31 Comments

It was a terrorist attack. I don't know why it is not be called as such. The definition of terrorism is "The use of violence or intimidation to achieve political aims." That is EXACTLY what happened on 1/6.

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As Rod Stewart sings, “The first cut is the deepest”. He didn’t claim the only.

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The American imperial state has never been democratic. Genocidal displacement of indigenous people followed by slavery and imperial wars have been the underlying melodic themes stomp-danced to the sick beat of enviro-destruction and the development of mass delusional perception abnormalities.

Money with its brother, insatiable greed, owns the political system with few exceptions and the information order that writes the themes for delusional consciousness. The American apocalypse is several hundreds of years old. Let us get over the delusion that there is a fix on the horizon or that 1/6 broke anything that was not already FUBAR. The disease is metastasizing at an alarming rate for those of us living in a modicum of peace and security.

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Our Government, the seat of our democracy, was directly attacked with the intent to halt the certification of a Presidential election and capture all the levers of administrative power. It was perpetrated and backed by members or the losing Administration, members of Congress, plus various strategic advisers and operatives. “Coup” attempt is only way to refer to what happened on January 6th.

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I flip flop between attempted coup d'etat and terrorist insurrection. Since it is becoming increasingly clear that the whole thing was planned and led from the White House, I think attempted coup is likely more appropriate. What should trouble us more than anything else is the fact that the planning started long before the election. Trump and his enablers had no intention of ceding power if they could find a way to void any loss. Thank God the margin of victory was large enough and that the close states were counted by people who had more respect for the process than Trump and his lackeys. Had it been any closer I am convinced that Trump would have been able to execute the steal, likely using the same means used by Bush in 2000. Use a corrupt Supreme Court to stop recounts in close states that Trump was not yet losing, but would if all the votes were counted.

And given that it was a coup attempt, it calls out for appropriate punishment for the plotters and participants. Can we reopen Alcatraz? Or ship them all off to Gitmo?

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What is mind blowing is the number of voters whom are still thinking that Trump is telling the truth and that he is a sane man. We are deep in authoritarianism when people can no longer discern the difference between fact and fiction.

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Political Ponerology: A Science on the Nature of Evil Adjusted for Political Purposes – by Andrew M. Lobaczew calls for the science of Political Ponerology to analyze the evil done by political psychopaths. This science would demand a new vocabulary through united efforts of psychologists, sociologists, scholars of governments and authoritarianism and other disciplines. Certainly words for various kinds of crimes against the state would be included.

As for the Jan. 6 event, I think the definitions of 'insurrection' and 'seditious conspiracy' both work. Perhaps the Jan. 6 Committee's findings will indicate which term is best.

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The French phrase “Coup d’etat” means “A blow against the state”. That seems appropriate here. Bryce

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All of the terms mentioned are appropriate. I use the term "insurrection" because the 14th Amendment uses it in describing the loss of qualification for holding public office. It applies to any person who holds any office, civil or military in the U.S. It then lists many of those offices specifically including President, VP, member of congress, executive or judicial officer who has sworn to support the Constitution. If any of these listed officers "have engaged in insurrection or rebellion...or given aid or comfort to the enemies" they are ineligible to hold any public office in the US. Congress can restore the eligibility by two-thirds vote. I am hopeful the final report of the Jan6 Committee will list those who, based on the facts presented, committed "insurrection or rebellion" under the Constitution. This would be confirmed by passing a resolution by a simple majority vote by the House and Senate.

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Una rosa by any other name is still an autogolpe.

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Dec 29, 2021·edited Dec 29, 2021

I would agree. Jan. 6 was an attempted coup, or self-coup. It lacked the support and participation of the military on behalf of the coup leader (Trump), hence its failure.

In 2024, when the republican party contests the results of a presidential election they fail to win with greater vigor, and republican led states enact their new legislation to throw out their popular votes and install their electors, and angry voters take to the streets while congress hems and haws over their course of action, where the mitary falls - support of the popularly elected candidate or support of the candidate with more electors due to state legislatures actions, will determine the outcome of the next coup.

The writing is on the wall. The next presidential election outcome will very likely be established via coup. The cat is out of the bag. One party in America has seen that it is possible to take power via coup if electoral strategies fail them. Jan. 6 failed, but came within an hour of capturing congress persons, which would have required the military to make a choice - support Trump, or support some members of congress.

For the next attempt, expect better organization.

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I agree. Jan 6th was a coup attempt, aka a practice run.

The initial goal was to stay in power but when that failed, the next level of action kicked in. You take all the information gained (easy access to the Capitol, inadequate legal responses both on day of and after in the courts, sympathetic followers [civilian, law enforcement, military, veterans, politicians], weak laws easily broken or ignored, apathetic citizenry, human behavior [mob mentality principles, rhetoric & brainwashing principles & techniques, use of fear & hatred to coerce, control & enlist], and media help and complicity, evaluate it all and use it to tighten up plans for your next coup. Then you get to work with brazenness and speed.

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Those in power now, whom are pro-democracy are not taking the threat of our collective psychosis seriously. Trump supporters have embraced the hatred, fantasy and lunacy of fascism. Fascism is usually started by a sociopath, which Trump is. Once people like this get into power, those backing him will start to display similar behavior in what I call "trickle down sociopathy". Society loses its mind (at least the ones believing the sociopath). It creates a cult-like, postmodernist hellscape.

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I agree completely. History will not be kind to the Democrats who allowed fascism to take root and then take over, especially right in front of their faces. I specifically mean President Biden on down the chain of command. He still talks about his “Republican friends” and still won’t call for doing away with the filibuster. His DOJ & FBI has done nothing to very little about those who planned, paid for and very publicly called for the coup. Pelosi thinks corruption is okay (that those in Congress who make the rules and influence economic factors can own & trade stocks) and her attitude about Manchin, etc is best described as “la-di-da”. And so on down the line. There are a few who are sounding the alarm - but only a few and they are mostly disregarded and occasionally insulted by those at the top. We are definitely in for very hard times in that “cult-like, postmodernist hellscape” (aka a hate based theocratic autocracy) if those in power don’t face reality immediately and then act with the intent and purpose this dire situation calls for.

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I agree let's just call it for what it is --a coup! The traitors who, orchestrated, financed and planned it must be held accountable, convicted and jailed!

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Dec 29, 2021·edited Dec 29, 2021

Well … we’re still arguing over what to call the war in the US from 1861 to 1865 … Civil War or War of Northern Aggression … War between the states, or the Lost Cause … and not having had our own Truth and Reconciliation Commission (like SoAfrica in ‘95), the national wound continues to fester, and contribute to tragedies like Jan6.

I favor SELF-COUP. Words without previously strong associations seem to stick…. 9-11 … Hiroshima… Pearl Harbor … Titanic … Challenger … D-Day.

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I look at Jan 6th from a psychological point of view. Here we have a sociopath (APD), Trump creating an atmosphere of post-truth among his followers in a ploy to have his obsequious fans do his dirty work when required. This is known as narcissistic triangulation. Trump is suffering from the victimized bully syndrome and convinced his followers to emulate that trait in themselves. Trump is their role model, so it became easy for them to emulate him. Victimhood, of course is a major part of fascism, so Trump's use of this tool is another data point that Trump uses fascist politics. Trump's sycophants stormed the Capitol, believing that Trump had won the election. They believed a sociopath, not knowing that sociopaths are inveterate liars. When 74 million people have a lunatic as a hero, crazy things will happen, and reality gets turned on its head. You end up with a post-truth hellscape like Jan 6th.

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While it amounted to a failed coup, a strong argument can be made that those involved could (and should) be prosecuted for seditious conspiracy under 18 U.S.C. § 2384: “If two or more persons...conspire...by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof, they shall each be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.” Calling Jan. 6 a “seditious act” works for me.

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Well said Ruth. The fact that coming on 1 year later there is still strict partisan discipline means we’re not done yet, just like the retired generals said. Very unstable & insecure times for America.

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I would agree that "coup" is the appropriate term for Jan 6. From what we have learned thus far from the House Select Committee is that those involved in the planning and execution, which includes the then president Trump, is that their stated goal was to interrupt the peaceful and lawful transfer of power through the development of a Big Lie (voter fraud had occurred and the count was not legitimate, even though they understood this to not be true) and a series of possible parliamentarian maneuvers to stop the count and introduce new electors.

This was not a simple demonstration which got out of hand. It was planned for, monitored, directed, and encouraged by the then president and his supporters. The intent is clear: cripple the functioning of government to install a president of their choice.

I suspect that those involved in this coup will continue to maintain that it was all just a riot, perhaps reasoning that if a group of monkeys might write Shakespeare then it is entirely possible that a riot simply got out of hand. However, the monkeys are given millions of years to copy the great Bard. The coup was only a matter of days.

It was planned.

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Trump's speech at the Elipse was enough circumstantial evidence to convict the moron for instigating the Jan 6th mess. Fascism is never about having two parties, only one! Trump made that perfectly clear.

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