(1) I used to admire Mitch McConnell for his experience and ability but now he says dumb things like "one hundred percent" of his focus is on "stopping this new administration." Dude could have stopped them getting into office by:
(2) By actually standing up to Trump when it mattered, eg during 2020 when Trump was on a political suicide mission by:
>downplaying the pandemic regularly
>enabling, encouraging, and condoning sedition ahead of 1/6.
(3) Trump's biggest blunder in office (and the competition was tough) was not taking the pandemic seriously enough from the start.
For example if #Qdroxychloroquine was so great, why isn't the government of India handing it out to their people?
(4) Every criticism Trump has made of his opponents can be turned back around on him. It is projection.
The totality of his pandemic related actions and omissions is why he lost the 2020 election. Then during Dec-Jan the US had a massive wave of Covid deaths. He ignored it.
(5) The carnage in India is undeniable. A similar manmade disaster in Brazil.
Modi and Bolsonaro downplayed the pandemic, refused to "go hard and early" with the right kind of lockdowns when they would do the most good.
(6) But but "lockdowns don't work" the Q mass delusion sufferers cry.
They work very well, when used appropriately. Australia and New Zealand have prevented disaster by going "hard and early." We can freely travel between the two countries atm. Cook Islands about to join, too.
(7) Mitch McConnell is one of the R Senators with the most blood on his hands, concerning his utter failure to speak up against Trump, until 1/6... and even then, he backtracked as soon as he could.
Sedition is still the enemy, Mitch. Not the Dem admin (for now.)
(8) The cowardice of Senators like McConnell is why enough doubt grew in the minds of Georgia voters to hand two senate seats, and thereby an effective majority, to the Democrats.
Why should voters support any of the cowardly Rs, unless & until they're held accountable for 1/6?
(9) I happen to agree with some of the current D policies (and I prob still would have when I was under the MAGA spell, too. I kept some of my Indy views, thank God.)
The policies I disagree with? Tough luck, thanks to Trump & his sycophants, for throwing it all away.
17 extremely brave and self-sacrificing R elected officials stood with Rep Liz Cheney against the cowardice of their R colleagues. They provide hope for the future of the country, & party.
(12) “The indifference shown to my colleagues and I is disgraceful.” Officer Michael Fanone, MPDC
Fanone mentions "hearing those who continue to downplay the events of that day."
Trump feeds the points to his followers, who repeat them here EVERY time I mention 1/6.
(12) Unlike McConnell, 100% of MY focus is on seeking accountability for 1/6 from Trump & his allies, whose actions AND OMISSIONS enabled, encouraged, & condoned the terrorist attack.
Downplaying it to me is dumb, because I know the details, and you don't. It's that simple.
(13) ADDENDUM
My thread ends with tweet (12) but because I don't write here very often now, I'm going to add some examples of GQP stupidity below, in case some readers don't believe me when I say how deluded they are.
(1) Jimmy Kimmel spent 18 mins last night with Mike Lindell on his show. I recommend watching it.
It provides an insight into how things got to the point of thousands storming the Capitol & why Trumpers still say it wasn't them & it wasn't that bad.
(2) True, there are some laughs to be had, & kudos to Kimmel for deftly enticing him to reveal things he shouldn't reveal. Comedy is more effective than rage.
Trump's inner circle includes anyone he thinks might be useful in some way. Then he ditches them. The list is long.
(3) Lindell is dumb as a rock. He's being sued for making claims like he made even in this interview. That's gotta lead to consequences in the proceedings.
Giuliani was just raided. Sidney Powell admitted she lied. Lin Wood's day is coming. They're all up to their necks in it.
(1) Here's something American liberals & moderate conservatives can do to help rebuild after the damage Trump did and is still doing, along with his allies and supporters.
Y'all need better #whistleblowerprotection, & you CAN create it without waiting years for law reform.
(2) This will be damn hard to achieve, I know. But I invite you to think about all those working in the public & private (eg media) sectors who can't report what they have seen, without leaving their family destitute during a pandemic that is still an existential threat to many.
(3) Most whistleblowers don't have the substantial personal resources that will get them through until they can one day make money again. Seditionists and other leaders of domestic terrorist networks know this. It's a key reason they get away with their crimes.
And for the inevitable GENIUSES who will question why the use of a "restraint chair" inside a prison cell is wrong. There are several reasons but one of them is that the inmate can be injured or even killed this way, depending on his or her individual risk factors.
Ongoing physical mechanical restraint inside institutions like prisons and so-called "hospitals" can be very dangerous, which is why it is decreasingly used, in civilized places.
BRIEF restraint for immediate risk reduction is justified, but that is not what's alleged here.
(1) When I first heard that mRNA technology would be used in the Covid vaccines it gave me some pause. I then "did my research" and became satisfied that the tech itself was not a deal breaker for me.
I'm looking forward to getting the vax when it's available in my town.
(2) I don't support "mandatory vaccination."
I do support the use of incentives that encourage people to make an informed choice to get a Covid vaccine, including requiring people in certain occupations to get it. That's not "mandatory vaccination."
(3) I have several medical conditions that place me in the higher risk category. So, it was easy for me to weigh up the pros and cons.
I will do virtually anything to avoid hospitalization, for any reason. Because New Zealand government hospitals are unsafe for people like me.
I'm on Twitter to learn more about US history, current events, & theories behind political movements, esp. extremism & domestic terrorism.
To help me find my own tweets about it, I tag them #HWEdCamp. Here's why I chose that term.
(2) I'm not arrogant enough to think lots of folk will or should read my threads & tweets. A few years ago I had 17k Twitter followers, but that was only bc I had taken a side politically & tweeted what folk wanted to hear.
When you leave a club, you give up some stuff. >Shrug.
(3) So, think of these threads as me writing in my journal, in public. I want to bounce ideas off others, but not if we're just re-hashing the talking points of Democrats and Republicans. I can do that all day, having learned them when I was in each of the clubs.
(1) Thread: Russian & Chinese involvement in US politics.
When Democrat and Never Trump politicians, activists, and commentators claimed the Trump campaign had "colluded with" the government of Russia, that framing of the issue made their efforts less likely to succeed.
(2) Whether or not credible evidence of Trump-Russia collusion would ever be presented to the public, using this word in the investigation was a mistake. Trump & co needed only to persuade supporters that Trump had not actively taken up Russian offers of assistance.
(3) Because the claim of active Trump-Russia collusion was brought up in nearly every circumstance during the Trump term of office, his supporters switched off and turned the weapon around to point it at Democrats and Never Trump folk.