Once again, thank you Heather! Although I watched several hours of the first three days of the impeachment proceedings, I was unwilling to watch Friday’s shenanigans. As a result, tonight’s analysis is all the more appreciated.
I just happened upon an opinion piece I think you and this community will appreciate, so I’m sharing it here.
In his 2/10/2021 tweet, David Rothkoph urges us to “Never forget the bloody Capitol insurrection. Never forget his attempt to end democracy in America. But don't forget the rest either. Each of his abuses compounds and colors and explains and worsens the others. We must never forget any of it.”
The thread in its entirety:
“Many commentators are saying that the House impeachment managers case is so compelling and that it lays out the truth so clearly, that it will become the defining legacy of the Trump presidency. And face it, a president orchestrating a deadly coup attempt is a big deal.
But is it a bigger deal than the half a million who died of COVID, hundreds of thousands of whom would have lived had Trump not put his political interests before the public health of the US? Bigger than the massive economic crisis that accompanied that public health catastrophe?
Is it bigger than the fact that Trump was a traitor who sold out the country to Russia? Bigger than the fact that he was impeached twice? Bigger than the fact he separated families and put babies in cages? Bigger than his corruption, and nepotism?
Is it more defining of Trump than his history as a rapist, a serial abuser of women, a tax fraud, a racist, a misogynist? More defining than his serial obstruction of justice and efforts to undermine the rule of law in the United States?
The answer is, of course, it does not have to be bigger than these things and we should not want it to supplant them in our memories. Trump was the totality of all his crimes and betrayals, all his character defects and all the damage he did to others.
Never forget the bloody Capitol insurrection. Never forget his attempt to end democracy in America. But don't forget the rest either. Each of his abuses compounds and colors and explains and worsens the others. We must never forget any of it.
And we must be absolutely clear that every single enabler and defender of Trump is a co-author of the tragic travesty that was his disastrous presidency. We must never forget them or their role in this either.”
Remember and continue the D efforts to FIGHT AGAINST voter suppression (emphasis intended as there is a way to fight peacefully). Continue to register voters. Find and support Democratic candidates at the local levels and on up. Michigan has worked since 2016 to replace redistricting by the legislature with a citizen commission. Constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2018 accomplished this. And yes I was a signature gather for the petitions. Boots on the ground is how it gets done. It takes a village to do anything but most importantly it takes getting the populace woke and involved. As I was door to door in 2018 (that Covid thing you know) I would tell those with jobs and involved lives that the best way to help the party was, in a respectful voice, tell friends, family, co-workers, club members, etc., why you are voting Democratic or for a particular candidate. From the ground up is how Stacey Abrams did it and we must continue that work.
Yes! But for the likes of local office holders like Ratffensperger, this election might have been overturned. Such a frightening thought that so few held the line of our democracy. We need to all be more like Stacey Abrams!
Yes, Raffensperger did the correct thing. However, he and most Republicans in Georgia are scrambling to enact voter suppression legislation as we speak. He was defending the performance of the new voting equipment that he purchased, not the rights of the voters, and now he and other Republicans are trying to throw barriers in front of all who turned Georgia blue, in order that it remains reliably red. Stacey Abrams is wonderful, and will remain a hero as long as she lives - no showboat, but immeasurably intelligent and a fantastic strategist.
You know what? We need to change our definition of beauty, and then we need to learn how to see the unique beauty in everyone. Stacey Abrams is a big, beautiful, dark-skinned woman with a smile that could beat out the sun. She has a strong, powerful, beautiful voice that teaches young women of all kinds that they have something to say and the means to say it. Really, we've got to get over this old idea (I remember hearing it when I was very young- and it was old then) that women without the looks had to use their brains and hard work to "make up for it". Yes, Stacey is a hero. She is intelligent, hard-working, AND attractive. If we just get over our ideas about what that means.
Yes! There was some chatter here yesterday about not talking to people who appear kind and wonderful but relationships would be strained bringing up politics. It’s not politics, for goodness sake, it’s our democracy. And that requires active participation from all.
Thank you so much for your efforts and your boots on the ground talking and working and teaching. I’m doing that more and more myself but need to join a more formal grass roots movement as we work on midterms. Reading and blogging helps me understand so much but it’s not enough in protecting and strengthening our democracy.
One of my favorite things to do is speak with people who are more conservative than I am and try to understand why they are. I’m not talking about the folks who have gone too far right or too supremist to return to sanity, but people I live and work with. I do learn a lot.
I live in Michigan and sincerely thank you for all you've done. You're inspiration for all of us to participate, and to do so in the ways that we are able.
Oh, of course! It's the Russians! the Russians! Certainly, the core has absolutely nothing to do with Americans messing up the lives of millions of their American compatriots. Monopolistic no tax paying behemoth corporations, the 1%pouring millions into the coffers of the insurrectionists who happen to be members of Congress, Obama's ever protection of Wall Streeter greed hounds freed of any scruples to mess with their fellow Americans' mortgages and retirement accounts and liberated by bail outs and freed from indictments, nothing to do with Katrina, war crimes, the poisoning by water of our Flint brothers and sisters, the only materially advanced country without health care for all, penitentiaries for profit, children in cages, big oil's conscious evisceration of earth while propagandizing its denial, destruction of unions, corporate closing up American shops and sending manufacturing overseas, "800 military bases in more than 70 countries and territories abroad—from giant “Little Americas” to small radar facilities. Britain, France and Russia, by contrast, have about 30 foreign bases combined." (Google), Iraq invasion with hundreds of thousands dead and a broken country, "Johnson & Johnson exposed as the mastermind corporation behind the opioid epidemic that kills 60,000 Americans a year" (opioidnews.com), endemic structural rascism....Hey! Naw!!! it's the Russians! the Russians! and when it's not the Russians, it's the Chinese!!!
Sadly, the election's verdict that Rothkopf was looking forward to was distorted by the Traitor and his minions, resulting in The Big Lie and then in the January 6th insurrection and the second impeachment trial, from which all predictions point to another acquittal. Our country is in deep trouble.
"It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us-that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion-that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain-that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom-and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth."
Morning Lynn!! I also thought of him while reading these words. It's uncanny how relevant they are -- as if they were written since Jan 6. Both Lincoln and Sicknick lay in state under the same Capitol rotunda. "Lest we forget -- lest we forget!"
I would have had the officers who were on duty that day protecting them in the gallery or beside Officer Goodman. They need to see these people before they choose to acquit.
Thank you for putting this in here. It needs to be plastered on billboards, read out loud on street corners, shared as a bedtime story with children, sent to everyone you know.. This is how to mark his birthday.
Happy Lincoln’s Birthday to you all! And I am holding myself in check from being too optimistic that the news at the end of the day could turn the tide in our favor. But if it would, on this day that we honor the great man , our 16th President, I would again invoke the teachings of Carl Jung,
“Synchronicity is the coming together of inner and outer events in a way that cannot be explained by cause and effect and that is meaningful to the observer.”
So many worthy views (quotes) I have lost over these last couple of decades. Of those, I should have at least remembered the sentiment of this Jung teaching.
Oh I have a few, but millions have gone! There’s one quote from Shakespeare that I hold dear, my best friend sent it to me when my Mom died. But every time I try to recall it, I have to look it up !
This is a Letter-to-the-Editor I have ready to send, if my worst fears are realized by the Senators' votes today: The Die is Cast
The privileged class of the US Congress has spoken. What kind of America will we be ? Republican Senators who just voted to acquit ex-president Trump have just steered our country toward the rocky reefs of an Autocracy, where their oaths of office mean nothing but the means to hold power. By their votes, they have proclaimed America no longer stands for the values and principles encoded in the lives and writings of our Founding Fathers (and Mothers) in 1787, nor the brave women and men who have fought and died for those principles and values throughout our history.
To the Republican wing of the US Senate, Facts and Truth will continue to be irrelevant. The enduring shame of it is that those Republican Senators, unlike the House Managers, had the opportunity to provide America with a "Master Class" in Democracy. THEY FAILED MISERABLY!
To add insult to injury, those who voted to acquit revealed their true cynicism and disdain for our country's values and principles when they rose and applauded the Congressional Gold Medal given to true hero and Capitol Police Officer, Eugene Goodman. Goodman represented all of the bravery and honor shown by his "blue" brothers and sisters who risked, and in one case gave, their lives in service of protecting those same Republicans who had now stained themselves and our country. This was a real, missed opportunity.
It remains to be seen how much more hate, malevolence, and cowardice will be displayed by those segments of America who just applauded that missed opportunity…. the votes to acquit Donald John Trump just cast by Republicans.
Nice letter, but whatever paper you submit it to won't print it. It covers too much. Be sure, of course, to send it to your Congressperson and Senators.
Herb, You could send it as a submission to op-ed/commentaries, whatever your paper calls that section. It's about the right length. The only thing I'd be careful of is to not to make general assumptions about what a group of people think or feel. I'd rewrite the first sentence of the 3rd paragraph. And avoid the use of caps to emphasize phrases. A quiet low-key "They failed miserably" is more effective. Go for it. Good luck.
Hopefully the McCarthy/Trump phone call gains traction and is fully investigated. As for van deer Veen, he behaved like a low rent ambulance chaser. Thanks, Heather, as always, for your insight.
It’s safe to say the term Philadelphia Lawyer has lost all meaning after this. Van der Veen moaning about losing his livelihood - after he himself had sued Trump - was stunning.
When I was in high school years ago, a friend's father mad a comment about somebody in which he said something like "He's as sharp (extremely smart) as a Philadelphia lawyer. With Trump's lawyers, we see that with them that definition does no apply.
Believe or not, accurate statement. My wife said his law firm does those midnight commercials, they are personal injury lawyers. Not an insult, a statement of fact re: ambulance chaser.
Thank you Heather. I appreciate your recap of the day. I wasn't able to watch the proceedings.
From what I have read, it sounded like a damning day for the GOP, but then that would hold for a not fairly well determined case. The more I hear, the more it disgusts me that the outcome may not be fact based. I continually feel like the abused spouse that goes through the motions of trying to get a protection order and getting blamed for asking for it.
I suppose we will find out soon enough if we have to look for cover from the next insurrection or not. If he isn't convicted, this Nation will pay for his Impeachment in spades.
There are lot of people who say it feels like the country is under the control of a domestic abuser. People need to wake up. The fever needs to break. This would be ridiculous if it weren't so damn dangerous.
The country is definitely being "punished" for rejecting the former president in the 2020 election. He is an abuser. And he is capable of any kind of crime now that his wrath is unhidden. For that reason alone, even beyond the voluminous amounts of evidence heard and seen, he should be kept from ever holding a public office again.
It sounded to me like there may be serious federal charges awaiting trump (and others) once there is an AG. The evidence has been thoughtfully developed by the impeachment managers. If so, the consequences could be far worse than a senate guilty verdict.
Unfortunately, his base wouldn’t accept that federal charges by the new AG are anything but a new witch hunt. GOP Senate convicting him and renouncing him is what is necessary.
I am thinking along the same lines. There is no doubt that Trump could easily be convicted but the real wild cards here are the actual voters. The GOP will not renounce/convict Trump until the voters do. They need the deranged Trump voters to win. For me this is the real crux of the situation. Right now a majority of Republican voters are ok with how Trump has behaved and they are ok with “patriots” storming the capital. They are ok with the fact that people were killed and they are ok with the idea that threatening to kill and/or actually killing representatives (including the Vice President of the United States) that do not fall into line with Trump.
With that said, I am excited at the prospect of republicans continuing to split into different parties. There is no way either party alone could gain any kind of mandate in the coming years. Even if the party were to remain together I am sure some republicans are feeling pretty homeless right now.
Somehow, for the life of me, I cannot feel empathy for a “homeless Republican.” I just think I heard Jesus tell me “you don’t have to feel sorry for homeless Republicans."
Robert, I have to disagree with you that "right now a majority of Republican voters are ok with how Trump has behaved and they are ok with “patriots” storming the capital." On the contrary, I think a majority of them are appalled. Not all Republicans are like those nutjobs who stormed the capitol. I seem to remember Dr. Richardson relating that 20-22% of the population are on those extreme ends of the political spectrum. I would like to think that there were more Republicans who held their noses and voted for Trump, not because they agreed 100% with how he did the job, but because they couldn't stand voting for a Democrat. I would like to think that Trump's actions, and inaction on Jan 6 was too much for anyone to stomach.
They wouldn't be able to dismiss what he will be able to come up with in his investigation-don't forget he was the prosecutor of Timothy McVeigh. Merrickis very good in dealing with domestic terrorists!
Well, yes, but punishment isn't the point of impeachment. Impeachment is meant to discourage the abuse of power by officeholders in the government. We and future Americans are the ones who will reap the consequences of the failed verdict in this one.
Foni Willis, D.A. for Fulton County, Georgia, (that's Atlanta) has opened the first criminal investigation into Trump's after-he-lost-the-election crimes. I have a suspicion this will open the floodgates. We'll see.
I didn’t find it. I thought it from listening to the prosecution. However, since I wrote my original observation, McConnell’s speech at the end of the trial supports it.
Next insurrection? On its way! Of course, Trump will be acquited and the 14th Amendment's Sec. 3 ignored as well. Former FBI agent and Ass't Director Frank Figliuzzi (on MSNBC) says that self-regulation by social media isn't enough to police the messaging and promulgation of lies on which the insurrectionists depend. It will remain a continuing threat which only Congressional legislation can deal. The First Amendment was never intended to justify the acts of criminals.
A veil so thin anyone but a Trumpista can see through it.
One can only hope that enough citizens represented by Republican senators will burn up the phone lines screaming to convict to provide the political heat, feet to the fire, to motivate enough Republican votes to preserve American democracy.
Because the preservation of American democracy is what is really at stake in this impeachment trial.
In essence the defense's case was "Ya got nuthin'" All of the evidence in the phone calls by McCarthy and Tuberville are easily verified.
What I want to know is what the hell went on down in Florida between McCarthy and Trump on Jan 28th? Did they really discuss the 2022 elections or was someone blackmailed. Guess we'll find out today.
Not at all. That is how mob bosses work. T graduated from bully to mob boss to self proclaimed god. All the dictators around the world are watching to see how democracy really works. 45's personal militia failed this time. Be on guard for the next try.
March 4 was the designated date for presidential inaugurations until FDR moved it up to Jan 20 before his second term in 1936. MAGAts see 3/4 as the legitimate date. There are plans for a large rally in DC then, but expect the police and NG to be ready this time.
I believe that was the historic date for inauguration day, up until FDR's term, so has become symbolic for the TRA (Trumpish Republican Army) (my term!) as the "real" inauguration, when their fuhrer will be returned to his rightful glory.
Get a search warrant for the hotel before 3/4 and scour the place for weapons and evidence. It would have been difficult, but it was a major error to let so many MAGAts leave for home without following them to their lodgings in early Jan. Explosives, thousands of firearms and other incriminating evidence would have been found b/c DC's strict gun laws prevented bringing them into the city on Jan 6.
Exactly. If Trump isn’t convicted it’s only a matter of time, and continued planning by the white supremist army, until it happens again. I just can’t believe these handful of senators control the trajectory of democracy in the US and the world right now. For all time.
Not really, Trump wouldn’t concede and give him his mailing list, and surely it left him angry and frustrated. He probably hasn’t slept in weeks and finally thought, I still have one last card to play. Dare I call it the ‘Trump’ card, or will I be expelled for citing a bad cliche?
I think when we think the criminals function like we do, that’s when we make our first mistake. In my lifetime I have seen people who bare and bold faced lie and deceive and have no conscience around it. I’ll never get that. Truly, sociopaths. Trump has not been bothered by this at all. This is a game for him. A game he feels he will always win. That’s my take.
My imagination is stirring here, perhaps not a good thing! I recall Dr. Heather saying in one of her FB chats that it's possible there is more damning evidence that will continue to come out. Maybe some of the more moderate 'acquitters' are getting nervous now and know they will be permanently tied to this travesty if they vote to acquit.
Good morning all! HCR, I really do admire your optimism, but I doubt very much that today will be all that "interesting" unless Drumpf's lawyers are charged with perjury and obstruction and marched away to await indictment. The morally bankrupt deplorables who occupy half the Senate--and the 6 or 7 who might vote with the Dems have abetted their Capo for four long years because it suited their purposes to do so--have permanently extracted their ethics, their moral fiber, their empathy in order to promote a policy of guaranteeing (so they think) unimpeded power at all times for themselves. Whatever it takes, in their minds, is appropriate. There is a chasm between humanity and these specimens of execrable scum.
The only way that any relief can be had is through indictment. But that process, since Drumpf has padded his legal defense fund and bribed the RNC with contributions from his rabid mob of followers, will be long and complicated.
I am very very very tired of Trump and his whole revolting collection of spawn.
In contrast, Dr. Jill Biden's decision to engage in a bit of fun with dogs and hubby on the south lawn by erecting valentines everywhere--and the Prez, in his jeans and bareheaded wandering around talking to reporters, giving his coffee to one who had teased him about not bringing coffee and donuts out to them, talking with such emotion about his 14 year old pooch who was hobbling around (as old dogs do) clearly enjoying the day--is the image of February 12th I want to remember. Not the piles of excrement playing on their phones in order not to have to listen to reality and facts.
Yes. I loved seeing that as well. Honest compassion and kindness can be seen and felt. President Biden and First Lady Jill are kind, good public servants. It shows in all they do. Not hard to feel a small sense of joy in these continued times where Trump and his ilk still seem to be controlling the mood of our country. Thank you, FLOTUS Jill for a bit of light in the darkness.
I'm trying to imagine Melania getting away with goofy, horribly designed, elementary school project of "hearts on the south lawn" during an Impeachment trial. I was shocked. Melania would have been crucified, gif-ed, memed, Borowitz-ed, Tweet-crushed, Op-Ed cartooned, Lincoln Projected, and Facebooked to smithereens. I understand that we want our government to return to "normal." But, to me, this is an example of the kind of distortion we all hold to tightly. I'm trying to imagine the hearts picture in the history books next to pictures of rioters and pictures of the Senate in a hard-fought impeachment session, slides of trauma filling the chamber. The contrast is "heartbreaking."
I'm not writing about Valentine's Day, which is a lovely holiday. I am writing about how our biases change given the context. It's about how we treated Melania for four years. I think the way we bias information is important to understand.
You captured the essence of a complex day of hearings. My takeaways include:
1. Trump is a runaway locomotive that will not stop until it utterly disintegrates in a rusty heap of iron. If given the opportunity, the Trump locomotive will, if momentarily blockaded, merely pause momentarily, and then head off hellbent in a new destructive direction.
2. Trump liked the presentation his attorneys presented today because it channeled his own belligerent and pugilistic style. Trump's mentors (spiritual/actual) -- former U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy (of Wisconsin) and former attorney Roy Cohn -- spoke through Trump, and through Trump's current attorneys. The message was, inevitably, ruthless and ugly.
3. Trump, even now, cares about nothing other than maintaining his base, building his base, and preparing himself for the next campaign.
4. Congressman Jamie Raskin's team of attorneys drawn from the the U.S. House, did an admirable job of presenting their case. I am eternally indebted to them for their wisdom, their clarity, and (particularly with Raskin), an engaging sense of humor.
5. I hope that Raskin, on Saturday, plays the Kevin McCarthy card. McCarthy revealed today to the general public that he had talked to Trump in the middle of the insurrection, asked Trump to call it off, at which point Trump scornfully laughed at him and terminated the conversation. CNN picked up on this exchange this afternoon. I hope it has some legs. It seems quite clear that Trump has no a commitment only to the pursuit of his next pinnacle of power.
Do you think McCarthy will dare testify? Isn’t this information second hand knowledge from GOP house members he talked to? He completely changed his tune after his visit to Mar y Lago.
Great comment. Trump will continue to campaign, stir up his base. Here we go again. Patriots need to hit the streets. We need to act like Stacey Abram and get walking and talking.
A fact reported January 7, 2021, was that it Pence not POTUS who gave the approval for the National Guard to be activated. From the information given at the time, I was led to believe that only POTUS had the authority to activate the National Guard. The impeachment managers have skirted around the issue by saying POTUS was not on the list of people called. But it was reported that as the calls kept going out to get approval, POTUS was not answering the phone and Pence gave the order.
I am also surprised more hasn’t been made of this point as well. There are two people who have the authority to activate the DC National Guard: the President and the Secretary of Defense. The acting SecDef was a toady “appointed” by Trump when the prior acting SecDef couldn’t stomach the job any longer and left. Pence is not in the chain of command. For him to order anything lawfully would mean the President was unable to act. There are many ways of interpreting these facts, but it has always struck me as clear and chilling evidence that Trump had no intention of stopping the mob so long as he thought there was any chance they could halt the process.
As far as Pence and Nancy being killed-don't forget they are #1 and #2 after POTUS. If the domestic terrorists had succeeded in that goal, Biden would be the next target...
I think we must all push our "engagement" button. We must continue the push that defeated trump, get out millions more progressive voters. We need, all of us, to be Stacey Abrams. But you are right, it is a terribly sad state of affairs for Senators to put ..what, party, cowardice, job security, before truth and democracy.
How sad that it’s taken this long for the R Senators to finally pay attention to the ransacking of our country. Their lives were threatened. THEIR lives. Not those of the nearly 500K who have died from Covid (barely mentioned in the news these days), not the families separated at the border, not the soldiers with Russian bounties on their heads, etc, etc. Let’s hope it’s not too little too late.
Except for Lindsey Graham there is no kompromat driving these R Senators. It is simply about retaining power, re-election and worry about assassination by 45’s thugs
Look how long it took any to speak out in general. It took a trump directed riotous domestic terrorist group who were hell bent on taking senators, THEIR COLLEAGUES, out! Out like TO KILL! Out like dead! Let’s swap some of these vermin for the immigrants they would disallow entry into this country. These folk would make far better Americans!!
Gosh and golly. Tho old monkey wrench scenario. It’s like a Perry Mason episode. Paul Drake finds some essential evidence and the court gasps. In my best Della Street mode I am nodding my head...hoping this will make the difference to history.
Hatred. It is an uncontrollable force. You don’t take the lid off the box and stir it up for your own personal or political gain. As a person of faith, as an involved citizen, I have known and held this knowledge within my core way of being in the world.
My knowledge of this goes to my bones. You are aware of the Bataan Death March and Japanese prison camps in WW2. My father was a survivor of this 3.5 years of brutality. I guess survivor is the right word, but truthfully the psyche never recovers from witnessing and experiencing this level of unspeakable hatred and non-understandable violence.
There are many of us survivors and family of survivors who have seen and been appalled by the use of this animus by one Donald J Trump.
The Republican party’s hesitancy to call this out for what it is has allowed the monstrousness of hatred to grow into repeated attacks of mob violence.
Perhaps you didn’t know that you were enabling the president to give permission and protection to haters. But when it comes to hatred, I really advise listening to those who became experts the hard way.
Sen John McCain was experienced in two ways: one as a tortured POW, and secondly as the candidate who unleashed the unvarnished social media voice in his VP selection. His regret of this decision was humbling. He saw where it led.
The truth is now known. The events have unfolded. You are now required to remove the scales from your eyes and answer truthfully — from every level of your being — that unleashing hatred for the sake of personal political gain is wrong and will not be tolerated in the halls of government here in the United States of America.
Please do your part to stand against the destruction and division that DJT has unleashed for his own financial and populist gain. You and I know equally well that his words are not a political movement. He has used his voice to stir up a discontent that is beyond policy solutions. You know where it leads.
May God bless the souls and lives of those who have suffered. Be strong and speak for generations and generations of them today.
No matter how the Senate votes, the trial convicted Trump.
Also, the trial has now permanently documented the events of 1/6 and trump's role in them. His record as a president will forever be attached to 1/6. He's ruined.
Finally, the trial will ultimately do the same for individual Republicans and the party as a whole. They have attached themselves to 1/6, the Big Lie, and domestic terror.
Hitler was thrown in jail and his NAZI party banned in 1923. Ten years later, he was omnipotent leader of Germany and the rest is history. Just saying.
But remember, the German people were still suffering greatly from rampant inflation and poverty, and the entire country was ravaged. Our situation is not the same, although DJT's followers strongly resemble Nazis. These people pose a significant threat, but we outnumber them, and must be vigilant and determined.
The fact that Trump has been able to convince 75 million Americans that their grievances are as profoundly dire as those existing in Germany is the biggest reason not to count him out. The correct analogy is "Jews as Scapegoats" vs.
"Non-Whites as Scapegoats". And BTW, until 1929, Germany was not in total freefall. Yet Hitler was WELL on his way to power when the Great Depression arrived and made his ascent much easier. (All said, I consider Trump's followers to be worse than the average NAZI. There is not a SHRED of actual grievance in the lives of ANY White American that compares to those faced by every single African-American citizen from birth, regardless of his parents's economic status.)
I totally agree, Stephen, that we can't count this monster out, and understand that the fact that we outnumber his followers does not negate their threat. 7 million Trumpies is too many; 75 Million is unthinkable. One little Georgia brat, who terrorized his neighbors for ages with his poisonous rants and Trump flags on his truck, was actually driven to D.C. by his "supportive" parents so that he could participate in the "demonstration." I also agree that these followers are much more malignant than the average Nazi, in that they have no real grievance compared to African-Americans, who, in all honesty, saved the 2020 election by electing a White man, despite their unfair marginalization.
I thought the highlight of yesterday’s presentation by Trump’s defense team was that seemingly endless video of Democrats using the word “fight”. /s. When you have nothing, why not play to your audience of one in hopes that you will not be stiffed when it comes time to have your fees paid.
I thought the highlight was the fiery rebuttal to those spliced/edited fight clips: women, and black women especially are sick and tired of being sick and tired!
Yes! Stacey Plaskett's response, and pointing out the use of videos of black women was an insult and continued racist tact used by the rethuglicans all the time. She was great!
Yes! Their playing the repetitive tapes all day was so ridiculous, annoying, and reflected their lack of any grasp on the situation or real thoughts of substance in the defense of the indefensible! I felt like I was being bombarded by rolls of paper towels for hours!
It felt abusive. Torture by sound. Also a chance to highlight all the Dems they despise.....used Warren ad nauseam....later managed to sneak Hilary in!!!!!!
From FB posts I’ve read from trump’s many supporters in my area, they believe the impeachment managers were pummeled by trump’s defense team!!! PUMMELED?!?! People are so blinded...I can’t stop shaking my head.
Once again, thank you Heather! Although I watched several hours of the first three days of the impeachment proceedings, I was unwilling to watch Friday’s shenanigans. As a result, tonight’s analysis is all the more appreciated.
I just happened upon an opinion piece I think you and this community will appreciate, so I’m sharing it here.
In his 2/10/2021 tweet, David Rothkoph urges us to “Never forget the bloody Capitol insurrection. Never forget his attempt to end democracy in America. But don't forget the rest either. Each of his abuses compounds and colors and explains and worsens the others. We must never forget any of it.”
The thread in its entirety:
“Many commentators are saying that the House impeachment managers case is so compelling and that it lays out the truth so clearly, that it will become the defining legacy of the Trump presidency. And face it, a president orchestrating a deadly coup attempt is a big deal.
But is it a bigger deal than the half a million who died of COVID, hundreds of thousands of whom would have lived had Trump not put his political interests before the public health of the US? Bigger than the massive economic crisis that accompanied that public health catastrophe?
Is it bigger than the fact that Trump was a traitor who sold out the country to Russia? Bigger than the fact that he was impeached twice? Bigger than the fact he separated families and put babies in cages? Bigger than his corruption, and nepotism?
Is it more defining of Trump than his history as a rapist, a serial abuser of women, a tax fraud, a racist, a misogynist? More defining than his serial obstruction of justice and efforts to undermine the rule of law in the United States?
The answer is, of course, it does not have to be bigger than these things and we should not want it to supplant them in our memories. Trump was the totality of all his crimes and betrayals, all his character defects and all the damage he did to others.
Never forget the bloody Capitol insurrection. Never forget his attempt to end democracy in America. But don't forget the rest either. Each of his abuses compounds and colors and explains and worsens the others. We must never forget any of it.
And we must be absolutely clear that every single enabler and defender of Trump is a co-author of the tragic travesty that was his disastrous presidency. We must never forget them or their role in this either.”
Remember and continue the D efforts to FIGHT AGAINST voter suppression (emphasis intended as there is a way to fight peacefully). Continue to register voters. Find and support Democratic candidates at the local levels and on up. Michigan has worked since 2016 to replace redistricting by the legislature with a citizen commission. Constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2018 accomplished this. And yes I was a signature gather for the petitions. Boots on the ground is how it gets done. It takes a village to do anything but most importantly it takes getting the populace woke and involved. As I was door to door in 2018 (that Covid thing you know) I would tell those with jobs and involved lives that the best way to help the party was, in a respectful voice, tell friends, family, co-workers, club members, etc., why you are voting Democratic or for a particular candidate. From the ground up is how Stacey Abrams did it and we must continue that work.
Yes! But for the likes of local office holders like Ratffensperger, this election might have been overturned. Such a frightening thought that so few held the line of our democracy. We need to all be more like Stacey Abrams!
Yes, Raffensperger did the correct thing. However, he and most Republicans in Georgia are scrambling to enact voter suppression legislation as we speak. He was defending the performance of the new voting equipment that he purchased, not the rights of the voters, and now he and other Republicans are trying to throw barriers in front of all who turned Georgia blue, in order that it remains reliably red. Stacey Abrams is wonderful, and will remain a hero as long as she lives - no showboat, but immeasurably intelligent and a fantastic strategist.
You know what? We need to change our definition of beauty, and then we need to learn how to see the unique beauty in everyone. Stacey Abrams is a big, beautiful, dark-skinned woman with a smile that could beat out the sun. She has a strong, powerful, beautiful voice that teaches young women of all kinds that they have something to say and the means to say it. Really, we've got to get over this old idea (I remember hearing it when I was very young- and it was old then) that women without the looks had to use their brains and hard work to "make up for it". Yes, Stacey is a hero. She is intelligent, hard-working, AND attractive. If we just get over our ideas about what that means.
Yes, she is beautiful in so many ways.
Love her! She's a hero, and smiles while she proves that she doesn't suffer fools.
This!!!! Like I said, reading and blogging is a good information source, but doing is where democracy thrives.
Amen sister.
Yes
Yes! There was some chatter here yesterday about not talking to people who appear kind and wonderful but relationships would be strained bringing up politics. It’s not politics, for goodness sake, it’s our democracy. And that requires active participation from all.
Thank you so much for your efforts and your boots on the ground talking and working and teaching. I’m doing that more and more myself but need to join a more formal grass roots movement as we work on midterms. Reading and blogging helps me understand so much but it’s not enough in protecting and strengthening our democracy.
One of my favorite things to do is speak with people who are more conservative than I am and try to understand why they are. I’m not talking about the folks who have gone too far right or too supremist to return to sanity, but people I live and work with. I do learn a lot.
Find your local Democratic Club of Indivisible Group.
Thanks for this tip!
Yes! Thanks
I live in Michigan and sincerely thank you for all you've done. You're inspiration for all of us to participate, and to do so in the ways that we are able.
Great work, Sally.
David Rothkoph is the author of Traitor. If interested, you can read about it here:
https://amp.theguardian.com/books/2020/oct/18/traitor-review-benedict-arnold-donald-trump-david-rothkopf
Oh, of course! It's the Russians! the Russians! Certainly, the core has absolutely nothing to do with Americans messing up the lives of millions of their American compatriots. Monopolistic no tax paying behemoth corporations, the 1%pouring millions into the coffers of the insurrectionists who happen to be members of Congress, Obama's ever protection of Wall Streeter greed hounds freed of any scruples to mess with their fellow Americans' mortgages and retirement accounts and liberated by bail outs and freed from indictments, nothing to do with Katrina, war crimes, the poisoning by water of our Flint brothers and sisters, the only materially advanced country without health care for all, penitentiaries for profit, children in cages, big oil's conscious evisceration of earth while propagandizing its denial, destruction of unions, corporate closing up American shops and sending manufacturing overseas, "800 military bases in more than 70 countries and territories abroad—from giant “Little Americas” to small radar facilities. Britain, France and Russia, by contrast, have about 30 foreign bases combined." (Google), Iraq invasion with hundreds of thousands dead and a broken country, "Johnson & Johnson exposed as the mastermind corporation behind the opioid epidemic that kills 60,000 Americans a year" (opioidnews.com), endemic structural rascism....Hey! Naw!!! it's the Russians! the Russians! and when it's not the Russians, it's the Chinese!!!
Well said, Selina! You're on a roll. Go for it.
Thanks Annie, sometimes it seems to happen on its own...
Sadly, the election's verdict that Rothkopf was looking forward to was distorted by the Traitor and his minions, resulting in The Big Lie and then in the January 6th insurrection and the second impeachment trial, from which all predictions point to another acquittal. Our country is in deep trouble.
‘Don’t like’
Thanks!
Happy Lincoln's Birthday, everyone.
"It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us-that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion-that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain-that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom-and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth."
-- The Gettysburg Address, 1863
And a message in 2021 to Officer Sicknick that he has not died in vain.
Morning Lynn!! I also thought of him while reading these words. It's uncanny how relevant they are -- as if they were written since Jan 6. Both Lincoln and Sicknick lay in state under the same Capitol rotunda. "Lest we forget -- lest we forget!"
Morning, TPJ. Forgot to say Happy Lincoln's birthday to you, too!
One day we will return to quoting Lincoln's earthy jokes and throwaway remarks. For now, his profound and immortal words are essential.
We need to remind those who vote to acquit of this daily. His death should haunt them forever.
I would have had a poster of the officers lost right behind the podium.
I would have had the officers who were on duty that day protecting them in the gallery or beside Officer Goodman. They need to see these people before they choose to acquit.
Yes! That’s even better!
Thank you for putting this in here. It needs to be plastered on billboards, read out loud on street corners, shared as a bedtime story with children, sent to everyone you know.. This is how to mark his birthday.
Thank you
Thanks TPJ!
Happy Lincoln’s Birthday to you all! And I am holding myself in check from being too optimistic that the news at the end of the day could turn the tide in our favor. But if it would, on this day that we honor the great man , our 16th President, I would again invoke the teachings of Carl Jung,
“Synchronicity is the coming together of inner and outer events in a way that cannot be explained by cause and effect and that is meaningful to the observer.”
― Carl Jung
Synchronicity will be my prayer today. Thank you for sharing.
Let’s hope!
So many worthy views (quotes) I have lost over these last couple of decades. Of those, I should have at least remembered the sentiment of this Jung teaching.
They are in your soul... so they are safe within you!
Oh I have a few, but millions have gone! There’s one quote from Shakespeare that I hold dear, my best friend sent it to me when my Mom died. But every time I try to recall it, I have to look it up !
“Sleep that knits up the raveled sleeve of care”
From MacBeth
I think (wish) to share the Jung quote with my friends. Thanks.
I'm so glad it means something to you...
This is a Letter-to-the-Editor I have ready to send, if my worst fears are realized by the Senators' votes today: The Die is Cast
The privileged class of the US Congress has spoken. What kind of America will we be ? Republican Senators who just voted to acquit ex-president Trump have just steered our country toward the rocky reefs of an Autocracy, where their oaths of office mean nothing but the means to hold power. By their votes, they have proclaimed America no longer stands for the values and principles encoded in the lives and writings of our Founding Fathers (and Mothers) in 1787, nor the brave women and men who have fought and died for those principles and values throughout our history.
To the Republican wing of the US Senate, Facts and Truth will continue to be irrelevant. The enduring shame of it is that those Republican Senators, unlike the House Managers, had the opportunity to provide America with a "Master Class" in Democracy. THEY FAILED MISERABLY!
To add insult to injury, those who voted to acquit revealed their true cynicism and disdain for our country's values and principles when they rose and applauded the Congressional Gold Medal given to true hero and Capitol Police Officer, Eugene Goodman. Goodman represented all of the bravery and honor shown by his "blue" brothers and sisters who risked, and in one case gave, their lives in service of protecting those same Republicans who had now stained themselves and our country. This was a real, missed opportunity.
It remains to be seen how much more hate, malevolence, and cowardice will be displayed by those segments of America who just applauded that missed opportunity…. the votes to acquit Donald John Trump just cast by Republicans.
Excellent, Herb, but I’m praying you won’t need to submit it.
From your lips to God's ears
I pray you don’t need to send this.
From your lips to God's ears !
Nice letter, but whatever paper you submit it to won't print it. It covers too much. Be sure, of course, to send it to your Congressperson and Senators.
A fine letter, but go shorter; it's more likely to be published.
Ibid
Excellent!
Thank you, Cynthia.
Herb, You could send it as a submission to op-ed/commentaries, whatever your paper calls that section. It's about the right length. The only thing I'd be careful of is to not to make general assumptions about what a group of people think or feel. I'd rewrite the first sentence of the 3rd paragraph. And avoid the use of caps to emphasize phrases. A quiet low-key "They failed miserably" is more effective. Go for it. Good luck.
Hopefully the McCarthy/Trump phone call gains traction and is fully investigated. As for van deer Veen, he behaved like a low rent ambulance chaser. Thanks, Heather, as always, for your insight.
Morning, Daria!! Dr. R's last paragraph has brought me hope. Agree about van der Veen. He is a mirror image of 45.
I believe he’s auditioning for a gig on FOX or Newsmax....
Ouch...glad I don't have cable!
There's always the cable alternative-don't turn to any Fox channel-I don't! I AM glad that Spectrum carries MSNBC!
Me neither, L. Great minds think alike -- and then there's us ....
Hiya Lynell! In re HCR's last paragraph: me too.
It’s safe to say the term Philadelphia Lawyer has lost all meaning after this. Van der Veen moaning about losing his livelihood - after he himself had sued Trump - was stunning.
And he probably won’t be paid for his efforts. That particular client has a very bad track record!
Any lawyer stupid enough to not ask the iDJT for an enormous retainer deserves to be stiffed.
Why do think that entire previous legal team walked? He made it clear he would stiff them.
In the song of the same name, the lawyer meets a sticky end.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwwxL4JCbQM
Hahaha. Perfect
When I was in high school years ago, a friend's father mad a comment about somebody in which he said something like "He's as sharp (extremely smart) as a Philadelphia lawyer. With Trump's lawyers, we see that with them that definition does no apply.
‘Low rent ambulance chaser’! You won!
Low rent ambulance chaser .... Ouch!
With his picture on the side of a bus somewhere.
Call 1800 ... etc🎵🎵🎵
Believe or not, accurate statement. My wife said his law firm does those midnight commercials, they are personal injury lawyers. Not an insult, a statement of fact re: ambulance chaser.
Trump found his Roy Cohn
Yep -- here's the DNA https://dianefrancis.substack.com/p/president-loophole-on-trial
Sad
I think that’s because that’s what he is
Van deer Veen would seem to be a typical Philadelphia lawyer, and I mean that pejoratively.
Thank you Heather. I appreciate your recap of the day. I wasn't able to watch the proceedings.
From what I have read, it sounded like a damning day for the GOP, but then that would hold for a not fairly well determined case. The more I hear, the more it disgusts me that the outcome may not be fact based. I continually feel like the abused spouse that goes through the motions of trying to get a protection order and getting blamed for asking for it.
I suppose we will find out soon enough if we have to look for cover from the next insurrection or not. If he isn't convicted, this Nation will pay for his Impeachment in spades.
Be safe, be well.
There are lot of people who say it feels like the country is under the control of a domestic abuser. People need to wake up. The fever needs to break. This would be ridiculous if it weren't so damn dangerous.
The country is definitely being "punished" for rejecting the former president in the 2020 election. He is an abuser. And he is capable of any kind of crime now that his wrath is unhidden. For that reason alone, even beyond the voluminous amounts of evidence heard and seen, he should be kept from ever holding a public office again.
Pam, for me, it's the amount and vigor of damning evidence that is appalling to me that the GOP would turn their back on.
It sounded to me like there may be serious federal charges awaiting trump (and others) once there is an AG. The evidence has been thoughtfully developed by the impeachment managers. If so, the consequences could be far worse than a senate guilty verdict.
Unfortunately, his base wouldn’t accept that federal charges by the new AG are anything but a new witch hunt. GOP Senate convicting him and renouncing him is what is necessary.
I am thinking along the same lines. There is no doubt that Trump could easily be convicted but the real wild cards here are the actual voters. The GOP will not renounce/convict Trump until the voters do. They need the deranged Trump voters to win. For me this is the real crux of the situation. Right now a majority of Republican voters are ok with how Trump has behaved and they are ok with “patriots” storming the capital. They are ok with the fact that people were killed and they are ok with the idea that threatening to kill and/or actually killing representatives (including the Vice President of the United States) that do not fall into line with Trump.
With that said, I am excited at the prospect of republicans continuing to split into different parties. There is no way either party alone could gain any kind of mandate in the coming years. Even if the party were to remain together I am sure some republicans are feeling pretty homeless right now.
Somehow, for the life of me, I cannot feel empathy for a “homeless Republican.” I just think I heard Jesus tell me “you don’t have to feel sorry for homeless Republicans."
Robert, I have to disagree with you that "right now a majority of Republican voters are ok with how Trump has behaved and they are ok with “patriots” storming the capital." On the contrary, I think a majority of them are appalled. Not all Republicans are like those nutjobs who stormed the capitol. I seem to remember Dr. Richardson relating that 20-22% of the population are on those extreme ends of the political spectrum. I would like to think that there were more Republicans who held their noses and voted for Trump, not because they agreed 100% with how he did the job, but because they couldn't stand voting for a Democrat. I would like to think that Trump's actions, and inaction on Jan 6 was too much for anyone to stomach.
I hold that hope as well Carolyn.
The Republicans are going to hold up Merrick Garland's nomination as long as they can.
They wouldn't be able to dismiss what he will be able to come up with in his investigation-don't forget he was the prosecutor of Timothy McVeigh. Merrickis very good in dealing with domestic terrorists!
Yup
Grrrr
Repugs' job descriptions include "torment and obstruct Judge Garland until forever."
Fortunately his base doesn't control the levers of justice.
Well, yes, but punishment isn't the point of impeachment. Impeachment is meant to discourage the abuse of power by officeholders in the government. We and future Americans are the ones who will reap the consequences of the failed verdict in this one.
Marty, I wonder if this is actually the long game.
Sorry Marcy. Damn that auto correct 😊
Where did you find this information?
Foni Willis, D.A. for Fulton County, Georgia, (that's Atlanta) has opened the first criminal investigation into Trump's after-he-lost-the-election crimes. I have a suspicion this will open the floodgates. We'll see.
I didn’t find it. I thought it from listening to the prosecution. However, since I wrote my original observation, McConnell’s speech at the end of the trial supports it.
Next insurrection? On its way! Of course, Trump will be acquited and the 14th Amendment's Sec. 3 ignored as well. Former FBI agent and Ass't Director Frank Figliuzzi (on MSNBC) says that self-regulation by social media isn't enough to police the messaging and promulgation of lies on which the insurrectionists depend. It will remain a continuing threat which only Congressional legislation can deal. The First Amendment was never intended to justify the acts of criminals.
Jacob, I agree wholeheartedly.
“Political cover to vote to acquit”
A veil so thin anyone but a Trumpista can see through it.
One can only hope that enough citizens represented by Republican senators will burn up the phone lines screaming to convict to provide the political heat, feet to the fire, to motivate enough Republican votes to preserve American democracy.
Because the preservation of American democracy is what is really at stake in this impeachment trial.
Raskin kept driving that point about our Republic, Ralph, which to me is the same thing.
In essence the defense's case was "Ya got nuthin'" All of the evidence in the phone calls by McCarthy and Tuberville are easily verified.
What I want to know is what the hell went on down in Florida between McCarthy and Trump on Jan 28th? Did they really discuss the 2022 elections or was someone blackmailed. Guess we'll find out today.
I always pictured that after his angry fone call he had to go down there and kiss "The Don's" ring to prevent a contract put out on him.
Or have I watched too many mob boss movies?
Not at all. That is how mob bosses work. T graduated from bully to mob boss to self proclaimed god. All the dictators around the world are watching to see how democracy really works. 45's personal militia failed this time. Be on guard for the next try.
March 4th?
What's on tap for March 4th? Or is that a marching order, "March forth"?
March 4 was the designated date for presidential inaugurations until FDR moved it up to Jan 20 before his second term in 1936. MAGAts see 3/4 as the legitimate date. There are plans for a large rally in DC then, but expect the police and NG to be ready this time.
1937
I believe that was the historic date for inauguration day, up until FDR's term, so has become symbolic for the TRA (Trumpish Republican Army) (my term!) as the "real" inauguration, when their fuhrer will be returned to his rightful glory.
I'm updating my term to the Trumpish Republican Army of Seditious Horror - the TRASH.
Thanks, Syd.
yup!
Well, the Trump Hotel raised their rates for his second inaugural on 3/4.
Get a search warrant for the hotel before 3/4 and scour the place for weapons and evidence. It would have been difficult, but it was a major error to let so many MAGAts leave for home without following them to their lodgings in early Jan. Explosives, thousands of firearms and other incriminating evidence would have been found b/c DC's strict gun laws prevented bringing them into the city on Jan 6.
Exactly. If Trump isn’t convicted it’s only a matter of time, and continued planning by the white supremist army, until it happens again. I just can’t believe these handful of senators control the trajectory of democracy in the US and the world right now. For all time.
No! I thought the same thing. He had been sent to the Dean’s office, his buttocks beaten, and he came back meekly and behaved as he had been directed.
In my mind's eye, McCarthy was on his knees, licking T's boots.
Yes you have and yes, you are correct. It’s JUST like that Rob.
Perhaps he was giving trump the chance to do the right thing? trump refused so now McCarthy is spilling the beans? I know, naive.
Not really, Trump wouldn’t concede and give him his mailing list, and surely it left him angry and frustrated. He probably hasn’t slept in weeks and finally thought, I still have one last card to play. Dare I call it the ‘Trump’ card, or will I be expelled for citing a bad cliche?
I think when we think the criminals function like we do, that’s when we make our first mistake. In my lifetime I have seen people who bare and bold faced lie and deceive and have no conscience around it. I’ll never get that. Truly, sociopaths. Trump has not been bothered by this at all. This is a game for him. A game he feels he will always win. That’s my take.
Yes, I agree, but I wasn't referring to Trump, but to Kevin Mc..
You are hereby promoted for a good pun.
Yay!
My imagination is stirring here, perhaps not a good thing! I recall Dr. Heather saying in one of her FB chats that it's possible there is more damning evidence that will continue to come out. Maybe some of the more moderate 'acquitters' are getting nervous now and know they will be permanently tied to this travesty if they vote to acquit.
Maybe like the fact that Raffensperger wouldn't have released the taped phone conversation unless Trump mentioned it first, which he did.
But McCarthy is not the one spilling the beans. The House R’s he spoke with are. At the time he did not vote to impeach.
Nice thought though. There used to be people with that kind of principle in Congress; not so much any more.
Oh Sally, how I wish you are right. I’m just as naive to believe/hope they will do the right thing for our Nation.
Aaaaaahahahaha. Yeah right. The only hope we have is to get rid of them.
McCarthy spilling the beans? One can only hope.
Methinks he is keeping the beans clenched tightly in his cheeks.
Just how bad does Kevin want that speakership?
No more than McConnell and all the other sycophants who have kissed arse and continue to.
As Heather used always used to say when mentioning McCarthy, he took money from Lev Parnas. I suspect it’s that.
I forgot about that. The truth always comes out.
I don’t remember that! What was the story ?
Sorry for my delay in replying! https://www.courthousenews.com/indicted-giuliani-ally-has-money-tied-republicans-seeking-cover/
thanks!
Maybe it was money. Lots and lots of money. Maybe that's what trump has going with all the Republican faithful, lots and lots of untraceable money.
Then it's other people's money, not his own.
His modus operandi, since forever.
Or dough his supporters sent to Stop the Steal. As if.
Just like Joe Pesci in ‘My Cousin Vinney’
“Everyting dat guy said is bullish...”
I was wondering, too, but hadn't thought about a blackmail plot. Hmm?
Good morning all! HCR, I really do admire your optimism, but I doubt very much that today will be all that "interesting" unless Drumpf's lawyers are charged with perjury and obstruction and marched away to await indictment. The morally bankrupt deplorables who occupy half the Senate--and the 6 or 7 who might vote with the Dems have abetted their Capo for four long years because it suited their purposes to do so--have permanently extracted their ethics, their moral fiber, their empathy in order to promote a policy of guaranteeing (so they think) unimpeded power at all times for themselves. Whatever it takes, in their minds, is appropriate. There is a chasm between humanity and these specimens of execrable scum.
The only way that any relief can be had is through indictment. But that process, since Drumpf has padded his legal defense fund and bribed the RNC with contributions from his rabid mob of followers, will be long and complicated.
I am very very very tired of Trump and his whole revolting collection of spawn.
In contrast, Dr. Jill Biden's decision to engage in a bit of fun with dogs and hubby on the south lawn by erecting valentines everywhere--and the Prez, in his jeans and bareheaded wandering around talking to reporters, giving his coffee to one who had teased him about not bringing coffee and donuts out to them, talking with such emotion about his 14 year old pooch who was hobbling around (as old dogs do) clearly enjoying the day--is the image of February 12th I want to remember. Not the piles of excrement playing on their phones in order not to have to listen to reality and facts.
Yes. I loved seeing that as well. Honest compassion and kindness can be seen and felt. President Biden and First Lady Jill are kind, good public servants. It shows in all they do. Not hard to feel a small sense of joy in these continued times where Trump and his ilk still seem to be controlling the mood of our country. Thank you, FLOTUS Jill for a bit of light in the darkness.
The story:
https://www.newsweek.com/bidens-decorate-white-house-lawn-heart-shaped-signs-valentines-day-1568965
A First Family filled with love. It's been four long centuries ... sorry, it just feels like that long since the last loving First Family.
“A First Family filled with love.” 👌
Mim is the person who introduced me on Jan. 7 to the Tя☭mp logo.
Thank you Mim 🙏🙏
If anyone ever sees the Trump name with a swastika for the “m” let me know. I would pay money for it.
I'm trying to imagine Melania getting away with goofy, horribly designed, elementary school project of "hearts on the south lawn" during an Impeachment trial. I was shocked. Melania would have been crucified, gif-ed, memed, Borowitz-ed, Tweet-crushed, Op-Ed cartooned, Lincoln Projected, and Facebooked to smithereens. I understand that we want our government to return to "normal." But, to me, this is an example of the kind of distortion we all hold to tightly. I'm trying to imagine the hearts picture in the history books next to pictures of rioters and pictures of the Senate in a hard-fought impeachment session, slides of trauma filling the chamber. The contrast is "heartbreaking."
It's Valentines day. Not everything has to be impeachnent.
Happy Valentines Day, Syd!
Thank you! Happy Valentines Day also to you Tricia!
I was going to say Happy VD til I realized its other meaning ....
Your overuse of abbreviations is now coming back to bite you in the ... 😉
Ha!
I'm not writing about Valentine's Day, which is a lovely holiday. I am writing about how our biases change given the context. It's about how we treated Melania for four years. I think the way we bias information is important to understand.
Melanie was treated poorly or unfairly? Hmmm, where have I been?
Heather,
You captured the essence of a complex day of hearings. My takeaways include:
1. Trump is a runaway locomotive that will not stop until it utterly disintegrates in a rusty heap of iron. If given the opportunity, the Trump locomotive will, if momentarily blockaded, merely pause momentarily, and then head off hellbent in a new destructive direction.
2. Trump liked the presentation his attorneys presented today because it channeled his own belligerent and pugilistic style. Trump's mentors (spiritual/actual) -- former U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy (of Wisconsin) and former attorney Roy Cohn -- spoke through Trump, and through Trump's current attorneys. The message was, inevitably, ruthless and ugly.
3. Trump, even now, cares about nothing other than maintaining his base, building his base, and preparing himself for the next campaign.
4. Congressman Jamie Raskin's team of attorneys drawn from the the U.S. House, did an admirable job of presenting their case. I am eternally indebted to them for their wisdom, their clarity, and (particularly with Raskin), an engaging sense of humor.
5. I hope that Raskin, on Saturday, plays the Kevin McCarthy card. McCarthy revealed today to the general public that he had talked to Trump in the middle of the insurrection, asked Trump to call it off, at which point Trump scornfully laughed at him and terminated the conversation. CNN picked up on this exchange this afternoon. I hope it has some legs. It seems quite clear that Trump has no a commitment only to the pursuit of his next pinnacle of power.
Do you think McCarthy will dare testify? Isn’t this information second hand knowledge from GOP house members he talked to? He completely changed his tune after his visit to Mar y Lago.
He can be subpoenaed.
So could Trump?
A very concise summary of her newsletter
Great comment. Trump will continue to campaign, stir up his base. Here we go again. Patriots need to hit the streets. We need to act like Stacey Abram and get walking and talking.
A fact reported January 7, 2021, was that it Pence not POTUS who gave the approval for the National Guard to be activated. From the information given at the time, I was led to believe that only POTUS had the authority to activate the National Guard. The impeachment managers have skirted around the issue by saying POTUS was not on the list of people called. But it was reported that as the calls kept going out to get approval, POTUS was not answering the phone and Pence gave the order.
I am also surprised more hasn’t been made of this point as well. There are two people who have the authority to activate the DC National Guard: the President and the Secretary of Defense. The acting SecDef was a toady “appointed” by Trump when the prior acting SecDef couldn’t stomach the job any longer and left. Pence is not in the chain of command. For him to order anything lawfully would mean the President was unable to act. There are many ways of interpreting these facts, but it has always struck me as clear and chilling evidence that Trump had no intention of stopping the mob so long as he thought there was any chance they could halt the process.
Can they bring that up during closing arguments!? That's a BIG friggin' deal!!
It was brought up during the main part of the trial. Very clearly.
yes, but then the defense hopped on it...I wanted them to swing again!
I think you are right!
Trump was hoping they WOULD successfully stop the
count and if legislators were killed, so be it. Collateral damage in service to the great
autocrat.. I hope this is made clear to the Senators.
As far as Pence and Nancy being killed-don't forget they are #1 and #2 after POTUS. If the domestic terrorists had succeeded in that goal, Biden would be the next target...
And next in line, I believe, would have been Secretary of State Pompeo. Now there is a hideous image.
Sounds of screaming!!!!
If they succeeded, Pompeo would be Vice President and DT would be the dictator today.
Where’s the ‘sad’ button?😢
I think we must all push our "engagement" button. We must continue the push that defeated trump, get out millions more progressive voters. We need, all of us, to be Stacey Abrams. But you are right, it is a terribly sad state of affairs for Senators to put ..what, party, cowardice, job security, before truth and democracy.
Yes, I was surprised that point wasn’t made during the “trial”.
I understood that same thing.
Me too
How sad that it’s taken this long for the R Senators to finally pay attention to the ransacking of our country. Their lives were threatened. THEIR lives. Not those of the nearly 500K who have died from Covid (barely mentioned in the news these days), not the families separated at the border, not the soldiers with Russian bounties on their heads, etc, etc. Let’s hope it’s not too little too late.
And yet their cowardice will lead to the majority of them voting for acquittal. Really makes me wonder what kompromat Russia and Trump have on them.
Except for Lindsey Graham there is no kompromat driving these R Senators. It is simply about retaining power, re-election and worry about assassination by 45’s thugs
Look how long it took any to speak out in general. It took a trump directed riotous domestic terrorist group who were hell bent on taking senators, THEIR COLLEAGUES, out! Out like TO KILL! Out like dead! Let’s swap some of these vermin for the immigrants they would disallow entry into this country. These folk would make far better Americans!!
Gosh and golly. Tho old monkey wrench scenario. It’s like a Perry Mason episode. Paul Drake finds some essential evidence and the court gasps. In my best Della Street mode I am nodding my head...hoping this will make the difference to history.
Thanks for this memory, Robin - I'm picturing Paul Drake entering the courtroom and whispering in Perry's ear... Loved that show!
Thak checkered suit jacket! Heaven.
Hey, Robin. Been thinkin' of the Perry Mason team a lot these past several months!
Try "Witness for the Prosecution," perhaps the greatest courtroom drama of all time.
My letter to Republican senators this morning:
Vote YES to Convict
Hatred. It is an uncontrollable force. You don’t take the lid off the box and stir it up for your own personal or political gain. As a person of faith, as an involved citizen, I have known and held this knowledge within my core way of being in the world.
My knowledge of this goes to my bones. You are aware of the Bataan Death March and Japanese prison camps in WW2. My father was a survivor of this 3.5 years of brutality. I guess survivor is the right word, but truthfully the psyche never recovers from witnessing and experiencing this level of unspeakable hatred and non-understandable violence.
There are many of us survivors and family of survivors who have seen and been appalled by the use of this animus by one Donald J Trump.
The Republican party’s hesitancy to call this out for what it is has allowed the monstrousness of hatred to grow into repeated attacks of mob violence.
Perhaps you didn’t know that you were enabling the president to give permission and protection to haters. But when it comes to hatred, I really advise listening to those who became experts the hard way.
Sen John McCain was experienced in two ways: one as a tortured POW, and secondly as the candidate who unleashed the unvarnished social media voice in his VP selection. His regret of this decision was humbling. He saw where it led.
The truth is now known. The events have unfolded. You are now required to remove the scales from your eyes and answer truthfully — from every level of your being — that unleashing hatred for the sake of personal political gain is wrong and will not be tolerated in the halls of government here in the United States of America.
Please do your part to stand against the destruction and division that DJT has unleashed for his own financial and populist gain. You and I know equally well that his words are not a political movement. He has used his voice to stir up a discontent that is beyond policy solutions. You know where it leads.
May God bless the souls and lives of those who have suffered. Be strong and speak for generations and generations of them today.
This is a moving letter. Thank you.
Thank you C.F.💓😊
Oh my gosh, stunning. Thank you!
Suitable for display in the Capitol rotunda!
Whew! Please remember this:
No matter how the Senate votes, the trial convicted Trump.
Also, the trial has now permanently documented the events of 1/6 and trump's role in them. His record as a president will forever be attached to 1/6. He's ruined.
Finally, the trial will ultimately do the same for individual Republicans and the party as a whole. They have attached themselves to 1/6, the Big Lie, and domestic terror.
Have a nice day.
Correct - forever stained, forever shamed.
Hitler was thrown in jail and his NAZI party banned in 1923. Ten years later, he was omnipotent leader of Germany and the rest is history. Just saying.
But remember, the German people were still suffering greatly from rampant inflation and poverty, and the entire country was ravaged. Our situation is not the same, although DJT's followers strongly resemble Nazis. These people pose a significant threat, but we outnumber them, and must be vigilant and determined.
The fact that Trump has been able to convince 75 million Americans that their grievances are as profoundly dire as those existing in Germany is the biggest reason not to count him out. The correct analogy is "Jews as Scapegoats" vs.
"Non-Whites as Scapegoats". And BTW, until 1929, Germany was not in total freefall. Yet Hitler was WELL on his way to power when the Great Depression arrived and made his ascent much easier. (All said, I consider Trump's followers to be worse than the average NAZI. There is not a SHRED of actual grievance in the lives of ANY White American that compares to those faced by every single African-American citizen from birth, regardless of his parents's economic status.)
I totally agree, Stephen, that we can't count this monster out, and understand that the fact that we outnumber his followers does not negate their threat. 7 million Trumpies is too many; 75 Million is unthinkable. One little Georgia brat, who terrorized his neighbors for ages with his poisonous rants and Trump flags on his truck, was actually driven to D.C. by his "supportive" parents so that he could participate in the "demonstration." I also agree that these followers are much more malignant than the average Nazi, in that they have no real grievance compared to African-Americans, who, in all honesty, saved the 2020 election by electing a White man, despite their unfair marginalization.
Yippee. I’ve never been first here. I don’t get up in the night to read these. I get up and wait for it to arrive. Addictive.
I thought the highlight of yesterday’s presentation by Trump’s defense team was that seemingly endless video of Democrats using the word “fight”. /s. When you have nothing, why not play to your audience of one in hopes that you will not be stiffed when it comes time to have your fees paid.
When ya ain't got nothin'
You got nothin' to lose
-- Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan has has words for everything in our lives.
...Steal a little and they throw you in jail
Steal a lot and they make you king...
I thought the highlight was the fiery rebuttal to those spliced/edited fight clips: women, and black women especially are sick and tired of being sick and tired!
Yes! Stacey Plaskett's response, and pointing out the use of videos of black women was an insult and continued racist tact used by the rethuglicans all the time. She was great!
Me too!
Yes! Their playing the repetitive tapes all day was so ridiculous, annoying, and reflected their lack of any grasp on the situation or real thoughts of substance in the defense of the indefensible! I felt like I was being bombarded by rolls of paper towels for hours!
It was a typical Trump response. When you have no facts - fill the air with noise.
It felt abusive. Torture by sound. Also a chance to highlight all the Dems they despise.....used Warren ad nauseam....later managed to sneak Hilary in!!!!!!
That is the exact reason why I turned it off, Carol. Abuse and torture. Sickening, especially when there was no way to stop their lies.
From FB posts I’ve read from trump’s many supporters in my area, they believe the impeachment managers were pummeled by trump’s defense team!!! PUMMELED?!?! People are so blinded...I can’t stop shaking my head.
What is wrong with these people???
They rely on the Fox News "reporting" that said that.
I’m having the same experience.
T-Rump's defense team played to the magates. The national cult believes everything said in their trumpist language.