# The American Coup: 11.9.2020 - **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 9, 2020, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182 "2020-11-09T23:29:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 97
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1923 "2021-01-04T17:01:41Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > I think our capitalist autocracy might be headed more in the direction of Russia than China, although there are some similarities. Russia at least pretends to have a democracy. This is exactly the model. Plutocracy with an occasional ornamental election. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1924 "2021-01-04T17:05:18Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > The Fridge? A fond memory. I was in college at the time, and I put £50 on The Fridge scoring a touchdown. It played out the way I hoped - a blowout, and they gave him the chance because he was their icon that year. It was a lot of money for a college kid, I think they gave me 10/1. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1925 "2021-01-04T17:09:20Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > If the roof was tiled, or slates, and the workmen removing them had an unfortunate tendency to"accidentally" drop them on the conclave below, that could certainly help hasten the decision. IIRC they were lead tiles so, yeah. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1926 "2021-01-04T17:35:50Z")
🤦‍♂️ DYAC! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1927 "2021-01-04T18:28:47Z")
So Alexa already knows that they will give Trump a 24-hour warning? That wouldn’t be all that shocking, BTW. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1928 "2021-01-04T19:24:05Z")
That’s actually a genius bet because you knew it was possible that Perry might score; it wasn’t like predicting New Orleans’ onside kick in the 2nd half or Mike Vrabel scoring a touchdown – the Fridge had done it before during the regular season. But being a Super Bowl, conventional thinking would lead a lot of bettors to conclude that it’s too gimmicky and too risky to happen in a game of that magnitude. Most people were probably thinking that Walter Payton (RIP) would have been the ideal choice. Off on a tangent, it’s too bad Payton didn’t score. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1929 "2021-01-04T21:23:42Z")
If it hasn’t been posted, or if I missed it, here’s the transcript of the entire hour-long shakedown call. > **[Read the full transcript and listen to Trump's audio call with Georgia...](https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/03/politics/trump-brad-raffensperger-phone-call-transcript/index.html)** > > CNN has obtained the full January 2 audio call between President Donald Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Trump is joined on the call by White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and several lawyers. ---
**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:** [January 4, 2021, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1931 "2021-01-04T21:58:42Z")
Lol, while being interviewed by USA Today correspondant Will Carless, Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio _may_ have been arrested: [https://twitter.com/willcarless/status/1346205470403350529?s=19](https://twitter.com/willcarless/status/1346205470403350529?s=19) ---
**Author:** ![gnarator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gnarator/32/8266_2.png) [@gnarator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnarator)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1932 "2021-01-04T22:08:54Z")
Perdue’s term expired, so his seat is currently vacant, but Loeffler is filling out Isakson’s seat, so she will be seated. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1933 "2021-01-04T23:46:31Z")
Seated, or continues in office until after the election? Has she ceased to be a senator with the expiry of the old Congress and has to be re-installed? ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2021, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1934 "2021-01-05T00:17:11Z")
Continues in office until the special election results. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2021, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1935 "2021-01-05T00:18:35Z")
Let’s go to the quarry and throw stuff down there! He _was_ arrested! > **[Proud Boys leader arrested in the burning of church’s Black Lives Matter...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/proud-boys-enrique-tarrio-arrest/2021/01/04/8642a76a-4edf-11eb-b96e-0e54447b23a1_story.html)** > > The banner was ripped from a historic Black church after a rally last month, according to police. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2021, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1936 "2021-01-05T00:20:30Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Let’s go to the quarry and throw stuff down there! He _was_ arrested! Something tells me it’s not that funny: > Police said Tarrio, who was in custody Monday evening, also was charged with two counts of possession of high capacity ammunition feeding devices, which is a legal term for a firearms magazine that allows guns to hold additional bullets. The devices were found during the arrest, police said. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2021, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1937 "2021-01-05T00:30:37Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Something tells me it’s not that funny: No, it’s funny. I don’t see him as a guy who’s planning to use high capacity magazines to go on a shooting spree. He’s a guy who owns them because he’s a tough guy who fetishizes having guns. He said he would surrender to authorities, but they caught him unawares and now he has more charges to face. What I don’t know is if the magazine charge is a felony. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2021, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1938 "2021-01-05T00:35:10Z")
It’s hilarious! It’s hilarious because he thought he could do whatever he wanted, with impunity. But he can’t. And now he’ll find out just how much that sign costs. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2021, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1939 "2021-01-05T01:00:13Z")
I would not be at all surprised if the authorities had some informants planted amongst these “Proud Boys”. And I would not be surprised if Mr. Tarrio is currently singing like a canary for the Feds about who, what, where and when. My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2021, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1940 "2021-01-05T01:02:50Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > What I don’t know is if the magazine charge is a felony. _**Unlawful Possession of Ammunition (UA):**_ It is illegal to possess ammunition in the District of Columbia unless the person is: (1) a licensed dealer, (2) a federal or city law enforcement officer acting within scope of duties, or (3) holder of a valid registration certificate of same gauge and caliber as ammunition in possession. It is also illegal to possess, sell or transfer any “large capacity ammunition feeding device.” A person guilty of this charge can be sentenced to a maximum fine of $1000 and/or up to a year imprisonment. D.C. Criminal Code 7-2506.01. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2021, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1941 "2021-01-05T01:17:47Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Police said Tarrio, who was in custody Monday evening, also was charged with two counts of possession of high capacity ammunition feeding devices, which is a legal term for a firearms magazine that allows guns to hold additional bullets. If those guys would just jerk off a little. Criminy. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2021, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1942 "2021-01-05T01:28:20Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > If those guys would just jerk off a little. Criminy. - He’s already facing a weapons charge. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2021, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182/1943 "2021-01-05T02:03:19Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > > [@Sherrerd](#): > > > > “There are widespread allegations of this; case closed.” > > “And we know there are allegations because we made them. Therefore we win.” Ever since 1776 (or maybe 1787), there’s been some degree of annoying strain on many dictatorships to pretend to be democracies. Authoritarians around the world have had to come up with these tactics for convincing the rubes that, _sure, this is a democracy! It’s just a coincidence that I keep winning elections by 96% to 4% vote totals!_ Maybe the pressure to “look like” a democracy is diminishing to the point that the dictators can stop with the “President for Life” pretense, and just call themselves Emperor already. (If so, it will be Trump’s finest achievement!) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182.md?page=96) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-11-9-2020/925182.md?page=98)