Impeachment Notes: Fact Versus Fiction on Display During the First Day

Good Day World!

Day one of the impeachment hearings went pretty well, all things considered, because the Republicans came primed to disrupt the proceedings.

There were two very credible witnesses who testified under oath that Trump had an "irregular channel" headed up by his pal Rudy Giuliani, who sought dirt on Joe Biden and his son Hunter for political reasons.

Ambassador Bill Taylor, the acting U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and George Kent, a State Department official focused on European and Eurasian affairs, gave their testimony.

The Republican backlash to the facts was to unveil conspiracy themes that supported Trump's desire to discredit his main political opponent, Joe Biden.

The coordinated attempts to make the hearing into a three-ring circus failed, but not from lack of effort from some of Trump's stalwart minions.

No need to name them here. They played their parts like true thespians, and if you watched the hearing you know who I'm talking about.

The GOP strategy to double down on lies is doomed to fail because - in the end - facts do still matter. Perhaps not to Trump's minions, but the rest of America cares about the truth, and the rule of law.

The next witness will be Maria Yovanovitch, former ambassador to the Ukraine, on Friday. 

Don't be surprised if the GOP's antics pick it up a notch. It's important to understand that Trump's most ardent cronies aren't going to agree with any facts that make Trump look bad.

Not only are they shameless in their pursuit to protect Trump's corrupt ass, they're co-conspirators for enabling him to defy the Constitution and obstruct the Impeachment process by ignoring lawful subpoenas.

Regardless of the smokescreens Republicans put up on Friday's testimony, truth and facts will emerge, clear and unsullied after their juvenile attempts.  

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

A Conversation Between Trump and Lady Liberty

                                         Good Day World!

In this day and age, it shouldn't be too hard to suspend reality for a moment and imagine a conversation between Trump, and Lady Liberty.

On Immigration:

Trump - (referring to DACA protestors) "There's a lot of hardened criminals out there..."

Lady Liberty - "Immigrants aren't criminals. They represent the diversity of America."

Trump - "I'm going to build a big beautiful wall to keep immigrants out."

Lady Liberty - "Give me your tired and poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore."

On the Judiciary

Trump - "The courts are not helping us (him). It's ridiculous. Someone said I shouldn't criticize judges. Well, someone has to, and that's me."

Lady Liberty - "We are a democracy built upon values, the truth, and the rule of law. Our system of government has been a shining beacon of freedom for over two hundred years."

Trump - "I'm the least racist person you'll ever see, but that Mexican judge was unfair to me!"

Lady Liberty - "...We are a country that cherishes justice for all. Attacking judges is the same as attacking the Constitution."

On Women 

Trump - "When you're a star you can grab women by their pussies!"

Lady Liberty - "All men and women are equal under the law, and when creeps like you commit sexual assault we have a judicial system that'll hold your kind to account."

Trump - "The #MeToo movement is a bunch of women who either aren't getting enough sex, or they're just man haters."

Lady Liberty - "Women in America are becoming more politically involved in our government and their communities. The balance they bring is making America greater."

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

Is Extortion of a Foreign Country for Personal Gain Enough to Impeach a President?

                                       Good Day World!

On the eve of an historical moment in American history, we stand divided on a very basic issue; is extortion by a president of the United States involving a foreign government for personal gain an impeachable offensive?

After weeks of constantly shifting pathetic defenses that went nowhere, the only argument the GOP has left is to embrace what Trump did.

Faced with facts tomorrow when the public impeachment phase begins, the only recourse people like Lindsey Graham has left is to claim Trump and company were too inept to carry out a conspiracy, or what he did wasn't enough to be impeached.

What will Americans think, however, after watching days of live testimony on their TVs? 

Will the facts that unfold before them be enough to overcome partisan leanings in favor of protecting democracy from Trump's corrupt regime?

In this new age where truth is often buried under a desert of partisan lies, it's difficult to believe anything. 

Trump has succeeded in transforming reality into an alternate reality where he wants people to ignore facts and truth in favor of whatever he says.

Trump claims to be the Chosen One. The fact is, he wasn't chosen to be president by a majority of Americans. Russia chose him.

How powerful is truth and our Constitution? We'll find out in the weeks ahead as America watches Impeach TV.

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

Let's Make Today All About Veterans... Not Trump

                                        Good Day World!

Today is about honoring the men and women who served in America's armed forces and who are still with us. 

Veteran's Day shouldn't be a political wedge in America, where one side claims to be more patriotic than the other. 

This is certainly not a day to talk about Trump. 

His name doesn't deserve to be brought up on a day when we're honoring patriotic Americans who have done their duty for Democracy.

Instead, we should take a moment and thank family members, friends, and strangers who have served, because they all took an oath to protect our country.

Today is not about those heroes who served, and died, for their country. We have Memorial Day for that.

Today is about the living veterans in every community throughout our great nation. A pause for recognition.. not remembrance.

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

The Next Phase in Defending Trump: Look for Scrapegoats

Good Day World!

Trump has been slow to comprehend that the House impeachment hearings are a direct threat to his presidency.

He's told reporters that he looks forward to the process because it's going to help get him re-elected. He may believe that, but I don't see the majority of Americans agreeing with him.

The desire to impeach Trump's orange ass is growing every day. Polls show the majority of Americans have had enough of the chaos he's created during the last three years.

Last week was full of damning testimonies outlining his corruption. They also triggered something in Trump's reptile brain: he's in trouble despite all of the stonewalling efforts by him, and his minions!

Time for phase two of Trump obstruction efforts

Slap the blame on other people in his government, including his own cronies, if he thinks it'll help him. He's already made comments about Pence making a call too, hinting there may be something sinister about his talk with Ukraine's president.

Trump's acting chief-of-staff Mulvaney is in the dog house with Trump right now for confirming to reporters there was a quid pro quo in Trump's dealing with the Ukraine.

Mulvaney, one of the group of supportive Trumpies mentioned in the Ukraine scandal is still expendable if Trump thinks it'll help his case.

I mentioned Pence earlier. But other Trump cronies that could be thrown under the bus are also fair game, like William Barr, Rick Perry, Mike Pompeo, and Stephen Mnuchin.

Trump's first phase in his defense - deny all facts - hasn't played so well with the public and his own party. This second phase will be a new page in trying to muddy the proceedings.

I suspect there will eventually be a third phase in Trump's defense of himself... admit complicity, but claim it doesn't raise to the level of impeachment. I can see GOP senators seizing on that defense when all else fails.

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

What Americans Need to Talk About This Veteran's Day

Good Day World!

As Veteran's Day looms around the corner, there's one issue all Americans should be talking about...

… taking care of our living veterans who are under assault from Trump's minions in the government.

Here's the most recent example of how our veterans are being treated. After reading this link you'll see how low the Trump administration has gone.

Trump's record with veterans is shaky at best. He's taken credit (falsely) for a program introduced by the Obama administration that allows veterans to seek private care in emergency cases.

It's unforgivable what Trump's done to our troops in Syria; abandoning our Kurdish ally to a cruel dictator in Turkey as a shocked world looked on. 

And, for what?

Oil, it seems, as Americans are still in Syria, but now they're guarding oil fields instead of what was once a secure border between Syria and Turkey.

Trump treats our active military members like mercenaries, bragging that Saudi Arabia is paying for the cost of 1,500 additional American troops to guard the kingdom.

As a veteran myself, (1970 Vietnam and Cambodia campaigns - photo above), I find it particularly galling to have a five-time draft dodger as commander-in-chief. It's almost sacrilegious.

If you want to honor veterans this year there's no better way than contacting your elected representative, and demanding the Trump administration cease and desist it's agenda dishonoring those who are serving, and have served their country.

Remember, your vote next year could send Trump and his cronies packing! (That is, if he doesn't get kicked out of office before then!)

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

Public Impeachment Hearings May Not Feature a Star Witness

Good Day World!

When the impeachment hearings begin on Nov. 13th, there's a good possibility a star witness won't be present.

John Bolton, Trump's former national security adviser, is smack dab in the middle of the Ukraine scandal.

Democrats want to hear him public testify because he's the key to confirming what other witnesses have said.

But there's a problem.

Bolton's lawyer have advised him not to testify unless he's subpoenaed. Congressional subpoenas have been confronted with a stone wall from the White House thus far 
in an illegal effort to buy time, and discourage the Democrats.

Time is an issue.

The Democrats only hope of getting Bolton to testify depends on a key test case involving former White House counsel Donald McGahn. A decision could come by the end of November.

If McGahn's lawyers lose their case, a door swings wide open, forcing all the holdouts to testify in the impeachment inquiry. Bolton would probably be the first, in the long line, to appear before Congress.

Although Bolton would be a star witness, there's a lot of star power in a lineup of future witnesses consisting of the likes of Mick Mulvaney, Mike Pompeo, Mike Pence, and the rest of the current holdouts.

When the day comes (if it does) Bolton is expected to corroborate what the other witnesses said, testifying that he was aghast at what was happening.

Bolton knew that U.S. Military aid was being held back as Trump and his minions pressured Ukraine's president to open investigations on his political rival, and a cockamamie conspiracy theory about a missing server. 

Related: Bolton Knows About 'Many Relevant Meetings' on Ukraine, Lawyer Says

I recall what Bolton said when he resigned, "You'll hear from me in due time."

There's one caveat I should mention; Bolton has always held an expansive view of presidential power. It's unclear whether he would testify that Trump overstepped his constitutional authority in his dealings with the Ukraine.

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

Impeachment Poker: Trump's Ace-in-the-Hole

Good Day World!

Despite a mountain of evidence against him, Trump is confident it won't matter when the impeachment trial in the senate begins.

Like all card sharks, Don the Con has an ace-in-the-hole when it comes to counting votes in the senate. He's confident of being exonerated.

Why?

If these were normal times and any other president was confronted with proof of abuse of power, he'd step down. Like Nixon. But, because were in the era of Trump, the senate is a stacked deck.

The GOP senators/aka jurors, have already made their tiny mind's up. Trump's not guilty. 

Talk about a kangaroo court (a term Republicans have been throwing out during the impeachment inquiry in the House), the senate is poised to let a lawless president escape justice.

Trump is gambling on those senator's loyalty.

Next Wednesday the game is going be played out before all Americans, as the House moves forward with public impeachment hearings.

I expect to see the Republicans united in their defense of Trump during this stage of the proceedings. But when Trump is actually impeached, and it goes to the senate for trial...who knows?

There are no guaranteed winners in political poker, or any other game of chance. 

If those GOP senators see a seismic shift in the polls favoring impeachment (especially from their own constituents) Trump's ace-in-the-hole won't come through. He'll be unceremoniously kicked out of the Oval Office.

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

Analysis: Shaming a 'Career' Politician is Impossible

                                       Good Day World!

Regardless of career, you can't shame a person who simply doesn't care what others think of them. 

Politicians and lawyers (they're often intertwined) are immune to their own hypocrisy, despite media evidence revealing it in detail.

Watch Lindsey Graham talking about impeachment back in the day, and now. It's a stunning turnaround by a career politician.
The difference between a career politician. and a plain old politician is simple; a career politician will do anything - regardless of laws and ethics - to stay in office. 

All politicians lie at one time or another. I don't care which party it is. That's a fact of life. When the biggest con man in the world pulled off his 2016 win (with Russian help), chaos descended upon the land.

We've come to the point where career politician and Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, lied on TV about senor advisor Michael McKinley trying to contact him three times with concerns.

Another career politician, AG William Barr, has managed to destroy the DOJ's credibility by being Trump's personal attack dog. 

Related: Grand Hypocrisy - Rand Paul Shows Two Faces

Watching career Politician, Rand Paul, at a Trump rally in Kentucky the other night, I was struck with the blatant call to expose the whistleblower in the Ukraine scandal.

Paul knows better than that. There's whistleblower laws protecting the informer for good reasons. That he would still stoop to please Trump by calling for a legitimate whistleblower to be unmasked, shows how little a man Paul is.

In summary, a career politician can not be shamed. They can be kicked out of office for crimes. They can be voted out of office, but you'll never make them feel bad by calling out their lies and corruption.

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

Trump in a Corner: There's Going to be Casualties. Will Democracy Prevail?

                                        Good Day World!

As more impeachable evidence continues to grow against Trump, it's likely he's going to strike out wherever it'll hurt the most.

If that means holding the country hostage to deflect away from the facts, so be it. We know he's capable of acting like a spoiled child when he doesn't get his way. 

So don't be surprised when the November 21st deadline for an appropriation bill funding the government in 2020, isn't signed.

Trump is fighting for his political survival and would see it as a way to deflect away from the damning testimonies Congress has gathered, and is sharing with the public weekly.

Fighting for his "big beautiful wall" is a better prospect, and it keeps his base energized. 
Footnote: I'm wondering how much of his base is aware that the new wall going up is a waste of their money? It's already proved to be ineffectual in stopping smugglers, or immigrants.

It's always been about what's best for Trump. After three years and countless examples later, everyone in America knows it. His appalling lack of knowledge about our history, world history, and the Constitution doesn't seem to bother his base.

The majority of Americans however, are bothered. The most recent poll shows that 50 percent of Americans want Trump to be impeached and thrown out of office.

Trump use to love polls. Now, all pollsters are trolls, according to the "Chosen One." In the weeks ahead when public testimonies are being given, there's going to be worse polling news for Trump, according to Politico.

The question is, who will Trump hurt during his unhinged rage against the reality unfolding around him, and driving him into a corner?

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