Top US generals sound alarm over next MAGA coup

US children hospitalized with COVID in near-record numbers

Today's Top Stories:

Generals warn the US military could lead a coup after the 2024 election
Gens. Paul Eaton, Antonio Taguba, and Steven Anderson made their case in a WaPo op-ed. "In short: We are chilled to our bones at the thought of a coup succeeding next time."

---

Fast-spreading wildfires destroy hundreds of homes, displace tens of thousands in Colorado
Combined with relative humidity below 20% and ongoing drought conditions, extreme 80-100 mph winds were fueling rapid fire spread... in December.

---

Joe Manchin pulls bombshell holiday stunt
No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen: Unreal.

---

Biden and Putin exchange warnings during phone call amid rising Ukraine tensions
Thursday’s talks, requested by Putin, were the leaders’ second conversation this month but, the White House said, consisted of both men restating their positions — including Biden warning of severe consequences if Putin decides to invade.

---

Marjorie Taylor Greene calls for a national divorce between Republican and Democratic states
Reminder: Greene's home state of Georgia once tried to implement a "national divorce" so wealthy White people could keep owning Black people as slaves. It didn't work then, either.

---

New documents prove Tennessee county disproportionately jails Black children, and it’s getting worse
In an earlier story, ProPublica and Nashville Public Radio chronicled a case in Rutherford County in which 11 Black children were arrested for a crime that does not exist.

---

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis cuts truck driver's sentence from 110 to 10 years for fatal 2019 crash
The "arbitrary and unjust sentence" was a result of Colorado's mandatory minimum sentencing laws, the governor wrote.

---

WATCH: Democratic star Richard Ojeda shares resolutions for 2022
No Dem Left Behind: The 2022 midterms are just months away. The Army veteran is resolved to fight the GQP and WIN ... are you?

---

Trump’s legal bills are costing the GOP a fortune: "There is no precedent for this"
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

---

Eric Swalwell asks Twitter to help ID Tucker Carlson fan who wanted him shot
"The lies from Tucker and others are radicalizing people across not just America but the world," Swalwell wrote. "The lies are inspiring people to make threats of violence against lawmakers. Tucker & Co. know this. And that’s why they tell their lies. They want to incite the mob."

---

Prince Andrew told he will face justice after Ghislaine Maxwell verdict
The Duke of York has been warned that the conviction of Ghislaine Maxwell proves that justice will prevail "whether you’re a president or a prince."

---

Marjorie Taylor Greene calls Kwanzaa "fake religion" created by a "psychopath"
Kwanzaa is a holiday, not a religion. But let's not let facts get in the way of racist broadsides.

---

---

Seriously?

Brother of Ghislaine Maxwell: Epstein's crimes 'not committed by my sister'

China bans tattoos for national soccer players

Khashoggi's Saudi killers are living in luxury villas

Yes. Seriously.

Omicron surge is 'unlike anything we've ever seen,' expert says

Police fatally shoot tiger attacking man at Florida zoo

Unvaxxed parents of 4 die of COVID on same day

Hope...

GoodGoodGood: Desmond Tutu's climate activism

WHO, Dr. Fauci say omicron appears to be milder... so far

South Africa lifts curfew as 4th COVID wave peaks

---

Today’s Action: Protect yourself — and others — this New Year’s!

Tomorrow is the start of a new year! But thanks to the omicron variant, lack of mask-wearing and other precautions, and continued vaccine refusal by an alarming number of Americans, it’s easy to feel like we’re still at the beginning of the pandemic with a record surge in COVID cases. While new cases — and certainly hospitalizations and deaths — are dominated by the unvaccinated, breakthrough cases have also continued to rise. Luckily, we have more tools in the fight against COVID than we did at the start. 

By making sure you and your family members are masking up in public spaces and getting your boosters, you’re saving lives this holiday season – it’s really that simple. 

Here are a few more tips to reduce your chances of catching or spreading the virus:

Mask up. Larger indoor parties are just not safe right now, and even smaller ones require precautions. In a room full of strangers, you can’t be sure who’s vaccinated (let alone who might be sick.) Since you can’t rely simply on symptoms to tell you who may be contagious, staying home with close friends this New Year’s could be your best bet to stay safe. You can take extra precaution by opening windows, masking up, and running an air purifier that has a HEPA filter. 

Get tested. Testing demand is certainly higher in certain parts of the country, especially following the holidays, but getting tested before gathering with friends and family is critical in the fight against COVID. Some communities have initiatives like Say Yes! Covid Test that are distributing free home tests in select areas, and packs of two tests go for $25 in stores. Try to plan ahead to find a rapid, PCR, or at-home test before your New Year’s plans. Most importantly, if you’re sick – stay home.

Get boosted. Staying up to date with your COVID shots and making sure your friends and family are getting vaxxed is the best thing you can do to slow the spread. While breakthrough cases are possible, it’s the unvaccinated that are overwhelming our healthcare system.

We may still be in the thick of the pandemic, but we can all take measures to make our first post-vaccine holiday celebrations as safe as they can be!

 

Merrick Garland won’t defend Mo Brooks’ January 6 actions

 

We have great news:   POLITICO: Merrick Garland's Department of Justice declines to defend Rep. Mo Brooks against Jan. 6 incitement lawsuit   On January 6, 2021, Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks -- a radical MAGA Republican and major Trump ally -- told a group of far-right Trump rally attendees to “start taking down names and kicking ass.” Shortly afterwards, they turned violent and stormed the US Capitol.   Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell promptly sued Brooks for his role in inciting the Capitol insurrection -- and Brooks immediately turned to the Department of Justice to defend him. But Brooks is being hit with reality: Merrick Garland doesn't defend insurrectionists.   It seems Brooks may eventually be punished in the courts, but we've got a bigger problem to deal with first -- this Trump-endorsed insurrectionist is still running for the Senate.   We cannot give Mo Brooks any more power. At his campaign launch, he proudly stood next to Stephen Miller -- the architect of Trump's immigration ban and child separation policy. He also continues to push baseless election fraud claims in the House. If Brooks makes it to the Senate, we know he'll play a key role in the GOP's agenda to destroy our democracy.   We know a lot of Democrats aren't paying attention to this seat -- but if we can flip Alabama blue next year, we'll have one less seditionist in the Senate, and we'll be able to hold a Democratic majority for the remainder of President Biden's first term.   We know this sounds like an unwinnable battle. But that's what they said about Georgia, and Democrats have flipped Alabama blue before.   We're building a grassroots movement that includes Americans from all walks of life, and the 2020 elections showed us that we can win against the GOP's white nationalist agenda if we build inclusive platforms and turn everyone out to vote.   This can't wait. We don't want to imagine the damage Mo Brooks would inflict as a senator. If you don't either, if you want to protect our government from extremists like Brooks and end Trump's legacy in Washington, please rush us a contribution of any amount to help show Brooks this seat isn't his to win. We're only $2,306 short of our daily goal to defeat insurrectionists like Brooks, and if you contribute $10, $25, or even more now, you'll get us one step closer to protecting our Senate from far-right extremism. Please, donate anything you can now. Thank you for helping us take on the worst of Trump's allies.   Progressive Majority Progressive Majority PAC is leading the fight against Trump's GOP and their dangerous and divisive agenda by supporting elected progressives, helping elect even more progressive Democrats to Congress, and protecting the gains we made in the past election. This movement is powered by progressives like you.   Paid for by Progressive Majority PAC   Progressive Majority PAC 410 1st St, SE Suite 310 Washington, DC 20003 United States

RSN: FOCUS: Turns Out Mo Brooks Was Wearing Body Armor to Trump's Very Peaceful Jan 6 Rally

 

 

Live on the homepage now!
Reader Supported News

 

FOCUS: Turns Out Mo Brooks Was Wearing Body Armor to Trump's Very Peaceful Jan 6 Rally
Jim Newell, Slate
Newell writes: "Rep. Mo Brooks may be done with Jan. 6, but Jan. 6 isn't done with him."

The Alabama representative, notorious for his speaking role at the Jan. 6 rally leading up to the invasion of the Capitol, did not watch Tuesday’s first hearing of the House select committee investigating said invasion.

“I was in the House Armed Services Committee, Science, Space, Technology Committee, and had at least one Zoom meeting, and all sorts of other things,” he told me Wednesday when I encountered him outside the House chamber. “Busy day.” Not that a clear schedule would have made a difference.

“The purpose of that committee is not to discern the truth,” he said. “The purpose is to create political propaganda that may be used in the elections in 2022 and perhaps 2024.”

But whether he’s able to continue to avoid the committee altogether may not be up to him.

Back in December, Brooks was the first House Republican to say ahead of the congressional Electoral College certification that he would object to certain states’ electors. On the day of the certification, Jan. 6, he then gave a fiery speech at President Donald Trump’s rally at the Ellipse where he told the assembled crowd that “today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass!” Months later, he still argues that Trump would have won the election if only “lawful votes” were counted.

Brooks’ support of Trump’s efforts to overturn the election successfully earned him the former president’s endorsement in the 2022 Alabama Senate race. But it’s also earned him legal issues. California Rep. Eric Swalwell sued Brooks and others earlier this year for fomenting the Jan. 6 riot. The Justice Department this week refused Brooks’ request to shield him from the lawsuit, in part because he’d basically admitted he was thinking about winning elections—not doing his job—when he started his rally chant. And though Brooks is claiming to dismiss the select committee hearings as a political stunt, the committee could seek to bring him in for questioning about what he knew, or didn’t know, ahead of the riot.

When I asked him whether he could be subpoenaed, he said, “I have no clue.”

Brooks, like Republican leaders who tried to counterprogram the hearing with a press conference yesterday, thinks a proper investigation would look at why House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office wasn’t “doing a better job with respect to the Capitol Police and their level of preparation.”

Then, to prove his point about preparation, he revealed a new detail to me: that because of a tip he’d received about potential violence, he’d been wearing body armor at the very same Ellipse speech in which he encouraged rally attendees to “start taking down names and kicking ass.”

“I was warned on Monday that there might be risks associated with the next few days,” he said. “And as a consequence of those warnings, I did not go to my condo. Instead, I slept on the floor of my office. And when I gave my speech at the Ellipse, I was wearing body armor.

“That’s why I was wearing that nice little windbreaker,” he told me with a grin. “To cover up the body armor.”

He didn’t say who warned him, or what the “risk” was that he’d been warned about. There were probably a “half-dozen different motivations that affected people in varying degrees” to engage in insurrection. He named, for example, “financial losses suffered because of the government’s reaction to COVID-19,” “the belief that there was significant voter fraud and election theft activity,” or “a great love and respect for President Trump.”

“It might be,” too, he added, “that some of them were just militant anarchists and saw this as an opportunity to infiltrate an otherwise peaceful protest and turn it into a riot.”

In Brooks’ affidavit asking the Justice Department to shield him from liability, his lawyers emphasize the parts of his speech where he encouraged peaceful protest, not physical violence. “Once again, Brooks makes no call for a physical attack on the Capitol,” a typical footnote reads. “To the contrary, Brooks calls on Ellipse Speech attendees to do one thing: ‘utter words’!” The affidavit argues that the “taking down names and kicking ass!” remark was really about taking the names of Republicans who wouldn’t support Trump’s Electoral College objections, and punishing them in future elections.

But if he was so sure the mob would understand the peaceful intent of his words, why’d he need the Kevlar?

READ MORE

 

Contribute to RSN

Follow us on facebook and twitter!

Update My Monthly Donation

PO Box 2043 / Citrus Heights, CA 95611