"Ungrading": Lessons Learned

For the Fall semester, I tried Ungrading in all eight of my classes. 

What worked and why.

The vast majority got it. They took the self-reflection essays seriously, tackled them purposefully, and produced thoughtful, meaningful, insightful responses that helped them advance various history, history-related, and holistic skills. Students in this group were able to demonstrate how they were able to put to use in their lives what they learned in my class. They were able to honestly and accurately identify their strengths and weaknesses and thus what they needed to work on for the next assignment or on themselves. Tremendously insightful. And, these students tended to grade themselves lower (at least a full grade lower) than the students in the following group.

They offered specific examples and details in their ungrading reflection papers. The reflection papers from this group tended to be, on average, about 4 double-spaced pages (not including Bibliography). 

Their essays included historical information, history class stuff (such as new skills like citations, or using JSTOR, or what they learned about the OAH), and how the first two impacted, affected, found their ways into their personal lives. Many noted they talked about what they were learning with their family over dinner, or using the new research skills in other classes, or one student who decided to major in History.

What didn't work and why.

First, many students were reticent about grading their own work and they did not want to participate, rather they wanted me to just grade their work. Or on the other extreme, I received so many "I deserve an A+" (my college does not give such a grade) or "I deserve 100" (perfection is rather impossible especially when there were grammatical and spelling errors in their ungrading essay arguing that they "deserve 100").

I will be ready for the former mindset next semester and will spend more time discussing ungrading, including a few ungrading exercises.  

Second, I do not think I properly prepared students to offer truly meaningful, thoughtful, and insightful self-reflections. Maybe between 25-30% of the time students' support for their grades included "working hard" or "followed directions" or that the group work experience was "good." No depth, no specifics, no details, no examples. Maybe 25-30% of students just did not have the writing skills, the ability to write an essay that was supported with specific examples and details. Even after I provided a video, written directions, and three announcements, a goodly number of students just did not write a properly supported essay/self-reflection. 

Maybe I should start the semester with some sort of a self-reflection essay. Something that would establish a baseline as to their individual skills and abilities. Of course, all work was group work and so submissions were the result of group production so someone(s) in those groups demonstrated the writing and thinking skills necessary to succeed at a level beyond C. I define each grade in the syllabus and for example, a C, the grade most likely seen by the average college undergraduate, includes a basic linear narrative without specifics, details, and examples.

An observation: Unless leading a group, female students tended to grade their work lower than their male classmates. 

For Spring 2022:

I will be more thoughtful in the creation of groups. First, I will have everyone draft an essay, a self-reflection asking them to provide details, specifics, and examples. Then I will place the results in five equal piles, with their writing abilities relative to each other. I tend to create groups of five students. Then I will be able to look at their levels of writing/thinking and create more thoughtful groups.

Second, maybe have them, first as a group than as individuals, do exercises in writing ungrading self-reflections. 

Third, come up with some specifics for their post-assignment self-reflections? Last semester I gave some general requirements such as the number of words, types of sources, and a number of sources. So maybe in the Spring, I will require a certain number of examples or particular details. 

While the majority of students were capable, and did, produce high-level ungrading self-reflections that tended to accurately mirror what they demonstrated in class, the minority who did not or were not able to do so were exceptionally vocal when I vetoed their "A+" or "100" grades, putting additional, negative pressure on an exceptionally difficult, stressful semester. Something to avoid in the Spring.

The Unfamiliar Can be Uncomfortable. But It's Worth It!

So, this semester I am trying ungrading. I've noted that in a previous post. And this is making some students uncomfortable. The first solo ungrading assignment is week 8, so they had plenty of opportunities to see what to expect and to practice, practice, practice. 

Nevertheless, I have students who do not wish to offer self-reflection and a grade. They would rather take a series of quizzes or exams. They are not prepared to deal with feeling uncomfortable.

So where does that come from? How does one grow up in a world where discomfort simply does not exist? Or can be easily/immediately banished? I wish sometimes I had a minor in psychology.

Anyhow, besides ungrading, I am introducing these three:

1. Game theory.

2. Project-Based Learning.

3. Inquiry-Based Learning.

In History, Game Theory is that different actions provide for different results and that desired results may be controlled based upon particular actions. But those actions/results have different probabilities of success. A type of cause and effect, in other words. The objective is to find the best connection of actions that will produce the best and most likely outcome for the student. 

Project-Based Learning is when students work on "real world" situations (projects) and in doing so, goes the theory, will learn more about the subject than through traditional classroom lectures, notetaking, textbook reading, and exam-taking. For example, students might create a weekly podcast instead of taking quizzes, tests, book reviews, or other traditional assignments.

Inquiry-Based Learning is the idea that students learn in groups, from each other, through discussion of scenarios and Q& without the use of any external apparatus such as smartphones or laptops connected to a wifi network. Students know stuff and they learn from sharing that information with each other, who will then add their knowledge to the pot, so to speak. 

My hope is that together these three will help students to:

1) acknowledge the existence of multiple streams of historical sources.

2) help them to sift through those sources seeking evidence that most interest them.

3) to create a historical narrative based on the best historical evidence they select.

4) while working as a member of a group -both a smaller group of 4-6 and the larger group of the class. 

There has been, and there will continue to be discomfort among some students. Students need to realize the difference between the felt need (I need an 'A') and the want need (Their prof wants them to learn stuff) and through the intersection of those three theories plus what's called Pinata Innovation (steps 1-4 above), students will not only learn the material but be able to work the material into their majors, career goals, and daily lives.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. 

Not Just Warm Fuzzy Feelings: Insights into History

Each semester I get feedback from students. Sometimes I ask for feedback, and sometimes the feedback arrives in my Inbox without any request on my behalf. What follows are not just some warm and fuzzy feelings from Summer 2021 students, but some insights into history classes. 

“I learned how to think like a historian. I also learned that if I do all the work, I am supposed to at the right time, this class will be awesome! I learned that you are the best professor I have ever known.”

The "think like a historian" is a great insight. I do spend some time in what I call "doing history." An active, participatory aspect of the course as opposed to a passive, note-taking aspect while I lecture. I do train my students to think, perform research, write, and analyze like a historian. And, I am there throughout the process. Like I said, we "do history" in class. We discuss your research or how you plan on making connections between historical events, people, and ideas to contemporary events, people, and ideas. 

“Over the course of this semester, I’ve gained a valuable understanding of how important everyone’s story is.”

In my history class, students have the power to research and write about what they have an interest in. Any historical event, person, or idea. And, because we are the culmination of our past experiences, each student will tackle these historical investigations through the lens of their own experiences. So, BIPOC will produce very needed (and possibly unique) perspectives. Everyone's story is valuable, regardless if it's the story of the writer of history or the historical subject. 

“I think one of my favorite things that I learned to do in this class was to focus on more current issues rather than solely focusing on pure history. . . The essays in this class really focused on current issues and I was able to look back at the history and see how it is currently affecting a specific group of people. I was also able to see direct correlations between different cultural and racial groups and how they impact each other.”

“This class really taught me a lot about my own personal writing style and how to do current research rather than historical research.”

We do not live in a vacuum. We are the result of our experiences. We must place these historical events, people, or ideas in context. History is the culmination of past experiences. And so in order to better understand why the present is the present and how the present became the present, we need to look into the past and connect events, people, and ideas. Those connections, ebb and flow, are what make history history and not other humanities or social sciences such as English or journalism, for example. 

The past is not in the past. The past is part of the contemporary and thus the past and the present cannot diverge, those connections cannot be ignored. 

“I am definitely walking away from this class with a more complete, well-rounded knowledge about history. I’ve shared the information I have learned with my family since I found it so interesting.”

“I have more respect for the Mexican and Mexican American cultures because I have learned more about their struggles, pain, and success in the United States. Their suffering reminds me of my black ancestor. The most important thing I learned is that African Americans and Mexicans are alike in many ways (fighting for civil rights), and the struggles continue to exist because of discrimination.”

Students tend to discover a personalization to my classes. Students are able to connect historical events, people, and ideas with something in their own lives. And the excitement of learning spills over to their personal lives, even to the extent that I have family members sign up for my classes; brother influenced daughter, daughter influenced dad. Share what you learn! You never know who you will inspire. 

 

New for the Fall

Every semeser I try something new. Usually some things new. There are three new items that I plam on introducing this Fall.

One Day 1, I thought I would do something like this for an icebreaker: 

1. Professor Jasmine Roberts-Crews TEDx Talk

"Are you tired of talking about race?" I will ask my students. In groups, I will request my students to write their own answers down. Then after a few minutes share their responses with the other group members. Each group will come to a group concensus as to the answer of that question. Then one member of the group will report the group's findings to the class. I will jot down on the board the students' answers and any major concerns, as well as those who answered "No" to the question. And, of course, "why." 

Then we will watch Professor Jasmine Roberts-Crews' TEDx talk "I'm tired of talking about race," recorded at Ohio State University, April 5th, 2019. 

Afterwards, we will revisit our discussion but thus time adding contemporary examples such as the January 6th Insurrection, police responses to BLM marches, legislative responses to Critical Race Theory (or what legislatures argue is CRT). 

2. Ungrading

In a nutshell, ungrading is the nontraditional or alternative way of coming up with the end of course appraisal for each individual student. I used to do this. I try something new each semester. Sometimes it sticks for a while, but eventually, I make room to try new stuff. Some time ago I had students not only come up with their own grades but their own assignments as well.

I placed students in groups. In groups, students produced a group assignment but were assigned specific individual tasks within each group. Then, the group would assess their final product and individuals would assess their productivity. The average of those two became each students' course grade. I did reserve the right to alter grades if the evidence dictates. 

Now ungrading is an actual thing. A national thing. Part of the pedagogy of teaching. A brand. So, before there was ungrading, I was ungrading. Now that there is ungrading, I am going to give it another go at it. 

Jesse Stommel is at the epicenter of the ungrading movement. 

3. Play

Play is not necessarily the opposite of work. The opposite of work is relaxation. Play, on the other hand, is action. Movement. Facilitates and promotes work. Play enhances work. Play is an important aspect of work. 

We play when we are children. We make up games. We make up rules. We enforce those rules. Then when we get older we start playing games with established rules (like sports). And more of us fall to the wayside. Play is important because play taps into our imagination, creativity, improv, and innovation skills that translate well in group work. 

One type of play that I plan on introducing to my classes is a role-playing game called Dungeons and Dragons. This game has players working both as individuals and as a group. There are all sorts of ways to break the ice, create group cohesion, and group identity. I think it is also important to push away from academics occasionally and play. Do something that is fun, but that also forwards the need for people to learn how to best work in groups while also maintaining their individual needs. There are rules to the game (gravity exists, some will be stronger or wiser or quicker than others) but most of the game is created in the players' heads and the outcomes are primarily based on what imaginative or innovative solutions the individuals or groups come up with. 

So, these are the Big Three new items I will introduce to my classes this Fall. I will report back on the findings. Better yet, I will have students report back their findings/reflections. 

Why Do I Author OER?

 Why do I author OER? Let me count the ways.

1. Affordability. I'm a fan of the old Cedarburg Flea Market. Once a week the town of Cedarburg Wisconsin hosted this massive flea market. Folks from all over would bring their treasures and junk to sell. My grandpa Kubicki and Uncle Tony frequently sold stuff there like beer cans and comic books that Tony collected. Upon their return, they would regale me with stories of all the cheap stuff they bought from the guys there. 

So when, in 2006, I was told that I had to use a $125 reader I said to myself "Self, I bet I can come up with a reader from sources on the internet." Challenge accepted! And I did. I didn't know what OER was or even if OER was a thing in 2006. 

Fast forward to 2011 when I started writing what would become my first shot at a textbook. Eventually, the book came (is coming) together and I am saving students the cost of having to shell out x amount of cash. 

Students told me that they frequently are forced to buy textbooks that they do not completely use. And so they applaud my efforts to provide them the opportunity to use that money on other things such as food, gas, and utilities as reported to me. The affordability argument is low-hanging fruit. 

2. Inclusion. Authoring this OER US history textbook has brought me closer to my students. They give me feedback on what they like and dislike and why, what works for them and why. So I have stepped off the traditional textbook path and have included people and events that my students report they like, they want to read more about. 

And, my students provide content for the book so this is an example of ultimate inclusion! My students research and write about what most interests them. So sometimes we have different views of the same event -contested history.

3. Diversity. Because of student content and because I change my lectures as my students voice their interests, I've found there becomes a greater diversity to the classroom, which includes what finds its way into our OER textbook. 

4. Ownership. Students pride themselves on the assignments and using the textbook. One of the goals of every assignment is to make it into the book. Most do not but even those who do not still feel the pride of ownership through their past classmates who have because they are excited about reading a textbook that includes work from their own peer group. 

5. Accessibility. The book is on a platform that works well with smartphones. I did this purposefully because for so many of my students their smartphone is their device of choice to read materials. The book also has a print option for those who want a traditional reading experience. 

6. Resource. The textbook, being a bit over 1,000 pages and counting, is a resource. The book is fully cited so students can go to the citations for further research ideas. There are hyperlinks thoughout the book. Once the 2nd edition is complete (as of this writing I have 6 more chapters to write) I will go back to chapter 1 and insert a "For Further Reading" section as well as a list o dedicated links. 

I am sure there are other reasons to author an OER textbook. These are just a few that immediately popped into my head. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. 

Trumped Up Hysteria?

The recent whipping boy of the academically disinclined is Critical Race Theory. CRT has been around for decades in higher education. In fact, in 1998 Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy published an article critiquing CRT entitled "What's Wrong With Critical Race Theory: Reopening the Case for Middle Class Values." You can read it here.

Many who proclaim CRT's evils seemingly are unable to define it accurately. For example:

"Folks, we're in a cultural warfare today," Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C. said at a news conference alongside six other members of the all-Republican House Freedom Caucus. Critical race theory asserts that people with white skin are inherently racist, not because of their actions, words or what they actually believe in their heart - but by virtue of the color of their skin." Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., added "Democrats want to teach your children to hate each other." The governor of Florida said CRT is all about hate: "Critical Race Theory teaches kids to hate our country and to hate each other." 

In a nutshell, CRT is about connecting the past to the present. Historical events did not happen in a vacuum. Race is a connector. Events affected society and pushed the narrative forward. Akin to Newton's Cradle:

The federal government acknowledged this continuation or connection between the past and the present when, in 2008, the House of Representatives adopted H. Res 194, an apology for slavery: " Whereas a century after the official end of slavery in America, Federal action was required during the 1960s to eliminate the dejure and defacto system of Jim Crow throughout parts of the Nation, though its vestiges still linger to this day."

The Texas legislature passed a bill prohibiting the teaching of Critical Race Theory. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick applauded the passage stating "When parents send their children to school, they want their students to learn critical thinking without being indoctrinated with misinformation charging that America and our Constitution are rooted in racism." 

Gov. Abbot signed the 1836 Project into law calling for the promotion of "patriotic education [and ensuring] future generations understand TX values," in a Tweet June 7th. 

What is patriotic education? I presume it's the opposite of CRT. What are "Texas values"? Are they current values? Who will decide what those values are? Who will select the people who will decide what those values are? 

People were allowed to settle in Mexican Texas provided they did not bring slaves, among other requirements. Colonists ignored that requirement and reintroduced slavery into Texas, which abolished slavery in 1829. So will that be taught as part of the "patriotic education' or "Texas values"? 

Did you ever read the Texas Constitution? The one that established Texas as a country. Interestingly, that founding document says much about what the founders thought about race. For example,  slavery was allowed, and "Africans, descendants of Africans and Indians" could not become citizens." I wonder why not? 

Maybe a look into the reason why Texas tried to secede in 1861 will shed some light on this. In "Declaration of Causes" (2 Feb 1861) it states that slavery is to "exist in all future time" in Texas. Furthermore, war was upon their doorstep because the United States refused to recognize the God-given reality of slavery. Also from "Declaration of Causes":

" . . . proclaiming the debasing doctrine of the equality of all men, irrespective of race or color--a doctrine at war with nature, in opposition to the experience of mankind, and in violation of the plainest revelations of the Divine Law."

Racial equality goes against the natural order of things? Interesting. So race played a part in the reason why Texas wanted to leave the United States. Might even argue race was central for that reason. 

Then the document goes on the state the relationship between White and Black people: "the confederacy itself, were established exclusively by the white race, for themselves and their posterity; that the African race had no agency in their establishment; that they were rightfully held and regarded as an inferior and dependent race . . . " 

Texas goes farther than any other slave state that tried to leave the United States in declaring the superiority of the white race as a reason for their secession. 

Will those examples above be part of the "patriotic education"? 

What you cannot do with race is ignore it but that's what the state of Texas wants its K-12 teachers and students to do. Texas is not alone, Idaho and 14 other states have introduced or passed laws banning some form of what is known as Critical Race Theory. 

Maybe the wailing and gnashing of teeth over CRT is the latest version of the backlash against political correctness of the 1990s? 

Part of the outrage against CRT is seemingly an attempt to downplay the role of slavery in this nation's history yet in 2008 the House of Representatives called for the opposite: "the story of the enslavement and de jure segregation of African-Americans and the dehumanizing atrocities committed against them should not be purged from or minimized in the telling of American history."

Yet there are some who argue, without the hysteria, against CRT. The Austin-Statesman published an opinion piece written by Richard Johnson, director of the Texas Public Policy Foundation's Booker T. Washington Initiative.  You can read it here.

   

Always Looking for that "Perfect" Assignment

 I have not settled on specific assignments for any class. I know professors who offer the same assignments in the same classes every semester. I think you would be hard-pressed to find consecutive semesters in which any classes contained the same assignments.

Sure, I try new assignments based on contemporary issues but as the news cycle moves on, so too do those assignments. I have not used Multiple Choice or any non-writing assignments in years. So all of my assignments are writing. 

Some are formal: from longer research papers (10 pages) to short essays (500-750 words). But I also do informal writing such as blogs, Twitter, Instagram, and other types of social media. There are other ways to write and to demonstrate writing skills than a 10-page paper. Besides, students both know and are attracted to social media and so my theory is that when I offer social media assignments, I am more likely to get a larger number of students to complete those assignments. 

But what I really like is when students decide what they will do. There were classes in which they could do whatever they wanted -they were only limited by their imagination. In other classes, I present them with a general assignment, but they come up with a specific topic (something about the Civil War or Houston hip hop). 

Finally, whatever assignments I offer, there's always my offer for students to come up with their own assignment(s) in exchange for whatever assignment I came up with. Ultimately, I am not interested in how they demonstrate knowledge of history but rather that they demonstrate knowledge of history. 

In the meantime, I continue to create/try new assignments, tweak old ones, and provide students with the opportunity to follow their own interests. Maybe that's the key to education: following your interests. 

One Year Ago

One year ago we were on Spring Break. Well, not much of a break. I was working on moving all of my on-campus classes to online classes. Not difficult. Just disappointing because they are two very different things. What can be accomplished in one is just not possible in the other. There is a different set of skills to succeed in an online environment, a higher level of maturity and independence. 

I feel bad for all of those students who have not been able to make the pivot or who have not returned because we are still (one year later) 100% online. When will we get them back? It is going to take a regimented campaign to bring those students back to campus. 

I have been vaccinated. The Johnson and Johnson jab. Could not wait. There are medical requirements for being on campus (students must have certain vaccinations). Will the state add the COVID vaccine to the list? Over 530,000 dead and there are still people in our community who think COVID is a hoax. Who thinks wearing a mask does nothing; who thinks wearing a mask is an infringement on their freedom. A restriction. Pantyhose, girdles, and bras are restrictions. Masks are not.

I have spent a lot of time and money on my number one hobby: Dungeons and Dragons. Buying and painting miniatures, getting new books, and other paraphernalia. 

And I've spent an inordinate amount of time avoiding people in public and seeing my family over Zoom. Probably not unlike many of you.

Over 500,000 Americans died this year. When I was retooling my on-campus classes I would not have guessed the destruction to so many families were in the wings. 

Here we are, on the last day of Spring Break 2021, and I am working on my online classes for the Summer 2021. If I were to bet, I would say that the college will offer some on campus classes this Fall. I am just not sure if the students, who are more often than not unvaccinated, are ready to come back on campus. I know I am ready to come back and I am ready to see my students. 

Taking Ownership by Making Choices.

I tell students that the syllabus is not a reflection of me as a man, husband, father, or historian. The syllabus is not a contract. More like a guide. Mine are malleable. I can alter it.  I’m willing to renegotiate the syllabus on an individual or class level. To meet the needs of the individual and external factors such as tropical storms or pandemics. 

For many years my underlying philosophy has been that what’s important is that students demonstrate an understanding of the material not HOW they demonstrate an understanding of the material. Application of that philosophy in great measure was what earned me the 2017 instructor of the year award. 

Students must succeed. Whatever you do in life, you are most likely to succeed when you’re working on a project that most interests you. And, when the project interests you, you are more likely to succeed at a higher level.

I like choice. Choice in all aspects of my life. Who wants to be told what to do. Even in Basic Training it was no fun being barked orders at day and night. I think students like choice. And, choice is really taking ownership in their success. So I give students three choices when it comes to assignments:

1. Complete assignments as is (easiest on me).
2. Complete assignments but select topics not offered by me; something that more interests the students.
3. Do completely different assignments. Still cover the material, just demonstrate an understanding in a different way. Your way (with apologies to Burger King). Maybe students have a stronger method to demonstrate knowledge than the ones I assign. For example, I might have an Exam that covers ABC and a student suggests doing a different assignment that examines ABC such as a book review. Maybe instead of an essay, a student wants to do a PowerPoint presentation. I don’t know. "Play to your strengths," I tell students.
4. A final choice is to do a major assignment that covers the entire course. For example, I had a POC did a major research paper on Critical Race Theory; someone created a weekly newspaper; a vet looked at the meaning of “sacrifice” over time. This would be a way of turning this class into a self-study course. With me as a guide rather than as an instructor.

        

Students are only limited by their imagination. Again, What’s important is that students demonstrate an understanding of the material not how they demonstrate an understanding of the material. The "how" should be up to my students. That is how students take ownership in my classes. 

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

Factious Tempers and Sinister Designs: The "Coup" Attempt of '21

James Madison wrote: 

"Men of factious tempers, of local prejudices, or of sinister designs, may, by intrigue, by corruption, or by other means, first obtain the suffrages, and then betray the interests, of the people."

On Sunday, January 3rd, the Washington Post released an audio recording of President Donald Trump attempting to undermine democracy by requesting that the Georgia Secretary of State to recalculate the vote of the presidential election and announce the new results of the new counting. "I just want to find 11,780 votes," said Trump. In other words, it sounded like Trump might have participated in election fraud, and in doing so "betray[ed] the interests of the people."

So how did the Republicans respond to this example of corruption at its highest level? Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) led a coalition of Republicans, in support of Donald Trump, who in effect advocated for the overthrow of an American election (The Atlantic, 1/4/2020). Without evidence. There had never been evidence. Over 90 state and federal judges (including the Supreme Court) has concluded that there was no evidence to the belief (yes, belief, not argument as there was no evidence) that the election was rigged. For some reason the "absence of evidence is the most sinister evidence" (George Will, 1/4/2020). In fact, George Will called Cruz, Hawley, "and their Senate cohort . . . domestic enemies." (Ibid) Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) accused Cruz and Hawley of “directly” undermining peoples’ rights to elect their leaders.

January 5th was a special election in Georgia. A run-off for both of their senators. Much to the surprise of many, on Wednesday, January 6th, we found out that the Democrats won both seats: Reverend Raphael Warnock and John Ossoff. Warnock became Georgia's first Black Senator and Ossoff was a first generation American of Jewish immigrants.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump had called for his supporters to come to DC on the 6th -the day Congress is required to certify the vote of the Electoral College. And so, on January 6th, Trump supporters massed on the Capitol grounds. In a Tweet, Trump told them to march on the Capitol. He also told those in attendance: "If you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore." The thousands there took his words literally.

The thousands, who greatly outnumbered the Capitol Police, pushed against the barricades, and climbed upon the scaffolding. Then Trump's followers tried to force their way into various federal buildings. Capitol Police reportedly used tear gas and rubber bullets, someone called in bomb threats, and federal buildings were evacuated. Some of the insurrectionists made their way into this nation's Capitol. The Senate chamber was locked down and law makers ultimately were whisked away to Fort McNair. Insurrectionists made their way into the Senate chamber, ransacked it, stole various items, and were eventually forced out by Capitol Police. Zip ties, pipe bombs, Molotov cocktails, and guns were found on the grounds by Capitol Police. This was an organized, planned operation, it seemed.

The Confederate flag never flew in the Capitol during the Civil War, but here you see a Trump supporter carrying the banner of enslavers in the Capitol on January 6th, 2021.

Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) said "I haven't been in a situation like that since frankly I was in Iraq and Afghanistan as an Army Ranger." Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) wrote "I expected violent assault on democracy as a US Marine in Iraq. I never imagined it as a United States congressman in America . . . Make no mistake: they [the insurrectionists] are enemies of America." And Moulton called for Trump to be removed from office through the 25th Amendment.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) called the actions "a coup." Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) called it "an insurrection." Donald Trump called the election a "sacred landslide election victory" in a Tweet late on the 6th, ending that Tweet with "We love you. You are very special" The "you" being the insurrectionists. Later in the evening, Trump seemed to commend the insurrectionists calling them "great patriots," and ending with "Remember this day forever!" Earlier in the day, Trump's daughter Ivanka sent a Tweet calling the insurrectionists "patriots." She later deleted the Tweet.

Was he one of Ivanka's "patriots"? 

6 Million Wasn't Enough is what this t-shirt means, referring to. 

the 6 million Jews murdered during World War II. These were seen at 

the Trump insurrection on January 6th. "We love you"  became the new 

"Some very fine people."

The Kansas City Star said that Hawley "has blood on his hands in Capitol coup attempt" (1/6/2021). Mitt Romney, the one-time Republican candidate for President, said of the election-denier senators such as Hawley and Cruz, they will "forever be seen as being complicit in an unprecedented attack against our democracy." The Houston Chronicle called for Cruz to resign: "Your lies cost lives." (Houston Chronicle, Editorial Board, 1/8/2021).

Two governors called for Trump to be removed from office either by the 25th Amendment or impeachment: Pritzker (D) of Illinois and Scott (R) of Vermont. The National Association of Manufactures (a group of 14,000 companies including Exxon, Toyota, and Pfizer) called the Cabinet and Congress to invoke the 25th Amendment.

"Elections are the heart of liberal democracy. Losers voluntarily leave office. Winners assume rightful power. Yet the world just witnessed the stunning sight of a mob storming the U.S. Capitol to reject the legitimacy of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, driven by President Donald Trump’s delusional lies about a stolen contest. Rioters scaled scaffolding, broke through windows, and stormed the halls of Congress. They strolled through the Hall of Statues with a Confederate flag fluttering over their shoulders, brandished weapons on the floor of the Senate, and propped their feet up on Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s desk. One woman was shot and killed. Members of Congress retreated into lockdown, gas masks in hand. They were forced to suspend the constitutionally required business of formally confirming the victory of the incoming president because of the incitement triggered by the incumbent president. This was an insurrection." 

Then, at 8:35PM on the 6th, Jim Acosta at CNN reported that there was a discussion among some Cabinet members about using the 25th Amendment to remove Donald Trump due to his mental state ("he's lost it" "unstable" "ranting and raving") and those discussions had moved to leading Republicans in Congress. Gen. James Mattis (Trump's one-time Sec of State) wrote that Trump and his lieutenants are "profiles in cowardice."

The foreign press looked upon the events with shock and disbelief. Newspapers all over the world covered the events calling it an attack on democracy, a revolt, a coup, an insurrection. Here are some of the headlines:

                                            

                      

From the German Foreign Minister

Five deaths (including a Capitol Police officer), at least 60 arrests. Congress returned to the Capitol to finish their business: to certify the election of Joe Biden as the next president of the United States. Then Trump promised an orderly transition of power, after calling his term in office "the greatest first term in presidential history." Harry Truman fought a two-front war, and won, in his first term. LBJ got the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act passed his first term. What did Donald Trump accomplish that was more profound that ending World War II or the most important civil rights legislation since Reconstruction?

And, keep this in mind, neither Trump nor Cruz nor Hawley, et al., who were fighting to keep Trump in office against the will of the American people were working anywhere near as hard, as vocal, or as voracious to distribute the COVID vaccine or to get money into the hand of the hungry, the jobless, or the homeless. Where was the outrage? The speeches? The demands for special investigations? The fundraising emails? Well, those do not bring in donations on the level of righteous indignation about an imaginary boogeyman. By the way, both Hawley and Cruz sent out fundraising emails during the insurrection. "To Cruz’s critics, including those within his own party, it was emblematic of the kind of naked political ambition that they have long abhorred about him." (Texas Tribune 1/7/21)

Americans are drowning. They need a lifeline, yet Donald Trump was focused on himself, not on Americans' needs. It's like Donald Trump was never interested in being the President of the United States. Rather the President of Donald Trump.

“...the leaders of this rebellion must be...banished from the republic...Let the republic drive from its soil the traitors that have conspired against its life, as God and his angels drove Satan and his host from Heaven.” ~James A. Garfield (future president), April 12th, 1861