By Lynn Venhaus
Collective amnesia? Not shamed by the hypocrisy?

My mind is blown on a daily basis by the willingness to dismiss the gravity of Jan. 6, when an insurrection tried to take over the Capitol and destroy democracy. Did you not see the videos? The selfies? The news reports?

So far, 164 people have been arrested. Five people died.

There are 140 Capitol police officers with injuries, some severe. One lost his life that day. Two officers took their own lives. One might lose his eye. Beaten, bruised, stabbed — some bad enough to have spinal cord and brain injuries. Look it up if you don’t believe me.

These mindsets of “Stop the Steal” aren’t dangerous?

Despite his lies and protests to the contrary, disgraced Missouri Senator Josh Hawley went on Fox News Jan. 4: When asked if he was saying Trump would still be president Jan. 21, he said (and it’s on tape):

“Well, Bret, that depends on what happens on Wednesday.”

He was a self-righteous prig before his fist pump, now he is just a lying despicable traitor, betraying his oath of office. His former mentor Sen. John Danforth has called him out and said what he’s saying is “Baloney!” Hawley is whining about his views being muzzled but he’s been all over the media saying his revisionist history. KMOV said they have repeatedly asked him for comments and he has declined.

Mr. Two-Face. His victim act is so disingenuous.

Gaslighting is still going on after #45. I can’t believe people who I describe as “lifelong Republicans but never Trumpers” don’t find all of this appalling. Liz Cheney, Mitt Romney and Cindy McCain do, and they were ‘censured’ by the Arizona GOP!?!?Even though he took that once Grand Old Party hostage, the morally bankrupt Trump was never a real Republican nor a Christian (inexplicable Evangelical support).

And speaking of the former president, he will be on trial in the Senate, so a potential juror (Kevin McCarthy) is visiting the defendent/witness today in Mar-a-Lago? WTH?

One of the recently elected lunatic fringe in Congress, QAnon supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene, is being criticized for her astonishing social media posts, calling for violence and being flippant about harming the ‘opposing side,’ such as Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. She is saying it doesn’t count because it was before she was elected.

Well, Al Franken was pressured to resign as a senator when a photo of him taken years ago surfaced during his term, when under scrutiny from #MeToo movement. She hasn’t taken anything back, including harassing one of the Parkland kids about her right to conceal and carry. She doesn’t believe the biggest mass shooting tragedy in America happened in Vegas. Oh yeah, give her a seat on the Education Committee when she called school shootings “false flags.”

Other people are held accountable for their views. Public figures should be held to higher standards.

As for people screaming about the First Amendment, it doesn’t give carte blanche to everything. You can’t shout “Fire!” in a crowded movie theatre. Words Matter. Everyone’s parents say so. Why is it different now?

You can’t minimize Jan. 6.

This wasn’t fratboy hijinks! This was weaponized domestic terrorists shouting “Hang Mike Pence!” How can this be rationalized?

And with her outlandish conspiracy theories, MTG is an embarrassment as an elected official. She was too extreme for the Republican Party when she ran in the primary (check out who supported her opponent — one Kevin McCarthy!) But when she won, they were all in, accepting her crazy Q views.

She is not some sassy sitcom sidekick there for comic relief. What do they think? It’s a Ricky-Lucy moment when Desi Arnaz says she has some ‘splaining” to do?

Wake up from this fever dream. People should stand for something good and noble and decent. Call on America to be better, do better. Marjorie wants to carry a gun in the Congressional chamber. She has been OK with inciting violence in Facebook posts. Wouldn’t you be uneasy if she was your co-worker?

People who sometimes say crazy inflammatory things do act on them. Ask people whose workplace was the scene of a disgruntled employee going ballistic.

Yes, we have to bring the temperature of hateful rhetoric down. I think it’s the height of hypocrisy for legislators to say things like “We need to move on because this will further divide people” when you were fully on board with the Bully-in-Chief’s incendiary tweets and attacks for four years.

You cowardly stood by without denouncing Charlottesville. You’re OK with the divide and conquer fascist methods because you are OK with an authoritarian government. You are OK with your voters being white supremists, You need those votes to stay in power, pretending to support your oath when you don’t follow it.

And Mitch McConnell said no impeachment trial until after inauguration but when the Senate starts, the GOP object because he is no longer president! WTH? Trump has had nothing but breaks his whole life — mind-boggling that he believes he is always a ‘victim’– but accused of treason needs to be addressed. You say things that lead to violence and you are NOT at fault? We held Osama bin Laden and Charles Manson responsible even though they were not at the scene of the crime. He and his minions also impeded law enforcement that day. Oh, let’s “FORGET”?

There are not separate rules. Our government is ruled by the U.S. Constitution. You don’t get to cherry-pick it.

After the lack of evidence of fraud in the presidential election, you still sought to overturn a fair and free election because of a massive disinformation campaign. And you were part of the Big Lie. That is a seditionist.

The thing about media is that they can roll the tape, bring up the clip, and show the newspaper clipping of what you said. You can run from reporters, but you can’t hide forever. How do you get out of that?

My life’s mantra is: “When people show you their real selves, believe it.” Thank you, Maya Angelou.

We must believe in the real threat of radicalized domestic terrorists – and it’s not over, oh no. The Department of Homeland Security has issued a warning. Beware public officials.

This is not a TV show. We saw the Capitol breached in real time. We saw the “Camp Auschwitz” T-shirt. We saw Officer Hodge scream in pain as the angry mob tried to crush him. We saw an American flag used as a weapon. We saw proud Americans waving Confederate flags. We saw elected officials and their staff hide under desks and chairs. We can’t “move on.” We need to hold people accountable. As more facts come out, the situation, the planning and the movement become even more frightening. There is cause for alarm — we are not being paranoid or overly dramatic.

We must stop the gaslighting. We saw what we saw. We heard what we heard. As they used to say: “Don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining.”

We need unity and healing, but it won’t happen until people take responsibility for their actions — and their words — that caused harm.