We interrupt this political blog....

...with a Little travelogue.

Little Sister Resister and her friend, Littler Sister Resister, went on a Little trip last week to the Great Plains of the United States to experience the Total Eclipse of the Sun.  It was a fun, full weekend.

I'm documenting the whole weekend here, so if you want to skip tourist notes and pix, then scroll down to THE TOTAL ECLIPSE below.


Trish and I met in Denver on Thursday night.

DENVER

We spent a nice day in Denver on Friday. We visited the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Reserve, where we took a nice walk through the fields and forest to some ponds, and we also made the scenic drive around the park. We were able to spot mule deer, prairie dogs, and a herd of American Bison ("Sure, I've heard of bison...")

Doz ears, doe!

See the prairie dog on the lower left corner? They are soooo cute!

Them black spots are American Bison!

After our day of nature, we were hungry women! Trish knows how to conjure the best places to eat. She has this magic little metal box that she stares into, and it tells her good places to stop.

We followed Gigi the Google girl to a sort-of sketchy neighborhood, and we had the most amazing Southern cooking! Fried catfish, collard greens, and yams. Oh my! So yummy! If you're in Denver, find the Blazing Chicken Shack on E. 33rd.

In the evening we met up with some ARC (Aphasia Recovery Connection) friends who live in the area, Sandy and Dylan. It was great to drink beer and catch up with some great people!

After dinner, we walked a block to the Denver Turnverein and I danced for a while. Trish watched and took pictures. The Lindy dancers in Denver are a welcoming group, and I had some fun dances. They had a birthday / newcomers dance, so I was honored to be in that jam. Right after that dance, we had a Shim Sham. Oh, yeah!

WYOMING DAY 1: Saturday

We started our eclipse trek in earnest on Saturday, when we made the drive up to Wyoming. A quick hour and a half to Cheyenne, and we were happy to stop for visiting and lunch with my dear Auntie Nene and my cousin Steve and his wife Carol. Love them people! And we even got to have a little taste of New Mexico when we had green chile for lunch!

Gosh I love these people!

Another hour and a half, and we made it to Haven on the Rock, just south of Ft. Laramie. We were so lucky that Trish stumbled upon this place during her search for a place to stay. When I started planning this adventure, I booked one of the last remaining motels in southern Wyoming for $450/night. I figured I'd just drive up to the eclipse from Laramie.  But, as usual, Trish came to the rescue.

Haven on the Rock is a Christian children's summer camp in the Middle of Nowhere, Wyoming.  It was run by Karisa and Zach, a super nice young couple who managed a big undertaking in welcoming people from around the world to their little corner of the American plains.

Trish, who does magic with the inter-webs, found the place, which was within the 70-mile-wide totality zone. The folks at Haven were renting out camping spots, RV camp sites, and, luckily for us, beds in their half-dozen or so barrack-style cabins. We were assigned to cabin 4, "Coyote." We were the only ones occupying the large room, which contained a bunch o' bunkbed pairs. I call top bunk!  We weren't sure what to expect. Would other people join us to share this space? Turned out, no. It was comfortable. There were communal, camping-style bathrooms and showers. $150 for the both of us, meals included.  What a deal!

Trish got up for the sunrise on Eclipse Day.

I was tickled for the experience. It was communal dining, so we got to know a few other people during meals. The food was typical middle America meat-centric down-home food.  The grounds were nice, and they offered their full array of activities, from archery,  to shooting practice, to rappelling and horseback riding!

Ice cream! 

We added pins in California and Florida!

The other side says, "JESUS LOVES YOU. AND SO DO WE"

WYOMING DAY 2: Sunday

Sunday found a huge influx of people into Haven on the Rock, and by dinner there were about 150 people there. Still no one joined us in our cabin! It felt festive, and people were buzzing with excitement.

We took the opportunity on Sunday to see a little of the area. We drove dirt roads north to the town of Ft. Laramie, a 2-saloon town. We visited Ft. Laramie National Historic Site. It was a cool history lesson. I am always moved when I visit historic sites. Here, travelers on the Oregon and Mormon trails stopped to rest and trade; peaceful Indian trade was big here, and, tragically, the Indian wars started here. We learned that both the Pony Express and the telegraph had big roles there. It's always emotional for me to walk the same place where history happened.

The historic Ft. Laramie bridge

This buffalo hide tipi is a contemporary creation, made with traditional methods, including 8 buffalo hides and tanning with buffalo brains!

We watched some civil war re-enacters demonstrate musket loading and firing and also the firing of a cannon!  Really cool, but it reminds you that war is not good.

That afternoon, back at Haven, we mounted our trusty steeds Hank and Taxi, and enjoyed a 90-minute trail ride over the prairie.  It was a beautiful afternoon to enjoy the grasslands and the interesting limestone (I'm guessing) formations.

The afternoon got a little cloudy.  We threatened the clouds with violence if they or their friends showed up the next day.

Trish, in blue, on Hank

Thirsty horses get relief after the ride

WYOMING DAY 3: Monday

THE TOTAL ECLIPSE

Wow!

We packed our backpacks with snacks, water, and blankets, and walked about 1/2 mile west from the camp to a hill on the prairie. We had 360º views of the horizon.  And there we sat, staring into the sun for hours and experiencing the celestial event of a lifetime.

I didn't want to take photos because I knew 1000s of others across the US would take much better photos, so it wasn't my priority. I wanted to just experience it. That being said, I wasted too many precious seconds searching in the dark for my camera to take a souvenir snapshot.

HOWEVER, after taking a few written notes during the partiality, I extemporaneously decided to turn on my iPhone's voice recorder. I did not know that Trish had planned (and executed) a video of us watching the totality.  Serendipitously, we have a wonderful video and audio recording of our reactions, which I was able to synch with iMovie. You can see me in the video just looking around, looking dazed. I was trying to memorize every bit of it, from the feel of the wind, to the temperature, to the sounds, to the light. Oh! the light!

There wasn't really much change in the light until it neared totality.  Then it started feeling like dusk. But it was a different quality light, different from everyday dusk.  It was quite eerie, grey or more brown. Impossible to describe. I wish the video captured the changes in the lighting. I don't think any camera could have. The camera auto-corrected the light.  But it is seared into my memory.  At totality, it really was pitch black.  Though the video shows a more subtle change in the light, you can still see the magnificent return to sunlight.

Other notes:

The event was amazing - magnificent - incredible - stunning - extraordinary - insert superlative here.

The crickets got confused. They woke up and started chirping about 20 minutes before totality.

I watched for the moment in the west when the moon's shadow started barreling toward us. You can see the moment when I tell Trish, "Oh yeah, look, look, look! Look over there!"  The moon's shadow was coming at us at more than 1,100 miles per hour. It got very dark very quickly. Indescribable. And very cool.

I was confused as well.... haha. You can see me on the video say again and again, "The sunset's in the west."  Well that's nothing special! But it was also in the north, east, and south! The horizon held  sunset colors all 360 degrees around us.

It was an indescribably emotional moment to witness the entrance into totality. It got pitch black. Instantly. Venus and a couple other dimmer celestial bodies appeared. The sun's aura was simply stunning. It was an experience like none I've ever had.

For the record, the body I saw to the left of the Sun was Mercury. And I was so fixated on Venus that I missed Jupiter in the East and Mars was around, too.

I truly believe that up on that little hill on the prairie, where we had flat 360º views, and not a single cloud in the sky the whole day, we had the best eclipse experience that anyone on the planet could've had.

It breaks my heart to hear people say that they saw 99% totality and "didn't think it would be that big a difference."  The reality is that the difference is... well, between night and day!  Totality is amaze-balls. There really are no words.

I hope the video gives you a little glimpse of what it was to experience a total solar eclipse.

Here it is.



THE JOURNEY BACK

We missed the camp's lunch, so we got an ice cream to go, and after packing up we started the drive back to Denver.

And so did everybody from Colorado, along with their kids, their cousin, their aunt, their cousin's mother-in-law, their grandma, and the neighbors in the back.

Imagine a straight road through the treeless prairie. Now imagine thousands of cars nose-to-bumper. For 202 miles.

Everything worthwhile has its challenges. The journey home was ours. There was no choice to accept it. I went at it with an attitude of "We'll get there when we get there."  And I knew that whatever we faced, it had been worth it to have the experience we did.

It took us 7 hours to drive to Cheyenne and 11 hours (normally 3 hours) total to Denver, including one brief stop at the cousins' house to return the borrowed blankets and one brief stop at McDonald's. Get us food! Any food-like substance will do!

One demoralizing moment came when the the plodding bicycle that we had passed a couple miles back overcame us -- and we didn't catch up to him again for probably 15 minutes or more.

One magic Karma moment came early on in Torrington, WY. I had tried to turn off the engine whenever I could, especially during the miles through town where it was literally a parking lot. I would let a car length or two stretch before I turned on my engine again to drive those few feet and sit again. At one point, the truck behind me didn't take kindly to that, and he pointedly honked and zoomed around me while the passenger flipped the bird as the truck nosed into the car-length in front to sit with that view for the next however-the-freak-long.

After another block and 20 minutes, a nice lady and her dog passed us, and she stopped to talk to us through the window. "Where you from? Where you heading? Wow, you came a long way to see us!

And then.... "If you cut through this alleyway here it it'll take you to 14th. It may cut a little time off." This alley, here? The one where our nose is, and the a$$hole's back bumper just passed? "Yep, that one!"

Zooooooom!  Buh-bye, sucka!  Instant Karma. She's a bitch.

Despite the frustrations, the journey home was totally worth it. Every moment was a moment well spent in the pursuit of this experience. There are so many experiences this world has to offer. Make the effort to find them.

"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." -- John Muir

Now, plans for April 8, 2024......  Join me?

I was there!!

"Indifference, to me, is the epitome of evil"

"Indifference, to me, is the epitome of evil." -- Elie Wiesel

I'm still reeling and trying to wrap my head around the recent events in our Nation's History and where they will lead us. I woke up this morning wondering what outrage we will face next. It seems like we at the nadir, but I've thought that many times before throughout the last six months, and we always seem to manage to sink a little deeper.  We're stuck in quicksand, a deep chasm to hell, and we are being led by a Faustus of our own making, deeper and deeper through the hole.

A story.

Currently on my caseload, I am working with a Holocaust survivor. He has survived -- and thrived -- through many challenges. This gentleman is now at the twilight of his life. He has dementia, and on top of that, he survived a stroke. He's tough as nails. He is often confused, sometimes combative with his caregivers, but he always has been pleasant with me. After the war, he fled to the United States. He became a successful businessman and lived the American Dream. He contributed to our country in immeasurable ways.

Sometimes he lives in the past. Last week -- before Charlottesville -- he was confabulating about the war.  "What are you doing in the war?" he asked me, with a tear in his eye and a break in his voice.

I gently tried to bring him back to reality. "I wasn't born yet when the war happened. It was a long time ago. But my father fought in the war. He was a ball-turret gunner in a B-17 flying missions out of England."

He could barely hold in his emotion as he tearily said, "I hope he killed the Germans."

"Yes, he bombed Germany a lot."

"Good.....good," he said. "I'm glad he killed the Germans."

We were able to get along with our session.

Yesterday, I visited with him again and he brought up the war again. I quickly re-directed him, because if I hadn't been able to do that, I would've broken down myself.

"The war was a long time ago. Now we have some new challenges. Let's get to work."

It absolutely breaks my heart that this man, whose friends and family suffered the unspeakable and paid the ultimate price at the hands of Hate, who fled to the United States and made a good life helping others and conttirbuted to our Democracy and was a successful businessman, lives in a country where rampant hate still lives. And this hate is being given life by the toad (I cannot call him a man) who occupies the White House.

I think about my own father -- what would he think? -- and others in the Greatest Generation, who fought against fascism. We fought that war. The right side won!  Didn't it?

It makes me sick to my stomach.

It makes me question reality.

It makes me question the collective sanity of our country.

It makes me question my sanity. When I wake up, is it actually a nightmare that I am entering?

I at once become paralyzed and ready to act. And then paralyzed again.

And here I sit, paralyzed.  I have no more words.  Except to say, we can not remain indfferent.

*

Because I use this blog to record the events of these days, here is what we are waking up to in today's nightmare:




New York Times full transcript

We Stand With Charlottesville

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." -- Barack Obama

Yesterday there was a gathering at De La Guerra Plaza in downtown Santa Barbara to express solidarity with our friends in Charlottesville, Virginia, after the horrific events of Saturday. We showed up to condemn white supremacy and continue the fight for justice and liberty for all.

After a moment of silence, several people spoke, including one from the local group from SURJ, Showing Up for Racial Justice, a national group dedicated to organizing white people to fight for racial justice.  It was a good-sized group attending the rally, especially given the lateness of the event's organization.

There wasn't much local coverage.  Noozhawk had a story.

I took a couple photos.

Little Sister Resister
The reverse said, "Love and Kindness Always Win"

panorama shot

One of the main points at the rally was that, while it is important to show up at rallies and demonstrations, it is what we do in-between times that will make the difference. We must continue to strive for change.

Santa Barbara is an insulated bubble. We don't feel the impacts of racism here as keenly as folks do in other parts of the country. But we must always raise our voice and act! Get involved and stay involved. Look for your chapter of SURJ, Just Communities, Indivisible, or other resistance groups. Get out the vote. Get involved in local politics. Inspire others.

Own your part of racism and oppression, even if it has been simply silence. Be silent no more. Speak out against hateful words and acts.  Be the change you want to see.

Do something. 

Here is a great essay: White Feelings 0-60 by Erynn Brook

The Southern Poverty Law Center put out an Action Guide. (Thanks to my Big Sister Resister for pointing me to this)  Go! Do Something!

If you don't have the time to get involved, perhaps you have the money.  Donate to organizations that fight the fight. Here are a few good ones to donate to:

The Southern Poverty Law Center
The Anti-Defamation League
The NAACP

or any of the organizations listed here: Racial Equity Resource Guide. Be sure to do your homework and check with Charity Navigator or another watchdog before you send your money anywhere!

I also wrote about hate groups and the uptick in hate violence a few weeks ago. You can read my post here: Hate Cannot Drive Out Hate....

Resist!

To Russia With Love

"Помни, я всегда рядом" ("Remember, I'm always next to you") 💕

I've written a lot about the Bully-in-Chief's words. He does not think twice about insulting anyone and everyone in his path. No one -- well, almost no one -- is safe from his bullying insults.

Today we play, who did he say it about? Friend, Family, or Foe?

Before we play the guessing game, just a small (and I mean tiny) sampling of insults for any Joe Schmo walking the planet. He insults people across the board... no matter who they are, even "normal" / non-enemy people such as journalists, actors, and Supreme Court Justices.  Take a look at these tweets...

I feel sorry for Rosie 's new partner in love whose parents are devastated at the thought of their daughter being with @Rosie--a true loser. (about Rosie O'Donnell -- one of many hateful tweets about her)

You must admit that Bryant Gumbel is one of the dumbest racists around - an arrogant dope with no talent. Failed at CBS etc-why still on TV?

Justice Ginsburg of the U.S. Supreme Court has embarrassed all by making very dumb political statements about me. Her mind is shot - resign!

I have watched sloppy Graydon Carter fail and close Spy Magazine and now am watching him fail at @VanityFair Magazine. He is a total loser!  -- about Graydon Carter, Canadian journalist and magazine editor. 

Meryl Streep, one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood, doesn't know me but attacked last night at the Golden Globes.

The hatred that clown @krauthammer has for me is unbelievable – causes him to lie when many others say Trump easily won debate. -- about Charles Krauthammer, Pulitzer-prize winning columnist. 

But even family and (would-be) friends are not spared. Can you guess who he was talking / tweeting about? (answers below)

Lightweight Senator @---- should focus on trying to get elected in <Southern state>--- a great state which is embarrassed by him.

Every Poll has me winning BIG.If you listen to dopey ----, a Trump hater, on @oreillyfactor, you would think I'm doing poorly. @FoxNews

Truly weird Senator --- of <Southern state> reminds me of a spoiled brat without a properly functioning brain. He was terrible at DEBATE!

@--- was terrible on @TheFive yesterday. Angry and obnoxious, she will never make it on T.V. @FoxNews can do so much better!

@--- You were born stupid! 

Dopey  @--- I'm worth $8 billion and you're worth peanuts...without my show nobody would even know who you are.

.@--- is a low class slob who came to my office looking for consulting work and I had zero interest. Now he picks anti-Trump panels!  

Dummy writer @---, who wanted to do a second book with me for years (I said no), is now a hostile basket case who feels jilted!  

When --- asked me for my endorsement last time around, he was so awkward and goofy that we all should have known he could not win!

“I would never buy ---  any decent jewels or pictures. Why give her negotiable assets?”

“If Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her.”  (OK, I couldn't make this horrible, disgusting, insulting quote anonymous)

But there is one person about whom TЯUMP has not uttered a single unkind word.  I dare you to find one. I couldn't. No, SCROTUS becomes a giggling pile of goo when he talks about his one true love. Oh! those butterflies! Here is what he has said about Putie the Cutie. (I owe a great debt to CNN for compiling these)

https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://img.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2017/07/TRUMPPUTIN2-bennett.jpg&w=1484

Feb. 10, 2014
On "Fox and Friends": When I went to Russia with the Miss Universe pageant, (Putin) contacted me and was so nice. I mean, the Russian people were so fantastic to us ... I’ll just say this, they are doing – they’re outsmarting us at many turns, as we all understand. I mean, their leaders are, whether you call them smarter or more cunning or whatever, but they’re outsmarting us. If you look at Syria or other places, they’re outsmarting us.”

Oct. 3, 2013
SCROTUS tells Larry King on Ora TV that Putin has done “a really great job outsmarting our country.”

April 12, 2014
The tiny-fisted cheeto tells Fox Business’ Eric Bolling that Putin was nice to him during Miss Universe.

April 12, 2014
“We just left Moscow,” Trump said. “He could not have been nicer. He was so nice and so everything. But you have to give him credit that what he’s doing for that country in terms of their world prestige is very strong.”

In the same interview, the Mango Monkey praises Putin’s invasion of Crimea.

“Well, he’s done an amazing job of taking the mantle ...And he’s taken it away from the President, and you look at what he’s doing. And so smart. When you see the riots in a country because they’re hurting the Russians, OK, ‘We’ll go and take it over.’ And he really goes step by step by step, and you have to give him a lot of credit.”

April 16, 2014
“Putin is having a great time toying with the President,” Trump says on Fox News’ “Hannity.”

tweet April 28, 2014
Putin has shown the world what happens when America has weak leaders. Peace Through Strength!

March 18, 2015
SCROTUS told the Daily Mail about his relationship with Putin: “the relationship is great, and it would be great if I had the position I should have.”

Li'l Faustus also said he received “a gift from Putin – an award and a beautiful letter.”

July 8, 2015
To CNN’s Anderson Cooper, he stated that if he were to become president, Putie would turn over Edward Snowden to the United States.

“I think I get along with (Putin) fine. I think he would be absolutely fine. He would never keep somebody like Snowden in Russia. He hates Obama. He doesn't respect Obama. Obama doesn't like him either. But he has no respect for Obama. Has a hatred for Obama. And Snowden is living the life. Look if that -- if I'm president, Putin says, hey, boom, you're gone. I guarantee you this.”

He retweeted someone stating Cutie Putie's supposed respect:"@bluestarwindow: @realDonaldTrump @bdean1468 Putin knows that Obama is a danger to the world. Putin will respect President Trump" True!

Sept. 29, 2015
Trump tells Bill O’Reilly: "I will tell you that I think in terms of leadership, he is getting an 'A,' and our president is not doing so well," Trump said. "They did not look good together."

Oct. 6, 2015
Trump tells conservative radio host Michael Savage he’s met Vladimir Putin and he's "great."  “Yes. Yes, a long time ago. We got along great, by the way.”

Dec. 18, 2015 (quote from CNN):

Trump said on Morning Joe that Putin was a better leader than Obama, and dismissed Joe Scarborough’s allegations that the Russian president “kills journalists that don’t agree with him.”
He added: "I think our country does plenty of killing also, Joe, so you know. There's a lot of stupidity going on in the world right now, a lot of killing going on, a lot of stupidity."

“He’s running his country and at least he’s a leader, unlike what we have in this country,” Trump said.

Dec. 20, 2015
In an interview with ABC’s “This Week"
“As far as the reporters are concerned — as far as the reporters are concerned, obviously I don't want that to happen. I think it's terrible — horrible. But, in all fairness to Putin, you're saying he killed people. I haven't' seen that. I don't know that he has. Have you been able to prove that? Do you know the names of the reporters that he's killed? Because I've been — you know, you've been hearing this, but I haven't seen the name. Now, I think it would be despicable if that took place, but I haven't' seen any evidence that he killed anybody in terms of reporters.”


Dec. 21, 2015
To Iowa radio host Simon Conway, “I’ve always had a good instinct about Putin. I just feel that that’s a guy—and I can analyze people and you’re not always right, and it could be that I won’t like him. But I’ve always had a good feeling about him from the standpoint.”


April 26, 2016
SCROTUS, in a primary victory speech “We're going to have a great relationship with Putin and Russia.”

April 28, 2016 (quote from CNN)

Trump says Putin has been “very nice” to him:  "I'm saying that I'd possibly have a good relationship. He's been very nice to me," Trump told Bill O’Reilly. "If we can make a great deal for our country and get along with Russia that would be a tremendous thing. I would love to try it."

June 3, 2016
At a rally in California: “Then Putin said, ’Donald Trump is a genius, he’s going to be the next great leader of the United States.’ No, no, think of it. They wanted me to disavow what he said. How dare you call me a genius. How dare you call me a genius, Vladimir. Wouldn’t it be nice if we actually got along with Russia? Wouldn’t that be good?"

July 27, 2016
At a campaign rally in Scranton, PA:  “wouldn't it be a great thing if we could get along with Russia.”

Sept. 7, 2016
SCROTUS says in a town hall with NBC’s Matt Lauer that he considers Putin a stronger leader than Barack Obama: “If he says great things about me, I'm going to say great things about him. I've already said, he is really very much of a leader. I mean, you can say, 'Oh, isn't that a terrible thing' -- the man has very strong control over a country. ...“Now, it's a very different system, and I don't happen to like the system. But certainly, in that system, he's been a leader, far more than our president has been a leader.”


Awwww..... 💖

http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/07/08/cartoons-donald-trump-meets-with-vladimir-putin/

Putie has got something on SCROTUS.  Blackmail is the likely answer for this unabashed love affair.  Perhaps Little Sister Resister will explore that in a future post.....

In the meantime. #Resist!


********************

Now for the answers, friend or family?

Lightweight Senator @RandPaul should focus on trying to get elected in Kentucky--- a great state which is embarrassed by him. -- about Rand Paul, Republican Senator

Every Poll has me winning BIG.If you listen to dopey Karl Rove, a Trump hater, on @oreillyfactor, you would think I'm doing poorly. @FoxNews -- about Karl Rove, Republican strategist for President Bush / de facto President.

Truly weird Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky reminds me of a spoiled brat without a properly functioning brain. He was terrible at DEBATE! --about Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) again

@MeghanMcCain was terrible on @TheFive yesterday. Angry and obnoxious, she will never make it on T.V. @FoxNews can do so much better! -- about Meghan McCain, Fox News contributor and Senator McCain's daughter

@michellemalkin You were born stupid!  -- about Michelle Malkin, Conservative Blogger and Fox Contributor

Dopey @Lord_Sugar I'm worth $8 billion and you're worth peanuts...without my show nobody would even know who you are. -- about Lord Sugar,  Fellow billionaire and star of the British version of "The Apprentice"

When Mitt Romney asked me for my endorsement last time around, he was so awkward and goofy that we all should have known he could not win! -- About Mitt Romney, Republican Governor of Massachusetts and Preisidential candidate.

.@FrankLuntz is a low class slob who came to my office looking for consulting work and I had zero interest. Now he picks anti-Trump panels! - about Frank Luntz, Republican PR guy and Fox News contributor

Dummy writer @tonyschwartz, who wanted to do a second book with me for years (I said no), is now a hostile basket case who feels jilted! -- about Tony Schwartz, who collaborated and ghost-wrote "Art of the Deal"

I would never buy Ivana any decent jewels or pictures. Why give her negotiable assets?  -- about his then-wife Ivana

And on The View (just seeing this on my blog gives me the willies): “If Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her.”

#Resist #Resist #Resist

200-Day Check-In

"You drown not by falling into a river, but by staying submerged in it." Paulo Coelho

In one of my early posts in February, I predicted that President Asterisk's ouster would come within 200 days, and it would be by impeachment. I said, "The Russian thing will surely implode very soon and there may be good reason not only to impeach TЯUMP but to jail him."  

Two hundred days is upon us, and he's holding on. But barely. I believe an ouster will come, as the Russia thing is indeed imploding. 200 days was a little optimistic, but maybe by the end of the year? Surely not after the 2018 elections.  I still predict it will be by impeachment or threat of impeachment. Pressure to resign in the face of impeachment?

Let's see where we are at this 6-month-ish mark.  Here are my memories of the timeline, with what I consider the most smokingest of guns, and my take on Current Events.  These are just highlights from my pea-brain. For the bigger picture, refer to FactCheck.org's timeline or this excellent interactive timeline from the Washington Post.

Of course we all heard the rumblings even during the campaign. Remember when the Tiny-Fisted Oompa Loompa himself called upon Russia to hack Hillary's emails and find those missing ones?



The Russia Thing really started to gain steam when National Security Advisor Mike Flynn was fired, before Month 1 was out. The official reason was that Mike lied to VP Pence about his meetings with the Russian Ambassador. But this piece of stink cheese was really the first inkling that not only did the Russians interfere with our election, but that the TЯUMP campaign actively colluded.

(Yes, I know, it's not official that collusion happened. But it happened. We all know it happened. The facts will continue to emerge and there soon will be Official Evidence that it happened, up to the highest level.)

Around the same time. Spicey backpedaled HARD when he talked about Paul Manafort in his "limited role" in the campaign.  Yeah. Limited role as Effing Campaign Manager. Oh yeah, I forgot. It's the Backwards Administration. Lies are Truth.

Around the time that Manafort's role was re-imagined, Mike Flynn, "Mr. When-you-are-given-immunity,-that-means-you-probably-committed-a-crime" himself, asked for immunity in exchange for his testimony to Congress.

Ummmm....no.  Thank you. No. (Not at this time)

In March, FBI Director James Comey and NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers testified in front of Congress and stated that the investigation had extended to include members of the TЯUMP campaign staff. It was a bombshell.

Shortly after that, Representative Kevin Nunes (R-CA), Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, ran to the Whitewash House with information pertinent to the Russian investigation that he obtained from .... the Whitewash House. Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) was the first in my memory to publicly state the need for an independent investigator when he rebuked Nunes's actions.

The stuff really started to fly in May and June. On May 9th, 45 fired FBI Director James Comey and admitted on National TV, and to the Russians themselves, that he fired Comey to make the Russia thing go away. This was a blatant admission of Obstruction of Justice, and a couple weeks later Comey testified that SCROTUS indeed tried to obstruct justice when he got the blending-in-with-the-curtains-guy alone and pressured him with, "I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go." And when Jim didn't, Jim was axed.

In May, former FBI director Robert Meuller was named to head the special investigation. He got busy quick, doing much more than the congressional investigation committees did, and as of last week, he has convened a grand jury.

In the meantime, SCROTUS has asserted -- by tweet, of course -- his power to pardon, and he has inquired into if he has the power to pardon himself and his family. Let that sink in.  The President* of the United States wants to be able to pardon himself. 

Let's move right to the sentencing phase, shall we?

But maybe he's not even under investigation. Maybe? Yes? No?




Junior himself laid another golden egg of evidence when he released his emails ahead of the New York Times, admitting that he took a meeting with Russians for the purpose of obtaining dirt on Hillary.

OK, really? Can we stop this thing now? Please?

No. It goes on.  And the Mango Mussolini continues to insist that the investigation is a "witch hunt" and "fake news." His minions keep rallying around the "fake news" line. It's really getting annoying.

The press continues to dig, leaks continue to pour from the Whitewash House. The trickle has become a waterfall. It's hard to tread through all the muck. Someone wants us to know things. Many things. Bad things.

http://api.theweek.com/sites/default/files/mrz080617dAPR.jpg

In only six months, we have gone from an inkling of wrong-doing by our #AlternativeLeader to a raging river of evidence. To compare, it was 2 years, 1 month and 23 days between the break-in at the Watergate Hotel and the resignation of President Nixon.

Keep your eye on that Grand Jury.

This isn't going away, and can only end in one way. Republican leadership is starting to turn on SCROTUS. The momentum is gaining. Articles of Impeachment have been filed by Representative Brad Sherman (D-CA), this time on the basis of Obstruction of Justice. I'm confident that it won't be long before some brave Republicans will put Country first and will pressure 45 to step aside and let us return to calm waters.

....If calm waters can be reclaimed. This opinion piece in the Washington Post and this one from The Week paint a scary scenario. It may be that our Republic has been damaged forever.

*

Other recent events at the 200-day mark:

The Whitewash House is a revolving door of staffers. When SCROTUS can get someone to take the job, they leave soon after. Hundreds of positions still aren't filled. CNN reported that of over 500 positions that are deemed essential, only about one-fifth have been filled. This is far behind the last three Presidents at the same point in their terms.

He is being very vile to Attorney General and Chief Elf, Jeff Sessions, who has stood by him through thick and thicker. Jeff may be next though the revolving door.

The Republicans' attempts at repealing the Affordable Healthcare Act have failed miserably, and SCROTUS plans to sabotage the ACA in some sick attempt to create failure, and thus, crisis.

SCROTUS used some strong rhetoric to North Korea and brings us one step closer to war.

You know, business as #notnormal.

Stay afloat. Resist.