# Jan 6 Hearings Follow-Along & Commentary Thread (Starts Jun 9, 2022) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 9, 2022, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jan-6-hearings-follow-along-commentary-thread-starts-jun-9-2022/965940 "2022-06-09T22:34:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 100
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jan-6-hearings-follow-along-commentary-thread-starts-jun-9-2022/965940/1982 "2022-07-12T21:10:01Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Believe me - I deplore Trump. But I also deplore about half of my fellow citizens who thought him just dandy - and whatever percentage still think so. Are these guys intended to whittle down the diehards? First, I don’t think you’re supposed to see them as the good guys. This was a chance for them to do public penance, not a chance to hold them up as heroes. Second, absolutely: their speaking about experiences as ex-cultists is crucial _for other cultists_. For years, Trump’s had a circular-firing-squad cult, where everyone has guns pointed at one another ready to fire at anyone who leaves, or even at anyone who doesn’t fire at the folks who leave. He relies on mass intimidation and recruits others into his mass intimidation. For Trump cultists to see the folks who’ve walked away, and to hear them voice narratives that are so much like their own, makes it possible for them to imagine walking away themselves. That’s not a narrative that a non-cultist can carry. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jan-6-hearings-follow-along-commentary-thread-starts-jun-9-2022/965940/1983 "2022-07-12T21:10:34Z")
Putting this all into a single narrative would be: My underlying anger and resentment was manipulated by Trump and social media to lead my to a conclusion that I now recognize as stupid. This could have happened to anyone. This seems like a perfectly reasonable conclusion and lays heavy blame at Trump’s feet. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jan-6-hearings-follow-along-commentary-thread-starts-jun-9-2022/965940/1984 "2022-07-12T21:11:50Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > What I’m suggesting is that we will need a few more “Mr. Ayres” to state basically the same thing before there is enough evidence to draw that conclusion Pretty sure you can find similar testimony in these people’s J6 trials. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jan-6-hearings-follow-along-commentary-thread-starts-jun-9-2022/965940/1985 "2022-07-12T21:13:24Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > ETA: this is probably better for the adjacent thread. @Aspenglow, feel free to move. I think it’s ok in either place, because Cheney raised the issue in her tantalizing closing statement. But I do think it would be better if we carry on the discussion in the Adjacent thread. I don’t want to start a new career in moving posts from one thread to the other, so thanks for recognizing it is speculative at this point. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jan-6-hearings-follow-along-commentary-thread-starts-jun-9-2022/965940/1986 "2022-07-12T21:14:56Z")
No, this is fine in this thread. You’re offering an opinion about testimony that was heard at today’s hearing. But thanks for considering it carefully. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jan-6-hearings-follow-along-commentary-thread-starts-jun-9-2022/965940/1987 "2022-07-12T21:17:44Z")
Next hearing is scheduled for Thursday, July 21st, in prime time. So probably 8:00 p.m. Eastern time. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jan-6-hearings-follow-along-commentary-thread-starts-jun-9-2022/965940/1988 "2022-07-12T21:19:51Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > But what kinda troubles me - and I’m being serious here - is that isn’t a HUGE part of our country about politicians and companies persuading folk to act in ways that may not be in the individual’s best interest? Not really. I mean yes, some of it is kowtowing to lobbies, but in general those arent bad for the populace, just better for the lobby “(What’s good for General Motors is Good for the Nation!”). And do you think other democratic nations are so different? Did you note the Boris Johnson thing? > [@Dinsdale](#): > > But I also deplore about half of my fellow citizens who thought him just dandy - and whatever percentage still think so. About 60% of Americans disapprove of trump, and about 38% still approve, per 538. > [@Spoons](#): > > Sure, but Mr. Ayres is only one guy; and as we so often say here on the SDMB, an anecdote is not data. An anecdote IS data, that has been misquoted here over and over. [Don't forget: The plural of anecdote is data](http://blog.danwin.com/don-t-forget-the-plural-of-anecdote-is-data/#:~:text=You%20may%20have%20heard%20the,plural%20of%20anecdote%20is%20data). _You may have heard the phrase the plural of anecdote is not data. It turns out that this is a misquote. The original aphorism, by the political scientist Ray Wolfinger, was just the opposite: The plural of anecdote is data._ I heard only the last hour of today’s hearings, and boy was it damning. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jan-6-hearings-follow-along-commentary-thread-starts-jun-9-2022/965940/1989 "2022-07-12T21:21:02Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > i’m betting he doesn’t have a suit. he is a behind the computer guy. This. He doesn’t own a suit (or dress clothes). That’s the whole story. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jan-6-hearings-follow-along-commentary-thread-starts-jun-9-2022/965940/1990 "2022-07-12T21:21:42Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Clues: > > 1. It’s a person Trump would call personally > 2. The committee has not shown their testimony to public yet > 3. (Possible) the fact of their testimony may not have been revealed yet > 4. Person is comfortable enough to ignore the call and sensible enough to call their lawyer > 5. And the next hearing is about Trump and his actions that day > > … any others? I’m thinking it will be some White House or campaign staffer that we haven’t heard from yet. Or a rally organizer, like Katrina Pierson or Amy Kremer. Outside chance it’s Mo Brooks. Probably a relatively unknown staffer, though. Or maybe the guy that had to sweep up the broken dishes and clean the catsup off the walls. _Fun fact - when Trump tried to smear Ted Cruz during the 2016 primaries by having the National Enquirer run a story claiming Cruz had affairs with 5 women. All clues pointed to Pierson as one of them, Pierson denied it._ > **[Internet scrambles to identify women described in National Enquirer's...](https://www.salon.com/2016/03/25/internet_scrambles_to_identify_women_described_in_national_enquirers_bombshell_report_alleging_ted_cruz_had_five_affairs/)** > > 3 of the women are believed to be public figures; the others, "a sexy Austin schoolteacher" and pricey call girl ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jan-6-hearings-follow-along-commentary-thread-starts-jun-9-2022/965940/1991 "2022-07-12T21:45:22Z")
> [@SunUp](#): > > I’m not sure if this would be in the Committee’s purview - I rather think it would be - but I would love to see an expert in mob (as opposed to Mob) psychology talk It didn’t happen in this Committee (that we know of), but there are a variety of articles at various on-line sources on this subject. Google: “January 6 mob psychology” to find a bunch. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jan-6-hearings-follow-along-commentary-thread-starts-jun-9-2022/965940/1992 "2022-07-12T21:48:12Z")
Once more: > [@Aspenglow](#): > > I’m going to reissue this reminder every 100 posts, because it will be easy to miss in a fast-moving thread. No one is going astray, and I really hope no one will. Thanks. > > Moderating: In an ATMB thread where moderation of this thread was discussed, @Cervaise offered the following to help clarify my intent in moderating this thread. I thought it was perfect, so I’m using it verbatim: In the interest of maintaining a manageable focus in this thread, we will narrow the topic from this point forward to ‘what has happened, who has appeared, what has been said, and what it might mean.’ Speculative subjects should be covered in a separate thread, perhaps under the he… ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jan-6-hearings-follow-along-commentary-thread-starts-jun-9-2022/965940/1993 "2022-07-12T21:49:17Z")
Just for clarification, is it permitted to speculate on the identity of the witness who refused Trump’s phone call? ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jan-6-hearings-follow-along-commentary-thread-starts-jun-9-2022/965940/1994 "2022-07-12T22:00:55Z")
We’re having the discussion more in the Adjacent thread, here: > [@January 6th Hearing-Adjacent Discussion Thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/january-6th-hearing-adjacent-discussion-thread/967829/): > > The purpose of this thread is to give posters a place to discuss speculative ideas and points arising from the January 6th hearings. It can include such discussions on subjects such as who else should be called, what might they offer, why is the Committee not calling them, etc. This thread is not intended as a catch-all for anything you’d like to post about Donald Trump or things not pertaining in some way to the January 6th hearings… Please make sure your post includes at least some tangenti… I know it’s confusing, so thanks for asking. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jan-6-hearings-follow-along-commentary-thread-starts-jun-9-2022/965940/1995 "2022-07-12T22:04:23Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > No, they named someone else, too. It started with ‘Br,’ but it wasn’t Brooks, I don’t believe. It was a name I’m not familiar with . . . Could perhaps be Kevin Brady (R-TX-8) maybe? Not a name I’m familiar with either. (I just found that by looking through a list of Congresscritters at Ballotpedia.) ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jan-6-hearings-follow-along-commentary-thread-starts-jun-9-2022/965940/1996 "2022-07-12T22:06:14Z")
That sounds right. It very likely was. I was typing as they rattled off the names and that one got right by me. Thanks for looking it up! ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jan-6-hearings-follow-along-commentary-thread-starts-jun-9-2022/965940/1997 "2022-07-12T22:10:19Z")
Could one of the next witnesses be the fellow that made the documentary? And some of his audio and video? Seeing Trump get excited and happy about the attack on the Capitol, would be good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jan-6-hearings-follow-along-commentary-thread-starts-jun-9-2022/965940/1998 "2022-07-12T22:22:14Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > If I were going to testify before a Congressional committee, I’d like to think I’d make an effort to make myself somewhat presentable.   [Reaction relegated to the Hearing-Adjacent thread.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/january-6th-hearing-adjacent-discussion-thread/967829/18) ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jan-6-hearings-follow-along-commentary-thread-starts-jun-9-2022/965940/1999 "2022-07-12T22:30:51Z")
That occurred to me, too. But I doubt Trump would have felt comfortable to call the guy and bully him. Plus his most important evidence is on tape and that’s already been turned over. So I kind of doubt it. I think discussion on this point is fine in either thread, because it was Liz Cheney’s cryptic closing statement in this hearing that generated all the curiosity. But I’ll just mention we’re having a lively discussion about it in the Adjacent thread, linked above. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jan-6-hearings-follow-along-commentary-thread-starts-jun-9-2022/965940/2000 "2022-07-12T22:35:45Z")
nm   ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jan-6-hearings-follow-along-commentary-thread-starts-jun-9-2022/965940/2001 "2022-07-12T23:12:17Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > . . . I don’t want to start a new career in moving posts from one thread to the other, . . . Sub-contract the job out to Ayres to do it. I hear he’s available. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jan-6-hearings-follow-along-commentary-thread-starts-jun-9-2022/965940.md?page=99) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jan-6-hearings-follow-along-commentary-thread-starts-jun-9-2022/965940.md?page=101)