I’m writing this in the (unlikely) hopes a republican would somehow find their way to this site. Just think about this as you’re considering your continued support of individual 1: When it’s time for the “presidential library,” well, “we the people” will have to ask the Russians for the details of what transpired during individual 1’s “administration.” It’s becoming more and more clear that individual 1 goes out of his way to make sure “we the people” are UNABLE to know what he’s “up to.” He uses his private cell phones to communicate with his personal associates along with his contacts outside the U.S along with berating anyone who might be taking notes.

American law prevents our intelligence community from “listening in” to our so-called president’s phone calls while the Russians, the Chinese, and who knows who else are not restricted and likely know MORE about what he is doing than “we the people.” Now, for one, despite individual 1’s refusal to honor the presidential records act I do not want to give up my 4th Amendment right to privacy. The solution to all of this is for “we the people” to vote in record numbers to cleanse this nation of both our so-called president but, also, as many republicans in the Senate and House that we can possibly vote into the history books.

Now, except for one really (well, OK, two) important factor(s), I’d be confident our so-called president will be sitting in those history books right next to Benedict Arnold come November of 2020 – with Mitch McConnell, William Barr, Mike Pompeo, Mike Pense, and I could go on – sitting right next to him. So, what are the factors which might make this problematic? First it would be the Supreme Court’s purge of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the second “factor” would be that we know the republicans are going to CHEAT!

Let’s talk about the second “factor” first. It’s no secret individual 1 willingly CHEATED to “win” the election in 2016. EVERYONE knows about the “Russia if you’re listening” point in the 2016 campaign where individual 1 solicited the help of the Russians to “win” the election. If you read the Mueller report (which is unlikely, because, apparently ONLY 1% of us did – I say “us” because I read it twice) you would know there WAS “collusion” despite William Barr’s successful knocking down of the report before it was actually published with his dishonest “summary.” (Of course, Barr has clearly shown himself to be willing to participate in the CHEATING for the 2020 election) And, the republicans have shown themselves to be “on board” with the willingness to CHEAT shown by their “leader.”

Now, let’s look at the other “factor.” Within days of the Supreme Court’s gutting of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 we saw state governments, curiously ALL being led by republican governors, implementing voter SUPPRESSION tactics designed to make it more difficult (if not impossible) for varying groups of people who likely vote for democrats to actually vote. Some of these schemes have been overturned by other courts, but the reality is there is a concerted effort by republicans – wait, I just thumped myself on the side of the head, this scheme has been going on for my lifetime and I’m closing in on 73 – to prevent blocks of people who MIGHT vote for democrats from making it to the polls – like, for example, African Americans and immigrants. This, of course, is also CHEATING! (Maybe why so many republicans continue to support individual 1)

Just the other day there was a vote in the House of Representatives to “fix” the damage done to the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court and ONLY one republican voted in favor of the bill. As we all know, the bill will simply be put on the pile of other bills passed by this Congress in the House and sent to the Senate to die under the “watchful” eye of Moscow Mitch. That pile is now getting close to 400 bills passed by the House which will never see the “light of day” as long as republicans, and therefore Moscow Mitch, control the Senate.

This brings up the important reality that it’s not only CRITICAL to vote individual 1 into the history books but it’s IMPERATIVE the voters turn the Senate “blue.” If the democratic party proves unable to make the case to people across this nation as to the seriousness of these two things happening, well, we deserve what we get. If you haven’t been paying attention, individual 1 is turning the image of America into a laughing stock world wide.

Not surprisingly, people in places like Canada, Mexico, Europe – both Western and Eastern – are anxiously waiting to see how “we the people” respond to what is clear to them – an attack from within on the very fabric of our nation. The right wing assault on people who believe in democracy, of course, goes well beyond the borders of the United States. And, sadly, some of the very people in America pushing this, what amounts to a white nationalist movement, challenge against democracy are busy in Europe as well. I’m talking about (deplorable) people like Steve Bannon. Make no mistake, there are many around the world who are hoping for American leadership in this fight against white nationalism!

If you haven’t read “The Family” by Jeff Sharlet I suggest you give it a read. It gives an insight into the surreptitious group of WEALTHY people around the world who believe THEY have the right to “rule the world.” We’re talking about many of the BILLIONAIRES you hear Bernie and Elizabeth warning “we the people” about, although a couple of them are actually running as democrats. Personally, I actually could see myself actively supporting Tom Steyer. I chose to send Steyer $1 in order to help him on the debate stage. After all, he’s been at the forefront of the “need to impeach” as long as just about anyone. I’ve said I believe democrats would be making a mistake to rule him out simply because he’s been very successful in business. (In my mind, he’s clearly a “progressive” – or LIBERAL – take your choice)

Getting back to “The Family” it lays out a clear vision of the so-called “Christians” in Washington DC who are “pulling the wool” over the “eyes” of a significant number of Americans who consider themselves “evangelical Christians” and believe right wing judges who may overturn Roe are a trade-off for what, I believe, they either don’t understand what is happening or they, sadly, don’t care. It really does make me angry when I see an American wearing a shirt which says “I’d rather be Russian than democrat.” These are people who have no idea who did the FIGHTING for the privileges they take for granted. I almost want to say to them – “Move to Russian then!” These members of the “Family” believe those of us who are not the “rich and powerful” don’t deserve to be involved in the decision-making of this country.

These people have included some of the worst dictators around the world in some of their “prayer breakfasts.” In fact, this is the group that originally came up with the annual “prayer breakfast” which included presidents of both parties. It would likely make my skin crawl to hear individual 1 at this breakfast, but it has welcomed, for example, Indonesia’s Suharto as an example I can remember off the top of my head. This group would include the dominionists – if you’re not sure who that would be, “look it up.” But, that would explain why so many of the leaders of the so-called “Christian right” are part of this right wing assault on America’s republic.

Sadly, in all of this, we’ve learned how so many otherwise well meaning Americans have proven susceptible to the “Big Lie” strategy (see my previous couple of posts) of individual 1 and the republicans who don’t think twice before LYING directly to the faces of their supporters. If you’re one of those getting LIED to, TURN OFF Fox “news,” quit watching your Sinclair network news outlet, and/or double check the information you’re allowing into your head. Today, I tried to watch the impeachment hearing in the House Judiciary Committee, but STILL, one republican after another spent their time furthering the Russian talking points about how “Ukraine did it.” Even though I see this over and over, I have trouble believing virtually ALL the republicans are doing Putin’s “bidding.” Yikes!!!

Final Thought: During individual 1’s time in office we’ve often heard about how he’s going to “drain the swamp.” Well, as far as I can tell, he’s FILLING the swamp, not “draining” it. And, his most successful “addition” to the swamp, it appears to me, is William Barr. I’ve said this many times on this site: I expect Barr to end up right next to individual 1 in the History Book section presently dominated by Benedict Arnold. I believe, when all is said and done, it will be determined individual 1’s potential DAMAGE to America FAR exceeds anything Mr. Arnold ever accomplished.

Individual 1’s brazenous is almost beyond belief. While he’s being impeached largely due to Rudy Giuliani (and “The three amigos”) attempting to get the Ukrainians to investigate Joe Biden (as the so-called president’s lawyer) which is clearly ILLEGAL – a clear violation of American campaign finance laws – Giuliani is over in Ukraine doing it AGAIN! It’s as if both Giuliani and individual 1 can’t stop – like they both are above the law. Neither are able to admit they’ve ever made a mistake and, as my former basketball coach used to caution against, don’t let one mistake lead to another. That they’re still doing this in the face of impeachment is incredible!

Oh yes, one more almost unbelievable act of brazenous by our so-called president. While the House Judiciary Committee is recommending Articles of Impeachment – almost to the minute – individual 1 will be meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov in the Oval Office. That’s correct, instead of giving Ukrainian President Zelensky the meeting he feels is so important (Zelensky had a meeting with Putin today in an attempt to get the Russians out of his country) individual 1 will be sending the WRONG signal to Ukrainians as he meets with Lavrov! OMG!

I was driving around today listening to Chuck Todd on MSNBC and found myself yelling at the radio in my car as Todd and his guest were musing about how “conservatives” seem to be successful in manipulating public opinion via a series of LIES which get repeated often enough for “regular people” to begin to either believe the LIES or question known facts. I just had to wonder how many “commentators” in positions to have LARGE audiences like Mr. Todd and who claim to be political “experts” continue to short change “we the people” regarding what is REALLY happening to America’s republic.

I keep waiting for someone who’s in a position to matter to tell this like it is. Here’s the TRUTH – This organized strategy to rely on LYING to keep their “sheep” in the “herd” comes directly from the Third Reich. It’s called the “Big Lie Theory” and it was the brainchild of Joseph Goebbels who was Adolph Hitler’s minister of PROPAGANDA. The theory goes like this (it’s very simple): If you repeat a LIE often enough people will eventually believe it’s true. This is why you hear phrases like “no collusion no obstruction” at every opportunity from individual 1 because he knows this theory works. It worked for the Nazi’s and it’s working for the republicans. (Pay attention – you’ll see the “key words” coming from the mouths of multiple republican sycophants and repeated over and over)

I know you’re not supposed to refer to Nazi’s when talking about American politics but, the reality is, “we the people” SHOULD have been making these references long ago (well, actually, I’ve been doing so for several years now). We’ve actually been BRAINWASHED (by well meaning people) to believe something like a fascist takeover of this country is impossible and, because the HOLOCAUST was so horrific and because so many died fighting Hitler in WW II we’ve all (Americans) been led to believe “it can’t happen here.” (Many say, “Don’t talk about it.” Well, here’s the rub: “Those who deny history are destined to repeat it!”)

Well, to those who say we shouldn’t say the word “Hitler” o mention the term “Nazi,” think again! Not only are there people in positions of importance (like Mr. Todd) who seem to be unable to do the research necessary to be able to take this seriously and report accurately what is actually happening, but there’s a lot of DAMAGE which has already been done. For example, I saw results of a recent poll (I’m not sure of the poll) which stated that a plurality of republicans believe individual 1 is a better president than Abraham Lincoln. Really, I’m not kidding! For heaven’s sake, a majority of republicans still believe President Obama is a Muslim! I could give more examples, but you get the idea!

That just reminded me of the times I’ve referred to some in the republican party as “STUPID” – almost apologetically – because I love my country and it pains me to think there’s a large segment of people who are so susceptible to the above referenced NAZI propaganda scheme. There are even republican Senators and Congresspersons who continue spewing the Russian propaganda that it was Ukraine who “interfered” in the 2016 election despite the FACT they know this is a Russian “talking point.” The FACT we have republicans doing the bidding of Vladimir Putin seems almost unbelievable to me – as someone who’s been following politics in America since Dwight Eisenhower was president. However, the lure to preserve POWER at all costs seems to cause those susceptible to CORRUPTION to show their moral weakness.

Republicans always tried to portray themselves as the party of national defense (and, of course, the “party of family values”) so who would have believed they’d be pushing the conspiracy theories of Vladimir Putin. Republicans KNEW individual 1 was fully CORRUPTED when they voted for him in 2016. For example, do you really think there was ONE of them who believed individual 1 when he claimed ALL of the 20, or so, women accusing him of sexual misconduct were LIARS? Do you really think all of them who called him the LIAR he is before he was “elected” think, at this moment in time, he’s a truth teller? Really, that would be absurd – even for today’s republicans. Here’s the reality: They have NO moral compass! Full Stop!

And, of course, because of the above mentioned “Big Lie Theory” their scheme is working on “their own” supporters. I saw another poll which suggested a significant portion of republicans would be happy to get rid of our “checks and balances” AND the judiciary’s ability to “check” THEIR president. In fact many of them have said they’d “rather be Russian than a democrat.” Yikes!!! Of course, they believe there’s no way individual 1 will lose the election in 2020 and, maybe, that he’d somehow run again in 2024 – or, maybe Jared or individual 1 Jr. would somehow take over – you know, like the monarchy our fore fathers fought against for our INDEPENDENCE!

So, for any right winger who might pass this way (or someone who likes to read books) I would recommend reading “Bonhoeffer, Pastor, Martyr, Spy” by Eric Metaxas. For those who don’t read, which is apparently MOST of America (I believe including many Congresspersons), I’ll give you a quick history lesson. What happened in Germany in the 1930’s has way too many parallels to what is happening in America today – not the least of which is the republican’s dependence on Goebbels’ “Big Lie Theory” as I mentioned above, in order to spread their deplorable message onto their unsuspecting “base.”

Just as republicans are using the Nazi propaganda scheme to fool their followers – the make-up of their so-called “base” is very similar to that of the Nazi’s – which may surprise many Americans who haven’t spent time studying the basics of World history. The so-called “Christian right” (evangelical “Christians”) appear to be the “base” of individual 1’s “party” just as “Conservative Christians” made up the base of the Third Reich. In both instances the bases of the fascist movements met the definition of cults. ( a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object.)

People like me – I’m a Christian – struggle to understand how others who read the same Bible as I do can even stomach individual 1 let alone, from some quarters I’ve heard, call him the “chosen one.” Talk about heresy! But when you study history you see this is simply history repeating itself as it often does. That I get. What I don’t get is when you have people in positions like Chuck Todd – the commentator I was listening to today – pondering the phenomenon of right wing talkers LYING repeatedly and trying to figure out why they’re doing it – with no apparent answer (other than “it works”) – i, well, as I said above, start yelling at my radio!

Mr. Todd, you’re supposed to know better. The democrats who are running for the democratic nomination for president should know better and should be EXPOSING, at a minimum, that republicans are using the Nazi propaganda scheme in order to FOOL their followers (and, anyone who’s susceptible to mind manipulation). So, to Chuck Todd, (and Chris Matthews, and Chris Hayes, and Rachel Maddow, and Lawrence O’Donnell, and Brian Williams, and Nicole Wallace, and Ari Melber, and Katy Tur, and the rest of them at MSNBC – which is what I usually watch) maybe you should “fight fire with fire.”

Step one in stopping this right wing takeover of our nation is to identify what is actually happening. Yes, we all know individual 1 is DANGEROUS, we all know he’s a pathological LIAR, we all know our country will be unrecognizable should he CHEAT his way back into the “White House” in 2020. What we need to understand is how he’s doing this. The starting point in fighting back might simply be to EDUCATE “we the people” on the tactics the republicans are using. We know republicans are repeating the Russian talking points! How many people know they’re using the NAZI propaganda scheme to get their message across?

Final Thought: I would love to see those at MSNBC (and, presumably, those at CNN, and, maybe the network news outlets) point out, using the name of the scheme – “The Big Lie Theory” every-time they’re explaining how individual 1 or his sycophants are repeating the same PROVABLE LIE over and over again. Maybe then it will be more understandable to people as to why so many Americans are falling for individual 1’s shtick. OVER and OVER again, I’d like to hear commentators saying something like, “Here’s another example of the Nazi’s Big Lie Theory coming from individual 1, or “coming from………………………” (fill in the blank) (And, how about democrats exposing this in their advertisements and put the adds in “individual 1 territory”) Maybe more people would be willing to dialogue on actual FACTS if they knew the republican “alternative facts” were part of a scheme originally designed by the Nazi’s of the Third Reich!

I believe the republican party is facing a real dilemma as the date approaches where Senators will have to vote on whether or not they consider individual 1’s MOB like behavior which seems to have him closely connected to Vladimir Putin impeachable. They’ll have to decide if they want to set a precedent saying a president EXTORTING a foreign nation for personal political purposes is acceptable. They’ll be voting on whether a president who LIES almost every time his lips are moving is acceptable. I believe almost everyone of them will soil themselves as they vote to enable individual 1.

When I listen to Senators like Senator Kennedy from Louisiana, Graham from South Carolina, Johnson from Wisconsin, Rubio from Florida, and a bunch of others I get the sense they didn’t take the time to read Mueller’s report and they are unlikely to read any details coming from the House Intelligence Committee recommending individual 1’s IMPEACHMENT. In other words, it doesn’t matter to them what our so-called president has done – whether he really is a MOB boss or just acts like one – even though it’s APPARENT he’s committed MULTIPLE crimes since he took the oath of office to defend our constitution – a document he clearly has no idea what is in it. And, things appear to me to be worse.

How could it be worse than having a so-called president who is regularly BREAKING the very laws he took an oath to enforce? Well, the evidence individual 1 is a Russian ASSET becomes more glaring every day. I pointed out quite some time back that world leaders were figuring out how to “play” individual 1 (what’s that old saying? “Flattery will get you everywhere”) and, led by Vladimir Putin, these leaders – mainly the world’s most dangerous autocrats (Putin, Erdogan, MBS, Kim Jong un) are attempting to undermine the United States from within – something they can’t do otherwise. (Plus, many of the leaders of our allies are laughing at our so-called president)

Putin and the Russians are experts at what has been referred to as “active measures” and, with individual 1 in the “White House,” “we the people” are not able to fully fight back. Our nation is under attack and it comes across to me as if our “commander in chief” very well may be on the “other side.” If it wasn’t so serious, the response of out so-called “liberal media” would come across as comical as they attempt to avoid looking “partisan.” At times, I mean, you have to get creative to give individual 1 even the “sniff” of a benefit of doubt in regard to his criminality. Sadly, there are so many Americans willing to BLINDLY support this person who is destroying this nation – or, at least, creating DAMAGE that will be extremely lasting and, hopefully not permanent. And, I can tell you, I know people who support individual 1 and don’t care if he’s a Russian asset! Yikes!!!

Almost everyone thinks there won’t be a single republican voting to “convict” when all the evidence coming out today, as the House Intelligence Committee report on individual 1’s IMPEACHMENT is published, makes our so-called president look even MORE like a CRIMINAL! I’m guessing they won’t read the report (Lindsey Graham has already said he won’t read it) they’ll simply watch Fox “news” to see whether or not they should support individual 1. And, of course, there’s a reason Fox is referred to by many as “Trump TV.” (I just had the thought, again, individual 1 claimed his concern in Ukraine was “corruption” – that is so absurd coming from someone competing with Putin to be the most CORRUPT president in the world)

All these people who are choosing to side with individual 1 are becoming what I believe would be referred to legally as “accessories after the fact.” That would mean they’re part of the conspiracy. From all I can tell the following are those who should be expecting, at some point (after William Barr is no longer our Attorney General) to need lawyers: Well, let’s start with Barr himself – he’s very sly, but he was mentioned multiple times in the phone call which started the IMPEACHMENT inquiry, then, of course, Rudy Giuliani – who, it appears, was breaking multiple laws as he masqueraded as individual 1’s lawyer, and, of course, Mike Pompeo was on the “call” and has LIED about at least two things I’ve seen while watching him being interviewed on TV – actually pretending as if he had no idea what all this was about – sad!

We can’t leave out Mike Pense who also is acting like he simply doesn’t understand what all the “hoopla” is about – like Pompeo acting as if he “heard no evil, saw no evil.” These guys are all LIARS! Add to these “co-conspirators” Rick Perry, Mick Mulvaney, Gordon Sondland, Lev Parnos and Igor Fruman, and possibly even Devin Nunes and who knows who else. John Bolton, apparently, couldn’t stomach all this and decided to resign (or, was he fired?), but doesn’t feel the obligation to our nation to step up and TESTIFY – who knows, maybe he’s involved. This is all really bad and it’s not only BAD for “we the people” but picture if you’re in Ukraine and trying to fend off the attack coming from the Russians.

One reason Congress has been less popular than virtually any other public entity is because they’ve been exposed as having no guts when it comes to doing anything of significance over the past 30+ years. Well, it’s time for Congress to step forward and make it clear, with some kind of bipartisan vote that “we the people” will support Ukraine against Russia – full stop! The Ukrainian president, understandably, is likely feeling very nervous going forward as he still doesn’t have the meeting he wanted in order for the United States to demonstrate their solidarity. They NEED “we the people” to be unequivocal in our support! Obviously, Ukraine can’t depend on individual 1!

Speaking of Devin Nunes, I still remember, during the Mueller investigation, wondering whether or not Nunes was complicit in the OBSTRUCTION of the investigation. He came across as someone who was attempting to intimidate Rod Rosenstein (which appeared to be successful based on Rosenstein’s deplorable behavior at the end of the investigation) and Andy McCabe – intimidation which also proved to be successful as McCabe was fired within hours of him being qualified to retire (Which, to me, was another unthinkable act ordered by individual 1). In my mind Nunes was OBSTRUCTING the investigation – and, of course, Nunes got caught trying to create false “evidence” to support individual 1’s LIES!

Now, it’s being reported Nunes was part of the conspiracy to EXTORT the Ukrainians to help individual 1 in the next election – plus, in our so-called president’s never ending attempt to make himself look “legit” by DEFLECTING the reality it was the RUSSIANS who got him elected via their “active measures” (which MOST Americans still have no idea what that means) and, instead, that it was the Ukrainians. I’m sure it’s true there were many in Ukraine who took notice of the change to the republican platform instigated by individual 1 during the republican convention which favored Russia and made it appear that individual 1 was in favor of the Russian annexation of Crimea. That, of course, could very well cause some in Ukraine to favor individual 1’s opponent in the previous election – but, let’s be CLEAR, it was the RUSSIANS who attacked – and are still attacking – our nation! Every republican who spouts the “Crowd Strike” nonsense is spewing Vladimir Putin’s talking points! The idea the Ukrainians were criminally supporting Hillary Clinton is laughable. However, even if it was true, it wouldn’t justify individual 1’s EXTORTION scheme!

If you watched the House Intelligence Committee’s IMPEACHMENT hearings you saw one example after another of Nunes demonstrating the classic definition of projection. This seems to be how republicans operate – which often comes across as simply a pile of LIES. Nunes was “projecting” the Crowd Strike propaganda at every opportunity and he was attacking Adam Schiff in ways that made it seem as if Nunes was looking in a mirror. He accused Nunes of “Lying,” of being part of a conspiracy with the whistleblower, and of blocking the republicans from finding the “truth.” Of course, we now are finding out Nunes very possibly was part of the conspiracy to EXTORT the Ukrainians to help individual 1 in 2020 and, very clearly, he was working to DEFLECT attention from the TRUTH at all opportunities during the IMPEACHMENT hearings. And LYING???? You be the judge! :o)

Sadly, we all know that because Fox “news” has a large audience and, along with other right wing media outlets who could care less about the constitution going forward, there is a significant segment of America’s population who will get information which is slanted so that they will be deciding how to react to this constitutional crisis with “alternative facts.” Many of individual 1’s supporters could care less about the facts – for sure – but, there are many who might possibly realize the degree they are being manipulated if they actually had the FACTS.

The House Intelligence Committee report coming out of the IMPEACHMENT hearings is 300 pages and, like the Mueller report which preceded it, will likely be read by a significantly SMALL percentage of the American electorate. I read the Mueller report (twice – it’s a detailed and focused report) and discovered I was finally in the “1%” – it’s just that it’s the BOTTOM 1% – meaning that’s how many Americans read the report. In fact, I’m sure many in Congress – including many democrats – didn’t read it. So, how many will read this report? Probably not that many – so too many Americans will decide what they think based on whatever cable TV “news” outlet they watch/listen to. And, as I mentioned above, those who watch Fox “news” (ie Trump TV) will be brainwashed to the degree which you can’t even have a conversation with them.

Fox and other right wing bloviators (like Rush Limbaugh and the other right wing talkers right down to the locals – like Lars Larson who’s the local bloviator where I live – these are people who will spew the “party line” for money) will be busy brainwashing their audiences to believe this republican allegiance with Vladimir Putin is nothing to worry about. These people have been attacking “liberals” as the “enemy of the people” since the days of Ronald Reagan – which is largely responsible for the divided nation we now live in. Republicans hate “liberals” and they believe POWER is all that matters – which is why individual 1 appeals to them – he’s willing to LIE under any circumstances and NEVER gives an inch in the battle for POWER, even when he’s been caught with his “hand in the cookie jar.”

This is why, during the IMPEACHMENT hearings in the Intelligence Committee, there was NOT one republican who argued the FACTS in the allegations against individual 1 – at any point – during the hearings. Their “argument” was strictly either about the process or attacks on those who had the “temerity” to show up and testify – against the wishes of our so-called president. Republicans seem to live in fear of individual 1 which, to me, is really hard to understand. Apparently, in the republican “circles” anyone who has the nerve to “rock the boat” is in for a rough road ahead. I’ve yet to hear a single republican defend the EXTORTION of the Ukrainians.

It appears that the republican “strategy” is to continue pushing the “Ukrainians did it” nonsense which is the Russian propaganda or the “so what” strategy – as if none of this misbehavior is concerning. As I’ve stated, it should be no surprise to anyone that there were Ukrainians who would have preferred Hillary Clinton to win the 2016 election – based on the republican platform change I mentioned above – However, the idea they were the ones who attacked America and stole the DNC emails, etc. is almost beyond absurd. But, we’ve now got several republican members of the Senate pushing that Russian scheme in concert with Putin! Yikes!!!

Final Thought: I watched a bit of the House Judiciary hearing today which is a prelude to them drawing up Articles of Impeachment for the entire House to vote on and, as usual, it was almost embarrassing watching the republicans. I was thinking back to how embarrassing they were once they got Hillary Clinton in front of the Benghazi committee but they are now “outdoing” themselves. And, they had called Georgetown law professor Jonathan Turley as their constitutional “expert” and Mr. Turley has seemed to change his view in the years since Bill Clinton was impeached.

“Back in the day” (meaning the Clinton impeachment) Mr. Turley argued that the FACT President Clinton “lied in a court of law” he, essentially, had lost his right to lead this nation. (Those, of course, are my words) When you listen to his indictment of Mr. Clinton (who he claimed to have voted for) it was very curious to listen to him suggesting this impeachment process is going too fast. He seemed to be suggesting that the FACT individual 1 has BLOCKED virtually EVERYONE and EVERYTHING (meaning subpoenaed documents) from Congress is not obstruction unless the democrats go to court and get the courts to order the cooperation coming from the “White House.” Apparently, he was suggesting, if they would then continue to STONEWALL he’d either have to support impeachment at that point or come up with another enabling rationale.

Of course, beginning with the Mueller investigation, it has been apparent individual 1’s “strategy” has been OBSTRUCTION from day one. Their plan was to slow walk all of the requests for testimony or documents through the court process which would likely include appeals pushing virtually every issue up to or beyond the 2020 election. That’s the election individual 1 has made clear he’s planning to CHEAT in order to win – of course, a “plan” that would appeal, apparently, to the republican party which, as I’ve written many times, believes the “end justifies the means.” If individual 1 is allowed to get away with this ILLEGAL and deplorable behavior which has generated this IMPEACHMENT process our republic will be in grave danger. (Actually, I believe it already is) It’s really up to “we the people” to vote against ALL of these republicans come 2020 – with the reality our nation’s future is “on the line.”

Here we go again! Today it was reported in an interview between individual 1 and another alleged sexual predator Bill O’Reilly where our so-called president was asked about whether or not he was directing Rudy Giuliani in his ILLEGAL dealings in Ukraine and, as if he was talking about Michael Cohen, individual 1 responded, “Well, you’ll have to ask Rudy.” OMG! Then individual 1 added, “Rudy has other clients, I’m not his only client.” Question: “Did you ask Giuliani to go to Ukraine?” Answer: “No, but Rudy’s a warrior who fights against corruption.” Yikes!!! OK Rudy, get your “insurance policy” front and center! (Hint: Rudy was breaking the law)

I’ve personally seen at least two occasions where Giuliani has mentioned he has “insurance” – the first time I saw him do so he was holding up his cell phone. In that instance I was under the impression he was, essentially, threatening Mike Pompeo not to “throw him under the bus.” Apparently, Rudy’s got more to worry about than just Pompeo – as this second reference to his “insurance” was clearly aimed at individual 1. All of this reminds me AGAIN of my days as a sixth grade teacher (trust me, individual 1 OFTEN reminds me of the sixth grade BULLY) where there was a sign above the entrance to the principal’s office which read: “Tell the truth, there’s less to remember.” Well, individual 1 and those who surround him have a clear issue with telling the truth – and, it’s all starting to “pile up.”

People like Giuliani, Lev Parnos, and I’m sure others involved in the SHAKEDOWN of Ukraine really don’t like the idea of JAIL. And, there can be NO doubt our so-called president will “throw” every last one of them “under the bus” if it keeps him in office. Remember, once he’s no longer protected by the OLC memo which says a sitting president can’t be indicted, he’s facing a plethora of legal challenges – many of them of the CRIMINAL nature. Individual 1 has been acting as if the LAW can’t “touch” him for years – well before he became our so-called president. In fact, as much of this news broke tonight individual 1 was in Florida at another campaign rally thumbing his nose at the law and those who enforce it. And, those at his rally, as usual, willingly accept the reality THEIR president is constantly LYING to them!

As I listened to individual 1 in the Florida rally tonight I felt, for one thing, a sense of embarrassment that so many Americans fall for this bevy of LIES. Secondly, I had to think about reports of the Russians laughing at “we the people” that they could cause so much discord in our nation so easily. As I’ve said (and many others too) the Russians consider individual 1 as either a “useful idiot” or, quite possibly, simply an “idiot.” It really is embarrassing. Likewise, the FACT the republicans are “falling in line” and media outlets like Fox “news” are propagating every one of individual 1’s LIES – reporting as if they are actually journalists. As all the additional evidence comes out it’s hard to envision how Fox can continue to “toe the line.”

Individual 1 acts like a MOB boss and every indication is that he’s been doing this for the past 30 or so years. Sadly, his evangelical Christian base could care less – in fact, I keep hearing examples of people, who should know better, referring to individual 1 as the “chosen one.” That, to me as a (liberal) Christian is OUTRAGEOUS! I can’t even find the words to express my discouragement this is actually happening. I have a friend who I often refer to here who, is an individual 1 supporter, and he recently emailed me asking me to give a specific example of a law which was broken.

Of course, he seems to forget why I refer to our so-called president as “individual 1” – the name given him by the US Attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York regarding his role in TWO felonies – which, by the way, the above mentioned Michael Cohen is spending 3 years in JAIL for his part in the conspiracy. (Well, partially for) (Oh yes, as mentioned above, when individual 1 was asked about the payoffs leading to those FELONIES he said, “You’ll have to ask Michael.” Question: “Do you know where he got the money?” Answer: “No, again, you’ll have to ask Michael.” – Of course, the money came from individual 1 himself) However, I pointed out the soliciting “a thing of value” from a foreign government (or national) to help in an American election is ILLEGAL. Plus, I added, I believed the suspension of the Ukrainian funds which had been appropriated by Congress was likely ILLEGAL.

Well, part of what was reported tonight referred to the suspension of that aid which had been appropriated by Congress and that the suspension of the aid which, as it was done, very likely violated the Foreign Assistance Act. Yes, the president has the power to suspend aid which has been appropriated, but he FIRST must notify both Houses of the Congress and get their approval for the suspension. Obviously, this did not happen in this instance. In fact, as more FACTS come out the case against our so-called president becomes more and more damning.

When are individual 1’s supporter going to figure out what is happening to them – and, by extension, to “we the people?” Individual 1 is operating via the Big Lie Theory of Joseph Goebbels of the Third Reich and he’s lied so much that, as I’ve pointed out he’s pathological, he actually (likely) believes the LIES as they roll off his tongue. This is really dangerous. The past few days, as I’ve learned more and more, I’m feeling the urgency that he would be removed from office “sooner rather than later.” Should that happen you KNOW he would not go quietly. He could care less about America – in fact, my guess is he’ll be in Russia pushing Trump Tower Moscow within a “blink of the eye” after he’s gone from the “White House.”

I can guarantee you individual 1 will be urging his supporters who Hillary Clinton referred to as the “deplorables” to hit the streets and create a “noisy” response – of some, as yet, unknown amount of intensity. Remember, many of these people are heavily armed. Individual 1 will encourage them – and, likely, not in a “good” way. My individual 1 supporter friend I refer to has predicted a “civil war.” I have no idea what lies ahead except to say that I personally believe our constitutionally democratic republic is worth fighting for.

In 1968, shortly after my basketball career ended (I was an average player), I was a junior in College and I enlisted in the Marine PLC (Platoon Leader Corp) because I had been convinced our nation’s security was threatened by the “spread of communism” in Southeast Asia. – My first realization of the propaganda which can come from the “White House” – (Thankfully) Upon my reporting for Boot Camp (upon finishing that year of college) I was given a much more thorough physical and was given an honorable medical discharge due to a severe knee injury I suffered in high school playing football. That discharge may well be the reason I’m still here today, but my point is I was raised thinking this country is worth fighting for – and, I have seen nothing in my lifetime which compares with the threat individual 1 poses to this nation. Whatever it takes – hopefully, it will be peaceful to end this nightmare but, he needs to be removed from office.

The thought of Mike Pense as our so-called president makes my stomach curl almost as much as individual 1. While I certainly don’t believe the republicans in the Senate have the guts to vote to convict individual 1 once he’s been impeached it could be because the alternative is Mike Pense. I suppose even republicans would have a problem with Mike Pense who has come across as a true “lap dog” to our so-called president. (Although, before he became individual 1’s “lap dog” Pense was considered an actual “Christian” by the “base.”)

Final Thought: When I watch individual 1 at his rallies and I look at the people usually stationed directly behind him I feel a sense of embarrassment because I know people around the world are witnessing this. As a retired educator I keep asking myself how you could gather so many people together who seem to be smiling while they’re being LIED to. I’m sorry, but it comes across to me as a bunch of “lemmings.” I don’t doubt many in the audience are “very fine people” – I just can’t understand how they can absorb all the LYING which is intended to keep them in “line” – and they do so with no apparent thought.

I do live in the state of Washington which is often referred to as being on the “left coast” – but, what I’m talking about here are critical thinking skills – which is something I taught and emphasized to the sixth graders in my classrooms over the years. They would have been able to see right through the phony “garbage” individual 1 is spewing to these people. In the “rally” last night in Florida the audience, at one point, was chanting “No Quid Pro Quo” similar to the chants of “Lock her Up” during the 2016 campaign. This really does look bad when you think of our allies who are wondering how “we the people” could elect this thug as our so-called president.

Just like “Lock her Up” chants seem like a shameless irony because the number of his associates getting locked up continues to mount. (Maybe soon the list will include Rudy, Lev, Igor, and who knows who else) Chanting “No Quid Pro Quo” is just as absurd because, if you watched the hearings or if you’ve read the evidence, there’s NO QUESTION there was a “Quid Pro Quo.” Maybe those in the audience didn’t even know what that is – so, in case maybe one of them might find this site – what it is is BRIBERY. Your president (I’m speaking to those in the audience of the rally) committed EXTORTION as he was leveraging hundreds of millions in desperately needed military aid (aid which had been appropriated by Congress and was ILLEGALLY suspended by your so-called president) in return for the Ukrainians announcing they were “investigating Joe Biden.” Earth to individual 1 supporters: That’s a Quid Pro Quo!

And, speaking of irony and the chants of “Lock her Up” – I believe the main motivation individual 1 has regarding the upcoming election is trying to stay out of JAIL. It’s very possible he’s facing potential chants of “Lock him up” once he’s no longer protected by the OLC memo from facing the “music” on his criminal activity. (Activity which his evangelical Christian base curiously seems to “care less” about – a terrible “witness” for those of us how believe in spreading the Gospel message) I can picture people outside any courthouse individual 1 may ultimately have to “visit” once he’s out of office giving him the “Lock him Up” chant as he’s entering the building – kind of like what happened to Michael Flynn when he was going to court early in this fiasco.

OOPS! I finished this post several days ago – I’ve just gotten worn out trying to keep up with the OVERWHELMING case against individual 1 AND Giuliani AND many others. I hope all of these members of individual 1’s administration who are refusing to answer to subpoenas – whether for documents or testimony – ultimately face charges for contempt of Congress. If our laws are going to be publicly ignored our democratic republic is in more DANGER than we already understand!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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