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Bill Barr

Are You Suffering from TFS (Trump Fatigue Syndrome)?

October 15, 2020
by Peter Feinman
Nowhere to Run. Nowhere to Hide. Got Nowhere to Run. Got Nowhere to Hide.

Are you suffering from Trump Fatigue Syndrome (TFS)? I first asked this question back on August 28, 2019. TFS is different from Post-Trumpatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). That will happen after the election when Trumpicans have to decide whether to live in the real world or not. PTSD will be he subject of a future blog. In the meantime there is TFS.

WISCONSIN

The catalyst for this blog as an article on the CNN website about Wisconsin voters. The article does not mention TFS but it is all about Trump Fatigue Syndrome anyway.

The 79-year-old resident of nearby Grant County voted for Trump in 2016 but regrets it now, turned off by “his lies.” “It just makes you tired,” Seeley said of Trump the day after the first debate. “He’s like a kid in a candy store. If he can’t have a piece, he breaks everything in the store.”

 “Most people don’t want the ugliness of the political world to be front and center in their news every day and in their conversations and in their drive to work,” he said. “A lot of people are just fed up with the constant barrage of whatever the scandal of the day is.”

 “It makes you feel like doomsday is coming,” Murphy-Lopez said of the tenor Trump has struck in recent weeks. “And the top thing I hear from independents or people who are on the fence is they want politicians who are going to work for the people, not the party. They are tired of elected officials going after each other, they are tired of people making each other look bad.”

This people are exhausted. They are eager for the time when they can put TFS behind them. Cable talk show hosts often comment about how time is measured now in dog years. A month seems like a year, a week like a month, a day like a week. Part of the reason why nothing sticks is before it can it is on to the next scandal. You don’t have time to catch your breath. You can’t even keep up with all the issues. Now imagine how the voters feel. When will it end?

THE END IS IN SIGHT

We really are getting close to the end. We are under 20 days to go!

What does TFS mean for both the election and the post-election?

Consider Election Day voting. If you are a good Trumpican you have obeyed your Lord and Savior, the Chosen One, Blessed Be his Name. You don’t wear a mask. You don’t social distance. You don’t vote early because that voting is rigged.

So now comes Election Day and it is time to vote. How eager are you to do so? You have seen all the polls showing Joe Biden with a lead of 10% or more…even on Fox with Fox polls. You don’t want to wait in line to vote. You are suffering from TFS. You don’t like the result but what can you do? Why not just stay home? Even the down-ballot Trumpican candidates will pay a price for TFS.

What does TFS mean for the army of 50,000 poll watchers? First of all, the world’s worst manager doesn’t have the mental necessities or cognitive skills to organize a national army of 50,000 people. Perhaps he has delegated the task to someone who has the ability. Perhaps it is just campaign talk designed to intimidate but without actually doing anything. And if Trumpicans are suffering from TFS, do they really want not only to vote but to hang out at foreign voting places and look mean and tough to scare people away. Remember, you will be the minority there. You will stand out like a sore thumb. You will be filmed constantly by people with cell phones. Is that how you really want to spend your day? One diagnostic will be see how big this vote-suppressor army actually is.

POST ELECTION BLUES

Immediately after the election, TFS will be at its maximum.

A 10% spread in a vote of 140 million people means a 14 million vote spread. You’re not going to make up the difference. HIS SUPREME COURT is not going to hand him the election. The maneuverings to get a state vote in the House in January instead of an Electoral College vote in December isn’t going to work.

The military is not going to rescue you.

The DOJ is not going to rescue you. Bill Barr is suffering from TFS, too. H forfeited his credibility for what? To be demeaned, disparaged, and denied a second term position because he couldn’t make up a case on Obamagate, unmasking, and the Russia hoax. After all he did practically guaranteeing that he will be censured by the new Congress because it is too late to impeach him…and this is the thanks he gets! To be treated like Jeff Sessions! Exactly how much enthusiasm will Barr bring to the post-election apocalyptic showdown? Probably none.

And even if he tried, he would have to go it alone. Who among the professionals in the DOJ is going to rally behind the effort to steal the election for the most corrupt President in American history? More likely they along with the few remaining actual republicans in the White House will be eager to come forth and tell the truth. Instead of a ferocious assault to steal the election you may witness a sigh of relief, the time of TFS is over. It’s time to get back to a normal life in the real world.

THE DONALD

 He will never stop being the seventh-grade smart-aleck-dumb-aleck that he is because that’s how his brain is wire.

He will never stop being an alpha-male wannabe even if he did liberate Lafayette Square and survive the coronavirus.

He will never stop demeaning women as nasty cutie-pies because that’s who he is.

He will never stop making up facts and seeing conspiracies hiding under the bed because that’s who the immature child is.

He will be remembered as the $400 million boy – he received $413 million from his father and lost it; he received over $400 from  The Apprentice and lost it; he owes $421 million now and doesn’t have the money to pay it.

He is giving it all he’s got in these waning days but nothing is working. Not even the latest attempt by Putin to undermine Biden. Even Ridiculous Rudy attack mutt’s daughter has come out against her father and for Biden.

Bonespur Boy had to face his worst nightmare tonight. He wasn’t on a stage with ten candidates where he could wreak havoc. He wasn’t even on a stage with two candidates where he could ride roughshod over the proceedings. He didn’t even have the opportunity to stalk his female foe as he had in the 2016 presidential debate. Instead he was trapped, unable to leave and unable to avoid the questions. It is the same situation he will face day-after-day after January 20, 2021, when he is questioned UNDER OATH by the New York Civil Court, the New York Criminal Court, the New York Federal Court, the Washington DC Federal Court, the FBI, and various committees in the House and Senate. He had a preview of life to come when he no longer is in office.

His moment of truth is soon upon us.

It hasn’t happened yet, but my prediction is that he will continue flailing, tweeting, ranting and raving in the immediate aftermath of the election and then it will sink in that there is nobody to help him fight anymore. Everybody else had TFS and now are cured. It’s over. Finally there may be some calm as he whimpers curled up in ball alone during his last few weeks in office when everyone ignores or disobeys him while the rest of the country is ready to move on.

Who Will Be Biden’s Attorney General?

July 29, 2020
by Peter Feinman
Atticus Finch he’s not.

Right now the attention is focused on Joe Biden’s vice presidential selection. Any day now, we will learn who Biden has picked to be his running mate. At that point there will be a lot of discussion about the meaning of the choice. What does it mean for the future of the Democratic Party? What does it mean for the 2024 election? Strangely enough, the meaning for the 2020 election may be comparatively muted. Based on the polls, Biden doesn’t need any help to win beyond what he is already getting from his opponent, the incumbent. The polls indicate a potential, stress the word “potential,” landslide by even more than 306 Electoral College vote landslide of the 2016 election. I do not mean to detract from the significance of the vice presidential choice, but as we were reminded in the House hearings on Tuesday, the position of Attorney General can have a greater immediate impact than that of the Vice President in the operations of an Administration.

Biden’s Attorney General will have a heavy workload. While drapes should not be measured in advance, there is a benefit to exploring what will be on the Attorney General’s plate. The choreography of actions needs to be created. Who will ask for what, when, and where will it be delivered? There will be new Congressional committees come January, perhaps even a new majority in the Senate. Actions will need to be coordinated.

DOCUMENTS

Various entities have subpoenaed documents from this Administration which have not been forthcoming. Is there a list of these documents? Shouldn’t one be created if there isn’t? We know that it is possible to prepare boxes of documents in advance to be delivered once the Court gives the all-clear sign. If an accounting or financial organization can prepare to deliver requested documents even though the Court might rule in the negative, then the appropriate government entities should be able to prepare similar boxes of information. The signal will be once it becomes known sometime in November or December that there will be a change in government on January 20, 2021. It should be possible for Congress to develop a list of these documents and to serve the appropriate people and entities on January 21, 2021 if not earlier. The Department of Justice may have to wait or perhaps some of the districts will act immediately even before there is a new Attorney General.

PEOPLE

Various people have been subpoenaed during this Administration who have not been forthcoming. Various people have not been subpoenaed since it was thought to be fruitless to do so. If Biden becomes President, then presidential immunity and executive privilege for the former government employees are no longer issues. Similarly people who have been afraid to testify may be eager and willing to do so. While the personal lawyer may still claim attorney-client privilege, virtually everyone else is accessible. It should be possible for Congress to develop a list of these people and serve them with subpoenas on January 21, 2021 if not earlier. The Department of Justice may have to wait or perhaps some of the districts will act immediately even before there is a new Attorney General.

INSPECTOR GENERALS

Various Inspector Generals during 2020 have either left their position (and the government) or been squelched in their efforts to pursue investigations. Who are those people and what are those investigations? Again, the list needs to be compiled. Should someone be reassigned back to the former position? Should people be rehired to their former position? You can’t tell the players without a scorecard so someone needs to compile the scorecard and have it ready. Perhaps some of these people should be invited to the swearing-in ceremony as well.

INVESTIGATIONS

What are the investigations which need to be pursued? What are the investigations which need to be dropped?

For example, sometime before the election, perhaps in October, the current Attorney General will indict the Deep State. Based on the economy, the polls, and the number of people dead due to the coronavirus, these indictments may not carry much weight. The only people who may consider the indictments valid may be those who believe in demon COVID-19 cures and that 99.99% of the people infected are cured without any ill-effects so why shut down the economy. My prediction is the indictment of the Deep State will be the same game changer hydrochloric acid or whatever has been for the pandemic. It will seem like an act of desperation. Still these indictments may be open on the books of the Department of Justice if and when the Biden Attorney General takes command.

By contrast suppose the Mike Flynn and Affordable Healthcare Act cases are still active. There is a need to compile a list of the current (and expected) cases that will be dropped or reactivated.

Then there are the new investigations. Swampbuilder has done a superb job creating the most corrupt cabinet in the history of the United States…and some of those Secretaries may still be in office. But let us not forget the current Attorney General himself. How many investigations will there be into him?

CHOREOGRAPHY

In the event of a change of government, there is a choreography which needs to be worked out. I am not referring to the normal transition steps which are followed especially between Presidents of different parties. One can take for granted, there will be no cooperation at the highest levels between the outgoing and incoming Presidents. The outgoing one will not accept that he is the outgoing until his Court rules that he is.

Instead I am referring to the physical aspects of the transfer of power. If Joe Biden is sworn in as the new President, where will the former President be at that moment? He will not be there to watch the sleepy-creepy-corrupt person who has lost his mental faculties take office. It will be difficult enough for the current President to accept the concept that THE DONALD is a loser. Especially if he is a loser to someone who received more than 306 Electoral College votes. The loser will not participate in a public ceremony before a crowd bigger than his own inaugural crowd in 2016. He will not have the image of him as a loser become a defining one for him.

So where will he be? Will he be in Florida playing golf? Does Florida have an extradition agreement with New York? I ask because the moment he no longer has presidential immunity is the moment he can be served. Certainly by New York State and by the Department of Justice as well. If he resigns an hour before so his Vice President who is now President can pardon him, he is still subject to state law. He also still can be subpoenaed for investigations at the federal level. That means he will subject to contempt charges if he is a no-show and be confronted with a perjury trap if he does.

There is not an urgent need to select a new Attorney General, but it should not be postponed to next year either.  It is not too early to plan ahead. The immediate legal battle is the post-election one. It will be fought over a rigged vote. The issue will be not so much people here illegally but on mail-in fraud. It will be fought in the states where the claims in aggregate will make a difference in reversing the Electoral College vote. Many of those battleground states are governed by Trumpicans so it will be their ineptness which will be on trial. And if the fight does drag on for what purpose? A do-over election? What’s the remedy? How long can the current Attorney General drag the battle out? Maybe it will be Nancy Pelosi picking the new Attorney General after all! (Could Nancy Pelosi Become the First Female President?: A Constitutional Crisis)

Borg to Hong Kong: Resistance Is Futile (Not in America)

June 2, 2020
by Peter Feinman
Is Resistance Futile for Hong Kong? Is It Futile for the Federation? (https://www.startrek.com/database_article/borg-cube)

Back on August 7, 2019, I wrote a blog entitled When Will the Borg Assimilate Hong Kong?: Is Resistance Futile? I did so triggered by the title of an article “Can Hong Kong’s Resistance Win? (NYT July 14, 2019). I even speculated that the reporter might have had in the Borg in mind when contrasting China and Hong Kong:

If human beings have other wants or needs ⸺ like independent thinking, free expression or person happiness ⸺ well, those are things for our rivals, the Western democracies to pursue. The West’s production model is less efficient than ours. Ours has “Chinese characteristics.”

In that blog, I noted that China has its own Hannitys and Huckabees. It has its own propaganda machine that even surpasses Fox. It even matches the Fox techniques. Chinese are graduates of the Laura Ingraham School of Spin. As one Chinese professor said in support of the Chinese government against the Hong Kong Spring:

They are obviously actors, not Hong Kong citizens.  

Ingraham could not have said it better herself. In fact, she has said it. The same technique is being used today in America in reference to “outside agitators.”

The NYT article reported that activists who claim Hong Kong has a unique identity that needs to be protected are called “localists.” They advocate for independence, an increasingly taboo subject. The localists differentiate themselves from mainland Chinese. They do so by employing derogatory language. They call the mainlanders “locusts” [not “animals’ or “scum” or “lowlifes and losers”] and “invaders.” By American standards, these localists in support of Hong Kong independence are using racist language. They compound the derision by referring to the people of China as being from “Chee-na” instead of “China.”

Pro-Chinese people understand the insults and have responded in opposition to such castigation of mainland Chinese. As one individual said:

We’re all Chinese people with yellow skin. Why are you discriminating against your own people? 

So the pro-freedom and independence people use demeaning language to belittle and mock the locusts who invade their land and overwhelm their communities. The pro-government people refers to the Asian people of color as “yellow.”

The issue then as it is now really wasn’t so much “if” the Borg would assimilate Hong Kong as “when.” Evidently, China decided now was the time.

Why?

Why did China decide that now was the propitious time for its Bill Barr to legally swallow up Hong Kong into the Chinese legal system?

The answer really should be obvious. The Wolf Warriors smell the weakness in the global arena and are ready to feast on America and the world.

In response to the Pompeo accusations on the coronavirus, the Global Times, a nationalist Chinese newspaper, stated:

“Such lunacy is a clear byproduct, first and foremost, of the proverbial anxiety that the U.S. has suffered since China began its global ascension. It is also a combination of envy and panic on behalf of Washington elites.”

CCTV reiterated the message:

“If this evil politician Pompeo is allowed to continue his swaggering bluff, one fears that the United States ‘great again’ can only be a joke.”

Sounds like China recognizes the weakness of the United States. Every move by our immature child President to withdraw from the global arena either from an international organization or geographic presence, is matched by Xi seeking to fill the vacuum. The brilliant success of the ‘America Alone’ policy was on full display at a recent W.H.O meeting. George Bush’s “coalition of the willing” a scant generation ago was reduced to a pathetic attempt to gain Taiwan admission into the very organization the United States was about to leave! The feeble attempt highlights the decay and decline in American power under the lack of leadership by Little Donnee Wanney. Or should one say he has reaped what he has sown.

The Global Times was back at it when the weak President ramped up the rhetoric promising fire and fury as had never been seen before.

“Washington is making a bigger gamble, but America’s economy is not as fat as it once was, and it still coughs from the coronavirus. Their extreme tactics amount to nothing more than the slow suicide of a superpower.”

Given the success of regime change and behavior modification from sanctions in Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela, it is hardly surprising that the current manufacturing center of the world is dismissive of the threats from the fading giant.

Quite the contrary. The Wolf Warriors are moving ahead on all fronts. China is aggressive against India, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam in addition to Hong Kong. Who is going to stop them? It is not as though China doesn’t have its own friends in Asia either like Nepal, Pakistan, and the Maldives. Meanwhile the United States is pretending the coronavirus crisis is over and is facing its own internal problems. Now the United States is the awkward position of defending the right of Hong Kongers to be free while calling for the domination by force of Americans seeking justice and equality. So far Xi has just proposed unleashing his Bill Barr; by contrast, Macho Macho Boy is calling for American troops to crack down on the agitators even when they are peaceful and white.

Here one may observe why although resistance is futile in Hong Kong, it is not in America. True the world is watching the riots just as it watched the failure of America to manage the coronavirus crisis. The eyes of the world are still upon us no matter what we do. But what is it we are doing? The story is not yet over and there is more to see than the looting and burning.

The world will also see police chiefs and officers kneeling down, hugging, and shaking hands with protesters.

The world will also see governors defying the President’s “request” for National Guard troops to be sent to the capital to protect the President.

The world will also see governors defying the President’s threat to send military forces into the states if he decides to do so.

And what makes you think the generals will obey a command from the Commander in-chief to send troops into American states to suppress American people?

What makes you think the troops if they do go will fire on the American people? Troops who are minorities themselves. Troops who may be from the very area they are called upon to secure. Troops who may even know people in the crowd. The American military is not the Department of Justice. The generals are more likely to be loyal to the Constitution than the individual who happens to be President. If Bonespur Boy tries to intimidate the military into playing his game of domination, he may be in for a surprise. Generals are not Trumpican Senators who have sold their soul and will roll over like obedient dogs at whatever whistle he blows, command he issues, or photo-op he desires.

The world will also see that America has an alternative to the current President. Countries throughout the world are familiar with the idea of Vice President from one administration challenging the President of the current administration. The current crisis has liberated the former Vice President and current Presidential challenger from his basement prison. He is now free to roam around the country, to offer an alternative, to bond with protesters, to show empathy, to hug people. Will the American President call upon American forces to fire upon his Vice President opponent if he stands with the protesters?

The situation between China and America is quite different. The Wolf Warriors will move aggressively secure in the knowledge that there is no one to stop them. By contrast, the America people, the American governors, and the American military will not be cowed by Little Donnee Wanney. And the world will see both countries in action almost on split screen as just happened with the current President and former Vice President. In that comparison, the world will also see why it wants the United States to be the world leader. All we need is a President who accepts that role and has vision for the 21st century.

The Battle for Bill Barr: Where Is His Loyalty in a Country based on the Rule of Law?

February 19, 2020
by Peter Feinman
Where Is Barr's Allegiance? (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)

Remember when Matt Whitaker was the Acting Attorney General? It’s only a little over a year ago when he stepped down. Remember how unqualified he was for the job? Remember the concerns over what he might do on behalf of his boss? Remember how he auditioned for the job on cable talk shows? Think of how easily he could have snapped Little Adam Schiff in half if he had had the chance. Remember how you wanted him to be replaced by a real Attorney General?

Be careful what you wish for.

On paper, at least, Bill Barr seemed eminently qualified for the job. He had the potential to bring professionalism to the job just as various military people would do to various jobs in the White House. Surprise. Surprise. Surprise.

As we now know, the new Attorney General had only two specific jobs:

1. Indict the Deep State
2. Protect the Trump State criminal syndicate.

So now a year later how is he doing as the rumors swirl over whether or not he will resign and whether or not he should resign.

INDICT THE DEEP STATE

All things considered, he has not done so a good job so far in indicting those who are the enemies of the President of the United States. It is not because he objects to the Department of Justice being weaponized as a legal hit squad for the President of the United States (unless it was by Barack Obama or some traitor Democrat who wanted to do so). The problem has been so far he hasn’t been able to make the facts fit the Fox narrative.

For months, Fox had been fulminating if not frothing at mouth in anticipation of the Inspector General report that would blow the lid on the greatest corruption conspiracy in the history of the United States. Finally after having to put up with Fake News Witch Hunt Mueller Hoax, the truth would be revealed. At last, the American people would have inconvertible proof that everything Duped-Again-by-Russia Hannity had said was true. But alas, the report proved to be a nothingburger save it confirmed some of the liberal complaints against the FBI for abuse of power.

Then there was the Andrew McCabe fiasco.  His name was drawn through the mud time and time again both by Little Donee Wanny and the Fox propaganda machine. He really was raked through the coals. It was only a matter of time, before this thoroughly corrupt person paid the price for his role in the Deep State attack on the duly elected President.

Surprise. Surprise. Surprise. McCabe didn’t only beat the rap, there was no rap to beat. After all was said and done, McCabe wasn’t simply acquitted, he wasn’t even charged! The DOJ decided it could not even bring charges against the officially-designated disloyal traitor member of the Deep State. Imagine that. There wasn’t even enough evidence against him to impanel a grand jury. How pathetic.

Was the Deep State going to get away for perpetrating the greatest corruption scandal in the history of the United States?

There is still one more arrow in the quiver to slay the Deep State. Hope springs eternal on Fox. All eyes now turn to Durham. He certainly knows what is expected of him. He must prove that the Russia investigation was a complete hoax perpetrated by disloyal traitors and that Flynn was not guilty. He certainly knows that he needs to deliver an indictment of the Deep State prior to the Trumpican Convention launching the official campaign season. Or if he cannot do it by then, then at least as an October surprise. That way there would be little time to react before the election and it would be fresh in people’s minds that America’s greatest president had been the target of America’s greatest corruption conspiracy.

But what if despite all the trips to Italy, this final report turns out to be a nothingburger too? Suppose all that is found is small potatoes or “process crimes” in the words of Fox? What then?

Barr is trying as best he can to deliver the goods the Trump State wants. Suppose in the words of the last impeachment, there is no there there, then what? Suppose he doesn’t have the goods? He knows that if all he has are Fox talking points that will be insufficient to get a Washington, DC grand jury to indict.

To wrap up Task #1, so far there is nothing to show for the efforts to indict the Deep State, the clock is ticking, and the odds are against any indictments that fulfill the desires of Fox and the Impeached One.

PROTECT THE TRUMP STATE CRIMINAL SYNDICATE

Task #2 is an entirely different story. On this task, Barr shows great success with even more to come.

First, he torpedoed the Mueller report. True, Mueller did a horrendous job presenting the report to the American people. Barr simply thrust the sword into the straight arrow out of his league in a media crazed world. Success story #1.

Second, he put the kibosh on all Mueller-initiated probes handed over by the Special Counsel to the various district attorneys. All these avenues of investigation to pursue and everything came to a dead halt.  Success story #2.

Third, he put the kibosh on the whistleblower report. That attempt to squelch the truth proved unsuccessful and the President of the United States was impeached. No success here.

Fourth, he is squeezing the investigation of all things related to Ukraine to ensure that nothing dangerous, i.e., truthful, about the obstruction sees the light of day. Nobody who participated in the obstruction conspiracy will be indicted. The Russian information on the Bidens and the Ukraine will be treated like gospel unlike the Russian information in the Steele Dossier. Watch Duped-again-by-Russia Hannity enthusiastically embrace everything spoon fed by Russia this time around. Success story #3.

Fifth, he moved to reduce the sentence of Roger Stone. His actions here have been eclipsed by the Impeached One. Since the sentencing is scheduled for after this blog is posted, it is too early to tell what the impact will be on the browbeating of the judge. This is a no-decision yet item.

In the meantime, there have been other developments related to Barr’s performance.

At least one attorney quit in protest.
Multiple attorneys withdrew from Stone case.
More than 2,000 former Justice Department officials who served in Republican as well as Democratic administrations have signed a statement calling on him resign.
Federal judges have called an emergency meeting in response to the antics of the Impeached One.
The rank and file are grumbling as they watch their integrity besmirched.
The Attorney General has been demoted by the Impeached One to being the second highest law enforcement official in the land.

All in all, it is easy to understand that a person with even a shred of dignity and self-respect might be feeling the pressure even as he is dedicated to fulfilling the desires of our immature child-president. Has he no sense of shame? Has he no sense of decency? Look at what is happening in a country based on the rule of law by the would-be highest law enforcement official in the land.

Attacking the Deep State when there is no evidence to support it.
Attacking judges.
Attacking the DOJ.
Pardoning criminals who show no remorse and doing so on a whim outside of channels.

Is there a limit to how much abuse Bill Barr will take in the weaponization of the DOJ to attack the Deep State enemies of the Impeached One and to defend the cronies of the Trump criminal syndicate?

And if he does resign, who would become the Attorney General?

Even with Mitch McConnell steering the way, is a bruising Senate battle to approve a replacement during a presidential campaign the best course of action? Why not simply appoint an Acting Attorney General? Who would he appoint if his current “Roy Cohn” resigned?

Ridiculous Rudy, Attack Mutt.

Be careful what you wish for.

A Tale of Two Countries: December 9, 2019

December 11, 2019
by Peter Feinman
A Tale of Two Countries (https://www.ancient-origins.net)

Report Debunks Anti-Trump Plot in Russia Inquiry (NYT, December 10, 2019)

Deep state in deep legal jeaopardy (sic) (Sean Hannity on Foxnews.com)

In which country do you live?

Do you live in the country that sees the Inspector General Report as one which asserts there is no Deep State and no political assault on Donald Trump? Or do you live in a country that sees the Inspector General Report as one which validates that every claim made against the Deep State is true and the perpetrators of the single biggest abuse of power in American history are in deep legal jeopardy?

Should Comey be taking a victory lap on the Fake News talk shows or is Duped-Again-by-Hannity right to warn him about doing exactly that?

There is only one Inspector General Report but according to the President of the United States the current Director of the FBI must have received a different one then he had. Putting aside the obvious fact that the President of the United States lacks the mental necessities to read the report and is relying on what his Attorney General told him, the comment nonetheless goes to the heart of the matter. The response to the Inspector General Report documents that we live in two countries within a single political entity. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that political entity or any political entity so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure.

As I listened to the two factions in the Civil War, I was struck by the difference in tone. The Fake News talk shows were relatively measured in their tone. The word “debunk” frequently was used. The texts related to the lack of political bias were quoted often. Ironically, people in the past who have objected to how easily the FBI could open an investigation now deployed that shortcoming to solidify the argument that no political bias was involved. In this regard, the report confirmed what many already feared about the broad powers of the FBI to launch an investigation even as it showed the Trump investigation was a legitimate one.

Obviously, the cool, calm, and collected mature President was having none of it. Instead he launched a hissy fit tirade against the report, the very report that Duped-Again-by-Russia Hannity said vindicated everything he had said about the Deep State. In the show following his, the host practically had steam coming out of her ears such was her fury about the report. She demanded that action be taken so there could never be an abuse of power by the Deep State again.

The President’s new Michael Cohen promised to fix things. The new Michael Cohen declared that the conclusion of the report made clear that the FBI investigation into the candidate was fraudulent from the start and never should have occurred. The Trump-appointed Attorney vowed not to relent in his pursuit of the truth until he had a report he wanted. It would exonerate the President and indict the Deep State. No matter how long it takes as long as it is before the elections so the voters will see the truth, there would be a report. Nunes the crooked clown hadn’t produced the goods, Horowitz hadn’t produced the goods. The Durham Bull would.

What does this all mean for the Third Civil War? Right now the President is all-trash talk all the time. His seventh-grade smart-aleck dumb aleck self will be on display nonstop from now until the election if not afterwards. He will be joined by Duped-Again-by-Russia Hannity who cannot refer to Adam Schiff by name without adding the pejorative “compromised, corrupt, congenital liar.”

The needle will not move.

Minds will not be changed.

The intensity of emotions will ratchet up.

At some point it will boil over.

At this point, it is not exactly clear when the war of words will go to the next level. The question is not whether or not we will become Hong Kong, Lebanon, Iraq, or Iran but when. There are any number of potential explosive points.

Impeachment and the Senate trial will not be one of them. Everybody on both sides has known for weeks how it will end so there will be no surprise when it does end without removing this President from office. Therefore it will not be a catalyst for widespread demonstrations that lead to violence.

In case you think I am over-reacting, consider this line from The New York Times on December 8 written even earlier and therefore before the Inspector General Report or Articles of Impeachment:

…the poll also revealed that Americans feel deeply pessimistic about the nation’s future and fear that worse political conflict is coming. Some military analysts and historians agree and put the odds of a civil war breaking out in the United States frighteningly high.

What might trigger the demonstrations?

One possibility is the President of the United States will openly defy a Supreme Court ruling. So far he has only openly defied Congress and declared that check and balance void. There easily could come a time when he will do the same to the Supreme Court. It may not come to that, but it should be recognized as a possibility that such defiance will a flashpoint, the straw that breaks the camel’s back leading to demonstrations that result in violence that cannot be controlled or stopped.

For example suppose, the Court rules that Congressional subpoenas are valid and that people have to testify. If the current President of the United States defied that ruling how would the Supreme Court enforce it? Not much has changed in that regard since Andrew Jackson. Do you think any of the Trumpicans would testify in defiance of the President because their loyalty to the Constitution trumps their loyalty to this President? And then tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Are you serious?

Suppose instead the current President of the United States decided to comply with the Supreme Court ruling, what would his people say under oath? There are four possible responses to any questions posed to them.

1. I refuse to participate in this witch hunt.
2. I refuse to participate in this hoax.
3. I claim executive privilege.
4. I plead the 5th.

In fact they might even ask questions of their own.

1. Where’s Adam?
2. Where’s the whistleblower?
3. Where are the Bidens?

In short, Jonathan Turley was completely wrong. A delay in the impeachment vote would not produce any additional information from the co-conspirators.

Then what about the tax returns? Suppose the Court orders the tax returns to be released to Congress, would the current President comply? Obviously not. Would that lead to riots and demonstrations because the current President placed himself above the law? No.

Suppose in an act of civil disobedience, someone in the IRS releases the tax returns following the Court ruling and Presidential defiance? It would led to a fury of legal actions but probably not to any demonstrations.

Suppose the tax returns reveal that this President had been laundering money for the Russian mob? Would the Department of Justice take action against this President? Obviously not? Would Congress take up new articles of impeachment? Obviously not.

What all this means is the flashpoint for in-the street action will be the presidential election itself. At this point it is too early and uncertain to know how that will play out in the Electoral College, the popular vote, and in the legal proceedings following the election.  It will be an apocalyptic battle between the forces of light and darkness. It will lead to tens of millions of people being traumatized. It will be a time when people take matters into their own hands. It will be Putin’s finest moment.

No One to Throw Under the Bus

November 12, 2019
by Peter Feinman
Who Are you Going to Blame?

The Wicked Witch of the White House and his Flying Monkeys are at the proverbial fork in the road with no Yogi Berra to guide them. On one hand, there is

NO EXTORTION, NO EXTORTION, NO EXTORTION.

On the other hand, there is

SOMEONE ELSE DID IT, SOMEONE ELSE DID IT, SOMEONE ELSE DID IT.

On the other other hand,

EVEN IF HE DID IT, IT IS NOT IMPEACHABLE.

On the other other other hand

THE DEEP STATE, THE DEEP STATE, THE DEPT STATE IS THE CORRUPT ONE.

Of course, sometimes the Flying Monkeys babble all the scenarios at once. This approach is based on the old standby: run it up the flagpole and see what sticks when you throw it against the wall!

NO COLLUSION TO NO EXTORTION

The phone call was perfect. Never in the history of the United States has there been a more perfect phone call between the President of the United States and a foreign leader. In fact, the only more perfect call is the one about to be released this week when the witch hunt hoax hearings begin.

No president comparable to Lincoln and Washington should be impeached.

The first thing every former Republican now Trumpican representative should do when they get up in the morning is to check and see what tweets have been issued since Fox & Friends began. Your loyalty is to the President and not to the Constitution. No collusion. No extortion. Read the transcript.

EVEN IF HE DID IT, IT IS NOT IMPEACHABLE

The Democrats took this approach the last time around. In January of that impeachment year all the Democratic talk was about the vast rightwing conspiracy. There was no truth to any of the charges. It was all bogus. Nine months later, it was “Yeah, he did it. So what? Get over it.” While there are closet Republicans who would like to take this approach, as Trumpicans they cannot. It will be fun in a tragic sort of way to watch former decent people wrestle with having to sell their soul to show their loyalty.  No collusion. No extortion. Read the transcript. Remain loyal or else. The threat of “or else” may not work on Republicans who are retiring and/or who have a conscience.

THE DEEP STATE, THE DEEP STATE, THE DEPT STATE   

This approach seeks to duplicate the success against the Mueller report now against Schifty Schiff. The subtext of the counterattack against the Mueller report was that the real collusion was by the Democrats with their bought and paid for Steele Dossier. It was really the Democrats who were in collusion with the Russians and the Democrats who should be investigated and charged.

But the Russian never interfered in the 2016 election as Putin publicly declared in a joint conference with the beneficiary of the actual interference siting right beside him. But the Democrats should be investigated and charged anyway even though it was not Russia but the Ukraine which interfered. Are you following this? I am having trouble doing so even as I type it!

The counternarrative believed by all Trumpicans was that the Deep State has instigated the effort to remove the duly elected and legitimate President by any means possible. Duped-by-Russia Hannity has identified the perpetrators of this covert operation. He has been salivating since the summer in expectation of the Inspector General Report that will nail these traitors to the wall. He is still drooling in anticipation as winter approaches

Once the whistleblower is exposed, the truth of the Deep State operation in the Ukrainian hoax will be revealed. The Flying Monkeys are just waiting for the opportunity to trash that person. We witnessed their assault on a decorated soldier who dared to tell the truth who really was a double agent. The Flying Monkeys do not want the whistleblower to testify so they can question this person. They want this person outed so they can destroy this person just as they will do to Anonymous once they discover that author’s name.

Meanwhile Bill Barred-for-Life apparently actually has limits to what he will do on behalf of his client. This shocking development raises some interesting questions. He was involved at some level in the extortion attempt. That means he knows first-hand at some least some of what happened. This is a different situation from the Mueller report. Suppose his global gallivanting to discover the truth of the Deep State Russian witch hunt has not turned up sufficient evidence for him to even go to a grand jury to indict Hannity’s hit list. What then? It is possible that he has a modicum of self-respect and decency to want to preserve what’s left of his integrity rather than turn into Vice President Brown Nose.

None of this will stop the Flying Monkeys in the House from launching a scorched earth assault on the Bidens. That effort will get full coverage on the Bull-Trump network and will be believed by Trumpicans. It will not stop the impeachment but it will provide an alternate reality scenario for Kellyanne Conway to live in.

As a result, there will be two televised hearings of the impeachment. One will be reported by the Fake News networks, newspapers, and websites and the other will be by the Bull-Trump counterparts. Since Trumpicans, like the mainland Chinese, only get their news from one source, the government propaganda network they will only see what Clueless Jim Jordan asks, Duped-by-Russia Hannity reports, and Little Donee Waney tweets.

WHO ARE YOUR GOING TO THROW UNDER THE BUS?

Yes, extortion did occur but it was a rogue operation conducted by people without the knowledge or approval of the world’s worst manager. He had no idea what was going on. Even the Ukrainians knew more about the extortion attempt than the President of the United States did. How could he be expected to know what his personal lawyer, chief of staff, or rich donor with no diplomatic experience were up to?

So will Man Overboard Mulvaney be the one thrown under the bus? Here is what I wrote about him last December:

Mick Mulvaney Parachutes onto a Ship in Chaos the Rats Are Abandoning

Back when Mulvaney was a normal human being, he made disparaging comments about the immature child candidate: he did not like him, he was an unfit role model for his children, and he was not a very good person. And this is from a conservative Republican….

Mulvaney considered the two candidates in 2016 to be the two of the most flawed human beings who had ever run for president in the history of the United States.

“Should either of these people be, be a role model for my 16-year-old triplets? No,” Mulvaney said on a South Carolina talk radio show in October 2016, CNN’s KFile reported. “In an ordinary universe, would both of these people’s past activities disqualify them for serving for office? Yes. But that’s not the world we live in today. The world we live in today, it’s either him or her and for me that’s still an easy choice.”

Then like so many other actual Republicans, he sold his soul and became a Trumpican. But even more than Bill Barred-for-Life, Manoverboard Mulvaney knows what really happened in the failed extortion attempt. He even said so. In public. Without a subpoena. Get over it. Now he has requested legal permission to testify before Congress and the American people. Presumably he is doing so because he intends to tell the truth once the Courts provide that permission. If he dares to tell the truth with first-hand information, what will happen to him? It will be too late to throw him under the bus if the Courts call upon him to tell the truth. But if he is thrown under the bus now, why would he even wait for the Courts to go public with the truth? Despite all the MAFIA talk and the admiration for Putin and Saudi OJ by the extortionist, it is unlikely that a hit will put on Manoverboard Mulvaney to prevent him from testifying honestly. Is there someone else close to him who can be threatened?

WHAT HAPPENS IF VICE PRESIDENT BROWN NOSE DISCOVERS THAT HE IS NOT THE HEIR APPARENT BUT NIKKI HALEY IS? WHAT HAPPENS IF HE REALIZES HE SOLD HIS SOUL IN VAIN? SUPPOSE HE LEARNS THAT NOW AND NOT SIX MONTHS FROM NOW? IS IT TOO RISKY TO THROW HIM UNDER THE BUS NOW? IT’S NOT AS IF HE WILL EVER BE A PROFILE IN COURAGE. (Will Mike Pence Become a Profile in Courage?)

Do you really think he will throw Ridiculous Ruddy, Attack Mutt, under the business? There really is not anyone who can be pinned for the blame except the person in charge. That’s why the message for all the Flying Monkeys, House Trumpicans, and Senate Trumpicans has to be NO EXTORTION, READ THE TRANSCRIPT, THE BIDENS AND THE UKRAINIANS ARE THE CORRUPT ONES.

Will Mike Pence Become a Profile in Courage?

October 3, 2019
by Peter Feinman
Mike Pence has been no Captain Merik from Star Trek “Bread and Circuses." Will he be a hero now? (William Smithers)

To become a profile in courage is not easy. First there needs to be a situation where there is a need for someone to be a profile in courage. Second, one of the people in that situation then needs to rise to the occasion. One cannot always know when such a situation will arise. Typically we think of military figures and athletes in all-or-nothing or do-or-die moment, but sometimes such opportunities sneak up on when you least expect it. Sometimes it is the result of your own action which got you into the mess in the first place.

Since everything you need to know about life you can learn from Star Trek, let us examine what another Mike Pence experienced. The show is “Bread and Circuses” which aired on March 15, 1968. In that show, Captain Merik and his crew from another spaceship are missing. The Starship Enterprise crew locates the crew on a planet governed by a 1960s version of the Roman Empire. It is a world where the Empire did not fall but continued to exist for another two millennia.

On the planet, Captain Merik sells his soul to the Roman Emperor, to Caesar and not to Christ. It is not an exact match to V.P. Mike selling his soul to his Lord and Savior, the chosen one, blessed be his name, but it is close enough.  Pence’s performance in the Cabinet meeting where he thanked God for enabling him to share the same space-time continuum as The Donald will forever define him. In its own way, it is even more pathetic than Captain Merik’s abject submission in the TV show.

 Be that as it may, both Mike and Merik have violated their oath. Merik has violated the Prime Directive by interfering in the planet and sharing knowledge of the existence of the Federation of Planets along with the awareness of a superior technology to that a 1960s country possessed. Vice President Brown Nose has been submissive in his behavior but whether he has crossed the line or not is another issue…until the current scandal

Now he faces a moment of truth. He was present during the violation of the Constitution and the cover-up. What will he do? He was part of it. Will he tell the truth? He has taken an oath to uphold the Constitution. He knows that people around him like the President of the United States, the Secretary of State, and the Attorney General have no intention of keeping that oath. When Pompeo decided to tell the truth about his presence during the Ukrainian telephone call, it was not because of his pangs of conscience for not telling truth before. It was because he realized that multiple people in the State Department were going to tell the truth. They were going to expose that he had not. So Pompeo does not qualify as a profile in country.

The less said about Bill Barred-for-Life the better.

What about Pence? What will he do? In the Star Trek episode, Merik redeems himself. In the moment of truth, Merik rescues Kirk and Co. enabling them to beam back to the Starship Enterprise and escape the clutches of the imperial order. He pays for that decision with his life. Sometimes being a profile in courage can be fatal. Just because you demonstrate the right stuff to go into the arena does not mean you will survive the ordeal and emerge a victor. In the TV show, Merik did not.

What about Pence? In the early months of this administration there was a lot of silly talk about the 25h Amendment. Somehow V.P Brown Nose was going to lead a cabinet coup against the mentally impaired immature child President and restore decency to the Oval Office. The idea that Pence would rise to the occasion was so absurd as to be completely laughable. None-the-less, adult human beings even with college educations, would discuss this option as if it were a real possibility.

This time the stakes are different. This time the impeachment drive is moving full speed ahead. This time people with integrity are eager to testify and tell the truth. This time each passing day reveals another facet of the violation and cover-up. Should he just stand on the sidelines, watch it happen, and be indicted? The DOJ rules do not apply to the positions of the other co-conspirators. Pompeo and Barr are not immune, they are not exempt, they are not above the law. Neither is the Vice President. He may even catch on to the fact that loyalty is a one-way street with this narcissistic President. You owe him loyalty, he owes you nothing.

What will Mike Pence do? He prides himself on his Christian values. Will he tell the truth? He prides himself on never dining alone with a woman who is not his wife. Will he tell the truth? He prides himself on his integrity. Will he tell the truth? He thinks he is part of God’s plan. Will he tell the truth?

No. Even his staff knows the truth does not register with him.

He will not rise to the occasion.

He will not be a profile in courage.

He never would have been picked for the position of Vice President if he was.