This morning we’re experiencing an infestation of Trumpists who apparently don’t like our new MAGA hat design.  We’re fumigating the Salon right now.  The comments are the usual, with childish name calling, baseless boasting, and the occasional threat of violence because they disagree with us.  One of the recurring themes of these comments was “Trump isn’t impeached because Pelosi hasn’t sent the articles to the Senate”.  This talking point started in the last day or so, fueled by Harvard law professor Noah Feldman (yes, the same Noah Feldman who testified in favor of impeachment a couple of weeks ago) making the argument that Trump’s not impeached until the Senate gets the articles.  Almost every other legal scholar disagrees, including Jonathan Turley, the only legal expert to testify against impeaching Trump during the House investigation.  Even Feldman admitted that the issue is more “symbolic than practical”.  The Constitution says that the House has the “sole power to impeach”.  It doesn’t say anything about it having to go to the Senate to be an impeachment.  The Senate has the “sole power” to hold the trial.  I wouldn’t count on McConnell doing anything legal or Constitutional.  After all, he sat on Obama’s SCOTUS nominee for a year, never holding one single hearing or even meeting the nominee.

That doesn’t matter to Trumpists and the talking point has taken off in the echo chamber, as most RW bullshit does, proliferating on websites, and, of course, Fox Noise.  Like all other of their memes and silly arguments their false indignation has nothing to do with the law, Constitution, or even basic morals, but all about tribe.  Their spray painted, bad combed over cheesy reality television star is not a felon who pays bribes to porn stars and extorts foreign leaders for self gain, he’s “a real person”, “salt of the earth”, and even…wait for it…”sent by God.”  Statements that make normal people slack jawed are articles of faith for Teabaggers-cum-Trumpists.  It’s weird, but very consistent.

Anyhoo, back to fumigating.

Know-nothing conservatives have brought their ignorant, hateful, anti-science, anti-common sense, and racist rotten core to the center of American politics, culminating in the shocking election of the worst president in US history, Donald Trump in 2016.  To cling to power, they have sold out their fellow Americans and aided enemies like Russia and North Korea to do his bidding.  They’ve amplified Trump’s lies and horrible, hateful rhetoric, and Christians who support him oddly cite the religion they’ve betrayed to justify their corruption.

If anything good comes from this long national nightmare, it’s that good, patriot Americans who hold actual American values are stepping up.  2018 was a great example, with Dems retaking the House and hundreds of women taking leadership roles all over the country.  Normal people are saying that enough is enough, and today, another normal person, who is also a hero, has done the same.  Astronaut Mark Kelly has announced his run for the US Senate from Arizona.  This is a person of high integrity, honesty, and bravery who stepped into the breach after his wife, Gabby Giffords, had her political career cut short by senseless, easily preventable gun violence.  Here’s a guy we can get behind.

Keep a box of tissues handy.

Dear John,

I’m writing this open letter to you today because you’re the only mature adult in the US Senate representing my home state of Texas.  I’m not writing to Ted Cruz, our other senator, because he is exclusively a self serving, narcissistic shitbag whose only goal in life is to continuously run for president, because, well, he’s Ted Cruz, and he is all that matters – to Ted Cruz.

That out of the way, let’s get to the point – When are you going to get up off your fat partisan ass and do your goddam job?  Today, the President of the United States denied colluding with Vladimir Putin while colluding with Vladimir Putin on television in front of the entire world.  This spray painted, hair-weaved star of cheesy reality television actually took the side of Russia against every single US intelligence agency and even your own Senate intelligence report about their interference with our elections.  Our elections.  While lavishing praise upon this murderer, Trump actually called the United States foolish and took RUSSIA’S side, idiotically harping on his election victory over a year and a half ago, babbling incoherently about why the FBI didn’t get “the server”, and insulting everyone from Hillary Clinton to the Democratic Party to the Justice Department.  I was personally humiliated and actually fought off the urge to vomit as I endured, along with millions of other Americans, the spectacle of a US President making a complete ass of himself in front of the entire world while siding against the American people.

I’m over 60, so am old enough to have witnessed the catastrophes of the Viet Nam War that tore the country apart, Watergate that eventually destroyed the Nixon presidency, Iran Contra that damaged the Reagan presidency, the sex scandals that nearly took down the Clinton presidency, and the invasion of Iraq based on trumped up (no pun intended) evidence that crippled the Bush II presidency.  However, those disgraceful scandals pale in comparison to the slow motion train wreck of this administration.  Donald Trump governs the US government as if it’s a reality television show.  He actually spews silly nonsense on an hourly basis on Twitter insulting everyone from television personalities to allies to political foes.  He continuously repeats demonstrably false statements that damage our reputation among friend and foe alike.  His conduct has degraded our political discourse to the point where his followers feel it’s open season on everyone not like them.

And the real tragedy?  The invertebrates in Congress, including YOU, have enabled this shameful chapter of our history.  Up until today, you and others have dismissed his shameful behavior, apparently afraid to attract his Twitter wrath or the anger of your mouth-breathing base which keeps returning you to Do Nothingville, DC to actually do nothing.  Enough is enough.  Trump has gone from embarrassing, to dangerous, to now treasonous.  Get off your ass.  Impeach this son of a bitch before he burns down the planet.

Sincerely,

An Old Texan Sick of Your Bullshit

Last night, during debate on the nomination of well known racist, Jeff Sessions of Alabama, Elizabeth Warren was reading the actual letter from Coretta Scott King to the Senate in 1986 urging the rejection of him for a federal judgeship.  The letter, where King outlined in detail Sessions long record (even back then) of voter suppression and indifference to civil rights violations as a US Attorney, weighed heavily on the Senate which eventually rejected his nomination.  While Warren was reading from the well of the Senate, Turtle Neck McConnell objected to the reading based on Rule 19 of the Senate which prohibits the disparagement of a Senator by another (more…)

Schumer sent McConnell’s 2009 letter back to him, reversing sending and receiving parties.  LOL.

Chuck Schumer, whose useful time in the Senate has been past for some years, will be the new Minority Leader come January.  And if he gets his way, it will become the near permanent minority.  Though he hasn’t said a lot since his ascension to the position, reports are that he’s planning on cooperating  with Cheeto Jesus.  Apparently, Schumer has been comatose the last 8 years and missed Republicans’ vicious scorched earth strategy to stop every Obama initiative, even violating the provisions in the Constitution to steal a Supreme Court seat.  Working with CJ is not only a stupid strategy, it’s a loser.  It’s a fantasy to be implemented by an insider who’s had his head up his proverbial ass for decades (Sorry, Momma).  He’s doomed to fail, but the party’s too weak and inbred to see it, either.

Schumer is a terrible choice to lead the Senate Dems, living in a persistent fantasy world that legislative success will mysteriously equal protecting seats in 2018.  Only a person who lives in his own echo chamber believes such nonsense.  So, here we go again.  The Dems stupidly crowned Hillary as a  presidential candidate simply because it was “her turn”, resulting in an electoral disaster through simple negligence.  Now they’re going to do exactly the opposite of what the Republicans successfully did to stop President Obama and are actually going to work with the singularly most unqualified president in modern history. Instead of picking a fighter, they picked a deal maker.

God help us.