The issue with individual 1 as the IMPEACHMENT process moves forward is really a question of whether or not our constitution is going to withstand the challenge individual 1 and his sycophants are putting forth where they seem to believe he and those who have chosen to align themselves with him are above the law. For years we’ve all listened to republicans pointing out “we’re a nation of laws and not men” – but, apparently while in the throes of this so-called president, “all bets are off.” It really is remarkable – especially when you realize republicans are aligning themselves with Vladimir Putin in order to support individual 1.

I’ve been pointing out for over two years now that individual 1 and those closest to him are likely to end up in the American History books right next to Benedict Arnold. Personally, I consider individual 1 to be committing treasonous acts. You hear him using the word “treason” as he lashes out against the witnesses who have the “temerity” to go before Congress and tell the TRUTH – something he just simply doesn’t understand. Of course, as I’ve said many times, he’s the expert at political projection. That is, if he accuses you of something, it’s actually likely to be something he himself is guilty of. So Treason?……………………..

We know he’s been labeled as an unindicted co-conspirator in two FELONIES by the US Attorney in the Southern District of New York in regard to paying off two women he allegedly had affairs with while his THIRD (present) wife was carrying his son Barron and which put his former lawyer Michael Cohen in prison. Individual 1 will likely be “facing the music” on these two FELONIES once he’s no longer shielded by the odd OLC memo which says a sitting president can’t be indicted. We’ve watched during his three years in office one instance after another which appear to be the work of a mob boss. For example, he refers to those who testify “against” him (ie – telling the truth) as “rats.” Where have you heard that? He also suggested “flipping” should be illegal. That is, as the top “defender” of our legal system he’s encouraging people to REFUSE telling the TRUTH to investigators. This is remarkable! (And, incredibly DANGEROUS to our republic)

Shortly after individual 1 was inaugurated Kellyanne Conway, one of individual 1’s “advisers,” introduced “we the people” to the concept of “alternative facts.” (If you’re confused, “alternative facts” are LIES) So, we’ve now got one republican after another spewing remarkably unsubstantiated, and dangerous, propaganda – much of which comes directly from the Kremlin. For example, this idea that the Ukrainians were the ones who “interfered” in the 2016 election would be laughable – if there weren’t so many republicans spewing that NONSENSE.

I read the Mueller report twice and there can be NO DOUBT as to who was involved in the election interference which got individual 1 “elected.” (Despite having 3 MILLION less votes than Mrs. Clinton) Just today I was driving around listening to news on the radio and who showed up claiming the Ukrainians “may have” been the culprits in 2016? Well, none other than Senator Kennedy from Louisiana – another republican without the “stones” to tell the TRUTH about the Russians and their ongoing ATTACK on our nation was, this past weekend, pushing the “it may have been Ukraine” LIE. This is Russian CYBER WARFARE and “we the people” are forced to just watch as the republicans ignore the reality of what they’re doing – which puts our nation in danger as long as these republicans have any power at all. Every day they keep this up Vladimir Putin gets further along on his push to undermine “we the people.”

I’ve read from multiple sources about how one of our allies (I believe it was the Danes) managed to actually hack into the Russian GRU and actually watch them hacking the DNC server and other accounts. Mueller was able to identify the actual computers and their IP addresses which did the intrusion into our national election. Republicans are still working on behalf of individual 1 with the Russians and to the detriment of “we the people” to convince the American public there’s a “server” in Ukraine with the missing emails. Senators like Senator Kennedy have actually been briefed, according to published reports, that the “Ukrainians did it” propaganda is directly from Vladimir Putin, yet they continue to spout it. The list of republican politicians who appear to be willing to sell out America in the name of individual 1 is long and disgusting. The TRUTH is the Ukrainians DIDN’T do it!

And, speaking of the idea of “alternative facts” – well, in reality, any thinking person knows there is no such thing, but, in the world of Fox “news” you have people like Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson who willingly spew out NONSENSE which is easily proven to be FALSE. They will come up with a rationalization for illegal or illicit behavior “on a dime.” Rush Limbaugh has been doing this since the 1980’s, but I believe those doing it at Fox “news” (many call it Trump TV) are much more dangerous because, I believe, the audience is much larger. It’s like a cult following – the audience of Fox. This administration is, well, I can’t think of another way to say this, LAWLESS – and Fox is attempting to help them “get away with it.” However, this kind of rampant CORRUPTION seems to have a way to out itself. And, I’m thinking of Rudy Giuliani!

Giuliani seems to have almost as much access to Fox as our so-called president and, of late, there are reports that the Southern District of New York is “hot on his trail.” If you’ve been paying attention to all this Ukraine “stuff” you can’t help but think Rudy is in a “pickle.” For starters, the soliciting a “thing of value” for a political campaign from a foreign national or nation is CLEARLY illegal – and, well, if you watched the IMPEACHMENT hearings, you know Rudy has got a lot to worry about. What’s been the most interesting to me is when Rudy holds up his cell phone and says “I’ve got insurance” when anyone suggests he may be facing indictment – as if to say, “I’m not going down by myself.” To me, this is more classic MOB stuff.

It appears to me Rudy was busy in Ukraine trying to get a “piece” of the lucrative oil and gas industry which has fostered much of the CORRUPTION which has been a part of their (Ukraine’s) history – while he was looking for that mysterious “server.” And, I wouldn’t be surprised if Rick Perry was in jeopardy and maybe Mike Pompeo as well – and, who knows who else. Maybe the idea of actually becoming an “oligarch” was just too much for them to withstand. And, of course, when Rudy is “broached” with the idea he could be “thrown under the bus” he brings up, each time, that “I’ve got insurance.” Is that a threat to individual 1 to make sure he’s not indicted? Is that a threat to William Barr – because, remember, Barr’s name is mentioned multiple times in the now infamous phone call which led to the IMPEACHMENT inquiry.

Do you trust William Barr? Well, I can tell you I don’t trust him as far as I can throw him – I’ll let you figure out how far that might be. What’s interesting is that Barr failed to stop the arrests of Lev Parnos and Igor Fruman, two Russian/Ukrainian thugs who’ve been, apparently, showing Rudy and the others around Ukraine in their futile attempt to cause “we the people” to fall for the scheme to blame Ukraine for the 2016 election interference. Apparently, the big mistake here was when individual 1 said, of Mr. Parnos, “I barely know him.” That appeared to really cause Lev to lose it and now he’s cooperating with the IMPEACHMENT inquiry. It’s been reported that Lev has provided evidence against Rudy, individual 1, and, surprise, surprise – even Devin Nunez. Nunez may be another right wing thug in “hot water.”

It appears that Lev introduced Nunez to the Ukrainian prosecutor who Joe Biden was responsible for getting fired – the really CORRUPT one – as he (Nunez) was seeking to confirm “it was the Ukrainians.” If you watched the IMPEACHMENT hearing testimony you saw Nunez, over and over again, refer to the Mueller report as the “Russian hoax” and suggesting the conspiracy theories about Ukraine were actually true – despite Fiona Hill essentially admonishing him (along with Jim Jordan and Elise Stefanik, among others) in real time for spewing the propaganda of the Kremlin. This (siding with the Russians) really is serious for the future of our nation. We need to get rid of these (to me) traitors sooner rather than later.

Vladimir Putin is pushing his “active measures” campaign around the world every day and the longer the United States is ABSENT in fighting back the worse the ultimate DAMAGE will be – not only to “we the people” – but, this is going on almost unabated around the globe and doing serious damage across Western Europe – for example. I’ve been pointing out for three years that the Brexit vote in Britain was similarly affected by Putin AND, coincidentally (or not), by Steve Bannon and Cambridge Analytica. Of course, individual 1 was also lobbying for the Brexit vote – which is another “gift” to Putin as he’s attempting to undermine NATO. This is all really BAD and, as long as individual 1 is our so-called president, “we the people” will not be fighting back.

I guess I’m an optimist so I find the entrance of Michael Bloomberg somewhat suspicious as he claims he believes he’s the one to defeat individual 1 so, it would follow, that the others running for the nomination can’t. Personally, I’m going to vote for whoever gets nominated by the Democrats – it could be my local dog catcher – but, I really don’t want a 77 year old white guy – and, I’m not sure what makes Mr. Bloomberg think “he’s the one.” That kind of supports the argument that democrats biggest obstacle is (and has been) the fear of their own fundamental beliefs – fear that going all in is non electable. I’d love to see much of what Elizabeth Warren is proposing put into law – and, it will take an overwhelming vote of “we the people” to make that happen – but, I have to admit, just the other day I sent $10 (plus a tip for Act Blue) to Cory Booker.

I, personally, want someone younger than all these 70 somethings. I’m a (white) 70 something, and, as far as I’m concerned, my generation has done enough damage to this country. It’s time for “new blood” but, not CORRUPTION like what apparently the republican party stands for these days. Issues like Climate Change and health care are at the top of most people’s “wish list” along with good paying (union) jobs and we need younger people at the helm of the “ship of state” as these issues are addressed. And, while I would HATE to see Mike Pense as our so-called president – because, I believe he’s at least “waist deep” in all this Ukraine CORRUPTION, individual 1 needs to be GONE tomorrow, if possible. Every day is another day which helps Putin and the Russians – I really don’t understand why republicans are having such a problem with this.

I, again, today heard individual 1 referred to as “the chosen one” by a republican lawmaker, which just blows me away (as a Christian) every time I hear it. What is wrong with these people? Do they not recognize what a thug they’re talking about? That just confirms to me there are a bunch of people in America who care about nothing but getting right wing judges on as many “benches” as possible – be damned about anything else. When we closer resemble Russia than traditional America I’ll be curiously watching to see what these people are saying. Honestly, it’s hard for me to believe all of this is happening, but I couldn’t believe individual 1 could “win” the 2016 election. Of course, at the time of the election, “we the people” did not know the Russians were involved to the level they were manipulating the process. Ironically, the people shouting “lock her up” voted for an overtly LAWLESS candidate who appears to be either a witting or unwitting dupe of the Russians. Yikes!

Final Thought: I’m not the only person who believes getting individual 1 out of office is the most important challenge for “we the people” since the end of WW II. The McCarthy era was bad and we survived in tact. This challenge is more significant because individual 1 managed to gain the “levers of power” – which makes it all the more challenging to get him out of there (office). Who could have imagined “we the people” would have been the laughing stock of the Russians because our so-called president is such a “useful idiot.”

One last thought: (Sorry, I know that makes the “Final Thought” not final ;o) We’re soon to find out if individual 1’s “judges” will allow him to disregard the “laws of the land.” More on that later – but, if it’s decided that any (so-called) president can successfully block anyone from testifying before Congress our republic is in serious danger. I can’t emphasize this enough. If you want America to remain a democratic republic under the auspices of our constitution you need to VOTE and VOTE against republicans – every chance you get!

Today, while I was listening to CNN (as opposed to the usual MSNBC) they played a snipit of Will Hurd a Congressperson from Texas suggesting he “sees no evidence of BRIBERY or EXTORTION” in the IMPEACHMENT hearing aimed at our so-called president who clearly was EXTORTING political favors from Ukraine’s newly elected president Zelensky in return for the release of military aid which had been appropriated by Congress and ILLEGALLY suspended by our so-called president. Suggesting he “sees no evidence of BRIBERY or EXTORTION” after sitting through the previous 10 days of testimony – right in front of him – tells me Mr. Hurd, who is “retiring” from the House, still FEARS individual 1 and is willing to put his political future ahead of his oath to “protect and defend the constitution.”

I have to tell you I thought I couldn’t get more disgusted with the republican party but after listening to the members of the House Intelligence Committee who are important to the national security of this nation I’m realizing more and more how much Vladimir Putin accomplished, from the standpoint of his interests in re-creating the “former Soviet Union” since the inception of their (the Russians) so-called “active measures” campaign – attacking “we the people” via cyber warriors.

The Russians very well understand how the American system works and they are using our openness against us. I’m dumbfounded that after all we KNOW over the past 3+ years there is STILL no reliable defense against what we know is an ongoing attack coming from Russia against our republic – and, by the way, against our allies in the NATO alliance as well. As I’ve said many times before, who would have guessed the reliable “helpers” for the Russians would be America’s republican party? Who would have guessed it would be the republicans threatening the foundation of our very republic in what I hope is a futile attempt to protect the MOST CORRUPT (so-called) president in America’s history?

Yesterday one of the foremost EXPERTS in America on how Russia is acting around the world, Dr. Fiona Hill, actually “dressed down” the republicans on the Intelligence committee who have been publicly spouting the “Ukraine did it” propaganda scheme of none other than Vladimir Putin, but they continued to do so. We’re talking about, mainly, Devin Nunez, Jim Jordan, and their new star Elise Stefanik, who seem to have no “bottom” on what they’ll do to protect individual 1 – and, presumably in their minds, themselves. The FEAR seems to be the nasty “tweet” coming from individual 1. It just boggles my mind it’s the republicans enabling Putin! Full Stop!!!

Here’s another troubling aspect of this fiasco which is undermining our republic – if we had an actual Attorney General there would be a bunch of sycophants of our so-called president who would be facing serious legal jeopardy. For example, Rudy Giuliani is obviously vulnerable (likely in ways we have no idea at this time), Mike Pompeo seems vulnerable, Rick Perry was a part of all this, Mike Pense seems to be trying to act like “I see no evil I know no evil,” and William Barr himself was mentioned in the “Shakedown” several times. That’s exactly why we can’t expect our Justice Department to even investigate this clear ILLEGAL behavior! William Barr is fulfilling his role as individual 1’s “Roy Cohn.” (And, if you’re not familiar with Mr. Cohn he was a famous MOB lawyer when he was representing individual 1)

The bottom line in all this is that there are issues which this impeachment “stuff” seem insignificant in the “long term” – except that it’s the republicans standing in the way of the things we need to desperately address – like, for example CLIMATE change, or universal HEALTH care, or rebuilding our infrastructure – and, pretty much anything beside tax cuts for the wealthy. What am I suggesting? Well, if it’s not obvious, it’s time for the republican party to “go!” It needs to be cleansed of the people like Moscow Mitch, Nunez, Jordan, Stefanik, Lindsey Graham, Matt Gaetz, and virtually every republican Senator up for re-election in 2020. Keep in mind, it was Moscow Mitch who single handily (well, his caucus clearly supported him) filibustered President Obama’s agenda over 700 times during Obama’s two terms in office. That was MORE filibusters than had occurred in the previous history of this country. Now, that’s OBSTRUCTION!

The republican response to individual 1’s behavior has been to “dissemble” (LIE) and to “muddy the waters” so they can CONFUSE as many Americans as possible. While as I just said Moscow Mitch has been OBSTRUCTING since the first day of the Obama administration, it’s possible no one comes out of this IMPEACHMENT scenario in worse shape than Mike Pompeo. Pompeo graduated 1st in his class at West Point so you would expect someone who has a keen interest in the value of telling the TRUTH. However, I’ve watched with my own eyes and listened with my own ears (that means, to republicans, not “hearsay”) Pompeo LYING about his role in this ILLEGAL scheme to alter the 2020 American election. He has undermined his own standing with the career professionals of the State Department – who, sadly are thinning out because they have too much honor to follow his or individual 1’s directives – DAMAGE to this country which will continue long after individual 1 is gone. LYING coming from the Secretary of State is unbelievable to me.

I’ve heard some of “we the people” claim they would be in favor of impeachment if individual 1 could be proven to have broken a law. Well, to that I would remind them why I’m calling him individual 1. Of course, for his ardent supporters, that’s not enough – but, the TRUTH is even requesting “something of value” from a foreign national or nation is ILLEGAL and I’m constantly puzzled as to why the “reporters” don’t “clue in” the people they’re interviewing in real time. Just the attempt to get the Ukrainians to provide “a thing of value” for a political election is CLEARLY as illegal in regard to the Ukrainians as it WAS with the Russians. As soon as individual 1 clearly understood he had “gotten away with it” in regard to soliciting “help” in a campaign from a foreign government (Russia) he began doing the same thing via Ukraine.

If you know anything about BULLIES you would know it’s imperative to put a STOP to this RIGHT NOW or individual 1 will keep doing it. The realization Russia has “commandeered” our republican party SHOULD get the attention of “we the people.” If the public doesn’t figure out the seriousness of having a Russian “stooge” in the “White House” we deserve what we get. I have to tell myself “we the people” are going to vote in record numbers in order to end this nightmare. However, it’s apparent the republican misinformation machine is already in “high gear.” I can see members of the so-called “liberal media” who seem clueless as to how individual 1 continues to manipulate them.

It’s true Fox “news” (Trump TV) could care less as to the damage what is CLEARLY them supporting a party which has become “useful idiots” to the Russians. In fact, if you pay attention to Russian media outlets (which I do only superficially) you would know the Russians are having a good laugh about the disruption they’ve caused to our republic. Putin is using our open society against us largely because we have a huge segment of the population susceptible to the Russian “active measures” campaign on social media. I don’t do Facebook, but I consider Mark Zuckerberg as a less than useful “idiot” – when it comes to the DAMAGE he’s causing to our nation – he, like many very wealthy people, cares more about the MONEY than this nation – and, his platform is the home of misinformation – not only coming from the Russians, but also individual 1 is hard at work creating ACTUAL “fake news” on Facebook. Yikes!!!

As I’m writing this you have the Russians getting involved (surreptitiously) in the democratic nominating process for 2020 by pushing Tulsi Gabbard and likely being part of the public push to suggest the “liberal” democratic candidates are not capable of defeating individual 1 – hence we now have Michael Bloomberg “jumping in” – apparently because he’s thinking “we the people” are afraid of a “liberal” like Bernie or Elizabeth Warren running for president. This fear of their own fundamental beliefs has been predominant in democratic “circles” since the days of Ronald Reagan. The result have been a surge in BILLIONAIRES along with a surge in people living in poverty.

That’s a bad combination and it leads to people who are unwilling to read and discover WHY their living standards are diminishing as opposed to depending on outlets like Fox “informing” them. This push for an incredible amount of income inequality began with Ronald Reagan and his “tax cuts for the wealthy” – with Reagan convincing working class Americans this FLOOD of money going to the top 1% would “trickle down” to workers. Well, that has NEVER happened – individual 1’s tax scam is the third rendition of this tax scam. The Russians are exploiting the polarization which has evolved from this economic “reverse Robin Hood” and, sadly, the republicans have joined forces with Mr. Putin. That is the part in all this which makes it so serious. It’s time for “we the people” to say NO to Vladimir Putin and his sycophant individual 1!

Final Thought: I’ll end this by saying it’s high time for our so-called “liberal media” to get over their fear of the so-called “right.” This “both sides” look at the news has got to end. It’s time for the media to make sure “we the people” KNOW who are blocking so many IMPORTANT issues from being addressed. For example, many of the republicans are spouting the propaganda put forth by Vladimir Putin and the GRU. That’s NOT “bipartisan” – it’s an issue with republicans being complicit with Russia over our own intelligence community. I almost threw up listening to Devin Nunez, almost every time he spoke, refer to the Russian investigation as a “hoax” and suggesting the “Ukraine did it” propaganda of Putin is true. He SHOULD be shamed in the media as he deserves.

And, the media needs to report on the number of bills the democrats have passed which are languishing in the Senate via Moscow Mitch’s new version of filibusters – simply refusing to allow votes on EVERY issue – including CLIMATE CRISIS legislation, infrastructure, gun safety,and a whole lot more. The media needs to make sure the public understands how much money republican members of Congress have taken from Russia. The future of our nation is in the hands of the voters in 2020. There SHOULD be a mountain of votes removing republicans from even a scent of leadership based on their traitorous actions following individual 1 over a right wing “cliff.” As of now, the media is FAILING!

I’m listening to Devin Nunez giving his opening statement right before the testimony of Gordon Sondland and he just gave a list of “supposed” allegations against individual 1 which he referenced as being absurd (my characterization). However, as he was reading his statement his list was almost one by one stuff that is verifiably TRUE despite Nunez claims to the contrary. In my view Nunez is a “piece of work.” He comes across to me as an attorney who could defend OJ Simpson and still sleep at night.

Here’s some of the accusations against individual 1 he called absurd: that individual 1 is an agent of the Russians (well, hopefully, we’ll figure that one out), that he’s laundered Russian money in the past (true – read “House of Putin House of Trump” among others), that he welcomed Russian help in the 2016 election (true – read the “Mueller Report”), that he obstructed Justice in the Mueller probe (true, as I’ve said, I don’t think Nunez read the Mueller report), that individual 1 was in contact with someone (Roger Stone) communicating with WikiLeaks about the STOLEN emails (true – check out the testimony in Stone’s trial), that individual 1 and his campaign COLLUDED with the Russians (true – again, read Mueller’s report), and the list goes on. Nunez has BLIND loyalty to our so-called president – which has been clear for over two years – a loyalty he puts above his oath to our constitution. Yikes!!!

While I watched as much of Sondland’s testimony as I could handle, he clearly corroborated virtually EVERY bit of evidence which has become public testimony prior to his own. I’m not going to add more here about Sondland, but today I logged onto my computer to watch the testimony of Fiona Hill and David Holmes and the implication of the CORRUPTION coming out of Washington DC via individual 1 and aimed at Ukraine was further corroborated. After the initial statements and the questioning by the majority counsel there was a recess so the members of the committee could participate in some votes (I have to wonder what they’re voting on because we KNOW Moscow Mitch won’t allow any of it to reach a vote in the Senate) and during the discussion following the recess on MSNBC one of the commentators reminded viewers that yesterday, Lev Parnos, in some kind of deposition regarding his indictment for CORRUPTION (along side of Rudy Giuliani – more to come on that) pointed out he was the “point person” in a “fact finding” trip to Ukraine by a delegation led by Devin Nunez. That says a lot!

I’m anticipating the response to the questions coming from Adam Schiff and the majority counsel by Nunez and the minority counsel (who, by the way, has not been that impressive to me) and, likely, I’ll write a bit about it. However, the bottom line is the democrats have enough “evidence” to IMPEACH our so-called president and provide a powerful case in the Senate to have individual 1 unceremoniously removed from office by the Senate. Of course, no one I know believes the Senate will vote to “convict” individual 1, therefore removing him from office. There are multiple reports individual 1 wouldn’t leave even if “convicted.” (Likely, once he’s out of office, he’ll be facing the possibility of being convicted based on the number of indictments he’s likely looking at as he’s no longer protected by the now infamous “OLC memo.”

If you’ve had your head in the sand the reason I refer to our so-called president as “individual 1” is because that’s the name he’s been referred to in the CRIMINAL conviction of Michael Cohen, his former “fixer,” (what kind of “job” is that?) by the Southern District of New York where he’s listed as an unindicted co-conspirator in two FELONIES. These two FELONIES have to do with the FACT individual 1 paid HUSH MONEY to two women he had “allegedly” had affairs with while his present wife was either pregnant with his last (I hope) son, Barron, or while his son was an infant.

These payments happened just weeks prior to the 2016 election and were designed to prevent “we the people” from knowing further his “deplorable” treatment of women. (Keep in mind, this was shortly after the “Access Hollywood” tape had been made public and likely played a significant part in his “victory” – of course, with 3 MILLION fewer votes than his opponent) Add this “secret” to the Russian interference and that the FBI refused to make public their knowledge of that Russian interference and add that to James Comey, curiously, “outing” Hillary Clinton, erroneously, 11 days prior to the election, and you have the recipe how America could vote in a mafia type “leader” as our so-called president.

Ironically, since that time individual 1 has FIRED the man most likely responsible for him being in the “White House” with the aforementioned “outing” of Mrs. Clinton. In fact, our so-called president has been lobbying for Comey to be arrested and prosecuted, apparently for a refusal to grant him a pledge of complete loyalty (as if he was a mafia boss). He’s also unceremoniously fired other members of the FBI because of their investigation of the Russian intrusion on our election – curiously if he was “innocent” – in his words, “didn’t do anything wrong”) – you’d expect him to want the investigation. First, to clear his name and those in his campaign, and secondly, to make sure we STOP the Russians from doing it again. Nada, on both fronts!

So, not much should be surprising as to how things have evolved since November 8, 2016. The MOST surprising part of what has transpired, to me, has been the acquiescence of the republicans to a “politician,” who, based on my personal experience, represents the opposite of what they supposedly have “stood” for over the years. Obviously, if you’ve read this blog over the course of time, you know I’ve been lamenting the rightward tilting of the republican party since I started writing and that my concerns began in the days of Ronald Reagan. I’ve since learned my “concerns” should have begun with the so-called “Powell memo” written by soon to be, at the time, Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell in about 1972 and sent to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce laying out the “groundwork” for America’s turn toward a corporatocracy and the authoritarianism we’re seeing today in republican politics.

However, over the years republicans would have us believe they were the “party of family values.” They would have us believe they stood on the front lines in the defense against countries like present day Russia pushing to undermine the alliances formed after WW II. They’ve somehow convinced “we the people” they believe in fiscal “conservatism” while, at the same time funneling TRILLIONS to their wealthy donors. And, aside from other issues, once Barack Obama was elected, their covert RACISM became overt in their allowing the so-called “Tea Party” to take over their caucus.

During this process, until individual 1 succeeded in gaining the “White House,” I had no idea who Devin Nunez was. Sadly, I now know and I have to wonder how the good people of Central Californian could send someone this willing to do the bidding of the Russians, along with individual 1, to the Congress. I’m going to try to force myself to listen to his response to the opening statements of Fiona Hill and David Holmes, both of whom further pointed out the danger to “we the people” coming from our “White House.” Stay tuned……………….

Well, my wife needed to use the computer and then got enthralled watching the testimony, so I decided to do other things. And, this morning, I decided to watch a bit of CNN instead of the usual MSNBC. Essentially, the “experts” were giving the same message. Although, former governor Kasich of Ohio, as usual, was non-committal in regard to IMPEACHMENT a former member of the CIA who worked there with Fiona Hill pointed out people like Nunez and Jim Jordan (of Ohio) are considered by the Russians as “useful idiots.” As I watched the IMPEACHMENT hearings my thought was simply they are idiots, but I can see how the Russians would consider them “useful.”

For heaven’s sake, their constant regurgitation of the DEBUNKED conspiracy theories that the “meddling” in the 2016 election came from the Ukrainians comes directly out of the Vladimir Putin “playbook.” Putin must be just, as they say, “laughing all the way to the bank.” And, America has media outlets willing to perpetuate what is happening to our “homeland,” Outlets like Fox “news” which is often referred to as “Trump TV.” Individual 1 comes across as a cross between a mafia boss (which is how I’ve perceived him) and a cult leader (which is becoming apparent to me as I try to explain the behavior of republicans who I believe know better).

Final Thought: Here’s the bottom line. When this IMPEACHMENT issue goes to a vote in the House it’s unlikely ANY republicans vote in favor of the ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT although I believe the significant part of all this will be the trial in the Senate. The reality is there are members in the Senate whose jobs are on the line in 2020 and how the Senate deals with this will help determine how many republicans in the Senate lose their jobs. I believe at least a half dozen are vulnerable and if the American people care about the Russians determining our political future the republicans will be in serious jeopardy in November of 2020.

I’ve pointed out how serious the allegations coming out of the Mueller report were, but this Ukraine shakedown “dots the “i’s” and crosses the “t’s” as to how CORRUPT our so-called president is along with most of those still left in his administration. Add to that members of Congress like Nunez and Jordan who the Russians view as “useful idiots.” I have to wonder why “we the people” are having such difficulty understanding the gravity of this situation. Sadly, we know the republicans in the Senate will not vote to remove individual 1 from office, but it’s up to us to remove these republicans from the Senate at the same time WE remove individual 1 from office in 2020’s election.

My final question is will Moscow Mitch even allow a regular “trial” in the Senate? Will they create a sham or will they spend five weeks listening to witnesses similar to the Clinton impeachment trial? Stay tuned…………………………..

I often refer to the times I have breakfast with a friend of mine who is a devout supporter of individual 1 and the last time I talked to him he made a reference to the “swamp” suggesting people like Ambassadors Taylor and Yovanovich were part of the “swamp.” I tried to explain to him individual 1 is at the tip of the pyramid representing the “swamp” but I didn’t have time to convince him. Well, I’ve heard the same reference since that breakfast because I tried to listen to a bit of Fox “news” (Trump TV) and either they are mimicking my friend or vice versa. (I’ll let you make the inference) So, I thought I’d try to clear this up a bit with this posting.

During the first part of the Obama administration the Supreme Court made a ruling regularly referred to as “Citizens United” – shortly after the confirmation of Samuel Alito to what has been the “Robert’s Court” since Alito put on his robe. When I was still teaching I remember asking many (if not most) of my cohorts – all “educated” and presumably voters – if they knew what “Citizens United” was. To a person, NOT one of them had any idea what I was talking about. Well, it was this decision which opened the floodgates to unidentified MONEY flowing into our political process which has turned was was already a CORRUPT process into something almost unbelievable to me.

I still vividly remember in Obama’s first (I think) State of the Union speech him pointing out this decision would open our process to FOREIGN money and Alito sitting in the front row of on site witnesses to the speech and shaking his head in a “no way” manner – with, of course, Obama – over time – being proven correct. For example, we’re likely to NEVER know how much Russian money came into the 2016 election cycle – all we know is it was considerable. It was reported that they funneled at least $30 MILLION through the NRA aimed to support individual 1. Additionally, I’ve read where Moscow Mitch allegedly received $800 THOUSAND and Lindsey Graham allegedly received over half a MILLION from the Russians.

Of course, the CORRUPTION in America’s political system goes much deeper than the Russian money which helped to pollute the 2016 election cycle. America is flush with multi-millionaires – I learned tonight from my son that Hong Kong this past year exceeded New York as having the most people with wealth exceeding $30 MILLION. However, America has no shortage of wealthy people who pay off politicians to ensure they become even wealthier. (Of course, America isn’t even in the top ten of countries based on the AVERAGE income of her people – because the issue of income inequality is real – but, that’s a story for another day) That said, America’s wealthy have plenty of funds available to fuel CORRUPTION allowing them to funnel MONEY by the MILLIONS to America’s politicians.

And, of course, they’re just not “giving” the money away as if they were in their church pews, in their minds they’re making investments. I remember republicans publicly mentioning prior to the one piece of significant legislation republicans have managed since individual 1 took office, the tax “scam” of 2017. They expected this “scam” in return for all the MONEY they’re “giving” republicans. (Don’t get me wrong, their are democrats getting some of the money FLOWING to Washington DC from the “top 1%.”)

How much do bills like the tax “scam” affect these wealthy people? Well, I don’t know for sure because the reality is, while I’m thankful for what I have, I’m not one of America’s wealthy. (When I donate to a campaign it’s usually $10 – $20) To show his appreciation for the tax “scam” Sheldon Adelson sent the republicans a check for a cool $13 MILLION. I don’t know if that seems like a lot of money to you, but, to me, well………………..

The “swamp” is the people in our government on the receiving end of these payments and those who are making the payments – and, then giving instructions surreptitiously in regard to what they expect in return. We’re seeing in real time one way how this “swamp” can backfire on those who are “swimming” in it. For example, what’s one way to get your dream job of being an Ambassador to somewhere exotic around the world? Well, donate a MILLION dollars to a candidate and then hope they win.

Take for example, Gordon Sondland – presently the United States Ambassador to the European Union. Did he work his way up through the State Department over many years like Ambassadors Taylor and Yovanovich? Nooooo! Mr. Sondland gave a MILLION dollars to the individual 1 campaign in some sort of way. Now he’s looking up at the bottom of the bus which seems to be rolling right over him. Apparently, he’s having trouble telling the TRUTH in his testimony (so far, his deposition) and tomorrow (as I’m writing this) he has the chance, I believe, to actually tell the TRUTH in his actual testimony in the IMPEACHMENT hearings of individual 1.

As we watch these hearings it’s becoming apparent how severe that “swamp” problem is in America. Of course, individual 1 keeps saying he’s concerned about CORRUPTION in Ukraine – as he’s exacerbating the issue of CORRUPTION in Ukraine – and, as the hearings proceed, the reality of the issue of CORRUPTION in America is glaring at “we the people.” Of course, the best way to perpetuate the “swamp” is for a politician to convince his/her followers the goal is to “drain the swamp” – while actually being the “head” of the swamp.

And, in the case of individual 1, he’s clearly the “head” of what he’s supposed to be “draining.” Today, I watched as much of the third day of IMPEACHMENT hearings as I had the time to watch and that I could stomach. I started trying to watch, for example, Devin Nunez and quickly realized his “Job” was to spew the conspiracy theories Vladimir Putin initiated in an attempt to get the focus of the “meddling” in America’s 2016’s election away from Russian and on to Ukraine – as if the “meddling” was the Ukrainians trying to get Hillary Clinton elected. Yikes!!!

To make it worse, as far as individual 1 is concerned, not only is Putin attempting to cause him to believe this nonsense, but along with people like Nunez, Jim Jordan, and, apparently, now Elise Stefanik, individual 1 has his attorney, Rudy Giuliani spewing the same garbage. All of the investigations individual 1 appears focused on and seemingly willing to dive onto the “sword” for have been TOTALLY debunked – repeatedly.

A few weeks ago I wrote a post pointing out someone who CHEATS at golf – as individual 1 has widely reported to do – likely CHEATS at everything. If you read the Mueller report (I did TWICE) you know individual 1 CHEATS at politics. (I’ve been pointing out republicans CHEAT at politics for years – and, I’ve been dumbfounded as to how democrats seem to let them get away with it) Individual 1 asked the Russians to help him in 2016 very publicly and what he did in Ukraine SHOULD be no surprise because he publicly did it and he also publicly stated he would welcome foreign assistance in a campaign in a recent public interview. It’s as if he’s doing it publicly so it MUST be OK. And, there’s more!

If you don’t know who Rick Wilson is, I’ll give you a clue. He’s a republican consultant who wrote a book titled “Everything Trump Touches Dies.” I have the book and started reading it and couldn’t make it all the way through because I struggled with Wilson’s unwillingness to understand the “conservative” movement he seems to think is separate from individual 1 actually laid the “groundwork” for this deplorable so-called president. That said, he’s correct that those who choose to surround themselves around individual 1 will long be remembered as almost traitors when all is said and done with this chapter in American history.

The “swamp” individual 1 pledged to “drain” includes people like Mike Pompeo, the Secretary of State, Mike Pense the Vice President, Rick Perry who just resigned as Secretary of Energy, Gordon Sondland the Ambassador to the European Union and, of course, Rudy Giuliani who used to be known as “America’s mayor” before he stained himself via his devotion to individual 1. Oh yes, I can’t forget William Barr, the Attorney General who was mentioned on the infamous phone call several times and has been globetrotting in an effort to prove these conspiracy theories – the results yet to come – BUT, all these people COULD be facing LEGAL jeopardy because this certainly appears to be a CONSPIRACY and all their names have come up in the evidence. We’ll see – but, if you’re looking for evidence of a “swamp” – look no further!

I believe these “swamp mates” were up to something more than setting up individual 1’s shakedown. We’ll learn more as the trials of Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman go forward – these are the Russian “thugs’ who were hanging out with Rudy Giuliani who was referred to as one of the “three amigos” who were neck deep in CORRUPTION of their own in Ukraine. It won’t surprise me if Giuliani wasn’t working his way into the Ukraine Oil and Gas industry – which has the potential to produce huge amounts of money – with Giuliani trying to make himself another “oligarch.” We’ll see…………………………

Final Thought: Today Lt. Colonel Alexander Vindman testified. Vindman, who is a Jewish refuge from Russia who immigrated to America with his twin brother 40 years ago speaks fluent Russian and Ukrainian and was on the now infamous phone call that started the IMPEACHMENT inquiry. Lt. Colonel Vindman (Who had to remind Devin Nunez that is how he is to be addressed – NOT as “Mr. Vindman) reported the call almost immediately because he recognized the inappropriateness of the call – and, did what he was trained to do. He has done EVERYTHING he has been trained to do and has been courageously testifying in the face of a plethora of attacks coming from republicans in all “directions.”

It was reported tonight Lr. Colonel Vindman is going to be relocated to an Army base in order to protect his safety because of the mountain of threats coming at him from the “deplorables” who support individual 1 and react with threats toward anyone who questions our so-called president. This is sad. Of course, it also means our National Security team in the “White House” will be less one of their key contributors. What I heard was it takes 5 years of training for someone to gain the qualification to fill Lt. Colonel Vindman’s position – and, there are few people with his qualifications. That’s the sad reality of our government under individual 1 – if you tell the TRUTH you’re either a “rat,” a “traitor” (I find that characterization quite interesting), a “scum bag,” or a “never trumper.” And, our country becomes worse for it!

If individual 1 REALLY was concerned about “corruption” in Ukraine over the past 6 months or so, which included the suspension of badly needed military assistance for the Ukrainians because of this “concern,” he needn’t look any further than the mirror or the many pictures of Rudy Giuliani available online. Of course, if that’s not enough he could look at the State Department’s 2019 “yearbook” at their “leader” Mike Pompeo, or he could check out the photos of William Barr at the Justice department or how about all the photos of Lev Parnos and his buddy Igor Fruman (with him in the “White House”) who were trying to help Giuliani (and, likely, Gordon Sondland and Rick Perry) pull off a money making scheme via Ukraine’s surplus of Natural Gas. All wannabe “oligarchs.” They all are the epitome of CORRUPTION! (Oh yes, don’t forget Mike Pense)

You have to believe one of the reason’s individual 1 seems so enthralled with Vladimir Putin is because he’s (Putin) widely reported as one of the top two or three wealthiest people in the world and those who cozy up to him end up becoming very rich “oligarchs” themselves. I believe individual 1’s envy aimed at Putin will/should be his ultimate undoing. The list of reasons why our so-called president should be IMPEACHED is lengthy and he seems to be more than willing to make it longer via his corruption in plain sight which often works to Putin’s benefit. Individual 1 is proving that the issue of “corruption” goes well beyond the borders of Ukraine. “We the people” have been dealing with this “in plain sight” for nearly three years now. Yikes!!! The Ukraine “stuff” is what may be individual 1’s undoing – but, the DAMAGE to America goes way beyond this one instance where he’s been “caught with his hand in the cookie jar.”

I would comment on how STUPID it seems our so-called president is acting, but it just KEEPS happening. For example, when Ms. Yovanavich was called home from Ukraine – IMMEDIATELY – based on threats to her personal health, she was attending a memorial of a Ukrainian woman who had been killed for FIGHTING corruption – killed via being covered with ACID. Not the kind of acid the “hippies” ingested back in the 60’s. No, we’re talking about the type of acid which happens to people who gain the disfavor of, say, Vladimir Putin. What did individual 1 mean when he was quoted as saying “she’s going to go through some things?” Considering where she was at the time, just think what was likely going through her head as she was told to catch the next flight home. Individual 1 MUST be thinking none of his STUPIDITY will ever be revealed.

And, prior to individual 1, who would have guessed the entire republican party would be the heroes of Russian state television as their people are watching these republicans doing the Russians’ “bidding?” From multiple reports I’ve heard, the Russians are watching the IMPEACHMENT hearings very closely and virtually LAUGHING at the spectacle being put on by our republican party. They claim these republicans are simply proving Vladimir Putin’s point that “democracy” is “corrupt” and can’t be relied upon. They, for example, are regularly laughing at the incompetence of individual 1 and, apparently, feeling this entire process is proof that America is vulnerable and weak. They feel it was easy for the Russians to upend our “democracy” (republic) through their “active measures” campaign which was instrumental getting individual 1 into the “White House.” (and, of course, it’s ongoing with virtually NO push-back coming from the “White House.”)

How did this transformation of the republican party happen? Well, succinctly put, Fox “news” – also referred to these days as “Trump TV.” (It’s hard for me to say that name) Fox has been the source of much of the “White Nationalism” which has emerged over the past 30+ years in America. Of course, in reference to what I just said above relating to Russia, you can be sure Vladimir Putin is an emerging force for “White Nationalism” around the world – instigating much of the neo-Nazi movement across Western Europe which is alarming to people like me. (Of course, not alarming to Mr. Putin or individual 1) For example, Brexit was partly the result of Putin’s “active measures” campaign coming from his Russian “cyber warriors.” Not to short change the role Steve Bannon played via Cambridge Analytica as they worked along side the Russians pushing for Brexit. (Of course, individual 1 was cheerleading Brexit as well)

And, these republicans putting on a “deplorable” display in a futile attempt to defend individual 1 in these IMPEACHMENT hearings are cementing their place in the wrong section of future American history books. For example, I’ve been watching as much of the hearings as I can stomach and it’s no surprise to me when I see reports that Elise Stefanik is being considered the “star” of individual 1’s defense. As I watch her it makes me a bit sad because I do believe America needs two parties and she comes across to me as a very bright young lady. However, her defense of individual 1 is going to stain her reputation nationally for the foreseeable future. (She’s likely in a gerrymandered district so her seat is safe)

Republicans “installed” their number one “hit man,” Jim Jordan into the “intelligence” committee to have someone who is able to LIE with impunity – a necessary “trait” for anyone who is defending individual 1 – and, of course, every time he gets the opportunity to talk during the hearings Jordan makes a fool of himself everywhere but on Trump TV. Stefanik is emerging as the “other” republican willing to LIE in defense of individual 1 and at the potential expense of our nation. I have to say, it’s been surprising to me seeing a young lady in the republican party who seems to have so much potential staining her reputation in such a manner. Becoming a “star” in today’s republican party likely will have ONLY short term benefits.

I often write of the DAMAGE individual 1 is doing to various parts of our republic and it goes so much deeper than these IMPEACHMENT hearings. To me, it’s not only critical individual 1 gets IMPEACHED, but, at the same time, “we the people” MUST find a way to “educate” everyday Americans who are living their busy lives – including the many who’ve been brainwashed by Trump TV – as to some of the things he and his cohorts – who largely make up the SWAMP he was supposedly to “drain” – are doing to the “fabric” of our nation. (In fact, I’m planning a post about what makes up the “swamp” so many of individual 1’s supporters are worried about)

Today, I signed an online petition aimed at preventing the privatization of our National Parks, as one example of potential DAMAGE flying “under the radar.” Those who’ve been paying attention KNOW that individual 1 and his “swamp mates” have their sights set on drilling for oil, mining for whatever, in essence getting their dirty “hands” on the treasures of America which have been assiduously protected since the days of Teddy Roosevelt. For heavens sake, individual 1 is still claiming he’s saving the coal industry. Of course, in that instance, the coal industry is NOT savable, but as it slowly “dies” individual 1 has made it possible for the industry to do much MORE damage on the way out! For example, they’re dumping their waste directly into West Virginia rivers once again – and, who knows what else?

My point here is there’s a lot of DAMAGE coming out of individual 1’s administration every which way you turn and much of it will be discovered after he’s gone from office. Right now the focus in on the SHAKEDOWN of Ukraine and the other foreign policy disasters individual 1 is foisting on people around the world. For example, It was just a month ago that our so-called president pulled the American troops from Syria who were protecting the Kurds who were responsible for much of the “heavy lifting” in the battle against ISIS. These Kurds continue to be slaughtered at the hands of president Erdogan of Turkey – and to make matters look so much worse – individual 1 invited Erdogan to the “White House” amid this ongoing slaughter, sending a message to the Kurds which I can’t even imagine how they’re receiving it. And, make no mistake, “we the people” are responsible for this because individual 1 represents all Americans – whether we like it or not.

To me, this is why it’s so IMPERATIVE for the democrats to IMPEACH individual 1 and put the “onus” on republican members of the Senate to decide if this kind of behavior is acceptable in America. Their decision will be setting a precedent for all future American presidents and, I’m sure, many republican members of the Senate understand the next president will likely be a democrat and they’ll need to think about whether they want to normalize, for example, presidents committing EXTORTION to benefit themselves in who knows what kind of way. And, do you think this is the only time individual 1 has used his office to benefit himself?

Take for example the HORRIBLE decision to allow the Turks to, essentially, “ethnically cleanse” the Kurds from Northern Syria – where they had established a “homeland.” What do you think individual 1 got in return from Erdogan as he played “let’s make a deal” over the phone one evening? Do you think his “Twin Towers” in Istanbul were part of the negotiation? Foreign leaders have totally figured out how to “play” individual 1 and, seriously, their people are laughing at him – and, of course, by extension, at “we the people,” as he’s getting “played.” While Erdogan was in the Oval Office it was reported he was sending coded messages back to Turkey where people were watching on TV and getting a good laugh. (Sadly, I have to add, the Kurds are NOT laughing at him – they are bitter about America’s BETRAYAL)

Republicans (along with outlets like Fox, Breitbart, and others) are enabling this. I said when individual 1 was first elected that he would last only until the jobs of the members of Congress were in jeopardy. Well, republican members of the House have been “retiring” in droves since the early days of this administration leading to the democratic majority and, this year, there are over 20 republicans in the Senate up for re-election – some of them in places where people are realizing what individual 1 is doing to this nation. Their vote in the impeachment “trial” very well could determine their political future.

The American people aren’t STUPID – many are simply working their butts off to keep their families “head’s above water.” Sadly, many of them either don’t want to participate in politics at all, or they’ve been “undone” by getting “sucked in” to Fox “news” AKA “Trump TV,” However, I’ve personally been surprised by the number of people I personally know who are watching the IMPEACHMENT hearings. My hope is that these hearings will cause people to register to vote in record numbers – especially young people who have the MOST to lose if this NIGHTMARE somehow were to continue – sending a clear message to republican Senators that the IMPEACHMENT trial had better be taken seriously.

I’ll say it once more – this IMPEACHMENT hearing is about a sitting American president EXTORTING (bribing) political favors from a vulnerable “ally” who he could care “less” about. If they got overtaken by Russia, it would be “no sweat off individual 1’s brow.” (Sadly) However, there is SO MUCH MORE! We’re not even talking about all the OBSTRUCTION of Justice exposed in Mueller’s report along with the COLLUSION with the Russians – which will become clearer as more of the redacted parts of Mueller’s work becomes public. The “list” just goes on and on.

Final Thought: As I’ve stated in a couple of my previous posts I believe the greatest danger to the democrats “case” to IMPEACH individual 1 will likely come from William Barr who, I believe, may be “concocting” a scheme to further undermine Mueller’s work – beyond what he did at the outset of the report being publicized. Keep in mind, there have been reports of Barr circling the globe looking for evidence to support the conspiracy theories which would suggest some nefarious plot to undermine individual 1’s administration well before anyone thought he had a “snowball in hell’s” chance to actually “win” the election. I believe Barr will indict SOMEONE with the idea to take the focus off the IMPEACHMENT hearings and eventually the trial in the Senate if Barr fails to intervene in the House’s proceedings.

Keep in mind a couple things: First, Barr has refused to answer legally drawn up subpoenas from various House committees and secondly, Barr’s name has come up in the Ukraine scheme on several occasions. A “plethora” of the people surrounding individual 1 need to be thinking that if a democrat wins the “White House” in 2020 the statute of limitations on what appears to be NUMEROUS criminal acts and/or conspiracies will be far in the future. Assuming “we the people” elect someone who doesn’t believe in the “looking forward instead of back” philosophy which President Obama adopted to the glee of GW Bush, Dick Cheney, Don Rumsfeld, and many of their accomplices – keep in mind this MESS in the Middle East is largely the work of the Bush/Cheney regime – which included openly authorizing TORTURE. I believe enabling that led to the brazenous of individual 1 and his republican sycophants.

Even my friend who I regularly mention here who is “devoted” to individual 1 (it’s hard for me to understand, but…….) and who voted for Bush/Cheney (I believe he just votes for the republican – period) agrees they were responsible for hundreds of thousands of people losing their lives along with creating the aforementioned “MESS.” Well, as republicans are “want” to do, individual 1 is in the process of creating “the mother of all messes” and he’s surrounded by people who very likely will be facing legal jeopardy if “we the people” elect someone who actually believes we are a nation of laws – and simply because you’re violating laws from the Oval Office you don’t get a “pass” OR a pardon. My hope is that everyone of these people in individual 1’s “orbit” from his family members to the cohorts of his “swamp” will be fully investigated – and, that includes Mr. Barr. Just sayin………………….

Tonight it was reported that individual 1 asked William Barr to hold a press conference and state he (individual 1) hadn’t done anything wrong in his phone call with Ukrainian president Zelensky. Somewhat surprisingly Barr apparently declined. In the reporting I saw (“The Last Word” on MSNBC) it wasn’t mentioned this was the exact same thing which got James Comey fired because he refused to say publicly that individual 1 was not under investigation in the “Russia thing.” I don’t think our so-called president will fire Barr, as he’s largely responsible for it taking the Ukraine scandal to put individual 1 in danger of IMPEACHMENT.

If you were one of the (what I call) top 1% – meaning the 1% of Americans who read the Mueller report – you would know this IMPEACHMENT inquiry going on as I’m writing this SHOULD be the second one. However, Barr made certain the Mueller report was “sidelined” via his “summary” right after Mueller finished and his (incredibly problematic) press conference just an hour or so prior to releasing the redacted version of the report. And, of course, he’s worked to prevent the Congress from seeing the redacted portions of the report since that day – so, in effect, Barr prevented Mueller’s report from ending up in an impeachment “inquiry” in the House, which by my reading (I read it twice), was Mueller’s intention.

I haven’t been one to put Mueller into the heroic category some suggested due to his failure to aggressively push for the public to get a clear understanding of what his group came up with. The episodes of OBSTRUCTION of Justice in his report are SERIOUS breaches of our legal system, which Mueller made clear as he explained the seriousness of OBSTRUCTION – but, in my view, he FAILED to follow through in the face of repeated legal VIOLATIONS coming from our so-called president. He said, from the start, he was impeded by the OLC memo which prohibits as sitting president from being indicted. As any BULLY would, individual 1 has pushed THAT boundary to the point where the Congress MUST intercede.

Barr remains the “wild card” here. Even though it’s been reported he refused to hold the press conference stating individual 1 “didn’t do anything wrong,” I DON’T trust him as far as I can throw him. (Which, trust me, isn’t far – like ZERO) Barr has been roaming around the world attempting to validate the very conspiracy theory individual 1 was EXTORTING the Ukrainians over in regard to the so-called “server.” Apparently, individual 1 is referring to a server that would be holding all of Ms. Clinton’s missing emails. They (individual 1 and Barr) seem to be trying to prove the “Russia investigation” originated in Ukraine (despite ALL the evidence pointing directly at the Russians – including the IP addresses of the computers which did the ILLEGAL hacking of the DNC email server and the account of John Podesta.

Barr has a tremendous amount of power and he could come up with some kind of “spying” accusation against members of the intelligence community – with reports in the last week or so suggesting the Prosecuting Attorney (I believe located in Connecticut) has the ability to file criminal charges in relation to the beginnings of the “Russia thing.” They still don’t believe the story of George Papadopoulus spilling his guts to an Australian diplomat in a drunken episode in London – which this diplomat reported to the FBI. Papadopoulus admitting the Russians had the DNC emails and were going to release them during the campaign is what morphed into the Russia thing.”

Mueller pointed this out, but Barr is traipsing the world attempting to create an alleged crime, in my view, where he can indict someone like John Brennan or Andy McCabe,to take the focus off the IMPEACHMENT hearings, giving outlets like Fox “news” (noise) the ability to take the focus of individual 1’s base off the hearings allowing republicans to more easily vote to acquit individual 1in the Senate. I actually will be surprised if Barr does not intercede on individual 1’s behalf. Barr is simply proof that the reason so many republicans are staying “in line” with individual 1 is due to his willingness to attempt to LIE himself out of any situation arising from his belief he’s above the law. It’s becoming apparent to me republicans view the constitution as nothing more than an impediment to their objective of turning America into a quasi fascist/corporatocracy which is run by the very “deep state” they claim to be “draining.”

As time has kept moving, today is the date of the first public impeachment hearing and I’m listening to Ambassador Bill Taylor as I’m typing this. Right before Mr. Taylor and the other witness George Kent gave their opening statements the republicans showed their “plan” to try turning this hearing into another spectacle – similar to what they accomplished when Cory Lewandowski appeared before the Judicial Committee regarding issues emanating from the Mueller investigation. Devin Nunez is an embarrassment to those of us who are old enough to remember when LYING in public would be looked upon VERY unfavorably by both parties. Then, one by one republicans made “point of order” interruptions to Chairman of the committee Adam Schiff’s opening remarks making it clear they don’t like being in the minority – without saying it with those words.

They accused Mr. Schiff of knowing who the “whistleblower” is and that he had met with the whistleblower prior to both their meeting today AND also before the complaint was actually submitted (according to the whistleblower law). They all know these accusations are FALSE. The republicans want to be able to question the whistleblower and are clearly attempting to make his/her identification public – which, obviously, violates the whistleblower act. Just their attempts to “out” the whistleblower – who’s views are clearly not needed at this point because his complaint has been corroborated many times over by witnesses who are/will be testifying in these public hearings – will likely impede future whistleblowers from coming forward.

Ambassador Taylor’s opening remarks are clearly creating a dark picture of individual 1’s “shakedown” of Ukraine’s newly elected president who is attempting to rally his nation in their FIGHT against the Russians where over 14,000 Ukrainians have DIED attempting to make the separation from what was the former “Soviet Union” – essentially – complete. The suspension of the military aid to Ukraine had the potential to cause MORE Ukrainians to DIE. Just the FACT the Russians are aware of the unmitigated support of the United States to Ukraine’s future and freedom may lead to a quicker end to the war. Part of the strength the Ukrainians have in ending the Russian invasion of Ukraine is the support of the U.S. and our European Allies.

This entire incident has the “stink” of individual 1’s relationship with Vladimir Putin where it appears Putin has “something” on individual 1 which has led to our so-called president appearing to doing Russia’s “bidding” over and over – which would include this EXTORTION of President Zelensky of Ukraine. This entire Ukrainian scandal seems to me to simply be an extension of the “Russian thing” where individual 1 OPENLY asked the Russians to help him find Hillary Clinton’s “missing emails.” Individual 1, since this scandal “broke out,” has publicly endorsed the FACT the believes it’s OK to solicit help on his campaigns from foreign governments DESPITE the FACT he clearly has been informed this behavior is ILLEGAL. It is a clear violation of FEC (Federal Election Commission) regulations (laws).

Both Ambassadors Taylor and Kent, in their opening statements, have been impressive. I put the computer (streaming on CNN) on pause for a bit so I could make a couple of my “first impression” observations. First, I can see from the look in Adam Schiff’s eyes he’s determined to prevent the republicans from turning these hearings into a “s@#t show.” At the same time, it’s clear the republicans are going to focus on many issues none of which are related to the substance of the allegations against our so-called president. Both of the first two witnesses have made it clear they were witnessing a complete “shakedown” (mafia style – my observation) of the newly elected Ukrainian president. And, they’ve tied the scheme directly back to individual 1 (Reminder: As stated above, he admitted on the “White House” lawn “he did it”).

Another first observation: As I’ve said in relation to this entire national nightmare, Devin Nunez has been auditioning for a terrible place in the American History books. His opening statement was a rambling, nonsensical compilation of republican “talking points” which have been foisted on “we the people” since the first day we learned individual 1 was really as inept and immoral as was indicated in the 2016 campaign. Many of the republicans who lambasted him back then are on the “front lines” attempting to rationalize his ILLEGAL behavior every day in our nation’s capital. And, Nunez is often times “leading the charge.”

For these hearings, the republicans “temporarily” have put another “hit-man” Jim Jordan (Sadly, from Ohio where my extended family resided for several generations prior to my parents moving to Washington right after WW II – Jordan has his own set of “deplorable” baggage which, apparently, republicans are willing to accept – so much for “the party of family values”) on to this committee. Jordan is likely to be attempting to be the stimulus for the “s@#t show” I referenced above. This is appearing to be a battle of wills with Schiff on the spot to run the hearing in an appropriate manner with the substance of the allegations driving the questioning.

Well, after the first time I listened to Jordan doing exactly what I expected him to be doing I had had enough of the hearing. Everything which was being said, except for one phone call, was stuff I had heard already. Ambassador Taylor reported that a member of his staff had, at a restaurant in Kiev, heard Gordon Sondland on a phone call with individual 1 where our so-called president told his (Taylor’s) assistant he (individual 1) cared more about getting “dirt” on Joe Biden than about the future of Ukraine – it really says all you need to hear. Other than to wonder where else is individual 1 using his power at the helm of the United States to extort assets which benefit himself.

Final Thought: Today, while the IMPEACHMENT hearings were underway, individual 1 was meeting with Erdogan of Turkey, another of the world’s dictators who he openly admires. It was Erdogan on the other end of the phone call which led to Turkey INVADING Syria’s Kurdish region dislocating hundreds of thousands of the very Kurds who helped America’s forces in the battle against ISIS – essentially ceding the Kurdish “home” to the Turks – who not only pushed so many out of their homes but KILLED over 250 Kurds as they moved in – some of them in the same manner of ISIS which caused so many around the world to be repulsed.

Here’s what’s going through my head as I’m thinking about this. While the IMPEACHMENT hearing is related to individual 1’s willingness to cede Ukraine to the Russians by holding the support – which, by the way, without the whistleblower coming forward, likely would NOT have been sent to Ukraine because the aid was released just days ahead of the end of the fiscal year where it would have been “ash canned” due to fiscal rules in out government. Had individual 1 NOT been “caught” who knows what would be going on in Ukraine right now?

In fact, it was reported that Ukraine’s President Zelensky was about to “beg” for the assistance in a CNN interview by telling individual 1 what he wanted because they were so desperate for this aid. Well, stop and think about all this. What do you think is going on with Turkey? What did individual 1 “get” in order for Erdogan to get his meeting in the “White House?” Do you really think the only place our so-called president is “cheating” for his personal benefit is in Ukraine? I personally believe “we the people” will be learning about his ILLEGAL behavior long after he has left the “White House.” (Some are suggesting he won’t leave even after being voted out of office if it takes that to get him “gone.”

I have to wonder how many members of Congress actually read the Mueller report. Today, I listened to a democratic member of Congress, Steven Lynch of Massachusetts, talking about the potential timeline of the present IMPEACHMENT inquiry. When comparing this investigation to the “Russia thing” he pointed out one of the problems with the Mueller report was the amount of time it took to get from the “drip drip” of what was in the report to the point where there could have been impeachment hearings. When Rep. Lynch was referring to the Mueller report he said, “in the report there was no collusion although it left open the possibility of OBSTRUCTION.”

My first thought was, did he actually read the report? Suggesting the report said there was “no collusion” was almost a similar “spin” to William Barr, or the republican “talking points” saying virtually the same thing. Had he read the report I don’t think there’s any way he would say that. Mueller was CRYSTAL CLEAR in his report they didn’t even consider whether or not there was “collusion.” They investigated whether or not they could “prove beyond a reasonable doubt” if there was a conspiracy between the individual 1 campaign and the Russians to affect the results of the election. Mueller stated they couldn’t prove a conspiracy to the satisfaction of “the office” but, they were clear in their report they were NOT exonerating our so-called president. Mueller also added, “The lack of cooperation from the administration affected their ability to come to a conclusion” – or words to that affect.

In fact, Mueller suggested the reason individual 1 Jr. wasn’t indicted (along with Jared Kushner) was because “the office” concluded they did not understand their actions (while, in essence, COLLUDING with the Russians) were ILLEGAL. Mueller was not an aggressive prosecutor in all of this – despite what you hear from individual 1 and his sycophants. And, for a democratic member of Congress (Mr. Lynch) to suggest OBSTRUCTION was left as a possibility almost boggles my mind. What Mueller CLEARLY did was leave it up to the Congress to decide if the OBSTRUCTION was impeachable because he was prohibited from INDICTING a sitting president. There was evidence of at least 10 instances of OBSTRUCTION of Justice in Mueller’s report.

So, now we’re on to the Ukraine scandal – which, when it gets right down to it is the result of the very same issue which started the Mueller investigation – individual 1 COLLUDING (or, in this instance, attempting to COLLUDE) with a foreign government to help him with his next (in this instance) campaign. The difference, however, is the “cast of characters” involved in what amounts to almost treasonous behavior – because the ultimate benefactor of these unthinkable actions coming from the “White House” is, again, Russia. In this scandal it appears, along with Rudy Giuliani, Ambassador Gordon Sondland, Rick Perry we also have Mike Pense, Mike Pompeo, and Attorney General Barr right in the middle of all the “action.” This “action” caused unknown DAMAGE to the Ukrainians FIGHT against the Russians who have invaded their (Ukraine’s) Eastern provinces. (Everything individual 1 does seems to benefit Russia! Just sayin.,.,,)

Likely the key to the “action” mentioned above is the involvement of our Attorney General in an ILLEGAL campaign finance scheme which likely precludes any involvement with our Justice Department in the investigation. For example, the “whistleblower” complaint was forwarded to the Justice Department and they would have buried it in the “dregs” of the department to NEVER have been publicized had the “whistleblower” not pursued the issue once he/she found out it was being buried by Mr. Barr. Of course, Barr’s name was mentioned multiple times in the complaint (as it was in the “summary” publicized by the “White House”) during the now infamous phone call and it’s outrageous Barr was NOT forced to recuse from anything involving this issue. ALL these people are corrupt up to their eyeballs!

What is undeniable at this point in time is that this “shakedown” has been ongoing since the first day President Zelensky took his oath of office in Ukraine. Anybody who’s been paying attention KNOWS, for example, Rudy Giuliani has been over in Ukraine pushing for the president of Ukraine to provide some kind of “dirt” on Joe Biden due to his son Hunter’s position on the board of a Ukrainian Energy company since the day Zelensky was elected. Additionally, Giuliani (and others) has/have been chasing the (many times) debunked conspiracy theory the Ukrainians have Hillary Clinton’s server which holds the “missing emails.” Giuliani, with the help of Sondland and Attorney General Barr are pushing to prove it wasn’t the Russians who interfered in the 2016 election, but instead it was Ukrainians and they were helping Mrs. Clinton. Yikes!!! (And, by the way, an American ally had hacked into the actual room where the Russian hackers were at work and Mueller had the IP addresses of the computers which broke into the democrats servers and stole the emails – ie the RUSSIANS did it!)

It’s been clear for some time our so-called president has mental deficiencies but, evidently, his issues are spreading to those around him. I keep thinking of the title of Rick Wilson’s book, “Everything Trump touches dies.” You would think Mr. Barr would be smarter than this, but……..? I keep wondering if he actually read Mueller’s report as well as the Congressman mentioned above. In fact, I have to wonder how many members of our government actually read the report. I read it twice and, yes, it’s a bit dry, but if you’re part of the government and have the responsibility to take your OATH seriously, to me, reading it is the least “we the people” should expect. I’m fairly certain my own representative DIDN’T read the report. To me that’s shameful, but I digress!

Seeking this aid from Ukraine for the benefit of individual 1’s campaign is illegal no matter who’s doing it and where it comes from. Yes, it’s true if others outside his “orbit” are collecting “oppo research” which doesn’t come via the Ukrainian government, I believe that is not illegal. The election laws are clear when they say “no candidate for office can solicit or receive anything of value for their campaigns from a foreign source. Soon after individual 1 considered himself “in the clear” of the Mueller investigation after Robert Mueller testified before Congress he was on the phone to the president of Ukraine seeking help for his next campaign, essentially doing the same thing he pulled off with the Russians, via the Ukrainians.

Obviously, what made this all MUCH worse was the FACT individual 1 had blocked the release of the desperately needed military aid which had been appropriated by an overwhelming bipartisan vote in Congress as leverage to FORCE the Ukrainian president to publicly open an investigation into the Bidens. (An investigation which long before had proven “empty”) As I stated above, aside from the benefit this would do for individual 1’s campaign, the suspension of the military aid caused an unknown (to us) amount of DAMAGE to the Ukrainians in their FIGHT against the Russians. They were almost begging for the “javelins.” (Which I believe are anti tank missiles)

I believe “we the people” will never know the details of what has transpired in this scheme coming from the “White House” until after the November 2020 election and William Barr has been removed from the Justice Department. I believe Barr, himself, will possibly be liable for his own actions in this matter. It appears to me Giuliani is involved in MUCH more than the issue with trying to force the Ukrainians to investigate the Bidens. There’s HUGE amounts of money involved with the Oil and Gas industry in Ukraine and it looks like both Giuliani and Rick Perry (and maybe Sondland and who knows who else) were trying to get in on the action! Yikes!!!

One member of Congress after another, when questioned in public, seems to show themselves to be, especially if it’s a republican, trying to make up words on the spot. EVERY republican feels they MUST defend this EXTORTION by individual 1 and too many democrats come across to me as if they haven’t read the Mueller report which makes me wonder where are they getting the information they are using to determine their position on IMPEACHMENT. It kind of explains to me why it took so long to get a majority of democrats in the House to support IMPEACHMENT. In this case, it appears that public knowledge of our so-called president committing EXTORTION, where he provided the PROOF himself, was what it “took.”

In my mind, the scariest part in all of this is the number of our “leaders” in Washington – both parties – who are struggling with the courage it takes to honor their oath of office. This IMPEACHMENT “inquiry” SHOULD have been on the “front burner” long ago – as many of us have been clamoring. Republicans continue to show their FEAR of individual 1 while focusing on keeping their job at the expense of our republic. And, many of the democrats are in the same boat – because, had they read Mueller’s report this Ukraine thing would be NO surprise. In fact, I have to wonder how many other situations would mirror this one during individual 1’s time in office.

Final Thought: Here’s another comment that might well be taken with offense by many, but, to me is just real. Last night I watched part of individual 1’s rally in Kentucky (where Rand Paul further soiled himself by the side of our mafia boss in chief as he lobbied for the whistleblower to be “outed”) and many of the people in the audience were wearing tee shirts with the lettering on the front reading “Read the Transcript.” I keep wondering what is the level of STUPIDITY among “we the people.” I guess I think in terms of what I used to teach my sixth graders – like READ various points of view when forming your opinions with the emphasis on READING!

So, these people are wearing shirts with words that are absurd on the chests – where anyone watching on TV can clearly see. For starters, the “Transcript” has not been published – so no one CAN read the “Transcript.” The ONLY thing “we the people” COULD read would be the summary of the phone call in question because THAT is what has been published. Obviously, anyone wearing those shirts was admitting to being susceptible to the right wing propaganda which is making them look to be FOOLS.

Now, had the shirts read “Read the Summary of the Phone Call” that would suggest they had read the Summary and were OK with THEIR president EXTORTING the Ukrainians for the benefit of his 2020 campaign and the benefit of Vladimir Putin and the Russians. The bottom line is it IS the SUMMARY of the Transcript, which is what has been published and has individual 1 facing IMPEACHMENT. I’m guessing close to NONE of the people wearing those shirts has READ anything relating to the details of why individual 1 is LIKELY to be IMPEACHED. I really don’t want to refer to them as STUPID (even though that thought has crossed my mind) because, outside of politics many of them may be “very fine people” – who knows. But, wearing that shirt makes them come across to anyone who’s actually READ the summary and the other available documents regarding this EXTORTION scam as STUPID. I wish I could say it differently!

One more thing: Now there are (actual) transcripts of the depositions which have been taken by the House Intelligence Committee. How many of those people wearing the shirts at individual 1’s rally do you think will read those transcripts? (The first couple covered over 500 pages – and, it appears there will be two more released each day) Do you think these people will watch the public hearings republicans have been pushing for? The bottom line is these people come across to be like a group of SHEEP being herded toward slaughter. Individual 1 comes across as a cult leader and these people wearing the shirts will some day learn they were part of a cult which attempted to undermine the constitution of the United States of America.

My hope is the constitution will be standing when that day arrives!

Golf is considered a game of honor. People who play the game are understood to follow the rules and to bring penalties on themselves when appropriate. For example, if you’re in a spot where others can’t see what you’re doing and something happens which requires a penalty stroke you are obligated to call the penalty on yourself. You’re expected to “play the ball as it lies” amid a bunch of other rules. Individual 1 is famous for playing with his own set of rules – apparently thinking he “owns” the golf course so he can make his own rules. He seems to be operating under the same “rule book” as he “leads” our nation. (Where he’s “leading” it is what is so alarming to so many Americans)

I just finished writing a letter to the representative of the district where I live, a republican, pointing out my disappointment she failed to show the courage necessary to vote for the “impeachment inquiry” vote in the House the other day – a vote republicans have been clamoring for since the actual “investigation” began a few weeks back. In the letter to my representative I pointed out the corruption she is, essentially, voting in favor of by not supporting the “investigation” – as if EXTORTION is OK as long as it’s happening by the GOP – because I can guarantee anyone these republicans would be apoplectic if a democratic administration had done even a sliver of what individual 1 has done.

For example, picture in your mind Louis Gohmert if Barack Obama had tied a request for political “dirt” on his imagined opponent from a foreign nation to aid to that same foreign nation. He would NOT be calling an investigation into that behavior a “sham” and he wouldn’t be threatening “civil war” over investigating a President Obama. Personally, I believe he, and anyone else in the Congress who suggests (and, in effect encourages) a “civil war” if individual 1 (or any other president) is impeached SHOULD be Censored at the very minimum and being thrown out of Congress SHOULD be an option. (By the way, people like Gohmert were suggesting a “civil war” when Obama was in office apparently because they really struggled with a person of color in the “White House”)

By now, everyone knows individual 1 is NOT going to change. What you see is what you get! And, what we see is getting worse all the time. (I guess, maybe, that means he is changing – for the worse) When someone is a pathological LIAR they actually believe the words they’re saying as those words “tumble” off their tongues. I believe a person’s relationship with the law is quite similar. For example, I believe individual 1 has operated as if the laws don’t apply to him for most of his life which may explain why he believes the summary of the phone call which “triggered” the impeachment inquiry was a “perfect call.” (Despite the FACT it included an ILLEGAL “ask” when he requested “dirt” on Joe Biden – a simple FACT, that is ILLEGAL!)

Quite frankly, individual 1’s brazen disregard for our system of laws is so alarming to me I end up here too many days writing with the hope at least one person might find this site and choose to VOTE in the 2020 election – hoping the republican party gets voted into the History books – to be reconstituted with something that at least resembles something which represents actual “conservatives,” (Conservatives along the lines of Edmund Burke) The fact our Congress is full of people like Gohmert, Steve King, Jim Jordan, Matt Gaetz, Devin Nunez, and I could go on, indicates there’s a significant portion of America which gets their “news” from Fox “noise” which is an organization seemingly dedicated to furthering the goals of Vladimir Putin by turning Americans against each other via (actual) “fake news.” (Fox “news” is now being referred to by many as “Trump TV”)

I often wonder who is actually funding Fox which, if you actually do the work to understand what the TRUTH is in regard to actual political “news,” is hard to stomach for even one minute. When I try to force myself to watch Fox I can never make it even to the one minute place. Not only are their commentators (at least the ones I’ve seen) extreme right wing extremists, they willingly LIE on one issue after another. And, this idea of “blind loyalty” which is the apparent fundamental belief of today’s “conservatives” reminds me of 1930’s Germany. (And, by the way, individual 1 is a second generation American via Germany) At one point in the 2016 campaign individual 1 actually had his supporters raising their arms similar to a “heil” salute. And if you’ve ever seen any of the embarrassing examples of individual 1 requiring his sycophants, while sitting in the Oval Office, one by one, to express their “thanks and loyalty” to him as the cameras are watching, you know what I’m talking about. The republican party seems to be a cult!

Getting back to Gohmert’s suggestion if individual 1 is IMPEACHED there’s going to be a “civil war.” (Boy, that will put William Barr in a tough spot as the leader of the Justice Department). I’ve written about a friend of mine who’s an individual 1 supporter and who I often meet for breakfast. He’s also shared the “civil war” prediction with me at our breakfast meetings. He watches Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity on Fox and I’m not sure what right wing websites – he doesn’t like to admit he’s getting all this right wing propaganda but much of what I hear from him I hear from the other sycophants who are part of individual 1’s cult. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine one of America’s two political parties could evolve into a cult, but, well, “it is what it is.”

The truth around all of this is that those “very fine people” we all saw carrying tiki torches, wearing Nazi armbands, carrying Nazi flags, and chanting “Jews will not replace us” are heavily armed with the very assault weapons many “liberals” want off the streets. Should Mr. Gohmert’s prediction come true we’ll see the law enforcement personnel likely be some, if not most, of the victims of the damage those assault weapons can cause. Those are “weapons of war” and anyone who doesn’t understand our constitution is the foundation of our republic is someone who may result to violence if things don’t go their way.

The reality is we are facing a challenge to our constitutional form of government beyond almost any in the past – maybe with the exception of the ACTUAL civil war. Americans have become very comfortable with a way of life which is likely not endurable. There are only so many resources in the world and this reality seems to be part of the divide which is tearing America apart. Over my lifetime – I started paying close attention to politics about the time JFK was assassinated. Using the constitution as the “rules” with live by it’s becoming clear individual 1 doesn’t understand what’s in the constitution and has no willingness to be guided by it. He feels he is able to “do whatever I want.” (The classic mantra of a sixth grade BULLY)

If some kind of “insurrection” occurs with either the impeachment or the voting from office of individual 1 – who you KNOW will claim “foul” if he’s VOTED out of office – will partly be the result of the ginning up of the white nationalists and the right wing base of “evangelical Christians” by outlets like Fox (I’m now saying “noise” – as I said above many refer to them as “Trump TV”), Breitbart, and other right wing organizations SHOULD be held accountable for any seditious commentary which comes across their airwaves.

The bottom line out of all this which has come from “Trumpism” is we MUST make sure the CONSTITUTION is standing tall at the end. We must make sure those who are self dealing in this incredible day of INCREASED corruption don’t succeed in undermining the “rule of law” in America. Getting individual 1 out of office will not be easy – it’s going to be the challenge for those of us who believe in the “rule of law” to VOTE in massive numbers that leaves no doubt on where the American people stand. Aside from the DAMAGE done domestically by this mafia boss in the “White House” there is massive damage to America’s image around the world which will need to be repaired. And, trust me, people in the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and other places in NATO will be watching the election of 2020 as eagerly as most Americans.

Those around the world aren’t “in the dark” about the reality that Vladimir Putin has “something” in individual 1 which has our so-called president working in Russia’s behalf since, virtually, from the first day he was in office. For example, the only reason the sanctions placed on Russia by President Obama have not been removed is because of what was exposed in the Mueller investigation – the more than 100 meetings between individual 1’s campaign officials and the Russians along with Mike Flynn (in my mind, on the orders of individual 1) telling the Russians the sanctions put on them by Obama for the election interference would be removed once individual 1 was in office.

We at least have to give Congress credit in the FACT the reason individual 1 was unable to remove sanctions on the Russians is because that would have been too obvious even for the republicans in the Senate. In fact, the Congress actually voted for additional sanctions with, if you remember, individual 1 attempted to “slow walk” before he was finally forced to put them in place. However, since that day, he’s actually succeeded in removing some sanctions which, hopefully, will be investigated as to who benefited from that action. I do know that Oleg Deripaska was one who benefited which seemed to be a “good deal” for Jared Kushner.

The bottom line here is the Russians hope individual 1 survives and that they can help him gain “re-election” (with who knows how many less votes than his opponent in 2020?) while MOST Americans can’t wait for him to be out of office along with our traditional allies around the world. How many of the countries like Russia, Saudi Arabia, Hungary, China, etc. will be happy to see individual 1 in office for another four years finishing off the “America” they are trying to undermine. Both sides can see America is getting destroyed from the inside out – the difference lies in those who wish for the America “before individual 1” and those who wish for the destruction of the “America” which has led the “free” world since the days of WW II.

It will take a MASSIVE response from those who consider themselves in the “resistance” because individual 1 has become the all time “cult leader” – leading a confluence of right wing neo-Nazi’s and “conservative Christians” similar to the group which brought Hitler to power in the late 1920’s, ironically with the campaign slogan “Make Germany Great Again.” I said at the start of this post that it should be no surprise to anyone that individual 1 willingly CHEATS at politics due to the fact many who’ve played golf with him suggest he CHEATS at that “game of honor.” And, republicans have long showed themselves to believe “the end justifies the means.” So, it’s going to be a difficult challenge to end this nightmare and will require a massive turnout at the polls – EVERYWHERE!

And, I’ll end this by saying, democrats must be FIGHTING for every vote – including places considered “individual 1 country.” A 50 state strategy, to me, is required and hopefully democrats will have the funds necessary for that type of campaign. As President Obama used to say, he wasn’t fighting for the red states or the blue states but the United States of America – that SHOULD be the norm. When all is said and done, it’s imperative we have an Attorney General who leaves no doubt that we are “a nation of laws and not men.” To those who have stocked up cache’s of weapons to “protect” themselves from the government, it must be clear to them, as to me, the constitution is the basis of our republic and “we the people” are OBLIGATED to honor it.

Final Thought: Should there be any form of insurrection in this nation it MUST be met with an overwhelming response which lets anyone know who thinks that is an acceptable form of “protest” in American it is unacceptable. And, if you use weapons in your “protest” you will be met with an overwhelming force from our police, FBI, or whatever response is necessary. At some point more and more of individual 1’s supporters will understand they are supporting a corrupt and inept person who has no idea what he got himself into. I said, long ago, individual 1 would “rue the day he got ‘elected'” – well, since, I’ve also said that day likely passed long ago. However, his nature – the “fight back and attack” anyone who disagrees with him won’t let him accept that and he will FIGHT until the very last day he can legally call the “White House” his home – and, from many reports, beyond that day.

Our constitution is being put to the test and, I for one, am STRONGLY on the side of the constitution. Sadly, I know people who could care less about anything but keeping this demagogue in office. There’s a lot more coming out each day as the IMPEACHMENT inquiry advances. You can expect republicans to be involved in a full force SMEAR campaign against anyone who might actually testify in the inquiry. This should continue to be interesting – I’m telling those around me who are younger, this is a critical point in American History – pay attention!!!

So, as usual, these past few days are FULL of “stuff” coming from individual 1’s administration which is mind boggling – including how he presented the killing of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Northern Syria – thanks to intelligence from the Kurds whom he had recently betrayed. For example, over the weekend General John Kelly – individual 1’s second chief of staff – tried to make himself look prescient suggesting he had warned individual 1 “not to hire a ‘yes man’ to replace himself” – suggesting Mick Mulvaney is a “yes man” and that’s why our so-called president is being IMPEACHED. Well, from my perspective, Kelly is not much better than individual 1. (The only reason individual 1 wasn’t impeached during Kelly’s time as chief of staff is because William Barr undermined Mueller’s work)

It’s still as clear as a bell in my mind watching Kelly stand at the podium in the White House’s communication room LYING about individual 1’s disparagement of a fallen soldier to the soldier’s wife – while her (African American) Representative was sitting in the car listening to the call. Individual 1 called on Kelly to defend his actions toward this widow which ended up being a barrage of MORE LIES! In the course of all of Kelly’s LIES, as supposedly being the “one” who could defend individual 1, he showed himself to be a RACIST and a misogynist (while he was trying to say something like “In my day women were respected”) attacking congressperson Wilson by saying things which were provably FALSE about her and then, just like his boss and for “good measure,” he couldn’t resist LYING about President Obama. Kelly soiled himself for the History books!

Additionally, in the interview, Kelly seemed to be suggesting he was a “truth teller” during his term as the Chief of Staff in his relationship with individual 1. Keep in mind, if you read the Mueller Report, Kelly wasn’t able to keep individual 1 from committing, by some accounts, at least 10 examples of OBSTRUCTION of Justice. I’ve always been curious as to how Generals like Kelly can stomach the relationship individual 1 has with Vladimir Putin, for example. If anyone would understand the threat Putin poses to the United States and our Western Allies it would, seemingly, be our “Generals,” but I noticed nothing but SILENCE coming from Kelly during his time in office as individual 1, time and again, was “making Russia ‘great’ again.”

So, apparently Mr. Kelly feels a bit of a reprieve that the IMPEACHMENT is NOT coming on his “watch.” However, it should have – although Nancy Pelosi was correct all along when she said, “individual 1 (she, of course said “Trump”) will IMPEACH himself” – which is exactly what he did once he realized the Mueller report was not going to “get” him. The phone call at the center of the Ukraine scandal happened ONE day after Mueller testified to Congress. Does that give you the same thought it gave me regarding what was in individual 1’s brain once Barr undermined Mueller? “I’m in the clear, I really can do ANYTHING i want.” (I have to add the obvious, individual 1’s abuse of power did not start with the aforementioned phone call)

And, watching those republicans attempting to continue their defense of this despicable so-called president is beyond alarming. The LYING is endless – it’s all they got! I’m sure the defenders of individual 1 are flabbergasted by all the career diplomats who actually believe answering a lawfully drawn up subpoena is a moral obligation or duty. Individual 1 has been implementing the mafia practice of “loyalty” (ie no one “talks” to the authorities) – apparently struggling with the idea he’s in charge of the “authorities.” (and wondering why they are not “under his thumb” – with the exception of Barr)

I’ve been writing about how individual 1 has come across as a mafia boss to me for a couple years now and the evidence implying I was correct continues to mount. I still remember when he called Michael Cohan a “rat” when Cohen decided to “tell the truth” to authorities after individual 1 abandoned him during the investigation from the Southern District of New York which now has Cohen spending 3 years in prison. When interviewed about Cohen, individual 1 (I heard this myself at least twice) said “flipping should be illegal.” He really hates the idea of his subordinates actually telling the truth to investigators. Isn’t that mafia like?

And, speaking of his connection to the mafia, there’s a plethora of information in the public domain about individual 1’s connections to the crime families in New York and the Russian Mafiya which, apparently, bailed him out of several of his BANKRUPTCIES via various money laundering schemes. Then there’s his most recent “adviser” who’s been arrested, Lev Parnos, one of Rudy Giuliani’s infamous Ukrainian mafiya “side kicks” during his shakedown of the new Ukrainian government. Last night (10/29) I happened to watch the Rachel Maddow show on MSNBC which included a very interesting “bio” of Mr. Parnos. Yikes!!!

I included the date so you can check out their archive should you choose – but, Mr. Parnos has a history which would indicate individual 1, despite his claims to the contrary, doesn’t actually “hire the best people.” Ms. Maddow gave a history of Parnos that goes back to a group of “investors” who were ripping people off for MILLIONS of dollars and were directly connected to organized crime families. There are damning questions about where Parnos gets his money and, keep in mind, Giuliani HASN’T been paying him – he’s been paying Giuliani! To the tune of half a MILLION dollars! And, there are clearly questions, from what I’ve read, into what kind of scheme Giuliani, along with Ambassador Sondland and Secretary of Energy Rick Perry, were part of, apparently, a scheme aimed at getting “in on” Ukraine’s great oil wealth.

It looks to me like not only did individual 1 VIOLATE our laws (election laws, bribery laws, and ????) but also Giuliani, Mike Pompeo, William Barr, Sondland, Perry, and likely others need to be “lawyering up.” When all is said and done – and, make no mistake, I’m not predicting when that will happen (Fox “noise” has a large audience which will consider this all “nothing” which will likely delay any finality on this issue) – I believe there’s evidence suggesting individual 1 will be regarded as a traitor. There’s too much evidence suggesting the “connection” between him and Vladimir Putin goes well beyond what is publicly known as I’m writing this and what would be diplomatically acceptable under any other circumstances. There have just been too many “coincidences” in regard to individual 1 doing Russia’s “bidding” for my liking. (This is another situation which DEMANDS our next president not follow President Obama’s plan of “looking forward instead of back” when he “looked the other way” from the CRIMES of Bush/Cheney – these people need to be held accountable! (Otherwise we’ll soon be facing the next song on a “broken record”)

Stuff is going to continue coming out, it’s just not for certain there will be enough by the time the Senate has to vote as to whether or not republicans will feel the “need” to “convict” and remove individual 1 from office. (That will cause the so-called “alt right” to hit the streets if it happens) There is undoubtedly a significant portion of America who are part of the “White Nationalist” movement that is spreading across Europe (and triggered by none other than Putin and his Russian cyber warriors themselves) and causing so much division across our nation. It will be difficult to get all the DAMAGE caused by individual 1 out in the open so it might be “fixed” once he’s no longer ruining this nation. And, speaking of………..

Republicans and their apparent NEED to practice Projection; I watched excerpts, today, of republicans in the House as they were defending the indefensible – where the democrats had brought up a vote (they’ve been clamoring for) for an impeachment inquiry, setting up public hearings (which they’ve also been clamoring for) where our so-called president was offered more opportunity to cross examine witnesses than previous presidents in impeachment inquiries their strategy remained the same – which is “showboating.” But, how do they do this? Well, that’s were the projection comes in.

While individual 1’s actions are, over and over again, working to the benefit of Vladimir Putin to the point where I’m not the only American questioning what Putin has on him – it was interesting watching his republican defenders in the House today. While as Nancy Pelosi and the other democrats were making their case for the “impeachment inquiry” (which seems to have been well under way for the past couple of weeks) next to a large American Flag sitting on a tripod right next to their microphone. Well, you’d expect the republicans to stand next to that same flag wouldn’t you? But, NOOOO! They, of course, chose to stand next to the “hammer and sickle” of the former Soviet Union (which Putin is working to reconstitute – with individual 1’s help) – suggesting, I guess, being given the right to cross examine witnesses in public sessions, to them, is “Soviet Style” politics. Personally, I found it offensive and ironic!

Final Thought: I’ve grown tired of the daily grind of keeping up with the scandalous behavior of individual 1 and the willingness of the republicans in Congress to continue enabling him. Combined with Fox “noise” our republican “leaders” are allowing MILLIONS of Americans to be confused as to what is happening. People I know who watch Fox and support individual 1 don’t understand we’re talking about CRIMES in this Ukraine scandal (to a level which, I believe, goes well beyond the now infamous “phone call), additionally CRIMES laid out in the Mueller report (which individual 1 apparently thought because he “got away with them” quite possibly leading to the scandal in Ukraine), and, most seriously, that individual 1’s shakedown of the president of Ukraine was a significant threat to the national security of both Ukraine and America! So, I MUST continue doing my small part of the RESISTANCE!

This all has evolved well beyond the reality we have a bumbling, unfit, demagogue with a cult following in the “White House.” The DAMAGE being done to the “fabric” of America is growing maybe exponentially every day. There are people in places in our traditional institutions who are “flying under the radar” and are committed to destroying the institutions they “lead.” Just as I’ve said our rights are much easier given up than getting restored just as our institutions are easier torn down than built back up. As republicans have overseen the destruction and decaying of America’s infrastructure so they are overseeing the destruction of the State Department, the Department of Energy, The Agriculture Department, etc. etc. Pay attention and VOTE!!!