Remembering January 6, 2021
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In My Humble Opinion
Jodi McDade
Can you BELIEVE we are already halfway through the month of January? Time certainly does fly by faster the older you get! There are so many things going on that I guess it’s hard to just keep up.
One of the things going on right now is qualifying to run for an elected office if you are interested. Both the Republican and Democratic parties are qualifying candidates for the May primary, and the deadline to fill out your papers (and pay your fees) is January 28. You can contact Terry Mitchell if you are interested in running in the Republican Primary, but I am not sure who the current county chair is of the Democratic Party. Probate Judge Rick Dean could point you in that direction.
All five of the County Commission positions, the sheriff, two seats on the county Board of Education, district judge, and coroner will be on the ballots this year. There are different legal requirements for each position so you need to be sure you meet those requirements, but otherwise anyone can run for these seats. The winners in the party primaries will then be on the General Election ballots in November.
Last week we recognized the anniversary of January 6 that is now being characterized as an act of war or act of terrorism by the media and many elected officials. It is being compared to Pearl Harbor and 9/11. This is probably one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard!
One of those events WAS an act of war by Japan against the United States, and 2,403 Americans were killed that one day. The other WAS an act of terrorism against the United States, and 2,996 people were killed that day.
On January 6, 2021, ONE person was killed inside the Capitol. Ashli Babbitt was shot by Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd when he fired into a crowd of people – none who showed any sign of being armed.
Don’t take me wrong – what happened that day should NEVER have happened, and the people who trespassed into the Capitol need to be charged with trespassing and destruction of federal property. There have been more than 700 people arrested, and about 40 people remain in custody. But the term “insurrection” does not apply in this case.
This was what was organized as a peaceful rally and march to voice the rights of the people to be heard by their elected officials. No different from the Million Man March, anti-abortion marches, Glenn Beck rallies, the MLK “I Have a Dream” event, or any other events that have been held in Washington through the years. The difference here is that there WAS an infiltration of the peaceful attendees by a small group of people who did instigate a riot that got totally out of hand.
There is a man named Ray Epps who has been identified in videos encouraging people to enter the Capitol. He is rumored to be an FBI informant, but the January 6 Committee will not look into this. There are many other examples of this.
Also, there has been no investigation into why there was no increase in law enforcement to handle a crowd of this size that was KNOWN IN ADVANCE. The Capitol Police were understaffed, and some can even be seen in videos acting as tour guides for the people who did gain entry into the Capitol. If we are going to investigate what happened that day, we need to investigate EVERYTHING that happened.
I’ll close with a quote from my column last year regarding the January 6 rally in D.C.:
“And to close for this week, I just want to share my opinion of the events of January 6. I have quite a few friends who were in D.C. that day, and I have heard many eyewitness accounts from several of the locations. As hard as it is to accept, yes, there were Trump supporters involved in the illegal entry into the Capitol. And, they should be arrested, charged and convicted to the fullest extent of the law – just like the others who were involved. More information is coming out as the investigations continue, and I hope the full truth will eventually emerge.”
If we want the truth, we need to be open enough to let the chips fall where they may, punish the people who broke the law, and then learn from what happened so it won’t happen again. Don’t let this become a way to take away our right to peacefully gather to express our opinions.
Until next week.