WHY DOES IT TAKE A RIOT ?

The events of yesterday 6^th January 2020 in Washington DC were in some way predictable, given the garbage and pollution that has been floating around the American political swamp over the last four years. Anyone with senses to see and/or hear what has been going on could have foreseen something disastrous would happen. A disaster that is entirely of Mr Trumps own making. His behaviour has distanced himself from the wider American public and has caused deep rifts within his own party. Since he has lost the election, everything he has gone near has resulted in chaos. Ms Loeffler and Mr Perdue have, thankfully, been made painfully aware of what their affiliation with him has meant.

I need say little more, but why does it take a riot to make people speak up and take a stand?  Many had given warnings, clearly to no avail. The various speeches made by Senators and Congressional Representatives during the debate over the adoption of the electoral college votes were very telling. Two in particular caught my ear. Senators Mitt Romney (Republican Senator from Utah) and Tammy Duckworth (Democratic Senator from Illinois). Mitt Romney has already made his feelings about Mr Trump known to the American people and summed things up in his allotted five minutes, receiving across the chamber applause. 

Tammy Duckworth carefully outlined her position, demonstrating her strong and emotional commitment to her oath of office. She had to pause to fight back the tears towards the end of her remarks. She is quite a remarkable woman.

This following is part of her Wikipedia entry:

She graduated from the University of Hawaii in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science and later received a Master of Arts in international affairs from George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs. She began a PhD program at Northern Illinois University, which was interrupted by her war service. She completed a PhD in human services at Capella University in March 2015.

A combat veteran of the Iraq War, she served as a U.S. Army helicopter pilot. In 2004, after her helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade fired by Iraqi insurgents, she suffered severe combat wounds, which caused her to lose both of her legs and some mobility in her right arm. She was the first female double amputee from the war. Despite her grievous injuries, she sought and obtained a medical waiver that allowed her to continue serving in the Illinois Army National Guard until she retired as a lieutenant colonel in 2014.

Duckworth was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016, defeating Republican incumbent Mark Kirk. She is the first Thai American woman elected to Congress, the first person born in Thailand elected to Congress, the first woman with a disability elected to Congress, the first female double amputee in the Senate, and the first senator to give birth while in office. Duckworth is the second of three Asian American women to serve in the U.S. Senate, after Mazie Hirono, and before Kamala Harris. 

She is without doubt a true believer. Let us hope the sacrifices that she has made will not have been in vain, and that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris live up to her expectations and the expectations of citizens around the world.