# The American Coup Fallout thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 20, 2021, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029 "2021-01-20T22:34:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2021, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/161 "2021-01-31T21:12:30Z")
**Natasha Fatale:** Why didn’t goof gas affect moose? **Boris Badenov:** Because goof gas affects the brain… **Natasha:** And? **Boris:** No brain, no effect! ---
**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:** [January 31, 2021, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/162 "2021-01-31T21:30:37Z")
There definitely is a nexus between conspiracy theories and some hippie/new age types. “Q” is into yoga, after all. (Yes, really). However, having known some of these people I don’t buy into the idea that they were “left wingers” in any way other than outward appearance. Certainly, none of them ever voted for a Democratic candidate, actually they didn’t vote at all because they thought it was a worthless gesture in a rigged system. Most of them claimed to be completely outside of traditional politics, and their beliefs were those of hard-core Libertarians with a disdain for all government. Highly restrictive diets, like vegan diets, are not only common among young Democrats - they have been a defining factor of ultra-religious groups and cults, including conspiracy cults, for forever. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2021, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/163 "2021-01-31T21:30:54Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > The fact someone is a lunatic means their testimony is worthless. You need someone SANE to testify Trump conspired to commit a crime. Are you sure about that? Let’s say John Doe is crazy. He believes that vampires are real. Let’s say Bob Smith wants Mark Jones dead. So Bob goes to John and convinces John that Mark is a vampire. John goes and drives a stake through Mark’s heart. John’s clearly crazy. But are you saying that John couldn’t testify that Bob was the one who convinced him that Mark was a vampire and therefore caused John to commit his crime? I’ll grant you that Bob’s lawyer is going to try to have John’s testimony dismissed on the grounds that John is delusional. Bob’s lawyer will argue that John’s belief that Bob told him to kill Mark is as false as his belief in vampires. But let’s assume that the prosecutor can offer objective proof that Bob did tell John that Mark was a vampire. So John is crazy in regards to thinking vampires are real. But Bob used this crazy belief to give John a reason to kill Mark, a crime which John would not otherwise have committed. So why can’t John testify about what Bob told him and what his reaction to it was? All he’s testifying to is his state of mind. The same argument applies to Trump. His followers may be crazy. But if Trump told a crowd of crazy people to go attack the Capitol, he’s responsible for inciting that crowd. ---
**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 31, 2021, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/164 "2021-01-31T22:25:31Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > I mean, if you’re a conservative and believe God wanted Trump to win but was unable to prevent people defying his wishes and voting for Biden so that’s fraud and Trump should win anyway, and you bought a plane ticket to DC and wrapped yourself in an American flag and went to the DC rally but stayed clear of the Capitol…OWN IT! “I wuz duped,” says a member of the Personal Responsibility party. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2021, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/165 "2021-01-31T22:35:56Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > John’s clearly crazy. But are you saying that John couldn’t testify that Bob was the one who convinced him that Mark was a vampire and therefore caused John to commit his crime? If John’s nuts, I hope you have some other evidence. He can testify, sure, but how do you know the nutty guy isn’t just saying crazy shit? So to review, we are talking about a guy who thinks TV is sending messages directly into his brain. Really, is he a useful witness? His lawyer is just trying to get him a deal. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2021, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/166 "2021-01-31T22:46:12Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > Highly restrictive diets, like vegan diets, are not only common among young Democrats - they have been a defining factor of ultra-religious groups and cults, including conspiracy cults, for forever. I get that, but Chewbaca is claiming that he must have all organic food because he gets sick from the pesticides. Organic foods are _not_ pesticide free. [According to the USDA, organic foods must use non-chemical pesticides and fertilizers unless chemicals are required due to many conditions.](https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&SID=9874504b6f1025eb0e6b67cadf9d3b40&rgn=div6&view=text&node=7:3.1.1.9.32.7&idno=7) ---
**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:** [January 31, 2021, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/167 "2021-01-31T23:54:47Z")
What is a non-chemical pesticide anyway. Everything is a chemical. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2021, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/168 "2021-02-01T00:45:23Z")
We’d have to ask Chewbaca, he’s the one wearing the crazy pants his mother dressed him in. I’d say the nut doesn’t fall far from the tree in this case. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2021, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/169 "2021-02-01T02:10:09Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > He can testify, sure, but how do you know the nutty guy isn’t just saying crazy shit? I already answered that question. ---
**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:** [February 1, 2021, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/170 "2021-02-01T20:10:50Z")
[More news on Trump supporters:](https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/01/us/capitol-riot-man-charged-officer-concussion-trnd/index.html) > Federal prosecutors have filed charges against an alleged US Capitol rioter who was one of the first people to breach barricades outside the complex, saying he attacked the police line, causing an officer to suffer a concussion. Oh, but I’m sure this patriot Trump supporter is really a very nice guy. A very nice person. Oh wait: > When investigators checked to see if Samsel had any criminal history, they said they found he was out on parole from the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and that there is a warrant out for his arrest in Riverside, New Jersey, for an alleged assault in 2019. ---
**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:** [February 1, 2021, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/171 "2021-02-01T20:33:18Z")
Conspiracy theorists are not necessarily ideological; among the right and the left, there is often a narcissistic tendency among conspiracy theorists to hold onto the idea that they have special knowledge, and they tend to go out of their way to reject “expert” opinions and conventional “facts” in favor of an alternative. Intellectuals and policy wonks often discuss complex situations with lots of nuances, which is uncomfortable to the brain. Humans are wired to want certainty. We get suspicious when we don’t have a straightforward explanation for something. I think that for some conspiracy nuts, the thinking might be something like _“The experts are either just as clueless as the rest of us are at understanding problem X, and so therefore my bullshit explanation is certainly no worse than whatever they’re saying, and actually, some people seem to agree with me. Or, even worse, they know but they don’t want us to know the truth. They’re hiding the truth. But I know the truth because I know that these people are trying to control us, and I (we) won’t let them!”_ Conspiracy theories are worse now because people can spread their ideas so much more easily now. They can validate their own b.s. by getting likes, shares, re-posts, and other online ‘attaboys’. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/172 "2021-02-02T16:32:50Z")
This Axios article on “The craziest meeting of the trump presidency” is well worth a read. It reads like complete satire, like something out of Dr. Strangelove, minus the nukes: > **[Off the Rails: Inside the craziest meeting of the Trump presidency](https://www.axios.com/2021/02/02/trump-oval-office-meeting-sidney-powell)** > > Four conspiracy theorists marched into the Oval Office on Dec. 18. Chaos ensued. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/173 "2021-02-02T18:37:56Z")
Jesus Christ, it’s beyond arguable that Trump would do anything to stay in power. And his supporters are determined to put the crazy mofo back in the White House in four years. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/174 "2021-02-02T18:46:14Z")
“When Rudy’s the voice of reason, you know the meeting’s not going well.” Truer words have certainly been spoken, but not often about this malAdministration. ---
**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:** [February 2, 2021, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/175 "2021-02-02T18:51:11Z")
It also reveals how it wasn’t just Trump who felt a sense of desperation in clinging to power. Shit attracts flies. And those flies lay eggs. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/176 "2021-02-02T19:24:00Z")
Holy shit. And this says everything about trump and his so-called management style (from the Axios article). While the others argued and vied for his attention, > Trump was behind the desk, watching the show. He said long before he was elected _gag_ president that his way of managing was to create chaos and conflict, to pit staff members against each other, and see what happens. It’s like gladiatorial conflict, except messier and not confined to an arena. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/177 "2021-02-02T19:30:26Z")
Jenny Cudd is trying to get permission from a judge to go on vacation to Mexico. > **[Capitol Rioter Asks Court to Let Her Vacation in Mexico](https://www.thedailybeast.com/capitol-rioter-jenny-cudd-asks-court-to-let-her-vacation-in-mexico)** > > In a court filing, Jenny Cudd’s attorneys said their client “planned and prepaid for a weekend retreat” in Riviera Maya and would like to attend. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/178 "2021-02-02T19:47:21Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > He said long before he was elected _gag_ president that his way of managing was to create chaos and conflict, to pit staff members against each other, and see what happens. It’s like gladiatorial conflict, except messier and not confined to an arena. He’s a troll in meatspace and his MAG-hatted minions love him for it. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/179 "2021-02-02T23:23:00Z")
Lin Wood, the president’s lawyer, has finally identified a potential incident of [actual voter fraud in Georgia](https://www.wsbtv.com/news/politics/exclusive-attorney-lin-wood-under-investigation-over-whether-he-voted-illegally-november-officials-say/FIMPMEJHFFFBBA66O5P5QEY25E/?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot). ---
**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:** [February 2, 2021, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029/180 "2021-02-02T23:47:45Z")
So totally worth a view… MyPillow guy goes on Newsmax and insists on talking Dominion, requiring one of the two Newsmax hosts to _read a legal disclamer_ TWICE during this two minute segment: > [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-coup-fallout-thread/931029.md?page=10)