Monday, January 11, 2021

And another day of pushing back, possibly more armed protests, domestic terror, no plan to lift ban, Parler trouble, more bans, threats of firings, calls for disbarments, suspensions, resignations, refusals, and an abused manatee comes to a close:

“What the “let’s heal right away” crowd doesn’t want is the investigation. But that is critical. Because the scope, depth, and reach of this years-long betrayal of democracy extends quite far and quite high.” — Sherrilyn Ifill

Deaths

US: 385,249 (+1974)

World: 1,952,932 (+9833)

Cases

US: 23,143,197 (+225,863)

World: 91,318,240 (+628,492)

Countdown: 9 days.

Lawmakers called back to D.C. to vote on Trump's impeachment, removal under 25th amendment. The House will vote Tuesday night to encourage Trump's removal and Wednesday morning on impeachment, House leadership announced.

The full text of the House's article of impeachment against President Trump.

Republicans Ask Biden to Stop Impeachment in the "Spirit of Healing." AOC Pushes Back. Ocasio-Cortez pushed back against their argument on Sunday, and noted that impeaching Trump would bar him from ever running for president ever again. “When we talk about healing, the process of healing is separate and in fact requires accountability.” “And so if we allow insurrection against the United States with impunity, with no accountability, we are inviting it to happen again.” “If a foreign head of state…came in and ordered an attack on the United States Congress, would we say that that should not be prosecuted? Would we say there should be absolutely no response to that? No.”

FBI memo warns law enforcement across U.S. of possible armed protests at 50 state Capitols. The FBI also says an armed group has threatened to travel to Washington and stage an uprising if Congress removes Trump from office.

Majority of domestic terror attacks committed by 'white supremacists, violent far-right,' says counterterrorism expert. According to the study, 67% of attacks and plots for attacks originated from “white supremacists, anti-government extremists from the violent far-right, and involuntary celibates (incels).” One-fifth of attacks were committed by far-left groups with the remainder of domestic terror plots and attacks were committed by other groups with different motivations.

The Lies We Tell Ourselves About Race. There is a lie some Americans tell themselves when America is on its worst behavior: "This isn't America!" or "This isn't who we are!" or "We're better than this!"...And no lie, no matter how often it's told, can keep the truth at bay.

Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg says in an interview that there is no plan to lift its ban on President Trump on its platforms, adding the move acts as a message that not even a president is above Facebook’s policies.

Parler goes dark after move by Amazon. Parler went offline Sunday night after Amazon Web Services (AWS) suspended the social media platform, citing the far-right haven’s lack of content moderation.

Every Deleted Parler Post, Many With Users' Location Data, Has Been Archived. In the wake of the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by scores of President Trump’s supporters, a lone researcher began an effort to catalogue the posts of social media users across Parler, a platform founded to provide conservative users a safe haven for uninhibited “free speech” — but which ultimately devolved into a hotbed of far-right conspiracy theories, unchecked racism, and death threats aimed at prominent politicians.

Parler sues Amazon for pulling plug on social network.

Facebook bans 'stop the steal' content, 69 days after the election.

Twitter on Monday announced that it has banned over 70,000 accounts that share content surrounding the QAnon conspiracy theory in the wake of the riot that erupted at the Capitol last week.

Cumulus Media, the employer of conservative talk radio hosts like Mark Levin, Dan Bongino and Ben Shapiro, is reportedly telling hosts they will be fired if they continue to spread baseless claims about the 2020 presidential election.

Nearly 6,000 lawyers and law students call for disbarment proceedings against Cruz and Hawley.

2 US Capitol police officers suspended. Two police officers have been reprimanded after pictures showing some officers fraternizing with rioters sparked outrage across the country.

COVID-19 killed more law enforcement officers in the line of duty than anything else in 2020, according to a new report.

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf is resigning. This comes after Wolf said in a statement he would stay on through the end of Trump's term.

Bill Belichick declines Presidential Medal of Freedom offer from Trump. "Recently, I was offered the opportunity to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which I was flattered by out of respect for what the honor represents and admiration for prior recipients," Belichick said in a statement. "Subsequently, the tragic events of last week occurred and the decision has been made not to move forward with the award. Above all, I am an American citizen with great reverence for our nation's values, freedom and democracy."

The Trump administration is trying push through a last-minute rule that could force banks to make loans to gun-makers, oil exploration companies and to finance payday lenders. The move follows announcements by the biggest U.S. banks that there are some industries and activities they don't want to finance, such as drilling for oil in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, or making loans to gun manufacturers who make assault-style weapons. Some major banks have sworn off making those loans.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has opened an investigation into the abuse of a manatee which was found in a Florida river with the word "Trump" scraped into its back, a local newspaper reported on Monday. -- Trump supporters are really just not nice people.

Banana growers face a year without a crop as Panama disease takes hold. A highly destructive fungal disease known for wiping out entire banana crops, is devastating plantations on the New South Wales Mid North Coast, putting local supply in jeopardy.

Life’s short. Live, love, create, and help others.

Until next time, my friends. Stay safe and stay sane. Good night.