Well, the time for the sentencing of both Rick Gates and Michael Flynn seemed to coming to a “head” at about the same time individual 1 was going to be impeached. It appears the judge, in the case of Rick Gates, appreciates all the “help” he provided in previous prosecutions involving, among others, Paul Manafort. Gates was “rewarded” for his “honesty” (of course, “honesty” after the fact – because the business he was in with Manafort was “seedy” at best) with a light sentence which, I believe, included 45 days in prison. More on Manafort in a bit.
Michael Flynn, on the other hand, had changed lawyers and “changed his tune” over the course of his cooperation agreement – which, apparently, became a “non cooperation” agreement. If you remember (well, if you don’t I’ll remind you) Flynn was prosecuted for “LYING to the FBI – a singular charge which, over time, he decided was the result of the FBI “tricking” him. I don’t think the judge in his case was all too much appreciative of Flynn’s change of tune. There’s a good reason why.
The original charge against Flynn was a “gift” as far as I could tell. Flynn was in way deeper than just the LYING to the FBI. In fact, it was apparent to me his son was every bit as vulnerable as Flynn, himself, because they were in “business” together which, I believed at the time, was the motivating factor in Flynn’s agreement to plea to the one charge of LYING. Here’s some of the other stuff Flynn (and his son) could have been charged with. Let’s start with working as an agent for Turkey’s president Erdogan without registering – and, secretly (and illegally) trying to facilitate the deportation of Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish dissident living in Pennsylvania and other work which “netted” Flynn something around half a MILLION dollars from Turkey.
Of course, Flynn was connected to Vladimir Putin and the Russians in ways we may never know, but we do know Putin was interfering with America’s foreign policy while the Obama administration was still in office – with his calls to the Russian Ambassador in regard to the sanctions President Obama imposed on Russia because of the election interference.
Once Flynn was unceremoniously removed from his military service during the Obama administration he became an overt critic of President Obama and I remember seeing him in some kind of ceremony sitting next to Putin at the Kremlin. He became an even more divisive personality than he had been while running the DIA (Defense Intelligence Agency) and, apparently, felt empowered to “step over the lines” once associated with individual 1. He became “famous” for leading the “lock her up” chant at the republican convention – saying, “If I’d done one tenth of what Mrs. Clinton did (FYI – she didn’t do ANYTHING illegal) I’d ………….. (You can fill in the blank – in reality, he did WAY MORE than Mrs. Clinton!)
His original charge – which, it seems, he now wants to fight, was far less than what “could have been.” And, his son “got off the hook” with the original plea deal. I think the judge was very unhappy with Mr. Flynn. Sentencing next month (Is he working to get a pardon?) could be very unfavorable based on what the judge had said months ago when he gave Flynn the opportunity to make things closer to “right.” It just seems ironic to me that in the face of these sentences and all the other ILLEGAL behavior which has been uncovered by those close to individual 1 that these two campaign associates are facing “justice” in the courts just as individual 1 is facing what is like political “justice.” (Of course, Moscow Mitch has already claimed the Senate trial will be a “sham” – in the words of individual 1)
Just to further demonstrate what kind of person “we the people” have as our so-called president, tonight at a “rally” in Michigan – which was happening as he was being IMPEACHED – individual 1 showed how disgusting he is – by nature – as he made deplorable comments about former representative John Dingle from Michigan who died during individual 1’s term and his wife is now in his seat in Congress – individual 1 ended his degrading remarks by suggesting Dingle was “looking up” at the proceeding – suggesting, well, you know what he was suggesting. Dingle served in Congress for nearly 60 years!
That was, I thought, going to be the height of the disgusting rhetoric I would hear tonight – but, of course, NO – because the republican party says NOTHING about the substance of the allegations against individual 1 – allegations which have been confirmed over and over by FACT witnesses who have been, one and all, life long non-partisan public servants – but representative Loudermilk of Georgia – UNBELIEVABLY compared individual 1’s treatment by the House to the treatment Jesus Christ received at the hand of Pontius Pilate. As a (I guess Liberal) Christian, to me, that was completely OFFENSIVE. I won’t go into the details of what happened to Jesus – but, if you have read the Bible, you know how absurd that analogy is.
As I’ve struggled to understand how, of all people, republicans can be lining up in support of individual 1 based on so many of the realities of what he “stands” for – I’ve finally decided the republican party has devolved into a cult. Not only have I heard the absurd comparison I just mentioned above comparing individual 1 to Jesus, but I’ve also heard several top level republicans refer to him as the “chosen one.” There are so many examples of what has transpired over the previous three plus years which seem to parallel what took place in Germany in the 20’s and 30’s. Most don’t want to even consider this could be possible, but I’m starting to see indications more and more people are “getting it.”
I was reading something today (sadly, I can’t remember where it came from) which, FINALLY, mentioned how republicans have adopted the philosophy of Joseph Goebbels, chief propagandist of the Third Reich, as the foundation for their strategy of repeating LIES over and over to their unsuspecting supporters – causing some terrible LIES to be accepted as “truth” by MILLIONS of Americans who get their information via outlets like Fox “news,” Breitbart,com, Sinclair Broadcasting, right wing talkers on the radio, and others.
It was a few years ago, when it dawned on me there was a “flood” of right wing pundits on the airwaves making identical “untrue” claims using the same key terms over and over. At the same time I was reading the biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer which was when I learned of the “Big Lie Theory” used by the Nazi’s to, essentially, brainwash their subjects. Interestingly, which I thought about after listening to Mr. Loudermilk’s absurd comments about Jesus, the “base” of the Third Reich was the “conservative Christians” of Germany of that time. This is all a bit eery.
Clearly, individual 1 is very unlikely to be “convicted” in the Senate – but, “next steps” seem anything but obvious at this point in time. Anyone paying attention knows that Moscow Mitch, in an interview with one of the prime “brain-washers,” Sean Hannity – on Fox – claimed he was going to make the “trial” short and sweet. Both McConnell and Lindsey Graham have publicly claimed there is no way they will be “impartial” in the “trial.” Some have wondered, then, how they can take the oath to do so “So help me God” prior to the “trial.” Graham has also said he will do whatever he can to make the “trial” as short as he possibly can – with NO witnesses. (Realistically, I believe it’s fantasy to think ANY of the Senators being “impartial.”)
The charges which led to this IMPEACHMENT are extremely serious and you would think individual 1 would have attempted to defend himself. Instead, he blocked EVERY witness he possibly could, plus blocked EVERY request for documents with almost complete success. Now, McConnell and Graham are suggesting there will be no witnesses in the Senate. The SOLUTION for all this is “we the people” FIXING the problem in the 2020 election. There’s not only the possibility of removing individual 1 in 2020 but also the opportunity to put the Senate in the control of the Democrats – which would be necessary for any chance for a progressive agenda to be passed in Washington.
I believe whoever wins the democratic nomination could be facing a MESS comparable to what Bush/Cheney left for President Obama to clean up – should he/she win the next election. Personally, based on my life experiences I’ve been feeling that a massive economic downturn is on the horizon – whether it “appears” prior to November of 2020 or after I believe it will require someone who believes in bottom up progressive government to address the challenge and, we all know, if the democrats don’t control the Senate (and the House) virtually nothing will manage to find its way through Congress and make it into law.
As I’m pondering all of this, I think what I really want to happen is to get people in charge of our government who believe in the rule of law and won’t be operating in the same manner as members of the mafia. When you read about the history of Vladimir Putin along with the history of individual 1 you easily can see how our so-called president is taking “we the people” in a direction which is much too similar to Russia. You’d have to have had your head in the sand to not see there’s some kind of “connection” between Putin and individual 1 which is threatening the foundation of our republic. And, of course, it’s Putin who is attempting to destroy our nation from within – and, individual 1 as our so-called president is key to his strategy. (The Russian people are laughing at “we the people” overtly on their television airwaves while Putin is ruining their country as well via his mafia like behavior.)
Just the FACT individual 1 is IMPEACHED at the same time two of his key campaign officials have been sentenced for their FELONIES – which both have plead guilty to – pretty much says it all. Of course, as I said, the ILLEGAL behavior goes way beyond Gates and Flynn. Presently, I’m reading “Blowout” by Rachel Maddow (I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who wants to better understand Vladimir Putin, Paul Manafort, and, of course, the impact of “big oil” on the world) and the book gives and even greater insight into Paul Manafort’s (individual 1’s campaign manager) disgusting behavior as an agent working in Ukraine for the Russian backed president who was “run out of town” for the CORRUPTION which individual 1 seems to worried about.
Maddow’s book also clearly points out what a “deplorable” and dishonest and dangerous leader Putin is as he’s pushing the white nationalist movement across Europe as well as in the U.S. According to the information in Maddow’s book Putin is in the process of destroying Russia’s economy as he’s been busy pushing his authoritarian agenda around the world – sadly, with the help of America’s so-called president. Having a (so-called) president who is clearly willing to invite foreign nations to help him retain his power is the worst danger our founders feared when writing the constitution. It appears individual 1 is hell bent on doing the same type of DAMAGE to the United States of America which Vladimir Putin has inflicted on Russia.
Final Thought: Maddow refers to the “Resource Curse” which has affected nations around the world who’ve “discovered oil.” The DAMAGE is clear and it’s happening from inside the U.S. to the shores of Equatorial Guinea. She points out how Putin, in his mafia style, has virtually ruined the economic potential of Russia by his iron fisted control of the mother country’s massive amounts of oil and gas under her ground. We’re seeing the result of this in the attack on our nation coming from Russia AND the situation in Ukraine which is the result of Russian misinformation – which, apparently, our so-called president willingly accepts.
The bottom line here is that this all is very SERIOUS! As I’ve said for several years now – “the heart and soul of America is on the line.” Or, at times: “This is a fight for ………………………” You should get it. And, people like me believe the solution lies at the ballot box. Trust me, the republicans would agree. That is why they are doing everything they can to prevent democratically leaning people from voting at all – VOTER SUPPRESSION. It’s picking up steam as I’m writing this. Just in the past few days HUNDREDS of thousands of voters in Michigan and Georgia were purged from the system.