The usual fog-throwers are trying to befog the public when it comes to January 6. National Review’s Noah Rothman wrote about this two days ago: “The January 6 Conspiracy Theories Are Still Dumb.”

On that day — January 6, 2021 — the president of the United States incited a mob to attack the U.S. Congress for the purpose of stopping a constitutional process. They succeeded in doing so, for several hours. Some people — including the vice president — had to flee for their safety. All the while, the president was watching the riot on television.

This was the worst attack on the U.S. Capitol since the War of 1812 — and that earlier attack was launched by a foreign power. This one was done by homegrown Americans.

Many people say two things, even in consecutive breaths: that Trump supporters stormed the Capitol and were great patriots for doing so; and that Trump supporters had nothing to do with this at all — rather, it was the work of Antifa, BLM, and “the feds.”

• Do you know about “ghost buses”? I had not, and neither, apparently, had FBI director Christopher Wray. Here is a report from the Daily Beast:

At a Homeland Security Committee hearing Wednesday, Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) claimed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation put operatives into “ghost buses” to incite the Jan. 6 attack. Higgins was interrogating FBI director Christopher Wray, who denied that FBI agents organized an operation to incite the riot and said he did not know what “ghost buses” were. The congressman said it was a “common” term for vehicles “used for secret purposes.” Although he was out of time for questioning, Higgins claimed that he had evidence showing that FBI informants dressed up as Donald Trump supporters and were the first to arrive at the Capitol. He later added, “Your day is coming, Mr. Wray,” before he was cut off.

“Your day is coming” — sounds like a threat. For the article, which includes video, go here.

• Maybe I could sneak in a language note. I have seen some articles that refer to “ghost busses.” In my view: “Ghost buses” are the vehicles that Congressman Higgins was talking about; “ghost busses” are kisses from blithe spirits.

• Recently, I was talking with a friend who is a keen student of history and politics. (Well-known for it, in fact.) She was talking about conspiracy theories. And she said something like the following: “Conspiracy theory, and conspiracy theorists, have never been friendly to the Jews. These guys can go for an hour — maybe two — without bringing up the Jews. But eventually . . .”

Yes. I have seen this borne out.

• The media have been democratized. The “gatekeepers” have been retired. Anyone can be a star, an “influencer” — through his own podcast, website, etc. This is both good and bad, I think. In life, there are trade-offs. I always hated this idea: trade-offs. Still do, in a way. But I accept them, in this mortal and flawed realm.

A few days ago, I was watching, or reading about, some of the big stars: people with tens of millions of “followers” and whatnot. And a thought occurred to me: If Gerald L. K. Smith (for example) had operated in a media environment such as today’s, he would have been a much bigger deal than he was. And William F. Buckley Jr. would have been a smaller deal.

Populists — especially of the kookier varieties — have never had it so good.

• Another language note, before I proceed? Dictionaries want me to write “tradeoffs,” not “trade-offs.” But I think the word looks strange unhyphenated. (Of course, people before me wrote “to-day.” And “to-morrow.” They also used the ’phone and played the ’cello.)

• Here is a news article: “Johnson Said in 2015 Trump Was Unfit and Could Be ‘Dangerous’ as President.” Its subheading: “Speaker Mike Johnson, then a Republican state lawmaker, posted on social media that Donald J. Trump lacked the character and morality to be president and could be vindictive.”

Oh, sure. Many, many Republicans and conservatives talked as Johnson did — until they didn’t. I saw all this happen “in real time.” Amazing.

• On Election Night 2016, a young colleague of mine sent me a brief note: “We have the wolf by the ear.” (He was quoting Jefferson, who, in turn, was quoting an ancient.) From January 2017 to January 2021, we got off very, very lightly. We were incredibly lucky, really. I would not count on such luck a second time.

Real MAGA has never been tried, many Trumpers say. And the next term, if there is one, will deliver it. No more hamstringing by the “normies” — by Bill Barr, John Kelly, Jim Mattis, and the rest.

• The following is an example, I suppose, of real MAGA:

• How about “Based Mike Lee”? That’s how the senior senator from Utah tweets (or X-cretes?): as “BasedMikeLee.” In the last several years, conservatism has lost many good people to Trumpism and worse. I regard Senator Lee as such a loss. This “based” Lee is a new creature. Is the senator putting on an act? Ensuring his reelection in perpetuity? Or is he acting from sincere belief?

In any case, Charlie Sykes had a pointed column on the subject earlier this week: here. Also Nick Catoggio: here.

• Above, I mentioned John Kelly — the retired Marine Corps general who was one of Donald Trump’s chiefs of staff in the White House. I will now quote from a Washington Post article, published on Monday:

“What’s going on in the country that a single person thinks this guy would still be a good president when he’s said the things he’s said and done the things he’s done?” Kelly said in a recent interview. “It’s beyond my comprehension he has the support he has.”

Kelly, a retired four-star general, said he didn’t know what to do — or what he could do — to help people see it his way.

“I came out and told people the awful things he said about wounded soldiers, and it didn’t have half a day’s bounce. You had his attorney general Bill Barr come out, and not a half a day’s bounce. If anything, his numbers go up. It might even move the needle in the wrong direction. I think we’re in a dangerous zone in our country,” he said.

• All right, turning to other countries: starting with Iran. Two or three weeks ago, I wrote of Nasrin Sotoudeh, the human-rights lawyer and frequent political prisoner. She is a person of heroic qualities. I wanted to note the latest, courtesy of Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty:

. . . Nasrin Sotoudeh has been released from prison . . . Sotoudeh was released on November 15 after posting bail, said Reza Khandan [her husband]. Sotoudeh began a hunger and medication strike late last month after being severely beaten during her arrest.

A woman to keep an eye on. They may succeed in killing her, the Islamic Republic, but many people will always remember her, and marvel at her, and be grateful for her. On people such as Nasrin Sotoudeh, the fortunes of freedom — and simple human decency — heavily depend.

(For the RFE/RL article I have quoted, go here.)

• Yundi Li is a famous young Chinese pianist. We haven’t heard from him in a couple of years. But he is playing again — in public. Norman Lebrecht, of Slipped Disc, has the story:

In October 2021, China’s Chopin Competition winner Yundi Li was arrested in Beijing, accused of accosting a female prostitute in an alley. The charge was clearly trumped-up, but Yundi was immediately taken off all Chinese stages and media and prevented from going abroad.

It looks like the total ban is now over.

Yundi has just completed a no-fanfare Mozart tour of Australia.

Huh. The life of an artist in a police state is very tricky — always has been. Of course, life for everybody in a police state is very tricky. What did Li do “wrong”? Probably doesn’t matter. I think of Gene Genovese, the late U.S. historian. He was kicked out the Communist Party when he was 20. Asked why, he would say, in his Brooklyn accent, “I zigged when I should have zagged.” That would be accompanied by a shrug. Wish you could have heard him, and seen him. I adored him.

• The Cuban economy is very interesting — not to live in, mind you. It’s hell to live in, for most people. But it is interesting to study and hear about. The dictatorship imposes a socialist economy with streaks — just streaks — of free enterprise.

Let me commend a report by Andrea Rodríguez from the Associated Press: “Cuban private grocery stores thrive but only a few people can afford them.” Someday, Cuba will be free. (Right?) Hope to see it. That’ll be the celebration of the millennium — followed by very, very hard work.

• In Washington State, a school district has removed To Kill a Mockingbird from its list of required books for high-school freshmen. Four teachers objected to the book, saying that it “centers on whiteness.”

Hannah Natanson wrote a long and searching piece on the matter for the Washington Post. In a piece of her own, Cathy Young, writing at The Bulwark, said the following: “To Kill a Mockingbird is an intensely antiracist book; but its antiracism is rooted in liberal humanism and empathy.”

Yes. Ms. Young cites a famous passage. Says Atticus Finch to his children, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”

(We used to quote what we understood to be an “Indian” proverb: “Don’t judge a man until you have walked a mile in his moccasins.”) (I’m not sure that Indians measured in miles; but the two m’s go well together: “mile” and “moccasins.”)

To Kill a Mockingbird, says Cathy Young, “stands in contrast to the current progressive ideology that fixates on identity and on hierarchies of oppression and privilege.”

Exactly so. We have one consolation, perhaps: Harper Lee’s classic will outlive the crazy and tasteless political correctness that is now gripping much of America.

• Care for some music? For my “New York chronicle,” published in The New Criterion, go here. A slew of composers, performers, and issues are under discussion.

(Do you like “A slew . . . is”? Or do you like “are,” as I have it? An old debate . . .)

• Nelly Korda is pretty much the best thing going — the young woman with the perfect swing (golf swing). One aspect of golf is aural: How does the shot sound? How does the strike of the ball sound? When you swing it like Nelly (few have, over the generations), the shot sounds . . . perfect. Almost unreal.

This article embeds a video of an ace. Sure, the ball goes in. But listen to it. Listen to the shot. That is a sound that we high-handicap amateurs seldom hear.

• By Clay Risen, in the New York Times, a wonderful obit: “Roland Lajoie, Army General at the Cold War’s Front Lines, Dies at 87.” The subheading: “Part officer, part diplomat, part spy, he led military inspections in East Germany and later oversaw the destruction of Soviet nuclear weapons.”

I was rather moved by something — something his siblings did for him. Let me quote:

Roland Lajoie was born on Aug. 11, 1936, in Nashua, N.H., near the state’s southern border. His parents, Ernest and Alice (Bechard) Lajoie, were French Canadian immigrants, and Roland grew up speaking French at home. His father worked in a textile mill, and his family was so poor that, General Lajoie later joked, his parents couldn’t afford a middle name for him.

He was the youngest of eight children, and after graduating from high school his siblings pooled their money to send him to the University of New Hampshire.

Merci, mon général. And thank you to the family, too.

• I spotted this in Ann Arbor: At last, a tree for people like me:

• Couple shots of Central Park (New York), on a recent Sunday morning?

• Thanksgiving is upon us. Among the many things I am grateful for is you. (Should be “are you.” Felt like saying “is,” for some perverse reason.) Thank you, dear readers. Have a good one.

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