Pelosi Tightens Down the House

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

This promises to be an historic day for the US House of Representatives because late this afternoon the House is expected to impeach Donald Trump for the second time.  This will be only the fourth time in history that a sitting US President has been impeached - and the first time that a President has been impeached twice.  Also noteworthy in this act is the possibility that for the first time in history, the US Senate might be receptive to convicting the impeached President.

But impeachment is not the only topic roiling the House today.  Last Wednesday the nation watched in horror as a large group of flag-waving and (some) gun-toting miscreants forced their way into the US Capitol Building where one defender of the building - a Capitol policeman - was murdered by the mob and four other people died as a result of medical crises brought on by the anarchy and turmoil in the halls and offices of the seat of our nation's government.

During the chaos of last Wednesday members of the House and Senate were removed from their chambers and taken to secret locations in the building.  They were packed into tight quarters, and in one particularly crowded location where House members were sequestered, tensions erupted when some Republicans in the room refused to wear face masks to protect themselves and others from the added threat of COVID transmission.  Now, a week later, three House members who were stuffed into that location have tested positive for COVID - and one is a 75-year-old cancer survivor.

Speaker Pelosi instituted a mandatory face mask requirement last summer, a mandate that some Republican members either ignored - or evaded by taking their masks off once they were seated in the House chamber.

So now Pelosi is upping her game.

Today the House is expected to enact a rule that will get into members' pockets if they flaunt that particular mandate.  The new rule will stipulate that any House member who  presents on the floor of the House without a face mask will be fined $500 for the first offense, and $2,500 for the second offense - and the fines will be deducted from their paychecks.  The new rule will also stipulate that fines cannot be paid from campaign funds or the expense accounts of members.

And, needless to say, some members are not happy about being "forced" to do anything.

Metal detectors are also being installed in the Capitol, and now House members will have to pass through those devices on their way into the House chamber.  The intent is presumably to deny members the ability to carry firearms onto the House floor.    Many House members see metal detectors as common sense, especially in times of great national turmoil, but others see them as a direct attack upon their 2nd Amendment "rights."

Gun-toting House members should expect no support or comfort from the 80-year-old Speaker who was the primary quarry being sought by some of the armed invaders of the Capitol last Wednesday.

House members whining about having to follow a process that millions of school students deal with daily are just pathetic.  Members of Congress who refuse to take basic safety precautions to protect themselves and their colleagues should be expelled and sent home - just like their grandchildren who refuse to behave at school!

Wear the damn masks - and leave your damned guns at home!

Morons.