Well here’s something that scares the shit out of me.  We live in a time of immense intellectual sophistication, with access to information in manners that are almost infinite, and yet in spite of that, in fact because of that, our species is not only more confused, but more and more of us are throwing in the towel when it comes to the act of critical thinking.  You can’t get through the week without encountering some kind of reporting about this from a sociologist or expert on cyber sciences.

The problem we are facing has to do with the truth and the dissemination of propaganda.  Because there are multiple biased sources of information, the truth today is easily  manipulated and transmitted through multiple believable authors a multiple number of times until the truth becomes unrecognizable and the average person doesn’t know what to believe. What we now have is  an enormous population that has given up, and won’t take the time to research the truth.  It is just easier then to let passion override reason.  Although commentary will almost always point  out distortion of the truth is considerably more impactful when it is promoted by an authoritative  figure like President Trump, both liberals and conservatives, Republicans and Democrats, are guilty of promoting faulty information.

This is bullshit.  Society should be evolving into a higher place.  Are we devolving into turkey-like creatures capable of little intellectual activity other than staring at the sky?  Ben Franklin said  “Being ignorant is not so much a shame as being unwilling to learn.”  Our founding fathers understood that democracy critically depends on an informed public.  The truth is out there.  We need to demand it.

Contact your state congressional representatives.  A huge majority of the American public wants to hear from any administration official with personal knowledge of what went on with the Ukrainians, and see related documents.  If the president truly wants to be vindicated, that is exactly what is required.  Let your elected officials know you want the truth. We should also demand to know what the urgency was in assassinating Qasem Suleimani.  We’ve been down this road before with the lying about Tonkin Gulf and WMD in Iraq.  Let your official representatives know you want the truth.

If you see some bullshit on Facebook, call it out.  Report it.  Reply with the demand that the comment in question be fact checked.  It’s relatively easy.  Tell the author to look at any number of fact checking services- allsides.com and factcheck.org are just two.  I have done this a number of times.  Every so often I even receive a reply of thanks instead of the usual request that I engage in some form of complicated intercourse with myself.

This is  becoming a frightening situation.  There are now supposedly intelligent members of congress like Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham publicly stating they do not want to have anything to do with the truth, and even worse, the example of Kevin McCarthy promoting completely debunked  Russian conspiracy theories.  That is not right, these people should know better, and need to be held accountable.  Constituents of districts represented by this type of unsavory misconduct should be embarrassed.  Democracy can work, but it is the public’s responsibility to make it work.

“All lies and jests, Still a man hears what he wants to hear, and disregards the rest.”  Simon and Garfunkel   from The Boxer

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Have you ever been subpoenaed?  It’s an intimidating document.  Having been presented with one on two different occasions to testify as a witness in prescription forgery trials, I can attest to a subpoena’s compelling intent.  As instructed by the demands of those legal directives I cleared my calendar and dutifully appeared in court.  It is the law.

But the law seeming does not apply to the President of the United States.  That’s what he would have us believe anyway. After all, that is exactly what he told every American, some gullible enough to believe him, when he publicly declared Article Two of the U.S. Constitution gives him the right to do anything he pleases.  Even a federal judge’s scathing ruling that totally rejected Trump’s absurd assertion of complete immunity for his advisors hasn’t altered his indifference to the law.  He has instructed the people around him to ignore subpoenas no matter what because it is his belief that the law is not important when applied to him personally.  What is important to Trump is only that which protects or promotes him.

Even though there will never be a senate conviction, there is still victory in his impeachment.  Trump’s historical presidential ranking will forever dwell with the lowly bottom-feeders. In an apparent attempt to address this conundrum is his dumbfounding six page letter he sent  to Nancy Pelosi on the eve of his impeachment.  But rather than defending his legacy, I can not imagine an ordinary citizen reading through those pages thirty years from now and not concluding what they see is the rantings of a pathetic man suffering from pathological narcissism. And those with introspective historical curiosity will have to wonder about the competency of any presidential advisor who would let such a letter become archived at such a critical time in Trumps presidency, or if he had any advisors at all.

So his misdeeds are more accurately recorded for posterity, it’s too bad the House Judiciary Commitee decided not to include the six other plausible articles of impeachment. Eight Applicable Articles of Impeachment  Understandably the committee was concerned about Trump inviting more foreign involvement in the 2020 election and must observe the time constraint.   However with no chance of conviction why not officially document  the obvious incidents of his egregious behavior.  There should be an historical record to refer to so future presidents clearly understand their limits of power and to give congress a road map to fix all the damage done by this man.

And it was particularly galling to hear various Republican committee members whine about unfair process when the president prevented the admission of dozens of pertinent documents and testimony by the very people who know the truth.  Over half the county believes Trump is guilty of an impeachable offense and two thirds want to hear from the material people Trump is refusing to let testify. Hearing from the major players involved in the Trump/Giuliani shake down scheme seems to be the only thing that might convince wavering Trump supporters to change their minds. But sadly Mitch McConnell is not about to let that happen.   Hopefully shortly after November of 2020 subpoena documents will regain their important power and the lawless autocratic conduct in the executive branch of government will mercifully end.

NOTE  Ours is “a government of laws, not of men” were words inserted in the Massachusetts Constitution by  second president John Adams.  Some might have noticed I’m a big fan.  Recommended reading about  both presidents Adams- “THE PROBLEM OF DEMOCRACY” by N. Isenberg and A. Burstein.  Much of the book’s content is pertinent to today.  

As more details that surround the House impeachment inquiry are revealed, it has emerged that President Trump was so fed up with stories of governmental corruption in Ukraine, he decided it was time to take matters into his own hands and send Energy Secretary Rick Perry to the flailing country to straighten things out.

Spokesperson Kellyanne Conway told reporters that the president’s cabinet is chock-full of members who are exceptionally experienced with corruption, but she personally thinks the president made the best choice.  “Of all the cabinet members I think Rick is the one with the most free time.  His staff gets kind of tired of him constantly asking them if he is supposed to be doing something.”

From all appearances it didn’t take Secretary Perry long to size things up.  Shortly after he  attended  Ukrainian President Zelenskiy’s inauguration, the new government awarded a lucrative gas and oil exploration contract to long time Perry political supporters Michael Bleyzer and Alex Cranberg.  Make Them an Offer They Can’t Refuse

And not about to let opportunity slip him by is Trump personal attorney and self-appointed secretary of state Rudy Giuliani.  With the aid of the local muscle of his cronies Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, it is rumored Giuliani has carved out a nice slice of Ukrainian energy profiteering pie for himself.  Giuliani Keeps Investigators on Their Toes

“This is a perfect example of how the president is making America great again,” said Conway.  “Those Americans got a sweetheart  gas deal in Ukraine.  They bid millions less for that contract and somehow still managed to rake it in.”  When asked if she thought veiled  threats to withhold U.S. security aid, military weapons, meetings with state officials, or awkward presidential suggestions to join in the frolicking of U.S. politics affected the Ukrainian’s decision making, Conway seemed indignant.  “Everyone knows the president always does what it takes to make the best deals, and if you are implying that there is some kind of nefarious leveraging going on you should be ashamed.  He has no one other than the Attorney General of the United States traveling to foreign countries all over the world explaining how to do things properly.  I am sure the Ukrainians understand by now the president will always keep their best interests in mind when he is considering his best interests.”

In case you missed it and are into corruption, see Trump Junior Book Intrigues Genome Theorists

Not that I would have any interest in reading it, but apparently Donald Trump Junior’s recently released book “Triggered: How the Left Thrives on Hate and Wants to Silence us” is a validation of the old adage “fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree.”  In the book, Junior makes the astonishing comparison between the sacrifice of U.S. troops killed in combat to the financial ones he claimed his family made when his father became president.  As you might have guessed  he is being eviscerated by veterans and others all over the country.  Junior’s brain apparently made this strange connection when he took it on a trip to Arlington National Cemetery.  How does the vision of thousands of white grave markers evoke from any human mind the response of dollar signs? It’s simply not normal.  An abhorrent gene perhaps?  That kind of remark takes crassness to an unparalleled  level.  But Junior comes by his garish avarice honestly.  Just look at the stipulations the judge set forth in the recent 2 million dollar fine the president must pay for misusing his charity foundation (below).  The ruling mostly had to do with the president’s admission that he used funds for personal use and allowed his campaign rather than the foundation to direct the charity’s funds.  Coincidentally a specific instance mentioned was the “fundraiser” for veterans in January of 2016.

Did  Junior become so shallow by observing his father, or is it something genetically inherent?  It’s one thing to make comments on the spur of the moment during a speech, but thinking about it, writing it down and publicizing it for posterity is something else again.

Appalling as this part of the book is, it should be pointed out Junior’s claim that his family has made substantial financial sacrifices,  or any monetary sacrifice at all for that matter, is laughable.  And there are a number of well publicized (for posterity) records out there to prove it.  For example, this: Trump’s Conflicts of Interest

Like I mentioned, I’m not about to read Junior’s book.  But if you are inclined to do so, I suggest that it might be useful, or even imperative, that you have some experience with fact checking services.   Whatever the explanation, whether Junior has been taught by his father or there is some contaminated gene in control, when it comes to telling the truth, both  Junior and Senior are  endowed with the same intractable compulsion to create their own version of it.

Judge Disagrees with Trump Interpretation of Adage “Charity Begins at Home “

After President Trump’s recent announcement that open impeachment hearings would not be fair to him, it has emerged House Republicans are presently conferencing to determine what course of action would most effectively demonstrate their loyal support of the president.  Since only a couple of weeks have passed since several dozen Republican congressmen protested the closed nature of the hearings by storming the private room where the House Intel Committee was conducting its impeachment inquiry, members of the national media are naturally curious about such a dramatic position reversal.

When House Minority Whip Steve Scalise was asked how he would explain the flip flop to his constituents, he said  he would be consulting with Mick Mulvaney and Rudy Giuliani about it.

The obvious underlying reason the president would not want open hearings is he suddenly realized a publicly televised event of people with the courage to tell the truth will reflect badly on him.  When asked if that is how he felt, Florida congressman Matt Gaetz replied “Ridiculous.   When you have a half dozen people like this telling the same story, it’s obvious there is something fishy going on.  I mean, what are the odds?”

Just where the Republicans would be staging their next protest was another question the media had for the GOP congressmen.  Representative Steve King of Iowa said he was open to any number of possible locations, as long as the discussion did not include any Mexican restaurants.

DOJ Wants Anti-Trump Info  WTF?!

John Adams, the second President of the United States,  had a massive impact in developing our democratic form of government.  He had a perceptive political mind and was one of those founding fathers who foresaw potential problems with all the freedoms the constitution provides.  He was extremely weary of a future autocracy, and we are seeing his concerns unfold with the Trump presidency. Although Trump is the complete antithesis of Adams and represents exactly what our visionary second president feared, the two men have one thing in common- a thin skin.

John Adams did not take well to criticism, and  inadvisably promoted and signed the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798. These were a series of laws that were Adams’ reaction to the French Revolution and its impact on national security.  The Alien Acts made it easier to deport foreigners as well as making it more difficult for immigrants to vote.  Though most of those laws were gradually repealed after Adams left office, there are some sections still on record.  The Sedition Act however was very quickly viewed as a huge overreach of presidential power.  It essentially prohibited public opposition to the government.  Newspaper editors were arrested and some imprisoned.  It is considered to be the greatest mistake of the Adams’ presidency, quickly repealed, and why he was not reelected.   Ironically it was an act  interpreted as an autocratical abuse of power that undermined the reelection of a man nearly obsessed with preventing that very type of abuse.

No such irony exists with our 45th president.  He has a history of unbridled avarice and is a lawless opportunist who seems to be overtly proud of it.  To him the presidency represents the ultimate position for a man driven by lust for power. He has announced publicly that Article Two of the constitution gives him the right to do anything he wants and as we have seen he has few reservations about pursuing that agenda.  Stand in the way of his designs and you are likely to be labeled a traitor.

Trump is on a mission to retain control of his power.  He has a lot to lose if he doesn’t because of a myriad of legal problems he has with the State of New York that are constrained by the statute of limitations.  He has Rudy Giuliani trying his best to resurrect some cuckoo, debunked conspiracy theory and both have exerted pressure on a foreign government to manufacture dirt on a political opponent.  And for some inexplicable reason Trump has convinced his Secretary of State and, of all people, the Attorney General of the United States, to go along with and even assist in his political illegality.

People eventually decided they had had enough of John Adam’s power overreach and placed their trust in Thomas Jefferson to straighten things out.  Once again this country of ours needs some straightening out.  Knowing now what our current president is capable of, I am not at all confident that we can wait another year to do that.

Trump, from day one of his presidency, has been prodding and picking away at the sensitive exoskeleton of the Constitution.  But Mick Mulvaney’s blatant public announcement yesterday that the president did indeed attempt to coerce a foreign government to further his political interests,  well what you have there is the President of the United States clenching his fist and slugging Mr. Constitution right in the grapes.  We do have a constitutional crisis on our hands.  When the president of the county stands before us and proclaims Article Two of the Constitution gives him the right to do anything he wants, he has gouged the eyes out of the Constitution with an ice pick.  And yesterday Mulvaney didn’t stop the constitutional assault with that abuse of power and quid pro quo statement.  With nothing hesitant in his voice, he declared that the facility for the upcoming G7 conference that will host diplomats and staff from all over the world will be Trump’s own Doral Country Club. That is a  direct violation of the emoluments clause.  So bend over Mr. Constitution because here comes a Louisville Slugger straight up your patootie.

Gaslighting has been a favorite tactic for Trump.  Keep repeating something and pretty soon there will be people who start believing whatever was said.  And it’s pretty clear he is comfortable residing in chaos.  As we pass from one imbroglio to the next, it is easy to forget about all those that preceded.  But this political approach of shamelessly admitting to wrongdoing and somehow believing that makes it tolerable is something new, and frankly, alarming.  He is practically daring congress to impeach him on 25th Amendment grounds.  Publicly flaunting the law is not something a normal person does, and when you do that and you are the leader of a country, there is something wrong in your head.  It’s the kind of thing that labels a person a megalomaniac.

Of course without a critical psychological analysis it is impossible to make a judgment of competency.  But here is a read for you. Unfit for Office    It’s the very lengthly George Conway Atlantic article.  He makes the point that the President of the United States, particularly this president, is the most observable individual on the planet, and the general public should be able draw some observational conclusions.  The second half of the article (you will have to scroll down quite a ways) concerns narcissistic personality disorder.  Trump meets every criteria.  I don’t think this is mentioned in the article, but take note sometime how Trump claims ownership of the government.  It’s MY generals, MY military, MY economy, MY NASA, MY miners, MY farmers.  Even MY African American.  Yikes. Lest we all forget, it is OUR government.

We keep lowering and lowering the bar of acceptable conduct for this president.  Congressional Republicans have nearly placed the bar at ground level.  Jesus Christ most of you are attorneys. Wake up.  Go back and read the Constitution and the Federalist Papers.  You of all people should be well enough informed to realize this is a constitutional crisis and start speaking out.  Do your job.

Republic Under Presidential Attack  

by Admiral W H McRaven.  Whether you are a veteran or not, this article should resonate.

Last week my wife and I had the good fortune  (in both the serendipitous sense as well as enough money in our bank account) to see the American musical Hamilton that was playing in Omaha.  Like everyone I left the theater overwhelmed by its genius.  But there were many people, I would have to believe, that were also left with the nagging thought of how shocked the historical figures represented on that stage would be to see  how the corruptive influence of the Trump administration has laid bare the fragility of the form of government they so painstakingly strove to establish.

Certainly there are instances of our founding father’s own moral missteps.  Hamilton had an affair with a married woman that he tried to cover up.  That episode essentially ended his political career. Franklin was a renowned womanizer and had a bastard child. The national shame of slavery was in common practice during their time.  But all took very seriously the business of governing, and in constructing the Constitution they were as careful as they imagined possible and necessary in setting up a framework that would deter presidential corruption and insure qualified people assumed the office.  Sadly we have found the Constitution is not sufficient to restrain a lawless president.  You would have to assume it was inconceivable to those who wrote it that such a dishonest man would rise to the office.

Trump has punctured the guardrails intended to constrain presidential power and behavior. Our founding fathers sought to create a government dedicated to the common good.  Trump has conducted his entire adult life with little concern for anything but his own profit or protection.  He is a proven cheat and he lies with impunity. With him, the only thing that matters is what you can make people believe.  Facts are not absolute- they have alternatives.

And from my viewpoint,, taking all his corruptive conduct and all that is morally and ethically objectionable about this president into consideration, what is most troubling about him is his unbridled propensity to lie.  It is the defining character flaw that makes him totally unfit to hold office.  My personal definitive test to determine if I can have a logical, informed conversation with a Trump supporter, (and yes, I have actually had a few  of those that have been mutually productive) is that fact.   If you firmly believe Trump does not lie, there is no point involving me in any kind of discussion with you.

If we are unable to confront the truth, we are pretty much in a hopeless situation.  If we are governed by a man with such disregard for the truth, a man that is supposed to provide direction and leadership, it is inevitable that people will start believing his lies, whether the man promoting them believes them or not.  And I actually believe that a lot of the fabrication that goes on in Trumps mind are things he somehow twists into his own private reality.

And this is what is so dangerous and what is starting to play out right now.  Trump is starting to spiral downward into a world where he desperately wants wild conspiracy theories to become real.  He is so used to making things up he is potentially placing people and the country in peril.  Our laws that are meant to keep people safe are being disregarded by the very man who is supposed to make sure they are enforced.  Anyone who disagrees with him is potentially a traitor.  Civil war will erupt should he be removed from office.  His recent twitter tirades are gaslighting rampages that reinforce his narcissism and unfortunately  in many instances potentially plant the seeds of violent thought in marginally rational people.   You can easily make the argument that Trump’s distorted view of things  are manufactured in a disturbed mind.  As difficult and objectionable as impeachment seems to be, congress has no choice but to proceed with it to prevent more executive abuse of power and make it clear it will not be tolerated, now or by future presidents.

I am certain of three things about Hamilton, Jefferson, Washington, Adams, Monroe, Madison, Franklin, et al.  First, the chances of a President Trump ever happening in their time would have been extremely remote.  Second, If by some weird happenstance it did, articles of impeachment would have been initiated within a year of his inauguration.  And third, again if such an anomaly had occurred,  those men would have been shocked that all the drafts and revisions they made during the four months it took to finalize the Constitution somehow failed to check the abuse of power of the executive branch.  They would have summoned everyone for an emergency session of congress to patch, tweak, revise, and amend that document so that there would never again be such corruption and exploitation by a president of the United States.  Let us hope that at some point in the very near future congress will see to it that new constitutional and regulatory safeguards are established that clarify the intentions of our founding fathers.

Fun Fact:  Benjamin Franklin was the county’s first whistle blower