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Coup?

January 6, 2021 pm31 8:22 pm

A friend grew up in another country’s capital. There was political tension. One morning the tv was buzzing. There were tanks out the window. Good, he thought, no school.

He was right – there were some days off. The coup succeeded. Officials were fired. Leaders were executed. And life resumed.

By the way, the coup plotters were homegrown. Locals. But they were trained by a foreign power, a beacon of democracy. And they acted because the government had created a link to the other, evil, great power.

It seems, as I think about coups over the last 75 years, an awful lot of them were instigated, or even orchestrated, in Washington DC. But none of them took place there. And I thought none ever would. Until today.

Frankly, I was surprised by Trump’s video statement – because he told them to go home. This could have been much worse.

No credit, to him, of course. It is not clear to me what consequences he faces. But I’m guessing it’s a lot clearer to him. He’s a bully. And most bullies are cowards.

I watched too much tv today. TV news is addictive. I’m glad I usually skip it. But today…  I’m about to stand up and walk away. It’s been hours.

Side note: quite a few reporters use set “catch-phrases.” You should stop. Combine words with the meanings you want them to have. Oh, and “extraordinarily surreal”? Really? As opposed to “typically surreal”? And finally – the electoral college – sacred? Calling a government institution “sacred” is profane. And calling a racist, reactionary… I made my point.

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