A most notable coward, an infinite and endless liar, an hourly promise breaker, the owner of no one good quality...

(quote by Second Lord, "All's Well That Ends Well," Act III Scene VI, William Shakespeare)

....the notable coward's story continues.


What a week! Holy cow.

In roughly chronological order:

Monday, Former Russia advisor to the president* Fiona Hill testified. She expressed dismay at the ouster and the smear campaign against former Ambassador to Ukraine Maria Yovanovitch. She had left the administration before the Ukraine phone call, but not before the shenanigans had been put into motion. She walked into Capitol Hill like a boss and told the truth. Another American hero.

On Tuesday, both Mike Pence and Rudy Giuliani flaunted the subpoenas and refused to provide documents, as did the White House Office of Management and Budget. More American cowards.

Also on Tuesday, SCROTUS called for impeaching himself. Yes, indeed. A most notable coward, an infinite and endless liar, an hourly promise breaker, the owner of no one good quality. You finally agree. We need you gone.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff gave a brief update and said that there would be no formal vote on proceeding with an impeachment inquiry. The Whitewash House has not been able to defend the actions, so they attack the process. In 45's whiny letter to Congress last week, one of his chief complaints was that a full House vote on the inquiry was not undertaken. Neither the Constitution nor House rules stipulate that a vote must be taken. A reporter asked Speaker Pelosi, "Why not take a vote and call 45's bluff?" Her response: "We're not here to call bluffs. We're here to find the truth and to uphold the Constitution of the United States. This is not a game for us. This is deadly serious."


And then Wednesday. Whoa, Nelly! Our 1,000th Backward Day was chock full o' nuts.

On Wednesday morning, losing his grip on the situation, TЯUMP became absolutely deranged about the Syria debacle and lied over and over about what had happened there. His remarks in front of the press and the president of Italy on Wednesday were head-spinning. He said that the fight is about control of land, that it "had nothing to do with us" and that his move was "strategically brilliant." He lied that he didn't give the green light to Turkey to invade (ahem: your own words a couple weeks ago, worm: "Turkey will soon be moving forward with its long-planned operation into Northern Syria. The United States Armed Forces will not support or be involved in the operation, and United States forces, having defeated the ISIS territorial ‘Caliphate,’ will no longer be in the immediate area.")

He continued his out-of-control spin by insulting the Kurds, by saying they are "no angels" and "they have a lot of sand to play with." Reminder: over 10,000 Kurds died in our fight against ISIS. You can read about all the myriad falsehoods he spouted in AP's factcheck or on Slate. It's mind-boggling and stomach-churning. Our National Pit o' Despair again shows no bottom.

Later that day, the House overwhelmingly (354 to 60) sent a bipartisan rebuke to the president* for his actions in Syria.

And shortly after the resolution was passed, he met with Democratic leaders in the Whitewash House.

This headline appeared on my newsfeed: Great White Shark With Massive Bite on Head Attacked by Even Bigger Shark. A picture emerged from the incident:

Which is the bigger shark?

Speaker Pelosi owned the meeting! She left when the Toddler-in-Chief threw a tantrum and called her names. We are reminded of December when she left the Whitewash House in flames (and that coat though!).

In typical fashion, Baby Hands tried to spin it that Speaker Pelosi was the one who had the meltdown during the meeting. He went so far as to tweet that photo as evidence of her meltdown. BWAHAHAHAHAHA! Look again at the photo. All those little men, cowed and subdued, by one very powerful woman.

This picture will be shown in sociology, psychology, and political science classes for years to come. Pelosi is da broad!


As part of his tantrum during that meeting, Cheeto Benito called Four-Star Marine general and former Secretary of Defense James Mattis "the most overrated general." General Mattis laughed it off later, at a white-tie dinner. I think I'm in love with General Mattis.

Also on Wednesday, FAUX News (so you know it was leaked to inexplicably try to make him look good) broke that he had sent this letter to Erdoğan  WTAF. We all thought it was parody. Surprise, Americans. It is not parody.

Another of Giuliani's associates was arrested on Wednesday at JFK with similar charges as the original two goons, and we learned that Giuliani has been under FBI counterintelligence investigation.

We barely digested all of that news on Wednesday when ProPublica broke the story that Darth taxeVader has apparently been committing tax fraud by keeping two sets of financial books, one for lenders that shows higher rental incomes, and one for the IRS, which shows lower property valuation. You may recall that Michael Cohen, in his remarks to Congress, indicated that the Tax Cheat-in-Chief had done this. Here's the proof.

Also on Wednesday! SCROTUS tried to ambush the unfortunate parents from Great Britain whose son had been struck and killed by a U.S. diplomat's wife who was driving on the wrong side of the road. The teen's parents were in Washington and met with the president*, and the ugly so-and-so gathered the press, and the person who had killed their son, in a different room, waiting for a surprise meeting. Un.fucking.believable.

And somewhere on Wednesday, nearly getting lost in all of the other jaw-dropping news, Michael McKinley, one of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's top aides, testified to Congress. You may recall that he resigned last week. He was upset about the treatment of Ambassador Yovanovitch as well as the State Department's response to the Ukraine scandal. He was a pretty darn good witness.


The crazy continued into Thursday.

A bomb was dropped on Thursday when acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, in front of reporters and cameras, gave evidence in support of impeachment. He stated that there was quid pro quo regarding the Ukraine situation. He admitted that the $400 million in aid to Ukraine was indeed held up on the condition that Ukraine investigate long-debunked theories about interference in the 2016 election. Jonathan Karl of ABC even stopped and clarified with him using the words quid pro quo, and Mulvaney confirmed, yes. It happened. And, he added, "It happens all the time....get over it." Here is the video. We can all see and hear his words with our very own ears and eyes.




Hours later, Mulvaney tried walking back his admission, blaming the press for "misconstruing" his words. Honey, we were there, listening to you. You said it. Now, shhhhh be quiet and maybe you and Rudy should put the lid back on the cookie jar and go out and play.


Ambassador to the E.U. Robert Sondland testified to House Committees on Thursday. He was ticked, as he had found himself the recipient of many of 45's lies. But the essence of his testimony was that 45 directed his personal attorney (remember, Giuliani is not a government employee) to orchestrate foreign policy in Ukraine. He asserted that Giuliani's mission was perhaps “to involve Ukrainians, directly or indirectly, in the president’s 2020 re-election campaign.” Sondland also said, “We were also disappointed by the president’s direction that we involve Mr. Giuliani. Our view was that the men and women of the State Department, not the president’s personal lawyer, should take responsibility for all aspects of U.S. foreign policy toward Ukraine.”

To my view, it takes a lot of chutzpah to say something like that, given that Sondland himself bought his way into an ambassadorship with $1 million donation to TЯUMP's inauguration. He had no foreign service experience, yet was charged with being ambassador to the whole of the European Union, and somehow found himself in the middle of Ukraine's issues as one of the "three amigos" working Ukraine, the other dos amigos being Kurt Volker and Energy Secretary Rick Perry.

Rick Perry resigned, by the way. It was expected that he would resign, but it became official. Remember when Perry famously forgot the name of the agency he has led the last couple years? It was during the 2011 debate, when he was listing the agencies that he would eliminate from the cabinet and he couldn't recall the name of the Department of Energy. "Oops." Yup, typical to this administration, he has led an agency he doesn't believe in. And typical to this administration, he went through the revolving door.

Republicans are starting to turn on Mein Furor. On Friday, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) expressed their concerns. In addition, former Ohio Governor and 2016 GOP presidential candidate John Kasich all expressed support for impeachment. In addition, Rep. Francis Rooney (R-FL) has expressed his support for impeachment and has called on Rick Perry to comply with the subpoena and testify. On Saturday Rooney announced his intention to resign (he makes the umpteenth GOP member of Congress to step aside).

Friday another impeachable offense arose: SCROTUS announced that the next G7 summit will be held at Doral, his two-bit "resort" in Miami. Emoluments clause, anyone? He then said that it will be hosted "at cost." What that means, no one knows. And it wouldn't eliminate the benefits that a huge summit brings to the resort or its owner. Breaking: on Saturday evening, he backed off of that "offer," blaming the "Media & Democrat Crazed and Irrational Hostility.... Thank you!" You're quite welcome. Idiot.

On Friday, General David Petraeus, former commander of troops in Afghanistan and CIA Director, called Benedict Donald's actions against the Kurds "a betrayal."



John Cole unearthed this first draft of the letter to Erdoğan:

John Cole

And just to put this here. I'm speculating as to who is the whistleblower? Not that it matters anymore, but I wonder if it's former National Security Advisor John Bolton or national security council lawyer John Eisenberg. Eisenberg's name popped up at some point, and I searched for more about him. He fits the profile for a good whistleblower.


If you haven't been paying attention and you want to get caught up, click here: Impeachment. You'll see my previous posts on the subject. Thanks for reading, sister and brother resisters!

#Reisist! (have you contacted your Member of Congress lately?)

Small and Sinking

"It is a sign that your reputation is small and sinking if your own tongue must be your flatterer." – Sir Matthew Hale (1609-1676)

Last week we heard from the "very stable genius" that he possesses "great and unmatched wisdom."

Dude, really? Look around you. It's not just your reputation. The whole freakin' ship is sinking. 


Pence's ship looks like it is sinking too.

First, as you recall, his boss threw him under the bus shortly after the story broke, by asking the press (and the Dems) to "look at Mike Pence's phone calls." This week, NBC's Vaughn Hillyard had Pence against the wall.

              (sorry for the laughtrack)

Rachel Maddow has an interesting look at the bus-throwing. She hypothesizes that SCROTUS may be banking on an all-or-nothing situation, that he won't be impeached because the Senate does not want a President Pelosi. Once again, he's a few stones short of a bucketful. The House can choose to bring articles against Pence or not, and if they do, the Senate will vote separately on his impeachment vs. 45's. There is no "package deal." (Ahhhh, but I'm still warm all over thinking about President Pelosi).

Anyway, you can see in Maddow's segment below how TЯUMP pointedly asks the court to rule that the president, and specifically not the vice-president, be immune from prosecution.

Impeachment proceedings are rolling right along!

The former Ambassador to the Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, who we first learned about in the whistleblower complaint, defied the Whitewash House order not to testify. She appeared to Congress behind closed doors on Friday for almost nine hours. By her testimony, simply put, she was ousted because she was interfering with Rudy Giuliani's plans to secure the Ukraine government's cooperation in aiding 45. Ambassador Yovanovitch's mission was helping to stop corruption in Ukraine, only to be undermined by corrupt actions by those within her own government. Actually, not even! Rudy Giuliani is NOT a government employee. He is 45's personal attorney. He play-acted State Department Official in all this dirty dealing.

Her testimony came with good timing, as the day before two of Giuliani's associates, who helped Giuliani in Ukraine, had been arrested and charged for campaign finance crimes. The two are Soviet-born (Ukraine and Belarus) U.S. citizens and their arrest adds a verrrry interesting dimension to the Ukraine scandal. Though he has tried to distance himself from the two, it appears that Bumbledore had a relationship with at least one of them as early as 2014. After their arrest, the two were promptly subpoenaed to appear before Congress as part of the impeachment inquiry.

Gordon Sondland, Ambassador to the E.U., will also defy the State Department order and will comply with the subpoena to testify next week. He is a central figure in the whole Ukraine deal, and may give more insight into the quid pro quo. He is set to appear on Wednesday.

Rick Perry, who is most likely resigning as Energy Secretary by year's end, was subpoenaed. SCROTUS tried to throw him under the bus, too, with regard to the phone call, saying Perry made him do it. Perry says, yes, he urged 45 to call the Ukrainian president, but not for finding dirt on the Bidens. He urged a call to discuss energy and economy. Perhaps we'll get to the truth when he testifies.

Next Tuesday, October 15, is a big day for the inquiry. Congress returns to work that day, and the day marks the deadline for all sorts of documents to be provided to Congressional committees, including documents from Giuliani and Vice President Pence.


Support for impeachment is growing.

A group of 17 Watergate prosecutors wrote an op/ed in the Washington Post in which they assert that he should be impeached now based on the evidence already at hand. SCROTUS himself submitted the evidence regarding telephone call; no more is needed for an article of impeachment for abuse of power. We can charge contempt of Congress based on his letter refusing to cooperate, and obstruction of justice..... well, there's a mountain of evidence for that. (Thank you, Bob Mueller!)

Conservative writer and one-time Republican George Will agrees. He writes a scathing piece in the Washington Post, saying that his refusal to cooperate alone is impeachable, and he entreats Congress at large and Republicans specifically to simply do their job. He says it much better, of course. Read his piece.

The American public is also reaching the same conclusion. This week's polls show an increasing public support for impeachment. This poll from Fox News indicates that 51% of registered voters support impeachment AND removal from office. Their jefe was not at all pleased with this poll.

But if we get our way, he can complain to the steel bars.

On a more serious note, the world is keenly feeling the effects of 45's capricious decision to withdraw troops from Northern Syria and leave the Kurds high and dry. Dozens of Kurdish fighters and several civilians have already been killed. Tens of thousands of refugees are trying to leave the area. Military rounds came very near to American troops the other day. Accident? Intentional? Hmmm....Turkey had known the troops' location for months.

SCROTUS, in his great and unmatched wisdom, justified his betrayal of the Kurds by saying that they deserved it. You know, because they didn't even help storm Normandy. No words.

John Cole

In the clip above, you'll hear him say that there is "tremendous support outside of the Washington area" for his decision to withdraw from Northern Syria. Yeah, there is. You know who supports this action?  The world's other brutal dictators: His love, Putie the Cutie, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Syria's Bashar al-Assad, who is licking his lips at driving out the Kurds and reclaiming the northern part of Syria. This weekend, it was reported that relatives of ISIS fighters, many of them women and children, were allowed to be released, and it is feared that in the chaos 11,000 ISIS fighters themselves may be able to escape. It's completely chaotic there, and thousands of people are at risk of dying.

The situation is tragic on many levels. And all because of one madman's stupidity.


Other news:

Remember a couple weeks ago when the Whitewash House accidentally sent their impeachment talking points to the Democrats? This week they did it again. What a bunch o' maroons!

Regarding his taxes: Darth taxeVader lost his appeal and a federal court gave the go-ahead for his tax returns to be released to Congress. This may go all the way to the Supreme Court. Deutsche Bank has indicated that they do not hold copies of his tax returns, and there is speculation that they were destroyed.

A couple notable ship-jumpers: A senior advisor to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo resigned this week. And Kevin McAleenan, acting Secretary of Homeland Security, on the job for just a few months, resigned as well. #GetOutWhileYouCan

By the way, as an aside, after nearly three years in office, the Senate still has not received nominations for 143 key executive branch positions, and 83 more are awaiting nominations, out of 743 positions. That's 21% of top positions that haven't been filled. How can our government work this way?

Tonight, this disturbing headline from the New York Times: Macabre Video of Fake Trump Shooting Media and Critics Is Shown at His Resort.  I'll let you read the article for yourself. It's deeply disturbing. The time for him to go is yesterday.



Lastly, for your edutainment, I offer this clever animation explaining impeachment.

Remember: find more about the impeachment inquiry schedule at the Washington Post.

The Hope: The Elders, the Women, and the Strength of the Fourth Branch

Fox News conducted a recent poll which showed that we are getting fatigued. We are simply tired about politics under the TЯUMP administration. I've been at this blog for almost 3 years – this is my 134th post – and I get it. It's hard to keep up with the news, period. It's hard to maintain the energy to be outraged and it's hard to work up the energy to act on that outrage.

But you know what? We must.

We must keep going. We must read the news every day. We must learn about the law, the Constitution, and we must not ever let this indecency get normalized.

I appreciate my readers for continuing this journey with me, even through the fatigue, the anger, the worry, and the dismay. I've always tried to put a positive spin on our outlook. It's important to feel both the anger and the hope. The anger can be useful; it can spur us toward action. But we shouldn't stay in the anger; that could become damaging. We must not become indifferent either. The minute we become complacent or unmoved, we will lose our Republic. Let's hold on to the hope. We have had honor in our government, and we can get there again.

Let's take a break and look for the hope and the inspiration: those leaders who can guide us through this mire of anger and fatigue.


The Elders

Oh! President Jimmy Carter! May we grow up to be like you! President Carter is 95 years old, and he is still working every single day making houses for Habitat for Humanity. The organization was founded in 1973 by a Georgia couple, and President and Mrs. Carter were early supporters. President Carter continues to build houses every day. He hasn't let cancer or broken bones slow him down. Even this week, when on Sunday he took a fall and sustained a facial injury that required 14 stitches. This remarkable man, along with his wife Rosalynn, was back at the job site a day later, hammer in hand, to build another house for the underprivileged.

Here's a snapshot of their project from last year.





He has been mostly quiet about our current president* and all the horseshit emanating from the White House, but this week he spoke up, in his gentle manner as always. He gave an interview to Andrea Mitchell of MSNBC.



Jimmy Carter is a good man. He is deeply religious, but will stand up for what is right, including leaving a church when it is the right thing to do. Christians can find inspiration in him.

Congressman John Lewis (D-GA), age 79, lived through the worst of the Civil Rights Era. He walked alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. during the 1960s. Mr. Lewis was brutally beaten more than once, but he kept getting up, fighting for the greater good. And he continues to fight, working hard for the citizens of Georgia's 5th Congressional district, and for all of us as a member of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Barbara Bush sadly died last year at age 92, but she was truly an inspiration and a patriot. She was the second woman to be both the wife and the mother of U.S. presidents, the first being Abigail Adams. She worked tirelessly for literacy, and in 2016 she was not afraid to speak loudly -- but gently -- about the scumbag that was about to be nominated as the Republican candidate for president.




Jane Goodall, at age 85, is still working for global conservation. She has been working all her life to protect chimpanzees, and has inspired millions to conserve the natural world all around us. And she hasn't stopped.

There are many women who inspire us. Michele Obama, for one. If you haven't read her memoir yet, grab it. Her story is inspirational, uplifting, and quintessentially American. Her influence has even been able to soften me at the personal level (not on the second-worst-presidential-level) of George W. Bush with their sweet friendship.

Michelle Obama has helped change the world. What a powerful woman! 

We can look to other young, powerful women for hope:

Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old who within a year turned her one-person school strike protesting climate change into a world-wide movement, inspiring millions around the globe to demand and work toward change. This 16-year-old has met with world leaders and faced off with some of the most bullying among them.

Greta Thunberg

Mari Copeny, "Little Miss Flint," 12 years old, of Flint, Michigan, has been leading the fight for clean water in her community since she was 8 years old.

Malala Yousafzai, who won the Nobel Peace Prize at age 17, has inspired millions in her quest for equal education and women's rights in Pakistan and around the world.

Ten-year-old Bana al-Abed has been raising awareness about Syrian refugees. This young activist has also spoken to world leaders and educated and inspired many about the plight of children in war zones.

Jazz Jennings, 19, has been a stalwart advocate for transgender youngsters and all who are in the LGBTQ community.

Indiginous Canadian and "Water Warrior" Autumn Peltier, age 15, has been working toward ensuring clean water in indigenous communities across Canada.

Emma Gonzales led the way for gun reform after her high school in Parkland, Florida experienced a deadly mass shooting. Who can forget her 6 minute, 20 seconds of silence – equal to the amount of time it took the gunman to murder 17 of her schoolmates – during her powerful speech after the shootings.






Women are at the forefront of our progress as a nation. From the courageous women running for – and winning – elected office, to the the young activists who inspire and spur us toward action, women have a special gift for leading. Women have important traits, like empathy, cooperation, nurturing, connection, thoughtfulness, and sensitivity.

Women leaders guide us to more collaboration and less war; more compassion and less greed; more deliberation and fewer hasty decisions; more consideration and less power struggle. Women who harness these traits are powerful forces.

And they scare the jeebus out of men like the Orange Scourge. These women are often the brunt of bullying and mocking, but they deflect that shit like Wonder Woman and are not slowed down a bit. Let them inspire us.

Sasha Brown-Worsham, writing for The Guardian about our young female leaders, encapsulates old white men's terror: "What would happen if teenage girls were actually allowed to feel good about themselves? What if we allowed them to have their interests with no shame? They might rise up and change everything. And that scares a certain kind of man."

The rest of us, men and women, old and young, activist and dreamer, can and will change the nation. As Rebecca Solnit wrote in a sobering and powerful essay, we are in dangerous times, but there is hope. The forefathers were wise, creating three co-equal branches of government, and today it seems like it is almost breaking. But in their infinite wisdom, they created another. We the People have power. We the fourth branch of government, and we can tip the scales. Our demands will be met. But we must make them.

Pay attention. Get angry. Act.

#Hope! 




Want to help directly? (As always, research charities before sending your hard-earned dough!)

Habitat for Humanity
Jane Goodall Institute
Environmental Defense Fund
Flint Water Fund: United Way
Malala Fund
Navajo Water Project
Parkland Cares
Everytown.org
Emily's List


**Special thanks to my sister resisters Pagrs and Karen for giving me articles and inspiration!**

Little Birdies' Whispers are Getting Louder

"I think we consider too much the good luck of the early bird and not enough the bad luck of the early worm." – Franklin D. Roosevelt

Impeachment news wiggled up fast over the weekend and into this week. Little Sister Resister again devours it and regurgitates it for her little peepers.

Dan Wasserman

Another little birdie, this time with first-hand information about the Ukraine phone call, came forward. All we know is that another individual is out there, ready to whistle. Whistleblower #1's attorney announced that he is representing another whistleblower, but there has been no formal complaint written. We may have a cascade of more, now that these two patriots have stepped up to speak the truth.

When finally there is a leader to break the trail, others are more likely to follow suit, in a kind of bandwagon effect. We can only hope GOP Members of Congress do the same regarding impeachment proceedings.


More subpoenas went out. The Defense Department and the Office and Management and Budget got subpoenas. Congress wants to find the paper trail about the withheld aid to Ukraine and determine if the money's halt was related to TЯUMP's "favor" he was asking.

Some witnesses from the State Department did not show up for testimony yesterday, but Gordon Sondland, the United States ambassador to the European Union and the guy on the other end of Kurt Volker's texts, will appear today. Breaking: as I am writing this piece, Sondland was prohibited from testifying by the WhitesOnly House. Marie Yovanovitch, the ousted American ambassador to Ukraine, is scheduled for Friday.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo missed his deadline to provide documents to Congress. This may prompt an article of impeachment for obstruction. He did write a letter to Congress, and he may just yet comply (not holding my breath). He may get a subpoena himself, as he was a direct witness to the phone call.

Late today, the President* sent a letter to Congress, basically thumbing his nose at them and stating that he will not cooperate, effectively giving them another hors d'oeuvre on the silver platter full o' Articles of Impeachment. Though Whitewash Counsel Pat Cipollone signed the letter, it has Babyfinger's crayon marks all over it. It's an eight-page tantrum that you can read for yourself. I don't have time to dissect every falsity within, but I do want to point out that once again, there is scant knowledge of the process and the Constitution. For example, there are multiple references to being mad about not being able to "cross-examine witnesses" and "have access to evidence." <takes Toddler-in-Chief by the hand back to resting mat> ...Honey child, firstly, you gave us the evidence, silly! And this is not a criminal proceeding, but if you just wait for the impeachment to happen, you'll get your chance to cross-examine during the trial portion. This is the investigation portion. Rest now, and we'll see you in the Senate!

Media News:

Ultra-Conservative FAUX News anchor Tucker Carlson criticized SCROTUS's Ukraine actions in a piece on the Daily Caller. He criticized 45's behavior, but condemned impeachment, albeit on false assumptions.

On Sunday's Meet the Press, Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) became completely unhinged. He barely let host Chuck Todd ask a legitimate question about Johnson's own words before bringing up real old shit (Strzok and Page texts, Hillary, blah blah) and going off on a conspiracy-theory rant. It was appalling that a United States Senator behaved in such a manner. I heard it in the car as a rerun on Sunday afternoon. Watching it again, I have to wonder if he was under the influence. He had a couple slurry words and that rant was simply inexcusable Senatorial behavior. Props to Chuck Todd, who I've not liked very much. He stood strong.





We've been dive-bombed by lots of other stuff in the News Cycle too.

via GIPHY


The Hon. Victor Marrero, a federal judge in New York, ruled that the Mendacious Duckbilled Twatypus shall turn over eight years of tax returns as part of the investigation into porn-star hush-money. The judge wrote a 75-page decision! He wrote,

"This Court cannot endorse such a categorical and limitless assertion of presidential immunity from judicial process as being countenanced by the nation’s constitutional plan.... Bared to its core, the proposition the President advances reduces to the very notion that the Founders rejected at the inception of the Republic, and that the Supreme Court has since unequivocally repudiated: that a constitutional domain exists in this country in which not only the President, but, derivatively, relatives and persons and business entities associated with him in potentially unlawful private activities, are in fact above the law. Because this Court finds aspects of such a doctrine repugnant to the nation’s governmental structure and constitutional values, and for the reasons further stated below, it ABSTAINS from adjudicating this dispute and DISMISSES the President’s suit."

You can read his whole decision here. Go read it! It's your judgement!

Immediately, though, an appeal was filed, and within hours a federal appeals court stayed the decision. If we ever do get his taxes, this is what the experts want us to look for.


And another tragic event: the egregious decision by 45, after a Sunday phone call with Turkey's strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to remove troops from Syria's border with Turkey, where Kurdish fighters have fought bravely against ISIS. By leaving the Kurds high and dry, and at the mercy of the Turkish military, we are betraying them. Brutal Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and his buddy Vladimir Putin are smiling at this betrayal.

We are not smiling. There has been widespread loud bipartisan condemnation of this action. Even Fox and Friends were shocked and dismayed. THIS has real, life and death consequences. THIS is what we've been afraid for as we face this Fake President daily. And everyone – even stalwart Cheeto Boy allies Sen. Lindsey Graham and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell – is condemning this action. Pat Robertson is even threatening to revoke The Chosen One's Heavenly mandate. What's next? Losing his ticket to heaven?

This is tragic on many levels. Not only does this action endanger Kurdish lives and give Assad and Putin and nicely wrapped gift, this further erodes, no, it effectively destroys, any shred of confidence that allies may still have been grasping, that the United States is a trustworthy ally.

Joe Heller

The Alternative: Out to Pasture

If Dicky Don were truly a stable genius, he'd take himself out of the stable and turn out into the paddock, along with the other asses* (Ivankass, Kushnass, Eric-Freddy, and Junior) as soon as possible.

You know, cut (the hay) and run!

(LSR's grandpa is on the left!)

Let's call resignation #AlternativeImpeachment. It worked for Tricky Dick, and he got a pardon out of it, too. It makes sense for SCROTUS to work out a deal: resignation in exchange for immunity for him and his kids. I'm sure the new President Milquetoast would be happy to throw in a pardon.

It would let him save face, it would give him an out, let him avoid prosecution of his and the little ones' many and varied crimes thus far, and it would allow him to make a sincere mea culpa and spin it as being a true patriot and not wanting to put the country through more pain.

BWAHAHAHAHA! just kidding on that last part.

Regarding resignation, my Big Sister Resister, Pagrs, observes, "It could be very appealing: instant martyrdom, the circuit in Faux 'News,' rallies any time he wants, huge speaking fees, and a new anorexic little cookie as arm candy. I hope that Twitler, in his 'great and unmatched wisdom' (I can’t even type that without cracking up), will consider the inestimable benefits to himself and the Republic in putting himself out to pasture."  Truealldat!


If he were impeached, on the other hand, this would hang in the hallowed halls of our American Memory.

And if he were to be convicted and removed from office, he would stand singularly as the only U.S. President in 243 years removed from office by Congress. I'm not sure at all that he would want that honor. 

I think he should resign, don't you?

Others agree with me. 

Two newspapers came out early asking for him to resign. On September 27, two days after 45 turned over the evidence of his crime, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Connecticut Post both called for his resignation. 

The The Connecticut Post's editorial board wrote that there was already a "mountain of evidence" and:

This is an impeachable offense. Republicans spent Wednesday arguing there was no explicit quid pro quo, but there is seemingly no line the president can cross that would inspire them to put the public good ahead of politics. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, joined by the entirety of Connecticut’s congressional delegation, has called for impeachment proceedings, and that process must now begin in earnest. 

The proper next step for the president is clear. He should resign. He has repeatedly proven himself unfit for office and appears to view the presidency as a position meant to benefit himself personally, not as one that must represent the interests of an entire nation.

The editorial board of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote:

How far must a president go in betraying his country before Republicans finally declare that he no longer represents their values? How much crisis, chaos and scandal can Republicans, exhausted from constantly defending him, tolerate before they decide enough’s enough? The time has come for Republicans to stand up for the Constitution, stand up for America, and tell Trump to step down.

If you have seen "Trump: An American Dream" on Netflix, you are familiar with construction engineer Barbara Res, who helped Trumplethinskin build skyscrapers in New York City. Ms. Res knows him as well as anybody, and her "gut feeling" is that he will resign. See her on CNN yesterday:

Do you know that you, sister and brother resisters, can sway public opinion? Use Resistbot to write a letter to your Members of Congress, and you can also send the letter to the editor of your local paper. Entreat them to follow the other papers' path and call for resignation. 

#Resist!

* apologies to burros everywhere

GOP reaction and the reaction to the reaction

RJ Matson

The Grand OldMan Party: we haven't heard a whole lot from them since the Ukraine scandal broke. Most of them have been quiet. There have been a few who have spoken out in defense of TЯUMP, and a very few that have dissented.


It's actually to their credit that they have been mum. They certainly haven't rushed to assail him, but they haven't rushed to defend, either. It's a start.

Who's been saying what?

Senate Majority Leader Turtle from Kentucky hasn't said a whole lot. Early on, he affirmed that he would "have no choice but to take it up" if the House voted to impeach. Since then, he has been fairly quiet, until late last week, when he used the issue in his fundraising efforts, saying in an ad, "Nancy Pelosi's in the clutches of a left wing mob. They finally convinced her to impeach the president. All of you know your Constitution, the way that impeachment stops is a Senate majority with me as majority leader."

Only three sitting GOP Senators have criticized Lord Dampnut. Mitt Romney (R-UT), Ben Sasse (R-NE), and Susan Collins (R-ME). Sasse, in a statement to the Omaha World-Herald, said, “Hold up: Americans don’t look to Chinese commies for the truth. If the Biden kid broke laws by selling his name to Beijing, that’s a matter for American courts, not communist tyrants running torture camps.”

SCROTUS hasn't come down on Sasse (in fact, a month ago, before the story broke, 45 praised him highly), but Mitt Romney is a whole 'nother story. Romney tweeted on Friday, "When the only American citizen President Trump singles out for China’s investigation is his political opponent in the midst of the Democratic nomination process, it strains credulity to suggest that it is anything other than politically motivated. By all appearances, the President’s brazen and unprecedented appeal to China and to Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden is wrong and appalling."

Romney has had an abrasive relationship with him already, and when he criticized on Saturday, Donny brought out his championship bullying gloves, calling Romney a "pompous ass" in tweets on Sunday morning, with tweets continuing into today. He called for Romney's impeachment. Captain Confused showed once again the depths of his knowledge about the United States Constitution. Senators cannot be impeached, idiot. They can only be removed by a two-thirds vote from their fellow Senators (same with U.S. Representatives).

This continued abuse by President Fascist toward his fellow Republicans makes me wonder. Why do they continually put party over country when TЯUMP doesn't put party over himself, let alone country?

Susan Collins (R-ME) is teetering on the edge. She has long been considered a moderate Republican, and has said 45's behavior is "completely inappropriate." Tsk, tsk! You might not get $5 in your next birthday card, sonny!

Collins, like so many Republican senators, is in a hard spot. She is up for re-election next year. It's politically dangerous for campaigning incumbents to vote to convict him. But please, for the love of all that's holy, this man must finally face consequences! If not, just what will be next?

I could find only one current Republican representative who has criticized 45's actions. Rep Will Hurd (R-TX) has called it "terrible" and “I think some of these things are indeed damning.” Rep. Hurd is not running for re-election in 2020.

Most other GOP lawmakers are just tiptoeing around. They are afraid to say anything that might come back to bite them in the rear, either from new-found facts to come, or Hair Furor's spitting venom. Like schoolchildren on the playground, they cross to the other side when the bully comes out to recess. WaPo and NYT both have good pieces on their dilemma.

The two Republican senators from Iowa, Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, have not gone so far as to condemn the president* but they have spoken their support for the whisleblower.

Former lawmakers, though! Many have been speaking out against SCROTUS. Recently resigned Republican Senator from Arizona, Jeff Flake, who left right after the Kavanaugh vote, has said recently that if the vote was secret, 35 Senators would vote to impeach. The trouble is, the vote isn't secret. We don't run this country that way!

Former Republican Florida Rep. Carlos Carbelo has called on his former colleagues to get on "the right side of history." And former Rep. Neil Cavuto (R-NC) has also entreated House Republicans to "find the courage" and "speak truth."

But biggest of all, Vice President Mike Pence has condemned the use of foreign interference when he said, "This is basic stuff. Foreign donors — and certainly foreign governments — cannot participate in the American political process." Oh, oopsie. That was in a 2016 VP debate. Our halcyon days when up was up, facts were truth, and vice presidents had integrity.


So, will there eventually be enough Repugs to vote for conviction? It's really no use to speculate, but we humans love to try to predict the future. Five-Thirty-Eight muses about a possible, though improbable, cascade of Republican turncoats. Prospect.org speculates that there will be no turn as there was for Nixon, in part because of modern "counter-factual counter-narrative" a la FAUX News.



And finally, for our comic relief. Saturday Night Live is at it again!






...Stay tuned for more from LSR, including breaking news about a second whistleblower, this one with the coveted first-class, or first-rate, or second-tier first-hand information.

The Train to Crazy Town

Scott Adams, October 2, 2019

"Privately, the president had often talked about fortifying a border wall with a water-filled trench, stocked with snakes or alligators, prompting aides to seek a cost estimate. He wanted the wall electrified, with spikes on top that could pierce human flesh. After publicly suggesting that soldiers shoot migrants if they threw rocks, the president backed off when his staff told him that was illegal. But later in a meeting, aides recalled, he suggested that they shoot migrants in the legs to slow them down. That’s not allowed either, they told him." New York Times, October 1, 2019

<< DEEP BREATH...AND...BACK TO IMPEACHMENT >>


Welcome to stop #141 on the Train to Crazy Town!

The short version: This week's news made it evident that the TЯUMP Train is coming off the rails. His liddle' wheels have come off at 101mph with a sharp left turn ahead.

This week's digest:

Monday it was revealed that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had been on the Ukraine phone call despite playing dumb in front of the media. Ten days after the story broke, he has admitted that, yes, he was listening in.

Monday it was also revealed that Attorney General Bill Barr had been on an international tour, visiting officials in Australia, England, and Italy, ostensibly to try to get them to investigate the origins of the Mueller investigation (Hey, wait! I think I was part of that ask! --see below).

Rudy Giuliani was on last Sunday's news shows, continuing to spout whatever gibberish he spouts, flashing papers and his phone with supposed proof of the wild conspiracy theories that he and his boss hold dear. He was promptly subpoenaed.

Mike Pompeo, also subpoenaed, got belligerent, saying the House Committees are bullying him and his state department colleagues. <eye roll>

There are swirls of speculation about what Vice President* Mike Pence knows or did. No one knows for sure at this point, but he may be implicated, too. He is claiming ignorance, but he traveled to Ukraine in May, and 45 reportedly told him to remind President Zelinsky that the promised aid was being withheld and demanding action on "corruption" (wink, wink). The thought of President Pelosi is so warming!


Wednesday, the president* met with the visiting president of Finland, and the press conference that followed was off the rails. The Rabid Yam was rabid, while President Niinistö wanted the hell away. The real, unedited photo:

"Check Please!"

I was listening live to the press conference on the radio and I was astounded at his behavior -- and in front of company, no less!

I admire Reuters reporter Jeff Mason, who kept his cool as the Bully-in-Chief lambasted him again and again.





And today, SCROTUS made the whistleblower complaint moot (or should I spell it moat?) as he took to the cameras and, unprompted, very publicly asked both Ukraine and China to investigate the Bidens. (Oh, and welcome to Very Important Trade Talks in one week, China!) Wow. OK. He's a moron. Here it is, people. An egregious act, plain-as-day evidence of impeachable abuse of power, served in the dining car on a silver platter:




This week he has tweeted or re-tweeted 173 times, from Sunday, September 29 until this evening, Thursday October 3. Of those, we had six witch hunt, two coup, nine whistleblower, three pressure, four perfect, nine Biden, 12 fake/phony, three treason/spy. And this pair of tweets wins the pentathlon. How are you doing on your Whistleblower Bingo?


Current and future testimony:

Former State Department official Kurt Volker testified behind closed doors for nine hours today. Volker is one of the people named in the whistleblower's letter. In his testimony, it was reported that he had warned Rudy Giuliani that the information from the Ukrainians should be considered suspect, and that he warned the Ukrainians not to get involved in U.S. politics. Solid diplomat advice. Ignored on all sides. Volker also indicated that he was concerned about a possible quid pro quo with regard to the aid and the requested investigation.

Former Ambassador to the Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch is set to testify next week. She also is at the center of this fiasco. This career diplomat was pushed out before the scheduled end of her term. Reports are that she was ousted out after Rudy Giuliani complained that she was getting in the way of Giuliani's mission to strong-arm the Ukranians.

Reportedly the whistleblower will also testify soon. It will be tricky for Congress to secure a place in which the individual can be deposed while still maintaining anonymity and safety. 45 has been relentless in his dangerous rhetoric and veiled threats about the whistleblower, saying he considers him or her a "traitor" and wants "to interview" the individual.

Other upcoming events: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has until tomorrow to hand over documents. He is resisting, and also blocking other State Department personnel from testifying. Tomorrow, the Intelligence Inspector General is set to testify. Other state department officials and Giuliani associates are scheduled to testify in the next couple weeks. Congress returns to session on Tuesday, October 15. October 15 is also the deadline for Rudy Giuliani to provide documents to Congress. Twelve candidates are gearing up for the next Democratic presidential debate, also slated for October 15! It should be a blockbuster.

Bookmark this handy guide from the Washington Post for more impeachment goings-on in the halls of Congress. And in the meantime, you can count on LSR to keep her ear to the ground.



Now, please, enjoy more from Stephen Colbert.