Justice Will Be Hard

 The House of Representatives has voted to impeach President Trump for inciting to insurrection after the attack on the Capital. I think over a hundred insurrectionists have been arrested. It is not yet clear how far any of this will go. Charges may be brought, but will there be convictions? People have lost jobs because of their participation. There have been changes, some even called purges, on social media.

I have complicated thoughts an feelings over all of this. I don't know that Trump continuing to lie about the election is actually a crime, though it is dishonest, immoral, and wrong. His words do seem to aim at inciting the crowd to action, and he told them to fight several times. And they did fight. They broke into the Capital, and broke windows and other things once there. The Senate will not vote on the charges before Trump's term ends, but conviction after impeachment still has consequences. Trump's popularity is decreasing, though his approval rate is still around 38%.

I hope the Senate votes to convict Trump, and puts into the decision a ban on his ever holding public office again. I hope prosecutors take on the cases of Trump's violations of campaign finance laws in 2016 and in relation to his infamous Ukraine call. I hope he is held accountable for obstruction of justice, and that everyone who worked for him finds it difficult or impossible to find jobs in government, or anywhere else, in the future. I really do want a purge of all MAGA types. I'd actually rather have them see the error of their ways, but I don't hold out any hope for that, so maybe persecution is the only option. After all, they don't respect, or even recognize, facts. How do reasonable people deal with willful unreason? It is difficult.

I read an article today that says Mike Pompeo is the worst Secretary of State in American history. I agree. I already believed before I read the article, but it is nice to see that someone whose opinion I respect has come to the same conclusions I have. The Kansas City Star editorial said Pompeo shouldn't not return to Kansas. I think he should retire to a quiet place where no one ever has to hear from him again.

But getting rid of all of Trump's fans is probably impossible. A lot of the attitude of Trumpites is based in unfocused anger and fear of displacement among white people with weak understanding and little hope. A lot of people feel that way. We might manage to push them back into the background, but they will pop up here and there forever.

So maybe it's good that I'm getting along in years, and don't have any ambition left to change the world. I find it sad that so many are still defending Trump and his whole package of lies and distortions. I don't see the point. Even if one wants some of the changes Trump talked about, Trump was unable to make any of them happen. He is incompetent, and he hired incompetent people, like Mike Pompeo, and they got nothing done. And all they have now are lies about how much they did. And people believe them. I need a more friendly topic to dwell on. Maybe I'll go back to work.