Commentary
The Attack on the Capitol and the Shameful Right-Wing, Republican Response
The U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol held its first hearing on July 27. It was hard to watch, but important for Americans to witness.

The January 6 attack on Congress and the U.S. Capitol was an assault on our democracy. So is the effort by congressional Republicans and their right-wing media allies to keep Americans from learning the truth about the insurrection. They are desperate to protect the people responsible for that deadly attack. We can’t let them.
The U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol held its first hearing on July 27. It was hard to watch, but important for Americans to witness.
Four officers testified, two from the Capitol Police and two from the Wash., D.C. police department. They described the physical attacks they endured and the moments in which they feared for their lives. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn described being surrounded by an angry mob taunting him with the N-word, something he said he had never been called while protecting the Capitol.
The power of the first hearing, and the impact of the officers’ stories, testified to the importance of the select committee created by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi after Republican congressional leaders refused to join in creating a bipartisan commission to investigate the insurrection. The leader of the House Republicans, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, even tried to tank the select committee by appointing people who were intent on disrupting its work.
Thank goodness Speaker Pelosi wasn’t going to let that happen. When she refused to play McCarthy’s game, he tried to stop any Republicans from joining the panel.
To their credit, two conservative Republicans, Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, decided to put country over party. They have refused to be bullied by former President Donald Trump into promoting his lies about the election. They have refused to be intimidated by threats from McCarthy and other Republicans who are downplaying the fact that a violent mob incited by Trump tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power to President Joe Biden.
I was disgusted to see right-wing activists and media figures like Charlie Kirk and Laura Ingraham mocking and belittling the police officers who were traumatized by the attack. And I am even more disgusted by the members of Congress who have betrayed and abandoned the officers who put their lives on the line to protect them.
Some Republican members of Congress dismissed the mob that hung a noose and hunted members of Congress as “tourists.” Some Republican members of Congress are calling insurrectionists “political prisoners.”
Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonnell testified that such distortions are deeply demoralizing. I believe it is possible that kind of betrayal may have contributed to the suicides of four officers who were defending the Capitol that day.
All the lies that Trump and his team can spew could not stand up to the actual experience of those officers. And that was just the beginning. There are a lot of dark corners that need some light thrown on them.
We need to learn more about what Trump was doing on January 6. We need to know which members of Congress he talked to and what he said. We need to know which members of Congress or congressional staff might have helped insurrectionists plan and carry out the attack.
We need a fuller understanding of how all the different groups promoting Trump’s stolen election lies fueled the rage of his supporters and built the momentum behind the violent mob that swarmed the Capitol.
We also need to get a better handle on some bigger picture questions, like problems of racism and authoritarianism in law enforcement. At least 17 law enforcement officers that we know about took part in the attack on the Capitol. The military needs to get a handle on the existence of white supremacy and other extremist ideologies in the ranks.
We cannot forget just how deadly and dangerous the insurrection was—and is. Trump continues to rile his supporters with the big lie that he won the election and had it stolen from him. Right-wing politicians, media personalities, and pastors spread those lies. Some still say Biden will be removed and Trump returned to power. Some talk openly of civil war.
This is all discouraging. But remember this. As loud, and mean, and violent as Trump’s supporters can be, they are still a minority. They may have the power to intimidate cowardly Republican officials. But they cannot prevent us from learning the truth about January 6.
Ben Jealous serves as president of People For the American Way.
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Oakland Post: Week of February 5 – 11, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of February 5 – 11, 2025

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OP-ED: Like Physicians, U.S. Health Institutions Must ‘First, Do No Harm’
Coupled with their lack of government and healthcare-related experience, we are concerned these nominees will significantly undermine public health, increase the number of uninsured people, worsen health outcomes, and exacerbate health disparities. Physicians observe Hippocrates’ maxim to “First Do No Harm,”, and we urge Trump administration officials to do the same. It is critical that the leadership of HHS and its agencies make decisions based on facts, evidence, and science. Misinformation and disinformation must not guide policymaking decisions and undermine evidence-based public health strategies. Spreading these falsehoods also erodes trust in our public institutions.

By Albert L. Brooks MD
Special to The Post
Presidential administrations significantly impact the health and wellbeing of our patients and communities.
Through the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the agencies within it, such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the National Institutes of Health, this new administration will decide how financial resources are allocated, dictate the focus of federal research, and determine how our public health care insurance systems are managed, including the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the Vaccines for Children program, Medicare, and Medicaid.
The decisions made over the next four years will impact all Americans but will be felt more acutely by those most underserved and vulnerable.
As physicians, we are greatly concerned by the nominations announced by President Trump to critical healthcare related positions. Many of their previous statements and positions are rooted in misinformation.
Coupled with their lack of government and healthcare-related experience, we are concerned these nominees will significantly undermine public health, increase the number of uninsured people, worsen health outcomes, and exacerbate health disparities. Physicians observe Hippocrates’ maxim to “First Do No Harm,”, and we urge Trump administration officials to do the same.
It is critical that the leadership of HHS and its agencies make decisions based on facts, evidence, and science. Misinformation and disinformation must not guide policymaking decisions and undermine evidence-based public health strategies. Spreading these falsehoods also erodes trust in our public institutions.
Vaccines, in particular, have been a target of disinformation by some HHS nominees. In fact, research continues to confirm that vaccines are safe and effective. Vaccines go through multiple rounds of clinical trials prior to being approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for administration to the public.
Vaccines protect against life-threateningdiseasessuch as measles, polio, tetanus, and meningococcal disease and, when used effectively, have beenshowntoeliminateorsubstantiallyreducediseaseprevalenceand/orseverity.
Because of vaccine mis- and disinformation, there has been a resurgence in vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and whooping cough, endangering those who are too young or unable to be vaccinated.
Several nominees have spread disinformation alleging that fluoride in public drinking water is harmful. In fact, fluoride in drinking water at the recommended level of 0.7 parts per million, like we have in our EBMUD water, is safe and keeps teeth strong. Because of public health interventions dating back to the 1960s that have resulted in 72.3% of the U.S. population now having access to fluoridated water, there has been a reduction in cavities by about 25% in both children and adults.
We also encourage the next administration to invest in our public health infrastructure. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the critical role of public health agencies in preventing and responding to health crises in our communities.
Health departments at the state and local levels rely on federal funding support and technical assistance to develop public health response plans, implement public health strategies, and work with on the ground organizations to serve hard to reach communities. Public health agencies are critical for protecting everyone in our communities, regardless of income-level, insurance status, or housing status.
Health officials should also work to protect the significant improvements in insurance coverage that have occurred since the passage of theACAin 2010.According to HHS, the numberofuninsuredAmericansfellfrom48millionin2010to25.6millionin2023.
California has led the way by investing in Medi-Cal and expanding eligibility for enrollment. In fact, it reached its lowest uninsured rate ever in 2022 at 6.2%. Voters affirmed this commitment to expanding and protecting access to care in November by passing Proposition 35, which significantly expanded funding for California’s Medi-Cal program. The administration should advance policies that strengthen the ACA, Medicaid, and Medicare and improve access to affordable health care.
Regardless of the president in power, physicians will always put the best interests of our patients and communities at the forefront. We will continue to be a resource to our patients, providing evidence-based and scientifically proven information and striving to better their lives and our community’s health. We urge the new Trump administration to do the same.
Albert L. Brooks MD is the immediate past president of the Alameda-Contra Costa Medical Association, which represents 6,000 East Bay physicians.
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Oakland Post: Week of January 29 – February 4, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of January 29 – February 4, 2025

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