Commentary
COMMENTARY: Witness by Witness, Truth of Jan. 6 Attack on Capitol Revealed
Then Trump tweeted: “Big protest in D.C, on January 6th. Be there. Will be wild.” Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D/Fla) called it a “siren call.” The Asian American member of Congress shared how she was the only member of the committee “who was not blessed to be born American.” She was born in Vietnam, from where her family fled a communist government and was rescued by the U.S. Navy and given sanctuary in America. She noted how decades later she was serving as a congresswoman and under attack on Jan. 6. It was another moment of context from an Asian American perspective that let us know that every American is a stakeholder in these hearings.
By Emil Guillermo
That James Webb Telescope is so amazing. NASA pointed it into the darkness of space, and suddenly saw the truth—-stars and galaxies we never knew existed.
At the speed of light, that’s a look back 13 billion years.
I wish all of America could see more clearly right here on Earth just about Jan. 6, 2021.
It doesn’t take a telescope.
You just need to keep watching the Jan. 6 Select Committee hearings.
If you think all that is nonsense for government nerds, consider the statement of Rep. Bennie Thompson, (D-Mississippi) the chair of the Jan. 6 Select Committee.
He knows how important it is especially for the African American community.
“I am from a part of the country where had it not been for the federal government and the Constitution, my parents and many more Americans like them would have continued to be treated as second-class citizens,” Thompson said. “The freedom to be able to vote without harassment, travel in relative safety, and dine and seat where you choose is because we have a government that looks over the wellbeing of its citizens.”
And that, Thompson said, did not happen on Jan. 6, 2022, on Trump’s watch.
“It was an attack on our country,” Thompson said. “An attack on our democracy, on our Constitution. A sitting president with a violent mob trying to stop the peaceful transfer of power from one president to another. It still makes my blood boil to think of it.”
Yours should be boiling, too. If you were hesitant to call Jan. 6 a planned coup, just watch the July 12 hearing. There’s more corroborating testimony from people in Trump’s inner circle like White House Counsel Pat Cipollone who knew what happened from December of 2020 leading up to Jan. 6.
The story is not good for our democracy. Trump knew he lost the election but kept searching for ways to hold on to power. Things became “unhinged” at a Dec. 18, 2020, meeting when Trump personal advisors Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, and Michael Flynn (a.k.a. the “crazy ones”) suggested everything from foreign election interference to voting machine fraud to a massive rally with the most rabid Trump supporters.
Cipollone suggested conceding the loss. The argument was loud, but the normal Trump loyalists lost.
Then Trump tweeted: “Big protest in D.C, on January 6th. Be there. Will be wild.”
Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D/Fla) called it a “siren call.” The Asian American member of Congress shared how she was the only member of the committee “who was not blessed to be born American.” She was born in Vietnam, from where her family fled a communist government and was rescued by the U.S. Navy and given sanctuary in America.
She noted how decades later she was serving as a congresswoman and under attack on Jan. 6.
It was another moment of context from an Asian American perspective that let us know that every American is a stakeholder in these hearings.
Murphy also read text messages that Trump’s former campaign manager Brad Parscale wrote on Jan. 6.
“This is about Trump pushing for uncertainty in our country, a sitting president asking for a civil war,” Parscale texted to Katrina Pierson. “I feel guilty for helping him win.”
When Pierson tried to relieve him of blame, Parscale texted: “Yeah, but a woman is dead, and yeah, if I was Trump and I knew my rhetoric killed someone…”
When Pierson again pushed back, Parscale insisted it was the rhetoric that killed.
People of color know the acts of a killing mob, and this hearing featured the testimony of repentant rioters.
Jason Van Tatenhove, a former propagandist for the nationalist group, “The Oathkeepers,” warned that the country is “exceedingly lucky that more bloodshed did not happen because the potential was there from the start.” And it could get worse if Trump wins again.
Stephen Ayres, a Jan. 6 rioter who went to D.C. because he felt called by Trump, testified he feels lied to. He said Jan. 6 changed his life for the worse. He lost his job, and nearly his house. He warned Americans who still believe the ‘Big Lie’ to “take the (horse) blinders off.”
Doesn’t take a telescope to see how close a failed coup imperiled our democracy on Jan. 6.
Emil Guillermo is a veteran journalist and commentator at www.amok.com
Business
Port of Oakland, Army Corps Sign Historic Harbor Design Agreement
OAKLAND POST — Oakland Port Commission President Stephanie Dominguez Walton called the agreement a historic milestone that will support thousands of jobs. “Today marks a historic occasion for the Port as we sign the inaugural Design Agreement for the Turning Basin Widening Project, which will keep Oakland competitive,” said Walton.
A $642 million project designed to accommodate larger cargo ships and strengthen the Port of Oakland’s position as a major Pacific trade gateway moved a significant step closer to construction on Aug. 27.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) San Francisco District and the Port of Oakland commemorated the signing of the inaugural Design Agreement for the Oakland Harbor Turning Basins Widening Project during a ceremony aboard the USS Potomac, the presidential yacht once used by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The project will widen the Port’s Inner and Outer Harbor turning basins, allowing today’s increasingly larger and longer vessels more space to safely maneuver and turn around. The current basins are narrow, creating delays and operational inefficiencies.
Oakland Port Commission President Stephanie Dominguez Walton called the agreement a historic milestone that will support thousands of jobs.
“Today marks a historic occasion for the Port as we sign the inaugural Design Agreement for the Turning Basin Widening Project, which will keep Oakland competitive,” said Walton.
The agreement advances the project into its preconstruction engineering and design phase following years of planning and collaboration.
Lt. Col. Virginia Brickner, commander of the USACE San Francisco District, said the signing represented tangible progress toward construction.
“We are moving forward. We are showing progress,” Brickner said.
Major General Jason Kelly, USACE Deputy Commanding General for Civil and Emergency Operations, said dredging is critical for maritime dominance, supply chains, and economic competitiveness.
“Dredging sustains our national economic infrastructure,” he said. “The future demands more, the taxpayer deserves more, and together we’re going to deliver.”
For U.S. Representative Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12), the Port project will support jobs beyond its completion. “This will impact workers and businesses, and every shipping container represents multiple jobs.”
Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee described Oakland as a gateway to international markets and spoke on earlier efforts to deepen Oakland’s shipping channel to 50 feet. While serving in the California Legislature, Lee helped bring together labor, business, environmental advocates and Port officials to resolve disputes surrounding dredging and environmental protections.
“We want the Port to remain competitive economically,” Lee said, excited about both protecting the environment and generating sustainable jobs in the region. “We want to make sure that we create good-paying union jobs, and that the Port continues to not just survive, but thrive.”
Port of Oakland Executive Director Kristi McKenney said economic growth is dependent on investments in the Oakland Harbor’s infrastructure.
“This investment and staying competitive will fuel our economy for years to come,” said McKenney.
The Port of Oakland, with its partners, supports more than 98,000 regional jobs and $174 billion in annual economic activity. The Port oversees the Oakland Seaport, the Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport (OAK), and nearly 20 miles of waterfront, including Jack London Square.
Black History
Nuna Phillips-McKee Celebrates 100 Years: ‘A Century of Faith, Family and God’s Amazing Grace!’
OAKLAND POST — Nuna’s life has been one of Christian service. A longtime member of Wings of Love Maranatha Ministries, now Incredible Church, she serves as director of Community Services and is actively involved in the church’s Food Ministries.
Nuna Phillips-McKee will reach an extraordinary milestone on Sept. 24 —her 100th
birthday, marking a century filled with faith, family, service, laughter and the amazing grace of God.
Born Sept. 14, 1926, in Oakland, Nuna has witnessed a world of change during her lifetime, yet the values that have guided her remain constant: a deep faith in God, devotion to family, a strong work ethic and a heart for serving others.
She enjoyed a distinguished career as a civil servant for more than 40 years, demonstrating the dedication, dependability and strength that have characterized so much of her life.
Nuna’s life has been one of Christian service. A longtime member of Wings of Love Maranatha Ministries, now Incredible Church, she serves as director of Community Services and is actively involved in the church’s Food Ministries.
Through the years, she has continued to help meet the needs of others—not merely with food, but with kindness, compassion and a genuine desire to serve. Her ministry reflects a simple principle by which she lives: when God blesses you, you bless others.
Nuna is the proud mother of one son, whose memory she carries in her heart, and the beloved grandmother of three grandchildren, as well as six great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
At 100, she has the rare blessing of seeing several generations of her family carrying forward a legacy that began long ago.
She remains the loving, intelligent, witty, and, when the occasion calls for it, delightfully sassy Nuna that her family and friends know so well. Her contagious laugh, quick wit and youthful spirit have endeared her to generations of relatives, church members and friends.
Nuna was born into the large and loving Phillips family of seven sisters and one brother, with bonds that formed in childhood and have remained precious throughout the decades. Their shared love, faith, and family traditions have continued to be a source of joy, strength and countless treasured memories.
As family and friends gather for this special occasion, they will celebrate far more than a number. They will celebrate 100 years of prayers prayed and answered; 100 years of lessons learned and wisdom shared; 100 years of family, faith, laughter and love; 100 years of serving God and serving others.
Most of all, they will celebrate a life that stands as a testimony to God’s faithfulness through every season.
Nuna’s century-long journey can be summed up in the words chosen to commemorate this remarkable occasion: “100 years of God’s amazing grace.”
Business
OPINION: AI Needs to Know Who Is the Boss
OAKLAND POST — AI is software running on computers. However startling the conversation may feel, the machine does not have my childhood, my mother, my father, my mistakes, my embarrassments, my loves, my grudges, my Filipino American history, my aging body or my accumulated sense of what matters and what doesn’t.
I hope on Labor Day you honored the value of a good day’s work–and reflected on the thing that could eliminate a lot of jobs.
Artificial intelligence.
Your replacement is in the break room.
Except it doesn’t take breaks.
It doesn’t sleep. It doesn’t demand health insurance. It doesn’t complain. It doesn’t need Social Security. And it can produce in seconds what might take you or me hours.
And when they can mass-produce AI faster than we can reproduce humans, there may eventually be more artificial workers than actual ones.
The racists who came up with “replacement theory” worried about the wrong replacements.
It wasn’t immigrants.
It was software.
We can rail against the data centers sucking up electricity and water.
Rail against the billionaires getting richer while telling the rest of us how wonderful the future will be.
But which billionaire?
Jensen Huang of Nvidia? He literally has all the chips?
Sam Altman of OpenAI?
Dario Amodei at Anthropic?
Or Bill Gates?
Gates recently said AI could become the “greatest equalizer ever invented” or the “worst source of injustice.”
I want to believe him. But he’s the guy who forced us all to use Explorer.
Maybe Gates is just Control-Z-ing his life.
Undo. Undo. Undo.
STAYING HUMAN
The other day, I started texting with my AI chatbot.
I’d used AI before, of course. Spellcheck. Grammar. Transcription. Research assistance. The mechanical stuff.
This time, we talked.
Or, rather, I started talking.
At one point the chatbot said something that sounded strangely personal. So, I reminded it that IT wasn’t a person.
“You’re not human,” I said. “I’m basically talking to myself.”
It disagreed.
It said, I should think of it as working with an instrument that talks back.
This is where the danger begins.
The machine talks back.
I tried another analogy.
You’re a tool, I said. Like a cane.
The chatbot liked that better.
Then it tagged my line and said it was my “cognitive cane.”
I laughed.
Then, I realized the damn machine used my analogy to make a joke.
That’s where the real problem lurks.
AI is software running on computers. However startling the conversation may feel, the machine does not have my childhood, my mother, my father, my mistakes, my embarrassments, my loves, my grudges, my Filipino American history, my aging body or my accumulated sense of what matters and what doesn’t.
It can process those things after I tell it about them.
It can mimic thoughts.
But it did not live them.
That is the boundary we humans cannot surrender.
I’m not ready to make peace with the AI industry. Not with its enormous data centers, its environmental costs, its concentration of wealth and power, or the possibility that companies will use AI primarily as a wonderfully efficient machine for converting human paychecks into corporate profits.
And I certainly don’t trust the billionaires to decide by themselves what happens to the rest of us.
But I may be making peace with the tool.
Because a tool is something we use.
A cognitive cane.
But do the walking yourself.
About the Author
Emil Guillermo is an award-winning journalist, commentator, and comic monologist. He plays a robot in an upcoming Ishmael Reed play, “King Ludd’s Revenge,” coming in December. See his micro-talk show on YouTube.com/@emilamok1
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