Saturday, November 23, 2019

A Pause in the Pursuit of Justice: Lawmakers Go Home and Face Constituents

Good Day World!

After two weeks of intense impeachment testimonies from a dozen individuals, we're getting a pause as lawmakers go home and start testing the waters with their constituents.

I wonder how many of those lawmakers will hold town halls to gauge people's response to the ongoing impeachment inquiry? I would think most would want to. But that's not necessarily what will happen.

Republicans in particular may not want to hear what ALL of their constituents have to say. Most have tied their political futures to following Trump like sheep.

GOP senators have already made up their minds to back Trump when the articles of impeachment are handed over to the senate, shattering any pretense about what kind of "jurors" they're going to be during the senate investigation.

There's little chance of justice prevailing when a trial already has a predetermined verdict with the majority of so-called jurors. 

The exception to this scenario is if a surprise witness - think John Bolton - testifies that there was a conspiracy going on, rocking their world!

Yesterday, when Bolton's government-tied twitter account was released from the hold the White House had slapped on it, he announced, "That everyone should stay tuned for some kind of back story (regarding Ukraine scandal)."

Needless to say, that's the kind of bombshell that's going to move the polls for Democrats, if Bolton testifies there was a conspiracy going on.

Related: House GOP Disregards Expert Warnings That Debunked Ukraine Theory Helps Russia

Moving on, those Republicans who have hitched their future with Trump's, have more to worry about than just protecting him during the predetermined senate phase of impeachment.

Related: Giuliani Associate Willing to Tell Congress Nunes Met with Ex-Ukrainian Official To Get Dirt on Biden 

Court cases filed against Trump in the last few years are moving to completion with decisions coming this month, and in the next two months. 

For example, yesterday the Supreme Court heard Trump's lawyers fight against releasing his records from his accounting firm Mazars USA. The justices agreed with the House to fast track their decision, and it may be released as soon as Monday.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say they're going to side with the House. Trump's defense lawyers have been using bullshit to shield him and were called out by the judge twice for making "ridiculous claims."

Then there's three emolument cases pending against Trump that could come up before the year ends. There's two other cases seeking Trump's personal tax returns. Both are expected to be decided soon.

Trump has to testify in a sexual assault case on January 31st, 2020, because his lawyers lost all of their appeals. I could go on about more than a dozen other cases against Trump, but I think my message is clear here...

Even if Trump isn't kicked out of the White House by the spineless Senate, his worries (and his enablers) are far from over.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Friday, November 22, 2019

Next-New Phase for Impeachment Inquiry: All Roads Lead to Putin and Rudy Giuliana


                                       Good Day World!

We now know Putin achieved his goal to divide Americans and to weaken our standings in the world community. 

GOP Republicans have confirmed it by denying reality and pushing a conspiracy theory cooked up by Putin. 

For those who saw the public hearings in the last two weeks it's apparent that protecting Trump is more important to the Republicans on the committee, than getting to the truth behind what Trump did... he wanted dirt on Biden his main political opponent.

It was sad watching our House divided. 

Somewhere in Russia, Putin was watching the proceedings with delight. What he started in the 2016 election has been a success beyond even his ambitious dreams.

After the 12 testimonies were given it was established Rudy Giuliana was the point man for Trump's secret parallel foreign policy.

The next phase in the impeachment inquiry is coming after the House Intelligence committee, along with two other panels, are writing a report detailing their findings.

Their report will then become the basis for articles of impeachment that the Judiciary committee will consider.

They'll debate the size and scope of the articles, which are likely to focus on abuse of power, obstruction of justice, obstruction of Congress and bribery.

Stay tuned.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

The Final Impeachment Hearing Today? Don the Con is Cornered

Good Day World!

There's a wall going up right now, but not the one Trump promised to his base.

With Ambassador Sondland's damning testimony yesterday about Trump's quid pro quo scheme, a wall of facts is cornering Don the Con.

Like his longtime Mafia friends, Trump had many ways to communicate his demands without directly saying them. Anyone who has ever seen The Godfather knows what I'm talking about.

When Trump told the newly elected president of the Ukraine (during a phone call) "I need a favor" there was no mistaking the meaning behind his request.

He flat out asked Zelensky (the new president) to investigate Joe and his son Hunter Biden, and to look into a conspiracy theory that Ukraine meddled in the 2016 election, and not Russia.

It was confirmed during the hearing that Rudy Giuliani was Trump's consigliere at the State Department and everyone deferred to him. 

Apparently Trump counted on terrorizing federal officials and telling them not to cooperate with subpoenas served by Congress. He miscalculated, and there's been a parade of witnesses incriminating him and his cronies in the scheme since last week.

I'm not sure how we got back to using the Latin word for bribery - quid pro quo - but that's what Sondland testified was happening.

Today will probably be the last day of public hearings.  

Semantics are silly game to play during an impeachment, but politicians like to anyway. Like the public really cares. Bribery, is bribery.

The only thing most Americans want to know is the truth. 

No matter how it's dressed up, the truth comes from a series of facts... not fictional narratives. The fact is, Trump committed a high crime... bribery.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Another Impeachment Day:A Star is Born!


Good Day World!
On impeach TV today... a star could be born!
---------------------------------------------------
Breaking News: Witness Implicates  Trump
_______________________________
He doesn't look like your normal male celebrity - think Tom Selleck or Tom Cruise - but Gordon Sondland could steal the day today as he's at the center of the whole Ukraine scandal.

Sondland, a political appointee who donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration, was part of Trump's shadow foreign policy campaign designed to dig up dirt on his 2020 political opponent Joe Biden.

A witness testified that Sondland spoke with Trump frequently and in one conversation assured Trump, "That he (President Zelensky) loves your ass" and "will go along with the request to go public about an investigation into Biden."

Sondland's appearance today represents a laser focus on bribery. 

A word Republicans have been doing somersaults around in order to muddy up the central charge in the impeachment hearing.

The reason Sondland is the star today is because what he represents, and what he knows. He knows the linkage between Trump and his demands for the Ukrainian president to investigate his political rival Joe Biden.

He's a political appointee that was representing Trump's personal interest... and he's the first to openly expose Trump's true intentions by sharing his conversation with him with others.

Any pretense about Trump caring about corruption in the Ukraine before his own personal feelings, has been peeled away by Sondland's confession going into today's testimony.

Time for me to walk on down the road....

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Quick Quiz: Are You Following the Impeachment Hearings?

Good Day World!

How important are the impeachment hearings to you? Have you been following them? Or, are you ignoring them?

Here's some questions if you have been following the whole Ukraine Scandal unfolding before Congress, and the American public: (Note that some questions have two answers)

1) Do Republicans "have a right" to expose the whistleblower?

a) Yes, the president deserves to know his accuser in order to defend himself
b) No. Whistleblower's are protecting from being exposed by Congress, and the Constitution. The law protecting whistleblowers was strengthened when the GOP was last in the majority of the House.
c) May be bogus, but no need to worry about it. 

2) Who Is Maria Yovanovitch?

a) Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine
b) "That Woman" who is bad news 
c) One of Trump's former girlfriends

3) Who is Jim Jordan?
a) A former assistant wrestling coach who ignored students being molested by the head coach at OSU
b) A Representative for Ohio, in the House
c) Trump's Number One "Butt Boy" in Congress

4) Who is Jennifer Williams?
a) One of 10 women filing a sexually assault against Trump in civil courts
b) Trump's hairstylist
c) An aide to Vice President Mike Pence

5) Who are The Three Amigos?
a) Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and Martin Short
b) Rick Perry, Gordon Sondlund, and Kurt Volker
c) Hispanic cousins of the Three Stooges

6) Who is Volodymyr Zelensky?
a) A comedian
b) President of the Ukraine
c) A corrupt Moscow puppet

7) Who is Tim Morrison?
a) A national security council aide
b) Singer Jim Morrison's younger brother
c) A "Never Trumper"

I hope you have as much fun taking this quiz as I had writing it.

Dump Trump in 2020!

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Monday, November 18, 2019

Where Has "The Base" Gone? Trump Rallies Not Helping GOP Candidates


                                          Good Day World!

At one time, not so long ago, Trump rallies were seen as the best way to motivate his base to vote for him. or one of his cronies.

If that was true once, it's no longer the case now.

In the last month Trump has thrown his considerable bulk around trying to save GOP governors. The most recent example of Trump's waning influence took place in Louisiana when Trump extorted his minions at a rally to vote for Eddie Rispone for Governor.

He told his eager followers that Democrats were all "crazy...crazy." Then in a moment of rare truth he begged them, "..so you gotta give me a big win, please. Ok?Ok?!"

Despite Pence calling Conservative talk-in shows all around the Bayou State, and Trump's recorded robocalls in addition to money from the RNC, Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards kept his office in the deep red state.

This political defeat was a referendum of Trump's pulling power. He may have a raucous following at rallies, but either they're not turning out at the polls, or their numbers are dwindling.

A week before his defeat in Louisiana, an incumbent Republican governor, Matt Bevins, lost to a Democratic challenger.

On election eve Trump who carried the state of Kentucky by 30 points in 2016, held a rally of support for Bevins. 

Just like he later claimed in Louisiana, "Democrats are all insane!" He want on to rant, "They want to indoctrinate your children - you know this. Destroy anyone who holds traditional American values." 

Amid the cheers he grew serious. "Listen it sends a really bad message if Bevins doesn't win. You can't let that happen to me," he pleaded.

In last year's midterms elections there was a "Blue wave" that overtook Trump's best efforts to slow it down. What does this all mean?

Trump has never been popular. He lost the popular vote. If it wasn't for Russian interference and the dirty tricks Trump's supporters used, he would have been just another footnote in history.

Every poll shows Trump "under water" when it come to national approval ratings. It's obvious Trump's corruption is finally catching up to him. It's also obvious he's going to be impeached.

Whether he's kicked out of office on his fat lying ass, or if he runs for re-election in 2020, Trump is going to be carrying more baggage than Hillary Clinton did in 2016.

When Trump finally got rid of all the adults in his cabinet and administration, he sealed his own political fate. His unrestrained tweet tantrums have become articles of impeachment.

His GOP supporters in the House and the Senate are finding it harder to defend his infantile and vicious language. Sixteen House Republicans are retiring after an exodus of over 30 members during the midterms.

There's 19 GOP senators who hope to be re-elected in 2020. They're going to have to listen closely to their constituents who are increasing becoming disgusted with Trump. 

The fact that Trump is showing more vulnerability daily isn't exactly encouraging for GOP lawmakers. If he can't keep them in line by bullying them with the threat of his base... it's over.

Trump will be confined to history's dump!

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Ukraine Scandal: The "Idiot Defense" is Trump's Best Chance of Staying in Office


                                        Good Day World!

Lindsey Graham may have come up with the best possible defense for Trump in the batshit crazy Ukraine scandal.

He basically told reporters that the people involved in the Ukraine scandal were "inept," and "bungling idiots." 

His argument that no harm was done because everyone involved was too stupid to be a danger to the country, isn't exactly flattering to Trump, but there may be a kernel of a defense there.

The problem is getting a world class egomaniac like Trump to go along with it. 

He thinks he's always right, and is a "stable genius." The last thing he'd ever admit to was being stupid. The "Chosen One" doesn't roll that way.

The Republicans are grasping for straws to counter all the facts that have been exposed showing Trump's efforts to bribe a leader of another nation to get political dirt on his 2020 opponent.

There is no "war room" of Republicans defending Trump. He doesn't want one because only he knows how to deal with the impeachment process against him.

It's that ego that'll be Trump's downfall.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Mainstream Media is Doing a Disservice to American Viewers

I can't trust the so-called mainstream media these days because it's looking more like the lamestream media when it comes to covera...