Tag Archives: Trump

Exciting(!) New Fiction

16 Monday Dec 2019

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Not mine. Jerry Nadler’s. The House Impeachment Report

Using the powers of his high office, President Trump solicited the interference of
a foreign government, Ukraine, in the 2020 United States Presidential election. He
did so through a scheme or course of conduct that included soliciting the Government of Ukraine to publicly announce investigations that would benefit his reelection, harm the election prospects of a political opponent, and influence the 2020United States Presidential election to his advantage. President Trump also sought to pressure the Government of Ukraine to take these steps by conditioning official United States Government acts of significant value to Ukraine on its public announcement of the investigations. President Trump engaged in this scheme or
course of conduct for corrupt purposes in pursuit of personal political benefit. In so
doing, President Trump used the powers of the Presidency in a manner that compromised the national security of the United States and undermined the integrity of the United States democratic process. He thus ignored and injured the interests of the Nation.

Integrity…

The Hidden Hand of the Coup

12 Thursday Dec 2019

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Not my words. Not Tom Ironsides’s. This, from a real CIA officer.

The essence of a coup, which some might refer to as covert action, is the hidden hand. One does not announce that a foreign power is overthrowing the government and installing a new government. One pulls strings as if from behind a curtain, making events that are all part of a carefully orchestrated plan appear disconnected, spontaneous and serendipitous.

As I read through the recently released IG report for the second time, as someone with a great deal of experience in military and intelligence matters, I see that hand everywhere.

Per the IG report, a single report is delivered to the FBI in the summer of 2016. It concerns a meeting between a cooperative contact of a foreign intelligence service and a junior level employee of the Trump campaign, George Papadopoulos. The report relates what are frankly very amorphous comments by Papadopoulos concerning the Russian government and its alleged possession of information on Hillary Clinton.

…

It’s like a combination of an evil version of Adam Smith’s Invisible Hand” and that wriggling spider hand from the Barrow-Downs. I imagine the fingers have initials like, I don’t know, “HRC” and “BHO.” Just guesses. Past time to designate the hand an enemy combatant and drone strike it.

Well, Thank God

11 Wednesday Dec 2019

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If there’s one thing that’s kept me up at night, it’s this.

President Trump plans to sign an executive order on Wednesday targeting what he sees as anti-Semitism on college campuses by threatening to withhold federal money from educational institutions that fail to combat discrimination, three administration officials said on Tuesday.

The order will effectively interpret Judaism as a race or nationality, not just a religion, to prompt a federal law penalizing colleges and universities deemed to be shirking their responsibility to foster an open climate for minority students. In recent years, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions — or B.D.S. — movement against Israel has roiled some campuses, leaving some Jewish students feeling unwelcome or attacked.

In signing the order, Mr. Trump will use his executive power to take action where Congress has not, essentially replicating bipartisan legislation that has stalled on Capitol Hill for several years. Prominent Democrats have joined Republicans in promoting such a policy change to combat anti-Semitism as well as the boycott-Israel movement.

But critics complained that such a policy could be used to stifle free speech and legitimate opposition to Israel’s policies toward Palestinians in the name of fighting anti-Semitism. The definition of anti-Semitism to be used in the order matches the one used by the State Department and by other nations, but it has been criticized as too open-ended and sweeping.

Who needs free speech? That’s plainly anti-Semitic racist. Praise be to Trump for doing what he was elected to do. Israel First! The Article Zero of the CONstitution clearly give the Executive the authority to decree races or ethnicities and to allot (or withhold) money for education.

Now my concern if how this might affect the Harvard-Asian lawsuits. Maybe “Asian” is a religion? Trump, if not impeached and removed, may tell us. Glory!

Two Articles

11 Wednesday Dec 2019

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Obstruction and ABuse of Power – both subjective and vague. At least they drafted them.

Democrats have moved rapidly since launching their inquiry in late September after a whistleblower complaint about a July 25 telephone call in which Trump sought help from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, a leading contender in the Democratic race to challenge Trump in next November’s election.

Rapidly? They’ve been dragging along since July of 2016! According to a few of the more bold enemy combatants, they plan to impeach Trump again after his reelection next year. Judging from the record, he’ll let them.

 

 

The IG’s Report

10 Tuesday Dec 2019

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It’s out. FULL (REDACTED) REPORT HERE

The Storm? This thing is so ridiculous – in multiple ways – that I found it nearly impossible to pull appropriate quotes. It’s almost 500 pages. Like a giant paper shield? This one might be what really matters, recommendation number nine:

• The FBI should review the performance of all employees who had responsibility for the preparation, Woods review, or approval of the FISA applications, as well as the managers, supervisors, and senior officials in the chain of command of the Carter Page investigation for any action it deems appropriate.

The coup, to include the Russia-Ukraine-impeachment hoax, started well before Trump was ever elected. The IG pins it as ten days after Trump was nominated but the plans were likely in place earlier, maybe in 2015 when he announced his candidacy. Back to no. 9, above: I’d leave NOTHING else to the FBI. However, Trump should take any action he deems appropriate. If I were him, then I would deem it appropriate to declare this coup a coup and prosecute it accordingly, meaning immediately and militarily, pursuant to the Lincoln-Bush-Obama Doctrine. Light. Them. Up. All of them.

 

Easy Out for Dems?

05 Thursday Dec 2019

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Not a bad idea. Therefore, the Dems probably won’t go for it.

Censure would allow the Democrats to move on: Obviously, the Speaker wants to send a strong message to her base that she hears their concerns and is acting on them. But every day that Democrats are not talking about health care is a day that they are slowly but steadily losing the election. The media has a limited attention span, and right now impeachment is king. While impeachment might excite the partisan bases on both sides of the aisle, to the vast middle that isn’t paying attention to the latest revelations that are dripping forth on the front pages of The New York Times, this is time not well spent making the case for their reelections.

Censure would be better for the country than impeachment: What the president did with his Ukrainian call is clearly not impeachable. But it wasn’t a perfect call either. We all know that partisan Democrats have wanted Trump removed from office since the very day he entered it and have come up with a variety of theories as to why he should be thrown out, from invoking the 25th Amendment to the current impeachment imbroglio.

But the American people, in their collective wisdom, through a process designed by the Constitution, put him there, and they have the right to have their voices heard to replace him, should they decide that is the correct path to pursue. Short-circuiting the people is a very bad precedent and would needlessly divide the country for generations.

In 1998, some congressional Republicans and Democrats floated censure as a possible alternative to impeachment and when I worked for the House GOP Leadership, I thought that would have been a more prudent approach.

Part of the challenge with censure is it’s not outlined in the Constitution as a way to punish the president for actions that fall short of high crimes and misdemeanors. And indeed, the only president to be clearly censured by the Congress was Trump’s hero, Andrew Jackson. He was censured by the Senate because he defunded the Second Bank of the United States. That censure was later expunged from the record by Jackson’s Whig allies late in his second term in office.

I would vote against censure of this president, if I were in either the House or the Senate, because I think this has been a partisan exercise not worthy of the Congress. But if I were a congressional Democrat, I would prefer censure to impeachment. Impeachment would be bad for the country but probably good for the president. Censure wouldn’t be nearly as bad for the country nor nearly as good for the president.

But, they no more want to move on than the people have that collective wisdom. This all assumes, of course, that the House goes ahead with the impeachment charade – it’s already losing steam. And, again, it won’t help them with 2020.

Your Faces Please

04 Wednesday Dec 2019

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Except they probably won’t say please. Here’s how it will work: millions of illegals come and go, at will and with no questions, documents, or obstruction; on the other hand, you, usury serf, shall jump through burning hoops only to present the mark of the beast.

The Trump administration intends to propose a regulation next year that would require all travelers – including U.S. citizens – to be photographed when entering or leaving the United States, according to the administration’s regulatory agenda.

The proposed regulation, slated to be issued in July by the Homeland Security Department, would be part of a broader system to track travelers as they enter and exit the United States.

The plan has already drawn opposition from some privacy advocates. Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst with the American Civil Liberties Union, blasted the idea in a written statement on Monday.

“Travelers, including U.S. citizens, should not have to submit to invasive biometric scans simply as a condition of exercising their constitutional right to travel,” he said.

The Trump administration contends in its regulatory agenda that the face scan requirement will combat the fraudulent use of U.S. travel documents and aid the identification of criminals and suspected terrorists.

Will no brave federal judge in Hawaii step forward and enjoin this madness? No. Go ahead and leave your CFR comments. Maybe vote or something.

UPDATE: You’ll be scanned. Incoming terrorists, grifters, and nation-wreckers won’t even have their Faceberg or Twit checked. After all, if the MS-13ers can’t locate their former victims in the new, free-range Amerika, what’s the point in coming? (And, that VA county might as well be yours, BTW).

Grabblers Discover Consitution Convenient for Once

03 Tuesday Dec 2019

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Odd that they neglect it at all other times. At any rate, the House “Intelligence” Committee projection report is out.

Constitutional Authority for Congressional Oversight and Impeachment

The House’s Constitutional and legal authority to conduct an impeachment inquiry is clear, as is the duty of the President to cooperate with the House’s exercise of this authority.

Article I of the U.S. Constitution gives the House of Representatives the “sole Power of Impeachment.” The Framers intended the impeachment power to be an essential check on a President who might engage in corruption or abuse of power. Congress is empowered to conduct oversight and investigations to carry out its authorities under Article I. Because the impeachment power is a core component of the nation’s Constitutional system of checks and balances, Congress’ investigative authority is at its zenith during an impeachment inquiry.

So, investigate first, open the impeachment proceedings when? Not that any of this will help the enemy combatants in the slightest in 2020. Ball’s in Nancy’s court now, the voter’s next fall.

Possibly Better than the Wall

29 Friday Nov 2019

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Trump may (may) be about to do something big and useful.

President Donald Trump put the Mexican government on the defensive when he said he “absolutely” will move ahead with plans to designate Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations.

Trump said in a radio interview this week that tens of thousands of Americans are killed every year because of drug trafficking and other activity by the cartels. But Mexico is pushing back, worried that such a step would allow its neighbor to the north to violate its sovereignty by operating unilaterally inside Mexico.

“I’ve been working on that for the last 90 days,” Trump said in a radio interview with Bill O’Reilly, who asked whether such a designation would be forthcoming.

O’Reilly had asked Trump if he would designate the cartels “and start hitting them with drones and things like that?”

Trump replied: “I don’t want to say what I’m going to do, but they will be designated.”

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Wednesday that he did not want to enter a “political confrontation” with the U.S. government on the eve of its Thanksgiving holiday. He said that he would leave it at “cooperation, yes; interventionism, no,” and that he had instructed Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard to explain Mexico’s position to Washington.

Ebrard later tweeted that he’d already been in contact with the U.S. government and would use diplomacy to “defend sovereignty.”

Yes, sovereignty. It’s okay for them to dump scores of millions of invaders across our border, but perish the thought a 1% return across theirs. If the cartels are terrorists, subject to military reprisals, then anyone associated – like coyotes and “cargo” – would be as well. And, if anyone, like a federal judge, interferes in this international operation, he sets himself up as an accessory, an enemy combatant. A clean up at last?

May not even happen, but it’s a great, hopeful thought!

Another Demographic Shift!

11 Monday Nov 2019

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“Heather” explains how to vote for someone based on your thinking that the candidate won’t/can’t win. Brilliant.

Three years ago, thousands of these Americans — many working-class, residing in the middle of the country — helped deliver the most astounding electoral surprise in modern history. Now, as they review the Trump presidency a year before his re-election, some are showing signs of turning on conventional wisdom again.

Heather, a local administrative assistant here who is married with a stroller-bound toddler, is still so embarrassed by her 2016 vote that she wasn’t comfortable revealing her last name.

“I’m ashamed to admit . . . But I’m of a more conservative bent and family. I just couldn’t vote for Hillary. But I also thought there’s no way Trump was going to win. This way, I could at least say, ‘Well I didn’t vote for her,’” she said. “I didn’t think I was doing any harm.”

While Heather isn’t sharing her conversion far and wide, she’s already decided “there’s no chance” she’d vote for Trump again. “Heavens no,” she said. “Trump basically turned me into a Democrat.”

The 2020 presidential campaign has been engrossed in a debate over which demographic groups Democrats should devote most of their attention to in order to reclaim the White House. African-Americans in urban areas? Rural voters who flipped from Barack Obama to Trump? Newly emerging but unreliable young people?

But the one pivotal group showing the most evident signs of splitting from the president are white working-class women, according to a review of polling data, focus groups and interviews with more than a dozen party strategists and voters like Heather.

There was the deal of 19: get the vote in exchange for learning to use it. Someone hasn’t kept her end of the bargain. Maybe the stellar GOP strategists will notice this trend too – maybe around 2024.