There They Go Again!

Back in 2016 I made a diary entry at Daily Kos in which I wrote that:

“As a Vietnam era vet I know too well what it is like to lose many of my friends in a needless war. As we celebrate them for their bravery and selfless dedication to this country, we should also honor them by asking ourselves how we can prevent other young men and women from paying the ultimate price for our folly.”

I then went on to list some of the lies used as an excuse for getting us into wars. Many of the classic examples of those lies involve alleged attacks on ships. Who can forget, “Remember the Maine!” Then there was our outrage over the sinking of the Lusitania, and the alleged attack on an American ship that resulted in the Gulf of Tonkin Resolutions and the Vietnam War.

Now we are approaching another Memorial day, and as Ronald Reagan would say: “There they go again!" Donald Trump is acting suspiciously like he is looking for an excuse to start a war with Iran. In addition to sending a large fleet to the Middle East and rumors that Trump is also going to send a large ground force there, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that U.SA. officials said two Saudi oil tankers and vessels from Norway and the U..A.E. were damaged, and that Iran is likely behind the attacks on those ships.

Be skeptical, my friends! Trump is dangerous. He is the master of distraction, and he is showing signs of desperation about what congress and the American people might find out about him. He is responding in part by stepping up his appeal to feelings of victimization and the fear and loathing those feelings engender in his base supporters. We cannot let him get way with it. The threatened exposure of Trump's corrupt behavior by the Mueller report and congressional hearings must not be hidden behind the smoke screen of another needless war. Good people must not be forced to sacrifice their lives to hide Trump's criminal acts or to fulfill his fantasies about being the great leader. It is time for all people of good conscience to stand up. “My country right or wrong.” be damned! The true patriot strives to make his or her country better. Let the diapers covering Trumps ass know that you will hold them accountable for any and all deaths caused by an avoidable armed conflict.

MSNBC just reported that Trump has denied the reports that he is thinking of sending a large ground force to the Middle East. Still the initial report and this latest accusation about attacks on ships are chilling, as is the erratic behavior of a president who lies about everything and seems to know no restraint. 

Putin Up With Trump

Vladimir Putin is up with Trump, and he has good reason to be.  After their last conversation Trump promptly announced that he wants to establish a friendlier and closer trade relationship with Russia. What is all too apparent to me is that during their last conversation Putin must have called in a debt, and that Trump has renewed his efforts to repay that debt by trying to remove the sanctions that were imposed on Russia in response to Putin killing dissidents, invading the Ukraine, launching cyber attacks against us, and interfering with our elections. All of which serves as strong evidence that Trump has been compromised and is not working in the best interest of the United States. Thus while Putin is up with Trump, every patriotic American should be against Trump for what he is doing to this country and to our cherished rule of law.

When I was inducted into the army so many years ago I took an oath to defend the Constitution against all threats foreign and domestic. As a veteran I still take that oath very seriously. Members of the federal government, such as the heads of departments and agencies, congress members, senators, and the president and his cabinet, also took that oath. Yet here we have the attorney general, and the secretary of the treasury violating the separation of powers stated in the constitution by defying lawful requests and subpoena's from a congress that is trying to perform the oversight responsibilities assigned to it by the constitution.  This defiance of congress on the part of Barr and Mnuchin is made particularly egregious and unconscionable by the fact that congress is trying to serve as a check and balance to a corrupt, incompetent, and compromised president, Donald J. Trump.  Furthermore, we have Republican senators, such as Lindsey Graham, violating their oath of office by refusing to acknowledge that Trump should be held accountable for his criminal acts. The Majority leader of the Senate, Mitch McConnell, -- yes that Mitch McConnell, the one who destroyed senate rules and traditions and delegitimized the supreme court -- further disgraced himself with a babbling defense of Donald Trump that was reminiscent of Richard Nixon during the height of the Watergate hearings. McConnell actually said the Mueller investigation found no criminal wrongdoing on the part of Trump and that the Democrats in Congress were now trying to overturn a legitimate election. McConnell then went on to say, "case closed;" it is time to put the Mueller report behind us.  Mitch McConnell is a bald faced, unpatriotic liar!  In his report Mueller strongly inferred that there is not enough evidence to charge Trump with conspiring with the Russians because Trump's efforts to obstruct justice were successful! Mueller then went on to state some ten acts of obstruction of justice committed by Trump. So compelling are the acts of obstruction listed in the Mueller report that over 450 former federal prosecutors, comprised of both Democrats and Republicans, have signed a letter that says, “Trump would have been charged with obstruction were he not president.”

No one is above the law! If anyone, particularly a president or others governing this nation are ever elevated above the law then the law, in this nation of laws, will cease to exist, and we will lose our bulwark against tyranny. Beware my fellow citizens! The obstruction of justice and stonewalling now taking place are incredibly dangerous to our constitution and our democracy. This is not the time to be timid. Donald Trump must be impeached. I know the Republican senators will not convict Trump, but Elizabeth Warren is correct in saying that we must do what is right! We must grab the attention of the media and the public. Impeachment hearings will carry more weight with the public and the courts than mere fact finding hearings will. That added weight will help to educate the public and enlist more of our fellow citizens in defense of the Constitution. The Republican senators who continue to act as diapers covering Trump's ass will then be hung out on the line dirty so that everyone can see the crap! Which is to say that a large number of those senators who will refuse to convict Trump will do so at their political peril! Furthermore impeachment will serve notice on those who are aiding and abetting Trump that he and they will be tried for their crimes when Trump leaves office regardless of whether he leaves office as a result of impeachment or the election of 2020!