The Power Point To Kill Our Republic    #201  

By Hank Silverberg  


It was a startling event. The Trump Administration had an actual blueprint, in the form of a power point presentation, designed to negate the 2020 election and keep Trump in office for a second term. 

What, you haven't heard or read about it? I guess you were too busy hearing all about that Christmas tree that was set on fire in front of Fox News headquarters in New York. Fox News described it as "horrific," and part of the "War on Christmas" in a city where criminals have "free reign." At least that's the way they kept describing the incident hour after hour after hour. 

Here's the real story about that Christmas tree and the way it should have been written in most newsrooms across the country with just the facts:  

"The huge 52-foot artificial Christmas tree in front of Fox News headquarters in Midtown Manhattan burned up this evening in a fire that police are calling arson. 

Police have taken 49 year-old Craig Tamanaha into custody and charged him with setting the fire after witnesses observed him climbing the tree. NYPD says the suspect is apparently homeless. He is known to authorities and has a long history of drug related offenses and low level out-of-state arrests. Police Commissioner Demot Shea has told local media that Tamanaha appears to have been working alone and they are looking into his history of mental illness. Police did confiscate a lighter from the suspect. The tree is in front of a building that also houses the New York Post and The Wall Street Journal. No one was injured. A Fox News spokesman praised the first responders for their quick action and said the company will rebuild the tree." 

That is the way I would have written the story. Just facts, no politics, no speculation or attacks on liberals and New York City. The story would include some video of the burned tree before and after.  

Fox News Christmas tree set on fire in New York City blaze; Craig Tamanaha arrested, police say - The Washington Post

While Fox was doing this story their way, ad nauseum, and bragging about how soon they replaced the burned $15,000 tree with a new one, the other story about the insurrection power point broke. It was totally ignored by Fox and just brushed away by most broadcast media. There were a number of newspaper articles about it and they were also on the web, but this democracy-shattering story certainly got less coverage on television and the web then that Christmas tree fire. 

(This photo released by the FBI)
Here are the basics: The Congressional committee that has been reviewing the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol had subpoenaed  former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to turn over documents detailing what the White House staff was doing leading up to the insurrection. He sent some documents, refused to send them all, and will dispute some in court. Among those turned over was a power point apparently presented to people at the White House and some members of Congress the day before the January 6th event. 

The power point, part of which was put on Twitter by The Guardian newspaper, was in an email sent out on January 5th. It pretty much outlines the Trump Administration's efforts to overturn the election by declaring a National Emergency and having Vice President Pence delay the certification of the votes.  

Mark Meadows Hands Over PowerPoint Plan For Trump To Overthrow Election (yahoo.com)



Latest: Trump White House chief Mark Meadows turned over to Jan. 6 committee an email that referred to a PowerPoint calling for Trump to declare a NatSec emergency and have VP Pence delay Biden’s certification
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The power point had 38 pages. As you can see in this tweet of just two pages as sent out by Yahoo news, the plan relied heavily on cooperation from the Vice President. Mr. Pence  apparently never agreed to cooperate. 


We will hopefully find out more about this insurrection email when the Congressional Committee eventually holds hearings, but it's clear the Trump White House at least considered what appears to be unconstitutional methods to keep Trump in office after January 20th. 

No one should be surprised by this, considering some of the other things we have already heard.  The surprise to me is how the media and public have pretty much ignored the whole thing. 

I guess a mentally ill arsonist setting a Christmas tree on fire is more shocking then an attempt to destroy a peaceful transition of power in the world's most stable Democracy by attacking the U.S. Capitol and preventing election results from being certified.  


D.C. Dissed Again!

Because of Washington D.C.'s unique position as a city without a state to back it up, the Mayor of the District is the person who declares a city emergency when necessary. But unlike the other 53 state and territorial governors that are part of the United States, she can not call out the D.C. National Guard. Only the President, though DOD, can do that. Mayor Muriel Bowser made a request for deployment of the D.C. Guard last January 6th and was initially turned down by DOD. It took hours to get that decision reversed, all while a rioting mob attacked the U.S. Capitol and assaulted Capitol Police and D.C. Metro police as they did so. 

(DC flag)

The Secretary of Defense, of course, answers to the President of the United States, and the President at the time, Donald Trump, apparently said "no" to the Mayor indirectly.  That response came even though Trump had approved use of the D.C. Guard in the summer of 2020 to disperse peaceful Black Lives Matter protestors away from the White House. In that case he wanted to use a local church as a photo op. 

The situation on January 6th, was so bad, you may remember, that Virginia and Maryland mobilized their National Guard instead to help secure the Capitol. 

There was a proposal in Congress this past week hat was going to fix this decision process and give the D.C. Mayor the power to call out the Guard when necessary. But it was stripped from the National Defense Authorization Bill after Republicans threatened to kill the whole defense budget if it wasn't removed. 

So once again, the 700,000 residents of the District, who pay federal taxes just like all of us, were denied their right to self governance. 

D.C.'s population is 49% Black with another 7% made up of other minorities. Those numbers are not lost on the GOP. In other words, Whites are a minority in the population of the nation's capital. So now you know why it is sometimes referred to as "the last plantation." 

Hypocrisy 

(Kentucky Tornado damage, courtesy NWS)|
Normally I would not write about a tragedy as a tool to attack a politician. But this time it is so hypocritical, I just can't resist. The folks in Kentucky went through hell last week as huge tornados ripped through the state  and five others and killed at least 100 people. The Kentucky Governor did what governor's usually do, asked for federal help to recover. Leading the charge to get federal money and help were the state's two Senators, Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, along with Congressman Thomas Massie (see last week's blog). President Biden did what presidents usually do in such disasters, he immediately approved the use of federal agencies and funds to help Kentucky and the other states hit by the tornado. And that's good. This is one of the reasons the federal government exists.   

Kentucky tornadoes: Rescuers search for survivors after deadly severe weather tears through several states (msn.com)


But here is the hypocrisy. Senator Paul has spent his entire career opposing federal relief money to hurricane and disaster victims in other states, most notably in 2017 for Hurricane Harvey, and for Superstorm Sandy in 2013. Massie has a similar voting record saying no to other places seeking disaster aid. But when it hits near their home, they beg for help. Hypocrisy at its worst. 


Dumbest Quote of The week!


This  week's dumbest quote comes from Arizona Republican State Senator Wendy Rogers. She began criticizing New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who has been praised around the world for the tactics she has used to keep the Covid-19 virus in check in the small remote South Pacific Nation. Rogers called Ardern "Lennon with hair," while warning against what she called "communism in the United States." Roger's  solution:

"More bold Christians are needed in office to counter the satanic communists in both parties." 

For background, Rogers still maintains that Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election and she had launched a petition drive to get the election decertified in Arizona. It failed. So she lives in a fictional world. 

As for New Zealand. that country has had a very aggressive stance on Covid-19, locking down much of the population over the last year. It helped control the virus. The country of five million people had only 50 deaths from the virus. The lockdown policy was changed in October and restrictions are gradually being eased. 

New Zealand Aims to Avoid Treating Covid-19 Like Flu, Ardern Says (wsj.com)


(Copies of my latest book "The Campaign" can be purchased at the links below. Or you can buy a copy by emailing me at:


HankSilverberg@gmail.com  for instructions on  how to get a copy at a reduced price and with my signature.                        


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084Q7K6M5/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-campaign-hank-silverberg/1126429796


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