Them Bastille Stormers. · 9:59am Jan 7th, 2021
Ok. So. Maybe I’m the only one who finds any of this “storm the capital” nonsense funny. Funny, hell, this is hilarious…
Now, granted: on the one hand, violence and death. And that sucks. That’s NOT the funny part.
But the other hand:
1. Self-professed “conservatives” stormed the national capital to prevent the traditional and constitutional democratic process.
2. On top of that, those same “conservatives,” because they’re using violence to try to keep their monarch of choice in political power by any means, were being called “anarchists” by the media!
3. On top of that, the cops treated the MAGA-hat crowd attacking the nation’s capital the way they should have treated peaceful protesters during the summer!
4. On top of that, DC meanwhile asked for the National Guard to help deal with the domestic (terrorists? invaders?) hooligans and relief was apparently delayed because since Trump wasn’t the one making the call (Pence was), the NG wasn’t sure if they should go or not! (I can just imagine the call: “Um, are you sure the president is on board with our getting involved?”)
5. On top of that, the VP (along with members of House and Senate) was evacuated by the Secret Service and is hidden somewhere, to be protected FROM HIS OWN PRESIDENT’S SUPPORTERS!
6. And on top of that, members of the Republican Party, the self-professed “Party of Lincoln,” stormed the capital of the United States of America like it’s the freaking Bastille, WAVING THE MODERN VERSION OF THE CONFEDERATE FLAG AS THEY DID!
This is my cup. Lo, it runneth over. 
Honestly, the only way this could be any better would be if they actually burned the building to the ground. Fingers crossed.
🔥🤡🔥
[time elapses]
...well, they didn’t set anything on fire, and there are people working in the building again so, alas, the moment has passed.
That being said:
It also turns out that Trump cost the Republicans the two Georgia seats... which means that the Democrats will control the house, the senate, and the presidency.
Even now, they are probably looking at one another nervously, swallowing their angst and trying to come up with a plan.
After all, they can't blame the Republicans any more for not pushing through progressive laws that their constituents want and their corporate masters do not.
Obama managed to stall for several years, but Biden is facing a much younger and more determined group of senators, most of whom have not had time to lose their progressive dreams or become fully corrupt.
The Dems have no excuses now. Not for burying a $15 minimum wage, not for denying Universal Health Care, not even for preventing the beginning of a Universal National Income.
Oh, and top of everything else... not only is there a new call for impeachment, but apparently the Prexy's staff is discussing invoking the 25th Amendment.
The next four years should be a magnificent jest indeed. 🤡
History repeats, first as a tragedy, then as a farce
I think—I hope—this will seem a lot funnier in hindsight. That or more horrifying. We'll see.
5430624
Both, I would imagine.
My hope is that it all seems absurd because these are the death knells of the Republican party and the offensively regressive style of American "conservatism" in general, and the flails of death often veer into absurdity because the dying are desperate and have, by comparison to being dead, absolutely nothing to lose.
But we'll see where they go from here.
This is what I'm most interested in watching play out.
5430681
Oh, yes. I will admit I do have some concern regarding future assassination attempts, but for the most part this promises to be quite the show.
One which hopefully improves the lives of many people.
Popcorn?
It's one of those things where, if you don't laugh, you'll not be able to stop crying. I admire your optimism.
5430688
I'm good; next week my apartment complex is giving out free popcorn for national popcorn day. Which is a thing, apparently.
The US are oficially fucked up. The last superpower, but now it looks like some third world country with the nukes. And somebody says that we, Russians, have problems with elections, voting or something.
Thinking back to the shenanigans that went on in the decaying Roman Empire, this is small potatoes. More "fun" to come, I'm sure.
5430751
Hey, now, it's not a competition. We can BOTH be screwups!
5430696
Free popcorn? Oh, now that is awesome! How am I only hearing about this now?
I am obviously just not living right.
5430693
Well, optimism has generally served me better than pessimism, and laughter better than tears. (Usually, anyway.)
Nothing against tears, of course. But laughter is an emotion that explodes. And I happen to really like exploding.
5430751
5430984
Indeed, there is enough screwupness for us all to bask in!
5430640
We will, indeed.
When I was growing up, I read many of the Pogo comics, by Walt Kelly. Afterwards, reading the King Arthur tales had me examining the definitions about liberality and conservatism... which seem very different, indeed, from modern American political “conservatism” and “liberalism.” And certainly, neither of the main political parties are what they were during our grandparents’ and great-grandparents’ time.
It might be nice to see the two terms again being used to refer to “the protection of tradition” and “the embracing of new ideas.” A society needs both progress and tradition to survive, after all. But, we shall see what develops.
5430640
Meanwhile, it often seems as though, while forces for good try to do whatever good they can when their end is nigh, evil acts like a cobra with a broken back, lashing out at anything and everything it can, seeking to hurt and poison whatever it can before it goes.
We can only hope that the same greed and self-preservation that inspired so many Republican politicians to back the current administration can also inspire them to abandon a short-sighted path of blind, flailing venom and destruction.