What a Difference Twenty-four Hours Can Make

With the release of the John Bolton document, events suddenly seem uncertain -- and in a good way.  For now we have a situation in which there are cracks in the stone wall of resistance to the truth which Trump-supporting Republicans have erected.

There are reports tonight of a new willingness on the part of Republicans in the Senate to at least discuss the possibility of witnesses in the impeachment trial.  This is a matter which should never have been in dispute in the first place -- whether witnesses are appropriate in such an important undertaking.

Yesterday at noon it seemed that there was little hope the truth could break through.  Now, little more than twenty-four hours later, there is at least a sliver of light escaping from that fortress wall of defiance. 

First published on Patriot in Exigency

See It, Believe It, Act!

There is a lot of talk about how there's no chance of impeached President Donald Trump getting removed. I’m here to tell you that there is absolutely, without a doubt, a chance this Senate could remove Trump from office. But it all starts with believing it can actually happen. 

Many Americans prefer settling before going to trial in a complicated legal matter, and that’s because anything can happen in court. That’s why Trump likes to settle, whether it's the $2 million penalty for his charitable frauds or $25 million for his fake university.

If we don’t realize there is a real chance that he could be removed, we will not have the energy to get there. We all need to know and truly believe that if enough Americans speak out, he will be removed.

                                                                                                  --  USA Today, January 24, 2020


I love this opening from a recent opinion piece in USA Today online.  There is truth and hope here.  And it is about time.

I, too, believe Trump can be removed from office if we absolutely insist.  If we absolutely insist, the Senate would be hard-pressed to resist public pressure.  But first we must believe this, then we must act!


Please do call your Senator's office and respectfully express your support for conviction and removal of this very sadly incompetent grifter from the Oval Office.   We can do this!

The USA Today article:
Trump Can Be Convicted! 

Chairman Schiff Delivers Powerful and Coherent Speech

Before silent Senators in the Senate chamber this afternoon, House Intelligence Committee Chair, Adam Schiff delivered a forceful defense of the two articles of impeachment against Donald John Trump, President of the United States.

Marshalling facts from many sources, including the founding fathers, as well as the very words of the President and his own employees, Mr. Schiff laid out the case for convicting and removing this venal President.

And this is only the beginning of a 24-hour (!) presentation on the part of the House managers.



More to come....

Author Giroux Shows Just What Is at Stake in Impeachment: Highly Recommended

Rush Link --

Impeachment of OML Only Part of the Threat to Democracy 

Clearing the Air

As I read articles from numerous sources I see many unintentional inaccuracies about the election of 2016 and OML.  While understandable, these inaccuracies are hurtful -- sometimes seriously so.

Here then is my list of inaccuracies, circa A.D. 2020:

• Trump won in 2016.   No, he did not.  He lost the popular vote by 3 million votes.  According to the pain-staking reporting of internationally known correspondent Greg Palast, Trump was only declared the winner due to nine methods of vote suppression.
• Trump can be re-elected.  Truth:  Having failed to be elected legitimately in 2016, OML cannot be "re-elected."
• Trump is popular with the right-wing.   This may be true but how do we know?  It is considered common knowledge, but what about the unexpectedly strong support for "Christianity Today's" denunciation of him?  And there are other signs, as well.
• The Republican Party is still a legitimate political party.   After so much evidence to the contrary (the behavior of Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee, Trump's multiple lies, the goose-stepping of Senate Republicans in blind obedience to OML), this whopper would be laughable if it weren't so tragic -- and dangerous.
• The packing of the courts with right-wing judges is not a story worth featuring.  This Big Lie pepetrated by the press keeps Americans from finding out how serious is the OML threat to our judicial system both now and for decades to come.

From 2016: One Hundred Twenty-two Republican Foreign Policy Experts Declare Opposition to OML's Candidacy

I am printing tonight a  letter from one hundred twenty-two Republican foreign policy experts who gave compelling reasons for their opposition to the candidacy of  D. Trump in March of 2016.  This document -- now nearly four years old -- details the reasons why this particular individual was unsuited to the Presidency of the world's greatest democracy.

So much here rings true now.  From the vacillating statements to out-right lies, OML was accurately described before he was ever installed in the Oval Office.  And let us be clear -- he was installed;   Not by the people but by self-interested moguls intent on getting their way.

I am presenting the following at this perilous time for our country and our democracy in order that you the reader may be reminded specifically why this person -- whom we call OML here -- is so dangerous.


via the foreign policy web site War on the Rocks -- 


We the undersigned, members of the Republican national security community, represent a broad spectrum of opinion on America’s role in the world and what is necessary to keep us safe and prosperous. We have disagreed with one another on many issues, including the Iraq war and intervention in Syria. But we are united in our opposition to a Donald Trump presidency. Recognizing as we do, the conditions in American politics that have contributed to his popularity, we nonetheless are obligated to state our core objections clearly:

His vision of American influence and power in the world is wildly inconsistent and unmoored in principle. He swings from isolationism to military adventurism within the space of one sentence.

His advocacy for aggressively waging trade wars is a recipe for economic disaster in a globally connected world.

His embrace of the expansive use of torture is inexcusable.

His hateful, anti-Muslim rhetoric undercuts the seriousness of combating Islamic radicalism by alienating partners in the Islamic world making significant contributions to the effort. 

Furthermore, it endangers the safety and Constitutionally guaranteed freedoms of American Muslims.

Controlling our border and preventing illegal immigration is a serious issue, but his insistence that Mexico will fund a wall on the southern border inflames unhelpful passions, and rests on an utter misreading of, and contempt for, our southern neighbor.

Similarly, his insistence that close allies such as Japan must pay vast sums for protection is the sentiment of a racketeer, not the leader of the alliances that have served us so well since World War II.

His admiration for foreign dictators such as Vladimir Putin is unacceptable for the leader of the world’s greatest democracy.

He is fundamentally dishonest. Evidence of this includes his attempts to deny positions he has unquestionably taken in the past, including on the 2003 Iraq war and the 2011 Libyan conflict.

We accept that views evolve over time, but this is simply misrepresentation.

His equation of business acumen with foreign policy experience is false. Not all lethal conflicts can be resolved as a real estate deal might, and there is no recourse to bankruptcy court in international affairs.

Mr. Trump’s own statements lead us to conclude that as president, he would use the authority of his office to act in ways that make America less safe, and which would diminish our standing in the world.*   Furthermore, his expansive view of how presidential power should be wielded against his detractors poses a distinct threat to civil liberty in the United States. Therefore, as committed and loyal Republicans, we are unable to support a Party ticket with Mr. Trump at its head. We commit ourselves to working energetically to prevent the election of someone so utterly unfitted to the office.

Ken Adelman
David Adesnik
Michael Auslin
Mike Baker
Christopher Barton
Kevin W. Billings
Robert D. Blackwill
Daniel A. Blumenthal
Max Boot
Ellen Bork
Anna Borshchevskaya
Joseph A. Bosco
Michael Chertoff
Patrick Chovanec
James Clad
Eliot A. Cohen
Gus Coldebella
Carrie Cordero
Michael Coulter
Chester A. Crocker
Patrick M. Cronin
Seth Cropsey
Tom Donnelly
Daniel Drezner
Colin Dueck
Eric Edelman
Joseph Esposito
Charles Fairbanks
Richard A. Falkenrath
Peter D. Feaver
Niall Ferguson
Jamie Fly
Richard Fontaine
Aaron Friedberg
Dan Gabriel
Greg Garcia
Jana Chapman Gates
Jeffrey Gedmin
Reuel Marc Gerecht
James K. Glassman
David Gordon
Christopher J. Griffin
Mary R. Habeck
Paul Haenle
Melinda Haring
Robert Hastings
Rebeccah Heinrichs
Francis Q. Hoang
Rachel Hoff
Jeffrey W. Hornung
William C. Inboden
Jamil N. Jaffer
Ash Jain
Marc C. Johnson
Myriah Jordan
Robert G. Joseph
Tim Kane
Kate Kidder
Robert Kagan
Rep. Jim Kolbe
David Kramer
Stephen Krasner

Matthew Kroenig
Frank Lavin
Philip I. Levy
Philip Lohaus
Mary Beth Long
Peter Mansoor
John Maurer
Matthew McCabe
Bryan McGrath
Richard G. Miles
Paul D. Miller
Charles Morrison
Michael B. Mukasey
Scott W. Muller
Lester Munson
Andrew S. Natsios
Michael Noonan
Tom Nichols
John  Noonan
Roger F. Noriega
Stephen E. Ockenden
John Osborn
Robert T. Osterhaler
Mackubin T. Owens
Daniel Pipes
Everett Pyatt
Martha T. Rainville
Stephen Rodriguez
Marc A. Ross
Nicholas Rostow
Michael Rubin
Daniel F. Runde
Benjamin Runkle
Richard L. Russell
Andrew Sagor
Kori Schake
Randy Scheunemann
Gary J. Schmitt
Gabriel Schoenfeld
Russell Seitz
Kalev I. Sepp
Vance Serchuk
David R. Shedd
Gary Shiffman
Kristen Silverberg
Michael Singh
Ray Takeyh
Jeremy Teigen
William H. Tobey
Frances F. Townsend
Jan Van Tol
Daniel Vajdich
Ruth Wedgwood
Albert Wolf
Julie Wood
Dov S. Zakheim
Roger Zakheim
Sam Zega
Philip Zelikow
Robert B. Zoellick
Laurence Zuriff

Number of Signatories: 122

The statement above was coordinated by Dr. Eliot A. Cohen, former Counselor of the Department of State (2007–8), and Bryan McGrath, Managing Director of The FerryBridge Group, a defense consultancy. They encourage other members of the Republican foreign policy and national security communities wishing to sign the declaration to contact them.

*  Italics added

Monitoring Iranian Situation

Today, I am monitoring the Iranian situation in its various aspects.  Naturally, like most Americans I am very concerned about events. 

At the same time, I do not want to lose the focus on an errant U.S. president, who still stands impeached on two counts. 

I will have more to say later.


-- TMP

New York Doctor: States Should Not Legalize Marijuana Until There is Much More Data

Revisiting Pot --

This New York doctor is on record as saying there needs to be much more research on the effects of marijuana before states legalize.  This would include direct medical effects as well as psychological and social effects.  To do anything less would be a disservice to the public committed by policy-makers.

Article Includes Video:
New York Doctor Says States Should Not Legalize Marijuana Until There is Much More Evidence


N.B.   The Musical Patriot meantime believes in the general idea of lessening harsh sentences for simple possession.    

The Strange and Frightening World of "Trump Evangelicals"

 Rush Post --


Newsweek published an article on line a couple of years ago alleging that certain evangelicals are eager for the end of the world.  They also eagerly support OML.  

Please note that the interpretation of Israel, the time of tribulation, and the end times,-- as described here -- are not official church dogma in the larger church. 

Our president and the "end-timers"

Past Featured Photo

President Barack Obama (2009-2017)