Articles of Impeachment

If the House Democrats had used the USPS, it might have gotten there about a week earlier. Maybe. At least there would have been a tracking number.

Prelude to the Main Event

If you thought this week was a complete disaster of depravity, mudslinging, character assassinations, lies on one side of the fence and then more lies - it was a Senate hearing that sounded more like Maury Povich at a UFC weigh-in. BTW - If you believe Kavanaugh, you're with all the rapists. Maybe you are a rapist?

Kavanaugh is going to get confirmed and put on the court, even if they end up finding Polaroids of Kavanaugh and Mrs. Ford fumbling around in that bedroom in 1982. "Do you confirm or deny that's your butt cheek-"

But all of this is stale peanuts compared to what kind of spectacle and razzle-dazzle we're in for when Ruth Bader Ginsburg retires/dies on her chair. The Kavanaugh Event is a mere prelude to the Main Event.  Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 85. 

Trump has also speculated that Sonia Sotomayor could be forced into early retirement because of her Type 1 diabetes. Ruth, Sonia and all of the Democrats need to hang on until after the results of the Midterms. 

The 2018 Midterms are shaping up to be the make or break for either Donald Trump, or the Democrats. America is either going to double down on the Reality Government Show or simply water it down. A little.

Mission Accomplished

The bill to fund the federal government that looks after a 19 Trillion Dollar economy showed it's dysfunction when political infighting and posturing caused a shortfall of the required 60 votes by the deadline on Friday night.

Without delay, Trump accused the Democrats of putting politics above the interests of the American people, and the Democrats blamed him for rejecting bipartisan compromise proposals. And the Democrat insistence to staple a DACA requirement to the continued funding of the government.

Both teams claim they will keep talking, and the White House budget chief has expressed optimism that a resolution will be found before Monday.

When that doesn't happen, hundreds of thousands of federal workers face the prospect of no work and shuttered offices at the start of the working week.

The last government shutdown was in 2013, and lasted for 16 days. However, any thoughts that a shutdown will actually save taxpayers, it will, in fact, do the opposite. According to Senator Rand Paul - it actually cost taxpayers more. Here's an article, if you care.

Utah Senator Orrin Hatch Plans to Retire

Senator Orrin G. Hatch of Utah (83), the longest-serving Senate Republican, announced on Tuesday he will retire at the end of the year. He's rebuffing Trump who pleaded with him to seek an eighth term. His leaving paves the way for Mitt Romney, a noted NeverTrumper, to run for Utah's chair.

Democrats Best Roy Moore

Constipated G.O.P.

Playing him like a Grand Piano

                  

That old turtle Mitch McConnell has played Chuck Schumer like a grand piano.

What started 15 years ago, now ends - with a decisive victory for the old turtle. Turtle, known for patience and the long game has become apropos. 

McConnell ends the fight against Charles Schumer - a fight Chuck started by rallying the first-ever partisan filibuster of a judicial nominee to the D.C. Circuit Court - Miguel Estrada. Before, the Senate’s “advise and consent” role was vigorously deployed with fierce partisan tensions but ultimately settled with simple up-or-down majority votes. Little did Chuck know that he had set in motion a series of events that would upturn the filibuster option.

Granted, that happened when Harry Reid played the 'nuclear option' when the Democrats controlled the Senate. Republicans blocked all of Obama's judicial nominees. To be fair, it's because the Democrats had blocked most of Bush's nominees. But as with most Democrat politicians, the unintended consequences weren't discussed, thought through, or cared about when Reid hit the button to do away with the long-standing rules.

Now, today, it looks like Schumer is going to attempt the first ever filibuster of a Supreme Court nominee, and when he's defeated - it'll open the door wide open for the next Supreme Court nominee to walk right in on a 49-51 vote.

And more importantly, is that these same rules will apply to the next one... after Gorsuch.

Did the U.S. Senate Commit Treason by Passing NDAA?

"The US Senate accomplished the unthinkable–with the nearly unanimous passage of the National Defense Authorization Bill of 2012–they committed treason. Written and planned in secret by the Senate Armed Services Committee, the newly minted NDAA contains three sections which collectively sanctions indefinite detention of alleged terrorists or ‘terrorist sympathizers’–anywhere in the world including the US– and designates the military the duty to arrest, imprison and interrogate without benefit of counsel,’ accused civilians here on Main Street." From Jeanine Molloff via Silenced No More:
Read More

Now, here's what's relevant... YOU MAY ALREADY BE A TERRORIST! Here is the whole document from homeland security (this is a link to the document on their site).

The short list to see if you are a potential terrorist includes if you are a member of or associated with the following: the aboveground, alternative media, anarchist extremist, animal rights extremist, antiabortion extremists, anti-immigration extremist, anti-technology extremist, Aryan prison gang member, black block, black nationalist, black power, black separatists, Christian Identity - or "God's Chosen People", Cuban Independence, white power, Racial Nordic Mysticism (no, really) ... well, let's put it this way - if you joined the PTA or have ever looked at the internet, you might be already be labeled as a terrorist -- and if the Senate gets its way, you can go to jail, bypassing the Constitution, and be held indefinitely.

How's your day going?

Book now for your lake view spot at the lovely new internment camp.

Ensign Signs Out

"Rule of the Beltway: Never trust a man in politics whose hair is prettier than his wife's." ~Michelle Malkin, 2009.

I'm not one to quote Michelle Malkin, but that's a pretty good rule. It applies to Rod Blagojevich, Gary Hart and also John Edwards.

Enmeshed in an ethics and sex scandal, Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) announced that he is resigning his seat. Nevada's governor is expected to name US Rep. Dean Heller as his replacement. Heller will be the new incumbent.

So, what's up? Well, two years ago it was revealed that Ensign had an affair with a campaign aide who was married to his best friend and Senate chief of staff, Dean Hampton.

Wait, it gets worse. Or funnier, depending how you look at these things.

Hampton received a gift of $96,000 from Ensign's parents, and there are allegations that the senator used his influence to get Hampton a job. No! That's illegal? I had no idea!

Now Hampton faces serious legal problems -- he was indicted for improperly lobbying his old boss.

Great hair, though. And for the record, I don't trust any of them. Pretty hair or not.

And another parting shot (see what I did there?) at least the Republican will quit once caught. Democrats have a tendency to linger after they're caught in the cookie jar. I guess that's the only real fundamental difference between the two parties?

Thanks to Marathon Pundit for the majority of the content.

Sunday Comics: Week in Review

We made it to the end of this week...
Here's where we cover somethings missed, or ignored and tell it with cartoons.
First off - It snowed in Europe. You'd think they'd never seen the stuff. But getting snow in Italy is kind of like getting snow in Florida. Planes, trains and autos across Euro-Land have been stuck in a snow drift.
Speaking of snow drifts - The Bears/Vikings game sure has been funny already. Bears are afraid of playing on a hockey rink - especially after last week. Vikings are afraid of showing up. Peterson and Favre are out or questionable - seems hardly fair. If I were a Viking's fan - I'd be super pissed because there will be no liquor allowed at the college venue.

What caused the Metro Dome to 'pop'?
And speaking of football...
And back to why Santa uses his antiquated sleigh -
And missed the part where he didn't want to deal with the TSA.

Meanwhile, Harry Reid had been holding on to a huge pile of crap that he didn't want to show off until after the election - and is trying to ram it down America's throat. The OmniBus (Pork II) didn't make it, and he had John Stewart make it look like the Republicans were the ones being dicks by not giving 9/11 First Responders their aid package. That's Harry Reid who put the legislation in the order to be voted upon. Pure Politics.
And as far as what the Congress - specifically Reid's Lame Duck Senate and Pelosi's Lame Duck House - WITH the dirty Republicans - are leaving coal in the kid's stockings. And that's only if we're lucky. It seems NO ONE is paying any attention to the European Union falling apart... which should be a stark warning of our own imminent collapse...
Which is setting up a very interesting year
Drink up, Happy.

Well, hope to see you next week. We're either ramping up for a really busy week - or total slack. See you 'round the 26th.

Don't Ask, Still

Defense Bill With 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Repeal Falls Short in Senate

The Senate has turned down the attempt to move to final debate and votes on a defense bill that would repeal "don't ask, don't tell." The vote was 57-40, three short of the 60 needed.

Senator Harry Reid, called a key procedural vote on repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy despite having failed to reach agreement with Republicans to proceed.

Republicans have indicated that without an agreement about the number of amendments and the timing of the debate, they would vote against moving forward to vote on the legislation.

Mr. Reid conceded that that the failure to reach an agreement could doom the effort to repeal the policy, which has been a key priority for Mr. Obama and gay activists.

Truth on Senate Floor Sneaks Out

Hot mic picks up discussion on Senate floor: ‘It’s all rigged’

[Source] Excerpt: A hot mic left on during a Senate vote Tuesday morning on the Food Safety Act caught a senator complaining that process of setting the agenda during the lame-duck session is “rigged.” “It’s all rigged. The whole conversation is rigged,” said Colorado Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet. “The fact that we don’t get to a discussion before the break about what we’re going to do in the lame duck. It’s just rigged.” The remark was picked up live on C-SPAN 2, although microphones are usually turned down during voting times. An aide quickly realized the mistake, jumped up and had the sound cut off.

Question - Who rigged it? Your party controls the Senate?

Also - I'm going to have to add "Open Microphones" as a label - since it seems to happen so damn often.

Don't Ask, Do Not Pass Go.

Military Spending Bill Is Stalled by Procedural Vote in Senate

The Senate voted against taking up a major military bill that includes a provision allowing the repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell policy" regarding gay soldiers.

To be clear, no one is a winner here. You're a jerk if you vote for it, and a jerk if you don't. And the boys in harm's way are being told they aren't going to get their paychecks while the Senate plays politics.

Senate Republicans blocked debate of the bill -- the huge, annual authorization of military programs -- after the majority leader, Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, said he would attach a number of the Democrats' election-year priorities to it and also move to limit the amendments to be offered by Republicans. That's the bi-partisanship Mr. Obama was talking about for the last two years, right?

The vote was 56 to 43.

Wait, doesn't Harry have 59 votes? He can't even keep his own party in line?

Congress has approved the annual Pentagon authorization bill for 48 consecutive years. Lets pause and reflect on THAT for a moment, can we? Remember when Ike warned of the Industrial Military Complex? Yeah - that's kind of what he was talking about. 48 years in a row, eh?

It seems likely that the measure will be brought up again after the election in the relatively calmer -- if somewhat unpredictable -- atmosphere of a lame duck session. You know, when fewer people are paying attention or playing politics with what would otherwise be a procedural vote.

Maybe we should be asking larger questions - like why that sucker has been passed 48 years in a row - with no question. Maybe why we've spent 10 trillion dollars since WWII being the world's police man. We don't seem to want the job anymore, and you'd think our military contractors would make more money selling goods and services if there were more customers, like Japan and Germany?

In the meantime, playing a game of political cat and also cat isn't really playing nice, now is it? No matter what Lady GaGa says.

Senate Begins Impeachment Trial

Senate Begins Impeachment Trial -- no, this isn't a repeat from the Clinton Era.

The first Senate impeachment trial in more than a decade begins today. Bet you hadn't heard about that one, right?

The House voted unanimously in March to impeach U.S. District Judge Thomas Porteous, the Washington Post notes, for "allegations that he lied during background investigations related to his 1994 nomination to the federal bench." Must have really pissed off the wrong Congressman.... or be super corrupt? He's charged with accepting cash, gifts, meals, lying, and an illegitimate bankruptcy claim -- oh come on, he's from Louisiana! That's all in a day's labor on the bench!

"The proceedings will be similar to a trial, with each side allotted up to 20 hours to call witnesses and present evidence, according to the committee. Senators are allowed to ask questions of the witnesses. The hearings will run from about 8 a.m. through 7 p.m. each day through Thursday and likely will continue next Tuesday."

He is the egg man...

Internet Kill Switch

Meanwhile, while you were watching soccer...

A US Senate committee has approved a wide-ranging cybersecurity bill that some critics have suggested would give the US president the authority to shut down parts of the Internet during a cyberattack.

Senator Joe Lieberman and other bill sponsors have refuted the charges that the Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act gives the president an Internet "kill switch." Instead, the bill puts limits on the powers the president already has to cause "the closing of any facility or stations for wire communication" in a time of war, as described in the Communications Act of 1934, they said in a breakdown of the bill published on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee website.

The committee unanimously approved an amended version of the legislation by voice vote Thursday, a committee spokeswoman said. The bill next moves to the Senate floor for a vote, which has not yet been scheduled.

Goodbye free speech. It was fun while it lasted.

Democrat Goon Squad

This took place at Madrigal Lofts in Washington, DC. The property can't be 'paid' for. You can put down a deposit to reserve "part" of the roof top. Never can 100% of the roof be reserved and it is open to all residents, even if a section is reserved. Obviously Mr. Giannoulias's goon squad needs some training on how to handle situations like this. They call that "Media Relations" and "Sensitivity Training."

Also, anyone who watches Michael Moore push his ambush movies, but when the cameras are turned on them they turn violent. Liberal tolerance at its finest.

Wonder what they were trying to hide?

Rusty Machine?

There appears to be some rust on that old Chicago Democrat Machine...

The White House Used Bill Clinton to Ask Sestak to Drop Out of His Race

President Obama's chief of staff used former President Bill Clinton as an intermediary to see if Representative Joe Sestak would drop out of a Senate primary if given a prominent, but unpaid, advisory position, people briefed on the matter said Friday.

Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, asked Mr. Clinton to explore the possibilities last summer, according to the briefed individuals, who insisted on anonymity to discuss the politically charged situation. Mr. Sestak said no and went on to win last week's Pennsylvania Democratic primary against Senator Arlen Specter.

Rand Paul Takes Kentucky

Rand Paul Wins Republican Senate Nomination in Kentucky

Rand Paul, one of the early leaders of the Tea Party movement, won the Republican nomination for Senate in Kentucky on Tuesday night, delivering a powerful blow to the party's establishment and offering the clearest evidence yet of the strength of the anti-government sentiment simmering at the grass-roots level.

Mr. Paul, the son of Representative Ron Paul of Texas, easily defeated Trey Grayson, the secretary of state from Kentucky. Voters turned against Mr. Grayson even though he had the support of the state's best-known political leader - Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader.

Take note, Washington.

And I'm happy to see the evil racist violent teabag movement found their voice at the ballot box. It's also pleasant to see the G.O.P. got their man handed back to him in that ballot box.

The grassroots raised money for Rand in small donations.

Trey Grayson had fundraisers thrown for him by the establishment. 21 Senators at one fundraiser, AIG lobbyists throwing another, endorsements from McConnell, Dick Cheney, Giuliani. And with all that weight and cash -- their horse got it's head chopped off.

That's awesome.

Audit the Fed, But With Watercolors

So the Senate voted overwhelmingly to adopt an amendment, authored by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT, opposed to those endless unemployment extensions), forcing a comprehensive review of the Federal Reserve's emergency lending activities. The amendment passed by a 96-0 vote.

Don't celebrate just yet.

Championed by Ron Paul since the seventies, it has faced extraordinary opposition from the White House, Wall Street and the Fed itself. Late last week, in a move that defused the opposition, and may have saved Wall Street reform legislation, Sanders agreed to limit the scope of the audit to emergency lending only, exempting other Fed activities.

Let me repeat that, an audit of the emergency lending only...

The House of Representatives adopted a similar provision--authored by Reps. Alan Grayson (D-FL) and Ron Paul (R-TX)--that would have required a comprehensive Fed audit. But though Grayson still supports a full audit, he applauded the steps that the Senate is taking in a statement last week. "There is deep bipartisan support for a full audit of the Federal Reserve, in both the House and the Senate," Grayson said. "The Sanders Amendment takes a significant step in that direction. I will work hard to help Dr. Paul and Senator Sanders to get a full Fed audit in the final bank reform bill. It is time for America to know what happened to our money."

Okay, if you really want to know - why water it down? Why not go for the jugular and do it - instead of this wet toilet paper approach?

Perhaps it's already way, way too late?

"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their money, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them (around the banks), will deprive the people of their property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."

~Thomas Jefferson

Gold $acks Grilled by Hypocrites in Senate

When the Senate grilled Goldman Sachs execs today they asked, "Where'd you learn to take from your customers, let them lose, and make billions while you bet against them?"
Their answer: I learned by watching you, okay? I learned by watching you!

"Hey, Senator. Blow Me!"

Bud: How much is enough, Gordon? When does it all end, huh? How many yachts can you water-ski behind? How much is enough, huh?
Gekko: It's not a question of enough, pal. It's a Zero Sum game - somebody wins, somebody loses. Money itself isn't lost or made, it's simply, transferred - from one perception to another. Like magic. This painting here? I bought it ten years ago for sixty thousand dollars, I could sell it today for six hundred. The illusion has become real, and the more real it becomes, the more desperately they want it. Capitalism at it's finest.
Bud: How much is enough, Gordon?
Gekko: The richest one percent of this country owns half our country's wealth, five trillion dollars. One third of that comes from hard work, two thirds comes from inheritance, interest on interest accumulating to widows and idiot sons; And what I do, stock and real estate speculation. It's bullshit. You got ninety percent of the American public out there with little or no net worth. I create nothing. I own. We make the rules, pal. The news, war, peace, famine, upheaval, the price per paper clip. We pick that rabbit out of the hat while everybody sits out there wondering how the hell we did it. Now you're not naive enough to think we're living in a democracy, are you buddy? It's the free market. And you're a part of it. You've got that killer instinct. Stick around pal, I've still got a lot to teach you.

On last note... their name is GOLD SACKS... for crying out loud! They don't even understand what everyone is pissed off about.