;)
The Commentariat -- January 23, 2020
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
Juliet Eilperin & Brady Dennis of the Washington Post: "President Trump has said his plan to weaken federal mileage standards would make cars cheaper and 'substantially safer.' But the administration's own analysis suggests that it would cost consumers more than it would save them in the long run, and would do little to make the nation's roads safer. The revised Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles rule, which has not been released publicly, would require automakers to increase the average fuel efficiency of the nation's fleets by 1.5 percent per year between model years 2021 and 2026. Rules put in place by the Obama administration, by comparison, require a nearly 5 percent annual increase..... The new analysis, outlined in a letter Wednesday by Sen. Thomas R. Carper (D-Del.), projects that the benefits of Trump's proposed rollback would not significantly outweigh the costs. Trump's approach would lower the sticker price of new cars, according to the documents, but drivers would spend more at the gas pump over time by driving less efficient vehicles."
Jason Horowitz & Elizabeth Dias of the New York Times: "Pope Francis sought to shift the ideological balance of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States on Thursday, replacing one of his most prominent conservative critics as the archbishop of Philadelphia. Pope Francis announced in a statement that Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia was retiring, and that Bishop Nelson J. Perez of Cleveland, a former Philadelphian and relative newcomer to the national scene, would assume the role."
** Tim Golden & Sebastian Rotella of ProPublica in the New York Times Magazine: "The full story of the F.B.I.'s investigation into Saudi links to the 9/11 attacks has remained largely untold. Even the code name of the case -- Operation Encore -- has never been published before. This account is based on interviews with more than 50 current and former investigators, intelligence officials and witnesses in the case. It also draws on some previously secret documents as well as on the voluminous public files of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission."
~~~~~~~~~~
Michael Shear of the New York Times: "The House Democratic impeachment managers began formal arguments in the Senate trial on Wednesday, presenting a meticulous and scathing case for convicting President Trump and removing him from office on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, the lead House prosecutor, took the lectern in the chamber as senators sat silently preparing to weigh Mr. Trump's fate. Speaking in an even, measured manner, he accused the president of a corrupt scheme to pressure Ukraine for help 'to cheat' in the 2020 presidential election.... In a series of speeches, Mr. Schiff and the six other impeachment managers asserted that the president pressured Ukraine to announce an investigation of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his son, Hunter Biden, while withholding as leverage nearly $400 million in security aid for Kyiv and a White House meeting for its president. When he was caught, they said, Mr. Trump ordered a cover-up, blocking witnesses and denying Congress the evidence that could corroborate his scheme." ~~~
~~~ Kyle Cheney & Andrew Desiderio of Politico: "One by one, the seven House impeachment prosecutors seeking ... Donald Trump's removal from office reconstructed a case against the president so dense -- at times, head-scratchingly complex -- that it was hard for senators new to the material to keep up.... They decided to hammer senators with everything they had: an all-day torrent of intricate information, peppered with screenshots of deposition transcripts, emails, text messages and about 50 video clips -- nearly three times more than House Republicans used during the entirety of their arguments in the 1999 Clinton trial.... Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), one of Trump's top defenders, said Democrats have been presenting their case to the public like it's 'cable news' -- but lamented that the defense team's case presented more like 'an 8th grade book report.... Actually, no, I take that back,' he added, because an 8th grader would actually know how to use PowerPoint and iPads." ~~~
~~~ Seung Min Kim, et al., of the Washington Post: "... as Democrats softened their tone if not their message, Trump and his fellow Republicans dialed up their partisan rhetoric, with GOP senators largely ignoring [Chief Justice John] Roberts's ['civility'] admonition and leveling scathing attacks against the trial's prosecutors.... Trump..., in Davos, Switzerland, called the top House managers 'sleazebags while denouncing his impeachment as a 'hoax' and 'disgrace' to his presidency.... Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters Wednesday that any deal with Republicans on a witness trade involving the Bidens is 'off the table.' His remarks echoed those of [Adam] Schiff, the lead impeachment manager, who said 'trials aren't trades for witnesses.'"
~~~ The end of Adam Schiff's closing argument Wednesday:
Robert Costa of the Washington Post: "Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)..., said Wednesday that 45 Republicans are ready to dismiss the charges against the president and he would keep pushing to rally a majority of GOP senators to end the impeachment trial. 'There are 45, with about five to eight wanting to hear a little more,' Paul said in an interview with The Washington Post. 'I still would like to dismiss it, but there aren't the votes to do it just yet.' With support from other Trump allies, Paul said he would continue to pressure his colleagues in the coming days to move on from the trial and listening to the House's Democratic managers, including Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.)." Mrs. McC: Only 34 senators are needed for acquittal.
Architects of Cover-up Upset Somebody Noticed Cover-up. Heather Caygle & John Bresnahan of Politico: "Senate Republicans are fuming after Rep. Jerry Nadler accused them on the Senate floor of engaging in a 'cover up' to protect the president, seizing on his remarks Wednesday as a significant misstep that they say undercuts Democrats' impeachment case. The GOP criticism came as the House impeachment managers, including Nadler, began their opening arguments in the impeachment trial against ... Donald Trump on Wednesday, a presentation that could stretch over three days if Democrats use the entire 24 hours allotted to them." AND Lindsey is mostest upsettest of all: ~~~
~~~ Jeremy Stahl of Slate reports the full ticktock of Nadler's remarks & the subsequent high dudgeon, etc. He concludes, "Whether it was Schiff making a sardonic paraphrase of Trump's extortion attempt on Ukraine rather than quoting the text of his phone call directly, or an expert witness mentioning, in a clunky throwaway line, that the president's youngest son is named Barron, the president and his defenders have taken every opportunity to air their grievances at how the Democrats are allegedly mistreating them. When the time comes to vote again on whether to seek the evidence and testimony that the Trump administration has blockaded Congress from getting, McConnell's side will declare itself so offended by the partisan accusation of doing a cover-up that they will refuse to uncover anything new. It's easier than defending the president for things he's more or less openly admitted doing." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Indeed, Trump has "openly admitted" guilt on both articles of impeachment. (Article 1) He released the readout of the "I-would-like-you-to-do-us-a-favor-though" phone call, and repeatedly called the request "perfect"; then went out on the lawn & shouted that both Ukraine & China should investigate the Bidens. (Article 2) He boasted yesterday that he was withholding evidence -- "all the material" -- from House managers (story linked below).
Here's the New York Times' liveblog of Wednesday's impeachment trial (or "trial"). The Guardian's liveblog (which covers a range of stuff) is here. For instance (@11:35), Trump said of the service members injured by Iranian rockets that they "'had headaches and a couple of other things' which he deemed 'not very serious'." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Fuss & Fury, Signifying Nothing. Here's part of one NYT entry: "Mr. Trump fired off so many Twitter messages as his fate was being debated on the Senate floor that he set a record for any single day in his presidency. As of 4:45 p.m., he had posted or reposted 132 messages on Twitter [Mrs. McC: 142, as of 10 pm ET per a WashPo report by Kim & others, linked above], surpassing the previous record of 123 set in December, as he defended himself and lashed out at the House managers. Most of the messages were retweets of messages from allies and supporters assailing Mr. Schiff and others prosecuting the case." The Hill has a TrumpenTwitterStorm report here. ~~~
Burgess Everett & John Bresnahan of Politico: "After Trump's legal team emphatically supported McConnell's organizing resolution setting up a potentially speedy trial, the president mused in Davos on Wednesday morning about going the 'long way' on his trial, with testimony from a 'a lot of people,' including former national security adviser John Bolton, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former Energy Secretary Rick Perry. And though Trump ultimately left the question of how to handle the trial to the Senate, he made clear how he feels about whether to wind down the trial as quickly as possible: 'Personally, I would rather go the long route.' However, in an interview with Fox News later in the day, Trump then asserted 'it would be very bad for the Republican Party if we lost that great unity that we have right now' by voting with Democrats for witnesses."
Lamest Excuse Yet. Sonam Sheth of Business Insider: "... Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he's opposed to the former national security adviser, John Bolton, testifying in his impeachment trial because 'it's a national security problem.... He knows some of my thoughts,' Trump told reporters. 'He knows what I think about leaders. What happens if he reveals how I feel about another leader and it's not positive ... it would make the job a lot harder.' Trump's statement, however, underscores why Democrats believe Bolton's testimony is crucial: he 'knows some of' Trump's thoughts." Mrs. McC: There's nothing stopping Bolton from sharing "some of Trump's thoughts" in another venue; say, in a paid lecture or in a book. Although Trump himself does release classified information without giving it a thought, often at the expense of national security, Bolton is an old hand in the national security field and knows how to answer questions without compromising U.S. security. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
It's almost as if he's obsessing over something he doesn't understand at all. -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie ~~~
~~~ ** Wait, Wait! It Gets Way Worse: Trump Boasts about Obstruction of Congress. Dan Spinelli of Mother Jones: "'We're doing very well,' [Trump] told reporters before leaving the World Economic Forum in Davos, later adding, 'Honestly, we have all the material. They don't have the material.'... 'The second article of impeachment was for obstruction of Congress: covering up witnesses and documents from the American people,' tweeted Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.), one of the House impeachment managers prosecuting the case. 'This morning the President not only confessed to it, he bragged about it.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ As always, he says the quiet part out loud. -- Justin Hendrix, in a tweet
I did get to see some of it. It's a hoax. It's a total hoax. I think the team was really good. The facts are all on our side. -- Donald Trump, on the impeachment trial, in an interview ~~~
~~~ What Facts? Joe Concha of the Hill: "'Fox News Sunday' anchor Chris Wallace on Tuesday said that he would 'not be especially pleased' if he were President Trump watching the White House defense of him in the opening round of the Senate impeachment trial.... 'They are basically saying, there's nothing to see here, all of this is bogus, while the House managers are taking every second of their one hour to make whatever case they want to make,' [Wallace said].... 'And this is being watched by millions of people on the three cable channels, I don't know why you wouldn't take the time and every second you have to make an argument on behalf of the president.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Greg Sargent of the Washington Post: "In Davos, Trump spewed endless lies and distortions about the misconduct for which he's been impeached, while in effect reiterating his demand that his trial be rigged to keep that misconduct buried[. (Here Sargent runs down a list of Trump's lies.)]... By showing in Davos that he's entirely unrepentant about conditioning official acts to pressure a foreign power to help rig the next election on his behalf, and by again making it clear he'll act to keep Bolton under wraps -- both of which constitute conduct for which he was impeached -- Trump underscored the case against him."
E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post: "Democrats owe a debt to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.... By working with Trump to rig the trial by admitting as little evidence as possible, McConnell robbed the proceeding of any legitimacy as a fair adjudication of Trump's behavior. Instead of being able to claim that Trump was 'cleared' by a searching and serious process, Republican senators will now be on the defensive for their complicity in the Trump coverup."
** Scott Stedman, et al. of Forensic News: "A Russian government-controlled bank deposited at least half a billion dollars into the American subsidiary of Deutsche Bank around the time that the bank lent Trump his most scrutinized loans, according to exclusively obtained confidential bank records. As Trump received loans from the subsidiary, DBTCA, totaling over $360 million, Gazprombank sent $511 million in cash to DBTCA to be dispersed however the Russian bank directed.... The revelation that the Russian government was converting billions of rubles to dollars via the same Deutsche Bank subsidiary that lent to Donald Trump adds further intrigue to President Trump's finances and possible counterintelligence concerns." --s ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Bottom line: Donnie owes Vlad. Does Vlad own Donnie? Is it possible that the whole Ukraine thing is Vlad-ordered hit job? Yes, it is.
After a day of hobnobbing with billionaires in Davos, President Trump publicly revealed that cuts to earned Medicare and Social Security benefits will be on the table as soon as the end of this year. -- Richard Fiesta, Alliance for Retired Americans ~~~
~~~ AND Not a Good Re-election Look. Alan Rappeport & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "President Trump suggested on Wednesday that he would be willing to consider cuts to social safety-net programs like Medicare to reduce the federal deficit if he wins a second term, an apparent shift from his 2016 campaign promise to protect funding for such entitlements. The president made the comments on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Despite promises to reduce the federal budget deficit, it has ballooned under Mr. Trump's watch as a result of sweeping tax cuts and additional government spending."
Matthew Lee & Colleen Long of the AP: "The Trump administration is coming out Thursday with new visa restrictions aimed at restricting 'birth tourism,' in which women travel to the U.S. to give birth so their children can have a coveted U.S. passport. Visa applicants deemed by consular officers to be coming to the U.S. primarily to give birth will now be treated like other foreigners coming to the U.S. for medical treatment, according to State Department guidance.... The applicants will have to prove they are coming for medical treatment and they have the money to pay for it.... Donald Trump's administration has been restricting all forms of immigration, but Trump has been particularly plagued by the issue of birthright citizenship -- anyone born in the U.S. is considered a citizen, under the Constitution. The Republican president has railed against the practice and threatened to end it, but scholars and members of his administration have said it's not so easy to do."
** A Very Weird Take on Intellectual Property Rights. I spoke to [Elon Musk] very recently, and he's also doing the rockets, he likes rockets, and, uh, he does good at rockets too.... And I was worried about him because he's one of our great geniuses, and we have to protect our geniuses. You know, we have to protect Thomas Edison, and we have to protect all of these people that, uh, came up with, originally, the light bulb and the wheel, and all of these things. -- Donald Trump, CNBC interview
In other news, Thor announced he has obtained a U.S. patent on that circular stone thing, brand name TBA. -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie ~~~
~~~ SO This Is Not All That Surprising. Dan Spinelli of Mother Jones: "... Donald Trump downplayed the possible traumatic brain injuries suffered by nearly a dozen US troops earlier this month after Iran fired missiles at two military bases in Iraq. 'I heard that they had headaches, and a couple of other things,' he told reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos. 'But I would say, and I can report, that it is not very serious.'... But that is not the experience of veterans, who regularly deal with the consequences of traumatic brain injury, or TBI, suffered during combat, many of which can go unreported. 'TBI is the signature wound of today's wars,' a Center for a New American Security report found in 2018.... More than 408,000 service members have been diagnosed with a serious brain injury and the actual number of personnel affected is probably much higher, the Military Times reported.... Trump has often bragged about 'taking care of every warrior that returns home as a veteran,' but he has shown less interest in taking concussions seriously...."
"Driving Miss Trump." Your Taxpayer Dollars at Work. Justin Rohrlich of Quartz: "Vehicles rented by the US Secret Service to shuttle Ivanka Trump ... around Davos will add another $34,000 to the cost of the administration's two-day trip to this year's World Economic Forum, helping nudge the total price tag past $4 million." (Also linked yesterday.)
You might think with all the talking & tweeting & teevee-watching, the Dear Leader would not have time to do his presidenty* stuff. But no. He's still at it: ~~~
~~~ Carol Davenport of the New York Times: "The Trump administration on Thursday will finalize a rule to strip away environmental protections for streams, wetlands and other water bodies, handing a victory to farmers, fossil fuel producers and real estate developers who said Obama-era rules had shackled them with onerous and unnecessary burdens.... His new rule, which will be implemented in the coming weeks, is the latest step in the Trump administration's push to repeal or weaken nearly 100 environmental rules and laws, loosening or eliminating rules on climate change, clean air, chemical pollution, coal mining, oil drilling and endangered species protections." A Slate story is here. Mrs. McC: Great way to punctuate the end of his visit to the Davos climate summit.
Jonathan O'Connell of the Washington Post: "D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine sued President Trump's inaugural committee and business Wednesday, alleging that the committee violated its nonprofit status by spending more than $1 million to book a ballroom at Trump's D.C. hotel that its staff knew was overpriced and that it barely used. During the lead-up to Trump's January 2017 inauguration, the committee booked the hotel ballroom for $175,000 a day, plus more than $300,000 in food and beverage costs, over the objections of its own event planner. The committee was formed to organize the events around the inauguration, but Racine alleges it instead 'abandoned this purpose and violated District law when it wasted approximately $1 million of charitable funds in overpayment for the use of event space at the Trump hotel.... These charges were unreasonable and improperly served to enrich' Trump's business, the complaint reads. He alleges that Trump and his daughter, Ivanka Trump, were likely aware of the charges, based on documents Racine subpoenaed from the committee and the Trump Organization." (Also linked yesterday.)
Presidential Race
This Is So-o-o Stupid. Rebecca Klar of the Hill: "Rep.
Brian Kilmeade of "Fox & Friends" is very upset by a Mike Bloomberg campaign ad that knocks our Fearless Leader's attacks on the military. But Kilmeade ran the ad anyway, after which he proclaimed Trump's popularity with the military during an interview with Bloomberg campaign manager Kevin Sheekey.
Rebecca Falconer of Axios: "The [United Nations] is calling for an 'immediate investigation' by the United States and other countries into the hacking of [Jeff] Bezos' phone, which experts said may have been part of 'an effort to influence, if not silence, The Washington Post's reporting on Saudi Arabia." Mrs. McC: Yeah, I'm sure the Trump/Barr DOJ will get right on that. Related stories linked below. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ A Hill report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Jillian Ambrose of the Guardian: "BP has successfully lobbied US policymakers to weaken a landmark environmental law, clearing the way for major infrastructure projects to bypass checks. US government documents show BP America lobbied in favour of Donald Trump's decision to dilute legislation, which could make it easier for new projects, such as oil pipelines and power plants, to move forward with far less federal review of their impact on the environment.... The letter was discovered by Greenpeace's investigation unit.... BP has also called for air quality checks to be scrapped and to limit the changes government agencies can demand to help mitigate the environmental impact of major projects." --s
Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times on the racist tradition of the Second Amendment: "... every American has a right to gun ownership, but the paradigmatic gun owner "is still a white man.The reasons stretch back to our colonial origins." In some North American colonies in the 17th & 18th centuries, white men were required to own guns & ammo. "Mandatory gun ownership went hand-in-hand with strict gun restrictions, and in the emerging racialized polity of British North America, this meant banning guns among enslaved Africans and free blacks as well as strong prohibitions on selling guns to indigenous people." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: In the stories this week of the naming of the USS Doris Miller after the first black man awarded the Navy Cross, the standard version is that Miller was not trained on the machine gun he manned. There's a reason for that. From the WashPo: "The Navy was segregated, and mess was the only duty in which black men like Miller were allowed to serve."
Damian Carrington of the Guardian: "The amount of material consumed by humanity has passed 100bn tonnes every year, a report has revealed, but the proportion being recycled is falling. The climate and wildlife emergencies are driven by the unsustainable extraction of fossil fuels, metals, building materials and trees. The report's authors warn that treating the world's resources as limitless is leading towards global disaster. The materials used by the global economy have quadrupled since 1970, far faster than the population, which has doubled." --s Mrs. McC: And tonnes are heavier than tons.
News Lede
New York Times: "Jim Lehrer, the retired PBS anchorman who for 36 years gave public television viewers a substantive alternative to network evening news programs with in-depth reporting, interviews and analysis of world and national affairs, died on Thursday at his home in Washington. He was 85." Lehrer's PBS News obituary is here.
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Reader Comments (21)
"Mrs. McC: And tonnes are heavier than tons."
More fun with math. As most are aware, one US (short) ton equals 2000 pounds.
There's also the Imperial (long) ton that equals 2240 pounds based on one stone equaling 14 pounds in the British system.
One metric tonne equals 1000 kilograms. A kilogram equals 2.2046 pounds. Therefore, a tonne is 2204.6 pounds, heavier than a short ton but less than a long ton.
@unwashed: Right. A rose is a rose is a rose, but a ton is not a tonne is not a metric tonne.
The case against the Orange Menace is so absolutely clear that the littlest obstructionist traitor, Li'l Randy, sez he can't see anything, so let's just dismiss the whole thing and get back to grifting.
This is like wandering through the wreckage in the wake of an F5 tornado and declaring that everything looks fine. No problems. Very likely, more than anything, the littlest traitor simply hasn't seen his name in print lately. Other entirely undeserving people like Adam Schiff and Elizabeth Warren and Mitch McConnell are all over the place. Li'l Randy's standard whine "What about me? ME Me me me, MEEEEE??" has once again flipped a switch in the soggy Aqua Buddha brain stem.
Listening to bits of yesterday's presentation by the House managers, what became obvious (as it has been all along) is the fact that no reasonable observer could look at the evidence and say, as pearl-clutching confederates are doing (along with the littlest pearl-clutcher), that there's nothing there. The acid test for this outrageously stoopid assertion (which could only be made by mental defectives or crooks in bed with the Orange Traitor) is to just imagine the howls of outrage had this evidence been leveled against a Democratic president. Detection devices on the other side of the galaxy would be pinning the needle.
Stopping help to strategic allies in the international battle against Russian aggression? For PERSONAL GAIN?? Quid pro quos for help? Baldfaced obstruction? Giving congress the finger at every turn? Then BRAGGING about it?
They'd vote for a return to hanging.
But it's one of their own?
Dismiss all charges. And let's get back to stealing more elections. And the usual quid pro quos with their constituents. Pay to play is not just a presidential prerogative.
And speaking of roses (and tonnes, and stuff...)
Years ago, just out of school, my brother and I drove up to Canada, the Maritimes, to do some backpacking for a month or so. After a stop at a gas station, we were trying to figure why it took fewer gallons to fill the tank. Then it hit us. We were getting imperial gallons. This realization became even more pleasant when, on the way home, we stopped at a pub in Quebec and enjoyed a couple of imperial pints. Pas mal.
@Akhilleus: What? An ophthalmologist who can't see? Maybe the National Board of Ophthalmology should review his license. Oh, wait. He sort of is the National board of Opthalmology.
Marie,
Not exactly. Li'l Randy is the president of the Irrational Board of Ophthalmology.
Please tell me what in the holy hell Princess Ivanka was doing in Davos? What the fuck does she even do, that we're paying $34,000 just to ferry her expensively clad ass around town? And that's just for transportation. What about the five star hotel accommodations for herself and her retinue (you know she doesn't stay at Swiss version of Motel 6 or a student hostel)? What about food and drinks for her and her mooching, do-nothing-as-well hangers-on? No wonder Munchkin is loath to let the public (or even Congress) know how much the Trump Crime Family dents the taxpayers for in their world travels designed almost exclusively to fatten their own wallets?
What.Does.She.Do?
I've encountered a number of whiney bitches in my lifetime, but
watching Lindsey Graham, he takes the cake for whiniest.
Trump, described in 4 words or less: crude, rude, lewd and, hopefully,
screwed.
Forrest,
Did we go to college together? Your comment reminded me of a long-forgotten standard bit of opprobrium bandied about at our reading period poker games. Disreputable scalawags (usually the guy across the table whose full house beat your three of a kind) were routinely described as being crude, rude, lewd, base, bogus, and barbaric.
I'll happily vote for the addition of "screwed" if by some mystical plaint for justice in the universe it comes to pass.
Not to distract from the Big Show, but because there is a local connection to this growing horror in our midst (Arlington is my home town and Skagit County is where I live) I found these two pieces of especially creepy interest.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/22/us/white-supremacy-the-base.html?action=click&module=News&pgtype=Homepage
And...
https://www.thedailybeast.com/kaleb-james-cole-atomwaffen-divisions-washington-state-leader-stripped-of-arsenal-in-us-banned-from-canada
On second thought, not a distraction at all.
Though the encouragement of white supremacy isn't an item on the restricted list of charges the House managers are bringing, I'd suggest viewing those charges as indicator species only, representative of the Great Grift of the Pretender presidency that soils it top to bottom.
And if there is some way for the prosecution to make this reality clear during the "trial," it would give me great joy.
Those smarties on the Dem side have to be thinking about it.
Ken,
What a piece of work you got there. This Kaleb James Cole (why is it that certain types--such as serial killers--go by three names?) is clearly so dangerous and unhinged that Canada booted his Nazi ass out of the country and banned him for life (now THAT's what deportations are for. Getting rid of fascists who threaten race wars, not because someone wants a better life for their kids). The US? We just take his toys away.
This guy and his ilk have all crawled out from under the petrified shit mounds they'd been hiding in since Donald John Trump came into power and proclaimed that they really are nice guys.
There are so many reasons to get rid of the Orange Menace. There must be dozens at this point. The Democrats just picked a couple of obvious ones.
AK and Ken: The rumor abounds around tonnes & tonnes of thems that threaten Civil War if Fatty is forced out of office. They say they will slash and burn, carry off kiddies and old people and shut them up in caged facilities, shoot anyone who smells like a democrat and generally cause a great big ruckus. We have so much to look forward to––and meanwhile the Orange menace wants us to protect Thomas Edison who, according to him, Edison is still living somewhere in New Jersey turning on his lights.
And speaking of lights––the remarks from Trump re: the above seriously speaks of a dim bulb that is about to go out. Are we witnessing more of a cognitive impairment than we thought? And the fact that he tells us he's got all the info–-and he ain't gonna give them to us––smacks of a criminal who admits he has hidden the evidence.
Schiff's sign-off was powerful but will it move the usual suspects? The nature of honor, the price of loyalty, the ways that a person's actions are a matter of character––Will it matter?
As offensive to good sense as I find it, I get why the Pretender will grace the Right to Fetal Lifers with his corpulent presence, and I understand why he's declared war on clean water and air.
He needs his simple-minded single issue evangelical and corporate polluter bases, but speaking of dim bulbs, I don't understand what the Pretender is up to when he announces intended cuts to Social Security and Medicare in the run up to November.
Even the not quite so dim bulb Bush II didn't try that until he'd been re-elected and we all saw how that worked out for him.
Can someone explain?
PD,
President Simpleton left off before confiding that Thomas Edison used a few of those round things to roll over to Frederick Douglass’ house to install some of those new lightbulbs. How those actually present for utterances of such bulletproof senility can maintain a straight face, I haven’t the foggiest.
@Akhilleus: If I were a candidate for president, I would bring up Trump's mental deficiencies time and again. I would do it in a respectful way, a Susan-Collins-"concerned" way, but I'd make sure it was out there that Trump was senile (of course this might not work well for Joe Biden, who also says stupid stuff). I'd make sure it was out there because I'd mention it again and again, not in barnburner speeches but in interviews, in small groups of Iowa voters, etc. I'd come with receipts. I'd pull them out & quote Trump directly. Pretty soon my Susan-Collins-concern would find its way to front pages of the papers. People would criticize me. I'd persist.
Then I'd come with big photos of Trump red-faced and raging. I'd quote unhinged tweets. I'd quote some of his reported blow-ups, expletives implied. I'd bring a notebook-full. I'd have tabs on the worst stuff and I'd trot it out again & again.
I think that approach would work a helluva lot better than coming up with another new healthcare plan. Surely voters are at least as afraid of a demented president* as of a corrupt one.
Marie,
But corrupt AND senile is the worst of all possible worlds. Now, Fatty's MAGA fans won't care because a lot of them are just as crazy, and they love his corrupt ways (anything to piss off liberals), but to those in the middle, the chimerical "independents", it might matter that the guy with the most powerful job in the world is barking mad.
And remember, that plan of attack has already worked in a previous presidential election: "In your guts, you know he's nuts". Now, Goldwater wasn't corrupt, and he may not have been nuts, but at that time, with mushroom clouds popping up in the American west and all across the Pacific, the thought of anyone even a little bananas with their hand on the button scared the bejesus out of a lot of people.
Plus, it's a very tangible type of appeal. Talking policy and pointing out Trump's many illegal and greedy machinations, his dismantling of governmental departments and agencies, his handing over of power to the oligarchs and Savonarolas, the ideological nutjobs and the Nazis, leads to glazed eyes and muffled ears.
But everyone has, or has a friend with, a crazy Uncle Charlie who yaps about how he's gonna shoot the neighbor who steals into his yard at night to piss in the flower bed, and disrupts family gatherings with his fly-down ranting. Voters who can't relate to the Ex-Im bank or constitutional protocols, understand implicitly how important it is to deprive Uncle Charlie of the car keys.
And, as you point out, it's not like there's no evidence of Fatty's dottiness. He can barely eke out a complete sentence without careening drunkenly down Crazy Lane (we gotta protect the guy who invented the wheel??). Impeachment won't do it. Maybe this will. No matter how much Midnight Mitch, Testicle Cozy Lindsey, and the treasonous Fox swindlers try to cover up for him, the Dotard in Chief's senility is QED, 24/7. Film at 11. And 5. And 6. And...
Today is a historic day. It's the 1st Impeachment by Powerpoint.
Corruption everywhere.
We expect it in those s-hole countries, of course, defined by their poverty and linked rampant corruption. Too bad it's become our new national model, which I guess that makes us one of those s-hole countries, too.
And have to get past my bias and begin to think thuggery also comes in female form.
This one sounds like a good match for the Pretender should he get tired of Melania.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/23/world/africa/angola-santos-embezzlement.html?
@Akhilleus: While I don't doubt there are Trump voters who are nihilists & would therefore find his dementia an "attractive" quality, I think evidence of his dottiness would make most Trumpbots think twice. They may actually admire his corruption because they think conniving, lying and bullying show strength; they equate grifting with cleverness and outsmarting one's opponents: just the kind of quality you need to bring down Li'l Kim or the effete French guy. But senility? Not so much. C'mon, wussy Democrats; put it out there.
@unwashed: Is that Powerpoint? I've been impressed with the way the managers are controlling their exhibits. I keep imagining myself up there saying, "Let's watch" and what comes up is a completely unrelated clip.
"Can someone explain?"
He lies. A lot. And says whatever enters his head, no thought check.
At least that's what I heard.