President Joe Biden said many important, noteworthy and inspirational things Wednesday night in his first State of the Union message before a pared down, socially-distant joint session of Congress. He called for "hope over fear, truth over lies" and laid out a range of vital, blue collar, bread-and-butter initiatives, noting "doing nothing is not an option." He said that the "sacred right to vote" is under attack and called for its defense.
An impressive, powerful, pitch perfect speech, realistic in addressing our problems, concrete in solutions offered, optimistic in tone.
But this sentence, one of the very first things he said, echoed throughout the speech, for being simply true. With all the spin, the equivocation, fabrication and outright delusion that has been going on in our country since Jan. 6 and before, those 10 words, "The worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War," have the undeniable judgment of history upon them that no amount of sneering and whataboutism and denial will efface. Donald Trump was a traitor who colluded with our enemies and goaded the mob to try to overthrow our democracy to keep himself in power, aided by a ragtag band of power-hungry henchmen and underlings, and cheered on by an army of dupes and seditionists. That was obvious Jan. 6, it is widely-known now and will be the simple summation of history onward into the future forever. Whether you agree or not does not affect the truth of the matter. A sad and solemn assessment, yet it was still good to hear President Biden say it aloud, on the very spot where the clown insurrection took place, where the deluded had their awful carnival and shat upon everything that our country represents while calling themselves patriots. The truth will out.
But this sentence, one of the very first things he said, echoed throughout the speech, for being simply true. With all the spin, the equivocation, fabrication and outright delusion that has been going on in our country since Jan. 6 and before, those 10 words, "The worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War," have the undeniable judgment of history upon them that no amount of sneering and whataboutism and denial will efface. Donald Trump was a traitor who colluded with our enemies and goaded the mob to try to overthrow our democracy to keep himself in power, aided by a ragtag band of power-hungry henchmen and underlings, and cheered on by an army of dupes and seditionists. That was obvious Jan. 6, it is widely-known now and will be the simple summation of history onward into the future forever. Whether you agree or not does not affect the truth of the matter. A sad and solemn assessment, yet it was still good to hear President Biden say it aloud, on the very spot where the clown insurrection took place, where the deluded had their awful carnival and shat upon everything that our country represents while calling themselves patriots. The truth will out.
Well said, NS and President Biden.
ReplyDelete"whataboutism." I love it. Great descriptor.
ReplyDeleteHear, hear. Should there be a monument to the Capitol Police officer killed that day it would "stick like a fishbone/in the city's throat," a la Robert Lowell's great meditation on the relief in your pic ("For the Union Dead"). Jan. 6 was indeed a tragic day, and a signal warning that should not go unheard, or be forgotten.
ReplyDeleteThere has been an update in the death of U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick. The Washington Post reports, D.C.’s chief medical examiner ruled Officer Sicknick died of natural causes. The two individuals who attacked Brian Sicknick also attacked other Officers and face serious charges, but not murder. Brian's death is considered in the line of duty, as it should be.
DeleteThe photo at the top, is of the Saint Gaudens sculpture of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw leading his 54th Massachusetts Colored Troops [that was their name] into battle.
ReplyDeleteShaw & many of his troops were killed in a battle & the traitorous rebels threw Shaw's body into a pit, on top of the black soldiers he trained & led, thinking that was an insult.
Shaw's mother then said he would consider it on an honor to be buried with him. She is also the one who insisted that the sculpture include the black soldiers, instead of it being of Shaw alone.
That sculpture is in Boston Common.
After seeing how well the black soldiers did in combat, the Union Army enlisted 200,000 more black soldiers.
Nailed it.
ReplyDeleteSometimes less really is more. This is one of your best columns.
ReplyDeleteI think the delusional clown army is going to try it again, if not this year, then in the next few years. They really think they can reinstall Orange Julius, the way you delete and reinstall a wonky computer program. Not on Joe's watch. Ain't gonna happen.
ReplyDeleteJFK sent 14,000 troops into Mississippi to quell a white supremacist insurrection in 1962. Joe needs to forget about the attempts at reconcilation, and be ready to take the gloves off. Allow the Army and the Marines to take care of business, pile them high, shovel them in, and let the grass do its work. No monuments or markers...only flat slabs that read "[insert number here] bodies. Just like Johnny Reb 1.0 at Gettysburg.
The Grand Army of the Repugnants will attempt to do whatever it takes to steal and overturn the results of the 2024 election. The time to start planning for that is now, not three years from now. Voting rights, like civil rights and abortion rights, must be defended--by any means necessary. You go, Joe!
Maybe we should hold off on the Marines, Grizz, but DOJ should be in a full court press against illegal militias. They are the Dumb Weapons for the Cowardly Liar and his Big Lie caucus. If we put the Berrigans in jail for pouring blood on draft records, we can surely jail Proud Boys and Promise Keepers for spilling police officers' blood on the Capitol. While Republicans wage a continuing war against democracy, we need Joe to fight back for us. A National Voting Rights Bill is as necessary today as the Civil Rights Bill was in the '60s. How about a policy appealing to rational Republicans, to enact many of programs the President just announced. Chip away at rubble of the Trump administration while building the Biden plan. Keeping the memory of January 6 alive should be a daily endeavor. Neils last two posts should be required reading. The Sun Times should run a Tweet-like piece on page one every day, like the Nightline count of days that Iran held our hostages. Because, while small bands like ours rage against the injustice in these small forums, anti-democratic forces are marshaling their billions of dollars and millions of deluded voters to take our freedoms.
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