Uncle Scam's First Amendment Jeopardy J6 Wheel of Misfortune Cartoon by Ed Newmann Jan 2024

On January 6, 2021, there was no “insurrection.” This is evidenced in part because three years later no charge or indictment of “insurrection” has been filed against anyone, including Trump.

I'm weary of the vast constitutional violations by government personnel, both criminal and civil, that are going unaddressed primarily due to the public's toleration based upon political considerations that are shallow, mostly manufactured, and grossly derelict in Americans' stewardship of the Republic.

My sincere apologies! In last month's article “Noble Lies Are No Excuse For Ignoble Acts," I carelessly, erroneously reported, “In nearly 100 percent of the cases to date, the punishment is far worse than the crime and severely disproportionate to rulings for far worse bad acts by BLM and Antifa rioters during their rampages just a year prior, where hundreds of police officers died with billions in damages.”

River Cities Reader January 2023 Ed Newman Cartoon Jan 6 Republic Democracy Police State.png

This week is the second anniversary of the January 6, 2021. For nearly 1,000 American citizens are being harassed, arrested, and prosecuted (many of whom have not had their due process or day in court) for alleged crimes committed while exercising their First Amendment-protected rights to peacefully assemble, free speech, and petition for redress of grievances, there are no resolutions, no closure, and mostly no justice.

January 6, 2021 US Capitol photo by Corey Eib

Each and every time the courts tell the petitioners, “Yes, we are harming you and yes there are constitutional violations. However, your harm is no greater than everyone else's harm, so you have no standing.” Now you know the real reason we are told over and over we live in a Democracy, and not a Republic. The word democracy appears nowhere in any state or U.S. constitution.

No Election is Perfectly Safe and Secure

I recently read a thoroughly enjoyable piece by Mike Caulfield at Hapgood.US on the first use of “conspiracy theory” that he discovered in a letter from the English press, published in the New York Times on January 4, 1863. In a nutshell, the letter was a critical commentary on American intrigue relative to English aristocracy interests, and expressing disdain for America as a formidable foe, therefore anxious to see our ruin. This predates all other claims of the first use of “conspiracy theory,” and as Caulfield points out, “You’ll note too something that is almost too delicious: the first use of conspiracy theory is about a conspiracy said to involve the press.”

River Cities Reader 1000th Issue Print Edition Cover

Welcome to the 1,000th edition of the River Cities' Reader, and thanks for picking up the printed copy you are reading now. (Depicted here at the web version of this commentary is a photo of the 1000th Reader print edition. Cover illustation by Ed Newmann.) The number of editions we would print was never a metric for achieving any milestones. Still, reaching one thousand printed issues is a gratifying moment that inspires reflection and meta contemplation!

January 6, 2021 US Capitol photo by Corey Eib

First and foremost is that no one has explained the motive behind why Trump supporters would deliberately storm the castle to sabotage the Congressional Electoral College certification process when they considered it the last best hope to see their precious Trump restored to the office of the President. The third narrative hole is that there are 14,000 hours of video footage being withheld from the public.

January 6, 2021 US Capitol Up Close by Jason Bermas

Thank you to these five concerned citizens who provided their candid and first-person perspectives about a day that many would have live in infamy. Below are short bios on each participant, followed by each person's response to our 12 questions.