Courage is fire, and bullying is smoke

"Courage is fire, and bullying is smoke." ~ Benjamin Disraeli

Welp. America is now looked upon by the entire world as a bully. An abuser. And worse.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the Oval Office the other day, and it turned into the worst expression of bullying and abuse we have seen yet. By turning against Ukraine, Trump³⁴ damaged our reputation and standing in the world. 

The incident erased any doubt whatsoever that TЯUMP is Putie's bitch. 

The meeting was arranged to discuss U.S. aid in exchange for rare earth mineral mining for the United States. Yes, Zelensky was willing to give up mineral rights for aid. He shouldn't have to do that in the first place. That's another story.

But what happened was tragic.

If you can stand to watch it, it's here, in full. Trigger warning: abuse, gaslighting.

 The worst of the exchange is here:

How 'bout that ambush? 

JD was toady Grover Dill to Shitler's Scut Farkus as they tried to intimidate Zelenksy.

There is so much wrong to this episode, it seems dumb to point it all out. Here we go.

The ambush was started by bright-bulb "reporter" Brian Glenn from right-wing Real America’s Voice, who asked Zelenksy why he wasn't wearing a suit. Watch JD Prince Smarming laugh at that crass and boneheaded question. Watch Secretary of State Marco Rubio try to disappear into the sofa's upholstery (the sofa itself was trying to disappear from JD's ass as well). 

Watch that bit here:

The truth is, and a nuanced truth would not enter such a brain as Glenn's, nor The Melon Felon's, that Zelensky is showing solidarity with his brave soldiers who are on the fields fighting for their country. He is dressed as a soldier. Why should he not?

The exchange was escalated by SCROTUS. 100%. The media frames it as "contentious," "heated," "a shouting match," blah blah blah, as if it were two-sided. But Zelensky remained calm, dignified, and unflappable. Yes, he made counterpoints, but he was calm and intelligent as he spoke. He absolutely did not shout. He raised his voice enough to be try to be heard above the barrage of insults, barbs, and baits, but he did not shout.

No, the Traitor Tot started pointing his finger, getting red, and at multiple points he even put hands on President Zelensky. WTAF.  It makes my blood boil that he put his hands on him. Watch in that second clip at 3:13 for the worst one.

In fact, watch the clip without the sound. Watch the body language and tell me who is being aggressive and who is being reasonable. 

A few comments. Time stamp refers to the second, shorter clip.

"With respect" :19 No. JD. There is no respect.

"Litigate it in front of the American media"?? :19 WTAF? Zelensky was invited there. He was at their mercy, stuck in the chair. He was litigating nothing! Vance is gaslighting here. 

"I've watched and seen the stories." :38 JD, watching YouTube videos is not visiting the front lines. Idiot!

"You've allowed yourself to be in a very bad position." 1:39 Classic abuser talk. Blaming the victim for what's been perpetrated against them. He's blaming Ukraine for the invasion by powerful Russia? Please!

"I'm not playing cards." "Yes you are playing cards. You are playing cards." 1:56 ummmm wha???  

Mostly this is dominance, taking over the conversation. Gaslighting. Also, Zelensky may not fully understand the idiom of "holding the cards" or "playing your cards right."  I don't rightly think TЯUMP does either. He's just throwing words up there and hoping by yelling that they'll stick. 

"You're gambling with World War 3."  1:57 Is that a threat?

Again, blaming the victim for what may befall them if they don't get in line. He's also shifting the blame and setting up later "evidence" should the worst befall the victim.

"You should say thank you." 0:31, 2:13  Fuck you. He has said thank you at least 94 times:

Zelensky, thanking America, 94 times.
pic.twitter.com/PRUYaBmQIa

— Jay in Kyiv (@JayinKyiv) March 2, 2025

By demanding thanks, Prince Smarming is forcing gratitude from the abuser. He's insisting on ingratiation in order to assert dominance and shift the blame.

"If you didn't have our military equipment this war would have been over in two weeks." 3:15 Subjugation: The abuser is the only one who can save the victim. 

I love how Zelensky pooh-poohs the notion. "Three days," he waves him off. "I heard it from Putin." Here we are three years later and Russia is not winning. 

"No no no you've already said enough." "You've done a lot of talking." 2:41 Fuck you. He can't get a word in edgewise.

Assertion of dominance, gaslighting. 

"I think it's good for the American people to see what's going on."  3:44 No, you are playing to one person: your Boss back in Moscow. 

"You have to be thankful."  3:51 Thank you Sir may I have another? Is that the thanks you are going for, you bully?

The mocking at 4:05. I can feel my blood pressure rising. Abuse, abuse, abuse.

"Obama gave sheets." 4:46 Just weird and wrong and what the hell. 

The litany of perceived enemies at 5:39. You can almost see his brain glitch and spin. Must..... spout.... every....talking point.... Hillary.... Hunter...Biden....Shifty Schiff....scam....witch... hunt...laptop....

And by the way, notice how he firmly put himself on Putin's team in that tirade when he said, "Let me tell you Putin went through a hell of a lot with me (emphasis mine). He went through a phony Witch Hunt where they used him..."

Putie was smiling at his little puppet the whole time.

"I've empowered you to be a tough guy and I don't think you'd be a tough guy without the United States." 6:40 The abuser is asserting his savior role. "You're nothing without me!"

"Great television." 7:17 That's what it's all about. That's what it's always ever about. You get your ratings, the world gets fucked. 

In sum, the exchange was filled with classic abuse tactics: victim-blaming, gaslighting, insulting, demeaning, insisting on gratitude, turning it around to make the abuser be "owed" something. 

It was just gross and triggering and disgusting. It's not what we are about.

After the disaster, Zelenksy was escorted out of the Whitewash House, their press conference cancelled, and the very relationship between the U.S. and Ukraine damaged and in question, as well as the relationship with Europe at large. 

King Minus had the audacity to later again blame Zelensky, saying, "I have determined that President Zelensky is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace."

Peace being code for "surrender to the invaders."

Do not forget that the Mango Mussolini tried using him as a pawn once before. For lord's sake, he was impeached for trying to bully Zelensky into helping him in his political goals! 

Felon47's relationships are purely transactional. His treatment of Zelenksy was simply to gain favor of his sweetie at the Kremlin.

Americans' Reaction

We're gutted.

What we wanted to see:

Joe Citizen took out an ad in the New York Times at his personal cost of $100,000.

New York Times Square:

AI image, but we're all feeling it.

David Sipress

Meanwhile over at the Washington Post...

I don't think the U.S. citizens truly understand the consequences of the U.S. turning its back on European allies. 

The World's Reaction

Europe understands. Their memories of the horrors of WWII have not faded; the realities of Cold War threats from the U.S.S.R. are still fresh. As Zelensky said, we have a beautiful ocean between here and there. We don't understand the terror of an enemy aggressor at the back doorstep.

Europe was shocked and appalled at the meeting and rallied around Zelenksy and Ukraine. Even before the Oval Office fiasco, members of NATO met in an emergency meeting (without U.S. attendance) to talk about the alarming trend of The United States turning its back against Europe.

There were tons of messages in support of Ukraine and in condemnation for The Salmon Seditionist's behavior. 

King Charles invited Zelensky for a visit, and the man known for the highest decorum and proper attire said nothing about the combat fatigues. 

Lech Walesa, the Cold War hero leader of Poland's Solidarity movement, along with other heroes of the movement, wrote an open letter to the president. Below is the letter, and here is a NY Times piece about it. 

After the US decision to suspend supplies to Ukraine, if the answer was in my gesture it would be "Let's do our part" not a step back. AMEN. 

This is the text we signed: 

Your Excellency Mr President, 

We watched the report of your conversation with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenski with fear and distaste. We consider your expectations to show respect and gratitude for the material help provided by the United States fighting Russia to Ukraine insulting. Gratitude is due to the heroic Ukrainian soldiers who shed their blood in defense of the values of the free world. They have been dying on the frontline for more than 11 years in the name of these values and independence of their Homeland, which was attacked by Putin's Russia. 

We do not understand how the leader of a country that is the symbol of the free world cannot see it. 

Our panic was also caused by the fact that the atmosphere in the Oval Office during this conversation reminded us of one we remember well from Security Service interrogations and from the debate rooms in Communist courts. 

Prosecutors and judges at the behest of the all-powerful communist political police also explained to us that they hold all the cards and we hold none. They demanded us to stop our business, arguing that thousands of innocent people suffer because of us. They deprived us of our freedoms and civil rights because we refused to cooperate with the government and our gratitude. We are shocked that Mr. President Volodymyr Zelenski treated in the same way. 

The history of the 20th century shows that every time the United States wanted to keep its distance from democratic values and its European allies, it ended up being a threat to themselves. This was understood by President Woodrow Wilson, who decided to join the United States in World War I in 1917. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt understood this, deciding after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 that the war for the defense of America would be fought not only in the Pacific, but also in Europe, in alliance with the countries attacked by the Third Reich. 

We remember that without President Ronald Reagan and American financial commitment it would not have been possible to bring the collapse of the Soviet Union empire. President Reagan was aware that millions of enslaved people were suffering in Soviet Russia and the countries it conquered, including thousands of political prisoners who paid for their sacrifice in defense of democratic values with freedom. His greatness was m. in. on the fact that he without hesitation called the USSR the "Empire of Evil" and gave it a decisive fight. We won, and the statue of President Ronald Reagan stands today in Warsaw vis a vis of the US embassy. 

Mr. President, material aid - military and financial - cannot be equivalent to the blood shed in the name of independence and freedom of Ukraine, Europe, as well as the whole free world. Human life is priceless, its value cannot be measured with money. Gratitude is due to those who make the sacrifice of blood and freedom. It is obvious for us, the people of "Solidarity", former political prisoners of the communist regime serving Soviet Russia. 

We are calling for the United States to withdraw from the guarantees it made with the Great Britain in the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, which recorded a direct obligation to defend the intact borders of Ukraine in exchange for giving up its nuclear weapons resources. These guarantees are unconditional: there is no word about treating such aid as an economic exchange. 

Lech Wales, b. political prisoner, Solidarity leader, president of the Republic of Poland III 

Mark Bailin, b. political prisoner, editor of independent publishing houses

Severn Blumstein, b. political prisoner, member of the Workers' Defense Committee

Teresa Bogucka, b. a political prisoner, activist of the democratic opposition and Solidarity

Gregory Bogut, b. political prisoner, activist of democratic opposition, independent publisher

Mark Borowik, b. political prisoner, independent publisher

Bogdan Borusewicz, b. political prisoner, leader of the underground Solidarity in Gdansk

Zbigniew Bujak, b. political prisoner, leader of the underground Solidarity in Warsaw

Władysław Frasyniuk, b. political prisoner, leader of the underground Solidarity in Wrocław

Andrew Gintzburg, b. a political prisoner, activist of the underground Solidarity

Richard Grabarczyk, b. a political prisoner, Solidarity activist

Alexander Janiszewski, b. a political prisoner, Solidarity activist

Peter Kapczy otrski, b. a political prisoner, activist of the democratic opposition

Mark Kossakowski, b. political prisoner, independent publicist

Christopher the King, b. a political prisoner , independence activist

Jaroslav Kurski, b. a political prisoner, activist of the democratic opposition

Barbara Swan, b. a political prisoner, activist of the underground Solidarity

Bogdan Lis, b. political prisoner, leader of the underground Solidarity in Gdansk

Henryk Majewski, b. a political prisoner, Solidarity activist

Adam Michnik, b. political prisoner, activist of the democratic opposition, editor of independent publishing houses

Slavomir Najniger, b. a political prisoner, activist of the underground Solidarity

Peter the German , b. political prisoner, journalist, and printer of underground publishing houses,

Stefan Konstanty Niesiołowski, b. a political prisoner , independence activist

Edward Nowak, b. a political prisoner, activist of the underground Solidarity

Wojciech Onyszkiewicz, b. political prisoner, member of the Workers' Defence Committee, Solidarity activist

Anthony Pawlak, b. a political prisoner, activist of the democratic opposition and underground Solidarity

Sylwia Poleska-Peryt, b. a political prisoner, activist of the democratic opposition

Christopher Push, b. a political prisoner, activist of the underground Solidarity

Richard Push, b. a political prisoner, activist of the underground Solidarity,

Jacek Rakowiecki, b. a political prisoner, activist of the underground Solidarity

Andrew Severn, b. political prisoner, actor, director of the Polish Theater in Warsaw

Witold Sielewicz, b. political prisoner, printer of independent publishing houses

Henryk Sikora, b. a political prisoner, Solidarity activist

Christopher Siemien Krski, b. political prisoner, journalist, and printer of underground publishing houses

Gra ,yna Staniszewska, b. a political prisoner, leaders of Solidarity of the Beskids region

George Degrees, b. a political prisoner, activist of the democratic opposition

Joanna Happy, b. political prisoner, editor of Solidarity underground press

Ludwik Turko, b. a political prisoner, activist of the underground Solidarity

Matthew Wierzbicki, b. political prisoner, printer and publicist of independent publishing houses

It was transparent that the televised meeting with Zelensky was a set-up. All for an audience of one: Vladimir Putin, who was watching it live-streamed by Russian state media TASS, who despite not being on the "official list" of media outlets, was right there, in the president's Oval Office, to beam it back to the boss. 

I repeat: TASS media was there. AP and Reuters were not. 

I read this analysis of the one-two punch from JD and Trumpty-Dumbty. It's apt. 

Posted to Facebook by Todd Alcott.

What Vance did yesterday, in Hollywood terms, is called "The Stranger in the Room." Screenwriters, especially, are well aware of the role of The Stranger in the Room. The Stranger in the Room is anyone in a meeting who is just there "as a friend," someone who has no creative authority on, and no stake in, the project being discussed, anyone in the room who is a last-minute addition. Sometimes it's a 20-something intern, sometimes it's an executive from a sister office, sometimes it's someone from marketing, sometimes it's an older, more experienced producer who's lending a hand for a day. 

Example: I was once pitching a legacy reboot project to a legendary producer, a real lion of the industry. His 22-year-old daughter was also in the room. She interrupted my pitch to say "Right, but we don't want, like, any conflict in the movie."

The purpose of The Stranger in the Room is to destroy the project. The Stranger in the Room is the one who, after the writer and producer and director have all agreed on the direction of the story, says "How will that play in China?" or "This sounds a lot like [movie X]" or "But isn't this movie really about love?" 

The Stranger in the Room is always, always there at the behest of the most powerful person in the room. Whether the Stranger understands it or not, they are acting on the behalf of the studio, and it is the studio's natural desire to say "no," because no one has ever gotten fired for saying "no," and Hollywood executives, more than anything else, spend their entire careers terrified they're going to lose their jobs for saying "yes."

But they don't want to be disliked by creatives, so instead of saying "no," they bring in a friend, either a protege or an ally from another department, or just grab someone from the hallway, a producer on another project, and ask them to sit in on the meeting. They don't know what they're looking for, they hear a hundred pitches a day, they don't know what, if anything, will please their bosses, so they bring in an ally to get another viewpoint, any viewpoint, on the project, so that they can then say "no" without looking like an asshole. Instead, they can say "Yes, that's a good point, we have to keep in mind the China market," or "Yeah, this DOES sound a lot like [movie X] now that I hear it out loud," or "Yeah, what about love? We're forgetting all about love, why isn't your action movie pitch really about love?"

And then, suddenly, the balance in the room shifts. Suddenly, a collaboration, a negotiation as it were, becomes an argument. Where, just moments earlier, everyone was agreeing on how awesome the project sounded, now, suddenly, the creatives are on one side and the suits are on the other, and the meeting becomes a power struggle, one the creatives can only lose, because the suits have the money and the creatives only have the art.

So, in Hollywood terms, Zelenskyy was the writer/director/producer, Trump was studio executive terrified of losing his job, and Vance was the disinterested ally brought in to bring up some random point that would turn the negotiation into an argument that the writer/director/producer cannot possibly win. I'll leave it up to you to figure out who studio head is.

Lastly, some memes and cartoon commentary:

BabylonBros

Clay Bennett

Morton Morland

Nick Anderson

If you want to show your support:

Or, donate to one of the many organizations that are on the ground helping. NPR outlines a bunch.

#RESIST!

The Little Sister Resister Chronicle

I haven't felt too bloggy lately. The news is anxiety-inducing and overwhelming and I feel better when I'm not digesting media about COVID-19. But, as I stated in my very first post, "the purpose of Little Sister Resister is firstly, to chronicle this moment in American History, from my Little Ol' Eyes."

And this is a moment. Not for America, but for the world. And so, I chronicle.

The official Federal response has been, quite simply, a shit show.

We've suffered

Confusion
Distrust
Skepticism
Frustration
Anger
Vexation

about the

Lies
Obfuscation
Idiocy
Ego
Recklessness
Cronyism

You know, U.S. business as usual.

IMPOTUS continues to be a transactional "leader" during the Covfefe-19 crisis, insisting that governors be appreciative before he'll cooperate in sending medical equipment to their states.

Our governor of California, Gavin Newsom, has earned high praise from 45, even though we are blue to the bone and have stupidly left our forest floors unraked and our water diverted to the ocean. Newsom has learned to play the game, and it has paid off.

Michigan and Washington, particularly, were in 45's crosshairs. But several governors fought back by calling him out. Ventilators and PPE were not being delivered as promised. No matter how nice they were.

Colorado has not received much of their requested equipment and supplies, but Florida has received all that they asked for.

This, my friends, is corruption and incompetence.

Corruption and incompetence laid bare by the appearance of SCROTUS's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who also piled on the governors while dangerously inserting himself into the crisis, costing precious time. His judgment is terrifying to say the least. Then he goes on TV proclaiming of the stockpile of medical equipment, "the notion of the federal stockpile was it’s supposed to be our stockpile, it’s not supposed to be states’ stockpiles that they then use." What the actual fuck is that supposed to mean?

...AND!

After his boneheaded comments, the HHS website was changed to reflect Jared's stoopid words.

The incompetence goes on and on. It's a deep, deep, dark rabbit hole. But probably the most tragic aspect of the "administration's" failure was simply the waste of time. Agent Orange knew early about the problem but chose to downplay it, letting the monster creep free among us, until now, weeks away from its peak, with 397,754 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 12,956 deaths in the United States as of this morning, April 8.

This tragedy is best exemplified in this ad. The ad is powerful, and I love Mika and Joe's treatment:




But we can all rest assured. Though this crisis is upending each and every one of our lives, SCROTUS's briefings are getting very good ratings (even better than The Bachelor!) and he is #1 on Facebook. Sleep well, my friends, with that knowledge.

Somebody tell that bag o' lies Just. Stop. Talking.

There's more to the shitshow....

• Fights with reporters like NBC's Peter Alexander and ABC's Jonathan Karl, among others.

• Disparities in testing and care - wealthy people and communities are getting easier access; people of color are affected disproportionately.

• Confusing messages about masks (Just wear one!).

• SCROTUS has sacked the top coronavirus watchdog and continues attacks on other overseers.

• Church services have continued around the country, with naysayers, blasting from both hips (literally), dying. "And the deniers shall be the first to perish from the earth" (Covid 1:9). Doesn't SCROTUS know he's killing his base?

• And a big stinky thing about anti-maleria medication hydroxychloroquine. The Snake Oil-Salesman-in-Chief has been pushing and pushing it harder as a treatment for COVID, despite there being a lack of evidence and its potentially deadly side effects. There is evidence of a small personal financial interest, and potentially a larger one for his circle, but his hype is probably more for the potential future "See?! I was right!" moment.

There is yet more incompetence and recklessness, much more than I could possibly work out here. The history books will have volumes written about this pandemic and the worldwide response, laying bare the rot of 45's incompetence. A black stain on our history.

His lack of leadership has caused conservative columnist Max Boot to finally agree: He is the worst president. Ever.

But you know what? There are leaders who are truly inspiring.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. He's been tough, truthful, and at the same time reassuring. Randy Rainbow agrees completely. Andy, we're all thirsty for what you're serving.



Andrew Cuomo: this is what a leader looks like.

Our California governor, Gavin Newsom. He was the first governor to issue a stay-at-home order, which, by the looks of the data, seems to be working to flatten the curve. California is in a good place at this point, such that Newsom is lending ventilators to four states and two territories. I prefer to listen to Newsom's updates vs. anything that comes out of Washington. He is straightforward, well-spoken, and frankly, easy on the eyes. This is what a leader looks like.

Captain Brett Crozier, the commander of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. Capt. Crozier raised alarms about the virus sweeping through his crew. He was relieved of duty, but obviously highly regarded by his sailors. He has since tested positive for coronavirus. He risked his career to bring attention to the plight on his ship. This is what a leader looks like.

The Queen. For the fifth time in her 68-year reign, other than her annual Christmas addresses, she spoke to her nation. Her words were hopeful and reassuring. This is what a leader looks like.




Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Dr. Fauci as been front and center on the "president's" coronavirus task force. He is often at the televised briefings, and somehow has held on to his job while pushing back against misinformation and stupidity. He knows when to hold 'em, knows when to fold 'em. But he doesn't have a very good poker face. It was the face palm heard 'round the world.

Note Fauci’s reaction when Trump makes a deep state joke at the podium pic.twitter.com/cbNBxgqhRO

— Brandon Wall (@Walldo) March 20, 2020

Fauci is smart, works hard, and speaks the truth. This is what a leader looks like.

Seventeen-year-old Seattle high school senior Avi Schiffmann. You may have used his data to track the virus, as millions have. What you may not realize is that he rejected an $8 million offer to have advertising on his site.

Meet the teenager behind https://t.co/pCQaM7zz40, one of the largest covid-tracking websites in the world pic.twitter.com/0gOJ30X9Dv

— QuickTake by Bloomberg (@QuickTake) April 8, 2020

Schiffmann realized he had the skills to help, and created the site for the good of all of us. This is what a leader looks like.


These leaders all have one thing in common. They tell the truth, they tell it plainly, and they are right there with us. We appreciate the truth. We need the truth. The truth can calm us, heal us, prepare us.

And there are thousands more leaders out there in the trenches, men and women who work as paramedics, nurses, doctors, respiratory therapists, PTs, OTs, and SLPs, CNAs, hospital housekeepers, grocery store clerks, gas station attendants, law enforcement officers, fire fighters, drive-through restaurant workers, migrant farm workers, letter carriers, bus drivers, and on and on. They are all working to provide us what we need and keep us well, while literally risking their own lives. They don't get to stay home. So you need to. Be patient. Stay home.

Now, for some additional links:

• Here is a pulmonologist from NYC, who gave his personal friends and family this level-headed information. Watch the video here. It's long, but it's full of great information.

• Here is a great resource full o' science information from the Science and Engineering Council of Santa Barbara.

• Here is projected data for each state. Track it, and watch how physical distancing is working.

• Here's another set of data, from which my friend Craig has been plotting weekly growth rates, showing that our efforts are paying off. 

and, lastly, to that point, a reminder:





We'll be together again soon. For now, let's remain alone, together.

Calamidipitous

At the end of the week last week, there came a cascade of concern about the coronavirus (or, as my brother-in-law resister calls it, the cabrónavirus [New Mexicans will get it]).

On Wednesday evening, March 12, IMPOTUS gave a 10-minute "presidential" address which alarmed the world. It was completely chaotic, and minute-by-minute as he spoke, Dow futures reversed course from 300 points up to more than 1000 points down during his brief speech. The Dow lost even more during trading the next day.

It confused and upset us. The lack of leadership was once again borne to light.

And also on Thursday, it seemed that we suddenly and collectively woke up to the very real risks, and "social distancing" became the phrase of the day.

Still without federal guidance, state and local governments took action. More and more states declared a state of emergency (including my home state of New Mexico), school districts began suspending classes, the NBA suspended their season, there were calls to cancel large and small events. And so, one by one, things were cancelled. Companies told their workers to stay home. Conferences were cancelled, other sports organizations suspended or delayed their seasons, concerts and plays were cancelled, movie theaters agreed to allow only 100 viewers per screening. Keep 6 feet between you and anyone else, people!

Finally, on Friday, 45 declared a Federal State of Emergency. It came as a sort of relief to many of us, finally having him take this seriously. The declaration frees up billions of dollars and puts FEMA into action.

And then, apocalypse preparation kicked in to high gear. And people began to panic buy. Store shelves were cleared out. People hoarded toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and water.

Well, you know. You were there. It felt like we were facing Armageddon, didn't it?

But it’s not Armageddon, nor the apocalypse. Nor doomsday. It’s a remarkable, unique time in our planet’s history.

Let's pivot to the positives. This may be the world's first major calamadipitous happening.

Calamidipitous (from the LSR Dictionary): (adj.) unexpectedly positive arising from an extremely troubling situation.

We may not see it now, it's horrible, and we are in a bit of a panic (some more than others). But what good can see in this?

Children and young people have not been affected much, if at all. This is a huge positive! Though schools are closing out of an abundance of caution because children may be little germ vectors, they have not been expressing COVID-19 themselves in near the numbers that adults are experiencing it. I can not think of a better silver lining. Can you imagine the tragedy of losing many of our precious babies? And can you imagine trying to keep them from touching, licking, picking, and rubbing? We are sanitizing what we can in their world, but truly we don't have the worry as we do for our chronically ill and elderly friends. And without them getting sick, there are more hospital beds for those who do.

Research into why kids don’t get it may lead to new medical breakthroughs.

This may be the event the U.S. needs to overhaul its healthcare system. We know that our "healthcare" system is in reality an Insurance Company Profit System. The insurance companies are in the business of denying healthcare. With millions potentially becoming seriously ill, this will be The Great Wake-Up. We'll see how other developed countries with socialized medicine come through this.

And our paid time off system. Millions from coast to coast will be off work or on reduced hours. The hardest hit will be hourly workers, mostly in the service industry. We'll see that many will be devastated by this, and we may come out on the other side with real reform in employment laws.

Perhaps this will goad some to quit smoking and reduce smoking-related illnesses and death. Studies in China suggest that men there are afflicted more than women and it’s been theorized that this may be because they smoke more. As more studies are conducted, this may be a huge health finding and may be a huge impetus to stop smoking. (By the way, please if you smoke, try once more to quit today!)

Hotels, cruise ships, and other public places will forever be cleaner places. 'Nuff said.


We know what the enemy is, and we have an inkling of how to battle it. Ok, this may be a stretch as a positive. But thanks to science we know what this is and we're learning more each day. That’s a lot more than many of our other medical and human enemies. A vaccine, though off in the seems-like-forever-from-now future, is on the horizon.

With social isolation, there will be fewer accidents leading to death and major injury. Fewer cars on the road means fewer accidents, period. Fewer people at work, fewer work-related injuries.

With social isolation, there will be fewer deaths from influenza, the other deadly respiratory disease. The other horribly fatal respiratory disease is the flu. By practicing our best hygiene practices and staying away from each other, the end of this year's flu season will go out like a whimper.

There may be positive environmental impacts, as less fossil fuel is burned while we all stay home and nest. Fewer travelers means fewer emissions. It'll be fascinating to see what the studies show during this period. We'll have a treasure trove of data. It's already been evident in China as manufacturing shut down during the early days of the crisis. See the striking satellite images in this article from The Guardian.

There will be fewer mass shootings and terrorist attacks during the period of collective social distancing. Think on that! It's a huge positive. Crime in general will go down. I betcha there will be fewer robberies (unless the bad guy is desperate for some toilet paper), rapes, burglaries, and murders. There will probably be an uptick in domestic violence, though. Eeeep. Again, we'll have a great big bunch o' data to analyze once this is all over.

People will develop or re-discover new hobbies or creative outlets. I like this one! We'll be stuck at home, so maybe we'll start reading more, or we'll dig up our paint kit from the garage, or we'll start our memoir. Human beings are resilient. We'll find something wonderful to do!

As we keep our distance, somehow we are finding ways to come together. People are joking about the empty shelves at the supermarket. Networks of helpers are popping up to help their neighbors. TP hoarders notwithstanding, the best of us is emerging.

And, happiest of all, it's likely the end of 45's reign of terror. His crown jewel has always been the stock market. It tanked in record amounts as a direct result of his mishandling this crisis. In fact, the biggest one-day drop in the history of the Dow was last week. The winning doesn't stop, does it?

SCROTUS's main mechanism crisis after crisis has been to lie and misconstrue and hope <whatever it is> goes away. And much of the time that has worked, since <whatever it is> was always closely followed by <another shit show>. This time, his tactic of see no evil, hear no evil put Americans directly in harm's way. He can't gaslight a virus. "Those" Americans are finally waking up to the fact that this deeply flawed man is destroying us. As the Peter Wehner in The Atlantic writes, the TЯUMP presidency is over.

Let us hope, as we face November when this horrible event is over, that this is borne out.

And until then, I remain,
Yours very truly in good health,
Little Sister Optimister

Prepare; Don't Share

By now we've stocked up on toilet paper (so much toilet paper!), hand sanitizer, and canned soup. We've learned which songs to sing while we wash our hands, and we're trying mighty hard to keep our hands away from our faces. We've made sure our Netflix subscription is up to date and we have a stash of girl scout cookies.

We brace for the worst, while we don't really know what the worst will be.

I touched upon 45's response to the COVID-19 global crisis in my post about the virus scare on February 29: COVID-19, A Primer.

In the past few weeks, Sniffles of course was able make a bad situation worse. True to form, his utter ignorance and ineptitude was on full display. In summary, he has been a "walking, talking, tweeting disaster," as CNN's Samantha Vinograd writes. It's hard to enumerate all the missteps from this wart, but let us try.

There has not only been misinformation, there has been disinformation coming from the Whitewash House. Just. Shut. Up.

Dave Whammond 

He doesn't get it, and if he does, it's the usual 🙈🙊🙉. He has perfected the tactic well over the last 3½ years. But likely it's deeper than that. He wants to spin criticism about his handling of the crisis a "Dem Hoax."

There has been increased fear and confusion because of the incomplete, or misleading, information. Here are AP fact-checks of many of his misleading and false statements.

The scariest mouthpoop he has squirted was saying that people can go to work while sick. That's just downright dangerous. If you feel sick, stay home! Let me say it again. If you feel sick, stay home!

But maybe the most frustrating aspect of the government's bumbled response surrounds testing kits. There has been mega confusion. We can not know how the disease is spreading without knowing who has it. Knowing how the disease is spreading can help us stop it from spreading. Science!!

The Orange Scourge has said that "anyone who needs a test gets one," but health officials across the nation report test kits are in woefully short supply. For example, in California, where there has been one death, where travelers from abroad are being quarantined, where thousands are being monitored, where the governor has declared a freaking state of emergency, only 516 people had been tested as of last Thursday.

And he has blamed Obama for the delays in testing. Ummmmm. This virus appeared four months ago. Gah! <LSR bangs head into the ever-growing dent in the wall>

The good news is that the private sector is stepping in, and thanks to the Gates Foundation, home test kits are on their way, at least for residents of Washington, our hardest-hit state so far. Thank you, Bill and Melinda Gates!

He has been characteristically bizarre, such as while he was visiting the CDC a few days ago:




Tell me, if you were going to go in front of cameras broadcasting to the entire world, would you read up a little on the topic so that you didn't look like an abject idiot? I think I would.

And yet......

There have been so many other instances of his downplaying the crisis, it's mind-boggling. Thanks to the Washington Post, who made this compilation.




Huh? A hunch?




He has also, of course, been is shrugging about the risk at his rallies. This, too, is dangerous. He recently spoke at a CPAC rally. Later, a person attending that event tested positive. And guess what? 45 shook hands with someone who had direct contact with that patient.

And at the same event he does this:



It reminds me of this:

Image found on Reddit

Two members of Congress had direct contact with that individual, and yesterday both Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) decided to self-quarantine. And as I go to press, Rep Matt Gaetz (R- FL) (along with a couple others) also decided to self-quarantine after exposure at CPAC. Gaetz's announcement came an hour after he was on Air Force One with The Chosen One.

I really don't wish harm to come to any of my fellow earth travelers, but yanno? I'm bringing out the world's tiniest violin for this one. This is the same Matt Gaetz who mocked the impending crisis by wearing a gas mask to the House. The same Matt Gaetz who presides over the congressional district where Florida's first COVID-19 death occurred. The Germophobe-in-Chief and one of the most odious members of Congress? The schadenfreude is strong in this one.

Mike Pence, who supposedly is in charge of the response, hasn't been anywhere. I haven't seen him address the issue with the American people. I wonder if SCROTUS put Mikey in charge so that when the crisis spins out of control – which it inevitably will – he can put the blame on Mike and nominate a new VP.

The government's crisis response been bungled at many levels. And the bungling is costing us time. The alarm was sounded months ago, but the See No Evil mechanism was promptly put into place, causing confusion and distrust. He's simply not telling the truth, and we can't trust what the government is doing, sadly.

We want facts. We need facts. Facts can allay fears and point the direction to solutions. Getting the facts engenders trust. We need to focus on the facts, and we need to demand facts. Science is not a deep state conspiracy.

This essay isn't meant to stoke more fears. It's just lamenting the bad information. Good information is helpful; bad information is downright dangerous.

So, back to factual information. The Centers for Disease Control is the best source. Here is prevention advice from the CDC. And here is the CDC's advice for what to do if you get sick.

Go. Read. Do.

The long and short of the advice is: prepare your home and your family. Have a little extra food and medications on hand; keep your hands and your belongings clean; don't share your germs! Don't share your personal items or air space if you get sick.

LSR's motto: Prepare; don't share. 

Except: Let's share our hoards of TP with friends and neighbors. Stay in touch. If you feel sick and can't get to the store, ask for help. It's easy to leave stuff on each other's porches. Friends, if you need cough medicine, TP, or homemade cookies, call me!

Stay informed and prepare. Besides the CDC, consult reputable medical and media sites. Here is the World Health Organization's information. Here is a great bunch of information, including a set of data  and an interactive map, from Johns Hopkins. WaPo is keeping their pulse on the crisis with live updates.

Remember, you aren't just protecting yourself, but more importantly you are protecting the most vulnerable among us, the elderly and the chronically ill. Do your part.

Don't panic. And keep a sense of humor.

And to that end:

"All war is a symptom of man’s failure as a thinking animal."

"All war is a symptom of man’s failure as a thinking animal." – John Steinbeck


I'm deeply sad about an escalation of conflict with Iran, making the possibility of war very real.

I hate that he Halfwit-in-Chief has again acted impulsively and put many lives at risk.

I hate that he has no capacity for critical thinking. When his advisors gave him options, including the extreme option of General Qassim Suleimani's assassination (reportedly added to make the other options look more reasonable), they forgot that this person is not reasonable. He is incapable of reason.

I hate that 45 made up a story about "imminent attacks" of which no one has evidence.

I hate watching babies being loaded on to air transports, with their heavy backpacks and their heavy guns, fresh-faced 18-year-olds, going to fight Lockheed Martin's battle.

ABC News

I hate that the Middle East is even more destabilized, that in the wake of this action, the U.S. is pulling forces away from fighting ISIS; Iran has announced that they will escalate their nuclear program; and Iraq is expelling U.S. troops.

I hate that Iranians will hate us even more.

I hate that there is already backlash against Iranian-Americans.

I hate that there are already civilian casualties in Iran, with dozens of mourners killed in a stampede during the funeral procession.

I hate that the "president" is flirting with war crimes by threatening to destroy cultural sites.

I hate that our United States Congress was kept out of the loop and the Senate Majority Leader is OK with it.

I hate that 45's motives are so transparent:

I hate that Homeland Security has issued a NTAS bulletin, one that directly affects people near and dear to me at their jobs.

I hate that we're barreling toward the darkest days yet.

I hate that shit like the below was sent out. We. Do. Not. Govern. By. Tweet.

These Media Posts will serve as notification to the United States Congress that should Iran strike any U.S. person or target, the United States will quickly & fully strike back, & perhaps in a disproportionate manner. Such legal notice is not required, but is given nevertheless!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2020

I hate that assassination is an acceptable course of action in the 21st Century, or any century.

I hate and I love that I agree with Tucker Carlson:

Must Watch @TuckerCarlson Monologue on Iran

“There are an awful lot of bad people in this world. We can't kill them all, it's not our job. Instead, our government exists to defend and promote the interests of American citizens. Period."

Exactly, America First! pic.twitter.com/gxyLPK0CDo

— The Columbia Bugle 🇺🇸 (@ColumbiaBugle) January 4, 2020

I love that we have freedom of speech and freedom of thought so that we may not swallow propaganda whole.

I love that we are still – for now – a Democratic Republic and we may tell our representatives what we think and what they should do. Contact them. Today.

The truth will out.

"Well, old man, I will tell you news of
your son: give me your blessing: truth will come
to light; murder cannot be hid long; a man's son
may, but at the length truth will out."  -- Launcelot Gobbo, The Merchant of Venice, Act II, Scene 2, William Shakespeare

Word of the week: Truth. Some in bomb form.

Tuesday morning. The Best of America

I wrote a brief fangirl piece earlier on Lt. Col Vindman. A truly American story, he is the best – the absolute best – that America possesses.


Also testified Tuesday: Jennifer Williams, top Russia advisor to President Pence, also did a professional job in testifying. She said enough to make Mr. Pence blanch a little bit more – if it's even possible to blanch that white, white clay face. Williams had listened in to the July 25 phone call, and thought that the call was "unusual and inappropriate." She noted, as Vindman did, that missing from the call memorandum (which many call "transcript") was the word "Burisma," which was substituted by "the company."

After her private testimony transcript had been released, 45 took to Twitter to disparage her. He has personally shame-tweeted only the women who testified. So typical of this pond scum.


Tuesday afternoon. GOP witnesses

In the afternoon on Tuesday, Tim Morrison and Kurt Volker testified. The Republicans had requested their appearance, and they were considered by many to be the witnesses most likely to be friendly to the GOP point of view. But they told the truth, and the truth is not always friendly to the GOP point of view.

Morrison was the third person to testify that he was listening in on the call. The call concerned him, but for political reasons. He was afraid for the political fallout, which has indeed came to pass. Morrison was one witness who downplayed the inappropriateness of the call. All the other witnesses stated clearly that they were there as fact witnesses, not to decide the impeachability of the offenses. But the fact that he testified to was that Sondland brought up "investigations" during an official meeting with Ukranian officials in the White House. He said that he and others present felt that this was inappropriate.

Volker defended his role in the "three amigos," though he "cringes at" the term. He said his role was in a "regular channel," not an "irregular channel." Volker defended the honor of Ambassador Yovanovitch and also defended Joe Biden, saying, "I think the allegations against Vice President Biden are self-serving and not credible." He testified that it was wrong to hold up the aid, and that he worked hard to get 45 to understand the importance of the aid to Ukraine, and by extension, to U.S. national security.

They both defended Ukraine and acknowledged Ukraine's status as an important ally as well as its vulnerability.

You can watch 5 minutes of highlights here:




Wednesday. Threading the needle

Ambassador Gordon Sondland, I believe, got in over his head quickly in Ukraine. His testimony in front of We the People was pretty admirable for the position he got himself into, but it's a little problematic too. It's not surprising. He had to thread the needle between telling the truth and saving his neck. He was the most Trumpian of the witnesses, having donated $1 million dollars to the Trump inauguration fund and being hand-picked for his job as Ambassador to the European Union. He's a hotelier, and his business acumen undoubtedly appealed to 45, but his lack of experience undoubtedly colored his judgement and got him way out of his league in Ukraine.

Sondland, as you recall, was one of the "three amigos" directed by Rudy Giuliani to perform the president's* mission of getting the Ukrainians to dig up dirt on the Bidens and to further the 2016 election conspiracy theory.

During his testimony, Sondland was rather casual, smiling and joking throughout, in contrast to the other witnesses. Now, that alone was not a bad thing, but makes you go "hmmmm." He seemed credible and genuine overall, and clarified the picture on the whole Ukraine situation.

He provided a couple truth bombs. He stated unequivocally that there was a quid pro quo. And he implicated senior officials all the way to the Square Office (remember, up is down and lies are truth, so it's no longer the Oval Office...).

Sondland outright said that there absolutely was an explicit quid pro quo: a White House meeting between Ukraine president Zelensky and Trump in exchange for Zelensky's announcements of investigations into the Bidens. And, Sondland testified, he communicated this directly to Zelensky! Sondland was careful to state that he didn't have direct knowledge that the aid had been withheld as part of the scheme, but he stated that he came to that conclusion. "Two plus two equals four" has become a defining equation in the impeachment of the 45th president* of the United States.

Sondland also admitted that Trump later said "No quid pro quo" in a much later phone call, which you recall he had texted to Bill Taylor. Sondland said that he didn't know if Trump was being truthful, only that he said it. Trump pounced on this last part. In a chopper-side press briefing later that day, Trump referred to his sharpie-scribbled notes and re-enacted the testimony as if that absolved him. (BTW, same day font delivery! Sister Resister Anne pointed me to this free baby-hands sharpie font called Tiny Hands that was designed the day a photographer captured 45's handwritten notes about Sondland's testimony.)

The only trouble is, this later "no quid pro quo" statement happened on the day that Trump was caught. Congress had caught wind of the aid hold-up, the whistleblower had filed his complaint, and the shit was about to hit the fan. Of course Trump would proclaim "no quid pro quo" on September 9.

Another bombshell revealed by Sondland was that he possessed, and he shared with the American public, emails about the scheme. The emails cc'd everyone in Trump's circle: Secretary of Energy Rick Perry, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, and Vice President Mike Pence. Sondland clearly stated, "Everyone was in the loop."

The problems with Sondland's testimony: He had to amend his testimony multiple times since his first closed-door deposition. He explained it as not having vivid memories, compounded by not having the emails and documents from the State Department that would help him refresh his memory. He did not dispute other people's memory, and his memory lapses seemed honest, rather than a hedge against telling the truth.

His contention that he had no idea that "Burisma" was code for "Bidens" was not credible, though, as other witnesses, including Dr. Fiona Hill, pointed out. He was a shady character. He didn't do good things, and though he characterized his role in Ukraine as a proper one in light of his European Union portfolio, I didn't buy it, and neither did other witnesses who characterized his and his other amigos' actions in the "irregular channel." In any case, I'm thankful he came forward with the truth, as he was in direct contact with 45, and was the one Trumpeter who came forward to do the right thing. Yes, he had to thread the needle, but I think he did a pretty skillful job of it.

Here's a snapshot of his appearance:





Wednesday afternoon, Laura Cooper, from the Pentagon, and David Hale, from the State Department, testified. I admittedly only paid half-attention. Full brain and work duties!

Cooper testified that the Ukrainians were asking about the held-up aid on July 25, earlier than previously thought. It became obvious that they knew that it was being held up by the time 45 spoke with Zelensky, contradicting the GOP line of defense that it couldn't have been a quid pro quo if the Ukrainians didn't even know about it. Know about it they did, certainly by the time of the fateful July 25 telephone call.

The GOP had requested that Hale testify, as they viewed him as a possibly favorable witness. He wasn't. He affirmed that holding up aid to the vulnerable Ukraine was wrong, and he defended Ambassador Yovanovitch and condemned the smear campaign waged against her.


Thursday. Hill and Holmes: Professional Shredders. Specializing in shredding GOP Conspiracy Theories and Repug Bully Tactics.

They are also Warrior Diplomats.

Dr. Fiona Hill and David Holmes gave a one-two punch to conclude the public testimony. I was riveted, as they both made the Ukraine story clearer and clearer.

Oh, how I love Dr. Hill. Another strong woman, coming to Capitol Hill to kick ass and take names.

She's another American patriot, another American story. An immigrant to the United States from Great Britain, Dr. Hill came to study at Harvard in the 90s and became an U.S. citizen in 2002. She was raised in poverty in NW England, the daughter of a coal miner and a midwife. She has worked as a Russian expert at the JFK School of Government, the National Intelligence Council, and Brookings Institution, finally being appointed in 2017 to her White House position as senior director for European and Russian affairs at the National Security Council.

And she showed up to the hearing like. A. Boss.

A true American hero. We are lucky to have her. Smart, capable, and taking no shit. Not one pellet.

Besides confirming the facts that many other witnesses had attested to, that there was a quid pro quo scheme and it was obvious that the White House meeting and the aid were contingent upon Zelensky's announcement of investigations, she also illuminated the problematic "irregular channel" of diplomacy, led by 45's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and implemented by Gordon Sondland.

But more than that: she gave a concise, clear explanation of the whole geopolitical picture in that part of the world. Fiona Hill is a Harvard educated scholar. She is an expert on Russia and particularly Vladimir Putin. She wrote a 500-page book about Putin. She's intelligent and knowledgeable, and she was able to give great illustration about the situation between Ukraine, Russia, and by extension the United States.

And she pushed back hard against Republicans who refuse to acknowledge the truth about Russia. In her opening statement she said,

Some of you on this committee appear to believe that Russia and its security services did not conduct a campaign against our country—and that perhaps, somehow, for some reason, Ukraine did. This is a fictional narrative that has been perpetrated and propagated by the Russian security services themselves. 

The unfortunate truth is that Russia was the foreign power that systematically attacked our democratic institutions in 2016. This is the public conclusion of our intelligence agencies, confirmed in bipartisan Congressional reports. It is beyond dispute, even if some of the underlying details must remain classified.

The impact of the successful 2016 Russian campaign remains evident today. Our nation is being torn apart. Truth is questioned. Our highly professional and expert career foreign service is being undermined. 

U.S. support for Ukraine—which continues to face armed Russian aggression—has been politicized.  

The Russian government’s goal is to weaken our country—to diminish America’s global role and to neutralize a perceived U.S. threat to Russian interests. President Putin and the Russian security services aim to counter U.S. foreign policy objectives in Europe, including in Ukraine, where Moscow wishes to reassert political and economic dominance.  

I say this not as an alarmist, but as a realist. I do not think long-term conflict with Russia is either desirable or inevitable. I continue to believe that we need to seek ways of stabilizing our relationship with Moscow even as we counter their efforts to harm us. Right now, Russia’s security services and their proxies have geared up to repeat their interference in the 2020 election. We are running out of time to stop them. In the course of this investigation, I would ask that you please not promote politically driven falsehoods that so clearly advance Russian interests. 

As Republicans and Democrats have agreed for decades, Ukraine is a valued partner of the United States, and it plays an important role in our national security. And as I told this Committee last month, I refuse to be part of an effort to legitimize an alternate narrative that the Ukrainian government is a U.S. adversary, and that Ukraine—not Russia—attacked us in 2016. 

Read her entire opening statement here, or better yet, watch her 8-minute statement:

During questioning, she stood her ground against loud, obnoxious "questioners" and she pointedly made the record show that two GOP members left the room after their filibustering 5-minute diatribes, prompting her to again make the case that these are vitally important matters.

Here's more from her remarkable testimony. She's worth the time to view.



Dr. Hill's steely testimony will reverberate in our nation's history. We are indebted to this Truth Warrior.


David Holmes described the portion of the July 26 phone call that he overheard and gave a lengthy opening statement. His statement didn't stick with just the material part, the phone call he witnessed, but he continued to educate Americans about the vulnerability of a nascent democracy in Ukraine. Ukrainians depend on the support of the U.S. – the most powerful nation in the world – not only for increasing its cachet in Europe, but in fighting the real-life hot war against Russia.

Mr. Holmes stated he and another of Ambassador Taylor's staff overheard the initial part of the call between Gordon Sondland and the president* of the United States on July 26. Holmes's memory of the conversation on a Kyiv restaurant terrace was vivid, and Sondland didn't dispute it.

Grasping at defense, SCROTUS tweeted this:

I have been watching people making phone calls my entire life. My hearing is, and has been, great. Never have I been watching a person making a call, which was not on speakerphone, and been able to hear or understand a conversation. I’ve even tried, but to no avail. Try it live!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 21, 2019

Seriously. This is the president* defending himself in an impeachment inquiry. WTF?


David Holmes had a very testy back-and-forth with Rep. Jim Jordan, who was trying to filibuster the time with loud, bellicose hypotheticals, but Mr. Holmes would have none of it, and Chairman Schiff shut Jordan down. Watch.




Watching Jordan makes me want to go take a shower.


Here's a little more from their day of testimony:




The dirty underbelly of revealing the truth: Backlash

Unfortunately, the other side of the coin, the witnesses' brave appearance and truth-telling gave rise to America's worst. Smear campaigns and threats abound.

Lt. Col. Vindman and his family were relocated to an Army base for their protection.

Right-wing media have worked to attack witnesses.

Repug lawmakers have done the dirty work themselves to attack and besmirch witnesses.

Trump has expressed an interest in firing Vindman and Taylor. Of course he has.

Trump has also publicly disparaged Ambassador Yovonovitch  (potentially setting himself up for an article of impeachment for witness tampering) and Jennifer Williams on Twitter.

The witnesses can expect abuse and threats for years to come.

I wish there was some way to directly support all the witnesses who put themselves in peril for their testimony. As it stands, they are pretty much on their own, to find ways to take shelter from the storm with friends and family. 

The worst of America: Jordan and Nunes

These two men are despicable.

Jim Jordan was not a member of the House Intelligence Committee until a week before the televised hearings began, added to the roster for the express purpose of using him as a bully and a bulldog. He is an odious human being. His voice, demeanor and body language all scream "tormentor!" He is sarcastic, demeaning, and mocking. He relished his performance for his pimp, DJT.

If you look up irony in the dictionary, there will be a picture of Devin Moo-nes. He droned on and on, characterizing the impeachment inquiry as a "drama." He demeaned witnesses by calling them characters from Democrat central casting in "secret auditions." But in truth, he is clearly play-acting himself for an audience of one, that of Donald Drumpf.

Nunes recited the same litany of conspiracy theories at every opening and closing statement. Whistleblower; "storytime;" "landslide electoral college;" 2016 victory; but Obama!; but Hillary!; whistleblower; Steele dossier; secret basement dungeon hearings; whistleblower; Hunter Biden; Ukraine meddling; whistleblower, and more than once: nude photos of Donald Trump. Ewww to be in his mind! By the end, Nunes seemed as tired of his recitations as we were hearing it. All of this to appease the Mango Mussolini. Glad you sold your soul to the Devil, Mr. Poo-nes. Heaven don't want your kind.

The irony was rich when, addressing Mr. Sondland, presumably a friendly witness, Nunes warned him, "You are here today to be smeared." Huh. Wonder why he decided to give away the GOP playbook.

And then, during Sondland's opening statement, Nunes gave a list of proven true charges. "Trump had a diabolical plan to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. (True) Trump changed the Republican National Committee platform to hurt Ukraine and benefit Russia. (True) Trump's son-in-law lied about his Russian contacts while obtaining his security clearance. (True)" They are all demonstrably true! Sir, simply reciting them in a sarcastic tone doesn't make them untrue. Idiot.

David Horsey

I'm ashamed Nunes is from California. I am ashamed that any American feels that he is an honorable man. Forget irony. He's the very definition of sycophant.

(Late-breaking news: Nunes himself may be implicated in a Ukraine scandal of his own. Seems like one of Giuliani's henchmen is willing to tell Congress that Nunes himself met Ukrainian officials about dirt on the Bidens.)

Other observations:

• Who else will find it a challenge to now order "Chicken Keev" instead of "Chicken Key-ev"?

• Of the dozen witnesses, four were women, four were immigrants or children of immigrants, and two served in the military. All were intelligent, credible, truthful citizens. Again, truly, the best of America.

• Rudy Giuliani rose from the road flattened, with bus tire marks deeply embedded. Just about every witness excoriated Giuliani for his role. Those tire marks rightly belong to his client, 45 himself. Remember, Giuliani is Trump's personal attorney. He was acting at the direction of the president* of the United States! 

• One more time about the whistleblower: the whistleblower's testimony is not needed at this time. The whistleblower complaint has been corroborated by many witnesses. His or her anonymity is legally protected. The only reason to out the whistleblower is to retaliate against the individual. Law enforcement agencies from coast to coast have anonymous crime tip lines. Perhaps we should have a line devoted to White House activities. 1-800-45-CRIMES

Pulling back the lens.

The last two weeks of testimony was a short-course in Ukraine-Russia relations and U.S. national security interests. I'll explore that in a post coming soon. But a couple quick takeaways. Ukraine is an important ally. They are vital to the United States' and the world's national security. But more than that, we are their ally. They are an adversary of the world's adversary, Russia. It is important that we support them. Our hulking power in the world gives our support great weight. 45 either doesn't understand this gravity, or doesn't care. But his little dalliance to get a personal political favor from this nascent democracy hurt them, hurt us, and has the potential to hurt the world. Our position in the world is still esteemed and important, in huge part due to the people who make up our country, including the 12 brave witnesses brought that to light this week. And that is the biggest truth of all.


....And finally, Randy Rainbow elegantly gets to the meat of the matter.








Other reading.

NBC News: Trump's Republican Party is an embarrassment. Here's why Democrats can't give up on it.

Esquire: Will Hurd is the Biggest Disappointment of All

AP News: Lots of impeachment evidence but one thing missing

NY Daily News: The truth in front of our noses: Donald Trump’s behavior is disgustingly corrupt and impeachable, whatever his defenders do or say