Impeachment or Vengeance?

Monday Nancy Pelosi intends to introduce articles of impeachment against Donald Trump.  Most Democrats support this move.  Republicans are somewhat split.

But does this move make sense?  Is it in keeping with Biden’s claim of being a unifier?  To answer that question one must go beyond the emotional hysteria and look at law and facts (though that emotional hysteria will come into the answer as well). (As to more on Biden’s unity, see my post from Jan. 9 HERE)

Most well-respected constitutional scholars who are asked will tell you that President Trump’s actions on January 6 do not rise to the level of an impeachable offense.  See for example Jonathan Turley HERE  or Alan Dershowitz HERE 

The standard for violent speech is found in Brandenburg v. Ohio; it allows the government to criminalize speech “directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action.”

Trump, in his typically bombastic fashion, never actually called for violence or riots. What he did is to urge his supporters to march on the Capitol to raise their opposition to the certification of electoral votes and to back the challenges being made by a few members of Congress. Trump told the crowd “to peacefully and patriotically make your voices be heard.”  He ended his remarks by saying a protest at the Capitol was meant to provide Republicans “the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country.” He told the crowd, “Let us walk down Pennsylvania Avenue.”

We should note that such sorts of marches and demonstrations frequently occur in DC when there is important legislative or legal business or decisions occurring.  There are often marches and demonstrations outside the Supreme Court when the Court is hearing a particularly important or divisive case.  Similar words are always heard during the speeches that precede such marches and demonstrations.

Dershowitz stated that while he personally disapproves of what Trump said in his Wednesday address, "it comes within core political speech, and to impeach a president for exercising his First Amendment rights would be so dangerous to the Constitution." 

Turley states, “There was no call for lawless action by Trump. Instead, there was a call for a protest at the Capitol. Moreover, violence was not imminent, as the vast majority of the tens of thousands of protesters were not violent before the march, and most did not riot inside the Capitol. Like many violent protests in the last four years, criminal conduct was carried out by a smaller group of instigators. Capitol Police knew of the march but declined an offer from the National Guard since they did not view violence as likely.”

Both Turley and Dershowitz believe that this impeachment would set dangerous precedents for the future.  "It would lie around like a loaded weapon ready to be used by either party against the other party, and that’s not what impeachment or the 25th Amendment were intended to be."(Dershowitz).

Turley wrote:

“The damage caused by the rioters this week was enormous, however, it will pale in comparison to the damage from a new precedent of a snap impeachment for speech protected under the First Amendment. It is the very threat that the framers sought to avoid in crafting the impeachment standard. In a process of deliberative judgment, the reference to a snap impeachment is a contradiction. In this new system, guilt is not doubted and innocence is not deliberated. This would do to the Constitution what the violent rioters did to the Capitol and leave it in tatters.”

So, given this solid logic from these and other legal scholars, why then impeach?

I think it is nothing more than the culmination of the irrational hatred toward Donald Trump that we have seen for the last 4 years.  The Democrats for whatever reason have loathed Trump from the moment he became the 2016 candidate.  They have done everything in their power to remove him from office.  They have tried to block his policies.  They have kept their base riled up with animosity toward not only the President but his supporters as well. 

They do not want justice; they are not doing this for the country.  What the Democrats want is to destroy the President, to see him suffer.  I believe many would guillotine him in the public square if they could. 

Here is a thought from one of the few  Democrats in Congress able to be rational about this issue.  Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D.C.) says she will introduce a bill to censure Trump.  A censure is a formal reprimand or statement of disapproval.  She states, "A censure resolution is the only way to send a bipartisan, bicameral message without delay to the country and the world that the United States is a nation of laws."

This makes sense.  While the President’s words were not criminal and do not support impeachment, while they were not violent or inciteful, many believe it would have been a wiser move if he had not given that speech.  So give him what is essentially a reprimand for doing so; that should satisfy anyone whose motive is justice and not retribution or revenge. 

The introduction of this bill for censure is a first step toward the unity that everyone claims they want for the country.  Voting for it instead of impeachment would go a far longer way toward that unity.  It would show us that rational minds prevail.

But the problem is it will not satisfy the irrational hatred that spews forth daily from most of the Left.  They want their pound of flesh (for what I am still not clear).  But we shall see.  Tomorrow will tell us what this is really about – justness or vengeance.   It will also show us how serious the Left is in their calls for peace, healing, and unity.

Question One

We will be having an election soon.  I don’t know how many people are truly paying attention.  I fear that many are not actually becoming the informed members of the electorate that they need to be before casting their vote.  Or, perhaps, they are focused on one issue only, one that is personal to them, and will allow their feelings on that one issue to overshadow everything else and keep them from seeing the big picture.  Or, and we all know this is true, they will allow their hatred for one man (whether real or created for them by the media and the very real Trump Derangement Syndrome) blind them to the actions and accomplishments of that person serving as President for this country and its people. 

This is an important election – perhaps the most important one that I have seen in my 72 years on this earth.  So, I thought that through some posts over the next two months or so I would consider some key questions that this election may very well answer.  Questions that deal less with specific issues and more with the big picture that this election’s results may create.   Here is the first question:      

Who has/should have authority over whom?

That is, how much authority do you want the government to have over you and how much authority do you want to maintain and to have over government?  Stated another way:  How much do you value your autonomy?

Autonomy is a key word here, because the more you expect or demand that the government take care of you, the more autonomy you are relinquishing to other than yourself.

We have two candidates, one of whom stands for small government and the tradition of American individualism, the other stands for large government in the tradition of Socialism.  These two positions are polar opposites and we see their clashing ideology currently not only in the violent streets, but also in the halls of Congress.  There is truly a battle going on for the soul of America and this election will be perhaps a last chance for the people to truly have their say about on which side of the divide they stand.

Donald Trump, whether or not you like the man, is essentially styled in the mold of a rugged individualist.  The America he envisions is one of small government, a government as outlined in our Constitution which provides great autonomy to the people as it protects their freedoms from an intrusive government.  It is an America that aspires to equal opportunity for all, based on their individual talents.  It does not guarantee equality of result, but rather encourages excellence from each individual regardless of and without comparison to his or her neighbor.  It allows each individual to determine his or her own goals and also allows every individual to retain the fruits of their own labor. 

While we may not have that in perfection today, that is the America that Donald Trump strives for.  And we see that many of his accomplishments have worked toward that with such things as the best economy for minorities ever, the positive environment for industry and especially small business start-ups, and, until CoVid, the historic low unemployment especially for minorities. 

A vote for Donald Trump is a vote for maximum individual autonomy to the extent acceptable within a civilized Democratic Republic. 

Joe Biden, on the other hand, leans heavily toward Socialism.  Whether or not he himself is a socialist is up for debate, but his statements on his positions, to the extent that he has currently articulated them, are clearly from the socialist mold.  Rather than an America in which individuals have rights and freedoms that are protected from government by the Constitution, Biden’s America envisions a government that provides rights to the people. 

We must remember that when a government is the provider of a right, it also has the power to take away that same right.  In such a government freedoms such as speech and worship are not inherent in the people and their right to choose, but are determined and allowed or not by those in power who decide for all what “we” will say, believe, and do.   And that is the problem with the Socialist or far-Left dreams for America.  The dream of equal result for all requires that the government determine who will do, say, and have what.  The individual autonomy of traditional America is ceded to the government. 

Joe Biden and the socialist dream may sound lovely – everyone will have all that they need, no one will have more than anyone else – no more privilege, no more income gap, no more educational distinctions, no more ghettos or wealthy gated neighborhoods.  Everyone will be on an equal plane, not only of opportunity but of result.  We will all equally care for our neighbors.  “we” will all be on the same page marching as one to the same drummer.

Sounds lovely, does it not?  The problem is that it doesn’t work.  You can read my previous blogposts about socialism, you can read any history of any socialist system and see what happens.  It may work for a short while, but then reality sets in and not only the economy, but the human spirit is crushed.  People are not all the same, and no amount of government intervention can make them so.  And to ask people to give up what they legitimately have worked for, whether it is material wealth or simply a form of self-esteem and pride, is to destroy their motivation to continue to be who they are.  Indeed, Socialism denies the right of the individual simply to be.

Actually, we have an example of this right here in America.    Following the civil rights demonstrations and legislation of the mid-20^th century, the Democrats created any number of social programs to take care of the Black population (apparently they believed that the Blacks were incapable on their own to handle their new found freedoms).  Those programs required Blacks to behave in certain ways – to relinquish some of their autonomy in order to receive them.  The result was in many instances to destroy individual incentive and ultimately to make a large part of the Black population dependent on those programs. 

This leads to people like Biden saying in the 21^st Century that Blacks are not a diverse population (response to a question from NPR reporter Lulu Garcia-Navarro, 8/5/2020 that he has since attempted to “walk back") and that Black voters “ain’t Black” if they don’t vote Democratic (Interview on The Breakfast Club 5/22/2020, which he has also since attempted to “walk back").  These socialism inspired policies allow Democrats to create a Black victim identity group to use as part of their base in their attempt to gain power and further enlarge government; they do this for their own ends while at the same time destroying individual spirit and thought.

The bottom line is, if you value your individual autonomy, then this is an important election in which you must do your part to deny the Democrats’ push to socialism.   If you are uninformed, it is time to educate yourself about the realities of Socialism, especially in contrast to a Democratic Republic form of government, and also about the realities of what Donald Trump has actually done to promote equality of possibility for all Americans vs. what Joe Biden and his handlers have planned for America.

Perhaps the following chart will help to focus on the bigger picture of what this election means and how it will affect the answer to question 1 and more importantly how it will affect who each of us are, how we will be defined, and what our future will be.

 

Finally, I note that I am not registered with any party, but as an independent thinker and voter I truly believe that this may be one of the most important elections of our lifetime.  I hope that everyone gives it the serious consideration that it deserves.

This should not be political, but NPCs help to make it so

The coronavirus pandemic is not a political issue and I wish people would stop treating it that way.  I happen to think that our President has for the most part done and is doing a good job handling this complex problem.  I also happen to think that my state governor, a progressive Democrat, is doing an outstanding job.  This is not a political issue and we do not need political rhetoric clouding things up.    

This pandemic and its effects are complex.  This is not a simple issue with a right and wrong answer.  It is a new issue that this country, this world, has never faced before.  No one has all the answers, and everyone is learning as we go along.  Learning is a key word here.  Everyone who wants to spout an opinion on this issue should take some time to educate him or herself about it first.  That means facts, not anecdotal evidence from one satisfied or dissatisfied person or business owner or victim of the virus.  And not following in the approach that so many currently take to newsworthy issues which is to simply spout the rhetoric of one or the other political parties.

There is a term NPC which originally referred to a non-playable character in a video game; that is, a character with whom other players can interact but which can only repeat programmed lines – it cannot think for itself.  The term has come to be used for those political minions who similarly do not think for themselves but only repeat programmed phrases – that is, they spout the party line without thought.

NPCs have been around for a while.   Now they spout their party’s politically correct phrases and positions about the coronavirus pandemic.  I used to see NPCs as primarily a Democrat phenomenon.  They would stick to their programmed dialog even when simple common sense proved it to be ridiculous.  For example, during the Kavanaugh hearings the Democrat NPCs all asserted that “women must always be believed when they claim sexual assault, even if there is no evidence to confirm their story and even evidence to contradict it.”  Now, with a seemingly credible allegation against Biden, the program has been changed to “all women must be believed, but only if they are accusing a Republican; when they accuse a Democrat we can dismiss their claim post haste.”

But now I cannot help but see the assault of NPCs and their programmed views coming from every political persuasion.   The Democrats and Anti-Trumpers first assert their same tired complaints:  President Trump is destroying the country, he does not know what he is doing, and, more specific to the virus – he is killing people.  They also assert that everything he does violates and/or destroys the Constitution and our government.  He acted too late.  He acted too early.  He should not let the governors decide.  He cannot make any national orders.  He must make national orders.  And, of course, he must be investigated.  Don’t ask the folks making these assertions to explain or support them – they cannot.  The only truth underlying them is that they either don’t like the President or don’t like his policies, or both.

But we also have the Republican NPCs.  Their current mantra is “Open Now!”  They have supplementary statements that they assert in support of this demand:  Closing businesses violates our rights; people have the right to choose; shut down orders violate the Constitution, not opening now will destroy the Constitution, the economy, and our country.  Do they have the science or the economics or the legal scholarship to prove any of that?  Of course not.  Sure, closing down and staying home orders do interfere with some rights or at least some activities, but they do so and are allowable for the public good.  These Republican NPCs have apparently conveniently forgotten that part of civics class – it seems to not be a part of their programmed lines. (They have also forgotten their old mantra of “we don’t need anything from the government” as they hold out their hands for stimulus and other benefits).

All these programmed assertions do nothing more than to prove some sort of ignorance, or at least an inability or disinclination to think things through.  For example, one cannot end with “just open up and let people choose whether to stay home, wear masks, etc.”   This reveals so much about what the asserter does not know.  First, the point of staying home, wearing masks, is to keep those who are asymptomatic from spreading the disease to others (and, if they bothered to look at facts they would know that huge percentages of us are asymptomatic, which is why we need things like sufficient testing and other data before opening up).  They would also understand that even if one is free to stay home, that might be a difficult choice if opening up means one has to choose between returning to a job or losing it by staying home.  These NPCs often claim they are demanding opening now for the workers, but would that really help those workers?  They claim decisions about what to open/close are unfair, but they do not have the details upon which these decisions were made; such assertions are just part of their politically programmed speech.

We have a pandemic involving a virus for which there is no treatment or cure and no vaccine.  It threatens the Public health of everyone in the country.   We have experts who update data and projections daily as they determine and regularly revise, based on new information, the best way to handle this public health crisis.  In order to flatten the curve – which was necessary so as not to overload healthcare and thus make the effects of the pandemic far worse – stay at home orders and business closures were put into place.  Of course these affected the economy and now those same experts are recommending a safe, data-driven and measured re-opening of business.  They provide clear criteria and a wealth of data to help each Governor make decisions and a reopening plan for his or her state.

NPCs are not interested in facts or data.  Here, by the way, is the link to a cite that provides a wealth of data, updated daily, about the corona virus, including state by state statistics and projections.  LINK.  Interestingly, when I shared this with a social media discussion about the virus populated mostly with NPC-type statements, the entire conversation was suddenly deleted.  Perhaps no one is really interested in facts. 

Generally, in this country we of late seem to suffer from a wealth of people who think they are experts on everything or at least anything about which they have an opinion.   Yet they do not educate themselves about that which they are opining.  Many of them are actually NPCs.   They are often wrong or incomplete in their statements and often insufferable in their thinking or lack thereof.  But annoying as it can be, such false belief in one’s own knowledge is usually not harmful; certainly not deadly.  Not so when we look at the coronavirus. 

Those false experts who are demanding anything and everything from opening fully now to never opening again, from asserting we must have more and more money forever to compensate those possibly injured by the virus or its economic effects  to those who would deny any and all financial aid, from those who see every well thought out cautionary and temporary restriction as the end of our Constitution and our life as we know it to those who assert that now is the time that mandates a complete restructuring of our government, all of these programmed assertions spoken without thought or support are dangerous.

We need to get the solution to this problem right.  We need to intelligently balance the health dangers with the economy.  This requires understanding and thought.  It cannot be done by NPCs.  Yet it is the voices of the NPCs who are at times drowning out those reasoned expert voices that we need.

There are those in this country who take the time to educate themselves about the science of the disease, who take the time to look at and understand facts, and to think for themselves.  These are the people who are looking at data, who are looking at various measured guidelines for reopening, who are understanding that it is a delicate balance between protecting the people from this serious health risk and from keeping the economy in a position where it can return to “normal” without too much hurt and delay when the time is right.

These people stand in stark contrast to the NPCs who simply spout politically driven opinions and demands about the virus and the economy.  Their leaders of course are trying to capitalize politically in any way possible from this pandemic and its effects on both health and economy.  Their leaders will use it to push their agendas and to trash those of their opponents as well as the opponents themselves.  The NPCs are their necessary minions.

NPCs and self-proclaimed experts (often one and the same) need to simply shut up until they are willing to actually think.   We all need to use our brains and our common sense to understand what is going on, to accept reasonable restrictions and inconveniences, and support all of our leaders as they do their best to get this right.  What we do not need to accept, and indeed should ignore, are the politically driven NPCs and their unhelpful and potentially dangerous comments.   

The Eve of Impeachment

"What truly matters is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people."
-Donald J. Trump, Jan. 20, 2017

This quotation is especially significant on this Eve of Impeachment, an impeachment being sought by those who themselves would take all control from the people.

I had not intended to write about this whole impeachment debacle, first because there is more than enough being written by others and second because to give time to this sham seems somehow wrong.  But the quotation reminded me that we the people should never give up our vigilance, and certainly not when there is a concerted effort to take away our voices and our power.

So, herein I will first look as some of the context surrounding this “impeachment” and then at the constitution itself, both of which I think argue for a quick dismissal. 

As the rhetoric ramps up on this Eve of Impeachment, I think that anyone who fairly, critically, and objectively looks at the situation can agree upon certain things.

First, President Trump’s style is completely different than that of his predecessor as well as different from most smooth-talking politicians.  The President tweets, he uses common and sometimes gruff language, he doesn’t beat around the bush, but instead tells it like it is.  This seems to offend many, especially those whose style is more refined (or who would like to think that they or their style are more refined).

Second, the President’s policies are also different from those of the previous administration and of today’s Democrats.  Yet, the people elected Donald Trump, and with him his policies.  With a change in policy comes a change in personnel; the president always has a right to remove people appointed by a different administration and bring in his own people.  That includes removing long term bureaucrats, especially those who have come to believe that they, not the people’s elected officials, should be running things.  The Democrats like to latch onto such personnel changes as some sort of evidence of abuse of power, when they are simply a lawful change in policy, one that the people chose by their vote.

Third, the Democrats have been trying to remove the President from office since just minutes after his inauguration, minutes after he uttered the above quoted words.  They have been searching and searching to find something, anything, that would allow them to overturn the results of the election.  We have had name-calling, we had 2 years of the Russian investigation that despite having shown that it was a big nothing the Democrats continue to assert as some sort of wrongdoing by the President.  We have had attempts to thwart every policy decision and appointment by the President with which the Democrats disagree.  

We then had a “whistle-blower” who was colluding with Adam Schiff or other Democrats who gave us a phone conversation that turned out to simply be a request to investigate some possible misconduct during the past administration that may have involved a member of that administration who is now a candidate in the Democratic presidential primary.  From that phone call we had Adam Schiff conduct secret hearings from which he revealed only select portions of testimony, and during which Republicans were not allowed to question witnesses or present their own witnesses or present their side of the case.  Despite their one-sided unfairness, these hearings again produced no evidence of a crime.  Nonetheless, the Democrats, through their own admission, need to impeach the President or, they fear, he will be re-elected.

Fourth, many of the Democrats, in their unremitting quest for power which marches hand in hand with their quest to remove President Trump, have shown a deep disregard for our Constitution and its protections.  The most recent example of this is Nancy Pelosi’s statements that essentially assert that the President must prove his innocence.  Apparently, she doesn’t understand this country’s most basic concept of innocent until proven guilty.  In a trial, which is essentially what impeachment is, the prosecution (here the House) must make a basic case.  If no such case is made, the case will be dismissed.  This is what should actually happen here: because the articles of impeachment presented by the House do not make a case it is a waste of time and taxpayer money to not dismiss this entire frivolity.

If a case goes forward, both sides will present their evidence and the prosecution must prove their case beyond other, reasonable understandings of the evidence.  Until such time the defendant is innocent; asking a defendant to prove his innocence is like asking someone when they stopped beating their wife which requires them to essentially prove they never beat their wife to begin with. (Or, to use a more topical example from the last Democrat debate, it is like asking candidate Warren what she said when Bernie Sanders said a woman can’t be president.  That question, asked by CNN, includes the assumption that Sanders is guilty of that statement, something which he denies, and which has not been proven, but of which he is now expected to prove his innocence). 

The Democrat method of late is always to label, call names, accuse, and then demand that the one accused find a way to prove they are innocent of the charges, charges that often have no supportive evidence. One of their most egregious uses of this tactic was the Kavanaugh hearing, but we see it every day in their accusations against the President, his staff, his supporters, and the everyday people with whom the Democrats disagree as they try to silence and destroy any opposition.

Yes, beyond our Constitutional rights to a fair trial and other judicial protections, the Democrats are also eager to ignore our First Amendment rights to freedoms of speech, assembly, and religion.  They are just as eager to ignore and deny Second Amendment rights.  They consider as invalid an election by the process set forth in the Constitution using the Electoral College.  They talk about “stacking” the Supreme Court so as to make it a partisan political branch.  And, of course, they forgo their oaths to the Constitution and their duty to listen to and speak for their constituents rather than simply pursuing their personal power agendas.

With such a complete disregard of our Constitution and our governmental structures, the oath that was taken last week by senators to conduct a fair trial seems almost a joke.  If the Democrats hold such disdain for our government then what meaning did that oath have for them?  The clear answer is: Nothing. Their oath is to their quest to destroy the President and either remove him from office or so weaken him that he will either not be re-elected or, if he is, he will be able to do nothing.   Despite their pretense that this is a solemn occurrence that they are taking seriously, we see Democrats joking, laughing with glee, handing out golden pens, and delighting in saying that regardless of the outcome, the President will be forever impeached and hence his name forever blackened.  It’s like they want to put an asterisk by his name to say he wasn’t really legitimate.  And their reason is simply this:  because they hate him.

So, the lawyers will argue about what is impeachable.  The senators will argue about rules.  The media will be a bit histrionic about everything, with a clear bias against the President.  We know the Democrats have no qualms about lying (for example Adam Schiff putting a false record of the phone call into the house record).  Democrats will try to prolong this since the longer it stays before the public, the more it is likely to hurt the President; first, because when people hear things repeated over and over they tend to begin to believe them whether or not they are true; and, second because focus on this keeps the President from focusing on the more important things like continuing to grow our economy, eliminating threats to our country, foreign policy, etc. while giving Democrats cover for doing none of the people’s work.

In the end, this is all quite simple, especially if we begin by looking at the Constitution.  Article 2 has 4 sections which cover the duties of the executive branch as well as impeachment.  In part, that article states as follows:

               Sec. 1: “The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.” [The remainder of this section explains qualifications, election, term, etc as well as the President’s oath of office: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

               Sec. 2:  This section sets fort the powers of the president and includes that he is the Commander in Chief of the military, explains his power to grant reprieves and pardons, and his treaty making powers.

               Sec. 3:  This explains the president’s duties to inform Congress via the State of the Union address, to receive ambassadors and other state officials and his duty to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.”

               Sec. 4:   “The President, Vice President and all Civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

There are no detailed explanations of the impeachable crimes, but, in Article 3 which deals with judicial powers, immediately following a paragraph that mentions form of trials, including impeachment, Section 3 defines treason: “Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.”  Using typical canons of statutory construction, one can reasonably assume that the other “crimes and misdemeanors” would be of equivalent gravity. 

So, with this legal background and context, I can see no way that the House’s articles of impeachment should not simply be dismissed.  There is no crime alleged and no evidence of any impeachable crime.

The first charge is “Abuse of Power”  Historically, it has been made clear that “abuse of power” alone is not an impeachable offense, especially since the out of power party regularly accuses the in power party and president of abuse of power when it carries out policies that the out of power party does not agree with.  If abuse of power is impeachable, then every president will face political impeachment.

The President had a legitimate reason to ask for an investigation into Hunter Biden and Burisma.  Such investigation involved possible misdeeds by members of the previous administration.  That the vice-president of that administration happens to be a current Democrat candidate for president does not mean that those misdeeds should not be investigated, even if such investigation might in some way affect that candidate’s current campaign.  The investigation was into Ukrainian corruption that may implicate the previous administration and that is a legitimate act if not a duty for the current president to investigate. 

The President had a right and a duty to call for an investigation, and to withhold distribution of monies to Ukraine until he was assured that the known corruption in that country was being dealt with.  He also had the power to conduct his negotiations and discussions with that country in his style and with the people that he chose.  It was not an abuse of power to remove bureaucrats and other public servants whom he felt were not effective in carrying out his polices.  There is no actual evidence, other than opinion and innuendo, that what the president did or said in regard to Ukraine was anything but legitimate.

Actually, if anyone is obviously doing something to affect a presidential election it is the Democrat Senators who are also candidates for president who will sit in judgement of their opponent.  Certainly, the outcome of the impeachment trial will have a bearing on their candidacy; they have a personal stake in this.  When a judge has a personal interest in some aspect of a case, he or she will recuse from hearing and deciding the case so as to avoid even the appearance of bias.  One should expect no less from the Democrat senator-candidates.  Yet, that expectation will not be met and is simply another demonstration of the fact that this impeachment is not about fairness but about the Democrats attacking their opponent for political purposes, not for the good of the country.

As to the second article of impeachment, “Obstruction of Congress,” the mere allegations of this article only go to prove the Democrats’ utter disregard for our legal system.  The essence of the allegation is that the executive branch did not comply with subpoenas and other information or testimony requests from the House.  However, what this ignores is the right to question the validity of subpoenas and other requests in a court of law – something which the President and others were in the process of doing when the Democrat House decided to impeach.   

The Democrats were unwilling to let the judicial process take its course and determine what information the President was required to provide. Only once the judiciary had rendered final opinions, including all appeals, would they then possibly be able to claim abuse if the President did not abide by those decisions.  But, in their rush of hatred and desire for removal, the Democrats were unwilling to wait.  Their disregard for our justice system was simply part of the means justifying their political end.

So, I really see nothing here and, in my opinion, this should simply be dismissed.  It will not be, because everyone will be afraid that to do so would be portrayed by the Democrats and their Mainstream Media as some sort of cover-up.  Instead, the Democrats will try to drag this out and waste more and more of the taxpayer money trying to dig for something else to use against the President and silence the voice of the people.  For, in the Democrat view, it is they who should control the people. 

On this Eve of Impeachment, I hope the people will not be fooled.  I hope they will see the Democrats for what they are:  disaffected and power hungry with a hatred so strong that they are willing to dismantle our Constitution and the core principles of our democracy in order to assuage it. 

An Open Letter

This is an open letter to House Democrats that I share here, hoping it will be read and shared by anyone who cares about the future of our country.

Dear House Democrats,

I ask that before you vote on impeachment next week that you put on your objective thinking caps.  I realize that this entire impeachment is the culmination of 3+ years of hatred directed at the President, but I ask that you stop and consider what your vote will mean.

I understand that many people find Donald Trump’s style to be abrasive and unconventional as far as the politicians and leaders that we are used to.  They dislike his direct and colorful speaking style, his tweets, his ability to say what he thinks in plain language without the niceties and falsities of typical politi-speak.  This may be enough for some people to hate him.  It is not, however, enough or a justifiable reason to impeach him.

I understand that he embarrasses many Democrats, first because he, an outsider, bested them in the 2016 election.  On top of that he continues as president to do things that they have only perhaps promised or dreamt of:  keep his campaign promises; improve the economy; record low unemployment; improved standing in the world; prison reform; equal and consistent enforcement of laws; standing up to the deep state; refusing to let unelected bureaucrats make policy and other decisions that it is his responsibility as the people’s elected choice to make.  He is doing what the people elected him to do, and his success embarrasses many Democrats. 

I understand that the feeling of embarrassment alerts one to one’s own failures.  It hurts and it can lead to a hatred of the one who has embarrassed you.  It is not, however, enough or a justifiable reason to impeach that person.

I understand that most Democrats do not like many of the President’s policies.  That is not abnormal:  the losing party usually advocates for different policies than the winning party.   That is what elections are all about:  the people side with one set of policies or another and in the instant case the policies of Donald Trump won.   That the people did not side with your policies does not make them stupid as many of your fellow Democrats assert.  The President, elected by the people, has both the power and the duty to enforce his policies; it is not an abuse of power for him to do so.  You may hate those policies and hate him for the way in which he enforces them, but that is not a justifiable reason to impeach him.

I understand that you cannot wait until the day that this President is no longer in office.  The way to accomplish that is to present to the people a reason why they should vote for policies that you are presenting rather than for his.  The office of president should not be based upon some sort of likeability/personality contest.  And dislike of personality is not a valid basis for impeachment.

I understand that the Democrats have seized impeachment as a way to rid themselves of this strong president, but there really is no valid basis to do so; its use here is a violation of every core value upon which this country is based.  

I listened to the hearings (both Intelligence and Judiciary committees) and it struck me that your Democrat colleagues all spoke with passion and emotion along with personal narrative about their distaste of the President and his actions.  But if you listened to the more rational and logical presentations of the minority, you cannot deny that there simply are no facts upon which to base these impeachment charges aside from personal distaste for the President, his personality and style, and his policies.  

The Democrats like to call personal opinion and hearsay “fact” and in a sense it is – there is a fact that person X has an opinion.  But that opinion is not a fact of what happened.  And the actual event facts necessary for impeachment are simply not there.

Indeed, many of the facts on which the Democrats base their more general hatred of the President and his supporters are nothing more than opinions or their interpretations or predictions or speculations of what words meant, not what they actually were.  The hatred stems from negative labeling or interpretation of actions or policies that do not conform with those that your party approves.  

It is this dislike of someone who behaves and believes differently than what is endorsed by Democrats that has led to a 3+ year campaign of daily attacks against the President and his supporters.  And, as Democrats realize that they may lose the 2020 election, they bring their dream of impeachment to the House floor in their desperate attempt to subvert the will of the people, not only in 2016 but in 2020 as well.

As you cast your vote on impeachment next week, you have the opportunity to not only halt the farce that this impeachment has become, you can also show this country that you have an objective and clear mind, that you can think rationally and for yourself, that you can overcome personal emotion and stand for what is not only right, but necessary to preserve the future of our country.

I know that the Democrats love to assert that they are somehow protecting the country and Constitution with this impeachment.  But that is a false and frightening talking point.  The Democrats have already displayed a shameful disregard of the Constitution in the manner in which the impeachment inquiry and committee hearings were held.  Not only has the disregard of Constitutional mandates and protections been rampant along with disregard and disrespect for laws, rules, and procedures, but also underlying the entire impeachment charade is an egregious disregard of the core principle of our democracy that it is the people who choose, via their vote for president, what policies they want pursued. 

A vote for these sham articles of impeachment is a vote to overturn the will of the people and with it our democracy itself, for such a vote will forever destroy the ability of the office of president to truly represent the people who have elected its inhabitant.

So, I urge you to put your personal (or party) hatred of Donald Trump aside, to put aside your dislike of his policies or your belief that you have better ideas and policies.  I urge you to look objectively at the evidence or lack thereof.  I urge you to consider what your Democrat party is doing to the country with this absurd impeachment crusade.   You took an oath not to your Party but to our country and our Constitution.  I believe that if you put emotion aside, clear your head, and use your thoughtful brain that you will understand how misplaced a vote for impeachment would be. 

For the good of the country you simply must vote NO.

Two Worlds

That we in America are co-existing in two different worlds is really no surprise to anyone who has been paying attention at all for the last few years, and certainly since Donald Trump was elected to become President Trump (President for at least one of those worlds; the other refusing to accept him as President).   But, this all really struck me again today as I listened to the House Judiciary Committee’s latest episode of the Impeachment Show.

Today we had staffers – staff counsel – commenting on the hearsay and opinion testimony that had been provided to Adam Schiff’s Star Chamber segment of the Impeachment Show.  It was so clear as I listened to the two different interpretations of the evidence (which we will remember is not first hand accounts of the “offense” under consideration, but accounts of what someone was told by someone else who heard it from someone else who may or may not have first hand evidence).  So, rather than coming closer to the truth we become further and further removed from reality.

But, it is interesting to listen to how both sides hold some of the same buzz words and phrases dear and use them to explain what is wrong with the other side.  For example, each side proclaims how the other does not care about America and is destroying our country by disregarding the Constitution. 

In my opinion, it is ludicrous for the Democrats to proclaim that President Trump does not care about America.  Who in recent memory has done more for our country and its people?  The economy is good, unemployment is low, those disaffected groups whom the Democrats have always pandered to are experiencing far better conditions than under the Democrats who would keep them dependent and depressed. 

There is hope in the country for many who have lost or at least not seen hope for many years.  America is blossoming after having been told for years that we should be ashamed and hopeless.  This is the President’s doing, so it is hard for me to understand how people can say he does not care about America.  But, they live in a different world where they look at life through different glasses.  Glasses that are a complete mystery to me.

The Democrats proclaim that President Trump is all about using his position for self-gain.  Again, I do not see what they see.  The President is trying his hardest to make America great again, for all its people.  He donates his entire salary, making nothing for the hard work he puts in.  His businesses as well as those of his adult children are if anything losing due to being under constant attack by Democrats and the media.  I do not see the self-gain that they see in their world.

As far as disregarding the Constitution, I see the Democrats as the ones who are shredding it daily and since the moment that President Trump was elected.  It is they who refuse to accept the will of the people, who believe that they have a right to overturn the results of an election because the people’s choice is seen by them as not the one that the people should have made.  Indeed, they are disdainful not only of the choice, but of the people themselves.  They have sought since 2016 to overturn the election and remove the President.  Yet, in America, under our Constitution, the losers must accept the will of the people if our democracy is to continue.  At least, that is the reality I know, though apparently not theirs.

Beyond overturning the people’s electoral voice, the Democrats have consistently attacked the President and his supporters and appointees with star chamber like proceedings that deny fairness and due process to those involved whom the Democrats are attacking.  We witnessed this in the Russia probe, in the FISA warrants, and most disgustingly in the Kavanaugh hearing to name just a few.  And, of course, in the current proceedings in which Adam Schiff seems to think he is a king who can do as he pleases, violate House rules, and deny all due process in order to reach a goal that he has already chosen.

Moreover, it is the Democrats who would silence every voice that opposes them.  It is they who are not tolerant and supportive of the diverse views that our democracy demands.  It is they who spew hate at everyone who does not join them in their hatred of the President while at the same time claiming that it is he who is hateful.

Meanwhile, how has the President thwarted the Constitution?  In our system of laws, he has gone to the courts, not made proclamations by fiat in response to seemingly unfair and unjust demands by the likes of Adam Schiff and his gang of Impeachers.  He follows the process.  Perhaps that is why so many of the unelected diplomats who thought they were in charge were so infuriated when the President removed them or at least some of their power.  Apparently, they had forgotten that the people elect the President whose duty it is and who holds the power to make the policy decisions that they thought it was their right to make.  Again, they seem to live in a different reality than do I.

What I see are politicians set in their ways and in love with their power who are angry that President Trump is not willing to support their continued disregard of the country and its people.  They are now dug in and determined to remove him.  Removal is their only goal and they are willing to shred the Constitution and even the country to do so. 

And so, they tell their stories of how the President is destroying America.  How?  Perhaps by not leaving so that they will stop their destruction?  They tell stories of the President’s (and his supporters’) evils – racist, hateful, etc.  How?  The President’s economy is helping minorities, raising them out of the depressed, hopelessness that has been their gift from Democrats.  He enforces laws equally, not based for or against someone on their identity. 

And, returning to the specifics of the current Impeachment Show,  the president has a duty to investigate fraud that may have been perpetrated on this country by another nation or by individuals within this nation who held power and used it for their own personal or family gain.  So, when the President told Ukraine that we (our country) wanted them to investigate both the 2016 election interference and the possibility that the then Vice President’s son had in some way benefited from the Vice President’s power and position, President Trump was doing his job.  That the then Vice President happens to now be a presidential candidate should not preclude an investigation into what might be at best an unethical act during his vice presidency. 

And, here is what I really don’t understand:  it is pretty clear that the then Vice President in some way used his position for his or his family’s personal gain.  There is no evidence that the current President has done so.  Yet the Democrats would have us ignore the facts, ignore possible ethical violations by the Bidens, and instead claim that it is President Trump who is doing so.  It is like the pop psychology assertion that we see others through our own eyes.  That is, the Democrats seem to be projecting their own behavior upon the President.

It is like Truth and Untruth in 1984: “Reality exists in the human mind and nowhere else.”  And, we clearly have two realities coexisting in this country.  I would label them as follows:  The one based on emotion and the belief that if you say and believe it enough, then it will be true.  I assign this to the Trump-haters and the Impeachers.  The other reality based on reason and logic I assign to those who demand real facts and evidence, not innuendo, supposition, and narrative based upon personal feelings.

For some Truth is simply what they want it to be.  They ignore real facts that contradict their fanciful and personal narrative.   This is the approach of The Impeachers.   They, in my opinion, are not rational.  Theirs is not Truth, but UnTruth, an UnTruth designed to suit their own personal ends.   Orwell writes in 1984, “There was truth and there was untruth, and if you clung to the truth even against the whole world, you were not mad.”  I hope that there are enough of us willing to cling to the reasonable, rational, and factually supportable Truth so that we can keep the country from not only going mad, but from the destruction that the continuing attacks of the Impeachers will cause.

Just One Point as We Enter the Next Installment of The Impeachment Show

The next installment of The Impeachment Show begins Wednesday.  The continuing saga of an elite group obsessed with the fact that they lost to a man they hate, a man who is actually performing for the country and doing things that those elite have only promised for decades or simply written off as impossible.

In this episode, like the previous installments, you will be told over and over that the President is evil.  You will be told he is destroying America.  You will be told that if you support him you too are evil and if you don’t join the Impeachers then you will likely go to Hell (assuming you are still archaic enough to still believe in such foolish Biblical concepts that the elite have rejected). 

The Impeachers of course follow the belief that if they simply repeat something often enough then you will believe it to be true.  They see no need for facts or evidence.  Their narrative will control, even if it has no basis in reality. 

The episode will continue to show us how the Democrats’ obsession with destroying the President supersedes all else in their lives, including their job which is to represent the people, pass laws that benefit the country.  It has been a year since the President agreed to a new and better trade agreement with Mexico and Canada.  The Impeachers have still not found time to bring it before Congress for a vote.  They are obsessed instead with holding hearing after hearing designed to remove the President from office.

The Impeachers scheduled the current episode while the President will be abroad, conducting the country’s foreign affairs.  Their invitation to him to participate shows their focus is only on catching and destroying the President, for if he were to accept it would mean forgoing the business of the country, yet if he does not accept, they condemn him for that. 

They are focused on one thing and one thing only.  Destroying the President because he beat them in the 2016 election and is likely to win again in 2020.  Because their sole focused goal is destruction of a man they hate, they are blind to the fact that they are destroying the country in the process.  Not only sewing discord daily among the people, but actually encouraging the disregard and ultimate destruction of our Constitution, our laws, our traditional values, and our very way of life.

So, in this episode the Impeachers will bring in selected witnesses, including professorial types who will comment on the Constitution.  Of course it is doubtful that the witnesses will profess anything that is counter to the narrative of the Democrats, despite the fact that there are many Constitutional experts and scholars who do not stand with the Impeachers and whose testimony could surely reveal the many faults in their hateful narrative game that they are playing.

The Impeachers do not seem to understand that opinion vs. opinion does not result in some sort of guilty verdict.  For that one needs hard facts.  Indeed, America is all about people being tolerant of differing opinions, debating them and the policies they reflect, and speaking their support for those policies in the voting booth.  The Impeachers do not understand that a difference of opinion or hurt feelings that such difference may cause are not grounds for removing a president who was voted into office by the people.  In their obsession to remove the President, they ignore the fact that to do so overturns the will of the people, silences them, and directly contravenes our system of government.

This installment of the Impeachment Show is no different from its predecessors – fake dossier, campaign interference, collusion with Russia, Russian agent, etcetera, etcetera.  Those were just the stage trappings.  And this installment is not about quid pro quo or bribery or coercion or campaign interference or use of office for political gain.  It is about the same old thing and one thing only – getting rid of the President so that those elites, who think they know what is good for the people and should therefore be allowed to silence the voice of the people, can take power.

For that is what the Impeachers truly want.  Power to enforce their narrative upon each and every one of us, to silence those of us who disagree.  The destruction of the President is just one step in their ultimate quest for power.  With that destruction can come the destruction of the office of president and with that the destruction of three equal branches of government while at the same time it will destroy the very government of/for/by the people which is the cornerstone of our democracy.

So, the Drama returns on Wednesday.  The Impeachers vs. America.  Watch hard as they work to convince you that mere opinion without fact must control your life – as long as it is their opinion  Watch hard as they try to implant their narrative in your brain by cunning, and repetition, and by disrespecting your individual thoughts and values. 

Remember as you watch this show that this is your country, not theirs.  That is the one point around which this entire show centers.  The real question is will you cede your power and independence to the power hungry, or will you stand with the people and not let their many voices, the voices that are America, be silenced. 

The Impeachment Show

So, tomorrow the Impeachment Show begins – live TV entertainment.  You may watch if you like that sort of thing – a crusade based on hatred of an individual, not unlike the bullying by the “in-crowd” against a successful outsider. This is a not so good sequel to the Russian Collusion show.  If you don’t realize that this is all just part of the ongoing coup/now revolution jihad then you have not been paying attention.

Yes, it is really that ridiculous, and if it weren’t so frightening for the survival of America and all for which it stands, then it would simply be a rather poor comedy.   But it is not.  Last month I wrote about how we were no longer in a coup, but now a revolution (LINK).  My final words (before quoting “Revolution) in that post were

America is under attack.  What was an angry outburst against election results has moved from a childish outburst to a coup and now a revolution - a full out challenge to the established political order, government, culture, and their related associations and structures.   This matters.  This is a challenge to every American.  And every American who is involved in this revolution needs to be very clear on what they are doing while those of us not involved need to do everything we can to educate those warriors and defend our country from their attack.

The revolution is going full force ahead.  The frightening results that we face as both individuals and as a nation are made woefully clear in an excellent piece by historian and scholar Victor David Hanson; LINK  .  His final lines in this essay read, “One side will say, “”Just give us more power and we will create heaven on earth.”” The other says ““Why would anyone wish to take their road to an Orwellian nightmare?”” The 2020 election is that simple.”

Why, you may ask, am I quoting something about the 2020 election when this post’s title and beginning are focused on impeachment?  The answer is very simple:  the Impeachment Show is nothing more than a Democrat campaign strategy to keep Donald Trump from being re-elected.  Anyone who examines the alleged evidence realizes there is just nothing there – nothing other than innuendo and gossip and perhaps some actual disagreement about policy.  But nothing impeachable.  Let me repeat that: NOTHING.  Just as there was nothing there in the Russian collusion show; nothing there in the Kavanaugh #metoo show, nothing there is the daily diatribes against the President.  NOTHING, NOTHING, NOTHING.

The Impeachment Show is a campaign strategy and part of the overarching campaign to remove the president from office (the original coup attempt) and now the broader campaign to completely remake this country (the ongoing revolution).  As a campaign strategy it allows the Democrats to justify not doing what the people sent them to Washington to do (things like pass laws that benefit the people and the country, debate important issues, etc.).  They are too busy with impeachment to do anything else, and so they justify a failure to serve the people who elected them.  And, by their doing nothing, the President’s agenda becomes stalled, so they can argue that he did not accomplish what he should.  Further, it allows Democrats to throw all sorts of dirt at the President and the Republican party – the sort that you see and usually object to in the ugliest campaign ads – claiming that they must release this hearsay and innuendo as part of an open impeachment.

Of course, you must realize that this is anything but an open and fair process.  The key witnesses are avowed anti-Trumpers who consult with Democrats before coming forward.  Adam Schiff (who salivates every time he even thinks about removing Trump from office) has been running and continues to run a Star Chamber sort of process.

For those not familiar with Star Chamber, it was a court process that existed in England from the 15^th to mid-17^th centuries.  While it was originally created to fairly enforce laws against socially and politically prominent and powerful people whom ordinary courts were reluctant to convict, it became synonymous with social and political oppression through the abuse of the power it wielded.  Its proceedings were secretive and its judgments arbitrary.  It became an instrument of oppression rather than justice.

One can see why Schiff’s impeachment show is often linked to Star Chamber.  He is using what in the past has been generally a fair process and corrupting it to his purposes of removing the President from office, or failing that objective, of destroying his chances for re-election.  This is in effect both social and political oppression as it attempts to remove a duly seated president and overturn the will of the people with absolutely no valid legal basis for doing so. 

Until tomorrow the hearing has been in secret with even Republicans (and through them the people they represent) denied access.  Questions by Republicans have been disallowed.  Schiff met with the “whistleblower” before he became a whistleblower, and both are avid anti-Trumpers.  Schiff determines what witnesses can be called and which can be cross-examined.  He suggests written questions to the whistleblower instead of live testimony.  Yet it is a basic principle of American justice that one is allowed to face his accuser.  No one knows what went on in Schiff’s secret hearings – what Schiff may have said or how he may have coached witnesses.  His selectively leaked information must be viewed as tainting any future testimony and his ability to selectively allow or prevent witnesses and testimony makes the who process more of a show trial than an actual quest for justice.

The list goes on; you need only consult the daily outpouring of information.  The problem is, however, that the mainstream media fails to report much of what is happening if it even sounds, let alone is, averse to the Democrats’ position.  This is not surprising since they also fail to report the many positive accomplishments of the President for our country, or, when they do, they couch them within something portrayed as negative.

Those who hate the President will simply accept without question the narrative of the Democrats.  Yet, anyone who gives it the slightest thought will see how weak and contrived this impeachment claim is.  First, we don’t just give away taxpayer money to other countries without expecting something in return.  Any taxpayer who thinks we do should be screaming in objection. There is always some sort of exchange (“quid pro quo”) and hence that alone is certainly not an impeachable offense.

Second, the country has a valid interest in learning about foreign interference in our elections, and the President’s request that Ukraine investigate that was valid.  Similarly, if a sitting Vice President used his influence to benefit himself or a family member financially or to demand the firing of someone within a foreign country who was investigating his son, the country has a right to know about that and the President was within his right and it was his duty to ask the Ukraine to investigate. 

Third, if a sitting Vice President might now become a candidate for President, that does not negate the justification of investigating questionable acts made during his Vice-presidency. 

Fourth, there is absolutely no evidence of direct request for “quid-pro-quo” of aid for investigation, and certainly not simply for political reasons.  Indeed, not only the transcript reveals no quid pro quo, but also some very credible witnesses have clearly asserted there was no quid pro quo.

The bottom line is clear.  There is absolutely no evidence (unless you consider someone’s addition of their own narrative to actual concrete fact to be “evidence”) that the President asked for an investigation of his possible opponent in return for our foreign aid.   It just didn’t happen. 

What is happening is a group of people, led by Schiff, want to unseat a sitting president that they think the people should not have elected.  This has been their goal since 2016.  And the Impeachment Show is just their latest episode in their on-going drama.  Watch it for entertainment if you wish; but, understand that the underlying concept is based on hatred and malice the intent of which is to overthrow that which we know as America.  The Impeachment Show may look like a comedy, but if it is allowed to reach its sought-after conclusion, we will see that it was really both a horror show and a tragedy.