just behaved, is the icing on a brutally abusive cake that America has spent years baking. And of course, there’s always a tweet.
Lou Dobbs Wonders Why It’s Been So Hard ‘Finding Actual Proof’ Of Election Fraud (HuffPost) Privilege creates a bubble, bubbles eventually pop. You wonder if this Great Value Voice of London from V for Vendetta is allowed to tie his shoes unsupervised.
The Problem of Surplus White Men (Foreign Policy In Focus) From September, but it could not be any more relevant today:
Men with little prospect of improvement have always been a potential source of trouble. They turn to drink, to crime, to revolution — and sometimes all three — if left to their own devices. The law of primogeniture, whereby the oldest son inherited all and left the other male heirs penniless, only compounded the problem by producing a seemingly endless supply of dispossessed men.
For its first 100 years of existence, the United States had a convenient safety valve for such male restlessness: the Western frontier. In the Midwest, the Southwest, and the Far West, the industrious built family farms, the greedy sought gold, and the opportunistic robbed banks. Along the way, they did what white men often did in those days: kicked the locals off the land and killed them when they refused to leave.
When the frontier closed at the end of the 19th century, white men enlisted to expand a new American empire in the Spanish-American War and through expeditionary interventions in Latin America. World War I and the flu epidemic of 1918 “solved” the problem of the surplus with a ruthless cull of more than 100,000 men. Later, World War II removed four times that many from the equation.
‘There’s NO Such Thing as Toxic Masculinity,’ Says Guy Whose College Nickname Was ‘Little Bitch Pissbaby’ (Reductress) Presented today for some reason.
First the Cyberattack Hits. Then the Insider Trading. (Institutional Investor) This seems relevant given the sacking of the Congress building and previous Russian omni-hack.
I got the COVID-19 Vaccine, Then I Tried To Figure Out Why (Defector) Someone managed to just email and cold call his way into getting a vaccine. While I’m delighted a needle exchange and social services provider in Kensington was able to get the vaccine, I’m as puzzled as he is about how he won a vaccination lottery that included maybe 70 workers.
Salt Fat Acid Defeat (N+1) Nplusone produces some of the most engrossing, comprehensive, and layered reads anywhere on the internet. This look at the idea of the restaurant, where it was going before COVID-19, and where it has been left, is no exception.
Song of the Tea: Hades is a really good game, and The Mountain Goats are not too shabby.
You made it. You survived that year. You’ll make it through to the other side. The feasting and dancing is so close.
Yours,
T
P.S. Since I know a lot of us witnessed a lot of abusive shit today, I’ll leave you with a much nicer taste in your mouth and some aftercare.
And a personal message to Mitch McConnell…