What did William Seward (NY) and Henry Wilson (MA) know about the John Brown raid on Harper’s Ferry? Here is Sidney Blumenthal at The Guardian: The House select committee on the 6 January insurrection at the Capitol, according to chairman […]
Insurrection-Jan 6
This is what too often passes for conservative evangelical politics today
Watch Dinesh D’Souza: Evangelical pastors invite D’Souza to speak at their churches and schools. In the last two years D’Souza has spoken at: Emmanuel Enid Church in Enid, Oklahoma Church of Glad Tidings in Live Oak, California Calvary Chapel–Chino Hills […]
Annette Gordon-Reed talks race and American history
Here is a taste of Chauncey DeVega’s interview with Gordon-Reed at Salon: Why are so many (white) people upset by basic facts about the color line and its centrality to American history? Guilt. That is why there are people who […]
Who were the evangelical Christians who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021?
I have already introduced readers to Tyler Ethridge, a Seven Mountain Dominionist trained at Charis Bible College’s David Barton School of Government. But Ethridge was not the only evangelical Christian at the U.S. Capitol on January 6. Here is Michelle […]
President Joe Biden on the 6-month anniversary of January 6, 2021
In case you missed it yesterday: Not even during the Civil War did insurrectionists breach our Capitol, the citadel of our democracy. But six months ago today, insurrectionists did. They launched a violent and deadly assault on the people’s house, […]
What happened on January 6, 2021?
The New York Times has analyzed thousands of videos related to the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and put together its own 40-minute video. It is calling this video “the most comprehensive picture to date of what happened–and […]
Nancy Pelosi picks Liz Cheney for House committee investigating Jan. 6
Cheney lost her leadership position in the GOP caucus when she refused to go along with the Big Lie. She is the only Republican member of the committee. Here is AXIOS: In a closed-door meeting with freshmen Republicans Wednesday, McCarthy […]
Pence says he was “proud” to certify the election
Annie Karni and Maggie Haberman on the latest from Penceville: Former Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday night made his most forceful attempt yet to separate himself from his former boss, Donald J. Trump, on the issue of certifying the […]
Some January 6 insurrectionists are finally getting around to studying American history
Defense attorney H. Heather Shaner is giving books and movies on the Holocaust, lynching, slavery, and the Tulsa Race Massacre to defendants arrested in connection with the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Here is Ryan J. Rielly […]
Why doesn’t the GOP just say it: “We support the January 6 insurrectionists!”
Matt Ford of The New Republic is waiting for it to happen: Instead of the free and open denunciation of the Capitol riot, a growing number of Republican officials are softening their position from “It was Bad” to, at worst, […]
The ad you won’t see on Fox News
Watch: Obama has some thoughts as well:
Pence says he and Trump “do not see eye to eye” on the January 6, 2021 insurrection
This is the first time the former vice president has suggested that he has a different view of January 6 than his old boss. But of course this claim was also couched in pro-Trump administration rhetoric. Here is Myah Ward […]
Only six Republican senators voted for a commission to study the worst attack on the U.S. Capitol since the War of 1812
It looks like American historians will need to do the work. John Hope Franklin once called historians “the conscience of the nation.” A Senate vote on a bill to create an independent commission to study the January 6, 2021 insurrection […]
When it comes to the Second Amendment, Matt Gaetz has no clue
Watch the Florida congressman in action at a recent rally: Actually… no. Here is Saul Cornell, our best historian of the Second Amendment, writing in 2012: The founders had a word for a bunch of farmers marching with guns without […]
McConnell asks fellow GOP senators to vote against January 6 commission as a “personal favor”
Remember when Mitch McConnell condemned the January 6, 2021 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol and said Trump was to blame? Yeah, those where the good old days. Here is Jamie Gangel at CNN: The Washington Post reports on the testimony […]
Are we in the midst of a third American revolution?
CNN legal scholar Carrie Cordero and historian Ed Larson at USA Today: We are all familiar with the first American Revolution: an actual war, a rebellion for self-governance. But it was not long after that Thomas Jefferson called the election of 1800 […]
“A normal tourist visit”
Andrew Clyde represents Georgia’s 9th congressional district. He holds the seat previously held by Doug Collins. Watch Clyde at today’s congressional hearing on the January 6, 2021 insurrection: Is THIS a normal tourist visit?: Remember this:
Josh Hawley’s path to the insurrection
Josh Hawley, the Missouri senator who once had the support of liberal Republican John Danforth, is now the poster-boy for the far-right Republican Party. In this longform piece at The Washington Post, Michael Kranish chronicles how Hawley ascended to such […]
Liz Cheney: “Remaining silent and ignoring the lie emboldens the liar”
Her party empowers liars and removes truth-tellers from leadership positions. Here is Liz Cheney’s parting shot: The sound you hear are progressives cheering for one of the most conservative members of the House of Representatives:
Kevin McCarthy is “proud to be a Christian.” He’ll now need to find a way to reconcile his faith with his willingness to lead a party united around a lie
The vote to remove Liz Cheney from her leadership position has not taken place yet and the House’s top two Republicans–Andrew McCarthy and Stave Scalise–have already thrown their support behind New York congresswoman Elise Stefanik to replace her. Here is […]