Impeachment Is In Full Swing

There's no denying that Donald Trump and the House Republicans are largely powerless to stop the impeachment train set in motion by the House Democrats. I'll be candid in saying that I was skeptical of any impeachment proceedings and viewing them as a waste of time, given that we're about to hold an election next year. I'll say right now that I was wrong in saying that the Democrats wouldn't find anything, as the whole business with Ukraine blew that door wide open to mapping out various gross abuses by the president of his office, and those of his closest surrogates. It also is going to extend out to Senate Republicans many of whom may also be ensnared.

Making the whole scandal that much more interesting is that the House Republicans' ranking member on the Intelligence Committee, Devin Nunes (R CA-22), is part of it, too. How many other Republicans get ensnared remains to be seen, but it is sufficient to say that Ukraine-gate definitely goes well beyond Trump and Nunes. Trump, and many of the heads in his orbit, are just the tip of the iceberg. When watching the whole saga play out, keep in mind that it's not just Trump whose on trial; it's also the Republican Party at-large having been caught red-handed colluding with foreign actors and rigging the districting maps in their favor.

Nancy Pelosi is right in saying that President Trump's actions have left the House of Representatives with no other choice, but to draft and vote on articles of impeachment. This is because of the President's abuses of his office's powers by getting foreign actors involved in next year's election and using his office to continually violate the Constitution's Emoluments Clause. Those reasons are in addition to his continued ordering of all staffers and appointees to ignore lawfully drafted subpoenas by Congress to investigate the role that Russia and other foreign and corporate actors have played not just in 2016 and 2018 (to a degree), but also what role they'll play in next year's election.

As for the Senate, watch what Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) does when he recieves the articles of impeachment from the House of Representatives. He's going to try to make the trial go both as long and as short as possible. Long enough to muck with the schedule of the Democratic presidential primaries, but short enough so as to not imperil his and other Republican Senators' primaries for their re-election bids next November. He's most likely going to try to make the impeachment trial as brief as possible because the longer it drags out, the more likely McConnell's going to get ensnared, too.

Many talking heads will tell you that America is the biggest loser in this whole saga. That notion is both absurd and flat-out false as they'll be directing your attention in the wrong place. The biggest loser in this whole saga is the very man who they keep falsely claiming has leverage on Trump: Russia's Vladimir Putin. Putin will be the biggest loser as his strategy of playing the peripheries has backfired. As I've said in a couple of posts, Putin has nothing on Trump, and it's Trump who's got Putin by the balls. Putin needs Trump in order to solidify his dominance back home in Russia, while Trump can go elsewhere in terms of foreign leaders and actors to help him keep his office by meddling in the election on his behalf. To put it simply: Trump doesn't exactly need Putin in order to remain in office. There's always China's Xi Jin-Ping, or Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, whom he can turn to in his time of need.

What The Results Of This Year's Elections Tell Us

With the Democrats taking 2 of the 3 gubernatorial races and control of the Virginia State Legislature in this year's elections, they're now in a much stronger position to fight the effects of Trumpism and ultraconservatism coming from the Republicans. This means that for average Americans, the assault on their basic rights as citizens will no longer be under attack and that their voice in government will be much stronger.

The results are also indicating a problem for Trump and the Republican Party, and that problem is that their lies are no longer being believed by the American people. That realization should scare them, as they have no further credibility as time goes on. With the exception of Gerald Ford, each Republican president over the last 50 years has gotten into office by colluding with a foreign actor. The party itself hadn't gotten caught doing so until mid-September in the form of Ukrainegate.

The fact that Kentucky's Republican governor Matt Bevin lost on November 14 is enough to show that Trumpism has finally started being rejected by some portions of Trump's base. It's also a signal to Trump himself that he's in real electoral trouble going into next year's presidential election. The same can be said for Mitch McConnell, whose incumbency is in peril, too.

My Nomination Choice Poll

I placed a poll on Twitter to gauge who you would like to get the Democratic nomination for president. Spread it out to your friends and family.

Who do you want to get the nomination in 2020?

— jgsf1987 (@jgsf1987) October 27, 2019

House Republicans Have Some Explaining To Do

On Wednesday, several House Republicans led by their #2, Steve Scalise (R-LA 01), stormed a closed-door hearing with witnesses for the House of Representatives' ongoing impeachment inquiry, and doing so with their telephones recording everything. The whole charade delayed the hearings for 5 hours. This is the biggest display of witness intimidation, and for what? To make the point that presidential impeachment only applies when Democrats hold the presidency? That's bogus!

They better have a good explanation for why their party has so openly resorted to engaging with foreign powers to attain and maintain power. Just to be clear, this is not the 1st time that the Republican Party has done this. It's been their M.O. for at least 50 years (going all the way back to Richard Nixon in 1968; Gerald Ford and Bob Dole are the sole exceptions in both 1976 and 1996, respectively). That's in addition to trying to fix elections and manipulate redistricting through gerrymandering.

That's at the heart of Ukraine-gate, the Republican party getting caught with its pants down. They have no basis for arguing about the lack of fairness in being held accountable for their actions, nor do they have any ground in attempting to scare voters into letting them continue to violate federal election laws with impunity.

Hillary Clinton And Third-Way Democrats Have Some Explaining To Do

There's no reason for Hillary Clinton to go around calling Tulsi Gabbard a foreign asset, given that Tulsi's worn our nation's uniform while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Likewise, there is no reason for centrist Third-Way Democrats to be insinuating that progressives are foreign assets just because they didn't actively support Hillary either during the primaries or the general election campaigns back in 2016. Bernie Sanders put the case very plainly, and he's right to call out Hillary and demand that she apologize to Tulsi. Even the New York Times should come out with an apology, too.

Both Hillary and the Third-Way Democrats owe not just progressives, but the American electorate at-large a good explanation as to why they're continuing on with their charade after it's been proven time and again that not everyone who voted against Hillary in 2016 is a Russian and/or foreign asset.

Tulsi Gabbard has put her life on the line to defend this country. People can disagree on issues, but it is outrageous for anyone to suggest that Tulsi is a foreign asset.

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) October 21, 2019

Commending Beto O'Rourke.

 Beto O'Rourke's statement that he would take away people's assault weapons is something that should be commended.

I commend @BetoORourke for coming out saying that he would take away everyone’s AK-47’s & AR-15’s through forced buy-backs. There’s no reason for non-military/non-law enforcement to own these weapons. #DemocraticDebate #DemDebates #AssaultWeaponsBan #GunReformNow #GunControl

— jgsf1987 (@jgsf1987) September 13, 2019

Republicans And Likud Have Gone Too Far

Recent actions taken against 2 Democratic Representatives by both the Republicans and Likud have gone way too far. Likud is to blame on the following reason: Under Benjamin Netanyahu's "leadership," they've institiuted an entry ban for 2 duly elected Democratic Representatives just because they had the temerity to call out their continued violations of international law at the request of the Trump Administration.

But what really blows this out of the water is some anti-Semitic comments from Donald Trump himself and the opening that it's given to anti-Semites to come out accusing American Jews of disloyalty to both America and Israel by voting Democratic, and not Republican, electorally. There are going to be more lines like this coming from Republicans over the next several months, primarily those who are either running in their 1st election, or present incumbents running for re-election.

How this ties back to Likud if it's only Republican surrogates campaigning on Trump's behalf is fairly simple: Many of the conspiracy theories being thrown out by Trump's camp have also been used by Likud for years; especially with regards to the question of who is a Jew. The Likud-led governing coalition in Israel has had several rank-and-file memebers come out falsely accusing American Jews of not being Jewish at all, and of being disloyal to their homeland by openly criticizing it. That premise is complete and utter horseshit.

Fuck this putz. Saying that Jews are disloyal for voting Democratic. Both he and the unholy warrior in the White House have no basis for making the implied remark that voting for Democrats is abandoning Israel. #FuckTrump https://t.co/gFPlt4vxHg

— jgsf1987 (@jgsf1987) August 22, 2019

It would show great weakness if Israel allowed Rep. Omar and Rep.Tlaib to visit. They hate Israel & all Jewish people, & there is nothing that can be said or done to change their minds. Minnesota and Michigan will have a hard time putting them back in office. They are a disgrace!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 15, 2019

Youtube Is Screwing Over Content Creators

Google (via Youtube) is screwing over independent content creators again with its new metrics system. Their ratings structure is making it harder for small-enders like myself to get my content viewed. I saw some videos from both The David Pakman Show and Secular Talk discussing this problem, but the actual source that was for my video below is from TYT Nation. You can watch it here.

Like and share this video, and share with me your thoughts on Facebook and/or Twitter.

Both Donald Trump And The NDC-Controlled DNC Are Beginning To Panic

It's no secret that both Donald Trump and the NDC-controlled DNC are beginning to panic given how the electorate has largely discredited them. People want action not platitudes, as that's what put Trump in the White House in the 1st place. The reason for Trump's panicking is that he's losing ground in polls posted by Fox News, his main media outlet. As for the DNC, the fact that it's losing ground with the party's progressive grassroots and unable to control the "narrative" is making them panic. They also are losing ground with the electorate at large, just like Trump.

NDC - New Democrat Coalition
DNC - Democratic National Committee

Joe Biden's Ungodly Praises For Segregationists Has Just Damaged Him

It's no secret that Joe Biden served in the Senate with ardent segregationists like John Stennis and John Sparkman, and was friends with them during their time together. However, hearing his recent praises for them is disconcerting on several levels; especially in a climate as politically charged as it is today in 2019. Don't think that this is the first time that Biden put his foot in his mouth, as it's really not.

The biggest problem with him making comments like that is that it provides fodder for Donald Trump to potentially use against him should he be nominated. The video below sheds light on how Biden may be worse than Hillary Clinton, and that says a lot. Comments like the one she made about anyone not supporting her as being part of Trump's "Basket of deplorables" are easily trumped by Biden's ill-timed commentary.

This type of commentary is the last thing we need from a Democratic presidential candidate. Especially when the stakes are too high for us as Americans, let alone Democrats. This is why Biden needs to drop out of the race, he's continuing to damage his credibility by going after figures that are trying to bring him in line with the party's base. We don't need a candidate who is going to basically hand the election to Trump.

Share your thoughts with me on Facebook and Twitter.

Mitch McConnell Going Full Racist

Just when we've thought that we already hit rock bottom with regards to Mitch McConnell, he always manages to prove us wrong. Yesterday, apparently, was no exception. In the video below, you'll see just how low he managed to sink.

In the end, it really comes as little surprise that he decided to go with that racist low-blow. Don't assume that this is a first for McConnell because sadly it isn't by any stretch. The fact remains that he's one of those, as I like to call them, Cranky Old White Guys (Translation: Angry Old White Men). If you run a search on either Google or Bing, you can find several million examples of McConnell engaging in racist conduct.

If McConnell's commentary illustrates anything, it's that the Republican Party at-large has a racism problem. This is also a sign that the party is dying from within after having moved so far to the right that it's no longer within the mainstream anymore. We're likewise seeing the conservative movement coming apart at the seams, too.

Recent Democratic Legal Victories Have Started To Make Further Talk Of Impeachment Moot

A pair of legal victories for the Democrats this week have taken some of the strength out of the argument that they need to immmediately invoke articles of impeachment. Those victories have made the House Democrats’ leadership’s case against immediately pursuing impeachment of Donald Trump a lot more credible. When it comes to the subject of impeachment, there should no rush whatsoever.

This is why everyone within Democratic Party’s base should heed the words of caution from former House Republicans, like Newt Gengrich, when it comes to impeaching a sitting President. They’re right in warning us not to take up the same antics that they did with Bill Clinton in the 1990s; that it could potentially backfire on us like it did to them back in 1998 and 1999. They’re also right to warn that Democrats could take the same type of battering in 2020 congressional elections that Republicans took in both 1998 and 2000.

The Impeachment Cries Grow Louder

Given that President Donald Trump has successfully intimidated some key witnesses out of testifying before the House of Representatives with regards to their investigations into potential abuses of executive power, the cries calling for his impeachment have just gotten both louder and crossed the political aisle. Representative Justin Amash (R-MI 3) had made headlines by admitting (unnervingly in the Trump controlled Republican Party's eyes) that Trump had likely commited acts that were probably worthy of impeachment. The biggest impact isn't being felt by Trump; it's being felt by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who just earlier this week threw rank-and-file House Democrats a bone by having a caucus meeting about investigating whether impeachment proceedings were warranted or not.

Still, this doesn't change the fact that Pelosi's obviously discomforted by such chatter, as it could backfire on Democrats in 2020. Trump knows this and has been openly goading House Democrats to file articles of impeachment against him for the last few weeks, hoping that they'll play right into his hands. Should they do so, it could give him some extra ammunition in making the case that the Democratic Party is out of control following Hillary Clinton's loss in 2016, and are only seeking revenge against him. Which is why Pelosi has been rightfully cautious about proceeding forward with impeachment. The facts need to fall into place before going ahead with it.

Why The DNC Is Setting America Up For Another 4 Years Of Donald Trump As President

It should come as a surprise to no one that the Democratic Party would rather throw away next year's national election than ever nominate a progressive populist like Bernie Sanders; and that's exactly what they're in the starting phase of doing right now.It's pretty clear that corporate in the DNC are pissed at progressives for making their candidate lose in 2016 and are willing to do anything necessary to undermine them in next year's election. If it means that Donald Trump (and/or the Republican nominated in his place) wins in 2020, so be it. Progressives need to make clear that they're not going to tolerate this kind of misbehavior on the corporatists' part, nor will they tolerate any new form of cheating.

To let the DNC attempt to demonize both the Republicans and the Democratic Party's progressive grass roots would be giving Trump another 4 years (or a new Republican 8 years) in office, which is what America doesn't need. It also gives off the message that anyone who didn't vote for Hillary Clinton in 2016 is an enemy of the people/state, which is absolutely bogus. By pushing their allies in the corporate media to continue pushing Hillary's post-election media tantrum, they're pushing many of the voters they need behind Trump with all his insaity and incompetence.

1 Major Item Checked Off My Bucketlist: Seeing The Original US Constitution

Today was a day that I got to check off a major item on my bucket list: seeing both the original US Declaration of Independence and Constitution (along with the original Bill of Rights) on display at the US Archives. It's mindblowing just how incredibly articulate those documents are and to think of their impacts across the world. I wanted to do this the last time I was in Washington, back in June 2002. Unfortunately, both were taken off display for restoration work. This time they were on display. The room in which both are held has a no photography restriction, and with good reason; to preserve the documents. There's also a no cell phone use  rule in there, too. Still, seeing both was mindblowing.

As a small bonus, I also got to see 1 of the original copies of the Magna Carta's Conformatio Cartarum signed by King Edward I in 1297. It's in Latin, which should surprise no one, but anyone can see its influence on both the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. The common theme being that governance only happens with consent of the governed, especially when it comes to taxes. That's what makes this document a true marvel of history.

Notre Dame

Watching the coverage of the Notre Dame Church burning, I found it to be saddening and horrifying. As I mentioned on Facebook and Twitter, I found it heartening to see that most of the of the highly valuable artwork and artifacts were saved, but some were damaged in the inferno, and were sent to the Lovre for restoration. The church’s main structure was also saved, too; albeit with some heavy damage.

Notre Dame, as Pres. Emannuel Macron had annouced on Monday, what was lost in the fire will be rebuilt. I find that heartening to hear and will be delighted to see what comes from the ashes.

Donald Trump's Threat Will Be Part Of His Undoing In 2020

I don't know where to start with this 1, but it's a safe bet to say that Donald Trump's latest threats will not go unanswered in next year's presidential election. He's finally beginning to understand that his days as President are numbered, and that as soon as he's out of office, he'll have to answer for some very serious crimes that he's committed over the years. It's also becoming increasingly clear that he's playing from a point of weakness, which could explain his latest overreach.

Cities like San Francisco and New York City have made it clear that should Trump carry through on his threat, they will only welcome the undocumented immigrants sent their way and will provide them with sanctuary. This is why Trump's threats will likely backfire on him spectacularly. Trump is absolutely delusional in thinking that he can turn this into a winning issue. The fact is that he has almost nothing to run on, except racism and bigotry. That's a big problem for him going into 2020.

Petition: Demand That Donald Trump Order William Barr To Release The Mueller Report

I've started a new petition on Move On to demand that Pres. Trump do the right thing by ordering the disclosure of the Mueller Report. Please sign and share with your friends and family on all social media. Thanks.

Also, let me know your thoughts on  Facebook and/or Twitter. 

The Corporate Media Is Back To Its Old Antics Again

I can't put this anymore plainly, the corporate media here in America is back to its old antics yet again. And by old antics, I'm talking about their idiotic parroting of Clintonist talking points about how evil progressives like Bernie Sanders and Tulsi Gabbard are. I get it, they're pissed about the fact that they lost in 2016, but give us break about how Hillary had nothing to do with her loss to Donald Trump. Like how it's someone else's fault that she was too clueless to actually talk to people on the campaign trail. These people are FUCKING MORONS!

These people are also complete jackasses as well, but that's a small sidenote. The media needs to quit giving all of Hillary Clinton's most hard-hitting surrogates anymore airtime as they're basically trying to stifle any debate about how to effectively deal with the buffoon-in-chief so that they can get their central stooge (aka Hillary) a redo of 2016. I've written extensively about how that was a losing proposition a fair number of times during that election cycle. I'm not going to bore you all with all those unnecessary explanaitions, so I'll sum it up this way: Those who don't learn from their mistakes in the past are bound to repeat them in the present and/or future.

Now if the Clintonists try to force the Cult of Hillary on us, just like the far-right did with the Cult of Trump, they shouldn't expect to get our support in next year's election. Just like the Republicans, these Third-Way Democrats are also bankrupt of ideas, too. Because of this, they're resorting to ad homonym attacks, which makes them sound just like the Republicans at times. This is why it's all of our responsibility to make our voices heard both during the primaries and the general election. 2020 isn't a year that we can afford to forced to sit out because of these jackasses and their enablers in the corporate media. So anytime you see/hear the progressive smear campaign take flight, remember that this is Third-Way and the far-right panicking like hell. If you want to get the actual facts on the ground, go around the corporate media: they're too tightly beholden to the Clintonist wing of the Democratic Party.

Don't let yourself be intimidated into doing their work for them. These Clintonist smartasses will try to scare you into compliance with their agenda for America. You have the right to tell them HELL NO and QUIT BROWBEATING ME! If they try to do so, then get them where it hurts the most: THEIR WALLETS. Just turn them off and go to alternate news sites, like Truthdig and The Intercept. They gave very good coverage of the primaries and general election back in 2016, and they're setting themselves up to do so again for 2020. There are plenty of others: Bill Palmer being yet another example.

Google+ Is Shutting Down For Everyone With Personal Accounts In April

It kind of sucks for anyone who's using a personal accounts on Google+ is going to lose them starting April 2. If you're using a G Suite Brand Account, like I am, you're good for the time being. At some point it's going to get taken down as well. All this proves is that Google apparently never did its homework when it designed the Google+ platform.

Petitions For The People's Lobby

For those who are new to viewing this blog (1st of all, welcome), the People's Lobby is an advocacy organization that fights for the voices of the American people who aren't part of the elite. I've been in contact with the organization's sole director/administrator, Dwayne Hunn, for the last year or so. He's got 2 petitions up for signing and sharing, so if you have a chance: please do so. The petitions are here and here.

The first petition is about getting law makers to raise the effective taxation level of the wealthiest Americans and most profitable corporations. Increasing their rate will help to close the budget gaps we're currently facing as a result of the Republican's tax-cuts. It will also make it so that we have the money to establish the Medicare-for-All system and tuition-free public colleges that Bernie Sanders had advocated for back in 2016.

The other has to do with creating a World Service/Jobs Corps as a 21st-Century recalibration of the Peace Corps. This would give Americans the opportunity to engage in an additional form service to country to serving in the Military. This would be a better use of our foreign policy resources, as it's a great way for us to engage in soft-power diplomacy. Plus we'll get the added advantage of winning the hearts and minds of people in the countries we're aiding. Especially when the living conditions foster an environment for political and/or religious extremism.