November 27, 2019

Congressman Elijah Cummings famously said, “We are better than this.” I have heard too many times on TV that this is not who we are as Americans. Every time Trump does something outrageous and impeachable, this is what we hear. Republicans have actually had the nerve to misappropriate Cummings own words to make their case. Regardless, I think it is safe to say that we are not better than this, and this is who we are as Americans. We elected Trump, and continue to defend Trump. As long as he continues in office, we are complicit and guilty. Trump is not an aberration. He is who we have become. As a relative from Canada said, “What is wrong with you people?”

November 26, 2019

Cynical: contemptuously distrustful of human nature and motives … those cynical men who say that democracy cannot be honest and efficient. — Franklin D. Roosevelt

based on or reflecting a belief that human conduct is motivated primarily by self-interest e.g. a cynical ploy to win votes

Opportunistic: exploiting opportunities with little regard to principle or consequences; a politician considered opportunistic, an opportunistic investment

Racist: a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race

Bombastic: marked by or given to speech or writing that is given exaggerated importance by artificial or empty means

Egotistical: having, showing, or arising from an exaggerated sense of self-importance

Misogynistic: feeling, showing, or characterized by hatred of women

Authoritarian: of, relating to, or favoring a concentration of power in a leader or an elite not constitutionally responsible to the people

Prevaricating: deviating from the truth

Silly: weak in intellect; foolish; exhibiting or indicative of a lack of common sense or sound judgment

Ruthless: having no pity

Jingoistic: extreme chauvinism or nationalism marked especially by a belligerent foreign policy

Militaristic: exaltation of military virtues and ideals

Pecuniary: consisting of or measured in money

Preening: : to behave or speak with obvious pride or self-satisfaction

Disloyal: showing an absence of allegiance, devotion, obligation, faith, or support e.g. his disloyal refusal to help his friend

November 25, 2019

In overriding the military chain of command and the military code of justice in the case of Eddie Gallagher and others, Trump said that he likes warriors, and that is why he did it. However, John McCain was a warrior, having been a pilot during Vietnam and a prisoner of war for five years. In that case, Trump said he only liked warriors, who didn’t get captured. In 2016, Trump attacked the Gold Star family of a deceased soldier because they spoke out against him. Trump and his people attacked Purple Heart recipient Lt. Col. Vindman during the impeachment hearings, accusing him of being a spy because he testified under oath to what he heard and saw. It seems like being a warrior isn’t quite enough. You have to be a warrior, who likes Trump back. Also, you need to be a warrior, who is willing to campaign for Trump. Quid pro quo?

November 23, 2019

What do climate change and the erosion of our democratic values have in common? They are both happening at a dangerously slow pace, and they are both denied by Trump and his supporters. There is a saying that “no one ever got hit by a bus they saw coming.” I would add that, if the bus is coming slowly enough, it is easy to ignore until it is too late. And why do I say at a dangerously slow pace? Climate change and the erosion of our values are not one-time events like a football game that we can see, hear, touch, or sense. They are glaciers that move imperceptibly with tremendous force. Unlike glaciers, however, they are not disappearing.

The impeachment hearings are a classic case of not being able to see the forest for the trees, which will not be a problem as our trees go up in flames. There is nothing to see here Republicans will tell us. We do this all the time, they say. Storms of the century cannot be called as such if they are happening all the time. And we should not “get over” the attacks on our institutions if they are happening all the time. At the end of the day, who are you going to believe? The career diplomats and professional climatologists, who are dedicated to sounding the alarms of impending disasters, or Trump, who has his Ph.D in nihilism.

November 18, 2019

There is an argument making the rounds in the conservative mainstream media and Republican circles that the impeachment hearings are trying to steal the 2016 election from the American people. The argument maintains that Democrats are, in effect, trying to delegitimize the election. The claim would be almost humorous if it wasn’t so lame. All of the intelligence agencies concluded that the Russians, not the Ukrainians, interfered in the 2016 election to favor Donald Trump. And, via The Mueller Report, it was shown that the Trump campaign welcomed the involvement. This does not delegitimize the election, but it is doesn’t legitimize it either.

Now we have Donald Trump, who has hijacked foreign policy to further his own political ambitions. In this “through the looking glass” administration where everything is upside down, Trump and his supporters have the nerve to claim that the Democrats are trying to delegitimize the 2016 election through the impeachment hearings where we have learned that Trump tried to delegitimize the 2020 election. Trump threw the 2016 election into question, but there are no questions about his attempts to rig and delegitimize the 2020 election. Donald Trump and his ilk have done more than any other person or group to delegitimize his election. They don’t need any help from the Democrats.

November 15, 2019

Mitch McConnell infamously prevented President Obama from appointing Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court because it was an election year. It was a bank heist in broad daylight, and Conservatives cheered as Neil Gorsuch assumed that position. McConnell said that the people should decide who gets appointed at the ballot box, which flew in the face of tradition and precedent.

Now we have the prospect of Donald Trump facing impeachment and a trial in the Senate in an election year. I fully expect McConnell to pull the same stunt by making the trial in the Senate a quick and perfunctory process. He will claim, as he did before, that it should be up to the American people to decide if they want this President removed from office. He will abrogate his Constitutional responsibility to hold the President accountable for high crimes and misdemeanors aka bribery of a foreign government. Admittedly, it is inconvenient for both parties to have something like this take place in an election year, but national security can be inconvenient at times.

Mr. McConnell, when you get a break from not being able to do anything in an election year, please let us know what you can do in an election year. I know what I can do.