The Coup That Failed
Act One is over; the intermission could end at any moment By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor
“The more we learn, the less this looks like a coup bound to fail, and the more it looks like plain luck that all our legislators and our vicepresident were not murdered.”
— Timothy Snyder, author of On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century
D
onald Trump’s bumbling, slap-dash, failed coup was every bit as ridiculous as might be expected, but a lot more dangerous as well — because so many people failed to take it seriously, in the days, weeks and years leading up to it. It was dangerous not just because it left five people dead—and could have left many more—but because it may well be only the beginning. The FBI issued warnings that violent demonstrations could occur at all 50 state capitals on Inauguration Day. Beyond that, it could grow even worse. That didn’t happen, and the inauguration ceremony and speech were crafted to reduce the Trumpdriven threat to democracy. But history warns, it could still grow even worse. Thus, in contrast to President Joe Biden’s call for unity, Trump’s farewell speech focused solely on his movement, with an ominous promise that “We will be back in some form.” Historian Timothy Snyder put it succinctly. “The lie outlasts the liar,” he wrote in the New York Times. “The idea that Germany lost the First World War in 1918 because of a Jewish ‘stab in the back’ was 15 years [See Coup, p. 10] Real News, Real People, Really Effective
The capitol building in Washington, D.C., on morning of President Joe Biden’s inauguration, and the site of an insurrection on Jan. 6. Photo by Joseph M. Giordano
A Kiss of Life During Pandemic Local doc provides help on social media By Melina Paris, Editorial Assistant
Warner Grand’s 90th: Big renovations in hopes for a bright future p. 11 Winter Mushrooms p. 12
[See Kiss, p. 6]
COVID-19 Cases in the U.S. as of Jan. 20, 2021: 24,966,514 • U.S. Deaths: 415,029 Los Angeles County Cases: 1,031,874 • Deaths: 14,122 • Vaccination Alert see p. 9
Dr. Jessica Kiss in her office at Palos Verdes Medical Group. Photo by Arturo Garcia-Ayala
January 21 - February 3, 2021
Homicide: The other public health threat p. 4
Angeles County are at capacity and cannot treat people suffering from other ailments and accidents unrelated to COVID-19. Doctors must perform triage as if the country is at war. Folks are scared. But what comes next has frontline healthcare scared. Doctors have taken to combatting the fear and the misinformation by posting about their experiences in the hospitals as well as facts about COVID-19. Dr. Jessica Kiss is one of them. Dr. Kiss, a mother of four, specializes in family medicine and works at Palos Verdes Medical Group. She has practiced medicine for the past five years and has
Carson welcomes Madam Mayor p. 2
Nearly a year into a global pandemic, the United States has 24 million cases and 400,000 deaths from the coronavirus. We know flattening the curve in new infection rates is critical to gaining control over the coronavirus, but frustrated people are tired of waiting. This was exemplified by the numbers of Americans that traveled to celebrate with their loved ones this past holiday season. The reality that frontline workers experience in treating the public cannot continue. As our subject for this story noted, doctors are having to “Mickey Mouse” things in a way to help COVID patients who must endure excessive emergency room waits. Hospitals in Los
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