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Feb 12, 2021Liked by Greg Olear

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.

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Feb 12, 2021Liked by Greg Olear

I’m placing my money on Foni Willis.

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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.

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Feb 12, 2021Liked by Greg Olear

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.

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Feb 12, 2021Liked by Greg Olear

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.

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An excellent analogy. All the greed for power (and moolah), all the murderous, care-not insanity that characterises it ..

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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.

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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.

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founding

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/

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