Did I listen to the IMPEACHMENT evidence presented in the well of the Senate by the House managers? Well, the answer is I listened to much of it, but NOT all of it. Years ago when Richard Nixon was facing IMPEACHMENT I was clued in on EVERY bit of the Congressional testimony, back when there were three TV outlets and it was all you could watch if you watched TV at all. From what I watched I have to say I was totally impressed by what I heard from the Democrats presenting the case against individual 1. Naturally, my expectation all along is that the republicans barely listened and they’re going to cut this off as soon as they possibly can. I’m guessing there will be no additional evidence admitted to the procedure and it will be up to “we the people” to IMPEACH individual 1. It’s clear today’s republicans live in FEAR of individual 1 for some strange reason. (Maybe similar to how he lives in fear of Vladimir Putin)

I’ve been pointing out for some time now I believe individual 1’s “base” to be akin to a CULT. Of course, that would be confirmed by what people who are likening him to be a demagogue are saying. It’s likely a fitting conclusion in all of this is to challenge “we the people” to “take matters into our own hands” depending on how we envision this country. Do we really want our leaders to be able to break the law with impunity and then totally STONEWALL Congress should our Congress have the temerity to investigate. Are we actually headed toward a fascist dictatorship, bit by bit? It really is up to us! (“We the people”)

The voters, in 2018, rose up and said they didn’t like what was happening with individual 1. I’m expecting the energy which led to the 2018 vote to increase as we head toward 2020. And, the reality is, for those who claim the same will be true with individual 1’s supporters, “there’s more of us than there is of them.” Individual 1 has a “grip” on something like 40 – 45% of the American public. The rest of us have the POWER to not only remove individual 1 from office but also to remove several of the republicans who are likely to vote to acquit our so-called president as well. (Remember republicans believe in CHEATING to win, as well!)

From my way of thinking, if “we the people” want to make progress in areas like FIGHTING Climate Change, creating a nation where health care is a RIGHT, rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure (Which, really should be happening right now, with interest rates so low), fixing the many issues with our system of public education – especially higher education and the funding NIGHTMARE our college eligible young people are dealing with, child care issues for children living in poverty, addressing the national debt, turning us away from being a militaristic country, not to mention all I could about the importance of following the “rule of law,” and I could go on – we need to have a democratic controlled Senate and our leaders in the Senate need to end the archaic FILIBUSTER rule in the Senate.

Additionally, democrats need to campaign on the issue that individual 1 has done enough damage to our Judicial branch of government and should he be re-elected we are likely to have as many as 7 right wing judges on the Supreme Court – maybe another couple Kavanaugh types. If that doesn’t get your attention, it should! Right now I’m reading “From Russia with Blood” by Heidi Blake – one of several books I’ve read in order to better understand why Vladimir Putin seems to have such a “hold” on individual 1 – and, sadly, it’s clear “we the people” don’t understand what Putin has actually done to Russia. Russia is attacking the “Western World” surreptitiously and if “we the people” don’t figure this out quickly, well, that will be BAD!

I have no idea what Putin has on individual 1, but when you read about how Russia has operated since Putin took power in 1999 it has to get your attention. And, some of what Putin has done in Russia you can see individual 1 is trying to do in America. The REAL protection “we the people” have from someone turning America into some kind of autocracy (dictatorship) lies in our free press, our Justice Department, and our intelligence community. If you’ve been closely following individual 1’s first three years in office it MUST be clear to you he’s attacking all three of those firewalls to his goal of turning America into a fascist dictatorship.

Clearly, individual 1 will do anything he can to remain in power, now that he’s managed to get power, As I’m reading “From Russia With Blood” I can’t get my mind off the FACT individual 1 was lavishing praise on Putin well before he managed to gain the “White House” as a “strong leader.” Putin is running a government which is akin to (likely) the largest mafia operation in the world and for those Russians who’ve challenged him there seems to be no place in the world where they can get away from him. Make no mistake, Russia is and HAS BEEN one of the MOST corrupt countries in the world. I’m beginning to believe individual 1 is pushing America into that sphere as he seems to idolize Mr. Putin.

if you consider someone who murders, imprisons, and/or tortures ANYONE who dissents in any way a “strong leader,” well, I guess individual 1 would be correct. If you consider someone a strong leader who believes in freedom, liberty, and the rule of law, well, Putin wouldn’t even be in the conversation. Putin stands with Kim Jong un of North Korea, Duterte of the Philippines, Erdogan of Turkey, MBS of Saudi Arabia, and Orban of Hungary as “strong leaders” in the mind of individual 1. “We the people” SHOULD be doing everything we can to mitigate the DAMAGE being done by these “strong leaders” around the world.

I’m not the only American wondering how individual 1 could have such a “grip” on 40% of our population when it’s clear he’s supporting leaders around the world who, traditionally, would have been strongly opposed by the republican party – now HIS party. Can you imagine Ronald Reagan, for example, supporting a mafia thug like Putin, or a murderer like MBS, or someone like Erdogan who’s turned a traditional American ally like Turkey into a dictatorship, or a leader like Duterte BRAGGING about murdering thousands of his own people? I was no fan of Reagan, but I can’t believe he’d be standing along side these thugs and complimenting them as “strong leaders.”

Right now, as I’m writing this, I’m listening to individual 1’s defense as the IMPEACHMENT trial has moved to phase two. I certainly hope the “House managers” will have the opportunity to respond to what I’m listening to. Of course, as I’ve said here many times, “I’m no lawyer,” but I do have to say I have a basic Idea of what is LYING and I’ve observed now, in my lifetime, three IMPEACHMENTS. Two went to trial with acquittal (I’m assuming the republicans will end this “trial” as soon as possible) and, in the first one, Nixon resigned before he was actually IMPEACHED. Back in the 1970’s the “tribalism” which republicans have created in the last 40 years was unthinkable. There actually were many examples of “bipartisanship.”

I’m not sure who’s speaking right now, but I remember the name of the previous “defender of our so-called president” as Jane Raskin. Her job was to LIE about Rudy Giuliani’s role in the scheme to get the Ukrainians to publicly say they were investigating Joe Biden. And, the guy who’s speaking right now is going on and on in a very boring attempt to say individual 1’s claim of “absolute immunity” was something, essentially, all administrations have practiced. Personally, I’ve never heard the term “absolute immunity” prior to individual 1’s attempt to prevent ANYONE from testifying to the House.

Additionally, this person has claimed, essentially, none of the subpoenas issued by the House were valid, I believe, because the House had not voted to authorize the IMPEACHMENT inquiry prior to them being issued – saying the subpoena’s issued by the House were “null and void.” My reaction to that claim was simply, ‘HUH?” Clearly, through the entire process of both the Mueller investigation and this Ukraine shakedown individual 1’s strategy was to “play out the clock” by forcing every issue into the courts. Again, as I’m listening to this guy I’m hoping the House managers get to respond. (One more thought; individual 1’s defenders are totally aware only about 1% of Americans actually read the Mueller report, so it really bothers me when I hear them continually LYING about what was in it)

The argument being made, as I’m listening, is attempting to further the argument there should be no witnesses before the Senate. Actually, I’m kind of hoping that’s how it plays out, because it would have to be due to the republicans failure to vote for witnesses and the release of documents. The reality is EVERYTHING which SHOULD be part of this “trial” will ultimately become public knowledge. For example, John Bolton’s “inside information” WILL come into the public domain. By all accounts he’s writing a book which will likely be published prior to the next election. Bolton knows it’s the voters who would have to vote to impeach individual 1 if he’s to be impeached. What he knows will become public. The same goes for Lev Parnos and others. The guy defending individual 1 as I’m writing this is saying they DON’T want any further witnesses. Of course they don’t – they know, for example, what Bolton would say!

This guy is saying, any subpoena authorized in this IMPEACHMENT proceeding will be BLOCKED by the “White House” – again, attempting to force the issue into the courts. One more thing, this guy is using the term “executive privilege” – but, in reality, executive privilege was not invoked by individual 1 – he had the audacity to authorize “absolute immunity” – but, again, I believe all of this is moot because we all know republicans are going to vote to acquit individual 1. (My only hope is the “trial” lasts for a couple more weeks so the “State of the Union” speech comes prior to the “acquittal”)

I’ve got to go (putting this rant on hold) and Pam Bondi is starting to deflect the proceedings by bringing up the Burisma issue – which, even if there was something “there” – has NOTHING to do with our so-called president attempting to SHAKE DOWN the Ukrainians in an attempt to force an “investigation” into Joe Biden and his son’s position on the board of Barisma. These people I’m listening to seem to me to be like first year law students. There were times in my life where people said I could “argue with a fence post.” That’s what this is all reminding me of.

Here’s something I find very interesting which goes to the heart of where American politics has devolved over the past 40 years (post Newt Gingrich – I’ll let you figure that one out). Individual 1 seems to live in fear of getting on the wrong side of Vladimir Putin while virtually EVERY member of the GOP side of the House AND the Senate live in FEAR of getting on the wrong side of individual 1. When you think about that you realize how much power Vladimir Putin has in the United States of America in 2020. And, of course, you’ve got outlets like Fox, Breitbart, Sinclair Broadcasting, and the right wing radio airwaves all acting like “toadies” for our so-called president – placing THEM, by extension, at the mercy of Mr. Putin.

If that causes you to have any measure of “pause” I would highly recommend you read Heidi Blake’s book which I mentioned above, “From Russia With Blood.” If you followed what happened to the Skripal’s in England last year you know where that title originated. And, of course Sergei Skripal and his daughter are just part of a long line of Soviet dissidents to find themselves poisoned, shot, imprisoned for sham reasons, tortured, or simply living in fear because of the latest “promise” coming from the Kremlin they could be “next.”

It will be interesting when we finally learn why individual 1 became “owned” by Putin and Russia, it’s really hard (at least for me) to understand how this could have happened to the republican party – especially based on their history dating back to Reagan. Of course, as I’ve said here multiple times, I’ve read where Russian money has filtrated America’s political realm much further than just the (reported) $30 MILLION allegedly funneled through the NRA in 2016 for individual 1. In one book it was suggested Moscow Mitch received something in the neighborhood of $800,000 from the Russians and Lindsey Graham (yep, I’m not kidding) supposedly received around $600,000 from Russian sources. That’s why I was not surprised when Oleg Deripaska, for example, was “un-sanctioned” (I may have made up that word) by the GOP, led by McConnell, and leading to an aluminum plant in Kentucky. What’s the saying? “It’s all about the Benjamin’s!” He really is “Moscow Mitch.”

Final Thought: No matter how this IMPEACHMENT “trial” plays out and no matter how the election turns out in November, it’s apparent to me individual 1’s slandering of Joe Biden will prove effective – and, whoever becomes the democratic nominee (likely NOT Biden) he/she KNOWS what lies ahead. Individual 1 is as sleazy as anyone I’ve ever seen in American politics and this upcoming election will, essentially, determine the direction of this nation for longer than I plan to still be breathing. To me, individual 1 is the result of what began in the 1980’s and metastasized when Newt Gingrich instituted the policy of disruption and obstruction into the republican party. That has been the GOP mantra in Congress ever since. Moscow Mitch took up the “sword” in the Senate once it became clear “we the people” were getting “color blind” in our voting preferences during presidential elections and elected President Obama.

The result of the Gingrich led lurch to the “right,” ultimately, resulted in the “Tea Party” which took control of the republican party after President Obama’s election and galvanized the third of America who are comfortable in their racist beliefs allowing them to come out from “under the rocks.” Now, of course, we have a so-called president who is supported by the White Nationalists comprising what has been labeled as the “alt right” movement and, sadly (to me) what is referred to as the “conservative Evangelical Christians.”

“We the people” have one chance to “fix” all of this and it will happen next November. We are dependent on the democratic party to provide a nominee with the resources to WIN the upcoming election and NOT to, as they often do, self destruct. One thing which has stuck with me that came from the mouth of Elizabeth Warren is that we MUST stop being AFRAID to fight for what we believe in. FEAR is a destructive force and it’s time “we the people” STAND up against those who would attempt to SCARE us away from what we KNOW is right. The issues I mentioned above are worth fighting for and my prayer is our people respond in an overwhelming manner come November. February 2021 will be the time for individual 1 to answer for his criminal behavior, both while in the “White House” and what his pseudo mafia organization was doing prior to his “election.” (And, by the way, when you read about this family it becomes clear Don Jr. has issues, and especially Jared Kushner – should the “authorities” care to investigate this family thoroughly)

OK, I often write about my tendency to YELL at my radio as I’m driving from one place to another. As I listen to MSNBC on the XM air waves it’s often either Chuck Todd or Chris Matthews who are the “brunt” of my yelling. Well, true to form, yesterday it was, again, Mr, Matthews who was spewing nonsense as he often does. The major frustration, for me, is that Todd and Matthews seem to be regarded as the political “experts” on the one channel which is somewhat of a counter “force” to Fox “news.” Honestly, I try to listen to these two “experts,” but all too often I’m asking myself “whose side are you on?” Not that they should be on ANY side – it’s just that they shouldn’t, in my view, be any more than reporting with facts.

So yesterday, in an interview with someone who I don’t remember (it was a democrat involved in the IMPEACHMENT situation in some kind of manner) Matthews seemed to be suggesting it would be “relevant” to call Joe Biden as a witness in individual 1’s impeachment “trial.” Now, if Biden had ANYTHING to do with what individual 1 was doing in Ukraine, I’d say – yes. But, it’s absurd to suggest he’s a relevant “witness.” (Actually, I kind of hope both Joe Biden and his son are called to testify – that will provide the American people – most who pay no attention to all of this – with the reality that anything the Biden’s may have done is IRRELEVANT to the FACT our so-called president broke the law when he solicited “help” from the Ukrainians in order to “out” Mr. Biden.

For heavens sake, individual 1 has the most biased, unethical Attorney General in my lifetime and all he had to do was “sick” William Barr on the conspiracy theories coming from Vladimir Putin and other right wing hacks in America suggesting the Biden’s had some sort of illegal “nepotism” going on in Ukraine (Just take a moment to think of individual 1 complaining about “nepotism”) and, it “wasn’t the Russians” who interfered in the 2016 election (in individual 1’s favor) but, instead, “it was Ukraine” and they were working to benefit Hillary Clinton. Of course, individual 1 couldn’t even do that – he had to demonstrate those people who were suggesting soliciting help from foreigners in American elections is ILLEGAL are “full of it.” Apparently, Mr. Barr has convinced our so-called president “Article II” of the constitution says he can do whatever he wants. (Actually, it appears he did “sick” Mr. Barr on this absurd adventure)

Well, clearly, as this Ukraine SHAKE DOWN continues to uncover itself, our dear president has VIOLATED at least two more laws. (There’s a reason I – and the Southern District of New York’s US Attorney’s office – call him “individual 1”) First, it IS against the Federal Election Laws to solicit ANYTHING of value from a foreign nation or person to benefit any candidate for office in the United States of America (Just as it’s ILLEGAL to pay off porn stars to hide illicit affairs right before an election without reporting the payments). Simply put, asking the Ukrainians to investigate his (feared) political opponent was ILLEGAL.

Secondly, the Congressional Impoundment Control Act prohibits the president or anyone else from blocking aid which has been authorized by Congress (without reporting the reason why back to Congress). Of course, there is now documentation in the public sphere which PROVES the aid to Ukraine was blocked by individual 1 – as they say, FULL STOP! That’s two MORE felonies on individual 1’s “plate.” (And, I’m not getting into the approximately 10 cases of OBSTRUCTION of Justice in the Mueller report, the Russian “collusion,” the multiple violations of the foreign and “national” emoluments clauses in the constitution – I say “national” because I’m not sure what the clause which prohibits public servants from taking anything of value above their salaries from – basically – anyone is called. The idea was to help prevent CORRUPTION)

Republicans are planning to acquit individual 1 as quickly as possible and many of them are hoping to do so without calling ANY witnesses or subpoenaing ANY of the documents individual 1 has blocked from the investigation so far. Obviously, if the republicans succeed in preventing both witnesses and documents from the procedure they will have succeeded in the “mother of all cover-ups.” However, I can guarantee you the EVIDENCE will continue to filter out into the public domain and then “we the people” will be on the spot to “fix” this problem in November.

I’ve been pointing out the significance of “we the people” taking control of our privilege of VOTING since it became clear individual 1 gained the “White House” via CHEATING. I keep thinking where we would be had democrats not swept to a resounding victory in the 2018 election? Well, put that thought on steroids should individual 1 and his republican sycophants manage to suppress enough voters to “win” again next November. I’ve been saying this for years; “We’re in a WAR for the heart and soul of America.” And, trust me, the republicans have been working for years to “fix” the system knowing they represent a minority of America’s voting public.

The “fix” includes, off the top of my head, a couple somewhat recent Supreme Court decisions – “Citizens United” along with the “gutting” of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Citizens United has unleashed the flow of MONEY into our political process – including the money coming from foreign sources – and has helped turn the SWAMP into a LAKE! Additionally, as I’ve pointed out numerous times, within days of the Courts “gutting” of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act we saw VOTER SUPPRESSION laws springing up in one state after another where the governor was republican and the state controlled by a republican legislature. A (unnamed, at least by me) representative of Pennsylvania’s legislature simply said, “This bill will guarantee we will control this state for the foreseeable future” …… or words to that effect.

Just the other day I was listening to a conversation with someone explaining what happened in Wisconsin in the 2016 election where individual 1 “won” the state’s election in 2016 by a razor thin margin of less than half of one percent. There were something in the neighborhood of 200,000 fewer democratic voters in 2016 than in the previous presidential election and not too many people are connecting this FACT with the reality Wisconsin was one of the states SUPPRESSING democratic leaning voter groups. To top it all off, it was reported recently, another 200,000 Wisconsin voters have been disenfranchised prior to 2020’s election (I hope they’ll all re-register). Now, it’s true these people can re-register, but I can guarantee you, the “plan” is based on the likelihood it’s people who would likely vote democratic (African Americans, elderly, students) who won’t “fix” their registration. This is exactly why I’ve been saying democrats MUST vote in massive numbers in 2020 to overcome all the B.S.

If we don’t choose to VOTE en masse it’s likely the individual 1 induced NIGHTMARE will continue for at least another four years. Anyone who chooses to watch the impending IMPEACHMENT “trial” will get a good look at where we are as a nation – one way or the other – as we either get a full look at the evidence democrats believe warrant IMPEACHMENT or, on the other hand, if republicans succeed in doing what individual 1 wants them to do – and that is to simply vote to acquit without hearing any of the evidence (Other than what was in the “impeachment inquiry” in the House). Sadly, many Americans get their “news” from sources like Fox “news,” Breitbart.com, or now Facebook.

And, I’m starting to believe Facebook is the MOST dangerous of the outlets of information which is obliterated with misinformation because it’s done so surreptitiously. I’m one of the only people I know who are not on Facebook, but the evidence of the misinformation spewing all over Facebook just keeps showing up. Today, I was listening to an interview with a young man protesting against “gun control” legislation being proposed in Virginia saying, “It’s my duty to protest when the government is threatening to confiscate your weapons by breaking your doors down” – which, of course, in not a proposal ANYWHERE.

Most people are sophisticated enough to understand that’s not “real news” they’re getting, but, sadly, there’s a large segment of the population which has been virtually BRAINWASHED by Fox and the other right wing outlets seemingly working together to “gin up” vulnerable Americans. Anyone paying attention knows individual 1 has been FLOODING Facebook, already, with mountains of misinformation (OK, you’re correct, LIES) as he’s attempting to turn the attention away from IMPEACHMENT. What LIES he’s pushing, at this moment in time, I have no idea. (Although, I suppose, a good start in figuring out might be what came from the young man’s mouth who sincerely believes the “government” is planning to break doors down to “confiscate our guns.” Yikes!!!

Back to IMPEACHMENT, I do know individual 1 is trying to push the (new) narrative the IMPEACHMENT “trial” should be finished ASAP with our so-called president’s acquittal. Alan Dershowitz is claiming a president can’t be impeached for “ABUSE of power” or for “OBSTRUCTION of Congress.” Dershowitz never stops amazing me (and causing my stomach to “growl”), I always think of him as someone who will make the most absurd argument to defend, well, ANYONE. Think, OJ Simpson and Dershowitz’ willingness to get an alleged double murderer “off.” To me, his argument here for individual 1 is as ridiculous as what he did in Simpson’s “defense.”

There are many republicans claiming a president can’t be impeached without committing a crime – and, they’re claiming individual 1 hasn’t been accused of committing a criminal act. Well, when you think about Mueller’s report, the reason he wasn’t indicted was because of the OLC “memo” which states a “sitting president can’t be indicted for a crime while in office.” According to the logic of Dershowitz and individual 1’s republican sycophants it would be impossible, then, for a president to be impeached. (Of course, in almost every instance, if you turn the clock back to the days of Bill Clinton virtually everyone of individual 1’s defenders were speaking in 180 degree terms as to how they’re speaking today)

Here’s the bottom line in what will transpire over the next (hopefully) three weeks and that will be how many republicans will vote to enable a president (remember, this is a precedent setting moment in time) to enlist the help of foreign nations in his/her campaign for office in an American election. (We already KNOW our so-called president is enriching himself from foreigners via his business interests – in violation of the emoluments clause of the constitution, which those I know who support individual 1 either don’t know about or could care less about) We know, ultimately, individual 1 will be acquitted because it would take 20 republicans to vote to convict in order to remove individual 1 from office. What we don’t know is if the republicans will succeed in turning the “trial” into a part of individual 1’s “cover-up.”

However, we must keep in mind that over 20 republicans in the Senate are facing the voters this coming November and I, the optimist in me, believe there are Americans all around the country who don’t want our president (even so-called presidents) shaking down foreign governments in order to weaken their political opponents. Additionally, I would say to Dershowitz and any others who claim impeachment requires a crime (which, clearly, it doesn’t) the list of lawbreaking by our so-called president is eye dropping. Robert Mueller made it clear, in his report on the Russian investigation, OBSTRUCTION of Justice goes against the very fabric of our Constitutional system of government. It’s a very serious CRIME. Individual 1 allegedly committed multiple (many legal scholars have estimated 10 instances) OBSTRUCTION offenses.

When I was studying the legal information Mueller included as he was “teaching” me about why OBSTRUCTION of “Justice” is such a serious CRIME that explanation of OBSTRUCTION included “Congress” in what it described as possible “victims” of this CRIME. The bottom line is the CRIME of OBSTRUCTION fundamentally goes against “we the people” because it prevents our justice system from functioning as intended. For example, by blocking both witnesses and documents from the investigation of the Ukraine SHAKEDOWN, individual 1 is attempting to prevent “we the people” from understanding what ACTUALLY happened. (ie “cover-up”)

Here’s the reality republicans in the Senate SHOULD be thinking about as they go through this procedure, the EVIDENCE is going to come out into the public sphere whether the Senate calls witnesses or not. John Bolton will “tell all” at some point in time – and, let me add, if he waits until after the “trial” to do so, it won’t do much for his claim to be a patriot – ultimately and it will place a “stain” on the book from which he’s gaining MILLIONS. All the information, for example, coming from Lev Parnos will become part of public discourse – whether he’s called to testify or not. Of course, Mick Mulvaney has already “testified” when he admitted in public the aid to Ukraine was withheld in order to get the Ukrainians to announce an investigation into Joe Biden – a “quid pro quo” of which “we the people” are supposed to “get over.”

And, those who’ve been listed as potential witnesses who work at OMB will, eventually, have their emails and other documentation made public. If “we the people” are paying attention, the results will effect not only individual 1’s re-election bid, but also the republicans in the Senate. Let me add to that thought – there’s a bunch of republicans in the House of Representatives who SHOULD get their “walking papers” based on their actions in the “impeachment inquiry.” Take for example, Devin Nunez. He was part of the “scheme” being put forth by Rudy Giuliani, Lev Parnos, Igor Fruman, Mike Pense, William Barr, and the rest of the “team” (in the words of Parnos).

Nunez SHOULD be facing an ethics investigation in the House along with the wrath of the voters in his district and, potentially, criminal liability. Of course, I have no idea about his voters, but it’s hard for me to understand how any Americans can vote for people who perpetrate Vladimir Putin’s conspiracy theories while sitting in the highest seats of our government. I still cringe as I remember watching Nunez repeating those theories from his perch atop the House Intelligence Committee and accusing Adam Schiff of lying as he, himself, was LYING to the entire nation as he glared into the cameras. To me, Nunez is as “low as you can go” as a politician – and, that’s saying something, isn’t it?!

Nunez’ actions in the IMPEACHMENT inquiry, to me, parallels what Mike Pompeo did when questioned about individual 1’s call to Ukraine president Zelensky in a public interview on Cable “news” and acted like he had no idea what the person asking the question was talking about. Soon we learned Pompeo was actually ON THE CALL!! I keep wondering, “Is LYING a requirement for being part of individual 1’s cabinet?” And, then you’ve got Nunez making these accusations to Schiff (which he knew were LIES) all why he was LYING about the Ukraine SHAKEDOWN of which he was a participant. OMG, it’s actually hard for me to believe this country could have deteriorated to this point. (I have to wonder if all of this is the result of the MONEY funneled into our political process due to the Citizens United decision?)

I’ll finish by sharing I’m reading another book about Vladimir Putin (“From Russia with Blood” by Heidi Blake) and it’s sobering, to say the least, when you see what Putin is doing around the world and knowing he’s got someone in the “White House” who is supporting him. Not only does individual 1 seem to be supporting Putin, but it appears to me he would love to follow in Putin’s “footprints” as Putin turned the fledgling democracy in Russia – which was undermined by American greedy right wing economic (free market) vultures who attempted to apply their “shock therapy” to Russia’s Communist economy that had “folded” under Gorbachev and Yeltsin – into a fascist dictatorship. I see Putin as individual 1’s idol. “We the people” are obligated to stop this assault on our nation no later than November of 2020! As I’ve said, individual 1 has turned the “swamp” into a LAKE! Sadly, I’m not optimistic our so-called “liberal media” will be up to the task of fully exposing all of this CORRUPTION! (I hope I’m wrong)

Final Thought: Today, as I’m attempting to finish the thought above, it’s the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday – a great American who is honored on this day by virtually EVERY public official. Of course, presidents have usually made a significant speech or something else honoring Dr. King on this day. When I was still teaching (Middle School) our school would encourage both students and teachers to do some kind of public service activity in honor of Dr. King (even though, of course, there was no school on this holiday) Well, as I’m writing this it’s approaching 5 PM in Washington DC and there’s at least one of America’s “leaders” “missing in action” from honoring Dr. King. It should not surprise you this person is our so-called president.

I’m finally ready to “publish” this “rant” (largely to myself :o) and, it turns out, individual 1 must have heard the criticism he was ignoring “MLK day” because he made a visit to the site honoring Dr. King late in the afternoon, apparently with Mike Pense. I’ll leave it to anyone who might happen this way to figure out the significance of the visit.

Since individual 1 became our (so-called) president, 7 MILLION adults and 400 THOUSAND children have lost their health care coverage. To make matters worse, individual 1’s administration is in court, as I’m writing this, attempting to destroy, completely, the Affordable Care Act which would take coverage from an additional 20 MILLION Americans – leading to increased costs for everyone else. What makes matters worse, individual 1 through HIS Attorney General are attempting to prevent this lawsuit from making it through the Supreme Court until AFTER the 2020 election. That is, individual 1 doesn’t want “we the people” to know he’s attempting to TOTALLY destroy what’s left of the Affordable Care Act prior to the election.

In fact, the latest LIE he’s foisted on his unsuspecting and adoring supporters (that makes them part of a cult) is that he’s the one who has saved their protection for “pre-existing conditions.” Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. Until the Affordable Care Act (ie “Obamacare”) came along there was no protection for pre-existing conditions unless you were one of the lucky Americans (like me) who had access to employer based health care coverage. (which is becoming more rare all the time) The amount of LIES is growing more rapidly every day – the last report I saw said there have been, coming just from individual 1, 15,000 documentable LIES since day one of his administration. Our so-called president has no credibility at home or abroad with the exception of those he’s gathered into his enormous cult.

Individual 1’s crimes go well beyond his attempt to EXTORT another sovereign nation into providing him help in his next election but that is the issue which has caused the upcoming TRIAL in the Senate because our so-called president has been impeached. I’ve come to the conclusion “we the people” came through again in 2018 by voting control of the House of Representatives to the democrats. Had that not happened I can only surmise the additional amount of DAMAGE individual 1 would be inflicting on “we the people.” Clearly, he continues attempting to operate just as he did as a wannabee “Mob Boss” when he was in New York – succeeding in bullying law enforcement to the point where they allowed him to get away with………….. well, who knows what? I believe after he leaves office “we the people” will get a better view of what he managed to routinely get away with. (Think Stormy Daniels and wonder how many politicians did he pay off over the years?)

The House democrats, today, voted to send the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate for the trial which is likely to begin next week. Republicans in the Senate are planning to take the evidence they are provided with and use it to turn the “trial” into a “sham.” Of course, along with their “dear leader” they are claiming the IMPEACHMENT was a “sham” and that the House democrats have been out to get individual 1 since day one of his administration. Well, as I think back, learning the Russians were involved in getting him elected in the first place would cause, to me, any patriotic American to be wondering “what the hell just happened?” Individual 1 has done NOTHING to cause anyone in America who believes we are a “nation of laws” to be comfortable with what he’s doing as our so-called president. And, he certainly has NOT been acting as if he’s “innocent.”

So, one thing we can count on is the republicans in the Senate will do everything they can to soft sell these latest CRIMES coming from our so-called president. They are hoping to end this “trial” without ANY witnesses being called or without ANY of the documents individual 1 has BLOCKED from investigators and, to me, the question is will the American people allow them to get away with this? There’s more evidence coming out every day, with today’s evidence a bunch of DISTURBING evidence coming from the phones of Lev Parnos – suggesting Ambassador Yovanovitch was being surveiled by a seedy associate of Mr. Parnos who’s a seedy associate of Rudy Giuliani a seedy associate of individual 1. I’m sure, you get the idea!

Maybe the voters will just keep sending these republicans back to the Senate no matter what they do while in office. This upcoming trial is a solemn responsibility for each Senator and they SHOULD be wanting witnesses and documentation – they SHOULD want to know EXACTLY what transpired so when they vote to convict or acquit they have taken their responsibility seriously. Should they do what most people expect, based on public comments by Moscow Mitch – who, make no mistake, is in control of the Senate (come on people of Kentucky – you can fix this in November) – they will rush this “trial” as quickly as they can. Here’s the reality, ALL the evidence which is available to them, and likely much MORE, will eventually come out – I’m guessing much of it prior to the 2020 election. These republicans will have to live with whatever they do in this instance for posterity.

I keep watching the dialogue on MSNBC about whether or not the republicans will call John Bolton as a witness and with them all likely surmising what he knows will eventually come out. Those on one of the programs I like to watch which is led by Nicole Wallace, the Communications director for GW Bush back when the Iraq FIASCO occurred, refer to Bolton as a true patriot – despite the reality many disagree with his political positioning. Here’s what I believe: “If Bolton is not called to testify and still remains silent I certainly won’t consider him a patriot.” He doesn’t need to be called as a witness to tell “we the people what he knows.” If he has information which further implicates individual 1 in ILLEGAL behavior I believe he’s honor bound to bring it forward whether the republicans in the Senate call him or not.

Think about this: If individual 1 is acquitted (which EVERYONE, including me, believes will be the outcome) and, then, a bunch of information further implicating him comes out (which is what I would expect as well) the republicans who worked to cover-up the wrongdoing will look even worse. It would make Bolton look bad if he would choose to keep his knowledge to himself until his book comes out – making him, if that happens, another political figure who’s all about the MONEY. I realize individual 1’s “base” has all the “ingredients” of a (huge) cult, but I believe as time “marches on” – which it ALWAYS does – even members of the cult will come to their senses. At some point we can hope America’s Political reality returns to some kind of “I believe in the constitution” norm!

I can picture a few years from now many of those supporting individual 1 hesitating to admit that in public. My point is those republicans who are enabling this illegal behavior by the top American who took an oath (as did all of them) to defend and protect the constitution wont be happy about their place in the history books. I’ve said this many times here; I believe individual 1 will find himself right next to Benedict Arnold in that writing of American history. After all, he publicly sold out America’s intelligence community to Vladimir Putin in Helsinki just over a year ago and he continues to show disdain for our system of laws. I believe he’s been doing this his entire lifetime and believes now that he has all this power he should be able to continue doing so.

It took individual 1 a bit over 2 years to find his “Roy Cohn” (Cohn was a Mob Lawyer) in William Barr and, of course, Barr has been everything our so-called president wanted in an Attorney General. Once I realized where Barr was coming from the danger of individual 1, to me, became much more serious. Individual 1 seems to be totally incompetent in regard to our history, has sounded ignorant when talking about our legal system, comes across as an empty suit when it comes to foreign policy with a willingness to CHEAT, but when it comes to lawbreaking and the arrogance which goes with organized criminality individual 1 comes across to me as an expert! And, William Barr is willingly enabling his lawbreaking. (This all started when he undermined Robert Mueller’s report)

I’ll try to summarize my thoughts – OK, I realize I keep chasing my “tail” as I try to keep up with the lawbreaking of our so-called president – when you know a person cheats at golf it shouldn’t surprise you to discover he/she would CHEAT to get elected nor should it surprise you this person would LIE about something so important as people’s health care insurance. When it has become so apparent our “commander in chief” is a pathological LIAR it’s even more depressing knowing it’s the republicans in Congress who are defending him, not to mention a large segment of his base are the so-called “Evangelical Christians, especially when we KNOW another significant part of his “base” is Vladimir Putin. If you’re worried about something like “pre-existing conditions” you would be well advised to vote against individual 1! (Or any republican)

OMG: Individual 1 has a habit of answering reporters questions about people associated with him who get “afoul of the law” by saying “I don’t know him.” You’ll have to ask……….. (fill in the blank) to find out about……………. (fill in the blank again) Think Michael Cohen. Well, when it comes to Lev Parnos, I’m guessing individual 1 may come to regret suggesting he doesn’t (didn’t) know him. Tonight, I’m watching an interview with Parnos and Rachel Maddow – OMG, I hope the republican Senators are watching – and, maybe the members of individual 1’s cult.

I still remember hearing, shortly after Parnos was arrested along the side of his fellow thug Igor Fruman, Parnos being angry when he first heard individual 1 claim he had no idea who Parnos is; You’ll have to check with Rudy, maybe he’s one of Rudy’s clients I don’t know. (I have to admit, after listening to Parnos I’m inclined to take back the characterization “thug”) At the time people thought it was a bit odd when Parnos suggested he was part of individual 1’s legal team. Well, it appears he was an integral part of the “team” – in whatever capacity – and, it appears he’s got a lot of “stuff” which not only implicates our so-called president, but also the rest of the “team.” After watching last night I would say that “team” includes: Mike Pense, William Barr, Mike Pompeo, Rick Perry, Devin Nunes and likely others. Should be interesting – and, remember, the republicans in the Senate are soon to show their true colors – and, I’m guessing that color will be yellow!

So, you think I’ve been a bit loony in referring to our so-called president as a mob boss? Well, when Rachel Maddow asked Lev Parnos why he was sitting for this television interview prior to the Senate “trial” of individual 1 he stated he felt by getting everything he has out into the public domain he was safer. Now, think about that and let it sink in. What do you think that tells us about individual 1, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Pompeo, William Barr, Mike Pense, Rick Perry, and the rest of the “team” involved in the SHAKEDOWN of the newly elected president of Ukraine? If you didn’t see that interview, I suggest you visit the archives of MSNBC and check it out! (The interview actually lasted 2 hours! minus commercials)

Final Thought: I’m sitting here watching 100 U.S. Senators sign an oath to be fair and impartial in the IMPEACHMENT “trial” of individual 1. Of course, everyone EXPECTS most of them to be LYING. I say most, because even if somehow witnesses show up with exculpatory evidence which would suggest our so-called president didn’t EXTORT the newly elected president of Ukraine I’m not sure how many democrats would vote to acquit. (I’m actually worried about Joe Mansion and Doug Jones regardless) My point is, anyone paying attention to what has transpired over the past few years would expect every republican to vote to acquit individual 1, even in the face of OVERWHELMING evidence he’s guilty. In fact, they all KNOW he’s guilty of much more than this one “high crime or misdemeanor.” So, I’m guessing this “solemn” oath they are taking while I’m writing this is just one more LIE from each of them!

One more thing: As people were criticizing Nancy Pelosi while she was holding onto the Articles of IMPEACHMENT as having “no leverage,” well, it’s becoming clear Ms. Pelosi had her “ducks in a row.” Not only has more evidence supporting the Articles of IMPEACHMENT in the form of documents come out, but also John Bolton announced he would testify if subpoenaed – which puts republicans in a dicey spot, because Bolton has a lot of information. We’ve also now learned, as mentioned above, that Lev Parnos wants to spill his guts – and, he was right in the middle of all this lawbreaking. And, then, the “one more thing:” I pointed out several times recently I would love to see individual 1 give his “State of the Union” speech prior to the Senate trial being completed – that is, before his republican sycophants acquit him. It appears likely, to me, the Senate “trial” will still be ongoing as of February 4th – the date of the speech. (Unless republicans succeed in turning it into the sham Lindsey Graham favors. Mark one more for Ms Pelosi if it turns out this way. (Should be an interesting speech, don’t you think, under those circumstances? – Especially, if republicans have voted to call witnesses!)

“We the people” have been bombarded by an incredible number of LIES since the day individual 1 took his oath of office. (When you’re a pathological LIAR what significance do you think any “oath” might be?) So, apparently, the “briefers” who explained the rationale for the MURDER of Qasem Suleimani a week or so ago to members of Congress felt comfortable continuing with the constant LYING. It appears even some of the republicans in the SCIF were offended by the LYING. Some of them came out of the meeting looking outraged that even in a room which is protected from any “leakage” they just can’t stop LYING – even to their own republicans.

Of course, this shouldn’t surprise anyone because individual 1 routinely stands in front of his adoring public and LIES to their faces – all the while as they are CHEERING being LIED to. I’ve actually got a good friend, we’re friends despite the fact he’s an individual 1 supporter, and he’s actually said to me he doesn’t believe our so-called president is a LIAR (Despite something like 15,000 documented LIES coming from our so-called president since his first day in office). It’s become glaringly clear individual 1’s base is part of a huge CULT. That is the only explanation why so many Americans can continue supporting a (so-called) president despite his incredible level of CORRUPTION (LYING is just part of it – every day seems to be further evidence individual 1 is a mob boss. The evidence coming from Lev Parnas seems to be more proof our country is infested with organized criminals).

Just the other day, in a Fox “news” interview (where he LIED about the “imminent” threat supposedly posed by Suleimani), individual 1 justified sending a large segment of American troops into Saudi Arabia because the Saudi’s are paying for them. He said, “They’ve already deposited $1 BILLION in the bank.” I’d like to know which bank account for one thing, but the reality of what he’s saying is he’s turned our military into a mercenary force! Yikes!! (FYI – since I started this rant individual 1, after being publicly exposed for his LYING about the justification to MURDER Suleimani, has said, “It really doesn’t matter if there was an ‘imminent threat'” – which is just further proof legal boundaries are of no interest to him – or many of his sycophants)

Like many others, I have continued thinking of the ASSASSINATION of Suleimani despite it’s being over a week since he was MURDERED. Yes, he was a General in the Iranian military and, yes, according to the “hawks” in individual 1’s cabinet – like Pompeo and, despite he’s gone, John Bolton who was a known Iranian hawk, I’m sure, they all wanted Suleimani taken out long ago. What keeps sticking in my head is the way individual 1 and his sycophants keep using as the justification for killing Suleimani – “he had American blood on his hands.”

And, I don’t in any way question that characterization. I mean Suleimani has been one of Iran’s leaders since the day Bush/Cheney LIED America into invading Iraq. Of course, at the time, Iraq and Iran were mortal enemies – having a BLOODY war which pretty much encompassed the decade of the 1980’s and, of course, America was supporting Iraq. In fact, the U.S. (while Reagan was president) supplied Saddam Hussein with the chemical weapons he used to MURDER as many as 80,000 Iranians not to mention how many were debilitated. Does this mean America has Iranian blood on her hands? We all know the answer to that one, don’t we?

Of course, Iraq is 60% Shia which would align many of the Shia militia’s in Iraq with Iran. In fact, I still remember Muqtada al-Sadr, a young Shia cleric in Iraq, at the time Bush/Cheney invaded,who had his own militia after the U.S. invasion in 2003 (likely with “American blood on his hands”) going to Iran in order to study to become an Ayatollah. Essentially, the U.S. invasion of Iraq emboldened Iran and people like Bolton, who helped orchestrate the Iraq FIASCO, have been plotting a war against Iran ever since. It’s like America strengthened Iran while wanting, after doing so, to – once again – cause a regime change. Is this “chasing your tail?”

This issue with Iran v the United States began in the early 1950’s because Iran’s elected leader wanted to nationalize THEIR oil. I’m sure individual 1 isn’t the only American who would like Iran’s oil. (Evidently he’s got a claim on Syria’s oil???) Personally, I believe the reason for this “mess” in the Middle East was caused by the “thirst” for Iraqi’s oil by George W Bush and Dick Cheney. This is all very disgusting to people like me who don’t want America acting as “The world’s policeman.” It really bothered me when Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld decided they could determine who is an “enemy combatant.” That’s authoritarianism in my view – and, now, “we the people” have a more extreme example of that abuse of our constitution.

So, if in this world generals with “blood on their hands” – or the politicians who ordered them to get the “blood on their hands” are vulnerable to ASSASSINATION, well, there are a lot of American military personnel and American politicians who need to be careful where they go. For example, the Bush/Cheney regime was FULL of people who you could say have massive amounts of “Iraqi blood on their hands.” If you’ve paid attention to world affairs of late you know there’s a lot of bad stuff going down around the world – and, a lot of it is due to American foreign policy decisions. I mean, to me, the dysfunction in the Middle East, to this day is the result of the Bush/Cheney regime. My point is having a rogue policy of ASSASSINATIONS is a “slippery slope” to descend – aside from the FACT it’s illegal. Honestly, I believe there are people in leadership positions in America who believe “we the people” are the “rulers of the world.”

I pointed out in my previous rant a reminder of Dwight Eisenhower’s warning about the potential “growth” of the “military industrial complex” and, clearly, it has become the “elephant in the room.” America has become a militaristic behemoth and it’s to a point where I don’t know how we stop it. America’s economy has become dependent on the continual growth of a military which is already well beyond reason – “we the people” are spending more each year than 144 other countries COMBINED by OVER $100 BILLION. With individual 1’s depletion of the State Department our diplomacy now is BOMBS! Holy Cow!!!

I was supporting Senator Cory Booker in the democratic nomination process mainly because I saw him as a candidate who sees the importance of fighting the incredible challenges facing “we the people” by attempting to somehow pull people together. We know that the division in America is “real,” but we also know both individual 1 (and his supporters) along with Vladimir Putin have been working full time to exacerbate those divisions making them worse. I’ve written recently about the issue of Cambridge Analytica (read Chris Wylie’s book) and how they, in concert with the Russians, were able to group Americans into “neighborhoods” based on the data they had STOLEN from Facebook and target these people with misinformation (that’s a euphemism for LYING) designed to exacerbate the divisions. Why would they do this? Because it works!

Cambridge Analytica (CA) is gone (thanks, in part, to Wylie) but the data is still somewhere and, keep in mind, during the 2016 campaign Steve Bannon was the CEO of CA and they were working with Russians. In fact, this is one of the issues I had with the Mueller report because I believe it was very possible the “link” between CA and Russian intelligence could have been a pathway to proving a conspiracy with individual 1’s campaign and the Russians. Of course, that was then, and this is now. And, of course, individual 1’s campaign is already flooding Facebook with misinformation – which Facebook refuses to monitor from what I’ve read – and, now, the Russians are back at it again.

This is not to say the Russians haven’t been finding ways to infiltrate Americans via our social media networks, but it was reported last night the Russians hacked into the servers of the oil company Barisma in Ukraine – apparently looking for material which they could eventually use to attack Joe Biden should he be the democratic nominee for president in 2020. If you watched Robert Mueller’s testimony last year you would not be too surprised by this as he pointed out the Russians were “at it right now and they’re going to be involved in the 2020 election. Obviously, the Russians are going to do whatever they can to keep individual 1 in office. He’s truly helping to “Make Russia Great Again!”

Based on the reports exposing these cyber attacks on Burisma it’s a bit unnerving that America’s intelligence community was unaware, apparently, this was going on because Congressional leaders didn’t know about it until they read it in the NY Times. Just as individual 1 has depleted the State Department so has he been attacking the intelligence community since his first day in office. Additionally, individual 1 has a crony as the head of the Justice Department – all of this a formula used by others around the world as they attempted to turn democracies into dictatorships. Many Americans believe “it can’t happen here,” but it’s time to “wake up.” I believe the Russians are doing this because they KNOW there will be no repercussions coming from the “White House.” To me, whether they are working in concert with Americans or not, is irrelevant. We know what they’re doing and individual 1 is encouraging it!

Just yesterday I was reading about how Major League Baseball (MLB) finished an investigation which confirmed one of their teams, the Houston Astros (and, likely the Boston Red Sox as well), was/were CHEATING through the use of technology and the result was far worse than what individual 1 has received in regard to the Russians. (Further evidence he’s in cahoots with them becomes public almost every week) The Astros were fined the MAXIMUM allowed under MLB rules, both their general manager and the manager on the field were suspended for the next year and then FIRED, and they lost multiple draft picks for the next two years. This was a significant penalty for CHEATING. Apparently, in American politics there is no penalty for CHEATING! For example, one day after Robert Mueller testified about the “collusion” individual 1’s campaign had with the Russians and he felt exonerated what did he do? He called up the president of Ukraine and attempted to EXTORT help for the next election!

Final Thought: Like, I suppose, MILLIONS of other Americans, I’ve become somewhat numb to all the LYING coming from individual 1 and his sycophants. And, some of them (like Mike Pompeo) aren’t very good at it – but, apparently, it’s “part of the job description” in this administration. As I mentioned above, individual 1 and his “national security team” have been busy LYING about why they MURDERED Qasem Suleimani (and, I believe, about 5 Iraqi Shia leaders) at the Baghdad Airport and, in the process, have been “stepping all over each other.” It reminds me of the saying above the principal’s office when I was still teaching which read: “Tell the truth, there’s less to remember.” When it became painfully obvious they were ALL LYING, individual 1 finally admitted “It doesn’t matter if there was an imminent threat.” OMG – when is this American nightmare going to end? Likely not in the upcoming Senate trial.

“We the people” can’t keep up with all the scandals coming out of this “White House.” For example, in any other administration, sending American troops around the world for MONEY would be a SCANDAL we’d be up in arms about. In this administration there’s been hardly a whimper about sending the troops to Saudi Arabia for “$1 BILLION.” To me, selling our troops as mercenaries is a shocking admission which individual 1 did casually as if it was the way we should go. I’m not sure how many other Americans were offended by this admission (or how many even know) but it confirms to me our “commander in chief” is deranged. (That’s really dangerous!)

Tonight Iran launched about 15 ballistic missiles toward a couple bases in Iraq which have been housing American troops and, based on the original reports, there were no American casualties and, very possibly, that was Iran’s intention. That is, very possibly they were attempting to calm their own people by “revenging” the death of Qasem Suleimani (and the others who were with him when he was assassinated), and not “hitting” America with an attack which would stimulate a response from individual 1. In other words, are the Iranians the “adults” in the room? Of course, they know they are over-matched in any war with the U.S., but they could cause a lot of damage.

Here’s my point: If the original reports are true about the Iranian response to Suleimani’s killing it is further evidence individual 1, Mike Pense, Mike Pompeo, and the Secretary of Defense Esper have ALL been LYING (surprise, surprise) about their motivation in killing Suleimani. If Suleimani was really planning an “imminent” attack on “hundreds of Americans” you would have to believe the Iranians wouldn’t have chosen to “miss” their target in their response to Suleimani’s murder! Here’s my logic – if Suleimani’s forces were ready to attack, they certainly would have based on the murder of their leader. Maybe this will still transpire, but it appears to me tonight’s “response” from the Iranians is confirmation the original assertion “justifying” the assassination was “poppycock.”

Of course, you can be assured individual 1’s administration will be unable to “brief” the Congress on their claims of an imminent attack coming from Suleimani because I don’t believe there was one (of course there are republicans in Congress who STILL don’t believe their “commander in chief” is a pathological LIAR). I believe the Iranian “proxies” are always “on guard” based on the FACT the Middle East is STILL in turmoil due to the ILLEGAL invasion of Iraq by GW Bush back in 2003. We’re just living through more of the barrage of LIES which have been coming from individual 1 since the day he took the oath (which, obviously, was meaningless) to defend our constitution. The Iranians gave our so-called president an “out” and he responded by intensifying the sanctions and spewing a bunch more LIES about President Obama.

In his remarks today, at least the part I listened to, individual 1 was seeking more involvement from our NATO “partners” – MOST of who must be wondering “what the hell” is going on in America with this pathological, neurotic, narcissistic, racist, misogynistic, xenophobic (so-called) president who is threatening to turn the Middle East (and possibly the world) into turmoil. Yes, he’s temporarily turned the headlines away from IMPEACHMENT, but just like his Middle East “policy” (if anything he does can be considered via “policy”), any “success” will be short lived. Regarding IMPEACHMENT I still believe Nancy Pelosi continues to hold the “cards,” despite all the (predictable) republican bloviating to the contrary.

I’ve written this before, but I believe Ms Pelosi is planning to make sure the Senate “Trial” has not happened prior to the State of the Union speech. Meaning, if the republicans are going to “fix” the “trial” – as per the claims of Moscow Mitch – then when the trial takes place it will be on Pelosi’s terms. Individual 1 has ginned up MILLIONS of Americans who, quite frankly, are ignorant when it comes to America’s role in the world, to believe he’s keeping us safe. When I hear people at one of his rallies cheering when he bloviates: “I’m going to bomb the shit out of………….. (fill in the blank) the word that comes to my mind is “STUPID” – not only individual 1 but his audience. Personally, “keeping us safe” if far from his mind – he’s enraged about IMPEACHMENT!

There have been something in the neighborhood of 15,000 LIES coming out of the mouth of individual 1 since he took office and some are more significant than others. The LIES relating to the attempt to justify Suleimani’s ASSASSINATION are possibly the most significant. Of course, individual 1’s supporters will believe him – I’ve watched him LIE straight to their faces at rallies as they CHEER! Honestly, I can’t find words to describe that behavior in any way which is at all positive. I have to wonder what people around the world are thinking about the American people. I can tell you one thing for sure, they EXPECT “we the people” to end this nightmare in November if not sooner. (unless they’re in Russia and, possibly, Israel) And, it’s likely going to have to be November based on what I heard from republican Senators as they came out of the SCIF after getting LIED to themselves by individual 1’s “briefers.” They willingly accept it! (The LYING) It really is embarrassing! I picture the first question on the employment contract for individual 1’s administration is; “Will you LIE with impunity?”

In relation to the LYING about something this serious, all this should just be mounting evidence as to why individual 1 should be removed from office. Pelosi is correct when she says he will IMPEACH himself. Virtually every week, he gives additional reasons why he’s UNFIT to be in the office he holds – the evidence is MOUNTING. Of course, Moscow Mitch will do everything he can to make sure NONE of that evidence makes it into the “trial” of our so-called president – because, rest assured, the republicans know he’s UNFIT for office as well – it’s just they FEAR his “tweets” and their focus is on keeping POWER (ie more judges). It’s interesting the hypocrisy coming from the republicans who were in office during the trial of Bill Clinton. See Moscow Mitch and Lindsey Graham videos.

All this didn’t seem quite as serious to me until individual 1 decided to do the thing I was most concerned with and that’s threatening to start another WAR in the Middle East. At some point I have to believe, as an optimist, the FEALTY of the republicans in Congress will catch up to them – the only question is how much DAMAGE are they willing to look away from before they come to their senses – or are they simply counting on their belief “we the people” are so STUPID as to keep them in office indefinitely. I’m listening to one republican Senator after another giving a justification as to why they DON’T want ANY witnesses or ANY of the documents individual 1 blocked from the House during the IMPEACHMENT inquiry – apparently because they FEAR what these witnesses and documents would say to the American people.

Make no mistake, even the republicans in Congress – including over 20 republican Senators – must face the voters in November. Additionally, there ARE voters – even in “Red States” – who aren’t completely sucked into the individual 1 cult and will be wondering why their Senators were supportive of a president soliciting aid from a foreign nation in his/her election – despite the reality, by now, EVERYONE knows it’s ILLEGAL. (They [voters] might even be concerned with their health care!) Also, many might question why it’s so important to prevent witnesses and documents from being part of the trial – an action which suggests, on its face, a cover-up. When this chapter in America’s History is finally documented these republicans are likely to find themselves in a place which will cause their children to question “what were you thinking?”

There are so many issues which are being “swept under the rug” while this inept so-called president is in office – like fighting Climate Change, providing Health Care for all, rebuilding our infrastructure, etc. – but it all might seem inconsequential if this deplorable “leader” is allowed to LIE “we the people” into another WAR. Sadly, as I listen to America’s political leaders, including many democrats, I have little to no faith individual 1 will be stopped if he’s determined to start this WAR as a way to save his butt regarding IMPEACHMENT and his own future once he’s no longer in this office – which protects him (being in office) – based on an obscure “memo” written over 50 years ago, after Watergate, preventing a president from being indicted while still in office.

America has a history of allowing her leaders to VIOLATE laws, often with impunity, with NO recourse. For example, Reagan and HW Bush got away with the Iran/Contra fiasco and Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld et al got away with a plethora of ILLEGAL behavior which included MULTIPLE violations of the FISA laws – which is interesting when you think of the republican response to the Carter Page stupidity – along with an innumerable number of examples of TORTURE – which they publicly admitted to authorizing, not to mention LYING us into Iraq. No consequences in all these instances. The sad reality is the LYING and manipulation coming from the republicans is routine and it’s working – whether on their “base,” the media, the Congress, or the rest of the government – specifically the Justice Department and the Intelligence Community – both of which seem to be bending to individual 1’s will!

I’m fairly certain individual 1 expects he won’t have to face the “consequences” of his ILLEGAL behavior once out of office – although, there’s been a lot of investigating of his actions that occurred prior to taking office which may very well prove to be an issue for him – provided he is unable to get bailed out by the statute of limitations. The issue which has Michael Cohen in prison, the reason I refer to our so-called president as “individual 1,” is because that’s how he’s described in Cohen’s sentencing guidelines – he allegedly “directed” the illegal action. Whether he can avoid prosecution on those two FELONIES once out of office remains to be seen, but you have to think he does have to consider the possibility. (I can hear the chants next year at the democratic convention; “Lock him up”) Additionally, Robert Mueller clearly “memorialized” the evidence individual 1 OBSTRUCTED Justice (10 instances!) in case there might be follow up in the future.

And, it’s not just the members of Congress in the republican party who have locked arms in order to prevent individual 1 from what they KNOW is ILLEGAL, immoral, and inept behavior – which has threatened ALL of us with escalating possibilities of disastrous consequences. It’s as if many facets of America just believe things have always worked out in the past so it’s apparent that will continue – especially now that they have all those judges so they go along with EVERYTHING. I believe people like John Bolton are facing real serious decisions in the near future. Bolton, apparently has information about what was happening during his time in the “White House” during the IMPEACHMENT “misbehavior” which would, supposedly, implicate individual 1 even further. There are people who need to look up the definition of patriotism!

Republicans in the Senate don’t want to hear from Bolton. I’ve heard Lindsey Graham, Marko Rubio, and others come right out and say they are not interested in what Bolton has to say or in ANY of the others with direct access to what was actually happening when individual 1 was trying to get the Ukrainians to help him in his re-election campaign (nor any of the documents) along with spurring on the Russian talking points about the 2016 interference in that election. Bolton, Mick Mulvaney, and the others are also auditioning for their places in the History books. Essentially, on the republican side, we’re looking at a lot of cowardice. In the short term, they just want this to be over. The “long term?” Well, I don’t think that has crossed their minds.

For years my complaints about democrats was they were afraid to defend their own beliefs – that they were/are “spineless.” Well, the republicans are taking “spineless” to an entirely new level never even imagined before. Bolton, for example, should not need a subpoena in order to give his information which he claims is germane to what is an extremely important time in America’s history. There will be endless questions as to whether or not he’s more interested in the profits from the book he’s supposedly writing over his patriotic duty to report the FACTS as to what was happening while he was the National Security Adviser to individual 1. If we come out of this FIASCO further legitimizing the support for ILLEGAL behavior coming from the “White House,” America will definitely be in a spiral for second class status in the world. The world continues to become MORE dangerous, and, from what I’ve read in the past 10 years, the United States is largely responsible for why.

America is the wealthiest nation on earth, yet it seems our “leaders” are focused on “ruling the world” militarily. It all reminds me of Dwight Eisenhower warning of the impending power of the “military industrial complex.” I believe our nation’s largest manufacturing sector is making WEAPONS. It goes well beyond the NRA (although, they are a serious problem) because I have to wonder what would happen to those employment figures individual 1 brags about if we cut back on the manufacture of “weapons of mass destruction.” Just the other day our so-called president “bragged” about a “hypersonic missile” which implies were into another arms race – in this case likely with the Russians and the Chinese. Let’s see, what’s the phrase that comes to mind: deja vu all over again! A lot more people are going to make a lot more MONEY!

All of this has caused me to take a second look at Wall Street which “chugs” along as if “all is well” in the words of individual 1, after the Iranians chose to fire their missiles – supposedly the “revenge” for the murder of Qasem Suleimani – into the desert of Iraq apparently in an attempt to “stand down” in this recent crisis. The stock market continues to “bloom” as if all really is “well” and, most certainly, a serious “correction” is on the horizon. The money-changers in New York seem, to me, oblivious to anything beyond figuring out how to make more MONEY. Yes, the stock market has taken a jump forward, so “all must be well.” Along with individual 1 you have to wonder if they have any idea how “well” things are outside of Manhattan in New York? My experience tells me things can change in a hurray!

Final Thought: Actually, I’m writing THIS “thought” before I finish whatever ends up being this “rant” to appease myself after my drive to and from a few errands this morning. As usual, I was listening to MSNBC on my XM radio and, as happens when I take too long to run my errands, Chuck Todd’s “show” came onto the radio. And, as usual, I was listening to “experts” discussing the “political news of the day” in a manner which always causes me to be SHOUTING at my radio. And, as usual, Todd has what I call the Fox compulsion to have republicans on his show – apparently thinking they’re “fair and balanced” – and, today’s topic was Nancy Pelosi’s withholding the Articles of Impeachment from the Senate.

The “consensus” I gathered from Todd and his guests was that “Pelosi has no leverage and she should turn the Articles over so Moscow Mitch (My characterization) can get on with it. Of course, that is the attitude of, apparently, many members of the media which see the inevitability of the Senate acquitting and see no reason to drag this out further. In fact, they pointed out several democrats have been suggesting “it’s time,” likely worrying about the Senate “trial” conflicting with the upcoming Iowa caucuses.

I certainly don’t have a “crystal ball” but I, for one thing, think Pelosi has plenty of “leverage” and “we the people” are not so stupid (at least enough of us to matter) as to not appreciate Pelosi’s attempt to make sure the key witnesses who were blocked from testifying before the House procedure testify – people like John Bolton, Mick Mulvaney, and those in the OMB who were instrumental in BLOCKING the APPROVED aid (illegally) for Ukraine. This could also include those in the DOD who were part of the email chain wondering what the “H E double toothpick” was going on?

My final thought on this topic would be, and I hope it’s true, that Pelosi is just “running out the clock” – using individual 1’s strategy to prevent witnesses from testifying starting with the Mueller investigation – so that when our so-called president is giving his State of the Union speech he has not been “exonerated.” (Even though EVERYONE knows the Senate “trial,” whenever it happens will be a complete sham.) I believe Pelosi’s strategy could very well be focused on causing individual 1 to have to give his speech while still under the House’s “indictment” AND, ultimately, to force republican Senators to have to vote as to whether or not they believe a president should be able to BREAK THE LAW, whether a president should be able to SOLICIT foreign help to get elected (like he did with Russia as well), and, additionally, I believe while the interest is high, she’s giving individual 1 more “rope” as he has a tendency to commit IMPEACHABLE acts almost at random.

I may end up being completely wrong, but I find it interesting how the “pundits” just assume Ms. Pelosi has no strategy and no leverage. Is this because she’s a woman going “up against” all these white republican men (who, by the way have proven themselves to be incredibly incompetent – over and over)? This all should be interesting, but I hope she’s got “something up her sleeve” these pundits are not sophisticated enough to figure out. (Why Todd insists on inviting republican hacks onto his show boggles my mind – but, there’s never any blow-back on the consequences of “normalizing” these people. Likely because of who owns MSNBC (Comcast, I believe) I believe her plan may be to make sure the “trial” has not ended by the time of the State of the Union speech without the “pundits” understanding that was exactly the plan. Should be an interesting speech!

One more thing: Today Ms. Pelosi said she is going to send the Article of IMPEACHMENT to the Senate next week. Personally, I hope she sends them toward the end of the week so that the “trial” will start after the Martin Luther King holiday. Therefore, the “trial” will be ongoing during the State of the Union speech.

Today, I was listening to another person explaining why individual 1’s decision to ASSASSINATE the “number 2” person in the hierarchy of Iran because “There were plans for the Iranians to attack Americans” (or something of that sort) as being legal and justified. He mentioned this as if to suggest by killing Qassem Suleimani the Iranians would call off the expected threats. Personally, that made no sense to me. My cynical thinking goes like this: Those attacks are now more likely – and, very possibly, more intense. Of course, individual 1 is threatening to destroy up to 52 cultural sites in Iran if there’s any retribution to Suleimani’s ASSASSINATION. Again, here’s how my thinking is evolving: War is on the horizon.

I have to wonder how many Americans are comfortable with individual 1 as our “commander in chief.” I don’t believe I’m the only American who’s been concerned for the day when there might be a crisis with individual 1 in charge. Members of the administration of our so-called president continue to say “the threat was imminent” – leading to this decision to ASSASSINATE Suleimani. That response to whatever the “threat” actually was, makes no sense to me. Based on what I’ve heard and read, Suleimani could have been killed at any time over the previous 20, or so, years. There have been, actually, some reports of Suleimani working with Americans in the fight against ISIS – so, there’s a lot of confusion over all of this – and, coming from individual 1 and Mike Pompeo, there’s likely been a continuation of their mountain of LIES.

I wrote about this the other day, but using the justification Suleimani had “American blood on his hands,” is hard for me to swallow. Just look at this from the point of view of the Iraqi’s and the Iranians. How much of their “blood” is on the hands of American leaders, generals, etc. For heavens sake, did you read about Abu Ghraib? Did you ever listen to both GW Bush and Dick Cheney admit, publicly, to authorizing the TORTURE of (likely thousands of) Iraqi’s – many who had nothing to do with the conflict THE UNITED STATES started in Iraq back in 2003. Again, Suleimani was a general in a war zone and his MURDER was likely “legal” – based on the rationale we get in America assuming our troops are justified being there. (Obviously, Suleimani didn’t think so)

Here’s what seems possible, if not likely, based on individual 1’s decision to authorize this ASSASSINATION – a “tit for tat” escalation which could easily result into a full out war. There’s a lot the Iranians can do which would affect America in a variety of ways. Take for example the oil flowing out of the Middle East. They can put a virtual halt to that flow without this escalation I’m talking about. They have strong “cyber” capabilities and their number one ally is Russia – think about that one. Their “revolutionary guard” has militias stationed all across the region with the capability to reach, from what I’ve read, virtually EVERY base of Americans in the area.

Keep in mind, many of those in the background of individual 1’s administration are veterans of the Bush/Cheney regime. They went into Iraq (based on LIES – of course) and they had no idea what the consequences of their decisions would be. In one book I read, about HALF of Iraq’s population was dislocated during the “Iraq war” (which was NEVER a declared war) and, at least, a couple HUNDRED THOUSAND Iraqi’s DIED along with the 5000+ Americans who died, not to mention ALL the people who were injured – this being the result of acting with no idea what would be the “level 2” consequences. Is this “deja vu all over again?”

I remember asking myself the same question in 2003 – “is this deja vu all over again?” I graduated from High School about the time of the Gulf of Tonkin resolution which was the LIE used by LBJ to escalate the Viet Nam War. Obviously, the Bush/Cheney regime LIED America into the invasion of Iraq, based on the claim there were “weapons of mass destruction” – WMD’s which didn’t exist. Now, when you listen to Mike Pompeo going onto TV programs to justify what individual 1 authorized last week – the ASSASSINATION of Suleimani – his words just come across as hollow. Pompeo had forfeited his own credibility based on his willingness to LIE to the American people before – and, it appears, he’s continuing this disgusting behavior.

It’s true we (humans) ALL have lied to some degree in our lives. Not only do we have a tendency to lie but it’s understandable we all see things differently. But, for most people I know “lying” is more like “spinning” – that is, looking at things with our own biases and perspectives. Personally, I try to tell the truth – even in circumstances where it might not be advantageous. If I say something which I later determine was not “truth” I try to go back and correct what I said. The people we have “running” our country at this point in time LIE with impunity. Expressing an opinion is not LYING, but saying something you know is untrue IS lying.

That being said, there is something called FACTS. And, I’m suggesting the idea of “alternative facts” is the world in which people like the Russians who are working to undermine our republic as I’m writing this – via cyber tactics – and, republicans weaponizing misinformation are practicing their belief the “end justifies the means” in order to retain POWER. To them, LYING is the “cost” of doing business. What they’re really talking about is a justification for strategic LYING. We’re likely never to know actually what the rationale for the ASSASSINATION really was, but if you haven’t thought about the possibility individual 1 is trying to get the headlines off the IMPEACHMENT process – well, I can’t help you. For me, there’s not a shadow of doubt.

In fact, I’ve written on many occasions I believe individual 1 would resort to the traditional republican strategy for mobilizing public support – and that is to start a WAR. And, it usually works for, at least, for a short period of time – which individual 1 may very well think is all he needs. Obviously, his strategy for dealing with the Mueller report and the Ukraine investigation was to “STONEWALL” as a way to “run out the clock” toward the 2020 election preventing “we the people” from hearing the TRUTH – and, thinking “we the people” will vote him back into the “White House” next November. I, certainly, have no idea how this situation with Iran will play out nor how “we the people” will react if we end up with another FIASCO in the Middle East.

I’m just finishing the book written by one of the original members of Cambridge Analytica (CA) which, I’m sure you know, is the company that pilfered DATA from approximately 87 MILLION Americans from Facebook – data “analyzed” and organized into “neighborhoods” based on the tendencies of the people who had their data stolen. They (the “neighborhoods”) were then fed a “diet” of targeted misinformation over their Facebook feed designed to exacerbate their tendencies. For example, if they were determined to be a latent racist, they were fed information suggesting how “whites” were under attack from “the other.” If you are African American you got information suggesting Hillary Clinton hates Blacks – with the idea to cause Blacks to stay home and not vote. There was a variety of “wedge issues” which were attacked and exacerbated. It worked!

Of course, you probably also know Steve Bannon was right in the middle of CA’s use of that data and their organized weaponizing of it – as they were using misinformation to influence the beliefs of MILLIONS of Americans – likely in concert with the Russian cyber warriors. This misinformation campaign is ongoing and, I’m guessing, MILLIONS of Americans are being BRAINWASHED in regard to what is happening in the Middle East right now. All of this “deplorable” purposeful LYING will likely continue at least until the November election. If Americans, somehow, decide this all is “OK” then God help us! (Well, actually, I’m praying for that daily regardless)

Look at this from individual 1’s perspective. Almost the day he leaves office he’s going to be potentially facing numerous legal issues. So, he’s really got a serious motivation to not only get “we the people’s” attention off IMPEACHMENT, but he’s also desperate to find a way to “win” again in 2020 – likely with MILLIONS of votes fewer than whoever his opponent may be via CHEATING. I’ve already read numerous reports individual 1’s “campaign” is targeting Facebook users through MILLIONS of dollars worth of “advertising” – which is another word for misinformation. (Yes, I know “everyone lies” – I just don’t know of anyone who is as proficient – well, there is Vladimir Putin)

And, finally, while I don’t use Facebook, almost everyone I know does. I’ve come to the conclusion Facebook is a very dangerous entity and their CEO Mark Zuckerman is a great example of a human being who becomes driven by GREED. Obviously, he’s created a very effective money making “machine” and, from what I’ve read, the FACT the data of Facebook users is easily “pilfered” (if Facebook isn’t even enabling the pilfering) is due to, again from what I’ve read, Facebook is able to monetize the “sharing” of this data. In other words, they’re making MONEY by allowing YOUR data to be easily stolen! And, the misinformation? Well, they seem to be OK with that as well. After all, according to Forbes, Zuckerman is now the third RICHEST person in the world. What’s the saying? “It’s all about the Benjamin’s!”

Final Thought: Today, I listened to excepts of interviews given by Mike Pompeo regarding the ASSASSINATION of Suleimani. I was a sixth grade teacher for the last 23 years of my working life and I learned to identify LYING pretty much “on the spot.” When you look into Pompeo’s eyes as he’s LYING it’s obvious. Usually, he’s unable to actually put his eyes on whoever it is he’s LYING to. He claims to be a “Christian” but, apparently, he hasn’t read the “Ten Commandments.” It’s been reported over and over Pompeo is an Iran War Hawk.

Tonight, the Iranians launched about a dozen ballistic missiles into a couple Iraqi bases in Northern and Western Iraq and there’s been no report of the result – that is, whether or not there were any casualties. These are Iraqi bases which house Iraqi troops along with American troops and those of some of the other “partners” in the region – although, many of the other countries with troops in Iraq have been calling them home. It appears to me, at this time, the Iranians targeted a very large base where they could avoid killing Americans – quite possibly as a way to satisfy their people that there’s been “retribution” for Suleimani’s Assassination and, at the same time, giving individual 1 a way to get out of this “mess” without it turning into an all out war. Stay tuned!!!

One more thing: Keep in mind the Iranians have developed very precise missile capability so if there really are no casualties, it very well could be because that’s what the Iranians wanted.

The other day I heard someone, while talking about Nancy Pelosi holding the Articles of Impeachment from the Senate, suggesting individual 1 would be apoplectic giving the State of the Union Address if he is still awaiting a trial in the Senate. I believe it’s entirely possible our so-called president has met his match in Pelosi. While I was on the front lines of criticizing her apprehension to do an “impeachment inquiry” in the face of so many impeachable offenses coming from individual 1 – seemingly on a weekly (if not daily) basis – it is beginning to appear as if she will end up being more than formidable in this process. Moscow Mitch’s pronouncement on Fox “news” he was going to run the Senate trial in coordination with our dear leader may prove to be a critical mistake – because, she’s (Pelosi) apparently going to use that to cause individual 1 to further lose (whatever’s left of) his mind.

Here’s the deal. The House democrats have control over when these Articles go to the Senate and, based on individual 1’s history, the longer we wait the MORE evidence there will be against him. As Ms. Pelosi once said, individual 1 (Of course, she used the name I can’t seem to be able to write) will IMPEACH himself – which, of course, he did with Ukraine and he will likely continue to do. Here’s what I think may be the plan, and that is to provide the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate once he’s given his “State of the Union” speech. Personally, I think his “speech” (rambling, disconnected remarks) will be much more interesting if the trial in the Senate is still “looming.” Also, he’s likely to provide more EVIDENCE as to why he’s GUILTY of IMPEACHABLE offenses between now and then. (Not that it would affect the outcome based on the “chicken hawks” on the republican side of the isle in the Senate)

Take for example, his foreign policy (if he has one). Last night the second most powerful Iranian leader was assassinated at the Baghdad airport evidently because he was planning an attack, somewhere, against Americans. Well, if an attack was or wasn’t planned as of last night, it darned well is planned now as I’m writing this. I would encourage any American to avoid traveling outside the country and the response in the Middle East should be interesting. I’ve suggested several times on this site that when things get really bad for individual 1 he has the one “arrow” in his “quiver” which republicans have relied on, repeatedly, in my lifetime and that is – start a war. That usually pulls the American public together and Americans tend to hesitate changing an administration during a war. (Although, this time ??????)

Well, are we headed for another war in the Middle East which MOST Americans DON’T want? I have to say, back in 2003 MOST Americans were probably in favor of invading Iraq (I wasn’t one of them) because the Bush/Cheney regime was LYING through their teeth about WMD’s! (Sound familiar?) In fact, under the surface in individual 1’s administration, lies several of the culprits of the Iraq invasion – which, very probably, some of them still believe was warranted – despite the TREMENDOUS loss of lives they created! Clearly, Mike Pompeo is and has been an Iran war hawk (as he was “back in the day” of the Iraq FIASCO) – I truly hope they don’t allow this episode to spiral into an all out war – because, you can be sure the Iranians are going to respond to the killing of General Suleimani.

Suleimani has been around for, from what I’ve heard, at least the last couple of decades and previous administrations (I guess that would mean the Obama and Bush administrations) have passed on attacking him due to the expected response. From everything I’ve read, a war with Iran will not be similar to Iraq – despite individual 1 saying, “It will be over very quickly.” (Does that remind you of anything, like maybe Dick Cheney predicting Americans would be cheered as heroes for toppling Saddam Hussein or Don Rumsfeld suggesting the “war” [in Iraq] would last “5 days, 5 weeks, or maybe 5 months”) I believe you have to be part of individual 1’s cult (see my last posting) to have ANY confidence they know what they’re doing!

Keep in mind one of Iran’s closest allies is Russia and I can only imagine what individual 1 is thinking when he says any war would “be over very quickly.” Whatever happens next will ultimately go back, when people are trying to understand this scenario, to individual 1 pulling America out of the Iran Nuclear Agreement – which, by all accounts, Iran was in complete compliance with. (And, now is officially OVER) That agreement took painstaking diplomatic efforts to achieve and, of course, because it was President Obama pulling it off, individual 1 and his hawkish republicans didn’t like it. Was it simply because it was our “person of color” in the “White House” who made such a monumental achievement? Who knows, but, what we do know is the republicans were (and have been) attempting to block or tear down anything Obama did – including providing health insurance for TENS of MILLIONS of Americans!

When leaders I’ve listened to rationalize the ASSASSINATION of Suleimani they all say “He had American blood on his hands.” They point out during the period of 2003 – 2011 he was leading Shia militias against American troops in Iraq. Well, that seems to be the point to me – American troops had entered Iraq, shall we say, uninvited (More accurately, ILLEGALLY). There was a WAR where MILLIONS of Iraqi’s were dislocated and HUNDREDS of thousands were KILLED and TORTURED by Americans. It has always seemed to me “we the people” are never educated on the “blood on the hands” of our leaders. Do you think the murder of Suleimani is how individual 1 plans to take the IMPEACHMENT issue off the front pages? Just sayin……………..

Getting back to Suleimani and “the American (and, for that matter, Iraqi) blood on his hands” keep in mind America has been in Iraq for almost 20 years now and people like Suleimani want “we the people” out of there. From what I’ve read, his death may very possibly be the incident which causes that to happen – should the Iraqi parliament ask the Americans in Iraq to leave. This ASSASSINATION included an Iraqi who was also a Shiite and it was instigated without the Iraqi’s knowing it was going to happen – therefore a violation of their sovereignty. Whether they will ask the U.S. to leave remains to be seen – but, it’s clear from what happened last week – the Iraqi “soldiers” are not capable or willing to defend the American Embassy in Iraq.

So, the bottom line here is that we don’t, at this point in time, have any idea how this issue with Iran will play out. I have to believe he “authorized” the ASSASSINATION based on the “advice” of people like Pompeo. Personally, I’m guessing – as of maybe a week ago – individual 1 knew as much about Suleimani as I did – so, he was (likely) acting on the advice of his “generals” and people like Pompeo – who’s long been a “hawk” in regard to Iran. (Remember, individual 1 pulled the U.S. out of the Iran Nuclear Agreement which will always be the “trigger” to whatever happens next – and, lots of republicans were in favor – just like attacking Iraq in 2003 – does that give you a sense of calm?)

Individual 1 may have thought this attack would mitigate the IMPEACHMENT process, although I believe it could make it worse for him. Ms. Pelosi is going to let the clock keep ticking on handing over the Articles of Impeachment and, if this situation with Iran blows up into something like, say, and all out WAR – I believe it could boomerang on individual 1. No matter what, I’m looking forward, for the first time, to individual 1’s State of the Union speech if the IMPEACHMENT trial has not yet happened! Just try to imagine our so-called president speaking to the nation under those circumstances!

Final Thought: While I, obviously, fall into the “camp” of people who ABSOLUTELY don’t trust our so-called president under any circumstance, let alone as our “Commander in Chief” I have to say I’ll be praying he somehow gets this right. The bottom line is the danger he’s flirting with is almost to me unimaginable – except that I’ve read close to 100 books about how our government works/worked in these types of circumstances. Many of the books attempting to explain the actions of the Bush/Cheney regime regarding America’s invasion of Iraq used the term “FIASCO.” Those who were part of the “brain trust” didn’t seem to do a very good job of using their “brains.”

“We the people” are still involved in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other places in the Middle East – largely the result of the FIASCO created by the Bush administration’s ill advised invasion of Iraq based on LIES. Sadly, America has a history, over the past 40 years, of apparently believing our military is the reason we’re a strong nation. Personally, I believe the random use of our military over the years has turned America into the world’s pariah. And, keep in mind, the troops who will be/are risking their LIVES are not part of individual 1’s family – they get things like BONE SPURS when it’s time to defend our nation. Our troops, largely, want to make “we the people” proud – but, they follow orders – and, many of them may very well be put into a circumstance which could haunt them for the rest of their lives. What happens won’t bother individual 1 because he’s showed himself to have the conscience of a mafia boss.

Suleimani was planning a threat to American forces, according to individual 1, but, even if that’s true, (and, remember, our so-called president has LIED thousands of times) I have to believe the threat still exists and likely is more extreme today. And, as I listen to reporters regurgitate the claim “Suleimani had blood on his hands” I get a bit queezy. How many military leaders in the Middle East – including Americans – have blood on their hands.

I mean, America’s CIA has a lot of Iranian “blood on their hands” dating all the way back to 1953 when the Shah was imposed on Iran to prevent the nationalization of their oil fields. Both Iran and Iraq have been embroiled in some kind of war for (at least) the past 40 years and, suggesting we assassinate people with American “blood on their hands” – we’ve been embroiled in the Middle East since the Iraq/Afghanistan invasions – would use up a lot of missiles. What if those in the other countries had the same belief in regard to us? Is the message here that it’s OK for America’s leaders to “have blood on their hands?”

The Supreme Court appointed GW Bush into the “White House” back in 2000, and the world has become much less stable as a result. The court has been busy enabling America’s corporatocracy ever since – suffocating the middle class. The effect of individual 1’s time in the “White House” has been a further right wing stranglehold on the courts and, should he manage to cheat his way into another four years, the SCOTUS will insure at least a generation of the enabling of GOP cheating in elections. Should that happen, individual 1 will have succeeded in “making Russia great again.”

I wrote in my last rant that I’m reading “Mindf*ck” (That’s the title) by Christopher Wylie and would be writing about some of what I’m learning in that book in this rant. Today I’m listening to “The Last Word,” one of the shows I watch on MSNBC, as I’m writing this. It’s interesting that all three of the guests on Lawrence O’Donnell’s show, Joy Reid, Michelle Goldberg, and Nickolas Kristoff, are struggling with how the republicans in Congress across America can continue to support individual 1 despite ALL the reasons why they should be falling off from their support like leaves falling from the trees in October. Well, I believe Wylie’s book – which is focused on his experience as the person who, essentially, started Cambridge Analytica goes a long way in helping to understand the curiosity of those who can’t understand individual 1’s “grip” on the republicans in Congress.

As a preface to the rest of these remarks, here’s the definition of a cult: “a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object.” Or, if you’re a republican and you say, “I’m not ‘religious'”: “A misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular person or thing.” And, no, these definitions didn’t come from someplace like the NY Times, instead it came from the “Oxford U.S. dictionary.” And, if you’re an individual 1 supporter, you’re a member of what can easily be described as a CULT.

I’ve started out with the definition of a cult because when you read Wylie’s book it supports the inference that individual 1 has created a massive CULT – with the help of Steve Bannon, in particular, along with Vladimir Putin – and, somehow, whoever the democratic nominee ultimately becomes, he/she SHOULD make this reality part of the campaign. In essence, MANY of individual 1’s supporters have been BRAINWASHED and when you read Wylie’s book you better understand why that assertion is NOT “poppycock.”

Cambridge Analytica (CA) evolved out of a data collection and analysis firm located in London, England which helped, among others, America’s NSA to be able to identify and predict the behavior of, for example, people who were being radicalized online in the U.S. One of the directors of this company, originally called “Strategic Communications Laboratories” (SCL), was a guy named Alexander Nix and he ultimately became the head of CA. SCL’s work was identified to Wylie, as he was being recruited to join, as “work for military and intelligence agencies on projects that governments couldn’t officially undertake themselves.” Wylie ended up helping SCL and, then, Cambridge Analytica improve their sophistication in “The world of psychological warfare.”

So, Wylie began his time working for SCL helping them become much more sophisticated in how they collected and used “data.” They were performing “experiments” in countries located in Africa and/or the Caribbean where it was easy to get permission to do what, in more advanced countries, would be considered violations of people’s privacy. Soon after Wylie became employed by SCL a new potential client showed up: Steve Bannon. Yes, the same Steve Bannon who, to this day, is promoting the right wing “White Nationalist” movement which is spreading from America across Europe.

It was Bannon’s intro to SCL which ultimately led to Cambridge Analytica and, of course, the focus became political surreptitious “warfare.” The first challenge was Brexit which found CA (and a subsidiary which was unnamed at the time) using the data collection tactics which were developed while Wylie was helping SCL, and then, CA prior to Bannon’s intro to their work. Bannon brought in Robert and Rebekah Mercer who provided the “seed” money to start Cambridge Analytica. Wylie claims, in the book, he was “naive” to the intentions of Bannon and the Mercer’s to begin with and, as he better understood what was happening with the data and research he instigated, he chose to leave CA.

At the time he left he says Nix told him, “You’ll be nowhere and we’ll all be in the White House.” Wylie says he thought Nix was crazy, but, of course, at least Bannon did end up in the White House. How did they do this? Well, by now, most people who’ve been paying attention know Cambridge Analytica managed to steal the data from something like 87 MILLION Facebook users and Wylie was right in the middle of that. It appears Facebook almost was encouraging this because, if I understood it correctly, Facebook actually was able to monetize this theft of their user’s data.

CA actually paid people to give up their data which resulted, on average, of CA being able to gain EVERYTHING on not only them, but also 300 of their “likes.” I don’t do Facebook, so I’m only sharing what I saw in Wylie’s book. Thousands of people gave up their information, essentially ALL of it, when CA paid them $1 to fill out a form which was the mechanism which opened the door to EVERYTHING they say and do – plus all their friends. Once they had the data they began what was essentially an experiment to see if they could psychologically change people’s beliefs. They organized the data into groups of tendencies and figured out how to “attack” these groups by intensifying their emotions which would lead to possibly changing voting tendency.

Wylie was gone from CA by the time of Brexit but he was still in touch with many of the people still active in the company. Clearly, Brexit was influenced by the work of CA which was, by then, under the control of Bannon. CA also was, to a degree, connected with the Russians, to some degree, at that point in time, which supports my inference made a couple years ago that CA – and, therefore Bannon – and, ultimately Jared Kushner – were somehow associated with the Russian “meddling” in the 2016 American election. (“COLLUSION?”) How did CA work? Well, you hear individual 1 “project” all the time when he refers to “fake news.”

While Wylie helped CA collect and analyze immense amounts of data, the ultimate effect of what they were doing has to do with what they did with this data – I would call it very sophisticated and organized LYING. How did they figure out how to go about doing this? Well, Wylie, who is a Canadian, had gained so much access to people’s privacy that CA could actually watch TV with their unsuspecting targets by paying for interviews. This is where Wylie got introduced to Fox “news.” (My quotes) He was astonished as “People would flip on Fox and their rage became palpable.”

Here’s some of Wylie’s observations of Fox: “People would feel better about their day after an hour-long session in the Fox News rage room – they could groan out their stress, and afterward their problems at work or home were someone else’s fault.” He went on to say people watching Fox had been “programmed” to find various ways to blame “liberals” or “Obamacare” for their problems. He said, “Fox News fuels anger with its hyperbolic narratives because anger disrupts the ability to seek, rationalize, and weigh information.” Fox was “conditioning people’s sense of identity into something that could be weaponized.” In other words, Fox was giving CA strategies they could use to make the effect of the data they held to the satisfaction of Bannon.

Fox was reminding people, according to Wylie, that “if you are an ordinary American this is the way you think.” Wylie then gives a psychological analysis of what Fox is doing: “This primes people for identity-motivated reasoning, which is a bias that essentially makes people accept or reject information based on how it serves to build or threaten group identity rather than on the merits of the content.” I’ll simplify this to what I believe – they’re BRAINWASHING their audience. And, they’re doing it in concert with Bannon and others, who remain anonymous, in the right wing world who consider individual 1 a “useful idiot.”

Make no mistake, individual 1 – despite NEVER having a popularity over 45% AND having a commitment from something like 54% of Americans who say they would NEVER vote for him – very well could end up re-elected – possibly leading me into the world of depression! Cambridge Analytica no longer exists, but the Russians AND Bannon – at least – still have the data AND the strategies they used to pull of the unimaginable in 2016 – and, of course, individual 1 is almost openly welcoming the Russians back in and why would they NOT want individual 1 in the White House for another four years. Putin has made HUGE advances due to the policies of individual 1 which almost seems as if he’s intent on “making Russia Great again.”

So, just as the Russians were targeting groups of American to foment their vulnerabilities and intensifying anger and hate, Cambridge Analytica was doing the same. Based on what Wylie has included in his book – and, by the way, he includes the names of those involved – it’s hard to believe there wasn’t “COLLUSION” between Bannon and Kushner and the Russians. They were doing, essentially, the same thing – sending targeted MISINFORMATION (“Fake News”) to groups of people they were able to predict, usually accurately, how it would be received. Their focus was on intensifying the cultural divide which was “simmering” in America.

Bannon understood the sad reality there was a large group of people in America who were latent racists and were susceptible to “fake news” designed to tear off the “scabs.” That was one of the focuses of CA’s (and that of the Russians) attack on America’s electorate. Of course, they were also working in concert with Fox – basically, using the prejudices of the Fox viewers (which they knew who they were) and working to intensify the HATE which was simmering with that group of people. Their strategy was completely based on attacking the cultural divide in America which manifests itself in multiple ways.

Not only was CA trying to make those susceptible to the “White Nationalist” bent, but they also went after those in the African American community in an effort to keep African Americans from actually voting at all. (Obviously, they knew it was unlikely many African Americans would vote for individual 1) Additionally, they had identified the members of the “conservative Christian” community and they “attacked” them with fake news which was tilted toward HATING liberals – who, of course, were identified as democrats. (I can guarantee you, this is continuing as I’m writing this) Their (CA) strategy was based on “attacking” people’s fears and vulnerability leading toward increased anger – and their work was extremely effective.

All of what went on in 2015 and 2016 (and which is ongoing) – whether coming from the Russians or Cambridge Analytica – explains what the pundits like I mentioned above (and many others as well) continue to wonder why republicans continue standing with individual 1 despite the reality he’s clearly the MOST corrupt (so-called) president in America’s history. (Today, I saw a segment showing the number of occasions which appeared to be examples of corruption coming from individual 1 and there were over 1000 examples of his self dealing since he took an oath to defend the constitution – which prohibits exactly that) A large segment of America has been BRAINWASHED. Yes, we all have our biases, but if you’ve ever attempted to dialogue with a Fox “news” viewer and seen the resulting throwing of things, you know what I’m talking about!

I would refer you back to the definition of a cult above. Clearly, based on both examples I listed – one regarding “religion” and one not – individual 1’s following would meet the definition of a cult. If that doesn’t get your attention, well, maybe you’re part of the cult. This is dangerous because there’s basically nothing “we the people” can say to influence this cult – because they are continually getting the same “fake news” from Fox and the Russians, among who knows who else. Yes, Cambridge Analytica no longer exists, but I’m certain their data, their research associated with that data, their methods of collecting and analyzing it still exists and, I’m certain it would be Bannon or the Mercers who have it.

This is all why I believe the misinformation campaign foisted on the unsuspecting American public is continuing as I’m writing this. In fact, this right wing “fake news” campaign is going on in various countries around the world. Sadly, this comes across as a populist movement, but the reality is that the issue of income inequality continues to get worse and it’s the people at the top (the so-called top 1%) who are the benefactors of the movement which has put their “useful idiot” in the White House. The bottom line here is creating a cult out of a political party is a “clear and present danger” to America’s republic!

Final Thought: When “we the people” are deciding who should be in the “White House” in November of this year my hope is the focus would be on the pressing issues such as CLIMATE CHANGE, health care, infrastructure, education, and, yes, an honorable immigration policy which is consistent with American history – among the many issues which are languishing in Moscow Mitch’s waste basket. During President Obama’s administration McConnell simply filibustered EVERYTHING – now, with the democrats passing something like 400 bills he simply “deep sixes” them – preventing even a debate and vote and MOST of what “we the people” want coming out of OUR Congress.

My hope is that with the clear and present danger of CLIMATE CHANGE being undeniable – as we are watching MILLIONS of acres in Australia burning (costing MILLIONS of animals like Koala’s and Kangaroos their lives) along with countless other examples of what is happening to our planet and the reality we can’t afford 4 more years of ignoring this threat to humanity – young people in America will head to the polls in November and VOTE in numbers never seen before. After all, it’s their lives on the line more than with old geezers like myself. Additionally, if there’s ever going to be a fight to mitigate gun violence in America the republicans have to “go.” And, health care? Right now, as I’m writing this, individual 1 is in court attempting to get rid of the Affordable Care Act (ie Obamacare) completely – with NO alternative.

Infrastructure? – nothing! (and, the issue with just roads and bridges would require at least a couple TRILLION dollars to bring existing structures up to code) Immigration? America’s immigration policy under individual 1 (and, of course, Stephen Miller) has been shameful! The “Dreamers” still are languishing in the courts, etc. I could go on and on with all this, but the bottom line is “we the people” need our young people to stand up and defend our republic in a way that works for their own best interest.

One More Thing: Last night it was reported Qasem Suleimani, the military leader of Iran, along with a military leader of Iraq were both killed at the airport in Baghdad. This is evidence of the power Mike Pompeo has over individual 1. Here’s the question: Are we headed for more intense WAR in the Middle East? Is this the result of individual 1 pulling America out of the “Iran Nuclear Agreement?” I heard a pundit on TV today suggest individual 1’s administration “wants regime change in Iran” – which, to me, is absurd (Do they know nothing of history – and how America was responsible for the Shah?) I wonder how many people around the world want “regime change” in America? Our voters will be challenged in November, because if “we the people” somehow send a message to the world that individual 1 is “acceptable” I believe this country will have forfeited it’s place as “the leader of the free world” for – maybe – forever!