;)
The Commentariat -- January 31, 2020
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
Kevin Rawlinson of the Guardian (@18:00 ET in Friday's liveblog): "The United Kingdom has left the European Union. As the clock struck 11pm GMT, the nation officially enacted the biggest constitutional change in living memory and, in doing so, became the first member state ever to leave the EU."
Mrs. McCrabbie: The motion to issue subpoeanas for documents & witnesses in the impeachment proceedings against Trump failed 51-49, with Romney & Collins voting with Democrats.
The New York Times' live updates of the impeachment proceedings are here. "Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, called a recess after the vote, but gave no indication how long it would last."
"... Adam B. Schiff ... rose one final time on Friday to appeal to a Senate that had already essentially made up its mind against him. Vote for additional witnesses and documents, he implored them, or risk 'long lasting and harmful consequences long after this impeachment trial is over.' Mr. Schiff's warning to senators was threefold: First, he said, it would set a dangerous precedent for every future impeachment trial that witnesses and evidence were not necessary; second, the facts about Mr. Trump's pressure campaign on Ukraine will come out regardless; and third, Americans will see that for the president, there is a double standard of justice." ~~~
~~~ "Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, said Friday she would vote against including new witnesses and documents in President Trump's impeachment trial.... In a statement released just as the House managers began pleading their case for witnesses, Ms. Murkowski called their impeachment articles too 'rushed and flawed' to warrant prolonging the trial. But she also said she had become convinced that the Senate would be unable to deliver a fair trial...." ~~~
"John F. Kelly, President Trump's former chief of staff and secretary of homeland security, said on Friday that the Senate would be known forever as a body that 'shirks its responsibilities' if it wraps up the trial of his former boss without hearing witnesses."
** Maggie Haberman & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "More than two months before he asked Ukraine's president to investigate his political opponents, President Trump directed John R. Bolton, then his national security adviser, to help with his pressure campaign to extract damaging information on Democrats from Ukrainian officials, according to an unpublished manuscript by Mr. Bolton. Mr. Trump gave the instruction, Mr. Bolton wrote, during an Oval Office conversation in early May that included the acting White House chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, the president's personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani and the White House counsel, Pat A. Cipollone, who is now leading the president's impeachment defense. Mr. Trump told Mr. Bolton to call Volodymyr Zelensky, who had recently won election as president of Ukraine, to ensure Mr. Zelensky would meet with Mr. Giuliani, who was planning a trip to Ukraine to discuss the investigations that the president sought, in Mr. Bolton's account. Mr. Bolton never made the call, he wrote. The previously undisclosed directive that Mr. Bolton describes would be the earliest known instance of Mr. Trump seeking to harness the power of the United States government to advance his pressure campaign against Ukraine, as he later did on the July call with Mr. Zelensky...." ~~~
~~~ Brett Samuels of the Hill has a summary report on the NYT story: "Cipollone's involvement in meetings about the pressure campaign on Ukraine would place additional scrutiny on the White House counsel. While leading Trump's defense in the impeachment trial, Cipollone has insisted there is no evidence of wrongdoing by the president and argued that the Senate does not need to hear from Bolton."
Steve Benen of MSNBC: "The lawyer for Lev Parnas ... reached out to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) this afternoon, sending him a letter signaling what Parnas would say if he's allowed to testify in the trial as a witness under oath. From the letter (pdf): 'If Lev Parnas was called as a witness, he would provide testimony based upon personal knowledge, corroborated by physical evidence..., which is directly relevant to the president's impeachment inquiry.... Mr. Parnas would testify to the efforts he and a handful of Republican operatives engaged in over a period of months, to remove Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch and gather 'dirt' on Joe and Hunter Biden. Mr. Parnas would testify that those holding various roles in this plot included GOP super PAC America First, President Trump, Vice President Pence, former Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Attorney General Bill Barr, Sen. Lindsey Graham, Congressman Devin Nunes, Nunes' Staffer Derrick Harvey, Journalist John Soloman, Attorneys Joe diGenova and Victoria Toensing, [Rudy] Giuliani, and others. He is prepared to review and explain relevant phone records, text messages, and other evidence in connection with these activities.'"
Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: The only "experience" Trump brought to the top job was his "professional" career building tall things. Let's see how well his sole area of "expertise" has worked out: ~~~
~~~ Bienvenido a los Estados Unitos. Nick Miroff of the Washington Post: "President Trump's border wall probably will require the installation of hundreds of storm gates to prevent flash floods from undermining or knocking it over, gates that must be left open for months every summer during 'monsoon season' in the desert, according to U.S. border officials, agents and engineers familiar with the plans. The open, unmanned gates in remote areas already have allowed for the easy entry of smugglers and migrants into the United States." ~~~
~~~ Just yesterday, we learned from Matt Stieb of New York that "... on Wednesday, Customs and Border Protection confirmed to CNN that newly-installed wall panels in Calexico, California were knocked down by wind gusts of up to 37-miles-per-hour, causing the metal slats to timber into Mexican territory[.]... The wall has faced a few setbacks that contradict Trump's claims of near-impenetrability, like in November when the Washington Post reported that smugglers were using reciprocating saws -- available for less than $100 -- to cut through sections of the steel-bollard barrier in minutes. And though the president has claimed that no one would be able to climb the wall, smugglers have found a simple summiting method, using rebar ladders to hoist up one side, and rope ladders to scale down the other."
Nishita Jha of BuzzFeed News: "A former aspiring actor [Jessica Mann] testified Friday that Harvey Weinstein forced oral sex on her, raped her, and then manipulated her into a sexually humiliating relationship, which she said included him wanting to film her having sex, urinating on her, and asking if she liked his 'big Jewish dick.'" ~~~
~~~ Pilar Melendez of the Daily Beast: "'The first time I saw him fully naked, I thought he was deformed and intersex,' [Jessica Mann] said, as Weinstein put his head into his hand. 'He has extreme scarring that I didn’t know if he was a burn victim but it didn't make sense. He does not have testicles and it appears that he has a vagina.'"
~~~~~~~~~~
The Guardian's liveblog of today's developments is here. @9:41 am ET: "A spokesperson for Mitt Romney has confirmed the Republican senator intends to vote in favor of calling witnesses in the impeachment trial."
Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Per Manu Raju of CNN: Susan Collins issued a statement at about 10:50 pm ET Thursday that she would vote for witnesses & documents. Lisa Murkowski said in a statement she's still thinking about it & won't make a statement Thursday. Mitt Romney has been pushing for witnesses. Lamar Alexander said he has made a decision, has informed Mitch McConnell of it & will put out a statement within about an hour (of 10:45 pm ET). ** Update: Alexander said no to witnesses & docs. ~~~
~~~ Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) announced Thursday night that he will vote against a motion to consider subpoenas for additional witnesses and documents at the impeachment trial, putting the chamber on track to acquit President Trump on Friday or Saturday. 'There is no need for more evidence to prove that the president asked Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden< and his son, Hunter; he said this on television on October 3, 2019, and during his July 25, 2019, telephone call with the president of Ukraine,' Alexander said in a statement released shortly after the Senate ended 16 hours of questions to the impeachment managers and lawyers for Trump's defense." ~~~
~~~ Nicholas Fandos, et al., of the New York Times: "Mr. Alexander's statement was a strong indication that Republicans had lined up the votes to block a call for more witnesses and documents on Friday and press toward a quick acquittal in the third presidential impeachment trial in history. His opposition was a significant victory for the White House and Republican leaders.... In announcing his stance, Mr. Alexander effectively conceded that the president had engaged in a corrupt effort to leverage taxpayer money to advance his own political objectives -- the basis of the abuse-of-power charge against him -- but said he had concluded such actions were not impeachable. He called the second charge, obstruction of Congress, 'frivolous.'" Mrs. McC: Because, naturally, a member of the royal court Congress would consider it "frivolous" when another branch of government's strips Congress of its Constitutional prerogatives. The GOP is more radical than any American fringe party. ~~~
~~~ Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said Thursday night that she will vote to allow new witnesses and documents as part of President Trump's impeachment trial in the Senate. Collins is the first Republican senator to formally say she will vote yes on a blanket up-or-down vote, scheduled for Friday, that would open the door to hearing from new witnesses as part of the Senate proceeding." ~~~
~~~ Mike DeBonis, et al., of the Washington Post: "The impeachment trial of President Trump is headed for a critical vote Friday that will determine whether the Senate hears from witnesses over allegations that the president pressured Ukraine to launch investigations for his own political benefit. But Senate Republicans are increasingly confident no new testimony will be heard and they can start on a sprint toward Trump's acquittal.... Some Republicans said they hope the trial will be completed Friday with a vote to acquit Trump.... One outside possibility is that the Senate will deadlock on the question of calling witnesses. That would put Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. in the position of breaking the tie -- a role Democrats are urging him to play. But there is little expectation Roberts would weigh in on such a politically thorny question and instead would allow the tie to result in no witness being subpoenaed." A Politico story is here.
Marina Pitofsky of the Hill: "Former national security adviser John Bolton at a private event on Thursday defended the officials who testified in the House impeachment inquiry into President Trump. Bolton, speaking in Austin, Texas, said members of the Trump administration should 'feel they're able to speak their minds without retribution,' KXAN reported. The former national security adviser defended former National Security Council senior director for Europe and Russia Fiona Hill, former top National Security Council aide Tim Morrison, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, Bill Taylor, the former top U.S. diplomat to Ukraine and former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, the outlet reported." Mrs. McC: You didn't testify, Mr. Mustache, because ... book sales???
Mara Gay of the NYT editorial board said on MSNBC Thursday night something I've been thinking about throughout this Potemkin trial: that she felt just as she felt growing up black -- that her country had failed her. No matter what color we are, today is a day the best of us are all black Americans. The worst of us -- and there are millions of them -- have carelessly accepted or support the right-wing machine.
Adam Schiff is remarkable. Listen to how he not only thinks on his feet but also nails it on his feet:
Mrs. McCrabbie: As Adam Schiff said in yesterday's proceedings, "You can't make this stuff up." Trump's lawyers are of course arguing that the House has no authority to subpoena the President* so the second article of impeachment is invalid and Trump must be acquitted. According to Schiff, the DOJ was in court yesterday arguing that the courts have no jurisdiction over the executive to force the President* to answer Congressional subpoenas. "What's the remedy, then?" a judge asked the DOJ lawyers. The DOJ's response: "Impeachment!"
Here are the New York Times' live updates of yesterday's impeachment proceedings. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Sheryl Stolberg & Michael Shear: "After failing to get Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. to read the name of the person widely thought to be the whistle-blower whose complaint prompted the impeachment inquiry into President Trump, Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, did so himself on Thursday. Mr. Paul, who left the Senate chamber while the impeachment trial was in session to hold a news conference about Mr. Roberts's refusal to read his question, said it 'deserved to be asked.' He said the question had nothing to do with the whistle-blower, then he proceeded to read it aloud and name the person." See also Akhilleus's earlier comment in yesterday's thread.
I Didn't Say What You Heard Me Say on Those Lying Videotapes. Quint Forgey of Politico: "Alan Dershowitz ... on Thursday claimed the media twisted his words when he made the controversial legal argument that a president could engage in a quid pro quo for personal political benefit as long as the president believes his or her reelection is in the public interest. In a series of a dozen tweets, the former Harvard law professor and prominent criminal defense lawyer claimed that 'CNN, MSNBC and some other media willfully distorted my answers' from Wednesday's Senate impeachment trial proceedings.... 'I hear he's correcting it on TV today. That seems to be Mr. Dershowitz's pattern,' [Chuck] Schumer said at a news conference in the Capitol. 'He gives a statement on the floor and then spends the next day correcting it. What a load of nonsense.'" ~~~
Taking advantage of the fact most of their viewers didn't actually hear the senate Q and A, CNN, MSNBC and some other media willfully distorted my answers. -- Alan Dershowitz, in a tweet today ~~~
~~~ You horrible people have mischaracterized Alan Dershowitz because you listened to the left-wing, lamestream media. In responses to Dersh's tweet in his Twitter thread, Elie Honig (CNN) and Barbara McQuade (MSNBC), however, disagree, for some reason: like -- because what Alan said. Thanks to Ken W. for the link. ~~~
~~~ ** "The Normalization of Lawlessness." Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "... the wave of outrage [against Dershowitz's presentation] underscored how the politics of the Trump era -- and his lawyers' efforts to help Mr. Trump advance his agenda and defend himself from scrutiny -- have become infused with concerns about executive power overreach.... The list of ways in which Mr. Trump and his legal team have pushed limits is growing." Read on, as Charlie counts the ways.... "Adam Schiff ... told the Senate on Thursday that Mr. Trump's team had embraced the vision of a presidency that exists above the law -- 'when the president does it, that means it is not illegal' -- that Richard Nixon famously articulated to defend his conduct after Watergate. 'We are right back to where we were a half-century ago -- and I would argue we may be in a worse place because this time, this time that argument may succeed,' Mr. Schiff said, accusing Trump defenders of embracing 'the normalization of lawlessness' by a president."
Josh Marshall of TPM: "I've said many times that it's the Republican Senate rather than Donald Trump who is on trial in this exercise.... What we have seen is more and more evidence or at least a clearer and clearer illustration of what Senate Republicans will accept from President Trump. No real trial. No witnesses. Open arguments that using state power to coerce foreign leaders to sabotage U.S. elections is fine and indeed proper.... But even if Trump is not reelected we will still have the very same people now helping to finalize Trump's cover up either running the Senate or in sufficient numbers to block its action if they don't get their way. We'll have a judiciary that has been stacked over the last three years to perpetuate GOP political rule.... He might be booted next year but the climate and bases of support that made him possible won't have gone anywhere." --s
Mitch Gets Felicitous Lessons in Quid-Pro-Quos. Ben Tobin & Morgan Watkins of the Louisville Courier Journal: "Several members of ... Donald Trump's impeachment defense team recently gave money to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's 2020 reelection campaign, a Courier Journal analysis of campaign finance data found. Ken Starr ... gave the maximum individual contribution allowed -- $2,800 -- to the McConnell Senate Committee on July 31, 2019.... [Starr] ... has given to every McConnell reelection campaign since 2002. Another member of the president's impeachment defense team, Robert Ray, gave a total of $5,600 to the McConnell Senate Committee through two separate donations -- one for the primary election, one for the general -- on Sept. 30, 2019. Ray ... did not donate to previous McConnell reelection efforts, according to campaign finance data from the Federal Election Commission." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
AND in yesterday's Comments, Linda in Denver explained Chauncey Gardiner's Cory Gardner's motives for opposing witnesses in the "trial." Insightful.
Edward Wong of the New York Times: "Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday that the Trump administration was committed to supporting Ukraine in its defense against aggression by Russia, which invaded and annexed part of the country and is supporting a separatist insurgency.... Mr. Pompeo and [Ukraine's president Volodymyr] Zelensky met before noon in the president's office in central Kyiv.... Mr. Pompeo said no visit [between Donald Trump & Zelensky] had been scheduled. "We'll find the right time," he said.
Natasha Bertrand & Daniel Lippman of Politico: "A national security aide to Vice President Mike Pence and key witness in the House's impeachment of ... Donald Trump will be leaving her post in the vice president's office early to join Central Command, according to two people with knowledge of her plans. The aide, Jennifer Williams, will be leaving the White House as soon as Monday and plans to join CENTCOM in the spring as a deputy foreign policy adviser, one of the people said. She will be advising the command on Middle East policy issues and has had the job lined up since last fall."
Marcy Wheeler (@emptywheel) lays out a completely different view of the prosecutor's memo in the Flynn sentencing. She writes that it does not really differ from the guideline recommendation. Wheeler thinks the memo is responsive to Judge Sullivan's previous rulings and his stated views of Flynn's actions (and the Petraeus sentence): "And, yes, they mention probation, just like Flynn did. But in doing so, they almost certainly did so in a way that only exacerbates Sullivan's innate disgust with powerful people who ask for special treatment." -- Anonymous, in yesterday's Comments (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
The Dress: Speaking of Impeachment Trials of Yore.... Jennifer Peltz of the AP: Lawyers for a woman who accuses ... Donald Trump of raping her in the 1990s are asking for a DNA sample, seeking to determine whether his genetic material is on a dress she says she wore during the encounter. Advice columnist E. Jean Carroll's lawyers served notice to a Trump attorney Thursday for Trump to submit a sample on March 2 in Washington for 'analysis and comparison against unidentified male DNA present on the dress.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
"Astonished by Trump's Ignorance." Rachel Premack of Business Insider: "A leaked audio recording of a 2018 dinner with ... Donald Trump and key donors has provided new insight into the president's dealings with Ukraine as well as something else: The president's knowledge of trucking is less than comprehensive.... Trump [thought semis run on gasoline, not diesel, and] appeared unaware that truck drivers have safety regulations that prevent them from driving more than 11 hours a day.... 'You mean they can only drive so much?' Trump said in the recording. 'Like a pilot? I didn't know that.'... Trucking executives and industry experts who listened to the tape told Business Insider they were astonished by Trump's ignorance." --s
AP: "Attorney General William Barr on Thursday named Timothy Shea, one of his closest advisers, to be the next top prosecutor in the nation's capital. Shea will lead the largest United States attorney's office in the country, which has been historically responsible for some of the most significant and politically sensitive cases the Justice Department brings in the U.S. He ... was Barr's right-hand man helping institute reforms at the federal Bureau of Prisons after Jeffrey Epstein's death at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City.... As the U.S. attorney in the District of Columbia, Shea would oversee some of the lingering cases from special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, along with a number of politically charged investigations." --s ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: This is Big Bill Barr putting his Big Fat Thumb on the scales of justice. It cannot be a good thing.
Look for the Silver Lining. Rachel Siegel of the Washington Post: "Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the Chinese coronavirus -- which has killed 171 in China and infected more than 8,100 people -- could 'help' to bring jobs to the United States because companies will be moving operations away from impacted areas. During an appearance Thursday morning on Fox Business, Ross said that he didn't 'want to talk about a victory lap over a very unfortunate, very malignant disease,' and expressed sympathy for the victims. But he said the pneumonia-like virus would be a consideration for American businesses that are scrambling to determine how the outbreak will affect their supply chains." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Jesse Naranjo of Politico: "The House on Thursday approved two measures aimed at clawing back ... Donald Trump's war powers, a direct result of recent aggression between Iran and the United States that culminated earlier this month in missile attacks on Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops. The votes, which passed with four Republican defections on one measure and 11 on the other, mark a victory for anti-war lawmakers who have long sought to rein in the executive's ability to use military force without congressional authorization." ~~~
~~~ Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post: "Both measures have earned limited Republican support and are expected to face difficult odds in the Senate, where GOP leaders can easily block them from coming to the floor for a vote."
Presidential Race
This Should Shake Up The Race. Julia Manchester of the Hill: "Former Maryland Rep. John Delaney (D) dropped out of the Democratic presidential primary on Friday just days before Monday's Iowa Caucuses.... Delaney [said] that his support [in Iowa] was strong enough to peel away votes from other moderate candidates."
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Judd Legum of Popular Info: "In October, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the creation of a new 'Facebook News' tab ... [']curated by a team of diverse and seasoned journalists.'... [A]s the United States heads toward election day, Facebook says it will make the tab widely available.... But who is the 'team' behind Facebook News?... [T]he person in charge of Facebook News is former NBC News anchor Campbell Brown [who has her own website].... The74, with funding from Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. On Tuesday, NBC News reported that Facebook was hiring Jennifer Williams, an executive producer for Fox News, 'to head video strategy for Facebook News.' Williams spent a dozen years as a senior producer on Fox & Friends.... Williams will be part of Facebook's news curation team, which means she will be selecting content to be featured in the News tab." --s ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Subscriber-firewalled, but you can read an unspecified number of posts without paying up. Legum spends some effort in knocking Williams in this post, appropriately enough, but as I recall, Brown -- who is married to former Bushie Daniel Senor -- is as much a winger as Williams. Thanks, Zuck!
P. J. Huffstutter of Reuters: "U.S. farm bankruptcy rates jumped 20% in 2019 - to an eight-year high - as financial woes in the U.S. agricultural economy continued in spite of massive federal bail-out funding, according to federal court data.... The increase in cases had been somewhat expected, bankruptcy experts and agricultural economists said, as farmers face trade battles, ever-mounting farm debt, prolonged low commodity prices, volatile weather patterns and a fatal pig disease that has decimated China's herd.... Nearly one-third of projected U.S. net farm income in 2019 came from government aid and taxpayer-subsidized commodity insurance payments, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture." --s
Way Beyond the Beltway
China. The New York Times' live updates on developments re: the coronavirus are here. "The [U.S.] State Department on Thursday night issued a travel advisory telling Americans not to travel to China because of the public health threat posed by the dangerous new coronavirus."
Israel. Joseph Menn & Jack Stubbs of Reuters: "The FBI is investigating the role of Israeli spyware vendor NSO Group Technologies in possible hacks on American residents and companies as well as suspected intelligence gathering on governments, according to four people familiar with the inquiry.... NSO is known in the cybersecurity world for its 'Pegasus' software [and] other tools that can be delivered in several ways. The software can capture everything on a phone, including the plain text of encrypted messages, and commandeer it to record audio. A business strategy firm retained on behalf of Amazon.com Inc Chief Executive Jeff Bezos, FTI Consulting, said this month that NSO could have supplied the software it said Saudi Arabia used to hack Bezos' iPhone." --s
Jason Burke of the Guardian: "Islamic State has begun to reassert itself in its heartlands in the Middle East and continues to seek opportunities to strike in the west, the United Nations has said.... The report portrays an organisation that has suffered significant setbacks but is tenacious, well-funded and still poses a considerable local and international threat." --s
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Reader Comments (26)
The Party of Traitors continue to insist that laws don’t count if they interfere with their goal of permanent, unfettered control, but make no mistake, should a Democrat somehow beat the chief traitor, they will immediately rediscover the Constitution and magically remember their oath of office.
The rule of law will return, redoubled; congressional oversight will resume in full force with sweeping powers to investigate any and every presidential action they consider the tiniest bit suspect, which means oversight will begin at the level of demanding to see documentation about choice of toothpaste and get worse from there.
Impeachment will be on the table before the inaugural balls are finished.
Alan Dershowitz will be trotted out to proclaim that nothing this (Democratic) president does in the interest of reelection, or for any other reason for that matter, can be undertaken without Republican approval. It will be as if the entire Fatty show trial never happened. Mitch McConnell will maintain that no presidential appointments will be considered since it will be necessary to wait until the next (R) president takes office for anything as extreme as that.
Fox will concur. In the interest of making America great, of course.
So lemme get this straight. Even as the Trump “administration” continues to try to undermine healthcare, the new big idea for adding more jobs to the economy is...an epidemic??
Good news! People are dying by the score in China. We can claim this will improve our jobs report! Yippee.
Another (human) administration might offer help to Chinese health officials and researchers in addressing a serious condition affecting potentially millions of people. Not these guys. These guys say, “Hey, this could make us look good if we spin it the right way”.
Could these fucking people get any more inhuman? I’m gonna have to quit asking questions like that because the answer is always “yes”.
Here's a question from the 1960s that's still unanswered: "Are Americans ready for self government?"
Seeing how the entire Republican Party (literally, like, every member except maybeee Romney sometimes) is lockstep with Drumpf on this meta question of foreign fuckery in future elections, I have officially lost all hope for any micro-questions into his "smaller" crimes: all those "investigations" farmed out by Mueller, the "independent" SDNY, the FBI...all that has been strangled out in the back alley somewhere. The mafia hits have all been executed, Barr is even positioning his players for any future stings. Can we call the US a mafia state? That's an actual, serious question that we have to ask ourselves now.
No harm will come to the Dear Leader.
About ISIS (Da'esh)
Yeah, and you know where they get "well-funded" from? Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Qatar. Well, I'm not sure about Qatar now, since KSA and UAE have "blockaded" them.
Reports of a resurgence of radical, militarized Islamic factions give the lie to the tired bleats of his bloated Orangeness that ISIS has been "totally" defeated.
Sorry little donnie. This is like John Roberts saying that racism has been eradicated, so no need for outdated notions of protecting voters from a resurgent confederacy, which even today is working day and night to deny the vote to minorities who might dare to vote against their racist policies.
Things like Islamic State organizations (and racism) will never be truly defeated, or seriously undermined (total defeat is unlikely at this point in history, and the term itself is too shopworn to carry much weight anymore) until the conditions for the continued existence of such aggressive responses can be seriously addressed. Both depend on hatred, the energy source that keeps them alive and kicking. Bleaters like Fatty should understand this. Hatred is the oxygen that fuels his particular brand of power. It's the Stygian lifeblood of the Republican Party. Without hatred, Fox might have to actually rely on actual journalism to pay the bills.
Mark Zuckerberg proves that his one and only goal is making money. Fuck all that bushwa about the social network playing a positive role in people's lives. He hires wingnuts because he fears attacks from the right far more than any calls for responsibility from the left. In other words, he's running just another self-interested business afraid of pissing off the right. He might as well color that "news tab" red and leave it at that. It's another victory for the forces of darkness.
I think the living end was when Lamar "Plaid-shirt-man-of-the-people" announced that he would make an announcement, which he did while I was out with the dog last night, and that it was: all which IMPOTUS did/does was really unfortunate but he would not join the slithery group who "needed more information" in which to decide to call for that... At this point, we can conclude that the Senate has officially died, the US is a banana republic, and we know where all of this ends. Power begets power. That is all that is important to the creeps running things. May they all burn in the hell of their own making.
Interesting that the Repugnant lawyers I heard last night seem to have adopted the argument that Dershowitz said he didn't make:
Even if all that the Pretender is accused of were true, even if it were a crime, it wouldn't matter because he was only doing what comes naturally to a president.
Constitutionally speaking, (I don't think I'm exaggerating) that would be anything he or she wants.
My wife asks, how do these guys sleep at night?
I have no answer.
Krugman writes: “For whatever may happen to Donald Trump, his party has turned its back on democracy. And that should terrify you. The fact is that the G.O.P., as currently constituted, is willing to do whatever it takes to seize and hold power.” The impeachment hearings further reinforce an image of a party that in the face of egregious crimes by the president either remain mute or overtly support him in a show of ideological certainty or what Robert Jay Lifton calls an act of “absolute purification” and a cult-like totalizing vision that reproduces a politics of “malignant normality.”
Looks like the need for fighting for what this country is supposed to be is going to be a monumental task. We can see how easily that thin skin of a democracy can shed its layers. Donald Trump didn't just pop out of nowhere––there was lots of ground work that made his presidency possible. It tears at my soul to listen to Adam Schiff plead for truth and rightness––you can almost see that plea being carried off by that chilly breeze wafting through the congressional halls.
We are in big trouble I fear.
@ PD
"you can almost see that plea being carried off by that chilly breeze wafting through the congressional halls."
Your eloquent soliloquy chills the bones themselves.
Interesting question raised in the Daily Kos.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/1/30/1915127/-Why-has-this-not-made-news-Protestors-swarm-the-Senate-Capitol?detail=emaildkre
What are the chances that Trump announces that the FBI is opening (on his orders) investigations into all of the Democrats running for president during his Super Bowl interview? Cut out the middle man. With the Senate about to acquit him Trump has a free pass to do whatever he wants. Trump is surrounded by so many horrible people who will be whispering so many horrible schemes into his ear. It's just like when his daddy wrote him all those big fat checks and he won't wait long to cash it in.
Waving fistfulls of cash.
Shades of the Boss Tweed Thomas Nast cartoons:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/30/politics/trump-surrogates-cash-giveaway-black-voters/index.html
The State of the Union address next Tuesday should be interesting,
or depressing, or idiotic, or, or, or who knows. He's going to be
ranting like a wannabe dictator who is actually getting closer to
being one.
I can hear it now. See, I'm not impeached at all and everyone still
loves me. They're all supporting me because they know I'll be
re-elected, by hook or crook or Moscow. So don't even bother to
vote against me.
First chance I’ve had to tune-in (currently via radio) in real time:
A *religious* intro?!? What’s god or God (or Zoroaster or Buddha or Cannabis Baba-John) got to do with this?!?
Yet another illustration - alongside this entire farce - of the continuing decimation of Democracy and our Constitution.
@Hattie, the second illustration followed with the hypocritical "Pledge of Allegiance" to put country over party and/or person.
<< the second illustration followed with the hypocritical "Pledge of Allegiance" to put country over party and/or person. >>
Yes, unwashed. Indeed! With sounds of “über alles, über alles in der Welt” invoked. Also memories, as a wee one, of standing to “salute the flag” at day’s start. “Indivisible” was a tongue twister, lifted from some foreign tongue. By High School, many of us got “detention” for not rising.
I’m Second Generation by way of my Father. And “glad” he is no longer alive to witness the country that, as a young child, along with parents of another language and alphabet, struggled to become proud citizens of America the Beautiful. I weep for this. And for all else.
Thank you, Akhilleus, for raising my game with “bushwa”. Very handy as I strain - around my godchildren - to refrain from my far too often invoked “F-word” and “bullshit”. (At first sight, I’d figured it pertained to that other Rep-robate, G.W.B.)
I am *so* bad with numbers! . . .
. . . I’m *First* Generation” by way of my Father.
(Sorry, Dad.)
We are now officially a banana republic. Sad...
Now, to figure out where to move to.
@unwashed: I'm waiting till the Senate acquits Trump before I make that declaration official. But tonight's vote might as well have been taken on a banana boat cruise.
@ Hattie and re: religious introduction. Sounds like the chaplain did what he could:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jan/31/senate-chaplain-impeachment-prayer-reap-what-they-sow
Elizabeth - Thank you for The Guardian in reply. I do appreciate that the prayer’s thrust aligned with “our side”. But my personal stance is firmly rooted in the (ever-dissolving) separation of church and state. And that includes Prayer Lunches, et. al. conducted by leaders of *any* religious following.
The Good Chaplain Black is a Seventh Day Adventist. Adventism regards homosexuality and other ‘sexual perversions’ as a sin, thus assigning that label to many of my friends, colleagues and two of my physicians. (Yes - Adventists will welcome gays into their fold . . . as long as they remain abstinent.) Barry Black also invoked Jesus. Not everyone in the US (or its government: see Adam Schiff) is Christian, even if - along with whitey white-ness- preferred.
I’m the same re: prayer in (public) school. My godchildren (and I don’t favor the term, yet was appointed - and hugely honored as - their “godmother”) are a mix of Islam, Judaism, a hybrid of Balkan Orthodoxy and Atheism. Whose texts will Betsy DeVos force them to recite?
If I’ve been off-putting-ly strident, you’ve been spared my rant against circumcision. ;)
Lots of time today. Lots of posts.
Peace
Prayer: that Chief Justice John Roberts will be reminded that lady justice wears a blindfold - that the senator's fear of retribution by republican donors can easily be thwarted by requiring that all impeachment votes be cast secretly and anonymously on paper ballots with no possibility of trace-back. This occasion should be made blind to partisanship. I think Roberts has the power to make the change in procedure. He would serve his position, the institution, and the American people well by doing so.
Maybe its more of a fantasy than a prayer.
Remembrance and reflection, how allied,
What thin partitions sense from thought divide.
--Alexander Pope
or
Fantasy and prayer are close allied,
But sense and hope live side by side.
--Ken
And Ken will go with hope. It's the best this non-believer can do.