I wrote about “The New Civil War” yesterday.  Here’s a more immediate part of that.  After the insurrection, we have lots of powerful people spewing tons of words.  Who’s lying to us?  If we really want to know what happened, that should matter. We know we can’t trust liars.  We shouldn’t bother repeating their words when we know they’ll lie again. That’s a surprisingly easy question to answer.

Let’s start with the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP). They failed to protect the Capitol. So did the USCP security plan leave the Capitol Building vulnerable by accident or design?  It’s clear that the angry mob wasn’t anyone’s ‘surprise.’ That leaves us with quite a few liars.

Yes, they knew there was a physical threat. Anyone who acted surprised is lying. Year after year, the U.S. Intelligence agencies pointed to White Nationalism as the single worst domestic terrorist threat.  We knew the Proud Boys, the Boogaloo Bois, and others were coming to Trump’s rally. And the Agencies issued specific warnings long before the Trump Sedition Rally.  Major White Nationalist groups were openly advertising their plans, reveling in the possible conflagration.  We all saw social media posts promoting violence and tutorials about concealed carry guns in DC.  Why do I say, “We all saw”?  Because the major television networks reported on the posts on the evening news.  The threat was literally old news.  Anyone who read a newspaper in the last month knew this demonstration would become a riot.

So, anyone pretending to be surprised is lying.  That’s quite a few there.

Before I go on, we shouldn’t make the lies worse.  Stop making excuses about how people “can’t predict the future.”  Forget those squinting apologies about “underestimating the threat” or “making a mistake.”  Anyone who pretends they didn’t know the risk is lying.  That’s important to say.

Honestly, this is an opportunity.  Pay attention to which people pretended they were surprised or shocked.  Many of them already have blood on their hands, so more lies shouldn’t be a shock.  Their word is worth less than the burnt match they used to light this pyre.  Lies have consequences.

Speaking of liars, the Capitol Police haven’t held a press conference yet, have they?  They allowed a raging mob to invade one of the most important places they protect.  What do we know happened?

• The gangs successfully delayed the election and hoped to overturn our democracy.  That makes this an insurrection.
• The mob attacked USCP officers, killing one and wounding an unknown number.  We’ve watched the video of the crowd dragging officers down the steps and beating them viciously with clubs and flagpoles.
• People fought and died on both sides.
• The insurrection vandalized federal offices, stealing data, furniture, and computers.
• The crowd called for lynching Vice President Mike Pence, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and others.  They were searching for specific people during the invasion.
• More than one person in the crowd carried FlexiCuffs.  Think about what that implies.

The USCP hasn’t publicly explained any part of what happened.  They haven’t told us who was hurt, how many, or how badly.  The USCP is silent about the preparation, current status, or future plans.

That’s crap.  The USPC is a public service, not a secret society.  Not speaking is lying by omission. And let’s not be coy.  We already know why: bad optics.  Any explanation makes the Capitol Police failure explicit and public.  Any press coverage leaves them looking bad. 

No, their embarrassment isn’t material.  USCP leadership has their duty and oath to follow.  Their long silence now breaks that oath.  They’re already lying.  We know that whatever they say after this will include more lies.  We’re done.  We know we can’t trust liars.

Think about the GOP.  Which Senators and Congresspeople addressed the crowd, inflaming them?  Who issued Tweets with thinly-veiled promises of revolution?  That’s sedition.  And now the cowards condemn the insurrection and regret how their fiery words were… misinterpreted.  (Modern politicians love using that listless pile of crap for protection.)

The problem with their non-apologies is easy to spot: did they lie to the crowd back then, or are they’re lying to us now?  Their actions already violated their oath. If they believe the election is a massive and extensive criminal fraud, then the insurrection is justified and needs to be repeated. You don’t get both sides.

You’d think Republicans might get smarter after being forced to hide from brutal insurrectionists and murderers.  Yeah… no.  Even after that, several Senators and more than half the House Republicans voted to block Biden’s election victory.  They insisted that baseless claims and vague, disproven doubts had ruined the election. “Stop the Steal!” their hacks screamed.  (Don’t start with me. I know the GOP hasn’t produced a solitary case of fraud in any state, territory, or the District.)

Most House Republicans voted against the peaceful transfer of power.  It was a party-line, loyalty test vote to discard the core of the Constitution. They’ve shredded their oath of office.

We can’t trust liars. Save yourself some time. We know about hundreds of politicians and officials who just lied. Their word is worthless. Stop taking anything they say seriously.  That’s the critical part. If you repeat a liar, you’re pretending they aren’t really liars.  That’s self-destructive.

And our media aren’t helping. They’re just trying to feed you more horseshit. Use your brain.  I know it hurts. These times are driving me to drink. It takes time, too. Still, thinking it through is better than just chowing down.