NOTE: It is pure coincidence that it was 57 vials of Moderna vaccine that were discarded
and 57 people who received expired vaccine December 26th.    
Dr Jeff Bahr, president Aurora Health Care Medical Group at Grafton, WI

There is disorder in the Republican Senate Conference.    
Josh Hawley is trashing the rule of law.  
What voice will America have to reinforce democratic principles in the world?

"... Fellas, I need 11,000 votes, give me a break."    
-- an exasperated and emboldened Trump in a phone call to GA's Sec'y of State
Trump is who we know him to be.  
Some Republicans are speaking out about Trump's most recent abuse of power.

We need Pence to be sworn in as president to complete Trump's term of office.

After doing nothing to stop the insurrection, about 4:20 this afternoon, in a recorded statement via Twitter, Trump told the insurrectionists: "... go home. We love you. You're very special."

Shortly later he tweeted again: "These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously and viciously stripped away from great patriots."

Trump's presence at the Inauguration has lost all significance.  
It's time to focus our attention on Joe Biden taking the oath of office,
and to move into the future to restore the soul of America.

Twitter has permanently suspended Trump's account.

Trump insists he will not leave office.  
Ironic that (finally) it is social media that is removing a public menace from their platforms.  
Will Congress remove Trump from the White House?
Trump may learn the news from TV coverage, otherwise Mark Meadows can tell him why he's unable to access his Twitter account.

"I want him out."    
Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski calls on Trump to resign.      
"I think he should leave. He hasn't been focused on Covid. He's either been playing golf or he's been inside the Oval Office fuming and throwing every single person who has been loyal and faithful to him under the bus, starting with Vice President Pence."

"At 2:24 PM Wednesday, after Trump tweeted that Mr Pence 'didn't have the courage to do what should have been done,' dozens of messages on Gab called for those inside the Capitol building to hunt down the Vice President. In videos uploaded to the channel, protestors could be heard chanting 'Where is Pence?' 'Hang Mike Pence.' "

Ten days is NOT soon enough for Trump to be out of the White House and a former president.      
He has betrayed his oath of office and needs to resign NOW (before Joe Biden takes his oath of office).

What planet do some people live on?  
When is a president held accountable?
Senator Susan Collins explained away her decision to acquit Trump of impeachment convinced he had learned "a pretty big lesson" from being impeached.    
Today Senator Roy Blunt, though critical of Trump's "reckless" behavior, insists Trump shouldn't resign: "He (Trump) touched the hot stove and is unlikely to touch it again."    
Have these Senators met Donald Trump?  
They are among the enablers who shield Trump from consequences.

Have you heard Arnold Schwarzenegger's message to Americans?  
He compares the Capitol mob violence to Kristallnacht destruction by the Nazis which impacted his growing up years in Austria.

For those of you who watch Arnold Schwarzenegger's video message to Americans:

Schwarzenegger begins his message reminding Americans we are loyal to our country and not to a president.

Schwarzenegger's call for Americans to stand by Joe Biden who won a free and fair election should be affirmed by patriotic Americans.

Schwarzenegger concluded, though, with a contradiction to his opening reminder when he declares that he stands by Joe Biden now and forever. No president has our undying support. Patriotism means we are loyal to our country and not to a president.

Did you see "The Man Who Would Be King"? with Michael Caine and Sean Connery.
It is a story by Rudyard Kipling about two ambitious ex-soldiers stationed in India who set out to become the rulers of an entire country, and decided India is "too small for the likes of them." After finishing their tour of duty in India, Peachy Carnehan and Daniel Dravot came to Urheb, a small village, where, during a battle, Daniel was struck by an arrow that did not penetrate his chest. The natives believed that Daniel must be a god. They fell to the ground and worshipped at his feet. Daniel and Peachy decided it would be easier for a god to take over the country, so they played along and pretended that Daniel was a god, the son of Alexander the Great who had returned after two thousand two hundred years to rule Kafristan. The entire country celebrated their new ruler, and the reign of the Son of Alexander. As a token of their admiration, the holiest of holy men gave Daniel all the gold and riches Alexander left in 328 B.C.  It was enough to make Daniel and Peachy the richest men in the world. All went well until Daniel's ego and greed got the best of him. He believed he was the son of Alexander. At his wedding ceremony, his bride, a mortal, believed she would soon die... she bit Daniel and he started to bleed. When the crowd saw the blood, they realized Daniel was not a god, that he was a man who had been deceiving them. The crowd killed Daniel; Peachy escaped crucifixion to tell their story to Rudyard Kipling.

Donald Trump, beware!      
MAGAs will realize you're a man who has been deceiving them.

Remember the Chinese proverb "He who rides a tiger is afraid to dismount."    

Those most ardent MAGAs who were willing to storm the bastion of our democracy at his command are the "tiger".  
They have shown Trump and all of us what they're capable of.

Who says Trump didn't send his mob?
Listen to Drew Harwell's video:    
with others echoing him, one of the rioters outside the Capitol is shouting at the Capitol police,    
"We were invited here. We were invited. We were invited by the president of the United States."

"A vast swath of Trump's diehard base in MAGA Nation ... is dissecting his phrases and using those cues as rallying cries, doubling down on their plans to keep the MAGA movement going after Trump leaves the White House.

"The absence of a formal Trump concession to President-elect Joe Biden has emboldened their chatter and bolstered their ideology.

"At the root of these extremists' continued fervor is a key observation: Trump still has not acknowledged that the election was legitimate and admitted his defeat to Biden. He has not acknowledged he lost the November election. And by not doing so, the outgoing president is seen as giving tacit approval to his followers' plans to wage war against the political establishment.

"In the hours after Trump's video released yesterday, Telegram channels with thousands of subscribers started to post memes claiming the president's words were an effort to hoodwink the media and Democrats, while urging his followers to keep preparing for potential violent clashes.

"One popular meme suggests that somehow, through some extralegal magical shenanigans, Biden will not be able to take the oath of office next week."

with attribution to "Online extremists are ignoring Trump's call for calm"   POLITICO, January 14, 2021

The BIG LIE (the election was stolen from Trump) will not die unless and until it is repudiated by Republicans. The liar departing the White House will not be sufficient to overcome the lie.

"Trust is what keeps us going and what has been broken in America. By polarizing, sowing discord and distrust, and systematically lying, a president has destroyed stability and trust."    
-- Armin Laschet, leader of Germany's CDU Party

We were already a divided country before Trump. Trump gave Americans license to feel justified about acting out on their divisiveness.

Amid fears of violence, security forces have clamped a ring of steel on Washington D.C. through Biden's inauguration. The National Mall is closed off, and bridges over the Potomac River will be closed, not to mention the massive military presence which will remain in D.C. to protect our capitol city for the foreseeable future.

"If Americans were perfect, we would not need to appeal to our better angels. But by listening to those voices, we have shown a genius for self-correction, which is nearly as important as getting it right in the first place, and returns us to the same enlarged vision of ourselves that Abraham Lincoln did so much to uphold at another treacherous time in our history."

The transfer of power has not been peaceful, but Joe Biden's inauguration to serve a divided country can give us hope for healing.

with attribution to Ted Widmer   Washington Post Op-Ed, January 18, 2021

The fact that millions of Americans are willing to believe the presidential election truly was stolen, 
the fact that hundreds of people were willing to lay down their lives for Trump:
we do not even agree on what constitutes facts anymore -
we need to appeal to our better angels to learn how to grapple with the chasm that separates us as Americans to find a way forward.

Sadly:      
***There are twelve Army National Guard members who had to be removed from inauguration duty.    
****GOP Sen Josh Hawley is delaying confirmation of Biden's DHS nominee.    
*****Trump did not send a plane to bring Joe Biden to Washington D.C. to begin his term of office.

The dawn of a new Republic, if we can keep it.

"At this hour, Democracy has prevailed."

Joseph R. Biden is our 46th President.

We have much to do to form a more perfect Union.

Without unity, there is no peace.