I'm up at 0300 Pacific Time - not unusual.
0500 I follow a link to Epoch Times covering DC "Stop The Steal" rally.
It's 0800 Eastern Standard Time (EST) 0500 here in WA.
The crowd stretched from the Capitol to the Washington Monument.
Estimated at a quarter million. May have been many more.
People came from CA, OK, UT, NV, and many other states.
The theme was "Stop The Steal."
Donald Trump Jr spoke.
Eric Trump and wife spoke - they sang happy birthday to Eric.
Women who organized the day gave powerful speeches.
Epoch Times reporters interviewed attendees.
Interviewees expressed absolute support for Trump.
All said it was about saving the Republic.
All said they knew the election was rigged.
President Trump spelled out hundreds of election fraud evidence issues.
Told people to march to the Capitol. (Electoral College votes about to be counted).
Says "I hope Mike (vp Pence) does the right thing."
Said "I will be with you."
I take a break .
Come back to find Protesters have broken into the Capitol.
Politicians are evacuated.
VERY shortly thereafter Biden makes a long speech.
Speaks without stumbling. Calls for Trump to stop the incursion.
Calls for unity.
Speaks platitudes about preserving democracy and the Constitution.
His speech is many minutes long.
My gut brain reacts.
(I have written thousands of scripts. Biden did NOT ad lib what he said).
How could such a long speech be written in such a short time?
I wonder, suspiciously, was the break-in to the Capitol pre-planned?
Was it done by provocateurs embedded among Trump supporters?
Shortly thereafter Trump records a brief video.
He asks protesters to go home, peacefully.
I see the pro-Trump supporters begin to disperse. Not all. But many.
Monitoring the livestream I see cops have appeared at the Capitol.
Tear gas explodes.
Protesters stumble down stairs.
It is not chaotic. A peaceful retreat.
Then I hear a 16-year-old girl was killed by a cop.
Did he fire a teargas canister or a rubber bullet?
Was it deliberate or accidental?
Thereafter, almost suddenly, hundreds of DC cops appear.
They line the steps of the Capitol.
Why were they not there before the protesters broke into the Capitol?
If they had been, would the break-in have been possible?
I again think of the Dark Side pre-planning.
Did they embed provocateurs, and stand down the cops to enable the break-in?
This would justify Biden's pre-planned and prepared lengthy speech.
I take a break.
Pick it up with a replay of the day's video.
VP Pence is supervising opening of Electoral College votes.
There are objectors.
GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell speaks.
He says there is no evidence of voter fraud.
He says Trump has advanced conspiracy theories.
36 years in the Senate, and he betrays his President.
I want to puke.
This "Republican" is a turncoat - a traitor to the spirit of America.
Democrat Chuck Schumer speaks. He says the people have spoken.
Biden and Harris are the choice of the people.
There is no fraud.
I want to puke.
Senator Ted Cruz speaks for the objectors.
He suggests a special committee should be established.
It should take 10 days to examine the evidence.
This has precedent for a similarly contested election in the past.
My wife brings me a brandy on ice.
I rest my case.
