Louisiana Voice

Five years ago today, a couple of thousand thugs, prodded on by Donald Trump, stormed the U.S. Capitol in an unprecedented attempt to overturn the will of the American people as reflected in the results of the 2020 presidential election. It was not, as U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Georgia) described it–appearing to look like a “normal tourist visit.” Normal tourists don’t smear human feces on the wall of the People’s House. Normal tourists don’t attack police officers with flag poles that held the American flag. And true Americans don’t look the other way at outright insurrection spurred on by an American president (Trump was still president on that day) who, when he returned to office four years later, pardoned nearly every one of the insurrectionists.

Now, one U.S. Representative from Louisiana has shown the courage to state the obvious in reflecting on that day that had Rep. Josh Hawley running like the frightened child that he was.

Rep. Troy Carter, representing Louisiana’s 2nd Congressional District, has offered his thoughts on one of the darkest days in American history.

Sadly, it’s more than Reps. Clay Higgins, Julia Letlow, Mike Johnson or Steve KKK Scalise (Cleo Fields was not in Congress at the time and so did not witness the carnage firsthand) or Sens.–especially our senators–John N. Kennedy or Bill Cassidy have done. They obviously prefer to look the other way and pretend that all was dandy on Jan. 6, 2021. They are either brainwashed or the brainwashers, take your pick. Whichever you choose, they are, one and all, too cowardly to stand up for their country.

At any rate, here are Rep. Troy Carter’s thoughts about that internal attack on America and the concept of the right of American people to choose in a free and fair election:

“Five years ago today, our nation witnessed something we never believed possible in a modern American democracy. A violent mob, fueled by deliberate misinformation and incited by the words and actions of a sitting president, stormed the United States Capitol in an effort to overturn a lawful election and halt the peaceful transfer of power. This was not spontaneous outrage. It was the predictable result of months of lies that undermined confidence in our electoral system and encouraged Americans to see one another as enemies rather than fellow citizens.

“The attack left people dead, law enforcement officers injured, and the seat of our democracy desecrated. But the deeper damage was to something less visible and far more fragile: the public’s faith in democracy itself. When leaders normalize falsehoods, attack the legitimacy of elections, and excuse political violence, they weaken the very guardrails that have held this republic together for more than two centuries. History teaches us that democracies rarely collapse all at once. They erode when the rule of law is treated as optional and when power is pursued without regard for truth or consequence.

“Even now, I feel the gravity of January 6 every time I walk through the Capitol. This building is not just marble and stone. It is a symbol of our shared commitment to self-government. To attack it is to attack the idea that in America, leaders are chosen by the people and held accountable by the law.

“January 6 must remain a warning, not a footnote. Defending democracy requires more than remembrance. It demands courage from those in power, honesty from those who lead, and vigilance from all of us. We owe it to future generations to protect free and fair elections, reject political violence in all forms, and reaffirm that no individual is above the Constitution. Our democracy is only as strong as our willingness to defend it, especially when it is tested.”

To that, I would add a sincere “thank you” to Rep. Carter.

“Five years after Jan. 6, 2021, we are still caught up in a struggle between forces who are willing to use authoritarian violence outside the Constitution to take and wield power and those who stand up nonviolently for our Constitution in the streets and in the polling places. Neither side can claim victory yet.”

— Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland)

In pondering the news of the day, a couple of questions keep popping up in light of the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores and statements that the pair will be tried under U.S. law for crimes allegedly committed in their country.

In March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued ARREST WARRANTS for Bladimir Putin for the war crime of unlawful deportation and transfer of children during the Ruso-Ukrainian War. More simply stated, that’s child trafficking.

Last August, Putin met with our very own Mango Mussolini in ALASKA but was not arrested or detained.

Of course, the U.S. does not recognize the ICC but so what? Putin is a murderer and he was on U.S. soil and the Trump administration did nothing.

Yet, the leader of a country with which we are not at war and which has not invaded any other sovereign nation is TO BE TRIED in the Southern District of New York on charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy and cocaine importation conspiracy.

Not only is he to be tried in the U.S., but Trump actually boasted following Maduro’s capture that the U.S. is “GOING TO RUN” Venezuela.

That wouldn’t be because Venezuela has the world’s largest deposits of oil reserves, would it? Sounds strangely familiar to bogus claims of weapons of mass destruction in another oil-rich country by another Repugnantcan administration.

At this rate, Trump may be asked to forfeit his FIFA Peace Award.

There’s no questioning the fact that Maduro is a thug, a despot, a tyrant. But it seems a tad strange that he could be singled out for his crimes even though there was no indictment and he was captured only after the U.S. invaded Venezuela while Putin is allowed to come and go with impunity in this country and indeed, is treated like royalty.

Just sayin’…