Alan A. Alop

I have coined a new word:

YES-MANIA:  Extreme and exaggerated obsequious behavior toward an important person, designed to gain advantage. Example:  "The fawning yes-mania of Rep. Jim Jordan regarding Donald Trump is nauseating."

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

"And there's a poem I heard many many years ago that I say sometimes 20 times a day, and it's a very simple poem, but it's one that I live by.

   'I only have a minute.

   Sixty seconds in it.

   Forced upon me,

   I did not choose it.

   But I know that I must use it,

   give account if I abuse it,

   suffer if I lose it.

   Only a tiny little minute.

   But eternity is in it.' "

Maryland Congressman Elijah Cummings delivered this poem about the fleeting yet significant nature of life as part of his first congressional floor speech April 25, 1996.

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

Retired four-star General James Mattis, "the world's most overrated general," "the Meryl Streep of generals" (both Streep and Mattis have been cited as "overrated" by Trump), said he "earned (his) spurs on the battlefield, (Trump) earned his spurs in a letter from a doctor" (a reference to Trump's deferment from the draft during Vietnam for bone spurs).

Mattis' levity has not drowned out his silence in retirement.  He is being reminded that "our Republic depends on people like (him) speaking clearly, quickly, forcefully about what they know."

Americans who have recently traveled abroad know they're quizzed by people who are baffled by what's happening in the U.S.  

The closer people get to being impacted by Trump the more their confusion turns to alarm.

Stewart Myrent

Just returned another new release, "Impeachment: An American History".  The lead author is Jeffrey A. Engel, writing "On the Constitution" and "Donald Trump", with Jon Meacham, looking at Andrew Johnson, Timothy Naftali on Richard Nixon, & Peter Baker on Bill Clinton.  A few excerpts: in the "Introduction", talking about Nixon's complicity in Watergate: "Upon reviewing the charges, one London newspaper quipped that in the time since George Washington first took the presidential oath in 1789 the office had progressed from a man who could not tell a lie, to one who could not tell the truth."  Hmmm!  In "The Constitution", by Jeffrey A. Engel, talking about including an impeachment clause in the Constitution, "Yet not every nefarious character could be grudgingly endured, and as Virginia's George Mason, one of the Constitution's framers, explained in later debate: 'No point is of more importance than the right of impeachment shall be continued', even and especially for someone given as much power as the new president. 'Shall any man be above justice?', he asked"  "A president who posed any of these threats, Massachusetts's Elbridge Gerry agreed, employing his office for personal profit or conspiring with foreign foes, should - indeed must - be removed."  Further, "As legal historian, Cass Sunstein has noted, North Carolina's Hugh Williamson, a key contributor to the convention's debates on impeachment, no doubt drew his understanding of the political nature of impeachable offenses from his state's constitution, which dubbed them 'offenses against the public interest which need not be indictable under the criminal law.'  And, " 'High crimes and misdemeanors' were, another early Supreme Court justice argued, 'offences which are committed by public men in violation of their public trust and duties', and represent 'injuries to the society in its political character.' "  To sum up what I got from this book, the impeachments of Andrew Johnson & Bill Clinton, were basically political hit jobs, the impeachment of Richard Nixon, not so much.  As for Trump, he hasn't been impeached YET, but it seems to me that his behavior is way more similar to Nixon's, than to either Johnson or Clinton.

Donald Henry Kuehn

Steve,

Sounds good to me. Three courses and a place to work on my game. But, are the faucets gold plated?

DK

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

Steve, you couped the president's "at cost" invitation to Trump National Doral with yours to Wonkatown; in a rare backtrack, blaming "both media & Democrat crazed and irrational hostility,"  Trump begrudgingly reversed course: said the search for an alternative venue for the G-7 will begin immediately, including the possibility of Camp David.

Truth is, though two Republican Senators from the Dakotas openly admired Trump's chutzpah, there are some Republicans who expressed concern that such self-dealing is prohibited by the U.S. Constitution's emoluments clause.

"We have news for you, Mulvaney.  Get over it."

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

"It wasn't always this way. We've been terribly careless with our democracy."

"Can anyone win - much less govern - by pledging only to do the possible?"

("Governing is easier said than done." Pete Buttigieg)

"Trump doesn't care whether he has a functioning democracy, neither does McConnell."

"If we actually want to do the things we need to do - to fix the health care system, or deal with climate and all the other issues we've neglected, we have to have a durable coalition...

There's been a complete breakdown in our exercise in self-governance... which has created a vacuum into which the anti-government impulses of the country have flown..."  

-- Michael Bennet  

"On any given day, the Trump campaign is plastering ads all over Facebook, YouTube, and the millions of sites served by Google, hitting the kind of themes that favor outrage, where political campaigns are free to disregard facts."  

-- Matthew Rosenberg and Kevin Roose   The New York Times

Stewart Myrent

I have taken notice that ALL of Trump's political appointees have suffered a depreciation in any reading of their reputations, or public views.  Of particular note, I will exempt Gen. John Kelly, Sean Spicer, Sarah Sanders, Rex Tillerson, Rudy Giuliani, etc., who have ALL had major damage to their reputations, by their associations with Trump, & focus on two current administration individuals, whose reputations have suffered, after agreeing to join the Trump administration, namely Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, & current chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney.  In the case of Pompeo, he was first in his class at West Point.  Pretty impressive.  In the case of Mulvaney, he attended Georgetown University, as an undergraduate, & then went to UNC to get his law degree, but I believe was also in the military.  I don't understand how this happens, educated people accepting the president's abnormal & illegal behavior.  I also am well-educated (w/o any law degree).  Perhaps, it's as simple as any military background causing one to be sympathetic to the chain of command.  What I don't understand, is how these people (who came into the administration w/fairly stellar reputations) could agree to do the president's bidding, relative to illegal & unconstitutional behavior.  Do they think that they will leave the administration w/o any stain or damage to their long-established reputations?  I don't think so, as NO ONE (with the possible exception of Tillerson) has left the administration w/their reputations intact.  My feeling is that every person who has decided to throw in their lot w/Trump, will leave government w/their reputations in tatters.  It seems to me that to send your reputation to the dumpster, in service to an individual who does nor respect the Constitution, or relatively ANY laws of our country, is pretty much all you deserve.  Once again, I will say, I can't wait for the 2020 election, & hope that our country, & things in general, will return to normal.   

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

Intellect is part of who we are... I remember when my younger daughter was graduating from high school... her high school counselor said if he had a daughter who was not as accomplished as Alyson, but demonstrated the same personal qualities, he would be as proud as we must be.  Alyson was an outstanding student, not an outstanding athlete.  She ran cross country and track and worked to break her personal record.  In her senior year, the cross country coach told incoming freshmen, if they wanted to succeed, they should run with Alyson.  Some of the natural athletes in the audience snickered.  What Alyson did every day was run her best.  She was a loyal team member.  She possessed the humility to work at something in which she did not excell.  She may not have been winning gold medals, but she consistently broke her personal record.  When she was a med student doing her OB rotation, her attending physician said it was the first time the hospital had to page the medical student because a mom said she couldn't deliver her baby without Alyson in the delivery room.

We all know people who possess the "it" factor.  Donald Trump has the "it" factor.  He brags that people are mesmerized when he is not presidential and boring.  Some politicians possess the "it" factor, many do not.  Many would like to see themselves in the Oval Office and figure working with Trump is as close as they'll get.

Woe unto us who think if only I had the "it" factor and decide to sidle up to Donald Trump... "Everything Trump Touches Dies" by Rick Wilson.

We need to challenge everyone who seeks power.  Washington, D.C. is not the place to go to build character.

As to the chain of command: people who have served in the military know how to say, "Yes" to the Commander-in-Chief, but they also know they're not to follow illegal orders.  Nevertheless, it's probably easier for people who have not served in the military to speak truth to power.

P.S. Alyson was senior class president and was awarded the Scholar Athlete Award as a graduating senior.  This past June, Alyson and her three older children ran and completed 26.2 mile marathon along Lake Superior in Duluth, MN.  They each ran their own race.  Hans (13) was the youngest (by 2 years) to complete the marathon; Anders and Anika were the fastest 15 year olds to complete the marathon (they were in separate divisions / determined by age and gender); Alyson, a week shy of her 48th birthday, completed the marathon in the top half of her division.

Stewart Myrent

An addendum to my previous post: I know there is a recent book out there by Rick Wilson, a Republican strategist, titled "Everything that Trump Touches Dies..."  I have not read this book, as it seemed too partisan (even for me).  However, I have been thinking about what it takes for someone with a long & well-earned reputation for following the laws & the Constitution of this country, to toss that all aside, in defense of someone who cares little for the laws & Constitution.  And then it struck me.  I have been saying for a long time, that anytime an individual or company does anything that just doesn't make any sense, or seems totally illogical: follow the money.  These people have to know going into this administration, that they're going to be asked to do or say things, in defense of the president, that they know are either illegal, or unconstitutional, or both.  So, why would ANYONE do that?  I'm thinking that it's because there's BIG money for doing so.  I have no idea what type of financial remuneration is available to these people, although, I have seen reports stating that Rudy Giuliani was making huge sums of $ in Ukraine - with his recently arrested & indicted 2 buddies from Ukraine.  This guy is a former chief prosecutor in the D.A.'s office in NY, so, it should be obvious that he knows about the laws in the U.S.  He used to prosecute "mob bosses" & he knows how they operate.  The only thing that could be different, in this case, is that Rudy could make huge sums of $, which he certainly didn't make when he was a D.A., or America's mayor.  Is it 2020 yet?

Paul Richard Hain

 Good one, Steve. 

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

"Truth, details, and facts are Trump's greatest enemies."  -- Frank Figliuzzi

Ambassador Bill Taylor testified in a closed door deposition.

To echo Stewart's question:

"What does it take for someone with a long and well-earned reputation for following the laws and Constitution of this country to toss that all aside in defense of someone who cares little for the laws and Constitution?"

The searing tragedy is it's no nevermind to Trump when he betrays our country's allies and watches people suffer and die...

in self-defense, he tosses out a shiny object to distract.

For Trump: it's all about money.

So far, Lindsey Graham seems content to be in the spotlight, forget honor and integrity.

Rudy Giuliani has his own story.

Day 1006 of the Trump administration - a consequential day indeed!

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

Stewart, Chuck Rosenstein suggests "some people, plain and simple, are cowards, and that's what Mike Pompeo may be."

"Impeachment is politics conducted at a constitutional level, and it is only at that level that it can succeed.  If the GOP caucus cracks, it will crack wide open on impeachment.  Senators like Chuck Grassley, Mike Lee, and Rand Paul are conservative Republicans who have stood by Trump, but who have demonstrated they care about small-r republican government.  They are the ones who will signal that the dam has broken if it does break on impeachment.

"To get there, they'll need to believe that voting to acquit means accepting that the president treated American foreign policy as his personal instrument, the way a monarch may.  I don't believe they will affirm that.  So that is the case that needs to be pressed, with complete clarity."  
--Noah Millman

Marvin Irving Blusteln

Gutless sheep.

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

Bravo! bipartisan support to solve a crippling problem in America -

Will Republican support for widespread student loan forgiveness similar to plans announced by Democratic presidential candidates move us forward to a bipartisan solution?

Wayne Johnson, appointed in 2017 by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos as the chief operating officer of Federal Student Aid (FSA), resigned and endorsed student loan forgiveness similar to the student loan forgiveness plans announced by Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.  Johnson says the current student loan system is fundamentally broken and is hurting borrowers and our economy.

Johnson, resigning as the Department of Education's Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer, told the Wall Street Journal he reached his conclusion after watching climbing defaults and discovering the difficulties borrowers are facing with their student loans. He said, "The time has come for us to end and stop the insanity. ...the debt burden rides on (borrowers') credit files - it rides on their backs - for decades."

The New York Fed said (borrowers) applying for Public Service Loan Forgiveness are seeing 99% rejection rates.

Johnson proposes forgiving federal student loan debt up to $50,000 on an individual basis and for graduates who've already repaid their debt, he suggests tax credits provided up to $50,000 for debt already paid. 

Trump and DeVos are both opposed to proposals on student loan cancellation.  Let's hope Republicans and Democrats alike hear Americas's young and bipartisan voices calling for a solution to a widespread economic crisis.

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

Betsy DeVos refused to comply with a court mandate to cease collection of loans from students who were defrauded by now-defunct Corinthian College. 

The Federal Judge wrote in a court order that not only did "DeVos and her department harm individual borrowers by violating the injunction to stop collection, DeVos notified borrowers of a revised payment schedule based on a new methodology she implemented to calculate a borrower's eligibility for partial loan forgiveness." 

The Federal Judge threatened to "impose additional sanctions" if DeVos and the Education Department "fail to comply" with the order.

Toby Merrill, Harvard lawyer and director of the Project on Predatory Student Lending, brought a class action suit on behalf of 80,000 affected students; following the judge's finding, she made the following statement:

"Taking this rare and powerful action to hold the Secretary of Education in contempt of court shows the extreme harm Betsy DeVos' actions have caused students defrauded by for-profit colleges.

"Secretary DeVos has repeatedly and brazenly violated the law to collect for-profit college students' debts and deny their rights, and today she has been held accountable.

"Thousands of students illegally had their tax refunds seized and wages garnished, and the department still can't identify all of the affected students nor refunded the money.

"The judge is sending a loud and clear message: students have rights under the law and DeVos' illegal and reckless violation of their rights will not be tolerated."

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

Keep the wheels moving:

it's for Congress to check presidential abuse of power
 

Stewart Myrent

Janis, relative to your quote from Chuck Rosenstein, "some people, plain and simple, are cowards, and that's what Mike Pompeo may be."  He may be a coward, or he may not be.  I mentioned in a previous post that Pompeo graduated 1st in his class at West Point.  I did not mention that he served as an infantry officer from 1986 to 1991, before graduating from Harvard Law School in 1994, then serving 3 terms in the House of Representatives from Kansas, before being named CIA director in 2017 & then being named Secretary of State, after Tillerson's dismissal.  So, this guy is no dummy, and also I don't think a coward.  However, what is causing him to lower his standards for a feeble (& criminal) CIC?  Follow the money.  I suspect, rather than being a coward, he is being craven, just like Trump's personal attorney.    I also liked the quote from Noah Millman.  I also saw a story on Wayne Johnson's resignation from the Dept. of Education & his proposals for forgiving student loan debt.  I also saw that student loan debt is the #1 cause of indebtedness in this country - even more than credit card debt (only #2).  I forgot how many TRILLIONS student debt is. 

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

Listening to Barack Obama eulogize Elijah Cummings...

Barack Obama (as was Elijah Cummings) an honorable man who treats others honorably.

"What did (we) do? We can do better." - Elijah Cummings

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

         FIFTY  SENATE  REPUBLICANS    

    HEAR  NO  EVIL           SPEAK  NO  EVIL

                    SEE  NO  EVIL

Stewart Myrent

Janis, thank you for the picture of the three monkeys: re: hear no evil. see no evil, & speak no evil.  To the casual observer, one may think that they're just 3 dumb monkeys.  However, after reading "Mama's Last Hug", about the matriarch of a chimpanzee colony, I feel I am more closely attuned to understanding these primates.  And I have to say, that if you think they're just dumb monkeys, I would like to point out that those monkeys know EXACTLY what they're doing, & it's no coincidence that they are posed in this classic photo as they are.  If you recall, the point of "Mama's Last Hug" is that not only primates, but all mammals, share feelings, intelligence, & creativity with humans.  Thanks for the photo.  

Alan A. Alop

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

Donald Trump is never more dangerous than when he's cornered.  

"Impeachment is not a coup, it's a Constitutional process."  -- Ezra Klein

Stewart Myrent

Just saw this past weekend that Walter Schaub, former director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, is beside himself, after seeing & experiencing how the Trump administration is bad-mouthing & moaning about the House's impeachment inquiry, & calling it an illegal process.  He can't believe what's happening.  (He's not alone.)  He basically stated in a series of tweets (ironic?) that he is despondent about how the Trumpers (& their Republican Congresspeople/allies) are reacting to & referencing the impeachment process as illegal & illegitimate.  He's not the only one.  Yikes!  Where are the Walter Schaubs, when we really could use the people who respect the laws of the U.S. & the Constitution? 

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

The "leaker" in Washington, D.C. is Trump. 

So much for classified information.  Intelligence officials worry about what they can include in briefings to Trump; they are cringing as Trump continues to spill sensitive details, increasing the risk of covert operations. The ISIS leaders were killed despite Trump, exacerbated by his abrupt withdrawal of troops from Syria which complicated plans for the al-Baghdadi raid.

Today Trump was in Chicago.  In an address to the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference, he attacked the media, Chicago's sanctuary city status, and Chicago crime, casting blame on Chicago's police superintendent and former Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

"Chicago is a complicated metropolis that Trump tries to reduce to a caricature."  For Chicagoans, the feelings are mutual.  On his first visit to the city since being elected, they threw a great protest rally.