July 31, 2022

"[T]here has been an unrelenting effort to make 'insurrection' a litmus test for anyone speaking about January 6th."

"If one does not use that term (and, worse yet, expresses doubts about its accuracy), you run the risk of immediate condemnation as someone excusing or supporting insurrection. This framing also reduces the need to address the question of how this riot was allowed to spiral out of control.... The effort to mandate 'insurrection' as the only acceptable description prevents the country from speaking with a unified voice. It clearly serves political purposes but only makes a national resolution more difficult as we approach a new presidential election."

ADDED: From my remote outpost in the Midwest, I scoff at the people who are so easily disciplined by language rules. So there's "an unrelenting effort" and "you run the risk of immediate condemnation"? How flimsy are you?! As soon as someone gets at me with anything that feels like "an unrelenting effort" to scare me about a "risk of immediate condemnation," I feel resistant and activated. I don't want to appease and obey. What is the point of being engaged at all if you're so malleable and fearful? I mean, it's nice to see Jonathan Turley mildly objecting, but there should be far more vigilance about these nefarious efforts to control people with language. It's language: Talk back!

119 comments:

Mike Sylwester said...

The January 6 protesters wanted the US Congress to initiate a satisfactory investigation of the Presidential election.

=======

Votes received by the Democrat Candidate:

2008, Obama = 69.5 million votes

2012, Obama = 65.9 million votes

2016, Clinton = 65.9 million votes

2020, Biden = 81.3 million votes

That last number seems rather odd.

Dave Begley said...

“ how this riot was allowed to spiral out of control.... ”

They didn’t set fires. They didn’t steal artwork. As riots go, it was mild. Kenosha was a riot out of control. Minneapolis was a riot out of control. Only one person was killed on January 6 and the government was the executioner.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

The left are speech and thought crime Soviets.

plus! Politico is now running interference and an ad campaign for their guy.

POLITICO
@politico
Somehow, someway, Joe Biden is back in the game.

After enduring a brutal year, Biden is suddenly on the verge of a turnaround that, the White House believes, could salvage his summer — and alter the trajectory of his presidency.


LOL

JK Brown said...

They are trying to use it to revive the large scale mass formation that arose under COVID. No one may speak against the collective. It is a psychological calming force to be part of the collective with the enemy "insurrection".

Brett Kavanaugh has a discussion on Mass Formation (often also with Psychosis) with Mattias Desmet on his Darkhorse Podcast Clips channel.
https://youtu.be/Ky-tlWKZI8M?t=293

The idea is to keep the individuals separate and to crush person-to-person relationships in favor of person-to-collective relationships creating a mass of people who find comfort in the wad rather than in others.

Make no mistake, consciously or not, they are working to create the other who will be dehumanized in the eyes of the loyal and subject to atrocities as that mass of people seek to demonstrate their righteousness.

Critter said...

There was an insurrection on J6, just not by the people who have been put in jail. Rather by the same people who attempted to overthrow a duly elected president with manufactured lies about Russian collusion, white supremicists being manufactured from manipulation of criminal data to become the greatest threat to America, abnormally low security at the Capitol on J6, prosecution of grandma’s who walked through open Capitol doors under a law never before EVER used and not intended to be used for this purpose, for failing to enforce the law protecting the third branch of our government, for developing and implementing massive voter fraud schemes via unchecked voting processed, etc.

Buckwheathikes said...

Remember everyone ... "this riot spun out of control."

No fires. No shootings (except the murder of Ashley Babbit by the US Park Police). Some minor feet on desks, pens taken and such, everyone walking single file through Statuary Hall, careful to stay on the proper side of the velvet ropes, all the while other cops holding the doors open, inviting everyone in so that Pelosi could orchestrate her J6 Kangaroo Kourt because her stupid lecturn got emancipated by a cos-player.

Contrast with the actual riots Democrats did last summer where entire city blocks were burnt down by BLM fraudsters raising cash for their million-dollar real estate purchases through actual, illegal, unprosecuted fraud.

These people are delusional. They think Americans have no eyes and ears. They believe that us unsophisticated hicks out in the hinterlands cannot see what they're doing.

We see you.

And we intend on holding every goddamn one of you to account in the coming reckoning.

Mike Petrik said...

I agree, Ann. It is even more disturbing to see so many lawyers so easily intimidated. For crying out loud, let's have a bit of spine!
As a related matter, I object to the constant characterization of Trump's election fraud assertions as lies. A lie requires subjective knowledge of falsity. It seems quite possible (perhaps even likely) that Trump is genuinely convinced that his assertions are true. Indeed, many of those assertions have not technically been proven to be untrue. The most accurate characterization of most of Trump's assertions would be something like "unproven" or perhaps even "poorly supported" allegations. Not all falsehoods are lies. The media characterizations expose a rather blatant violation of sensible and traditional journalistic norms.

PJ said...

I don't think many people are being disciplined by this language rule in scoffworthy fashion. Lots of people motivated by party loyalty or TDS are visibly attempting to impose the rule, but I have not noticed that people who lack such motivation are in fact complying. That doesn't detract from Turley's point that the attempt is destructive.

Carol said...

That last number seems rather odd.

7/31/22, 8:51 AM

Yeah Mike you oughta look into that.

Let us know what you find out!

R C Belaire said...

You go, girl!

Beasts of England said...

’That last number seems rather odd.’

I can’t argue with that, but the most glaring aspect is Obama losing four million votes from his first bid and being re-elected and Trump gaining eleven million votes from his and losing. Funny how that happened…

Temujin said...

Thank you, Mike Sylwester, for posting those numbers.

Anyone who has tried to speak to this topic has been shut down, censored, fired from employment, debased, attacked- both physically and verbally, and presented to the masses as 'one of them'. As unstable. Worse: As a 'Denier'!

Not that I give a crap what they think of me. But when our leaders are not even allowed to speak of it, when the entire J6 Show denied any cross examination by people actually from the other side, denied other information to be entered, and got the major networks to show this as a once-in-a-century type investigation to end all investigations, well, it's hard to get your words in.

From the very beginning- the word 'debunked' was pulled out of a trunk and attached to any mention of having questions about the security of the election. Questions about key election centers in different key states shutting down at around the same time- as Trump held massive leads in each of those states. Only to come back online hours later with Biden mysteriously (and yet unquestioningly) in the lead. Questions about masses of ballots signed by one person, then put into illegal ballot boxes. Stacks of them- seen on video. Questions about other ballots being pulled out of suitcases that had been pulled from under tables after the election centers were closed down- again- under video. Questions about everything that goes on in Pennsylvania during an election. Are they still 'counting' votes there?

To have the entirety of the media and every talking head say it's been 'debunked' when it's not even been properly or thoroughly investigated seems pretty scripted. Almost as if they had orders to shut this down and move on.

They cannot let Trump back in. If he ever got back in, it would be a bloodbath. There's a part of me that wants to see this to it's conclusion. It's as if, the longer this Charade goes on and they keep harassing Trump, trying to put him in jail, and we're left with the clowns we have destroying the country, including our corrupt President, the angrier I'm getting. And though I did not want anymore Trump, the longer this BS continues, the more I'm thinking Trump needs to get back in to finish what he started.

gilbar said...

remember! it wasn't Just, an "insurrection", it was THE MOST HORRIBLE THING TO EVER HAPPEN TO THE CAPITOL.. EVER!!!

Worse than
April 2021 United States Capitol car attack
1998 United States Capitol shooting
1983 United States Senate bombing
1954 United States Capitol shooting
worse than Early's 1864 invasion of DC
word than the Brits in 1814

And What, made it WORST of ALL? They were invited in

madAsHell said...

A Harvard study??

Like they have some erudite insight to the chaos of January 6? They beclown themselves.

Oh, and who paid for the study?

hombre said...

Yeah. There is nothing "unrelenting" about lefty and leftmedia efforts to demonize the "insurrectionists" of January 6th and to "condemn" those who fail to toe the line - at least, apparently, in Madison./s

Elsewhere, Turley's language is right on.

hombre said...

Think what Trump could have accomplished during his first term had he not been cursed with an insurrectionist as House Speaker and a tortoise as Senate Majority Leader.

DanTheMan said...

>>Talk back!

Sorry, talking back is not allowed on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Wikipedia, etc.

stlcdr said...

How many days - months - in jail are you willing to suffer to maintain your resistant (sic) nature?

Big Mike said...

God help the US of A if we ever see a real insurrection. The last time we faced a true insurrection — in April 1861 — it was clear how the fighting would end. Either the Federal government would surrender and the Confederate states would be allowed to secede, or the last Confederate army would surrender and the capitals of the Confederate states occupied by armed Federal troops. How will we know when this insurrection, about which the Democrats speak so flippantly, is over? When the last Trumpist is dead? When the last Democrat and NeverTrumper Republican is dead? I can’t see the end, so I am terrified.

Michael K said...

Only one person was killed on January 6 and the government was the executioner.

To quote Yoda, there is an other. A woman was beaten to death in a tunnel under the capitol as the capitol police tear gassed a crowd in that tunnel. I've forgotten her name but she was falsely described as a "drug overdose." There is video of her being beaten with a police baton as she lay on the ground.

I sort of agree with temujin that Trump deserves to be reinstated as president. Let the bloodbath begin.

Another old lawyer said...

If you want to see a real insurrection, re-elect Trump in November 2024. You're guaranteed to see one then.

And they won't wait until inauguration day to burn and smash like they did in 2016 in DC. It'll be early and often and widespread in D-controlled cities (though "mostly peaceful"), while court challenges to the election and Electors are launched and pending in hopes that the judges will be influenced by the mobs.

wendybar said...

They were motivated by a stolen election, and a deep state who was covering it all up. PERIOD.

Yancey Ward said...

As Mockturtle said on our Discord just this morning- "Most people are sheep."

gilbar said...

looks like our Professor Althouse said...
As soon as someone gets at me with anything that feels like "an unrelenting effort" to scare me about a "risk of immediate condemnation," I feel resistant and activated. I don't want to appease and obey

so, that raises a Serious (and respectful) question:
If the blogger people tell you that they will shut down this blog, if you do NOT comply..
What would you do Professor? Would you Obey? Or would you let you blog be shuttered?

Big Mike said...

Only one person was killed on January 6 and the government was the executioner.

@Dave Begley, @Buckwheathikes, point of information. Ashli Babbitt was not the only pro-Trump woman who was murdered on January 6th. Look up Roseanne Boyland, who was beaten to death by Capitol Police outside the Capitol Building after she had been rendered unconscious.

Dude1394 said...

There are STILL people held without bail. You may tut tut at the cowardice of some folks to not stand against the machine, but there have been some pretty serious consequences, from our government as well, to those who have stood up against this tyranny.

Leland said...

I like the cowardice tag. I just read Turley’s recent Hill opinion piece on “being anti pro-life”. He does a decent job discussing the similar phenomenon of controlling speech related to pro-life views, which today includes very pro-choice opinions of like unrestricted abortion for the first 15 weeks. Turkey notes the recent University of Michigan event in which first year medical students walked out of a speech that didn’t even discuss abortion. It would seem a way to pushback is to call these fragile students cowards for turning their backs and fleeing the auditorium. We’ve now found those who truly have phobias of others and no surprise, they are on the left.

robother said...

Althouse's position, that the only problem is weakness of the Right, is not without merit. However, the following quote from a prominent Antifa writer Mark Bray provides some context for what those on the Right (particularly in the private sector) are facing:

“Our goal should be that in twenty years those who voted for Trump are too uncomfortable to share that fact in public....We may not always be able to change someone’s beliefs, but we can sure as hell make it politically, socially, economically, and sometimes physically costly to articulate them.”

Owen said...

hombre @ 9:45: you forgot “and a do-nothing for AG.” Otherwise, all good.

Gravel said...

If and when things get kinetic, it ain’t going to be red zones v blue zones. It’s going to be neighbor v neighbor in the purple zones.

cf said...

re Temujin, Michael K --

Not only does Trump deserve to be reinstated, the nation NEEDS him reinstated for all the reasons, or else I figure it is fair to say we have ended as a Republic.

Otherwise, since the United States can't hold a reasonably honest national election any longer, I say the American Civilization is over -- an outlier bubble of only a couple of hundred years, sigh, a Moment in Time -- and the world will be worse for it for at least as long.

tim maguire said...

Since no informed, thoughtful, honest person would describe what happened at the Jan 6 protest as an insurrection, I find the term quite useful as a litmus test.

tim maguire said...

“Out of control riot” is redundant.

narciso said...

this is the problem with civil wars, they are anything but look at yugoslavia, or lebanon, we look at the insurgency against a hundred cities, the real uprising, almost all of those have been left off the hook,

neko said...

I too thought there was more election fraud than usual until I read AG Bill Barr's book 'It's One Damn Thing After Another' and go to the section regarding the election. The justice dept. and the FBI researched the more egregious claims and found that the claims were not supported. He admitted there is always fraud at some level, but the difference in the number of ballots for Biden vs Trump could never be made up thru fraud. His dept. was frustrated with various states' election laws but that was out of his hands.

Joe Smith said...

Wasn't the Revolutionary War an actual insurrection?

Sebastian said...

"From my remote outpost in the Midwest, I scoff"

You are correct, but you are also exercising Midwestern upper-middle-class white female privilege.

Of course, the cost of un-PC language is real enough in the media, higher ed, and woke business.

And language is the least of it. Tell it to the J6 political prisoners still languishing in jail.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Billions in damage by white left antifa thugs - = A-OK!

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Liz Cheney is the perfect leader to the left's new Soviet approach.

Joe Smith said...

One man's insurrectionist is another man's...

JeanE said...

Althouse said

As soon as someone gets at me with anything that feels like "an unrelenting effort" to scare me about a "risk of immediate condemnation," I feel resistant and activated. I don't want to appease and obey. What is the point of being engaged at all if you're so malleable and fearful?

I applaud your willingness to stand up and speak your mind, but I discovered many years ago that there are far more people who will cut me out for not agreeing with the views of the day than there are people willing to engage in an actual discussion. I actually value old friendships and pleasant working relations with colleagues, and most of the time I value maintaining relationships over sharing my opinion.

I won't argue if you say this is cowardly, but I have shared many happy times in school, at work, community activities, etc. with people who don't share my political views, and I don't want to implode those friendships. Sadly, it seems the price of maintaining connection is to limit what I share.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Trump will not be re-instated.

Fraud obviously occurred - but the Soviet left are in charge now. So give it up.

narciso said...

it was more in the keeping of a tea party, american version, or delta house romp, some furniture might have been scuffed, the windows that were smashed none of those perpetrators were apprehended, they shot babbitt and clubbed boyland, none of the big burly players were attacked why was that, the water buffalo got four years, when murderers get less,

ccscientist said...

Attempting to break into the supreme court building: not insurrection. Occupying state capitol buildings by dems: not insurrection. Rioting for months and attempting to burn down federal buildings: not insurrection. Being let in by incompetent Capitol Hill cops and taking a few selfies and then leaving: the worst insurrection ever. This is very much like Stalin's russia, where your use of language was a life or death matter, and it was all lies.

Milo Minderbinder said...

I'm still waiting for someone to define a woman....

cfs said...

The fact that very few in the legal profession (both in academia and practicing attorneys), are speaking out against the continued incarceration of those January 6 protesters still being held without bond has made me lose all faith in the legal profession. My goodness, we have murderers and rapists who were allowed bond and are out walking the streets. We have rioters from Portland who had charges dismissed although they were caught on video setting fires to buildings.

The prosecutions of little old ladies who simply entered the Capitol, walked around the building, and then left, is nothing but political persecutions.

Other than Turley and a couple others, the legal profession is not only quiet, but many cheer on this witch hunt.

ccscientist said...

The courts used a catch-22 to shut down claims of election fraud: they would not allow investigations because fraud had not already been proven. For at least a year, the Dems were pushing measures that would make fraud easier--not suspicious at all.

Narayanan said...

Either the Federal government would surrender and the Confederate states would be allowed to secede
===========
Q: why is that your endgame scenario?
what happens to the Taney-undone-Missouri-Compromise Territory/States

that sound almost like Putin would stop with liberating DonBas and not take over Ukraine??!!

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

The New Radical Far left Democrat party will soon make it illegal to criticize them.

Just like Putin, the Chinese Communists, and the ultra leftwing communist a-holes who run Cuba and keep their people silent and poor.

JAORE said...

I've been Trump supporter and part of me wants him back to step (HARD) on a few toes. or example take the top three layers of the FBI and lateral move them to Fargo for the balmy weather.

But I HOPE DeSantis takes a lesson from Trump and clears the deck ASAP.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

It’s easy to call out cowardice, when there’s little chance your going to be raided because your only known for a quiet fight with behemoth Google over an NPR puff piece about marihuana.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

The corrupt speech crime left deserve a giant FU - each and every day.

rcocean said...

Great Comment! I feel exactly the same way. Why do people feel the need to obey some mysterious somebodies demanding they use - or not use - this or that phrase. What's the point of having a 1st admendement if everyone's a sheep going baa baa?

Big Mike said...

The case for Trump in 2024 is Joe Biden. Inflation is at 9.1% and seems certain to get into double digit territory and keep climbing. The economy has shrunk 2.5% in the past half year. New mothers are still facing shortages of baby formula, despite much ballyhooed — but ineffectively implemented — actions on the part of this utterly inept administration. Overseas there are diplomatic issues everywhere one looks. By 2025 the US will need a leader who thinks way outside the box, because conventional solutions will not be nearly adequate to the job of getting this country back to normal.

MrEdd said...

So, was the January 6 event an insurrection? Your honest opinion, please. I am certain you are courageous enough to clearly state your opinion. A simple yes or no will do. Your readers and commenters will, of course, appreciate your honesty as to your belief on the merits of the claim that it was an insurrection and find it useful in evaluating your posts in future. Thank you.

rcocean said...

I'm always curious about the lack of curiousity about the "language police". No one ever ever writes "Why is the MSM suddenly using THIS word or phrase, when for years they were using THAT word/phrase?" and "WHO is deciding this change?".

Why are we allowing a few people to somehow set the agenda and control the language? Why are other people eagar to fall in-line and chant along? Why do others just adopt the wording without even talking about it?

The MSM labeled the FY 2020 riots "peaceful protests" despite the death of over 60 people, attacks on police, and burning/looting accross the country. When antifa tried to storm the white house and burned part of the church accorss the street, the entire MSM focused on the "Trump - what a coward" and the "harsh reaction" and Trump "using it as a photo-op".

WHen some J6 protesters wandered into the Capital is was suddenly NOT "mostly peaceful protest" it was an INSURRECTION to OVERTHROW THE GOVERNMENT. It was obviously untrue then, and its untrue now.. That people like Ted Cruz were calling it an insurrection 6 months after the event, just shows what a Fake-Con Cruz is.

rhhardin said...

You can only talk back if you're retired. That's how it works.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Fear? The fear is real.
Members of Trump's team are being no-knock raided, their belongings stolen by the government, they are being interrogated and treated like criminals for merely being on Trump's team.

But hey - don't be fearful of your corrupt democrat party/Soviet-Stasi run government! speak freely!

Big Mike said...

A question regarding the Biden administration. How many US citizens are still trapped in Afghanistan? I know that no one in the mainstream media cares, and hardly anyone in the center left. Used to be we cared about our people.

boatbuilder said...

Althouse--you are a RETIRED professor.

Would you be so critical of Turley if you were still employed with 5-10 years to retirement?

Or a journalist at a major news outlet?

Or a lawyer at a biglaw firm?

Yes--people shouldn't be afraid to speak out--much less raise questions. But they are. Amd with good reason.

boatbuilder said...

I do see that "From my remote outpost in the Midwest.." is an acknowledgement of this concern.

Bruce Hayden said...

“As Mockturtle said on our Discord just this morning- "Most people are sheep””

Here is the article being discussed on Discord: Vaccine Skeptics are the True Critical Thinkers. It talks about the use of consensus to stifle debate.

Bilwick said...

Again, do these "anti-insurrection State-fuckers observe the Fourth of July, and if so, what the heck are they celebrating?

h said...

Is this method of argumentation -- insisting on certain definitions and word usage -- a new thing? "You have to call this insurrection." "That's not what CRT is." "That's not grooming." "You can't call this group of people women." I don't recall hearing in the old days, "That's not really Jim Crow." "He's not technically a Communist." Is it a method used only by those on the left side of the political spectrum? It seems to me that we need to have short-hand terms to facilitate political discussion.

gadfly said...

After WWII, the top surviving German leaders were tried for Nazi Germany’s crimes, including the crimes of the Holocaust. Their trial was held before an International Military Tribunal (IMT) in Nuremberg, Germany.

In all, 199 defendants were tried at Nuremberg, 161 were convicted and 37 were sentenced to death, including 12 of those tried by the IMT. Holocaust crimes were included in a few of the trials but were the major focus of only the [later] US trial of Einsatzgruppen leaders. The defendants generally acknowledged that the crimes they were accused of occurred but denied that they were responsible, as they were following orders from a higher authority.

But in 1962, Stanley Milgram, a Yale University psychologist, conducted a series of famous experiments that tested whether “ordinary” folks would inflict harm on another person after following orders from an authoritative figure. Shockingly, the results suggested any human was capable of a heart of darkness.

“In particular, acting under orders caused participants to perceive a distance from outcomes that they themselves caused,” said study co-author Patrick Haggard, a cognitive neuroscientist at University College London, in an email.

In other words, people actually feel disconnected from their actions when they comply with orders, even though they’re the ones committing the act.

The study, published in the journal Current Biology, described this distance as people experiencing their actions more as “passive movements than fully voluntary actions” when they follow orders.

MadTownGuy said...

"[T]here has been an unrelenting effort to make 'insurrection' a litmus test for anyone speaking about January 6th."

Have you visited Dave Blaska's blog lately? His efforts are pretty much unrelenting. I'm not sure he's a totally recovering liberal, but in other matters, i find myself agreeing with him more often than not.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

‘However, the study also found that only eight percent harbored “a desire to start a civil war.”’

A desire to start a civil war is an overly narrow definition of insurrection. Saying that Democrats can’t call the January 6 attack an insurrection is civility bullshit. No one is mandating 'insurrection' as the only acceptable description of the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. If Jonathan Turley has a “national resolution” to propose so the country can speak with a unified voice, let’s see him write about that.

I do believe, based on the evidence presented so far, that by the morning of January 6, Donald Trump’s primary motivation in sending his supporters to the Capitol was to punish Pence, McConnell, and McCarthy for failing to support his electoral count coup attempt. It failed for lack of sufficient support in his own party, and in the end Trump couldn’t even get a ride to his own coup.

Danno said...

Blogger Gravel said...If and when things get kinetic, it ain’t going to be red zones v blue zones. It’s going to be neighbor v neighbor in the purple zones.

You forget, almost all food is raised and produced in red zones. Same with energy. The fight may not even take bullets.

Howard said...

So Trump truly inspired the insurrection. Aiden comfort to the enemies of the United States of America. Should be enough for a district of Columbia conviction to answer the 14th Amendment question

Rabel said...

JK Brown said...

"Brett Kavanaugh has a discussion on Mass Formation..."

You might want to check that.

Unless the mind controllers have pulled another of their devious tricks.

Rabel said...

Retirement = Freedom!

gadfly said...

Simply, antifa aims to deny fascists the opportunity to promote their oppressive politics, and to protect tolerant communities from acts of violence promulgated by fascists. Critics say shutting down political adversaries is anti-democratic; antifa adherents argue that the horrors of fascism must never be allowed the slightest chance to triumph again.

That's the message from Professor Mark Bray for all of us "not-me" fascists out here who don't understand that fascism is about murderous authoritarianism as developed by Hitler and Mussolini. Fascism is all about gaining and maintaining power.

Tom C said...

The word "insurrection" is important because people who engaged in it are ineligible to hold public office, per Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution#2021_United_States_Capitol_attack

Jim at said...

The justice dept. and the FBI researched the more egregious claims and found that the claims were not supported.

Well, if the Justice Department and the FBI investigated it then I'm satisfied.

walter said...

UW-Madison was at the forefront of speech control back in the 90's.
Also, see the transmogrification of the term "migrant" over the mean-spirited illegal immigrant.

walter said...

Blogger Howard said...
So Trump truly inspired the insurrection
--
A twofer: "inspired" and "insurrection".
From the industrial waste addled brain of Howie.
Semper Fudd!

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

They were not all "rioters!" either.

Some just went along with the crowd. But they were treated by our corrupt left-wing soviet government as terrorists.

A man who merely walked in the capitol (thru open doors) and took some pictures, then left without incident - he ended up killing himself over the fact that the leftwing Soviet Putinesque assholes who rule our lives - ruined HIS life..

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

there were Antifa in the bushes.

There were Trump supporters on film begging the police to do something.

All ignored by Liz and Nancy and their Soviet show trial.

Liz Cheney(D) can suck my big black dick.

Christopher said...

But in 1962, Stanley Milgram, a Yale University psychologist, conducted a series of famous experiments that tested whether “ordinary” folks would inflict harm on another person after following orders from an authoritative figure. Shockingly, the results suggested any human was capable of a heart of darkness.

Although this seems plausible to many, including me, the Milgram study per se is one of those famous studies that has essentially been debunked. I'll leave the rabbithole on that one to others.

But what Althouse identifies as a feistiness gap on the right reminds me of Jordan Peterson's enthusiasm for banning anonymous accounts in social media. Stand up for yourself, man! If you have something to say, own up to it and don't be a coward!

I understand why he says that, and I otherwise admire Peterson and Althouse, but people have been ruined by standing up for themselves and owning up to it. I admire it and we probably need a lot more of it, but (respectfully) a now-retired, then-tenure-protected professor such as our host is better armed than most to be as feisty as she wannabe. The honor roll of righties who have been banished not only from social platforms but from operating the levers of modern life is a long one. Most of those victims don't have the celebrity, followers or connections to even temporarily make a stand as they get thrown off Paypal, Patreon, credit-card processors, mainstream crowd-funding services and sometimes even bank accounts. The key terrority is held by the vindictive left across nearly all major institutions. They use their power. This isn't a 1990's Oprah episode, we're living in a different simulation now.

I work in a blue-state government organization. Does anyone think I could have a rational discussion around the water-cooler about why I voted for Trump, or why I think J6 is overblown while citing my concerns about the lefty nationwide riots (the kind with fires and death)? Hahahaha. Does anyone think I wouldn't be quietly excluded from key roles if I did that?

I mean some of the J6 political prisoners have had to sign and recite groveling statements denouncing their own beliefs, show-trial style, even when they commited no violence themselves (which is most of them). How feisty do you suggest we be?

Michael K said...

Blogger Howard said...

So Trump truly inspired the insurrection.


Poor Howard. Were you jerking off as you wrote that ? Trump is still living in your head.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Gadfly compares Jan 6th to Nazis.

But of course. You really are a clown, Gadfly.

n.n said...

woman was beaten to death in a tunnel under the capitol as the capitol police tear gassed a crowd in that tunnel.

An invitation extended, summarily withdrawn, a riot forced, and another cold-blooded murder (i.e. elective abortion) of an unarmed woman in a prone position by a Democrat-judged and labeled "hero".

rcocean said...

You can only talk back if you're retired. That's how it works.

No, it only works that way if you're a coward. Or you refuse to organize. But of course, that's the losertarian way. Every man for himself. Except the leftists organize and work as a group. And win.

And one man vs. a group loses. Everytime.

rcocean said...

people are attacking althouse. "Hey you're retired".

Look, most of you people won't even stand up on the internet. Where you're ANONYMOUS.

LOL.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Here's what Soviet rule looks like.

Watch: British veteran ARRESTED by 5 cops for "homophobic" Facebook post that "caused someone anxiety"

Got that? Anxiety.

BTW - what he posted is hilarious.

Bob Boyd said...

“It's language: Talk back!“

Fuckin’ A Right!
But many don’t want to talk back. They want to feel pious.

Scotty, beam me up... said...

George Orwell wrote “1984” as a warning parable to us, particularly how a government and a government compliant press use language to cover up what is actually going on. Orwell called this “Newspeak” and “Doublethink”.

From Wikipedia about these terms: …the novel explicitly shows people learning doublethink and Newspeak due to peer pressure and a desire to "fit in," or gain status within the Party—to be seen as a loyal Party Member. In the novel, for someone to even recognize—let alone mention—any contradiction within the context of the Party line is akin to blasphemy, and could subject that person to disciplinary action and the instant social disapproval of fellow Party Members.

This sounds exactly what the Left is doing through the media, its sycophants in higher education, and the Dems who are elected (and unelected) in government from Biden on down.

Freder Frederson said...

I sort of agree with temujin that Trump deserves to be reinstated as president. Let the bloodbath begin.

You have falsely accused me many times of refusing to condemn violence. And yet here you are looking forward to a bloodbath and somehow "reinstating" Trump.

What exactly do you mean by "bloodbath", and by what mechanism would you "reinstate" Trump?

Big Mike said...

@Freder, those of us on the center and right assume that the bloodbath will be initiated by petulant lefties who cannot abide having to accept the will of the People. I presume that those who voted for Biden in order to appease Antifa and other sources of left-wing violent extremism have learned their lesson. But perhaps not.

gilbar said...

British veteran ARRESTED by 5 cops for "homophobic" Facebook post that "caused someone anxiety"

You know what would cause ME "anxiety"? Being arrested by 5 cops for a facebook post

Inga said...

“They cannot let Trump back in. If he ever got back in, it would be a bloodbath. There's a part of me that wants to see this to it's conclusion. It's as if, the longer this Charade goes on and they keep harassing Trump, trying to put him in jail, and we're left with the clowns we have destroying the country, including our corrupt President, the angrier I'm getting. And though I did not want anymore Trump, the longer this BS continues, the more I'm thinking Trump needs to get back in to finish what he started.”

“I sort of agree with temujin that Trump deserves to be reinstated as president. Let the bloodbath begin.”

Oh boy. Old impotent men engaging in fantasy revenge porn. Whatever will they do if they don’t get the win the are dreaming about?

Maynard said...

But in 1962, Stanley Milgram, a Yale University psychologist, conducted a series of famous experiments that tested whether “ordinary” folks would inflict harm on another person after following orders from an authoritative figure. Shockingly, the results suggested any human was capable of a heart of darkness.

This study is one of many in the social psychology arena that has never been replicated.

Of course, even if it were "accepted science" it would have zero application to the J6 events.

Try again.

Maynard said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Freder Frederson said...

BTW - what he posted is hilarious.

Yeah, swastikas are always funny.

Tina Trent said...

"Remote outpost in the midwest."

Ha. Makes me think of lutefisk and Babette's Feast.

Jonathan Turley is a professional wimp.

Jim at said...

What exactly do you mean by "bloodbath", and by what mechanism would you "reinstate" Trump?

Bloodbath like shooting up a bunch of Democratic congressmen practicing for a charity baseball game. Oh, wait.

Bloodbath like planning to assassinate not one, not two but three SCOTUS justices. Oh, wait.

Nevermind on the bloodbath. You've got the market cornered.

Now, reinstate? I dunno. Shut down the count in five swing states, pump in a bunch of fake ballots and ding! Reinstated.

Hope that helps.

Inga said...

“Jonathan Turley is a professional wimp.”

I so agree!

Drago said...

Field Marshall Freder: "Yeah, swastikas are always funny."

Just wait until you hear about "Springtime for Hitler and Germany"!

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Freder - so you approve of his arrest?

You leftists often call anyone you hate or disagree with "nazis" - are you in fear of arrest?

Drago said...

Russia Collusion Truther and Hillary Hoax Dossier Dead Ender Inga: "Oh boy. Old impotent men engaging in fantasy revenge porn. Whatever will they do if they don’t get the win the are dreaming about?"

Gee, I wonder if they would use their foreign joke "informants" to create a fake dossier to gin up a fake collusion investigation?

Any thoughts on that Inga?

Anything?

Anything at all?

Michael K said...

Oh boy. Old impotent men engaging in fantasy revenge porn. Whatever will they do if they don’t get the win the are dreaming about?

Old post menopausal women should be seen as little as possible and not heard.

Drago said...

Left Bank: "Saying that Democrats can’t call the January 6 attack an insurrection is civility bullshit."

LOL

Everyone knows its a lie. Ev-er-y-one.

Just the latest in your 6 year run of fantasist lunacy.

You buffoons refuse to even admit you lied about how Trump fed Koi fish in Japan and the number of scoops of ice cream guests receive at Mar-A-Lago!

We've seen real insurrections and revolutions....and Jan 6 ain't one.

Quite the opposite.

But go ahead, keep doubling down like the lemmings you are. No one cares.

Drago said...

Left Bank: "I do believe, based on the evidence presented so far, that by the morning of January 6, Donald Trump’s primary motivation in sending his supporters to the Capitol was to punish Pence, McConnell, and McCarthy for failing to support his electoral count coup attempt. It failed for lack of sufficient support in his own party, and in the end Trump couldn’t even get a ride to his own coup."

Think about how gullible, how easily led by the nose, someone would have to be to believe such transparent lies.

Left Bank is STILL pushing the Trump Went WWE With The Presidential Limo schtick.

Just sit back and bask in the supernova of stupidity emanating from the Althouse lefties/dems/neverTrumpers (but I repeat myself).

gadfly said...

Maynard:

I didn't check any further, but you certainly have not proved your theory that the Milgram study is untrue or even unsound. What conclusion would you reach instead?

As pointed out, the Nuremberg Trials absolutely had virtually every defendant screaming "the devil made me do it." What other real truth do you require? Perhaps you might also consider that we did have a Holocaust that ended with several million Jews dead.

Temujin said...

Freder and Inga got their hair all up because I used the word 'bloodbath'. It's referring to a house cleaning. It's what some of us in the work world used to witness firsthand when a new company would buy out an existing company and clear out a slew of employees, starting from the top down. Or what some have called the last few months in cryptoworld. It does not mean what you are trying hard to think it means. Don't overthink these things.

Freder, don't let words scare you. Honestly, I don't recall ever falsely or accurately accusing you of refusing to condemn violence. Honestly, I don't recall accusing you of anything. But you're obviously feeling nicked about something so I'm going to assume you were all in on approval of the 2020 Summer of Love. And if not, I apologize to you right here and now for assuming such a thing.

Inga, pulling the 'old impotent men engaging in fantasy revenge porn' card. Going right after the heart of the debate, I see.

In conclusion- the mere thought of Trump coming back in is already making heads explode at Althouse. I'm sure it will as well worldwide when it happens. Let the games begin.

Bruce Hayden said...

“What exactly do you mean by "bloodbath", and by what mechanism would you "reinstate" Trump?”

The Dems are already panicking about getting creamed in November. If they lose, as expected, expect that the J-6 investigation will immediately be reversed, with Pelosi on down, along with the Capital police and the FBI at the center. So, no surprise, CA and NY have declared Monkeypox emergencies. The plan is very obviously to force mail in voting nationwide, in order to steal another election. I don’t think that the FJB Administration can pull this off, but even if they do, I don’t see a bloodbath.

First place I do see one is if the Republicans do win, and AntiFA and their fellow travelers go violent in response. They are very likely to do what they did in 2020, which is to riot, burn, and assault with abandon anywhere they have police protection - places like Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, etc. Where Soros DAs are going to keep them out of jail, but try to imprison anyone who tries to protect themselves from these domestic terrorists. No one really cares about their victims - for the most part they voted for these politicians. But then, I expect that these AntiFA terrorists are going to cross the line, venture across the line into Red America, and get ruthlessly shut down - first with beatings, then when they bring guns to the fights, riddled with gunfire. Similar to what happened with Rittenhouse in Kenosha.

The second place though is when the truth finally comes out about the COVID-19 vaccines. They are killing and disabling people around the country. And they are now doing with kids as young as 6 months. Hiding government malfeasance and misfeasance that kills loved ones is the sort of thing where otherwise rational and law abiding people break out their guns, and go looking for revenge. If the FJB Administration investigated the deaths and mis and malfeasance, and tried to bring the guilty to Justice, then we’d have some martyrs, but it would probably end there. But the different federal police forces have been arming up for better than a decade, and those at the top probably believe that all they need to do is to cow those seeking revenge. But, as always with autocrats and totalitarians, they will go too far. And that is when they discover who has most of the guns.

Michael K said...

The "Insurrection" thing is a transparent effort by Democrats to fend off the coming retribution for wrecking the American economy and the American educational system. Liz Cheney seems to be driven by Trump hatred, possible because of his criticism of the Iraq War. I cannot fathom how she thinks she will benefit from this. Kinzinger is a twerp hoping for a job on left wing TV.

If they can successfully pull off another vote fraud in enough states, they may avoid the retribution they deserve. If they succeed, they will ensure an authoritarian regime similar to that of Mussolini. The crazier of them will bring world famine.

Lurker21 said...

If it was an insurrection or a coup it was extremely half-assed. Even Trump would know that an insurrection or a coup wouldn't succeed without control and participation of the military.

Donatello Nobody said...

But hey - don't be fearful of your corrupt democrat party/Soviet-Stasi run government! speak freely.

“Speak clearly into the potted plant!”

Maynard said...


I didn't check any further, but you certainly have not proved your theory that the Milgram study is untrue or even unsound. What conclusion would you reach instead?


Gawd! I am a PhD Psychologist with a minor in Social Psych and publications in that field.

You do not even have the language or understanding to ask a reasonable question.

Read my statement again.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Will Hillary and Bill ever pay back the dirty Russian Uranium money their "foundation" (chuckle) received from Russia in a secret deal?

Maddow was Hillary's pet poodle for propaganda delivery. Made millions doing so. Blind faith morons ate it up.


WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Drago- Swetnik will never admit she was a duped dummy. She still swallows the lies whole.

"This spring, we watched special counsel John Durham’s first Russiagate trial blow up on him, not because he lacked evidence of a 2016 fraudulent scheme to portray Donald Trump as a clandestine agent of the Kremlin, but because he portrayed one of the two main schemers, the FBI, as if it were a victim. In Durham’s indictment, the Clinton campaign lies to the bureau’s babes in the woods, gulling them into opening a baseless foreign-counterintelligence probe of whether her Republican rival is a Putin puppet. In Durham’s proof at trial, however, top FBI officials turn out to be fully aware that they are colluding with Clinton campaign operatives in exploiting political opposition research to try to nail Trump — and then labor to cover their tracks."

https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/07/democrats-and-the-fbi-collude-again-on-a-russia-smear-against-republicans/

It’s an unfortunate blind spot. Durham has one conviction so far: a guilty plea from FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith, whose manipulation of a document caused the FISA court to be deceived into granting a surveillance warrant to monitor a former Trump campaign adviser — again, substantially based on the Clinton campaign’s bogus opposition research. Except the case wasn’t charged as a fraud on the court. It was charged as a false statement to another FBI official. Yes, it seems even when the FBI itself lies, the victim is . . . the FBI."

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

More...

"And now we learn how adaptable the Democrat–FBI Russia two-step is: You can run it in reverse! Not only can the scheme distort actual disinformation into an illusion of Republican collusion with foreign powers. It also can turn actual Democratic collusion with foreign powers into an illusion of disinformation. Now, that’s some choreography, right there.

We’ve written a good bit about how Democrats and the Biden campaign, aided and abetted by their collaborators in media, social media, and the distressingly partisan network of current and former government national-security officials (pillars of the so-called Deep State, which I am going to have to stop describing as “so-called”), tried to con the country into believing Hunter Biden’s patently authentic “Laptop from Hell” was Russian disinformation. Well, now we see the fuller picture of how, far from pulling this tall tale out of the sky when the New York Post exposed the Hunter laptop in October 2020, these operatives simply incorporated it into a Biden campaign narrative that Democrats and pliant FBI officials had concocted two months earlier."

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

more on Biden-FBI corruption/collusion

"BI Knew That Fear the Bidens Were Compromised Was Not Based on Disinformation
Republicans controlled the Senate in the 116th Congress in 2019, when Chairman Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) of the Finance Committee and Chairman Ron Johnson (R., Wis.) of the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs began probing the Biden family business of cashing in on Joe’s political influence. The focus was fishy foreign financial transactions. By then, the Justice Department and the FBI had been onto Hunter’s shenanigans for a year — again, long before the laptop’s existence emerged.

The government’s national-security apparatus had every reason to know the Bidens were compromised. As I’ve detailed, one of the family’s most lucrative deals had it partnering with a Shanghai-based conglomerate called CEFC, which turned out to be a Chinese intelligence operation. This is the deal where Joe Biden — “the big guy” — was to get a 10 percent cut . . . which may explain why he was so relieved that a New York Times exposé seemed only minimally damaging that he called Hunter (the son with whom he never talked business, no siree) to opine that Hunter was “in the clear.”

Among CEFC’s key executives was Patrick Ho, once described by Hunter as “the f***ing spy chief of China.” Ho was prosecuted by the Justice Department on foreign-corruption charges. Months before his arrest, CEFC’s top executive (and Xi Jinping protégé) Ye Jianming paid Hunter $1 million to snoop around and try to find out what the government had on Ho. That turned out to be a lot. In February 2018, federal prosecutors advised the defense that Hunter’s client, Ho, had been the subject of national-security surveillance under FISA. Within a week of this notice, the Chinese regime arrested Ye. He has not been seen in public since, and the regime quietly let the multibillion-dollar conglomerate go bust.

The Bidens were being lavishly paid by CEFC: It is documented that $6 million went into the family coffers."

The Swetnik Maddow HIllary army are OK with it!

MalaiseLongue said...

The word "insurrection" is important because people who engaged in it are ineligible to hold public office, per Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.

Impeachment 1, December 2019 to February 2020: Cover-up of Joe Biden's activities in Ukraine

Impeachment 2, January to February 2021: Cover-up of malfeasance surrounding the putative victory of Joe Biden in the highly anomalous 2020 election

Impeachment 3, June to July 2022: Distraction/motivation of the Democratic base and other NeverTrumpers in advance of the likely brutal November 2022 midterm elections

Impeachment 4, TBD: Memory-holing of Donald J. Trump's entire four-year presidency—never happened

SDN said...

"It is even more disturbing to see so many lawyers so easily intimidated. For crying out loud, let's have a bit of spine!"

Because the state bar, which governs whether they are ALLOWED to practice law, will declare them no longer lawyers. Until red state governors remove the state bar associations from control of the ability to BE a lawyer, I can't blame the lawyers.

rwnutjob said...

If this really was an insurrection, wouldn't you think at least one person would have been legally charged with insurrection?

Brian said...

But in 1962, Stanley Milgram, [...] conducted a series of famous experiments that tested whether “ordinary” folks would inflict harm on another person after following orders from an authoritative figure.

There are doubts to that experiment:

"The findings [...] indicate that many people were willing to engage in seemingly reprehensible behavior because they saw through the researchers’ cover story. Those who believed the cover story, on the other hand, tended to be more defiant."

"Our study shows that the believability of the experimental scenario was highly variable, contrary to Milgram’s claims and that it affected subjects’ behavior."

MadTownGuy said...

gadfly said...

[Simply, antifa aims to deny fascists the opportunity to promote their oppressive politics, and to protect tolerant communities from acts of violence promulgated by fascists. Critics say shutting down political adversaries is anti-democratic; antifa adherents argue that the horrors of fascism must never be allowed the slightest chance to triumph again.]

"That's the message from Professor Mark Bray for all of us "not-me" fascists out here who don't understand that fascism is about murderous authoritarianism as developed by Hitler and Mussolini. Fascism is all about gaining and maintaining power."

So is Socialism. It requires a massive surrender of individual rights for the sake of the collective. I see no daylight whatsoever between fascist authoritarianism and socialist authoritarianism. If you think the Almighty State won't likewise restrict your right to speak your mind if (heaven forfend) it gains all that power, you're naive or delusional.