I’ve known all along – well, anyone who’s been paying close attention to our fractured political system has known – that Moscow Mitch McConnell was very likely going to block the impeachment “trial” of individual 1, should the democrats stay united and vote articles of impeachment on our so-called president. The easy way for Moscow Mitch to prevent people like Susan Collins, Joni Ernst, Lindsey Graham, and other Senators up for re-election from being forced to vote yea or nea on whether they support EXTORTION by the president of the United States is to, well, have NO vote at all.

Of course, if you’ve been on this site at all, it shouldn’t surprise you that I would hope this action, should he take it, only further the destruction of the present day republican party. I’m not “anti-republican” I’m just not OK with the version which has evolved over the past couple of decades. For me, it began with Reagan and then Newt Gingrich, but, in reality, it likely began before that – most historians would say with the so-called “Powell memo” – written by Lewis Powell prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court (that appointment in itself should be sobering to progressives) when he wrote to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce with the plan to create, in essence, the corporatocracy “we the people” are dealing with as I’m writing this.

Many would claim the income inequality in America is certainly one of the main issues going forward and It could be argued the seeds of that inequality was that Powell memo. Since that time republicans have moved farther and farther to the “right” each decade with the ultimate push to the “right” coming with the so-called “Tea Party” which was a backlash to our first president of “color,” and, of course, this led to individual 1 making it to the “White House” – albeit with the help of Vladimir Putin and James Comey – a very unlikely pair.

It has taken almost three years for the democrats to find a reason to do what many of us felt they SHOULD have done expeditiously after Mueller’s report was published. Of course, William Barr very strategically undermined Mueller and his report and Mueller is too much of a gentleman and traditionalist to have responded any other way than what he did – which was very passive – when being OUTRAGED was called for. And, of course, as democrats slow walked their response – all the while those of us who actually read the report were disgusted with the entire process and how Barr and individual 1 had controlled the narrative – with LIES – were preparing to place our hope that the 2020 election would be the ultimate IMPEACHMENT! (And, likely, it still will be)

Then, along comes this whistleblower, who, essentially, put it on paper what most already new – and that is individual 1’s top sycophant, Rudy Giuliani (Who’s turned himself into a laughing stock with the exception of individual 1’s hard core followers – and, he could lose them soon as it appears he’ll be the first “under the buss” in the present – or should I say most recent- scandal.) The whistleblower heard, apparently indirectly, that individual 1 had directly EXTORTED campaign “dirt” on the Biden’s (Joe and Hunter) from the new president of Ukraine in return for nearly $400 MILLION in military aid, which had been curiously put on “hold” about a week before the now infamous phone call. (Even republicans should be able to add 2 plus 2)

Evidently, “our” president EXTORTING the president of an ally – which “we the people” committed to defend after they (Ukraine) agreed to denuclearize following the breakup of the “former Soviet Union” was a “bridge too far” even for Nancy Pelosi. Within a few days the number of democrats supporting IMPEACHMENT rose from about 135 to almost their entire caucus. I believe the last I heard the number was at 225 plus Justin Amosh – the one republican (well, now, former republican) who actually read Mueller’s report – all who support IMPEACHING individual 1. (Some may say they’re supporting the “inquiry” and will decide on IMPEACHMENT after hearing all the “facts.” Of course, individual 1 released enough “facts” to warrant his removal from office via IMPEACHMENT in the summary of the call in question.)

And, there could be more. Also implicated in the “whistleblower report” – which, by the way, is verified by the summary of the call’s official transcript which was declassified, they’re (the whistleblower complaint and individual 1’s declassified call summary) like “two peas out of the same pod” – so, along with Giuliani, the likes of Mr. Barr, Mike Pompeo, and, it appears, Mike Pense need to “lawyer up.” With all the finger-pointing which seems to be “heating up” they need to be careful not to bump their fingers into each other. If Trump – er individual 1 – goes down, I would love it if he took Mike Pense with him. Of course, that would make Ms. Pelosi president and I can’t see the republicans going along with that on the darkest of days!

Individual 1 and his sycophants will be on the attack – full throat – until it becomes apparent they’re all a bunch of – in the words of Nixon – crooks! (and LIARS) The strategy of DEFLECTION is soon to be seen for what it is and, hopefully, the focus will be on what actually happened, Let me lay it out here in very simple terms. First, it matters NOT whether Joe Biden did something wrong or NOT back when he was Vice President. By all accounts, he didn’t do ANYTHING wrong, but while individual 1 and his sycophants try to keep the focus on Biden, the reality is that argument is total deflection. The PROBLEM is that individual 1 attempted to EXTORT some kind of “dirt” on Biden from the newly elected president of Ukraine in exchange for military equipment which had long since been funded by Congress. (If he wanted someone to uncover wrongdoing by Biden, if there might be any, he should have hired someone like Christopher Steele)

This call was ILLEGAL, it was immoral, it was out and out EXTORTION – not to mention campaign finance violations, possible BRIBERY, and maybe more. And, if you think the campaign finance issue is NOT a problem – well, here’s the truth: if you seek something of value worth more than $25,000 it’s a FELONY. Obviously, this “information” they are seeking is worth more than $25,000 because they’ve certainly spent more than that trying to get it. Individual 1’s supporters SHOULD be well aware that he readily commits campaign finance FELONIES – see the Southern District of New York and how he got the name “individual 1.” The bottom line is whatever Biden may or may NOT have done is irrelevant to the charges individual 1 SHOULD be facing. Hopefully the democrats will not cave in the face of the torrent of LIES which will be heading their way in the next couple of months.

If you are one of the Americans who are aware we have a so-called president who is a pathological LIAR and you’re tired of the mountain of LIES – well, as the saying goes “you aint seen nothin yet!” And, if you’ve ever been around someone who’s a pathological LIAR you know they actually BELIEVE their own LIES as the words exit their mouths. So the reality is our so-called president has likely already convinced himself this phone call where he was EXTORTING the president of Ukraine was actually “perfect.” This is when it gets really dangerous because his sycophants have “fallen in line” and are willing to spew out the LIES themselves. This has truly become a “constitutional crisis” as individual 1 is using terms like “coup” over and over and accusing Adam Schiff of being a “traitor.” (Using the term “treasonous”)

So far, I’ve heard Giuliani spewing LIES, I’ve heard Pompeo LYING, it appears Barr has been LYING (surprise, surprise,), we’ve heard Lindsey Graham LYING, this morning I heard Newt Gingrich LYING about the impeachment fiasco he led against Bill Clinton. I have to add that, while I will never condone Clinton’s behavior, Gingrich was doing probably worse behavior in regard to sexual infidelity as Clinton himself. Soon after Clinton was impeached both Gingrich and his sidekick Bob Livingstone resigned for behavior similar to Clinton’s.

When I look back to those days, we had a republican party which was hypocritically holding themselves above the reality of their actual lives as the leaders of the “party of family values.” Republicans have tried to hold onto that moniker since and it somehow worked until individual 1 came along. They, along with the so-called “religious right,” have sacrificed whatever moral acuity they may have felt was their personal commitment prior to selling their souls to “Trumpism.” As a Christian I have struggled to understand how the “Christian right” could have traded the reality of individual 1’s clear moral shortcomings apparently for a bunch of right wing judges – judges who will carry an asterisk next to their name for years to come as individual 1 appointees.

For almost two years I’ve been pointing out individual 1 comes across to me as a “mob boss.” It doesn’t take a lot of reading to see that his idol, Vladimir Putin, runs what is considered an international crime syndicate and it has always appeared to me that individual 1 wants to be like Vladimir. Clearly, he’s frustrated by the “checks and balances” he’s had to deal with and which now are threatening his time in office. Once out of office will he be pardoned? If he’s removed by the republicans in the Senate will Pense pardon him? I really don’t think whoever wins the nomination among the democrats will be of a mind to pardon him once he’s out of office. Clearly, he’s going to have a lot to face once he’s no longer president. Mueller made it clear in his report that OBSTRUCTION evidence in his report was “memorialized” so that “in the future” there could be charges filed – once individual 1 is no longer protected by the OLC “memo.”

Individual 1’s sycophants are likely to continue the STONEWALLING as this IMPEACHMENT inquiry proceeds. Democrats are somewhat hindered by the FACT if they charge anyone with CONTEMPT of Congress they will be relying on William Barr who’s in charge of the Justice Department to prosecute. The reality is that Barr likely will continue to be an impediment to any STONEWALLING by Giuliani, Pompeo, Pense, and possibly Barr himself. It’s unclear to me how far individual 1’s sycophants are part of what appears to be our so-called president’s fixation on Russia and Putin – which is at the heart of what is possibly going to take individual 1 down.

When you research what Putin is up to you see he’s got his “fingers” into much of what is creating the nationalistic move toward fascism across Europe and, of course, with individual 1 in America. Putin was involved in the Brexit election similarly to how he interfered in the U.S. 2016 election. He’s been filling the vacuums individual 1 has created with some of his odd decisions since taking the “oath” of office. Russia and China are forming a partnership designed to allow them to impede the United States economically around the world. Putin has wedged Russia into the Middle East in ways I don’t believe individual 1 has a clue to what is happening.

I still remember the G-20 summit this past year where I watched as Putin and Mohammad bin Salmon shook hands and had a smirky laugh right after individual 1 had walked by. Kind of looking at each other with body language which said, “we’ve got this guy.” It was even reported that Putin contacted individual 1 and said he can’t disclose the contents of phone calls with Putin without Putin’s “permission.” That pretty much says it all. I just forced myself to listen to individual 1 bloviating right in front of the president of Finland and it was a total embarrassment. I really believe individual 1 is mentally deranged!

He’s still calling the whistleblower a “spy.” Individual 1 appears to have gone off the “ledge” and he’s going to take a few others with him. It appears to me Mike Pompeo should be very concerned, not only with the FACT he was listening on the call and said NOTHING, but that he’s credibly LIED about his role in this multiple times. And, William Barr – well, I’ve pointed out numerous times what a threat he is to our republic. And, let me be clear, individual 1’s comments calling this IMPEACHMENT inquiry a “coup” is beyond dangerous. His wack-job white nationalist base will take these words to heart. You can expect there to be more violence coming from someone who will be acting as if he’s a “patriot.”

Here’s some of the people who need to have security details – especially Ms. Pelosi, Adam Schiff, and the other democrats chairing committees investigating all of individual 1’s corruption. It’s beyond ironic that individual 1 claims his phone call to Ukraine was intended to “fight corruption” in Ukraine – apparently corruption of Joe Biden. This would be laughable if it wasn’t so serious. For example, Andrew Anglin, the founder of the white nationalist website the Daily Stormer, calls individual 1 “Our Glorious Leader.” His website has allegedly radicalized people like Dylan Roof who killed 9 worshipers in a Black church in South Carolina a couple of years ago. Anglin is a neo-Nazi who routinely attacks Jews and African Americans and encourages violence. He recruits kids as young as 10 on his website which he’s said is “aimed at children.”

Final Thought: Earth to individual 1: IMPEACHMENT is not a “coup” it’s an act of democracy put in our constitution by our founders! Individual 1 has operated via FEAR from the first day I started to follow his actions and he’s not likely to change now. His use of words like “coup” and “treason” are ginning up his “uneducated voters.” Trust me, something really BAD is going to happen because of this rhetoric. People have suggested we are headed to a “constitutional crisis” and I will say with confidence – we are there!

There’s two questions, in my mind, that remain. First, will the democrats cave or will they remain strong and IMPEACH individual 1? Secondly, will Moscow Mitch actually allow a trial in the Senate. I’m guessing there’s more than a few republican Senators who DON’T want to have to make that vote while facing re-election in 2020.

Oh yes, one more thing – the signs of the impending recession are looming LARGE. I’ve personally been saying since day 1 of individual 1’s term that I don’t believe he has a clue about how to manage this economy – his history is “inheriting wealth” and squandering it. His one “success” was providing himself and his wealthy surrogates a direct line into “we the people’s” taxes and they are, true to form, funneling as much as they can into their own accounts before we “wake up.” It appears more and more people are “waking up” and this “free lunch” for the top 1% may be coming to an end. But, it will take until 2021 to put leaders in a position to stop this reverse “Robin Hood” policy. If we go into recession I have no confidence either individual 1 or his supporters have a clue as to how to pull us out – they’ll probably suggest something similar to the BAILOUT enacted by the last republican administration – Bush/Cheney. Stay tuned………….

\