This morning, at the opening bell of the proceedings, wise and brave Senators should spring to their feet and move that all senators who neglected to show up for their duties as jurors, who met with the defense team or who participated, directly or indirectly, in the attempted coup shall be disqualified from serving as jurors.
Then name them.
I am waiting for adherence to long-settled trial practices. I am waiting to hear from witnesses. I am waiting for someone to call what that rat bastard did a declaration of war and call out him, his minions and toadies as TRAITORS.
That is what insurrectionists are: traitors. Their very actions are a declaration of war.
Stop using the vorpal blade to open the mail. Quit the niceties. The politeness. No holding back. He declared WAR.
It is not only the front man Trump, but those bastards backing him including those in the Republican Party, that are to blame for this insurrection, the treason, sedition also backed by Russian oligarchs, the Saudis and others (may include China), that want Democracy on the run, because it’s interfering with their control over their own people, making them unruly, demanding, and fractious. Foreign countries that are under despot rule are at risk as long as America continues with the Democracy experiment, no king, no ruler, their people want to come to America where they are free to live as they choose. It’s a powerful magnet to every country that is under strict communist, authoritarian rule. To be free, to live as you wish, to say almost anything....powerful
I wonder if these traitors will show up to vote to acquit or if they'll just stay home that day. An acquittal vote is an albatross that will never be removed.
Hopefully they will continue to boycott these proceedings because the vote is 67% of those “Present” if a number of those senators remain absent we gave a much better chance to get the right vote.
I’m with you Gwen. I also have a feeling she might open the door to other criminal investigations. For some reason DC keeps coming to mind. I don’t know if there’s a federal district in DC like SDNY is to NYC, or if DC has a D.A., but can’t help wonder about DC. I mean aside from the DoJ. So is Foni up to the challenge? She looks like she could be the real thing based on her Rachel Maddow interview a day or two back.
The First to the Fourth Crusade was all about money, money owed to France, and power that the Pope had over the will of the people, that the king of France wanted for himself. Alas, the Trump insurrection is also about money and power, who has it and how they can get it back. I believe that the Republicans have been compromised since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Since Reagan, R’s have increased their gerrymandering, voter suppression, fiddling with the districts in swing states to give them the advantage in elections, both state and federal. Then they have been destroying people’s reputation that Russia is leery of, that may indeed be Russia’s enemy, those democrats intent to put Democracy first instead of their own pocketbooks. Then it’s the dirty money coming from foreign sources (Russia,Saudi, China) to various sources, Citizens United, NRA, and others, payment for the Republican promise to create chaos and division in America, and so to break the back of Democracy.
The presentation of the insurrection by the impeachment managers is nothing short of brilliant, in scope, magnitude and effect, Republicans with their front man Trump, incited this, it took months to rile the participants to do these despicable things to fellow Americans. The fact that they are citing that their president invited them to trash the Capitol is a testament to the dedication to the big lie. Their surprise when they discover that they’ve committed a federal offence of sedition, tells you that none of them thought there would be consequences.
From reports in January, they also thought that Trump would arrest everyone on the dais on Inauguration Day, when that didn’t happen, it finally dawned on some of them that they had been duped.
Currently Trumps favourability rating has sunk to less than 34% of Americans, but it’s still a threat that Republicans can use as a cudgel to keep up their subversionary tactics to slow the Democrats down, to try throwing in a monkey wrench into the vetting process especially Merrick Garland. Because they know, that he will investigate, he will arrest those Republicans in congress who were part of the sedition/insurrection on January 6, 2021.
So well written, Mary Berry. When I read "Since Reagan," and you continued on with all the ills of the Republicans, I knew you were on the right track. It's been all about money and greed and more money since then. If we can regain our democracy, any economic stability, and standing in the world - it will be a miracle. But the GOP has to end. As well as our Neoliberalism and so-called "trickle down" theory of economics. There is only a small flame of hope now. These current R's could snuff it out. Or we can snuff them out.
Yes, the only real power we-each of us have is our vote, however it’s also in knowing who we vote for as leaders. They must be ready to make agreement with us to chase out the “real crooks” from those who are true compatriots, willing to do the dirty work of outing the bad guys, despite the Trump base-the underbelly of our nation. We must help them to see that we mean to help the poorest of us to a better life then help us to make our country stronger able to push out the seditionists and bad guys
Agree 100% with everything you so eloquently stated Mary J Berry, but there is one more way we vote - - with our wallets. I literally blame Fox "News" for making Tя☭mp happen. We could shut Fox News down in a few months if we all wrote their advertisers, explaining that we'll no longer buy their products or services & telling them the 🦊 reason why. Enough letters/emails with corresponding drop in sales would have them fleeing Fox like fleas from a sinking rat...😏😉
Thank you Greg. Somehow I’m reminded of one of my favorite movies growing up.
“Slapshot” starring Paul Newman. The line that keeps coming back to me is when the French-Canadian goalie keeps asking in broken English “ Who own team?” His Chief’s teammates response is always “Owns!! Who owns team!! You have been correct since the beginning. The Russians own this team of Republican Senators.
Not only are some (many) of the Trumplican senators owned, but I suspect that the "game plan" in many of their minds is this: if they vote to convict, they'll lose many of the Trump voters in their states. But if they vote to acquit, they retain most of those voters, AND it's highly likely that, over the coming year or two, Trump will be assailed by criminal indictments, which will (in all likelihood) mostly remove him from the future of their Republican party, thus solving their problems with the least amount of damage. It's all about money & power, two sides of the same coin. Everything else is smoke and mirrors in support of that singular goal.
That's the cover story, but is it true? They will really be primaries by disciples of a crook who will be in prison, or at least in court? I think it's much worse than that. People LIKE courage. People LIKE bipartisanship. People don't like lies, or being talked down to.
Even the Trumpkins who have suffered the most under any party rule. They are the ones left behind after NAFTA, left behind when service industry was the place to get a job, left behind because they aren’t bright enough to help themselves by getting retrained, or take a course or two to be able to open a small business in order to support themselves. They were the ones who lost their houses in the bank and stock market catastrophe. These are the ones Romney referred to the 49% on the dole...
As the author of the book “Hillbilly Elegy” these people are frozen in time-unable to change due to the absolute fear of changing their lives, or of changing their infernal routine.
J.D. Vance wrote that book in 2015/16, it was very personal to him, relating the story of his grandparents originally from the Kentucky hills resettled as did many Kentuckians in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, to get jobs in the steel, auto or after market industries, that his grandparents grew quite well off, but when NAFTA happened all of the industries closed as if overnight, by then it was his mother who had lost her job, but due to her grandparents was able to live in their house and get by, but still frozen in time when things were prosperous, in the 1950/60’s (even the 1970/80’s were better but not like the 1960’s)then the complete bust of the economy in those states. It’s well worth the read, it explains a lot about the children of those displaced people and their children, and grandchildren, their deep held believes in the evangelical church, then because there was no industry in Kentucky because their children lost that vital part of living, a job to keep body and soul together, to be able to make a somewhat prosperous life, give it meaning, in other words. Many Trumpkins anger comes from their impossible situations, their feelings of hopelessness, that even their evangelical church does not address.
I suspect several will continue to take the coward's way out by skipping the vote, thus allowing Trump to be convicted, but also leaving themselves the ability to say they "chose not to participate" in what they'll describe as "a sham, an unconstitutional process" the moment it feels politically expedient to do so. As you and others have repeatedly made clear, they all sold their souls to the devil somewhere along the way, and now they are left without any palatable options.
i wonder how the QOP Senators are going to feel when it all does come out. it will come out. it involves following the money (again). the money trail always holds the key. that and the hacked but never released rnc emails. makes you wonder.
I am at peace. It’s a nice feeling. It’s raining, which is delicious and necessary. Everything in my world is as it should be. My marriage. My newfound career as a science fiction and social fiction author. My job. My home. My political commentary outlets, which are deeply satisfying. My life is in balance, and I am feeling good about all of it. I could use some improvement in my health, but in this moment I can live with it. It’s not affecting my feeling of deep satisfaction at a life that is finally humming along nicely in every way that matters.
Society has room for improvement. It always does.
The central story of today, for me, is the mob lawyers and mob defendant and mob boss in the shadows who are running the show. The fix is in. Between Putin controlling the Republican Senators who are voting for acquittal against the evidence, and Trump being Putin’s enforcer by threatening damage to their livelihood (primary fights to threaten their careers) and their safety (sic-ing rabid Trumpsters on them to threaten them and their families), the Bad Guys look like they’re going to win this vote. But the news is out. The impeachment managers and their staffs have done the important job of exposing the crime of Putin, through his partner Donald Trump, of attacking the American democracy.
My job is not just to look at the very, very limited conventional news reports. What the conventional media decides to highlight is rarely more than a sliver of the full story. My job is to see into the core of the problem, to see the heart of the issue. So what you get from me is not just a rehash of what everybody already knows, but insight into the critical portions of the full story that perhaps are being neglected.
Here on Greg's forum, I know I am preaching to the converted.
Can we all see how mob lawyers working for a mob boss might not need to be competent trial lawyers, since their job is to intimidate and threaten? Their job is not to convince and persuade, unless it's through bribery of the jury.
Oh how naive we all are when we refuse to believe that crime is real, that crime is the foundation of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin and their partnership. How naive we are when we avoid seeing that criminal threat is what can turn people like Mitch McConnell and Jim Jordan and Lindsay Graham into simpering sycophants.
Remember, the essence of crime is to prey upon a person’s weaknesses, with no regard for humanity or morality. You threaten to harm a person. You threaten to harm others the person cares about, close family and friends. You threaten their livelihood. You threaten their financial security. You wheedle and cajole, using flattery. You bribe, attempting to use money and material gifts. You blackmail, using coercion and threats of exposure of sensitive secrets.
Putin and Trump are criminals. Remember that. Criminals do not play by the rules that you and I play by. They play by a different set of rules. Look at this entire story through their eyes.
Put yourself in the shoes of a Republican Senator.
If you have threats against yourself and your family, how do you get out of that pickle?
That's how we should be looking at this. Look at this trial through the eyes of the jurors who are victims under criminal threat, who are the victim of jury tampering. Look at this trial through the eyes of Putin, the mob boss who has been pissed off at America ever since Hillary as Secretary of State put him in his place. Look through the eyes of Tя☭mp, the mob enforcer, who has his own reasons for attacking our democratic institutions in addition to his partnership with Putin.
I noticed your statement that tRump threatens their [repug senstors and representatives] careers and livelihoods. When did being an elected representative become a career /livelihood? Severely limited terms and minimum wage pay might return being a representative of the people to a position not tied to career advancement and financial gain and more of a public service as it was originally meant to be.
Yes of course. I agree completely. But Republicans often put self-service before public service. They see it as a prestige position to clutch onto, a status symbol. They don’t want to give up their Mercedes. I think it factors in for some of them, perhaps many of them. Trump not letting go of the presidency has smaller but numerous echoes and mirrors in the Republican Congress. The injury threats and death threats are urgent and harder to discount however.
My wife worked for 20 years in politics and knows several. She reminded me they are by-and-large like everyone else, just getting by. I’m sure a lot of them see politics as a ticket to fame and fortune, that would explain how they can be blackmailed with the threat of exposing some secret to ruin their political career.
If you check certain Republicans (Paul Ryan, Trey Goody) entered politics with a small portfolio but when they left their portfolios were doubled or more. Unusual in all of the turmoil of those years...
This morning, at the opening bell of the proceedings, wise and brave Senators should spring to their feet and move that all senators who neglected to show up for their duties as jurors, who met with the defense team or who participated, directly or indirectly, in the attempted coup shall be disqualified from serving as jurors.
Then name them.
I am waiting for adherence to long-settled trial practices. I am waiting to hear from witnesses. I am waiting for someone to call what that rat bastard did a declaration of war and call out him, his minions and toadies as TRAITORS.
That is what insurrectionists are: traitors. Their very actions are a declaration of war.
Stop using the vorpal blade to open the mail. Quit the niceties. The politeness. No holding back. He declared WAR.
Be bold. Be brave. End the madness.
It is not only the front man Trump, but those bastards backing him including those in the Republican Party, that are to blame for this insurrection, the treason, sedition also backed by Russian oligarchs, the Saudis and others (may include China), that want Democracy on the run, because it’s interfering with their control over their own people, making them unruly, demanding, and fractious. Foreign countries that are under despot rule are at risk as long as America continues with the Democracy experiment, no king, no ruler, their people want to come to America where they are free to live as they choose. It’s a powerful magnet to every country that is under strict communist, authoritarian rule. To be free, to live as you wish, to say almost anything....powerful
Amen.
I wonder if these traitors will show up to vote to acquit or if they'll just stay home that day. An acquittal vote is an albatross that will never be removed.
Hopefully they will continue to boycott these proceedings because the vote is 67% of those “Present” if a number of those senators remain absent we gave a much better chance to get the right vote.
That's what I hope they do - at least keep their mitts off the vote. They SHOULD feel ashamed of themselves - but Hell is ice over first.
Totally agree with your take on the “formerly” GOP they all need to be impeached
War on the manxome foe ? - why not ?!
I’m placing my money on Foni Willis.
Let's hope so.
I’m with you Gwen. I also have a feeling she might open the door to other criminal investigations. For some reason DC keeps coming to mind. I don’t know if there’s a federal district in DC like SDNY is to NYC, or if DC has a D.A., but can’t help wonder about DC. I mean aside from the DoJ. So is Foni up to the challenge? She looks like she could be the real thing based on her Rachel Maddow interview a day or two back.
The First to the Fourth Crusade was all about money, money owed to France, and power that the Pope had over the will of the people, that the king of France wanted for himself. Alas, the Trump insurrection is also about money and power, who has it and how they can get it back. I believe that the Republicans have been compromised since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Since Reagan, R’s have increased their gerrymandering, voter suppression, fiddling with the districts in swing states to give them the advantage in elections, both state and federal. Then they have been destroying people’s reputation that Russia is leery of, that may indeed be Russia’s enemy, those democrats intent to put Democracy first instead of their own pocketbooks. Then it’s the dirty money coming from foreign sources (Russia,Saudi, China) to various sources, Citizens United, NRA, and others, payment for the Republican promise to create chaos and division in America, and so to break the back of Democracy.
The presentation of the insurrection by the impeachment managers is nothing short of brilliant, in scope, magnitude and effect, Republicans with their front man Trump, incited this, it took months to rile the participants to do these despicable things to fellow Americans. The fact that they are citing that their president invited them to trash the Capitol is a testament to the dedication to the big lie. Their surprise when they discover that they’ve committed a federal offence of sedition, tells you that none of them thought there would be consequences.
From reports in January, they also thought that Trump would arrest everyone on the dais on Inauguration Day, when that didn’t happen, it finally dawned on some of them that they had been duped.
Currently Trumps favourability rating has sunk to less than 34% of Americans, but it’s still a threat that Republicans can use as a cudgel to keep up their subversionary tactics to slow the Democrats down, to try throwing in a monkey wrench into the vetting process especially Merrick Garland. Because they know, that he will investigate, he will arrest those Republicans in congress who were part of the sedition/insurrection on January 6, 2021.
So well written, Mary Berry. When I read "Since Reagan," and you continued on with all the ills of the Republicans, I knew you were on the right track. It's been all about money and greed and more money since then. If we can regain our democracy, any economic stability, and standing in the world - it will be a miracle. But the GOP has to end. As well as our Neoliberalism and so-called "trickle down" theory of economics. There is only a small flame of hope now. These current R's could snuff it out. Or we can snuff them out.
Yes, the only real power we-each of us have is our vote, however it’s also in knowing who we vote for as leaders. They must be ready to make agreement with us to chase out the “real crooks” from those who are true compatriots, willing to do the dirty work of outing the bad guys, despite the Trump base-the underbelly of our nation. We must help them to see that we mean to help the poorest of us to a better life then help us to make our country stronger able to push out the seditionists and bad guys
Agree 100% with everything you so eloquently stated Mary J Berry, but there is one more way we vote - - with our wallets. I literally blame Fox "News" for making Tя☭mp happen. We could shut Fox News down in a few months if we all wrote their advertisers, explaining that we'll no longer buy their products or services & telling them the 🦊 reason why. Enough letters/emails with corresponding drop in sales would have them fleeing Fox like fleas from a sinking rat...😏😉
Yes ! - the GOP has to come to an end. At least the party as it is currently known ..
Exploiting honest religious fervor for money is as old as religion itself, alas.
Greed
Welcome to Trump’s and Repubs exploitation of MAGA-ts.
Thank you Greg. Somehow I’m reminded of one of my favorite movies growing up.
“Slapshot” starring Paul Newman. The line that keeps coming back to me is when the French-Canadian goalie keeps asking in broken English “ Who own team?” His Chief’s teammates response is always “Owns!! Who owns team!! You have been correct since the beginning. The Russians own this team of Republican Senators.
That is one of the best movies ever made. "They brought their fucking TOYS with them."
Not only are some (many) of the Trumplican senators owned, but I suspect that the "game plan" in many of their minds is this: if they vote to convict, they'll lose many of the Trump voters in their states. But if they vote to acquit, they retain most of those voters, AND it's highly likely that, over the coming year or two, Trump will be assailed by criminal indictments, which will (in all likelihood) mostly remove him from the future of their Republican party, thus solving their problems with the least amount of damage. It's all about money & power, two sides of the same coin. Everything else is smoke and mirrors in support of that singular goal.
That's the cover story, but is it true? They will really be primaries by disciples of a crook who will be in prison, or at least in court? I think it's much worse than that. People LIKE courage. People LIKE bipartisanship. People don't like lies, or being talked down to.
Even the Trumpkins who have suffered the most under any party rule. They are the ones left behind after NAFTA, left behind when service industry was the place to get a job, left behind because they aren’t bright enough to help themselves by getting retrained, or take a course or two to be able to open a small business in order to support themselves. They were the ones who lost their houses in the bank and stock market catastrophe. These are the ones Romney referred to the 49% on the dole...
As the author of the book “Hillbilly Elegy” these people are frozen in time-unable to change due to the absolute fear of changing their lives, or of changing their infernal routine.
Your final sentence there explains a lot to me, Mary - many thanks !
J.D. Vance wrote that book in 2015/16, it was very personal to him, relating the story of his grandparents originally from the Kentucky hills resettled as did many Kentuckians in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, to get jobs in the steel, auto or after market industries, that his grandparents grew quite well off, but when NAFTA happened all of the industries closed as if overnight, by then it was his mother who had lost her job, but due to her grandparents was able to live in their house and get by, but still frozen in time when things were prosperous, in the 1950/60’s (even the 1970/80’s were better but not like the 1960’s)then the complete bust of the economy in those states. It’s well worth the read, it explains a lot about the children of those displaced people and their children, and grandchildren, their deep held believes in the evangelical church, then because there was no industry in Kentucky because their children lost that vital part of living, a job to keep body and soul together, to be able to make a somewhat prosperous life, give it meaning, in other words. Many Trumpkins anger comes from their impossible situations, their feelings of hopelessness, that even their evangelical church does not address.
An excellent analogy. All the greed for power (and moolah), all the murderous, care-not insanity that characterises it ..
I suspect several will continue to take the coward's way out by skipping the vote, thus allowing Trump to be convicted, but also leaving themselves the ability to say they "chose not to participate" in what they'll describe as "a sham, an unconstitutional process" the moment it feels politically expedient to do so. As you and others have repeatedly made clear, they all sold their souls to the devil somewhere along the way, and now they are left without any palatable options.
i wonder how the QOP Senators are going to feel when it all does come out. it will come out. it involves following the money (again). the money trail always holds the key. that and the hacked but never released rnc emails. makes you wonder.
I am at peace. It’s a nice feeling. It’s raining, which is delicious and necessary. Everything in my world is as it should be. My marriage. My newfound career as a science fiction and social fiction author. My job. My home. My political commentary outlets, which are deeply satisfying. My life is in balance, and I am feeling good about all of it. I could use some improvement in my health, but in this moment I can live with it. It’s not affecting my feeling of deep satisfaction at a life that is finally humming along nicely in every way that matters.
Society has room for improvement. It always does.
The central story of today, for me, is the mob lawyers and mob defendant and mob boss in the shadows who are running the show. The fix is in. Between Putin controlling the Republican Senators who are voting for acquittal against the evidence, and Trump being Putin’s enforcer by threatening damage to their livelihood (primary fights to threaten their careers) and their safety (sic-ing rabid Trumpsters on them to threaten them and their families), the Bad Guys look like they’re going to win this vote. But the news is out. The impeachment managers and their staffs have done the important job of exposing the crime of Putin, through his partner Donald Trump, of attacking the American democracy.
My job is not just to look at the very, very limited conventional news reports. What the conventional media decides to highlight is rarely more than a sliver of the full story. My job is to see into the core of the problem, to see the heart of the issue. So what you get from me is not just a rehash of what everybody already knows, but insight into the critical portions of the full story that perhaps are being neglected.
Here on Greg's forum, I know I am preaching to the converted.
Can we all see how mob lawyers working for a mob boss might not need to be competent trial lawyers, since their job is to intimidate and threaten? Their job is not to convince and persuade, unless it's through bribery of the jury.
Oh how naive we all are when we refuse to believe that crime is real, that crime is the foundation of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin and their partnership. How naive we are when we avoid seeing that criminal threat is what can turn people like Mitch McConnell and Jim Jordan and Lindsay Graham into simpering sycophants.
Remember, the essence of crime is to prey upon a person’s weaknesses, with no regard for humanity or morality. You threaten to harm a person. You threaten to harm others the person cares about, close family and friends. You threaten their livelihood. You threaten their financial security. You wheedle and cajole, using flattery. You bribe, attempting to use money and material gifts. You blackmail, using coercion and threats of exposure of sensitive secrets.
Putin and Trump are criminals. Remember that. Criminals do not play by the rules that you and I play by. They play by a different set of rules. Look at this entire story through their eyes.
https://www.rawstory.com/trump-impeachment-2650516858/
Put yourself in the shoes of a Republican Senator.
If you have threats against yourself and your family, how do you get out of that pickle?
That's how we should be looking at this. Look at this trial through the eyes of the jurors who are victims under criminal threat, who are the victim of jury tampering. Look at this trial through the eyes of Putin, the mob boss who has been pissed off at America ever since Hillary as Secretary of State put him in his place. Look through the eyes of Tя☭mp, the mob enforcer, who has his own reasons for attacking our democratic institutions in addition to his partnership with Putin.
I noticed your statement that tRump threatens their [repug senstors and representatives] careers and livelihoods. When did being an elected representative become a career /livelihood? Severely limited terms and minimum wage pay might return being a representative of the people to a position not tied to career advancement and financial gain and more of a public service as it was originally meant to be.
Yes of course. I agree completely. But Republicans often put self-service before public service. They see it as a prestige position to clutch onto, a status symbol. They don’t want to give up their Mercedes. I think it factors in for some of them, perhaps many of them. Trump not letting go of the presidency has smaller but numerous echoes and mirrors in the Republican Congress. The injury threats and death threats are urgent and harder to discount however.
So very true...even the investigations into HRC were to fill party coffers...not to mention that it piqued their donors interest
My wife worked for 20 years in politics and knows several. She reminded me they are by-and-large like everyone else, just getting by. I’m sure a lot of them see politics as a ticket to fame and fortune, that would explain how they can be blackmailed with the threat of exposing some secret to ruin their political career.
If you check certain Republicans (Paul Ryan, Trey Goody) entered politics with a small portfolio but when they left their portfolios were doubled or more. Unusual in all of the turmoil of those years...