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Is this a Quid Pro Quo I see?

Thursday, October 31, 2019

It’s not illegal I guess, because it’s a Republican doing it, but I’d be willing to bet that the sainted Founding Fathers would consider it an impeachable offense:

Donald Trump is showering potential jurors with campaign cash ahead of a possible Senate impeachment trial.

As Politico reported on Wednesday, Trump is “rewarding senators who have his back on impeachment” by sending out a fundraising email to benefit “a handful of loyal senators facing tough reelection bids in 2020.” The email raised money for Sens. Joni Ernst (R-IA), Cory Gardner (R-CO), and Thom Tillis (R-NC).

All three senators joined a senate resolution led by Sen. Lindsey Graham condemning the House impeachment inquiry.

Poor Susan Collins can’t get on the gravy train because the people of Maine really hate them some Donald Trump, and his help would be the kiss of death for her, which it may be for some of the others, if the Democrats play their cards right. (But do the Democrats ever play their cards right?)

But Susan need not worry about money, for the right is funneling plenty of money into her campaign, though I wonder how much good it will do. Maine is a small state, and there’s only so many commercials you can buy and I’m not sure a smear campaign against Sara Gideon will work that well, and once Gideon gets the nomination she will get all that Kavanaugh related cash. Here’s hoping that Susan will soon have something more to be “disappointed” about.

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An Unsung World Series Hero

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

On Sunday, at the World Series, a host of patriots greeted the the very stable genius with a chorus of boos, followed by a well deserved “Lock Him Up!” chant. For one of the very first time in his “presidency” the monster had to come face to face with a reality he has previously avoided by sticking with selected crowds of the brain dead. Maybe he thought he’d be greeted as a hero since the military was able to off al-Baghdadi despite his best efforts to screw it up.

There’s something about that chant that has not gotten any attention as far as I know. Now, of course the booing was a natural reaction, something which everyone could have expected. But the “lock him up”? That’s a bit different. Absolutely on point, but certainly not spontaneous. Somewhere in that crowd. I suspect, was a real genius, who started the chant which became…well, a wave. That person was responsible for something that let the whole world know that we think as little of our “president” as do any right thinking people on this speck of dust.

We shall probably never know the identity of this true patriot, but he (or she) deserves the Medal of Freedom. To paraphrase (with politically correct insertions) a song that probably no one but us geezers remember:

Who put the lock him up in the World Series chant?
Oh who was that man (or woman)?
I’d like to shake his (or her) hand!
He (or she) made the genius have a lousy day.

Oh, by the way f**k you, Joe and Mika. There is no need to explain why the crowd was absolutely right to do what it did. If you’re too stupid to figure that out, you’re too stupid to read this blog, and that makes you pretty stupid.

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It’s Okay if You’re a Republican-Local Edition

Thursday, October 24, 2019

I had gotten wind of this a few days ago, but didn’t write anything about it, as unlike some Republicans I could name, I like to get some verification before making factual assertions. This was in this morning’s Day, our local paper of record:

A complaint has been filed with the State Elections Enforcement Commission alleging that a Groton Town Council candidate with a Mystic address actually lives in Waterford.

Town Clerk Betsy Moukawsher said her office received an anonymous phone call last week from an individual alleging that Town Council candidate David Preka lives at 16 Susan Terrace in Waterford, not 61 W. Main St. in Mystic as listed on election forms. She said she forwarded the complaint to the State Elections Enforcement Commission in accordance with state statutes.

61 Main Street is office space in a bank building in which Preka conducts his business. No one “lives” there. There are two explanations for why someone would put their work address down when they registered to vote:

  1. They were lying.
  2. They were an idiot.

There is also the possibility that both 1 and 2 apply.

Apparently the man owns a lot of property, so it is remotely possible that he actually does reside somewhere in Groton, but the fact is that one is supposed to register at one’s residence address. One does not have the option of voting in the town in which one works. It also seems highly suspicious (the Day does not mention this) that the 2019 filing for his corporation that does business at the Mystic address lists his residence address as 16 Susan Terrace.. Some might say that’s pretty strong evidence, but I’m a retired lawyer now, so what would I know?

To step back a bit. It was not that long ago that there were reasonable people in the Groton Republican Party, but my impression (not confirmed scientifically, but confirmed by some with knowledge) is that the whackjobs have slowly pushed the reasonable folks aside, and it is steadily becoming just like the national party, as their response to this incident demonstrates.

To digress a bit, isn’t it interesting that the party that accuses others of engaging in voter fraud seems to be the prime actual culprit when it comes to the real thing. This doesn’t approach the fraud in North Carolina, but it’s of a piece with the Republican attitude that the rules don’t apply to them.

The response from the Groton Republicans has been totally in line with the modus operandi of the national Republicans. Preka himself has this to say, which makes no sense:

“I’m sorry that my residency has become such an issue, I have been registered to vote in Groton for several years,” Preka said in an emailed statement. “I feel that this issue was a partisan attack, and I’m working to resolve it at this time.>

I checked his voting record on line, by the way, and he hasn’t cast a vote in a municipal election during the time he’s been registered at that address, but he has voted in federal election years. In any event, the fact that he has been registered at his business address for years does not, as he seems to imply, excuse the fact that he has been registered at his business address for years.

The response of the party chair is classic Republican entitlement, i.e., how dare you expose our corruption and we are the real victims here:

RTC Chairman Ken Richards said in an emailed statement on Wednesday: “We are deeply troubled that the Democratic Town Clerk would pursue such a glaringly political objective to undermine an endorsed candidate of an opposing party on Town of Groton time and using Town of Groton resources. For this reason, the Republican Town Committee has filed two Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with the Town Clerk to determine whether the impetus for this action taken on town time was politically motivated.” Richards is running for Groton Town Council but said he was speaking in his capacity as RTC chairman.

“This unfortunate episode underscores the concerns of many residents about the hyper-partisan nature of the current all-Democratic council,” he added. “Once again the Town Clerk and the council have put their party and politics before results for the people of Groton.”

Betsy was doing her job, but hey, if the Republican President of the United States can shoot someone without consequences, not to mention extort favorable action from a foreign country, it’s a no-brainer that a local Republican politician can submit a phony voter registration form and run for office in a town in which he might not reside. Of course, as Scalia told us years ago, this is not a precedent for future cases that may involve Democrats.

Unfortunately for both Preka and Richards, the law in Connecticut still applies equally to Republicans and Democrats alike. That may not be the case forever, if Republicans have anything to say about it, but it is now.

UPDATE: The link to the Secretary of State’s website doesn’t go directly to the page with the information on Advanced Group, Preka’s company, even though I copied the link at the page. If you fill in “Advanced Group” on the form you reach at the link, you can find your way to the correct page. Sorry about that.

Filed in Hypocrisy, Local issues | | Comments (2)

Looking backward

Saturday, October 19, 2019

I have mentioned in the past that I am keeping a journal on my Ipad. As a work of literature it ranks below anything I can think of, with the possible exception of Trump’s recent letter to Erdogan. But I try, every day, to put something up about developments related to the stable genius, and it occurred to me recently that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to make it a (infrequent) recurring feature of this blog to write about some of this stuff, just as a reminder of just how abnormal this person is, despite the massive efforts of the media and the Republican Party to normalize him.

So, my entry from two years ago actually relates some interesting and edifying information. Even back than 59% of the American people were of the opinion that Trump would go down in history as amongthe worst presidents. I wrote a blog post complaining that the pollster failed to find out how many thought he would be the absolute worst, something about which there can no longer be any debate. That number perhaps explains the fact that impeachment is polling higher by the day. I also linked to a post I wrote back in December of 2016 in which I related some fake news: that the American Historical Society had voted him the worst president in history even before his inauguration. That’s one I’m proud of, since it reads like it could have been written yesterday.

Anyway, that poll should be updated, and this time the question should be asked directly. Is he the worst president of all time. My guess is that he’d get at least 40% yes, 37% no (the Trumper folks who inhabit middle American diners) and 23% undecided but leaning yes. 

Filed in History, The Very Stable Genius | | Comments (1)

Too bizarre to be true! We need an investigation!

Friday, October 18, 2019

There’s something happening here
What it is ain’t exactly clear

 

Today we learn this:

Juul Labs announced on Thursday that it would temporarily halt online sales of flavored e-cigarettes like mango, products the company had already stopped distributing to retail stores as public outrage mounted over the soaring rate of teenage vaping.

…

The company’s decision appeared to be an effort to get ahead of the Trump administration’s anticipated ban on flavored e-cigarettes, which is still expected to include mint and menthol despite lobbying by some trade groups opposed to barring menthol.

We have gotten used to the Trumpers doing the wrong thing. They specialize in it. Nothing warms the cockles of their hearts more than endangering the public health, harming the environment, afflicting the afflicted, comforting the comfortable, etc., etc., etc. Sometimes they do these things even when they can’t figure out a way to personally profit from the evil they do, but that’s a course of last resort. Evil is always better when it comes with the stench of corruption, but when evil is all you can do…

It is therefore more than highly suspicious when they do the right thing. Such an act is far more unprecedented than their corruption, for after all, we have had corruption in previous administrations, and we’ve endured three years of world class corruption under the genius. Banning flavored e-cigarettes is the right thing to do. The Trump administration is doing the right thing! There is no precedent for that. What can explain it? There must be some corruption hiding beneath the surface so massive that the Trumpers, who are usually totally brazen about their corruption, actually feel the need to hide it!

Somebody better investigate soon!

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The Death of Irony

Thursday, October 17, 2019

A long, long time ago..I can still remember..I embarrassed myself on this blog by misquoting Shakespeare, for I asserted that someone was hung by his own petard, when he should have been hoist by his own petard, whatever a petard happens to be. Today I risk misusing a word again, for is irony the right word in this context? Anyway, I’m going with this title.

Today we learn this about the guy who claims (without evidence, of course) that Joe Biden was corruptly trying to help his son when he demanded that the Ukraine get rid of a corrupt prosecutor:

President Trump has awarded the 2020 Group of Seven summit of world leaders to his private company, scheduling the summit for June at his Trump Doral golf resort outside Miami, the White House announced Thursday.

That decision is without precedent in modern American history: The president used his public office to direct a massive contract to himself. The G-7 summit draws hundreds of diplomats, journalists and security personnel and provides a worldwide spotlight.

…

Eric Trump, the president’s son and the day-to-day leader of Trump’s businesses, did not immediately respond to questions about how much the president’s company would charge the U.S. or foreign governments during the event. He also did not immediately respond to questions about whether the Trump Organization would ask taxpayers to pay for upgrades to the site. One obvious concern for next year: There will be at least eight world leaders coming to this event, but at present Doral has just two “presidential suites.”

That would be the Eric Trump who complained that there was a double standard at work and he could never get away with the level of corruption in which the Biden’s didn’t engage. The irony will be lost on a nation whose media has long since put these things aside as merely Trump being Trump. It will be forgotten by tomorrow. Come with me now to an imaginary world where Obama did such a thing, a year has passed, and it is still talked about.

Trump is steering foreign money his way. Here’s what the constitution has to say about that:

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.

According to the DC court of appeals, it’s up to Congress to put flesh on the bones of this clause. Thinking like a lawyer, I can imagine his defense might be that the money isn’t a present, since he’s forcing them to pay. Thinking like a judge, I wouldn’t buy it. Thinking like a Congressman, I’d add it to the bill of particulars in the impeachment. It is probably the most corrupt act ever committed by an American president, and that’s saying something, since Trump has been president for almost three years.

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I think I already know the answer to this question

Monday, October 14, 2019

The DSCC has put its finger on the scale in Democratic Senate races, though perhaps not so brazenly as the DCCC has in House races. Incumbent protection, particularly when the incumbent in question is a DINO, is the order of the day.

I have been wondering where Chuck Schumer’s finger has been in the current Senate primary in Massachusetts where Joe Kennedy has challenged progressive Edward Markey. I’ve seen no sign of incumbent protection in this race. Kennedy’s challenge lacks any political justification; there’s not much breathing room between their ideological positions, except that Kennedy apparently feels the seat belongs to his family. Could it be that it’s hands off when the incumbent is a real Democrat? As they used to say at Buzzflash: Just askin’.

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Reading tea leaves

Friday, October 11, 2019

Some good news today. Sort of. An appeals court voted 2 to 1 that Congress has the right to get Trump’s financial information. Is it a surprise that the 1 was appointed by a certain very stable genius? That single vote is probably the real news, though it will be overlooked for the most part.

Before Individual-1 started residing in the White House, we were already part way toward a judiciary ready and willing to interpret the law to benefit one political party over the other, more specifically to create a body of law that implicitly declared that there was one set of laws for Democrats and another for Republicans. We saw it recently when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of gerrymandering, which has overwhelmingly been used as a device to entrench Republican minorities as majorities in state legislatures and Congressional delegations.

We are going to see this more and more. Congressional power wielded by Republicans will be absolute; Democrats will be reduced to impotence. The same will hold for presidents. On the other hand, the judiciary will be impotent when it comes to restraining Republicans, but all powerful in the case of Democrats.

The case involving Trump’s tax returns is a no-brainer, as are the many cases that will be filed and litigated regarding Congress’s power to obtain evidence in an impeachment inquiry. It may be that Roberts will feel the need to throw Trump under the bus that is already on top of countless folks Trump threw there. I’d say the chance of the appeals court ruling being upheld is 50%, when it should be 100%. But looking forward, once the court does not have to deal with the antics of a man who continually confesses to his own criminality, it will be free to impose a bipartate system of laws. We can expect to see it in full flower should the Democrats take both houses and the presidency in 2020. Medicare for All, if passed, will be found unconstitutional, and questions will be left hanging about Medicare for Some and Social Security. Presidential directives and administrative regulations will be squashed. If the Republicans make a comeback in 2024, deference to the coequal branches will suddenly be back in fashion, brought to you by absurd distinctions even Antonin (“this case cannot be cited again”)Scalia would have trouble stomaching (though he would). We have gone through this before in our history (see the Supreme Court’s fight against progressivism in the first three decades of this century, not to mention the transfer of the protections of the Fourteenth Amendment from the freed slaves to corporations), though I tend to doubt that there has ever been the level of intellectual dishonesty we are going to see in the years ahead. That dissenting vote in the Trump tax case is just one of many harbingers of things to come.

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Don’t hold your breath

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

According to Vanity Fair, Mitt Romney is secretly plotting to lead the Republican pro-conviction forces in the Senate. (Fun fact: the Senate doesn’t impeach, it convicts):

According to people close to Romney, he’s firmly decided against primarying Trump, an enterprise he believes to be a sure loser given Trump’s enduring GOP support. Romney has also told people that, as an unsuccessful two-time presidential candidate, he’s the wrong person to take on Trump. Instead, a Romney adviser told me, Romney believes he has more potential power as a senator who will decide Trump’s fate in an impeachment trial. “He could have tremendous influence in the impeachment process as the lone voice of conscience in the Republican caucus,” the adviser said. “Romney is the one guy who could bring along Susan Collins, Cory Gardner, Ben Sasse. Romney is the pressure point in the impeachment process. That’s why the things he’s saying are freaking Republicans out.” (Romney, through a spokesperson, declined to comment.)

GOP elected officials and donors are privately war-gaming what an endgame for Trump would look like. “It’s clear the House is going to impeach,” the prominent Republican told me. Making matters worse for Trump, a policy wedge has opened up between Trump and the Republican Senate at a moment when he needs its support most. Trump’s surprise decision to pull back American troops in Syria and allow Turkey to take on our Kurdish allies has enraged Trump’s closest GOP allies, including Lindsey Graham. “The Syria decision is a much bigger deal,” another former West Wing official said. “No one on the inside can hold Trump accountable. The Senate Republicans are the only check on power right now.”

It is marginally possible that Romney will actually vote to convict, though I doubt it. He could easily politically survive such a vote, since Trump is not all that popular among the Mormons, since, giving them their due, they are a bit more put off by his lack of morals than their evangelical cousins. But Susan Collins, for example, is a sure vote against conviction, though I’m sure she will express her profound disappointment in the genius. Susan has painted herself into a corner. A vote for conviction would be seen by those Mainers ready to vote against her as the act of desperation it would be: a vain attempt to recover her never deserved reputation as a “moderate” voice of reason in the Republican caucus. It would likely recover very few votes for her from that sector of the electorate, for, after all, Kavanaugh is still on the court. It would, however, lose her plenty of votes from the brain dead, the base of support she must keep solidly in her corner. 

There’s a lot of talk these days about the possibility that by the time the trial is held, Republican Senators will feel a lot of political heat to vote for conviction. It would be nice if that were true, but I doubt it, though I hope I’m wrong. Every Senator, especially those up for reelection in 2020, will be facing the same dilemma as Collins. A vote for conviction sacrifices the base without gaining much on the other end.

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No chess player he

Friday, October 4, 2019

I believe I’ve noted in the past that the genius is no chess player, being totally incapable of thinking more than one move ahead. Nothing proves this more than his relentless attempts to destroy Joe Biden, who he obviously sees as his probable opponent in 2020, because that’s what he’s told by Fox News and/or the conventional wisdom. 

It has apparently never occurred to him that he would be far better off having Biden as an opponent than almost any of the other Democrats with a reasonable chance of getting the nomination. This would require thinking a move or so ahead.

At the very least he should have withheld fire until Biden got the nomination, if he ever does. In the meantime, he should be doing all he can, surreptitiously of course, to assure that Biden is the eventual nominee. At the moment he is diminishing Biden’s chance of being the nominee (or trying to) when it is in his interest (looking more than one move ahead) to enhance those chances.

For Joe is the Democratic equivalent of Jeb Bush, the Democrat most likely to be incapable of responding to the schoolyard bullying tactics Trump deployed against his Republican rivals in 2016. Joe has proven over and over that he is stuck in time, sometime in the 1970s, and is incapable of dealing with the political tactics that will be unleashed on him should he capture the nomination. The same cannot be said for Elizabeth Warren, the likely alternative, who has proven her ability to deftly counter attacks. (Example here)

If we’re lucky, Trump’s tactics will hurt himself (his poll numbers are sinking faster than the Titanic) and Biden, leaving us with a candidate who will not only know how to deal with Trump in the weakened state he will be in as a result of impeachment revelations, but who will also eschew Biden’s program of assuring the plutocrats that “nothing will fundamentally change”. If it’s one thing this country needs, it’s fundamental change. It’s not a sure thing, but it may be that Trump’s inability to think strategically may deliver the country into the hands of a progressive.

We can always hope.

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