Disappointing but unsurprising. link to ‘Kentucky candidates struggle when describing 2020 election | Lexington Herald Leader’

What cynicism to support people you once literally ran away from because you think it’s politically advantageous. link to ‘Josh Hawley Just Gave Us the How It Started/How It’s Going for Jan. 6’

Look, there may be less of a coordinated defense, but ignoring the Jan. 6th hearings is almost as bad as defending Trump from them. link to ‘With midterms in sight, few Republicans are defending Trump as they did in 2019 : NPR’

‘I just know in my heart’ is terrible and terrifying reasoning for posing this level of a threat to democracy. link to ‘Trump team didn’t have the evidence and 4 other takeaways from Jan. 6 hearing : NPR’

This is more worrying to me—and more damning for the GOP—than anything that happened on January 6th. link to ‘Amid Jan. 6 Revelations, Election Lies Still Dominate the G.O.P. - The New York Times’

Pence deserves credit for the steps he took on January 6th, but I agree that he has responsibilities to do more right now. link to ‘4 takeaways from the third Jan. 6 hearing : NPR’

Fascinating (if worrying) article on just how important the basic mechanics of an election are. link to ‘The election system shuddered in 2020. Now, there are fears of an attack within : NPR’

Glad that there hasn’t been much conversation about this in Kentucky, but it’s still really worrying stuff. link to ‘How Trump’s 2020 Election Lies Have Gripped State Legislatures - The New York Times’

Some of the scariest news I’ve read this week. link to ‘G.O.P. Declares Jan. 6 Attack ‘Legitimate Political Discourse’ - The New York Times’

Not happy about this. link to ‘Companies Donated Millions to Those Who Voted to Overturn Biden’s Win - The New York Times’

Worried about our present—and for our future. link to ‘A Year Later, Jan. 6 Becomes Just Another Wedge in a Divided Nation - The New York Times’

Podcasts are one of the last bastions of the open internet, but that evidently comes at a cost. So long as Apple and Spotify are trying to corner the podcast market, they should be moderating their content. link to ‘Election Falsehoods Surged on Podcasts Before Capitol Riots, Researchers Find - The New York Times’

We must not forget that day or let others redefine it. link to ‘Trump says his supporters weren’t behind the Jan. 6 attack — but I was there : NPR’

Unhappy reading for the holidays. link to ‘Trump’s ‘Big Lie’ endures and poses a threat to U.S. democracy : NPR’

A sign of scary things to come. I haven’t taught my department’s information literacy class for several semesters; I hope it’s up to the task of combatting this sort of thing. link to ‘How Trump and the 2020 race is weighing on Georgia Gov. Kemp in 2022 : NPR’

Despite the underlying problems with the Barabbas story, this seems like a good Friday to remember that we shouldn’t prefer violent insurrectionists over those wrongfully killed by the state.

First time I’ve read this much into Inauguration Day happening around the same time as my birthday.

I do not have any data to back this up, but it sure seems like Francophone news outlets have transitioned over the past two years from translating “impeachment” to just using it as a loanword.

Remembering Governor Andy Beshear’s comments from last May: “You cannot fan the flames and then condemn the fire.” I can think of lots of people who need to hear that this morning.

I had a friend in Michigan with whom I disagreed on a great deal but who was still an important and supportive mentor for me. On November 9, 2016, we had a very tense conversation where he told me that I would see: The candidate’s bluster might be worrying, but he wouldn’t actually act on any of it. I haven’t talked to him in a few years, but I’m wondering what’s going through his head today.

Pour le 6 janvier, Urban Federer, l’abbé d’Ensiedeln (Suisse), écrit au sujet de « la peur d’être perdant » de Hérode et Saül, qui a inspiré « une jalousie, laquelle les a poussés a la haine meurtrière ». C’est un message pour l’Épiphanie pour tous les temps et tous les lieux, mais ça fait bizarre de le lire en particulier aux États-Unis ce 6 janvier 2021.

First line of this morning’s France Inter news broadcast: “A phone call worthy of an American crime novel.”

The Georgia transcript reads like a student calling after I’ve submitted grades but before the registrar’s deadline has passed, arguing that he’s earned a perfect score but is willing to settle for my bumping him up a couple points to get an A.

Every day that goes by in this election cycle just makes me more frustrated that we don’t have ranked-choice voting.