Now Do Him

Former United States Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming is seen here remarking "we must act with honor and duty and in the interests of our nation."

President Joseph R. Biden now has done so as he

announced Thursday that he is awarding the Presidential Citizens Medal to Rep. Bennie Thompson and former Rep. Liz Cheney, the two lawmakers who led the House select committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol.

Mr. Biden will deliver remarks and present the awards to Thompson, Cheney and more than a dozen other recipients during a ceremony at the White House later Thursday.

"The Presidential Citizens Medal is awarded to citizens of the United States of America who have performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens. President Biden believes these Americans are bonded by their common decency and commitment to serving others. The country is better because of their dedication and sacrifice," the White House said in announcing those honored.

 Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, and Cheney, a Wyoming Republican, served as chair and vice chair, respectively, of the House panel that was tasked with examining the events leading up to and on Jan. 6. In the course of its probe, the committee held 10 public hearings, interviewed more than 1,000 witnesses and compiled more than 1 million pages of material.

Its work concluded in December 2022 after an investigation that spanned 18 months. The committee voted to refer President-elect Donald Trump and conservative lawyer John Eastman for criminal prosecution because of their alleged efforts to subvert the peaceful transfer of presidential power on Jan. 6.

Congress or the President of the USA bestows twenty-four other honors. The most prestigious, however, are the Congressional Award, Congressional Gold medal, the Medal of Honor, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The latter medal is usually considered the highest civilian award available and is bestowed by the President at his or her (heretofore, his) discretion. 

Cheney and Thompson are being properly lauded for their role in investigating the insurrection of January 6, 2021. How many lives of members of Congress, therefore, was it necessary.for Lt. Michael S. Byrd to save to be honored? Ashli Babbit's violent and lawless behavior led a mob of people to gain "access to "a hallway outside 'Speaker's Lobby,' which leads to the Chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives." 

Thus far, his courageous decision to shoot Babbitt has brought only the invevitable death threats from Trump supporters and from the Babbitt family a wrongful death lawsuit, due to be heard in January, 202., During an interview with NBC's Lester Holt in August of that year, Byrd

discussed in detail the moments leading up to when he fired at Babbitt, telling Holt: “I tried to wait as long as I could.”

He said he “hoped and prayed” that nobody would try to enter the doors he was guarding, but their “failure to comply required” him to “take the appropriate action to save the lives of members of Congress and myself and my fellow officers.”

Byrd at one point during the riots was inside the House chamber, where a number of lawmakers were seeking cover. He told Holt that he gave one critical instruction to the members on the floor: to remove their congressional pins so they would blend in.

“One of the things that was imperative was to inform the members to remove their pins to allow them to blend in,” Byrd said. “To remove their jackets, to look like staff as much as possible.”

Byrd soon after rushed out of the chamber and, along with a few other officers, created a makeshift barricade with furniture. He said it was at that point, when “the chants got louder,” that he knew the mob was approaching.

“At that point is when I realized they’re here,” Byrd said. “The chants got louder. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but it sounded like hundreds of people outside of that door.”

Lt. Byrd may fear for his life. For all we know, President Biden may already have offered him an award or a medal for saving the lives of many lawmakers, and perhaps saving our representative democracy on that day almost exactly four years go. If the outgoing President has not done so, he should, and couple it with a powerful statement supporting our system of government, intolerance for violent crime, and the value of human life.

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The Anti-Jews Roll On

Sadly, Marc Lamont Hill is yet, well, Marc Lamont Hill. He was fired in November of 2018 as a contributor at CNN when he advocated the destruction of Israel- "from the river to the sea." 

He is still living in the land of religious bigotry. On September 13, 2024 Hill appeared on apanel of the racially segregated Congressional Black Caucus with fellow anti-Semites Rashida Tlaib (D-Minn) and Cori Bush (D-Mo), the latter of whom has been involuntarily retired from the United States House of Representatives.

With Cori Bush and Rashida Tlaib clapping, listen to Marc Lamont Hill say that critiquing Hamas is a “white supremacist” viewpoint.

He then says that Hamas was democratically elected and to not talk about them as though they are some “crazy people.” pic.twitter.com/s5b3cCtL52

— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) December 31, 2024

The questioning turned to Gaza and asked "why won't Hamas surrender," Hill responded "it is unnecessary and it is excessive." After maintaining that a surrender would be excessive, hence making it clear that he is not partial to surrender, he added 

but let's be very clear. Hamas hasn't surrendered because it's still under brutal occupation. Hamas hasn't surrendered because Israel has never given the Palestinian people,one minute, one second of self- determination and freedom of liberation.

This "brutal occupation" included the Netanyahu Administration welcoming Qatar to deliver unto the government in Gaza supplies ostensibly "humanitarian." Alas, as should have been predictable but which the Prime Minister presumably was unaware, those resources were regularly corralled into  rockets and an intensive tunnel network, critical to the 10/7/23 attack and detention of hostages since then. But, "brutal."

Predictably, Hill conveniently conflates Gaza with the West Bank. Israel, which has kept no soldiers in the territor, does not "occupy" Gaza. Had it done so, the slaughter 15 months ago arguably would not have taken place; inarguably, Israeli soldiers would not have (justifiably) invaded Gaza in response because they already would have been there.

Moreover, the "Palestinian people" are not the monolityh Hill pretends they are.  The schism between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority dates back 18+ years, when

Hamas briefly joined the PA, rising to the head of the authority in 2006 after winning general elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. But it split from the authority months later, when the rival faction Fatah, which has long dominated the PA, refused to recognize Hamas's election victory. The two went to war and though Fatah was able to oust Hamas fromthe West Bank and maintain its sway over Palestinian affairs there, Hamas's forces prevailed in the Gaza Strip, securing the group's control over the territory.

Nonetheless, my "favorit"e Hill remark was 

My moral code is that you don't kidnap innocent people and that you don't kill civilians. Alright, that's fine- we can have that conversation...

And the question presumes- and is undergired by a kind of Orientalist white supremacy idea- that Palestinians are these unyielding, barbaric, uncivilized pre-modern people that are incapable of negotiation.

Whatever in the name of the Almighy is "Orientalist white supremacy?"  What does race have to do with a conflict of peoples who both have a historical connection to the region? And who uses the term "Oriental" anymore?

Of course, the simple question "why won't Hamas surrender" does not presume anything about "Palestinians" and refers only to the terrorist group known as "Hamas." The question had nthing to do with the Palestinian people, who should not be stereotyped by Marc Lamont Hill or his fellow travelers as being indistinguishable from Hamas. Many of the ultra-Orthodox supporets of secularist Benjamin Netanyahu often conflate Hamas with the Gazan people themselves and it appears their ultra-leftist antagonists tend to do the same. And Hamas won't surrender because across the world (even in Israel), there are individuals who refuse to acknowlege the evil personified by the terrorist organization.

For most people, having a "conversation" about kidnapping innocent people and killing civilians is unnecessary.  As is the extremely consequential feature of the hate expressed by the far right (most recently on November 5), the kind of hatred exhibited by Hill is a characteristic of modern American politics. In her congressional district in Missouri, Cori Bush was defeated in her primary by oa more reasonable Democra. Yet, there is a lot more of individuals like Marc Lamont Hill and Rashida Tlaib out there, joined by a larger, more consequential group of rightists, to remind us that a new year probably won't bring a new level of clear, reasoned thought.

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