molds, rain, treason

Monday was the first day in I don't know how long that I didn't have to go over to the studio and work. Marc was over there painting de-bubblizer on the waxes which helps prevent bubbles from sticking to the surface when the investment mix is poured around them. Yesterday we didn't go over there as I would be gone in the morning doing the weekly grocery shop and then the surprise J6 hearing started at noon here and by the time it was over it was really too late in the day to go start on anything. But he was over there yesterday making molds. It's nice to have a second person handy (me) to apply some dry plaster to stop a leak in case the mold material finds a way out of the containment surrounding the model and also to use a straw to blow the investment into small spaces that might still be harboring bubbles as he pours.

So I'm sort of at loose ends here after weeks and weeks of heading over to the the studio for my minimum 2 hours a day. That will start again soon enough as soon as he has molds made but in the meantime I need to be on call for when he's ready for me. In fact, this afternoon, I'll need to do the water volume measure to determine the weight of glass needed to fill the molds he's steaming out this morning while I'm at SHARE before they start to dry out.

The weather prevaricators had been predicting rain for several days this week and so just as it was time for me to start getting ready for yoga class on Monday thunder started rolling and gale force winds started whipping the trees around and blowing over the plumerias whose pots weren't sunk in the ground. I could see the rain across the cotton field and then the rain got to us blowing nearly sideways. It's hard to tell how much rain we got since it wasn't coming straight down but my sister's rain gauge registered 2”. No more rain since but at least we got a little relief.

So, surprise J6 hearing Tuesday. I missed the first 20 minutes or so, came in as they were listing the weapons that had either been confiscated or had knowledge of. Of course we knew his supporters were armed with various things during the riot but when Trump complained that the secure area for his followers during the speech wasn't filling up, his secret service detail informed him that people were armed and weapons were being confiscated as they passed through the metal detectors and so many did not want to go through and have their weapons taken. Trump's response was to demand that his armed supporters be let through. “I don't fucking care that they have weapons,” Trump responded, “they're not here to hurt me. Get rid of the mags and let my people in, they can march to the Capitol from here.” So Trump and his inner circle knew about the quantity of people with weapons before his speech and in his speech Trump exhorted them to go to the Capital and fight, fight, fight. He intended to go with them but his secret service detail took him back to the White House. When Trump learned the attackers were chanting 'hang Mike Pence' he refused to do anything to stop the attack saying Pence 'deserves it'. As the fighting got worse and the Capitol was breached he again refused to do anything to try and stop it, even though his inner circle advisors, family members, and congress members were urging him to call them off, because he “didn't think they were doing anything wrong”. It wasn't until hours later that he recorded a message for them to go home, saying we love you. So many people knew things were going to get violent even days in advance, and yet not a single person had the decency to go public with what they knew to try to stop him from inciting an attempted takeover of the government.

The other rather shocking bit of information was the video of Trump's former national security advisor Mike Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general, taking the 5^th when asked if he believed the violence was justified and moral and when asked if he believed in the peaceful transfer of power. That's some heavy shit right there, a retired Army general refusing to say he did believe in the peaceful transfer of power.

I keep waiting for a little breather to do a totally frivolous post on flowers and critters but the shit just keeps hitting the fan. But here's one picture. The rangoon creeper likes the heat.

 

minor accomplishments and republican malfeasance

Other things have been going on despite my near total absorption in the coup attempt and aftermath.

I finally made the cauliflower soup and while I know it doesn't sound that great it really is good. Sauteing the onions and leeks...

the finished soup and no I didn't eat out of the pan. That's the leftover cheddar cheese for a garnish so I just tossed it in before putting away the rest.

The first bird of paradise flower finally opened

and the last angel trumpet flower.

The weather turned really cold on Saturday and parts of Texas 2 - 3 hours north of here got snow. Saturday night low 30˚s, last night down to freezing and even colder tonight with highs in the 40˚s but after that it should start to warm up.

Sunday was my sister's appointment for her first vaccine shot (mine's next Saturday) and since her car battery was dead I drove her in through very cold temps, wind, and rain. Took considerably longer than it should have but we left with plenty of time to spare. We had to sit in the car for 20 minutes and then I sat in the car for about a half hour before she returned. All OK though, I came prepared with blankets and a book. She said they have it down like clockwork with someone at every stage directing you what to do, what to read, where to sit, they make you stay for 15 minutes after to make sure you don't have an allergic reaction, and they make your appointment for the second shot before you leave and it was the Moderna vaccine which we suspected it would be.

Marc and I managed to get the kitchen sink to drain more freely. I had several recommendations to attempt to clear it; one, grease and soap eating bacteria which I searched for online, two, baking soda and vinegar, and three, our own snake (which we have tried in the past with zero results). Since baking soda and vinegar was easily obtained I started with that. So after three applications of boiling water, baking soda, vinegar, more boiling water, and a plunger, we got it to flow freely...until the next day when it started backing up again. Two more applications and it was running freely again and the next morning, backing up again but at least taking longer. Now we have freezing weather so we've been running the water sparsely. I'm waiting for it to warm up a bit today to have another go at it. But I'm confident continued applications will eventually get it running free and then just do it on a regular schedule.

I've been keeping the bird feeder filled and the other day I thought I saw a robin but it was too far away and in the photinia to be sure and then it flew away. Later in the day Marc and I both saw it on the bird bath in front and then he saw it or another one the next day. This wouldn't be such a remarkable event if it weren't for the fact that this is the first robin we have seen out here since we bought this place 13 years ago while we had them year round in the yard of the city house just an hour away.

I'd just as soon not have to go out today but I have to do a grocery store run and while I'm out, I may as well take the recycling that has mounted up.

As for the insurrection and attempted coup, remember Trump replaced Esper at the DoD right after he lost the election, prompting the generals to write a letter saying they would not be drawn into election disputes but apparently Trump thought he could succeed anyway and the new Trump loyalist did his job in preventing the National Guard from being deployed or supplying the Capitol Police with equipment as per the Business Insider, also read that 600 (? unsure of the number) capitol police were told not to come in that day, one reason there were so few and easily overwhelmed. Also remember Barr unexpectedly stepped down after the election and everyone wondered why. Well, the new Trump loyalist in charge of the DoJ has now stated that there will be no charges against Trump and his co-conspirators. Apparently the planned coup was a step too far for even Barr. And now, of course, as if anyone expected anything less from Republicans, their nice little speeches on the 6^th and the 7^th were meaningless. With few exceptions, Republicans are against another impeachment and invoking the 25^th amendment claiming that doing either will further divide the country (as if that's even possible) and goes against Biden's calls for unity. In other words, they don't want Trump or their co-conspirator members to be punished for trying to overthrow the government and install Trump. Only 5 people died and none of them were members of Congress even though that was the plan so, of course, they just want to move on to healing and unity but without punishment or retracting their lies about the election. What they don't understand is that there will be no healing or unity without punishment to deter any future attempts at insurrection.

Well, I expect Biden's DoJ will do the job right. I do fear,  though, for Biden's and Harris' lives. This country has a history of assassination of presidents and we are overdue for one and the insurrectionists are planning more action before and during the inauguration.

gleanings

Reports are coming out that the insurgents had inside help from the White House and DoD re preventing the police and National Guard from preparing for and responding to the attack on the Capitol and that some of the insurgents were in touch with the White House during the attack and that they were aided by people in the capitol giving them directions to Schumer's and Pelosi's offices as well as the Parliamentarian’s office.

Journalists were physically assaulted.

Off duty cops and members of the military participated in the insurrectionist attack on the Capitol.

From an NBC report: Several dozen are roaming through the halls, yelling, “Where are they?”

They were very clear in their own words what their goal was, to capture and kill, especially Pence.

Trump was reportedly enthusiastic about the Capitol insurrection but disappointed in the 'aesthetic' look of it, didn't like how "low class" his supporters looked.

It has been reported that some of these 'patriots' shit in the halls of the Capitol and smeared feces on the walls.

Trump has no intention of resigning, thinks he did nothing wrong, according to three White House advisors.

White House officials report that Trump was “excited” and “delighted” by the attack on the Capitol and was “confused” as to why others weren't so excited.

Republican Kevin McCarthy, who called Trump while he was cowering in the Capitol, asked him to call off the riot and Trump told him no, now thinks that impeaching Trump would just further divide the nation.

In a turn around so quick he must have gotten whiplash, Lindsey Graham, after being confronted in the airport by Trump supporters who called him names, is now back to supporting Trump and says impeachment would do more harm than good.

One of the men charged during the Capitol siege told the judge he is a federal employee.

From a government source who received an open source meeting - "Every aspect of it, including which rooms to go into and how to break the windows, were planned."

They had maps of the tunnels underneath and the layout of the building.

A sitting West Virginia delegate filmed himself participating in the attempt to overthrow the election. He was arrested today.

Trump Justice Dept says there will be no investigation into Wednesday's events or into any of the speakers. MSNBC.

The man filmed sitting at Pelosi's desk and who took a piece of her mail has been arrested and charged with three federal crimes.

Along with the pipe bombs, a truck full of guns and ammunition, Molotov cocktails, crowbars, sledge hammers, and other weapons, the FBI also found a van with napalm.

Despite the lies from the far right media and Trump's goons, the US justice department says there is no evidence antifa was involved.

Trump has been permanently banned from Twitter and other social media platforms for refusing to stop violating their rules.

Trump is now saying he regrets being talked into giving that 'concession' speech where he admitted Biden would be sworn in and there would be a peaceful transfer of power. See, we knew he didn't mean it.

Republican supporters of Trump don't think the perpetrators need to be punished.

The FBI is slowly, methodically, identifying people and arresting them.

It appears that the man who leads the group that organized the attack on the Capitol is the Attorney General for Alabama, Steve Marshal.

Two Russians aligned with the GOP were among those arrested one of which did not speak English.

Many computers were left on and active when the capitol was evacuated.

Cabinet members have been resigning to avoid having to weigh in on the 25^th amendment and those that haven't resigned are staying silent. Instead a sort of silent 25^th seems to be happening with senior officials acting as if Trump is not president, ignoring him and staying away from the West Wing.

Trump made calls to certain Republican senators during the siege demanding they overturn the election.

The Republican Attorneys General Association sent out robocalls the day before urging people to attend the march on the capitol.

In one set of photos released by the FBI for identification, six of them are republican lawmakers.

The capitol police officer that died protecting the Capitol was beat in the head with a fire extinguisher by MAGAts.

The House is moving ahead with impeachment and McConnell is doing what he always does...stonewalling. He has said he won't bring the articles of impeachment to the floor of the Senate for a vote until the 19^th. So much for his speech to Congress before they resumed the vote certification.

Seattle Police have let it be known that two of their officers participated in the attempted coup.

I could keep going with this as more and more details come out but I'll stop here.