Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Good Riddance, January!


34 comments:

  1. I figured since it was 0630 Pacific Time, the festivities in DC should be underway, and so it seems.--Alan

    Sessions questions Yates, 2015 [Click]

    Pentagon Trying to Get F-16 Pilots Exempted from Ban [Click]

    The GOP’s Deal with the Devil [Click] "The Republican Fausts are in an untenable position. The deal they’ve struck with the devil comes at too high a price. It really will cost them their soul.” If they had one, they warn't usin' it anyway...

    A Clarifying Moment in American History [Click] "There should be nothing surprising about what Donald Trump has done in his first week—but he has underestimated the resilience of Americans and their institutions…" Precisely because the problem is one of temperament and character, it will not get better. It will get worse, as power intoxicates Trump and those around him. It will probably end in calamity — substantial domestic protest and violence, a breakdown of international economic relationships, the collapse of major alliances, or perhaps one or more new wars (even with China) on top of the ones we already have. It will not be surprising in the slightest if his term ends not in four or in eight years, but sooner, with impeachment or removal under the 25th Amendment.”

    continued...

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    1. Alan, that article "Clarifying Moment" is stellar writing! I've been sharing it to encourage people. Thanks for posting it!!

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    2. I thought it looked pretty good, but didn't have time to read it before posting it. Taking a lunch break now, and will rectify the situation. Thanks.

      Alan

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  2. Replies
    1. Oh, that's a dandy, listener! I wonder if some country will offer him political asylum...Azerbaijan or Tajikistan, for instance?

      Alan

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    2. Hey. Would you like to explain to your people why you took him? Maybe his buddy Putin would lend him a nice dacha.

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  3. Here's a letter from the world, almost 5 million have signed so far, I was one of them.

    https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/president_trump_letter_loc/?cemVEIb

    I used one of my alternate email addresses just in case.

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    1. I signed it too, Susan...and I didn't use an alternative address. I figure if I am jailed for being a concerned grandmother then that's a great way to punctuate my legacy.

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    2. I figure I'm more likely to get picked up in a street protest. Don't see any reason to make it easier for them.

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    3. Me too; thanks for the tip. I signed several petitions at the White House web site, and verified my e-mail address, which means they know where I live. Screw 'em; they can't imprison all of us. Oh--and I saw somewhere that 36 lawsuits have been filed against DT since the inauguration. In addition to the 75 he had going in. He's going to be a busy boy.

      Alan

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  4. Wednesday evening I will be traveling through three international airports--Fresno, Los Angeles, and San Diego. It occurs to me that I should be prepared with a simple sign slipped into my briefcase for use in demonstrations if encountered--both to participate and to work my way through. I am thinking of a yellow 8.5X11 inch cardstock sign, with san-serif black letters, "Deport Trump" one one side and "Anti-Vulgarian League" on the other. Sound OK?

    Alan

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    1. Sounds pithy! At least you're in California where secession is on the ballot in 2018. Can California hold out that long?

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    2. Has to be pithy because it has to be small because it has to fit into my briefcase and be held with a single hand. As for secession, I seem to recall something about 800,000 people dead to settle that question quite some time back. If memory serves me well, another rich crackpot got (or tried to get) a proposition onto the ballot to split California into multiple states a few years back. California will last a lot longer than DT--heck, I expect Jerry Brown might last longer!

      Alan

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    3. Sounds like a great sign, Alan. Thank you, my friend, and be careful. ♥

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  5. Replies
    1. Hardly surprising; DT probably doesn't know shit from Shinola. Some time back someone said that he had never read a single US President's biography.

      Alan

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    2. Unfortunately, Liane says it isn't true, since he will allegedly be there in an advisory capacity.

      And they're also selling us waterfront property in the Everglades.

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  6. Nope, that was via Jo in Vermont. . . .

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    1. Oh, how did I miss that?! Thanks for the clarification!!
      That explains why it wasn't already clickable.

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  7. OK, howzabout a traditional, old-timey when-America-was-great method of communal dealing with rascals--tar and feathers? I have some feather pillows I would be glad to contribute, but no tar.

    Alan

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  8. I called Susan Collins today to request that she vote against DeVos.
    I did so as the grandmother of three children in Maine!

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  9. WOW. I just received a response from Sen. Pat Leahy! I am very encouraged that he took my concerns seriously enough to respond in detail. I was wrong about Impeachment being less than Amendment 25, Section 4. Turns out they're the same thing. It's just that Impeachment has never gotten all the way through the process to removal before...though Clinton came close.

    Here's the letter:


    Thank you for contacting me with your concerns about President Trump and his Administration.

    I have heard from a number of Vermonters concerning the Administration's recent conduct. Like you, I disagree with most of the policies that this Administration is pursuing. In particular, I am concerned with his plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act, his plan to stonewall refugees and asylum seekers from entering the United States and many of his choices for his cabinet. I could go on. I believe that the Administration's priorities are skewed, to say the least. As a Vermonter, I feel it is necessary that I speak out, and I will continue to do so. I invite you to read the recent statements I have made denouncing President Trump’s actions on my website at www.leahy.senate.gov.

    Concerning impeachment, impeachment proceedings begin when the House Committee on the Judiciary determines if there is enough evidence to bring grounds for an impeachment. If such a determination is made, then the House of Representatives, acting like a grand jury, will vote to impeach, and must vote by a two-thirds majority. The United States Senate's role in the impeachment process is to serve as a court, deciding whether or not to agree with the bill of impeachment from the House and convict the official and remove him or her from office, by a two-thirds vote.

    Again, thank you again for contacting me. I appreciate hearing from you.

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  10. Did Alan already post David Brooks' article about the Republican Fausts? I've been bumping into it for a day and finally stopped and read it just now. WHOOOOO!! It's SMOKIN'!! :-D

    https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/01/31/opinion/the-republican-fausts.html?emc=edit_th_20170131&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=20036697&_r=0&referer

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  11. Doctors and Patients Reel After Trump’s Immigration Ban - Click

    Near the bottom, they pulled a lady out of her wheelchair and forced her to try and walk, dragging heavy suitcases. This is the sort of thing I have nightmares about.

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  12. LOL Perish the thought!

    That's not funny really though. *sigh*

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  13. Please join me in signing this petition to the National Marine Fisheries Service: stand with the Ocean Conservancy in protecting critical habitat for endangered and threatened sea turtles in the Gulf. http://www.oceanconservancy.org/forms/protect-sea-turtles.html

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  14. I'm pretty sure I did post a link to David Brook's column, listener, but perhaps not clearly so. It is rather pungent, isn't it? And the 25th Amendment removal process is a lot easier than impeachment. It was intended to deal with things like strokes (e.g. Wilson), senility (Reagan) or general anesthesia (done two or three times), but is rather open-ended. Psychological or psychiatric inability to carry out the responsibilities of the Presidency should be covered, but making the case would normally be rather challenging. But how much evidence must accumulate before it is clear to all that DT is batshit crazy? Hard to say. The congresscritters (Senators only? I forget) surely want to have enough to cover their rear ends. As memory serves, Wikipedia has a good article on the subject. Maybe DT will go off the deep end in public. How unstable is he? How much resistance or denigration can he take before he totally flips out? We may learn.

    --Alan

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  15. OK, got my mini-sign printed. Should be readable from a reasonable distance. Laser printer couldn't print that much black well, but inkjet could handle it. Now to pack my bag.

    Alan

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