Iraqi parliament has voted to order US troops out of Iraq.  Trump has single handedly, and stupidly escalated violence in the Middle East.  More later.

Last Spring, Senator Tom Udall introduced an amendment to the defense appropriation bill that would have prevented Trump from taking any military action against Iran or its leaders without congressional approval.  McConnell poo-pood it and all but 4 Repubs voted against it.  McConnell even said that Trump had assured him he had no intention of taking action against Iran.

How wrong he was, and now Trump is taking us UNILATERALLY into a war with no congressional oversight.  Huge mistake.

In a pre-dawn raid, the US just conducted a missile strike at the airport in Baghdad that killed General Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds force and the head of the Iraqi militia, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.  Internatonal crude prices are up sharply in the last hour on rumors of war with Iran.

Strap in.  Trump’s trying to start a war with Iran to distract from his problems at home.

The NY Times published an explosive report yesterday tying the facts in the Ukrainian scandal together through thousands of pages of testimony and documents and from interviews with dozens of former and current administration officials.  In short, the story tells us that knowledge and assistance of Trump’s effort to extort Ukraine to announce a sham investigation of the Biden’s was much broader and deeper than anyone to this point has been willing to admit.  Also, it shows that alarm of career staffers to Trump’s and Rudy’s plan was high and ongoing.  This report really should be Trump’s Oh Shit moment.

As evidence piles up confirming everything and more that the whistleblower reported it’s becoming more and more important that the media keep Trump’s and his enablers’ feet to the fire, especially Mitch McConnell.  As Greg Sargent said in the Washington Post this morning, it is critical that the media stop equivocating and saying that this is just another political standoff and call what the Republicans are doing what it really is…obstruction and a cover up of corruption and criminal activity by Trump.

And that’s not the only thing they should be reporting; they should be reporting and amplifying EVERY crime Trump commits and every time he violates his oath of office.  And I don’t mean adding to the list of thousand of lies he’s told, but reporting them on the front page in a continuous stream.  Like the speech Bolton gave last month at a Morgan Stanley client conference where he admitted that Trump made national security decisions simply to benefit himself, especially in Turkey where he walked away from the Kurds to protect his hotels in Istanbul from Erdogan’s retaliation.  That’s goddam blackmail, and Trump is vulnerable to that from every country where he has properties and where he’s beholding, like Russia.

Sargent goes on to say that Trump is blocking the very people who were active in, and had direct knowledge of, the very wrongdoing for which he is being impeached and the risk for blowback when hard evidence comes out later (and it will).  So, if McConnell succeeds in holding a sham trial, calling no witnesses, and acquitting Trump, the stink will be on him and every other enabler who aided in the coverup.  The courts and federal agencies will eventually force the evidence out; that is a certainty, and could lead to a second impeachment if Trump wins the 2020 election when hopefully the House and Senate would be in Democratic hands.

I’ll be popping popcorn for that.

Another great read, this time by David Frum about Trump’s lawbreaking to retaliate against the person identified as reporting his past lawbreaking.  Must read.

Gallup has a new poll out about Americans’ top concerns, showing that for three years, the top concern was the government.  I can understand that, especially since Trump took the WH to help Republicans who have been working for years to gridlock everything and keep it from working to the benefit of all Americans.  But there is more in the data that clearly shows that who is in the WH significantly affects the concerns of the population.  Here’s the summary chart:

Look closely at the top two concerns each year and who happens to be president.  Before Trump, immigration made the top 4 issues only 3 times since 2001.  In the last two years, it’s been number two. Since Trump (with an assist from the GOP and Fox Noise) started vilifying immigrants, the issue has rocketed to the top of America’s issues.  Also look at the top issues by president.  Under GWB, it was Iraq, and later the economy.  Under Obama, it was the economy, even WAY after the economy gained strength and continued expansion.  In the last couple of years, as McConnell continually sabotaged the ACA and blocked all of Obama’s initiatives, government rose to the top of the list.  Under Trump, it’s government, for obvious reasons, as he works 24/7 to debase long respected agencies and urinates all over our 250 year history and traditions.  Also look across the top four concerns in the years under Trump.  Race is number 3 in all 3 of his years.  Now look down the rest of the list.  Race only appears ONCE, when Trump was running his blatantly racist campaign.  He has clearly opened a Pandora’s box in the American psyche that we had tried to keep closed for decades.

I find it fascinating to look at the list recalling the events during those years, and who happened to be president.  What becomes clear is that the messaging from the occupant of the WH and his allies greatly affects sentiment throughout our society.  When you have an immoral and shameless president, the worst of our country rises right back to the top.