WACO / WEAK? NO / WACK-O / WOKE March 21, 2023March 21, 2023 WACO Trump supporters are organizing to ‘stock up on weaponry’ after his arrest (should there be one). He has scheduled a rally for this coming Saturday in Waco. Younger readers may not know the town’s significance, but tomorrow, March 22, Netflix releases Waco: American Apocalypse. ‘Waco: American Apocalypse’ Isn’t the Waco Story You Think You Know The new doc series includes FBI videos that’ve never been released to the public before. By Amanda Richards & Ingrid Ostby It’s a tangled, gruesome story you’ve probably heard before, but you’ve never heard — or seen — it this way. Waco: American Apocalypse explores the infamous 51-day standoff outside of Waco, Texas, between the US government and the Branch Davidian religious sect led by David Koresh. The bloody siege resulted in the loss of 86 lives, and the new three-part documentary retells this infamous event with never-before-seen material as well as realistic CGI visualizations. . . . Koresh had convinced all of them that he was their messiah, the only one who could save them [he alone could fix it] when the apocalypse inevitably unfolded on their doorstep [he would be their retribution]. Koresh armed his followers with guns and grenades and converted automatic assault rifles, most of which broke federal gun laws. The US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) obtained a warrant for Koresh’s arrest, and what happened next was one of the most shocking tragedies in recent American history. The bloody, multi-week gunfight and televised hostage negotiations resulted in the deaths of dozens of people, including 28 children. Thirty years after the tragic event, Waco: American Apocalypse airs intimate interviews with people from all sides of the conflict, including one of Koresh’s spiritual wives, the last child released from the compound alive and members of the ATF tactical team who watched their colleagues die in the shoot-out. The limited series includes raw news footage never before released to the public, as well as recently unearthed videotapes inside the FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit. What a remarkable venue to choose for a rally. The perfect spot if you want to portray the American government as the enemy. As Putin and Xi and the Ayatollah do. As the 9/11 hijackers and the Oklahoma City bomber did. Will my pal Steve Schwarzman and these lesser-known multi-million-dollar donors to Trump’s 2020 campaign be there? Will Tucker Carlson and Rupert Murdoch be there? Roseanne Barr? How about the majority of House and Senate Republicans who twice voted not to impeach or convict? Or to certify the election? Or to investigate January 6th? Will the Chair of the Republican National Committee be in Waco commemorating the 30th anniversary of the stand the Branch Davidian cult members took against the United States of America? I’m guessing not, but thousands of Trump’s cult members will be. WEAK? NO Those who are lamenting that “prosecutors are bringing the weakest case first” mean to say it is the least serious case. A $130,000 illegal campaign contribution isn’t the same as attempting to overturn a free and fair election. But it’s anything but a weak case, as Michael Cohen, who served three years in prison for it (in a case brought by the Trump Justice Department), would affirm. As for its timing, as Chuck Rosenberg has explained: “you bring cases when they’re ready.” A good prosecutor won’t rush a case for political reasons — nor delay one. If Trump is outraged anyone would suffer consequences for something so trivial, why didn’t he pardon Michael Cohen or commute his sentence? WACK-O $5 million per person for reparations? Not a single Democratic candidate for the House or Senate supports it, but Republicans will use it to win more power to cut back Democratic efforts to lessen inequality. It’s a huge gift to Trump and Q-Anon, Ted Cruz and Fox News. Defund the police? Insane! Most voters see the need to reform and improve policing — but the slogan itself was a gift to Mirch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy even though none of our House Senate candidates wanted literally to defund the police. The recent behavior of Stanford Law students — and at least one faculty member? Outrageous! Another gift to Republicans. Most voters believe political correctness has gone too far. Cancel culture has got to go. Al Franken should still be in the Senate. We badly need some Sister Soulja moments. WOKE It’s broke. Bill Maher rails against wokeness all the time. I’ve linked to his uber-sensible rants repeatedly. Here he sums it up in under a minute. Yes, we should take down statues of people who fought to preserve slavery. But Lincoln’s statue? If woke means being alert to the struggles and feelings of — well, of everyone, especially those who have it toughest — I’m all for it. But if it means everyone has to walk on egg shells lest he use a word like “shoot” that might trigger a sensitive child — “shoot for the stars, kids!” “shoot! I forgot my phone charger!” — or that we all have to indicate our preferred pronouns when signing our names . . . well, leaving aside the merits, that’s political suicide for the party that may not be perfect, but that really does care about the struggles and feelings of those who have it toughest. Many of whom, by the way, are straight white men. Anand Giridharadas argues: “The bottom line: Wokeness is good, actually. But we need a plan for the still-waking.” Don’t forget to watch Waco: American Apocalypse.