VERY CRUCIAL PART OF TODAY'S IMPEACHMENT RESOLUTION

h/t Democratic Underground:

The House Resolution incorporates by reference procedures adopted by the Judiciary Committee that will be entered into the Congressional Record. Those procedures are contained in an accompanying document, which has this key language:

“Should the President unlawfully refuse to make witnesses available for testimony to, or to produce documents requested by, the investigative committees . . . in furtherance of the investigations described in the first section of [this resolution], the chair shall have the discretion to impose appropriate remedies, including by denying specific requests by the President or his counsel under these procedures to call or question witnesses.”

This is, in effect, a discretionary measure that would keep President Donald Trump’s lawyers from participating in the impeachment process if the Trump White House continues to refuse to produce documents and bar witnesses from testifying. The provision is smart, important, and possibly even alters the current balance of power between Congress and the White House. This provision recognizes that the White House should not be permitted to participate in the process only on its own terms. If the White House wants to participate in full, then it has an obligation to respond to legitimate requests for witnesses and documents from the House.

THIS TWEET BY STEVE SCHMIDT DESCRIBES THE CURRENT GOP AND THEIR SLAVISH DEVOTION TO THEIR CORRUPT PRESIDENT

Via Democratic Underground:

Steve Schmidt

✔@SteveSchmidtSES

Earlier today you attacked the patriotism and assaulted the integrity of a combat wounded US Army Infantry officer. You did it, because for you, there is no higher cause than Trump; not the truth, or decency, not the country and certainly not the US Constitution. https://twitter.com/duffy4wisconsin/status/1189197626224320525 …

Sean Duffy

✔@Duffy4Wisconsin

Lt. Col. Vindman is an American war hero. As I said clearly this morning on air “I salute Mr. Vindman’s service.” My point is that Mr. Vindman is an unelected advisor, he gives ADVICE. President Trump sets the policy.

4,678

1:19 PM - Oct 29, 2019

Twitter Ads info and privacy

1,536 people are talking about this

Earlier today you attacked the patriotism and assaulted the integrity of a combat wounded US Army Infantry officer. You did it, because for you, there is no higher cause than Trump; not the truth, or decency, not the country and certainly not the US Constitution.

2.This is the oath the Lt. Col Vindman took.“ I do solemnly swear I will support the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without mental reservation


And that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office about which I am about to enter. So help me God.” The Purple ribbon on his uniform denotes an award of the Purple Heart. The blue badge above the ribbons is an award of the Combat Infantry Badge.


Below his ribbons are his Ranger tab and Airborne wings. Your attack doesn’t raise questions about his fidelity to America, our Republic, and Constitution but it sure says something about yours and the band or smear merchants for whom no indecency, lie , slander or debasement


is too much when it comes to defending Trump. Slavish Devotion to the leader at all costs is what matters for all of you now. In America we take our Oaths and make our obligations to the Constitution and country not shambolic and debased cults of personality. Shame on you

ANOTHER AMERICAN HERO

Trump and his supporters discredited the whistleblower's accusations because, they said, it was second hand information. 

Well Lt.Col. Vindman was there during the infamous telephone conversation where Trump extorted a foreign government for information on his political rival, Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.

This is not hearsay, it's first-hand eyewitness testimony to Trump's crimes.

Bravo to a real American hero, Lt.Col. Vindman:





Via New York Times:

WASHINGTON — A White House national security official who is a decorated Iraq war veteran plans to tell House impeachment investigators on Tuesday that he heard President Trump appeal to Ukraine’s president to investigate one of his leading political rivals, a request the aide considered so damaging to American interests that he reported it to a superior.

Lt. Col. Alexander S. Vindman of the Army, the top Ukraine expert on the National Security Council, twice registered internal objections about how Mr. Trump and his inner circle were treating Ukraine, out of what he called a “sense of duty,” he plans to tell the inquiry, according to a draft of his opening statement obtained by The New York Times.

He will be the first White House official to testify who listened in on the July 25 telephone call between Mr. Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine that is at the center of the impeachment inquiry, in which Mr. Trump asked Mr. Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.

“I did not think it was proper to demand that a foreign government investigate a U.S. citizen, and I was worried about the implications for the U.S. government’s support of Ukraine,” Colonel Vindman said in his statement. “I realized that if Ukraine pursued an investigation into the Bidens and Burisma it would likely be interpreted as a partisan play which would undoubtedly result in Ukraine losing the bipartisan support it has thus far maintained.”

Liar-in-Chief, Donald J. Trump, loudly and sustainably booed by Americans!

The Idiot-in-Chief, thanking the sellout crowd for booing him.

















"When the president was announced on the public address system after the third inning as part of a tribute to veterans, the crowd roared into sustained booing — hitting almost 100 decibels. Chants of “Lock him up” and “Impeach Trump” then broke out at Nationals Park, where a sellout crowd was watching the game between the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros."

****************

Trump couldn't get this kind of respect and adulation in an open and public sports venue in his own country that President Obama got in neighboring Canada:

As the Idiot-in-Chief tries to take credit today, remember this:

"The death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the Islamic State leader, in an American commando raid in Syria on Saturday happened largely in spite of President Trump’s actions, not because of them, according to military, intelligence and counterterrorism officials."
"Mr. Trump’s abrupt decision to pull out American forces from northern Syria disrupted the meticulous planning and forced Pentagon officials to press ahead with a risky, night raid before their ability to control troops and spies and reconnaissance aircraft disappeared, the military and other officials said."




Also, remember how FAUX NOOZ and others refused to give President Obama credit for the death of Osama bin Laden.

The GOP's Idiot-in-Chief:

Easily fooled Goopers believe the following meme is real. It isn't, of course, it's fake, just like the idiot they voted for and support, but they're so gullible and dumb they don't take the time to find out if something is fake or real before posting it:

b

In the meme, a photograph of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump is shown above a caption that quotes Clinton as saying, “I would like to see people like Donald Trump run for office; They’re honest and can’t be bought.”

This was a variation of a familiar claim, which we identified as “False” back in 2016 when Clinton was running for president against Donald Trump.

The quote is a fabrication inspired by remarks Clinton delivered to Goldman Sachs in 2013. Purported transcripts of those remarks were published by WikiLeaks weeks before the 2016 election.

The image in the meme, while it appears clipped straight from an old newspaper, is more than likely a cropped detail of a photograph taken at the wedding of Donald and Melania Trump in 2005. Un-cropped versions of the photograph, easily surfaced in a quick Google Image search, show Bill Clinton and Melania Trump standing to Hillary’s left.

Off to the Berkshires for a few days

I'll check in from time to time.

Be excellent to each other.

SATURDAY NIGHT MUSIC

I saw this artist perform Brahm's  Piano Concerto No. 2 in Memorial Hall, Cambridge, Mass., on Thursday evening.

What passion and beauty he brought to the piece.

Alessandro DelJavan

Admiral McRaven isn't "Deep State" as Trump Cultists call anyone who recognizes what a corrupt and dangerous president Trump is.

From the New York Times:

Our Republic Is Under Attack From the President

If President Trump doesn’t demonstrate the leadership that America needs, then it is time for a new person in the Oval Office.

By William H. McRaven

Admiral McRaven is a former commander of the United States Special Operations Command.

Last week I attended two memorable events that reminded me why we care so very much about this nation and also why our future may be in peril.

The first was a change of command ceremony for a storied Army unit in which one general officer passed authority to another. The second event was an annual gala for the Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.) Society that recognizes past and present members of the intelligence and Special Operations community for their heroism and sacrifice to the nation. What struck me was the stark contrast between the words and deeds heralded at those events — and the words and deeds emanating from the White House.

On the parade field at Fort Bragg, N.C., where tens of thousands of soldiers have marched either preparing to go to war or returning from it, the two generals, highly decorated, impeccably dressed, cleareyed and strong of character, were humbled by the moment.

They understood the awesome responsibility that the nation had placed on their shoulders. They understood that they had an obligation to serve their soldiers and their soldiers’ families. They believed in the American values for which they had been fighting for the past three decades. They had faith that these values were worth sacrificing everything for — including, if necessary, their lives.

NANCY!

In the meeting Trump held with staff and Congressional leaders yesterday and in which Trump called General "Mad Dog" Mattis the "world's most overrated general," Nancy was the only one to stand up the the ignorant bully and Maniac-in-Chief.

Oh. My. Gawd!

This is not a joke. This is not a fake. 

The Republican's president actually wrote and sent this letter to Turkish President Erdogan (which he ignored):

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!

So if you didn't catch the presser with Trump and Italian President Sergio Mattarella, this is what you missed:

Trump claimed the US has been allies with Italy since ancient Rome.

He called President Mattarella, "President Mozzarella" several times.

He bashed NATO while praising Putin.

He said AG Barr met with Italian Intelligence to investigate crimes he is certain lead to President Obama.

He was noticeably slurring his words. Again.

Is it any wonder the Italian translator was looking at Trump like this??

#ICaintEvenMakeThisShitUp

A campaign video showing Trump murdering the media and others was shown at Trump's Doral Golf Club

 The video was shown at Trump's Miami golf club, the Doral, 

The people who created the murderous video are the people who support Trump. The video was shown at Trump's Mar-a-Largo.   Trump's Doral golf club in Miami. 
This is who they are and what Trump has encouraged in his cultists:

The New York Times reported today that a video mashup depicting Trump slaughtering a church packed with his "fake news" enemies, from Barack Obama to the BBC, was shown last week to supporters at one of his Miami resorts. 

The video, which includes the logo for Mr. Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign, comprises a series of internet memes. The most violent clip shows Mr. Trump’s head superimposed on the body of a man opening fire inside the “Church of Fake News” on parishioners who have the faces of his critics or the logos of media organizations superimposed on their bodies. ... The disclosure that the video was played shows how Mr. Trump’s anti-media language has influenced his supporters and bled into their own propaganda. Mr. Trump has made attacks on the news media a mainstay of his presidency, and he tweeted a similar — but far less violent video — in 2017. In recent weeks as he has confronted impeachment proceedings, he has ramped up his attacks on the news media, repeatedly calling it the “enemy of the people.” 

 It's evidently a scene from Kingsman: The Secret Service with Trump's head (among others) crudely superimposed on characters from the film. The mashup is incredibly, cringingly dorky— but it's also a video depicting the president on a killing spree in a church posted on the anniversary of one of America's most infamous white supremacist church massacres.

HAPPY INDIGINOUS PEOPLE'S DAY

COLUMBUS DAY PARADE IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD, THE NORTH END OF BOSTON

The North End held a its biennial Columbus Day parade (we switch-off with East Boston every other year). We also have A Christopher Columbus Park. 

As a first generation daughter of Sicilian-born parents, I can understand why Italians, especially southern Italians and Sicilians, grabbed onto Columbus as a hero so that they could attach to themselves pride in a huge contribution to the founding of America. Italians, especially those from the south and Sicily were considered non-white and treated as shamefully as African-Americans were treated.

When I was a child in school, we learned Columbus "discovered" America. But of course, we now know he never set foot on the North American continent, and he was responsible for the genocide of indiginous people, the Arawaks, for example. Here's Columbus in his own words from his diary: 

 In his journal, Columbus didn’t mince words about his intentions after meeting the Arawak natives in the Bahamas in 1492. He described the encounter thusly: “They ... brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things ... They willingly traded everything they owned ... They were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features .... They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane. ... They would make fine servants. ... With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.” Columbus would add: “As soon as I arrived in the Indies, on the first Island which I found, I took some of the natives by force in order that they might learn and might give me information of whatever there is in these parts.” 

Too bad it takes a lifetime to learn the truth and leave the myths behind. Also, as a schoolchild, I did NOT learn how the early Pilgrims, Puritans, and colonial Americans treated the indigenous peoples in North America, or how they treated the Africans they brought to America to slave for them, or how they treated the Americans who were descendants of those Africans -- they were born here and treated like chattel, tortured, and murdered. I had to learn for myself the shameful history of how Europeans enslaved and slaughtered indigenous people and people they took from their native lands. 

I think eventually, Columbus Day will become Indigenous People's Day all over the country and that Italians will look with pride to all the Italian-Americans who've made enormous contributions to this country and its culture, and that Columbus will be an agent for our understanding of how humans debase themselves when they devalue, degrade and even kill people they do not understand.

Yes, you have that right.

BREAKING NEWS:







Only a willful Trump cultiest refuses to connect the corruption dots:




The Republicans' idiot president said the Saudis are paying for our troops. 

Our military are now mercenaries for Trump to rent out to any of the countries he has financial interests in. What do you think about Trump renting our troops to the Saudi’s? How much is the rent?

This is what the Republicans' president did to our military in Syria:

U.S. forces say Turkey was deliberately ‘bracketing’ American troops with artillery fire in Syria

Do you have relatives in the military? I do. This alone should be enough to kick his traitorous ass out of office. He put our military in harm's way. I want to know why he did this.



Wm.Kristol: "Who wanted Trump to withdraw U.S. troops and abandon the Kurds? Not the Defense or the State Department. Not the foreign policy establishment or the American people. Not Republicans or Democrats. Who wanted Trump to abandon the Kurds and withdraw U.S. troops? Erdogan. And Putin."

SATURDAY NIGHT DANCING

THURSDAY NIGHT CARTOONS

via Democratic Underground:

MIGA

TRUMP'S "SCANDAL-A -DAY." HERE'S THE LATEST.

BREAKING NEWS: "Prosecutors say Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman were part of a conspiracy to funnel a Russian donor’s money into U.S. elections 

 WASHINGTON—Two Soviet-born donors to a pro- Trump fundraising committee who helped Rudy Giuliani’s efforts to investigate Democrat Joe Biden were arrested late Wednesday on criminal charges of violating campaign finance rules. Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, two Florida businessmen, have been under investigation by the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, and are expected to appear in federal court in Virginia later on Thursday, the people said. 

Both men were born in former Soviet republics. Mr. Giuliani, President Trump’s private lawyer, identified the two men in May as his clients. Both men have donated to Republican campaigns including Mr. Trump’s, and in May 2018 gave $325,000 to the primary pro-Trump super PAC, America First Action, through an LLC called Global Energy Producers, according to Federal Election Commission records. 

 The men were charged with four counts, including conspiracy, falsification of records and lying to the FEC about their political donations, according to the indictment that outlines a conspiracy to funnel a Russian donor’s money into U.S. elections. 

 The group concealed their work by laundering foreign money into U.S. elections by disguising the true origin of the money, the indictment says. Beginning in about March of 2018, Mr. Parnas and Mr. Frurman began attending fundraising events and making substantial contributions “with the purpose of enhancing their influence in political circles and gaining access to politicians,” prosecutors wrote. 

The indictment Thursday alleges that Mr. Fruman intentionally misspelled his name as to further evade FEC scrutiny. Fundraising records show that an “Igor Furman” who otherwise matches Mr. Fruman made additional campaign donations totaling almost $400,000, beginning in March 2018. That would bring the pair’s contributions to about $1 million. 

 John Dowd, who headed Mr. Trump’s legal team until spring 2018 and is a lawyer for the two men, didn’t respond to a request for comment." --WSJ

Here's a photo of Trump with one of the crooks:

Texas Republican Congressman, Pete Sessions, is involved as well.

Pete Sessions is “Congressman 1” in indictment of Rudy Guliani associates, reports say

Multiple news outlets have reported that the former House chairman, now running for Congress in another district, was involved in the effort to oust the U.S. ambassador to the Ukraine.

DEAR GAWD! TRUMP REALLY SAID THAT!

"President Trump on Wednesday criticized the Kurds, saying they didn't help the United States during World War II and that they were only fighting for their land in Syria during the battle against ISIS. 

“The Kurds are fighting for their land,” Trump told reporters at the White House during an event in the Roosevelt Room. “And as somebody wrote in a very, very powerful article today, they didn’t help us in the second World War, they didn’t help us with Normandy as an example. They mentioned names of different battles. But they’re there to help us with their land and that’s a different thing.” --Morgan Chalfant


To be fair, though, the Kurds didn't help us in the Revolutionary War either!




But this is serious:


“ 'I have a little conflict of interest ’cause I have a major, major building in Istanbul,' Trump boasted in response. 'It’s a tremendously successful job. It’s called Trump Towers — two towers, instead of one, not the usual one; it’s two. And I’ve gotten to know Turkey very well. They’re amazing people, they’re incredible people. They have a strong leader.'

 He said then that the situation was 'complicated,' adding, 'I thrive on complicated.' Trump did not reveal what he would do in the region if he were to become commander in chief. Trump still profits from Trump Towers in Istanbul, and the 'strong leader' then was the same as now: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan."

What he did to the Kurds and how that benefitted Erdogan STINKS TO HIGH HEAVEN. Trump is a known liar, cheat, and con man. I have no doubt that he made some sort of deal with Erdogan involving his Trump Tower and not interfering with Erdogan's invasion into the Kurdish territory today.

Trump has no honor, no scruples, and nothing approaching human decency.

This is my blog and my opinion. Someday we may discover why Trump made this decision without consulting the Pentagon or his foreign policy advisors.

As I said: What he did today STINKS TO HIGH HEAVEN.

Trump's "victory for Assad, Russia, Iran, and ISIS"

The Republicans' idiot president just tweeted that what the Turks are doing to the Kurds is a "bad idea." As though the Republican's idiot president didn't know that would happen?




Charlie Pierce, Esquire:

Syria Update: Turkey Is Blowing the Hell Out of It and the Russians Are Cheering

Everything we knew would happen is happening

TURKEY ATTACKS: Turkey has launched a military offensive in northern Syria after getting a green light from Pres. Trump to drive Syrian Kurds out of the region. The Kurds had been U.S. allies in the fight against ISIS and had been promised U.S. protection. 

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) has called Trump's reversal of this promise 'a victory for Assad, Russia, Iran, and ISIS.'



From Business Insider:

Analysis:

US President Donald Trump's announcement late Sunday night that the US would withdraw troops from northeastern Syria was a stunning betrayal of the US's Kurdish partner forces in the fight against ISIS, military leaders and experts say. 

Kurdish forces have sustained nearly 11,000 casualties in the fight against ISIS; now, they prepare for a new battlefront against a Turkish invasion into Syrian territory they control, while the US watches. 

"The value of an American handshake is depreciating," Brett McGurk, who resigned from his post as Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL last December over Trump's announcement that he would pull all US troops from Syria, tweeted. 

 "Trump today said we could 'crush ISIS again' if it regenerated," McGurk wrote. "With who? What allies would sign up? Who would fight on his assurances?"

What could possibly have influenced Trump's disastrous decision to abandon the Kurds?

Here are a few reasons Trump may have betrayed the Kurds' and America's interests:


Trump On Turkey: ‘I Have A Little Conflict Of Interest ... It’s Called Trump Towers’ 

The president, in his own words in 2015, zeroes in on a problem linked to his order to abandon Kurdish allies to a Turkish assault in Syria.


Donald Trump’s Ukraine Scandal Has Its Roots in Russia 

Both situations stem from the President’s apparent willingness to accept political favors from foreign leaders, and his eagerness to do Putin’s bidding.




This decision by Trump should come as no surprise to anyone. This is a president who does not care about foreign policy (as evidenced by the fact that there are so many unfilled positions - including ambassadorships - in his state department). 

Trump gives more thought to what he's having for lunch than he does to foreign policy. If he does consider other countries at all it's only in the context of how they might make him money or win him an election. His base doesn't care about Kurds, and so neither does he. So, it must have come as a huge surprise to him that so many Republican senators are up in arms over his decision. 

I'm sure when he made it he thought it was as meaningful as ketchup or no ketchup on his steak.

Dear Readers, Donald Trump is Stark, Raving Bonkers! Read his latest Tweet.

Republicans slam Trump's Syria pullout: 'Disaster,' 'Betrayal,' 'Mistake'

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said the "withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria would only benefit Russia, Iran, and the Assad regime."

Digby:

The withdrawal leaves the United States' Kurdish allies in northern Syria vulnerable to attack by Turkish forces. Trump remarked last summer that Erdogan "has a big problem with the Kurds ... and he was going to wipe out the Kurds, who helped us with ISIS." Trump claimed he told Erdogan, "You can’t do it. And he didn’t do it." 

 That was last June.






I thought this was a parody, but it is NOT!

h/t Daily Kos:

Donald Trump's betrayal of Syrian Kurds has been blasted by horrified Republican allies, with even forever-toadies Lindsey Graham and Liz Cheney, as well as the usually simpering Mitt Romney, Marco Rubio, and Susan Collins condemning Trump's act.

Trump's response is so unhinged that it is difficult to believe it is real. It is.

Donald J. Trump

✔@realDonaldTrump

 · 2h

As I have stated strongly before, and just to reiterate, if Turkey does anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits, I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey (I’ve done before!). They must, with Europe and others, watch over...

Donald J. Trump

✔@realDonaldTrump

....the captured ISIS fighters and families. The U.S. has done far more than anyone could have ever expected, including the capture of 100% of the ISIS Caliphate. It is time now for others in the region, some of great wealth, to protect their own territory. THE USA IS GREAT!

39.1K

11:38 AM - Oct 7, 2019

Twitter Ads info and privacy

19.5K people are talking about this

From "great and unmatched wisdom" to a threat to "obliterate the Economy of Turkey" ... it is impossible to even respond to that.

Steve Blum

@blumspew

·

2h

Replying to

@realDonaldTrump

“In my great and unmatched wisdom??” The Lizard of Oz has spoken. Please take the keys away from this horror show.