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Showing posts from November, 2019

Just a thought

When narwhal tusks are illegal, only criminals will have narwhal tusks.

The Deal Maker Strikes Again

The world's Greatest Deal Maker has done it again- made one of the most consequential diplomatic deals of the century. No, not between the United States and another country; the deal he has brought about is between two other countries. Here are the details of this epochal agreement, which has been almost totally ignored by the mainstream press, while they have been busy declaring the impeachment of the President for extortion and bribery a boring snooze fest.  From the Telegraph (yes, people in England do seem to have noticed this story:) "China signs defence agreement with South Korea as US angers Seoul with demand for $5bn troop payment...   The defence ministers of South Korea and China have agreed to develop their security ties to ensure stability in north-east Asia, the latest indication that Washington’s long-standing alliances in the region are fraying.    An editorial in Monday’s edition of The Korea Times warned that the security alliance between (the US a

Removing Trump

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The new oval office? We hear over and over again that, if the Democratic House impeaches Trump, he cannot be removed from office, because it would be impossible to get 20 Republican Senators to stop cowering in fear of the deranged base they spent decades creating, in order to provide the two thirds majority needed to ditch him. This is almost certainly true, but all is not lost.  As usual, this argument comes from people who talk about the Constitution without having really read it very thoroughly. Here is what the Constitution actually says about the Senate trial that follows impeachment: Article I, Section 3, Clauses 6 and 7: The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two-thirds of the Members present" Note that the vote required is no

Separated at Birth?

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By sheer coincidence yesterday I came across one of those clickbait stories at the bottom of a post, about Schlitzie the Pinhead. Schlitzie was one of the most famous sideshow attractions in his day, appearing at the top circuses, and having a featured role in Tod Browning's cult film, "freaks." He had the mentality of about a four year old, and loved being in the circus. Well, just saying:

Taking Us Down the Road to Hell

The mainstream press, which has apparently made up their minds how they want the 2020 elections to work out. From the Washington Post (passed off as a paragon of the liberal press) today: "On eve of open hearings, GOP and Democrats lay out competing cases The memos show the parties are fundamentally at odds over everything from key pieces of evidence to the legitimacy of the process." I heard the same thing on NPR this morning, which did a long segment on the "competing narratives" about impeachment coming from our two political parties. Neither one of these miserable excuses for journalists thought it worth mentioning that one of these "narratives" is true and the other, as they all know damned well, is a compendium of vicious lies.  And that is what we are going to get this time around, just as we have had stuffed down our throats every election for decades.  One side is telling the truth and the other side is lying; but that is of no signific

Chutzpah

Donald Trump was today fined two million dollars because his "charity" diverted a large part of the money it gathered (some, for example, supposedly for kids with cancer) into the pockets of himself and his family.  The judge in the case determined that the money should go to a number of charities, which were selected as part of the court process. Trump's statement about this humiliation? "I am therefore happy to donate $2 million to the following worthy charities..." He donated the money!  Not, he was fined two million dollars for criminal activity; he donated the money!  It was a noble thing that he did, getting fined two million dollars for an abominable criminal act.  And he's happy to be fined the two million dollars.  He's proud of his generosity! Was there ever a more degraded human?

Wingnut Wrapup

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So Gordon Sondland, Trump's only defender that we know of in the impeachment hearings, suddenly changed his story today, and instead of denying that there was a quid pro quo demanded of Ukraine, admitted that there was.  Enough, finally, for Republicans to admit that maybe something was wrong with Trump's behavior? Of course not; they just have to amp up the lying: Julio Rosas, Town Hall:  "Mark Meadows: Gordon Sondland's Testimony Does NOT Confirm Quid Pro Quo"  I have gone back to writing Wingnut Wrapups because the level of right wing deceit that is going to be necessary to counter the truth, which is beginning to spill out like water over Niagara Falls, is staggering.  Yet tens of millions are going to at least claim they believe this malignant nonsense; this is going to form the foundation of Trump's campaign to be elected, and we had better be ready for it. Beth Baumann, Town Hall:  "WATCH: Project Veritas Confronts CNN President on His Person

How About This as an Impeachment Count?

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From Daily Kos today: "Nearly 5,500 migrant kids were stolen by Trump admin since 2017, according to new count" Don't crimes against humanity count as real crimes, if they are committed by Republicans?  Or will it just be too confusing to ordinary Americans if they are confused by adding this act of bestial brutality to the charges of extortion and treason? Let Senate Republicans vote against holding him responsible for this atrocity.

A Week to Remember, Indeed

That's their story and they are sticking to it.  Kimberley Guilfoyle at Town Hall, assessing the last week's political news: "In 365 Days, It’s Weeks Like This One That Voters Will Remember" That's for sure, what with the impeachment vote, and the release of transcripts conclusively demonstrating that Trump is a criminal.  No, that's not what Kimberley was talking about? "The week started in the morning of Sunday, October 27th, as President Trump took to the podium in the White House’s Diplomatic Reception Room to announce that ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had been killed in an American-led military operation...However, even more disappointing than the media twisting themselves in knots to avoid saying anything that might be interpreted as praise for President Trump was the deafening silence from Democrats. They were seemingly unable to acknowledge that the Commander-in-Chief — even in this just one specific instance — made the world safer."

An Electoral Solution

We all know that the electoral college tilts the balance of power in the selection of the President in favor of small States, and consequently in favor of the Republican party.  We are living through the disaster that this undemocratic feature of the Constitution has created.  I hardly need tell anyone that this is true.  And yet, we all know that it would prove virtually impossible in our current political environment to change the Constitution to allow Presidents to be selected by popular vote. What is this flaw in the Constitution that allows Republicans to maintain an unfair advantage? Well, here is the text, from Article 2, section 1: "Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress" The problem is that representatives are apportioned according to population, while Senators are not; resulting in, for exa

Wingnut Wrapup

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Before I begin, I would like to mention the following fact:  Most of you have heard of the abominable driving of freshman Congresswoman Katie Hill from the House by the publication of revenge porn pictures of her supplied by a bastard of an ex-husband.  I just want to tell you that these pictures were originally published by Red State, a blog whose lies and hate have made it a staple of Wingnut Wrapup throughout its entire existence.  Anyway, on we go: Cortney O'Brien, Town Hall: "Here's When the Nats Stadium Stopped Booing Trump at World Series Game 5" See, that's what is important.  They booed him- that means nothing.  That they stopped, well... "But, as you can see and hear, when the jumbotron revealed who Trump's guests were, the crowd quieted. The president invited five wounded veterans to sit with him in his suite." So he used wounded veterans as human shields, which proves what a great patriot he is. "Booing the president of the