Friday, January 8, 2021

The Riot

January 6, 2021. The joint session of U.S. Congress (House of Representatives and Senators) was meeting to count the electoral college votes from each state and declare who won the presidential election. This joint session was presided over by the Vice President Mike Pence. 

While the counting was in progress, thousands of hard core supporters of Donald Trump marched to the U.S. Capitol. They were instigated by President Trump. Violence broke out and the mob breached the perimeter. They broke down the barriers. 


Trump supporters forced lawmakers to evacuate the Capitol and stop the formal count of the 2020 Presidential Electoral College Votes. 

The Capitol Hill Police could not control the situation. They asked for help from the National Guard. They arrived promptly and brought the situation under control. 4 protesters died. One person was shot dead. Three others died because of “medical issue” as per the police. 

Joint Session of Congress finally, after a 6 hour delay, certified Joe Biden as the next U.S. President. 

My thoughts: 

Rioting is a bad idea. If they think there was election fraud, go to the court and file a suit with strong evidence. Storming the Capitol building will not change the electoral college votes. 

Trump has only 12 days as President. Now there is talk of invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office. That is another stupid idea. This will bring more riots and mayhem. 

There is a talk of arresting or impeaching Trump. This is a useless idea. President can pardon anybody for any crime. Most likely, Trump will pardon himself, his family, his advisors and his friends. Can he pardon himself? It was never done before. U.S. laws do not say anything about a President pardoning himself. If he does that, there will be law suits. Finally, Supreme Court will decide. 

My advice: Hey you lost the election. Instead of rioting, work towards the 2024 election. 

As the famous American Football commentator, “Dandy” Don Meridith would sing at the end of the football game 

Turn out the lights. The party is over.

9 comments:

  1. Trump's politics is worse than Indian dirty politics. May be, inspired by our politicians

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  2. Only a competitor-by-heart can do this - never give up, even at the last minute!

    Destination Infinity

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    1. Thanks for your comments Rajesh. Never give up is a laudable goal. But inciting people to riot is a no no. Me think.

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  3. Some time after 1 am I was winding up after work and preparing to retire for the day, when the mobile phone beeped with breaking news. The visuals on the TV were unbelievable. I stayed glued to the screen for another one hour, before hitting bed thinking what I would be waking up to the next day.

    This is not one expects in the US. You are right. Either look for constitutional remedies to address the issue of electoral malpractices and see what can be done in 2024.

    But Donald Trump and his huge legion of supporters symbolise something else -- an unwillingness to accept realities that one is not comfortable with.

    What is most remarkable is that this phenomenon is now so pervasive and loud, so much out in the open that it is able to dictate a nation's policies and thereby the lives of its citizens.

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    1. Thanks for your comments Pradeep. Trump and his supporters should work towards getting elected in 2024 instead of protesting.

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  4. Awesome information for a person like me who stays away from political news. All I hope is whoever is president... thinks about doing good for the public rather than themselves.....btw is Melania divorcing Trump or not??

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    1. Thanks for your comments Dee. No. Melania will not divorce Trump. She loves his money more than him.

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  5. Accepting the mandate and acting as per the result is a simple norm to be followed everywhere. Then if one feels irregularity, one can approach legal institutions. It became a defaming action, which has turned America's face pale. Nice write-up.

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