1/10
Three days ago, we saw the putrid runoff of what’s been stoked, distilled & fomented by Trump since the beginning of his term. The riot in service of an attempted coup wasn’t spontaneous. It was planned & encouraged by the President of the United States of America. #velshi
2/10
The halls of our Capitol have only twice seen such insurrection - the last being August 24, 1814 when the British invaded Washington DC, set fire to the White House and breached the U.S. Capitol building before setting it ablaze. #velshi
3/10
The U.S. Senate was unable to meet in the historic Old Senate Chamber for nearly 5 years after that. On Wednesday, Senators returned after just five hours. But what a chaotic five hours it was. #velshi
4/10
Members of Congress were in the building because federal law dictates that the sealed certificates of each state's Electoral votes - which were cast on 12/14 - be transported to the Congressional chamber to be counted. There they were stored in the three wooden boxes.#velshi
5/10
Staffers took those boxes with them as they were ushered out of the House chamber. There are duplicates and, had the rioters taken the boxes and burned them, we’d still be able to account for all of the votes and get this done. #velshi
6/10
But those three boxes represent American democracy, law and freedom. Neatly contained within three ceremonial 18” by 10” mahogany boxes. Lined in leather. Three boxes. #velshi
7/10
Frederick Douglass - the social reformer, author, statesman who escaped slavery wrote "A man's rights rest in three boxes”: the ballot-box, the jury-box, & the cartridge-box”, meaning the vote, the law and the right to defend one’s freedom. #velshi
8/10
Without those 3 boxes, he said, no class of people could live & flourish in this country. The 3 boxes that were saved from the mob this week weren’t the three that Douglass was talking about, but they represented the same 3 things: democracy, law and freedom. #velshi
9/10
I think the staffers, as they were ushered out of a Capitol under assault, knew what they were doing by grabbing those three boxes, and not allowing them to fall into the hands of the assailants.... #velshi
10/10
Symbolically they were doing what we all must do: our part, no matter how big or small, in defense of democracy, law and freedom, against a President who would subvert them for his own gain. #velshi
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1/9 156 years since General William Sherman and 60,000 Union soldiers captured Savannah. Sherman’s “March to the Sea” devastated both the Confederacy and much of Georgia. Sherman reaching Savannah was the beginning of the end of the Civil War. #gasen
2/9 Until Sherman’s arrival, Savannah was a horrible Confederate bastion of slavery. Just 5 years prior, the city was the scene of one of the largest sales of enslaved persons in American history. #gasen
3/9 436 men, women and children were brought to a Savannah racetrack just 2 miles from here and put in stalls used for horses, where they waited for days, in some cases even weeks. Hotels in town filled with potential slave buyers from across the region. #gasen
1/13
I don’t know how many GOP members of the House and Senate watch @VelshiMSNBC so I have a favor to ask of you: If you know any, or know anyone who knows any, could you pass this message on to them for me? #velshi
@VelshiMSNBC 2/13
While the GOP is busy trying to tear down democracy, there are some difficult realities facing America right now that could really use their attention. We are starting 2021 off in bad shape, considering that this is the most prosperous country on earth. #velshi
@VelshiMSNBC 3/13
America is not the most populous nation in the world; it’s only about 4.25% of the global population. Yet America accounts for nearly a quarter of the world’s coronavirus cases and deaths. #velshi
1/11
The House of Reps approving $2000 relief checks rather than $600 dollars. That’s a big deal. $2000 checks could ease the pain just long enough for millions of Americans to remember this is the good our government can do in moments like these. #velshi
2/11
The bipartisan bill was met by Mitch McConnell at the front door of the senate with the words "The Senate is not going to be bullied into rushing out more borrowed money into the hands of Democrats' rich friends who don't need the help.” #velshi
3/11
The bipartisan bill for $2,000 checks was met by Mitch McConnell at the front door of the senate with the words, "The Senate is not going to be bullied into rushing out more borrowed money into the hands of Democrats' rich friends who don't need the help.” #velshi
1/13
I talk a lot on this show about expertise. I’m an expert about nothing except snack foods. But I’m big on expertise. Which is why, as I take stock of this last year, two of my biggest disappointments have been actual experts. #velshi
2/13
The addition of renowned AIDS researcher Dr. Deborah Birx to the Trump administration’s Covid-19 task force was hailed as a positive step that stumbled fast. While people counted on her expertise to counter Trump’s ignorance, she didn’t. #velshi
3/13
She praised Trump for implementing China travel restrictions that did very little, if anything, to stop the spread of Covid, already making its way across the country, with no working formal testing plan in place. #velshi
1/9 December 21, 2020, marks 156 years since Sherman & 60,000 Union soldiers captured #Savannah. Sherman’s 285-mile, 3-week long “March to the Sea” devastated both the Confederacy & much of Georgia. Sherman reaching Savannah was the beginning of the end of the Civil War. #velshi
2/9 Though a stunningly beautiful city, prior to Sherman’s arrival, Savannah was a horrible Confederate bastion of slavery. Just 5 years prior, the city was the scene of one of the largest sales of enslaved persons in American history. #velshi
3/9
In 1859, at an event called “The Great Slave Auction”, 436 men, women & children were brought to Savannah racetrack & put in stalls used for horses, where they waited for days, in some cases even weeks. Hotels in town filled with potential slave buyers. #velshi
1/11
When Donald Trump leaves office, his will be a legacy of division, chaos, mismanagement & death. His administration’s disdain for expertise—and its penchant for wishful thinking & conspiracy theories over fact—have become yet more evident this year. #velshi
2/11
America is the richest nation on the planet, in many ways the envy of the world, yet 17 million people have become infected with Covid. America is 4.25% of the world’s population, yet accounts for nearly 19% of the global covid deaths. #velshi
3/11
Sickness & death were inevitable, but NOT at this scale. Covid could have been mitigated, but instead we got denial, confusion & bad advice. America's handling of this pandemic is a failure at the highest levels, and it should be investigated. #velshi