Showing posts with label mafia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mafia. Show all posts

Thursday, December 31, 2020

Tremble, thou wretch

"Tremble, thou wretch,
That hast within thee undivulged crimes
Unwhipped of justice." – King Lear, King Lear by William Shakespeare

*

"The quality of mercy is not strained.
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blessed:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest." - Portia, The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
 

What's your choice for the villainous DJT? The heavy whips of justice? Or the gentle rain of mercy? You can guess how LSR feels.

Some think it's a dilemma, but it shouldn't be. We are a nation of laws, and no one is above the law. Not no one. Not even the president. He is a criminal on so many levels! But there's a heavy, heavy political blanket wrapping it all up, and it's more complicated than it should be. 

A few presidents have broken the law in pursuit of policy, and none of them faced prosecution. But not one of them has been as criminal as the Commander-in-Cheat. To do nothing would encourage future ne'er-do-wells. 

For your reference, here are some lists of wrongdoings and crimes that the criminaliest president in history has committed. It's dizzying to think about all the wrong he has done. 
The Case for Pardon/Non-Prosecution

The biggest argument made in favor of Biden's pardoning 45 for his crimes while president*, or at least not seeking prosecution. is that we should not be a country that prosecutes political enemies. That's valid, but it's not entirely applicable to this case!

"Movin' on"
Essays like Michael Conway's on NBC, calling for a pardon in the name of "unity" and "healing," appeal to my Pollyanna heart. Oh, wouldn't it be great if Biden showed the gentle rain of mercy and pardoned him and all would be right in the world? We could hold hands, have a Kumbaya moment, and have a big group hug. Forgive and forget!

Yeah, right.

One of Conway's suppositions for issuing a pardon is that in accepting a pardon, Cheeto Benito would be admitting to wrong-doing. Except that this supposition is nebulous, and BLOTUS certainly wouldn't agree, nor would his sycophants, so it's moot. He certainly would not admit anything. And even if he did, an admission is not going to heal us. This is a piss-poor premise for a pardon.

Columnist Randall Eliason writing for WaPo makes the flawed argument that many of his wrongdoings weren't really illegal, so we should let it pass, and that somehow the social and political "punishment" of being voted out of office and being considered a disgraced president is enough. 

Sorry, Mr. Eliason. It's not enough for this resister. 

Writing in the New York Times, Eric Posner's rationale for not prosecuting 45 is a little more bleak. In discussing the obstruction of justice in the Russia investigation or the Ukraine quid pro quo, he suggests that it goes toward constitutional latitude for a president to do the things he did, and a judge would be loathe to rule on an issue that is constitutionally hazy. Also, there's a lot that would be hard to find evidence for. Corrupt? Hell yes. Prosecutable? Questionable. Acquittal would mean more fodder for his victimhood. By not prosecuting at all, Posner suggests the oxygen will be sucked out of 45's martyrdom.

"We do not prosecute political rivals"
It's true that we should not be a nation that appears to prosecute political opponents for political reasons. There's a danger in that. But holy jeebus 45's actions went beyond the pale! For most of us, this is obviously not a political prosecution but a criminal prosecution. Period.

"Just a misting"
In reality, a pardon like Ford's for Nixon ("for all offenses against the United States which he, Richard Nixon, has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 20, 1969 through August 9, 1974") for a man like SCROTUS, would be a but a misting of mercy over a huge waterfall of culpability. 

For one, Biden can only pardon federal crimes. And if he followed Ford's precedent, the pardon would be only for crimes committed while president. We all know there are many, many other crimes. SCROTUS has been committing crimes all his life. He has committed crimes before he became "president," and he will continue to commit crimes after he is "president." To pardon him for the stuff he did 2017-2020 would not preclude prosecution for a slew of other crimes. We know that New York State has ramped up their investigation into DJT and the family's organization.

Secondly, if he pardons for crimes only committed while president, it frees up the DOJ to investigate for many other crimes committed before 2017, such as tax fraud.
 
And here's the thing: the Constitution states that pardons cannot be issued for impeachments. The Mango Mussolini stands as having been impeached for obstruction of justice and abuse of power. Article II of the U.S. Constitution is clear: "[The President] shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment." He can't be pardoned for those crimes. Whether prosecution is pursued or not is another question. (Side note: Even if he were to pardon himself, and that ability is highly questionable, he could still could not pardon himself for the offenses for which he was impeached). 

"Do it, and we'll make you pay"
Another argument for a pardon or non-prosecution is that if the DOJ pursues prosecution, Republican backlash would be too great for Biden and it would be difficult to do any of the important things that he needs to do. But won't the Grand Obstructionist Party, if they control the Senate, do that anyway? 

If he were to be pursued, he'd act like a trapped tiger. His go-to response to attempts at leveling consequences: hit back hard, or better yet, hit first. He has gotten away with escaping from lawsuits in the past by attacking his attackers and scaring them off. He won't go down easily. It worked well for him in civil cases, but will work less well for tough-as-nails prosecutors. The trouble is, Twitler has armed supporters, and prosecution could be met with dangerous opposition. Should we be a nation shaped by mob rule? No. But we cannot ignore the possibility of violence.

"Moot City"
Of course, all of the above would be moot if King Fear resigned on January 19 and had President Pence pardon him. That is a real possibility. Others agree with my prediction, like New York Attorney General Letitia James (D). If he did so, he could slink away to Mar-a-Lago, avoid the inauguration, and get a pardon all in one fell swoop! 

In the end, if Biden did pardon Donny in the manner that Ford did for Nixon, for any and all crimes committed while in office, he could indeed show the world he is truly merciful, a healer. This may be good for the nation: he would not appear to be persecuting political enemies; it would free up the Department of Justice to do other work; it would be a step toward healing the nation, and it would not be the be-all-end-all of justice. 


The Dangers of Pardoning

There is danger in setting the precedent of not going after outright criminal behavior. It will simply embolden future bad actors. After this election, we know that a large portion of the U.S. voting population is ok with a despot. And with the oligarchic/authoritarian/tyrannical mindset of those currently in power on the right (eg, 126 House Republicans who conspired to commit sedition), what happens in 2024 or beyond could be even worse. Millions voted for a despot. If we give Hair Furor a pass now, what will the next corrupt – and smarter – president try? We might as well not have laws at all. 

And think of all of 45's pardons that came down last week, with probably more to come before January 20. Talk about corruption! If we let him off, we open the door to when another bad guy comes to power, he can surround himself with people who know he will pardon them. They'll all be above the law. (Which begs the question a whole topic unto itself: should we reform the ability of the president to give pardons at all?)

Without consequences for this bad guy, other bad guys would simply be emboldened to do more bad things. The Repugs have been doing bad things for a very long time. Their crimes must be called to bear justice. 

The dangerous precedent that Ford set in pardoning Nixon got us into this predicament. That act led to this president* flaunting the law for his own gain. It's eerie that it's all the same players that have been scheming: Roger Stone, a sumabitch who idolized Nixon – right down to emulating Nixon's famous outstretched peace signs and a Nixon tattoo across his back. Roger Stone cut his dirty-tricks teeth during the Nixon years. And then there was Roy Cohn, the mafia lawyer who also advised Richard Nixon. Cohn was a major player in Nixon's games as well as 45's, and though he died before the 2016 election, his stench still graces Donny's boots. Cohn's ghost was very much alive during the last several years. 

It's a dangerous proposition to simply move on from the last four years.


The Case for Prosecution

The Rule of Law
The best reason for prosecution: We are a nation of laws. He did damage to our nation. He did damage to our democratic ideals. He should be held accountable. 

It would be ridiculous and untenable to let all of his crimes slide. Even if it was politically expedient and "healing," the sheer volume of crimes is unable to be ignored. This is the most criminal president we've ever had in our history. The crimes he committed are really bad-uns, and were not of the garden-variety presidential "stretch the law for the perceived good of the country," these were all crimes for his own benefit. He should obey the rule of law, goshdarnit!

Prosecution of this "president" wouldn't be a political act, it would simply be a legal act. If others see it that way, then that's too bad. He acted objectively illegally and should be treated objectively according to the law. 

Many on the right will cry and moan, but we have to ignore the noise. There may be political fallout, but what's right is right. He broke the law under the color of authority. Period. Meuller brought some out to the open. The House indicted him on others. Let our third branch of government weigh in.

Clear and Present Danger
One of the purposes of criminal justice is to remove a danger from society. This man is a huge danger. If he doesn't go to jail, he will have more chances to damage our nation further. We know he monetizes every position he is in. He's in debt to the tune of $400 million to who-knows-who. He has knowledge of many state secrets that are valuable. He doesn't care about the country; he only cares about himself. All of this adds up to one dangerous cocktail. We simply must put him away so he can't do more harm. 

And! You wanna talk political danger? There is a political cost to "playing nice," which unfortunately the Democrats are all too familiar with. The GOP does not act in good faith. If the Democrats decline to prosecute as "an act of good faith," they are just asking to be cuckolded again. Grow a pair, Dems!


Threading the Needle: Multiple Methods

What if we walk this tightrope by leaving alone the crimes while president and go after him for all the rest? Congress took up impeachment and acquitted him; let's put that aside as an "adjudicated" case. There is plenty else to get him on.

Do nothing
Biden should definitely not pardon him, but maybe he should not refrain from directing his DOJ, period. He shouldn't direct them to investigate and prosecute, but neither should he inhibit them. That way, Biden gets to be a healer, it doesn't appear to be a political move, blah-blah-blah, and the DOJ can work independently in doing their job. Which is what they are supposed to do.

If that's not nothing enough, and if using the DOJ to investigate is too fraught, then let's have an independent body investigate. Appoint a special counsel. Have prosecutors outside the DOJ have the reigns, and it becomes non-political. 

The tincture of time
Time may be a way to get him ...eventually. When he continues to commit crimes, when he fades from view and from memory, and when his MAGAts start to not care about him any more. Maybe then, if statutes of limitations have not run out, he can be prosecuted for the crimes he has committed while president*. Given that he is not going to change his ways, there will undoubtedly be new crimes to prosecute. 

Comparing to another odious figure in our history: Joseph McCarthy. McCarthy was widely admired by many back in the day. In fact, his polls while in office were better than 45's. Here is a Gallup poll showing his numbers, and here is a Washington Post piece analyzing the poll numbers between McCarthy and the Tangerine Palpatine. Today, McCarthy's name is universally met with disdain as the abhorrent person that he was. The tincture of time may help millions of others who have been temporarily blinded.

And it's already happening. They are moving on. Recently in The Los Angeles Times: Letters to the editor defending Trump almost don't exist anymore. 

Prosecute him for his all his other crimes
This is a man with a singularly heinous history of crimes. He was a criminal before he became president, he was a criminal while he was a president, and there is no reason to doubt that he will be a criminal when he is no longer president. If we don't go after him for crimes while president, there are plenty of other crimes to get him on. 
  • Let's let New York State get him. He and the TЯUMP Organization are both under investigation in New York for bank, tax, and insurance fraud. 
  • Let's get him on taxes. Most tax crimes have a statute of limitations of six years, and if we act right away, we can get Darth TaxEvader for his tax crimes for 2015-2016. His tax crimes are black and white. They are current. They are not political. They are dull and dry, plenty uninteresting to the millions of MAGATs out there. Evidence abounds (thank you, New York Times!), and the only "witnesses" are numbers on the page. There's not many ways in which his sycophants can defend tax crimes. He's basically a mobster, after all. Famously, Al Capone was not prosecuted for his gangster crimes. What sent him to prison was tax evasion. 
  • Let's support the women in their civil and criminal cases against him for the dozens of sexual assaults he committed. Those will be done in civil court and at the state level. Civilly: get him where it hurts - in the wallet. Criminally: put him in jail for the harm he has done to women. 
  • Let's impeach him again. There is nothing that says that impeachment can't happen after a person leaves office. If convicted by the Senate this time, we would at least enjoy his “disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States.” 
  • Let's encourage and support civil cases. There are tons of civil cases that the DOJ can't touch one way or the other. Nor would a pardon. Let's let those play out. 
  • Let's bet that state investigations uncover other federal crimes. If there are new crimes uncovered, and he doesn't have a blanket pardon, then it would be hard to ignore them. 
  • Let's look at the bigger picture. We true crime junkies know that there are often crimes where investigators and prosecutors know the suspect is guilty, but there isn't enough evidence to prosecute. Or foregoing prosecution for one crime might actually help the prosecution for another crime. There may be some benefits – frustrating as it is – for we the victims to drop one case to pursue another. Perhaps Biden could issue a pardon for a narrow set of crimes and then let the rest play out like they are supposed to.
  • Let's wait, ummm, maybe 24 hours. We'd just have to wait maybe a day, max, before he crimes again. He can't help it. He's a criminal. We just wait.
  • Let's go after all of his associates. There be lots of 'em. This would be a strong message to future conspirators: You will be held accountable.
  • Let's go after his kids. The Don could issue pardons for his children, but it's not likely that he can issue a blanket pardon for them. In order for him to pardon them, he would have to lay out the crimes that they committed. He won't do that. It opens too many cans of worms for them to be prosecuted for related crimes, or to implicate himself. It would hurt them politically. Donny Jr. and Ivanka, at least, have their eyes on future political aspirations. The Orange Anus does *not* admit wrong-doing. In the biggest irony, he won't throw his kids under the bus with pardons. So, let's go after them. There are plenty of crimes to charge them with. At least it's some justice. 

Truth will out
History will bear witness to all of this. In the meantime, what do you want to happen? What do you think will happen?


"Well, time is the old justice that examines all such offenders, and let time try." – Rosalind, As You Like It, William Shakespeare


***


Further Reading


Independent Australia: What to do about Trump's crimes

New York Times Magazine: Individual-1















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Monday, September 30, 2019

The Best Words – Impeachment Edition



SCROTUS's unusual and sometimes pathological use of language is one of the hallmarks of this person. It's a combination of simpleton language; bullying language (which to his mind is powerful language); and outright pathological language, both in the horrible ways that he talks to people and the neurologically-impaired traits of his language.

I'm a speech and language geek, and I've touched on TЯUMP's language frequently on these pages. Sometimes from a linguistic perspective, sometimes from a speech pathology perspective, and sometimes from a rhetoric perspective. I've also talked about his speech and how his articulation is also intermittently impaired (a definite neurological sign).

I revisit this topic with new data points. Today we focus mostly on the dangerous use of his language, his bellicose, bullying, and this weekend, outright militant rhetoric.

Shortly after the revelations of the whistleblower complaint, he began besmirching this patriot. While still at the United Nations, while the information was still evolving, he likened the whistleblower and "the person who gave him the information" as traitors, and mob-like, menacingly said, “I want to know who’s the person who gave the whistle-blower the information because that’s close to a spy. You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart with spies and treason, right? We used to handle it a little differently than we do now.”

Ah! The good ol' days when spies were executed!

This weekend, Twitler continued the same theme, raging about treason against the whistleblower as well as House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-CA). Mein Drumpf ramped it up, thumbs working furiously on a bunch o' tweets, saying, "Like every American, I deserve to meet my accuser, especially when this accuser, the so-called “Whistleblower,” represented a perfect conversation with a foreign leader in a totally inaccurate and fraudulent way. Then Schiff made up what I actually said by lying to Congress......"

"His lies were made in perhaps the most blatant and sinister manner ever seen in the great Chamber. He wrote down and read terrible things, then said it was from the mouth of the President of the United States. I want Schiff questioned at the highest level for Fraud & Treason....."

"....In addition, I want to meet not only my accuser, who presented SECOND & THIRD HAND INFORMATION, but also the person who illegally gave this information, which was largely incorrect, to the “Whistleblower.” Was this person SPYING on the U.S. President? Big Consequences!"

Tweets are below:


Will someone please remind him that though the whistleblower set things in motion -- which is the very definition of whistleblower – SCROTUS himself handed over the information. Uh, Mr. Clown, Sir? You're right that your conversation was "perfect." YOU and YOU ALONE provided Congress and the People the transcript that "perfectly" illustrates your abuse of power!

And dare we expect him to understand that "facing your accuser" is a guarantee to the accused in criminal court, not during an investigation? If all goes well, that day will come, mister. That day will come.


This dangerous rhetoric puts the whistleblower in real danger. The individual's attorney has voiced his concerns to Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire.

There is already a $50,000 "bounty" offered by some conservative activists for the identity of this whistleblower. This of course erodes the important protections that whistleblowers are guaranteed under federal law. Not to mention that this type of language and action chills anyone else who would step up. The whistleblower has reportedly been placed under federal protection. It's extremely important to keep the whistleblower's identity anonymous.

The Rabid Yam's racist, anti-Semitic, and misogynistic rhetoric raised its ugly head in one tweet over the weekend, when he expressed his displeasure about the more than 200 Democratic Members of Congress supporting an impeachment inquiry, by neatly singling out Jewish and women of color lawmakers. Disgusting language and not at all surprising.


But it was last evening when SCROTUS really ramped things up. He alluded to civil war. Here is a man in the highest office in the land threatening civil war if the Congress does not cease its Constitutional duty. One Harvard law professor has asserted that this statement alone is an impeachable offense.


And one type of language he is very good at. Mob Boss talk. I talked about Don Scrotolone in these pages, too. The phone call to President Zelensky illustrated his mastery again. This was plain as day in the phone call's rough transcript. Let the Daily Show with Trevor Noah illustrate this for you.






His rants boil down to a few talking points. Let's play Whistleblower Bingo at his Chopper Talks, in his tweets, and whenever he gets in front of a camera. These points will not vary much; they will just get louder.
  • Second-hand information
  • Phony witch hunt
  • But Hunter Biden!
  • Perfect phone call
  • No pressure
  • Treason/spies

His language becomes more unhinged the more he gets backed into a corner. He turns on his detractors, reducing them to "animals" and "scum" as he did last week referencing members of the press at the same UN breakfast where he called for the assassination of the whistleblower. A couple breaths later he made bizarre claims like, “I just said I’m the most presidential except for possibly Abe Lincoln when he wore the hat — that was tough to beat. Honest Abe, when he wore that hat, that was tough to beat. But I can’t do that, that hat wouldn’t work for me. Yeah, I have better hair than him.”

You just can't make this stuff up!


As for language disorders, he still has trouble thinking of words and phrases. Remember when he talked about the oranges of the Mueller investigation? You could see the wee wheels turning in his head, but those neurons could simply not deliver origins to his mouth.

Something similar happened in his press conference at the United Nations last week. He was addressing the whistle-blower complaint, and he wanted to run through a talking point, that the whistleblower got his information second-hand. You can see him struggle for the phrase "first-hand" in his remarks below (video starts at his struggle).




And the strange tweet about Liddle' Adam Schiff. This is just bizarro, folks.


Compare that to the elegant and concise writing of the whistleblower. The New York Times looks closely at it. Worth the read.


Rest assured, you can count on me, Liddle' Sister Resister, to keep tabs on speech and language issues!


And finally, a couple non-related things.....

As we watch the impeachment unfold, the world turns. Witness checks and balances babeeee!

While we were all a-flutter about impeachment stuff happening, our federal judges were at work, doing what the Judicial Branch does best: Acting as a Check and a Balance!

Nick Anderson


On Friday, two important cases pulled the brakes on the Mango Mussolini's immigrations locomotive.

First, a federal judge blocked SCROTUS's plan to override the Flores Agreement, a rule that protects immigrant children in detention.

A second federal judge stopped his fast-track deportation plan, which would have expanded the policy of allowing deportation without the use of immigration courts. Just before midnight on Friday, an injunction was handed down, forcing the administration to adhere to existing policy.


And finally, because they are brilliant and funny, here is the cast of SNL this past Saturday night.





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Sunday, March 3, 2019

There's still time to change the road you're on

"Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run, there's still time to change the road you're on." - Led Zeppelin

 I'm a little late to the party. I wanted to write earlier than this about Michael Cohen's testimony on Wednesday, but life happens. Work, dancing, lectures, traveling!

Michael Cohen, Don the Con's former personal lawyer and "fixer" of 10 years, met with the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, February 27. Americans from coast to coast were glued to their computers, TVs, and radios, including yours truly.




I was lucky enough to watch the first two-plus hours at home, then listened intermittently in the car the rest of the day. Darn work!

Here is the full hearing:



I couldn't find the transcript of the entire hearing, but here is the transcript of his opening statement. Here is the transcript of Rep. Cummings's closing statement, which you can watch below. It is a powerful moment.




These were a few of my extemporaneous notes while I watched:  "Screeching Repubs" — "Not letting him answer" — "crapping their pants" — "sarcastic - Gosar" —"No questions- just shrieking" — "ask a question and don't wait for answer"


The Michael Cohen saga, at least how it relates to our current situation, started in April 2018, when the FBI raided his office, home, and hotel room and took boxes and boxes of evidence and phones — over three million files — after a referral from Robert Mueller to the Southern District of New York. It was reported at first that evidence concerning the Access Hollywood tape was being sought, along with documents concerning the Stephanie Cliffords (aka Stormy Daniels) pay-off. After the raid, Cohen described the FBI agents as being quite polite and courteous and that he thanked them at the end. It was at that moment that I thought, "Huh. Maybe his calm demeanor means something...." It was soon obvious to me that he felt a sense of relief.

Soon after, Cohen was indicted and he plead guilty to eight counts, including tax fraud, bank fraud, and campaign finance violations.

He was asked to come before Congress to testify, and the hearing had to be postponed a couple times. In January he asked to postpone because his former boss — the President* of the United States — threatened his family with this tweet:

And he also called Cohen a "rat."

Remember: "rat" is a mafia term. I've described his Don Scrotolone tendencies in a post in June, 2017. Don't forget, "rat" means "flipping" — revealing the truth about crimes. "Rat" is most definitely not the same as "liar."

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) continued the mafioso style when he attempted to intimidate Cohen with this tweet, right before the hearing:
Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends? Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat. I wonder if she’ll remain faithful when you’re in prison. She’s about to learn a lot…
This tweet put Gaetz in the sights of the Florida Bar Association, and he may be in big trouble.  Here's a really good article from Vanity Fair outlining the Gaetz situation, on its own and as a piece of the bigger puzzle that is Trump World.


Finally, last week, Michael Cohen came to Congress to testify to the House Oversight Committee, chaired by Rep. Elijiah Cummings (D-MD).

I'm learning more and more about our government as these dangerous times unfold. And more and more I am grateful for the Founding Fathers for putting powerful checks and balances in place. I ❤ the U.S. House of Representatives. Thank you, Founding Fathers (albeit for this particular committee, the fathers of the early 1800s)! If you are like me and didn't know much about the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, you can learn about it on Wikipedia or the official website here. It's a powerful committee, and one we need right now.

Cohen came before Congress with his hang-dog look perfected. Given that he plead guilty to eight counts, continues to cooperate with the Southern District of New York, is reporting to prison in a couple months, and came before Congress voluntarily, I believe his motives now are genuine: to reveal the truth and to change the road he's on.

We know he is a shady guy. He has lied over and over on behalf of his wretched boss. He lied to benefit himself, as well, in taxes and loans. He has not been a model citizen. But I think he is now contrite, wants to own his mistakes, and move forward in his life. We've all been there. Maybe not to this extent, but we've all been there.


So, the testimony.

He REAMED Dirty Don. The testimony was brutal and explosive. He laid it all out in plain language. Benedict Donald is a liar, a conman, and a cheat.

But we knew that.

Some notable moments during the hearing:

•  The absolute shriekiness of Ranking Member Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH). Such a picture-perfect defender of Captain Chaos. Jordan's whole demeanor, body language, tone, words: a bursting boil of "Mrs. Putin" pus. Positively.

• The one-note "Liar Liar Pants on Fire" line of "questioning" by the right. Really, Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ)? Putting up a meme in the hallowed halls of Congress? Grow up, man!



• The shameful use of a black woman, Whitewash House staffer Lynne Patton, to somehow defend against The Fanta Fascist's raging racism. And later, Rep. Rashida Tlaib's (D-MI) repudiation of Rep. Mark Meadows's (R-NC) act, calling the stunt racist in itself. Fireworks flew there for a few moments toward the end of the hearing. See the emotional video below:





She may have back-pedaled outright calling Meadows "racist," but I'm not. He's racist. Another of his public racist acts was saying, that Obama should be sent "back to Kenya."

It is astounding that racists continue to use the "some of my best friends are black" trope to absolve themselves of their racism. Just look yourself in the mirror, white people. Recognize your privilege,  recognize your bias, recognize that you can do better. And do it. Stop trotting out your friends of color to somehow distance yourself from yourself!!

• The explosive proof that not only did Two-Pump Trump know about the Stephanie Cliffords's pay-off, he reimbursed Cohen via check.

• Cohen calling out Republicans: "I did the same thing that you're doing now for 10 years. I protected Mr. Trump for 10 years....I can only warn people, the more people that follow Mr. Trump as I did blindly are going to suffer the same consequences that I’m suffering." Video here.

• Cohen naming names. The names and deeds of Allen Weisselberg, Ron Lieberman, Matthew Calamari, David Pecker, Dylan Howard, Barry Levine, and Russian mobster Felix Slater. Little Sister Resister is popping up some popcorn for the next round of hearings!

• The fact that the Republicans did not ask any questions. Cohen called them out on that too, saying:
I just find it interesting, sir, that between yourself and your colleagues that not one question so far since I’m here has been asked about President Trump. That’s actually why I thought I was coming today—not to confess the mistakes that I’ve made. I've already done that. And I’ll do it again, every time you ask me about taxes or mistakes. Yes, I made my mistakes. I’ll say it now again. I'm going to pay the ultimate price … The American people don’t care about my taxes. They want to know what it is that I know about Mr. Trump. Not one question so far has been asked about Mr. Trump.
They were woefully unprepared. Shamefully so.

• In fact, Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) was so unprepared he didn't even know who Michael Cohen was before that day and didn't realize that the "boxes of documents" Cohen referred to were seized by the feds almost a year ago. Idiot! These are our leaders?!

• The Republicans' concern for a potential book deal. Why?? Is that illegal? No. Is it unethical? No. Hell, he should write a book! I would! And I'll definitely read his!

• The confirmation that Forrest Trump never expected to win, and didn't really want to be prez, and that the campaign would be "the greatest infomercial in political history." It's obvious that he wanted to WIN though. Winning is everything.

• The fact that Cohen was directed to threaten Twitiot's schools not to release grades or SAT scores. Got something to hide, Donny Boy? 

• And in the final minutes of the hearing, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) elegantly used her five minutes to ask a set of laser-sharp questions that did more to open up more questions about Trump and his nefarious tax habits than the previous 7 hours. Thank you, Bronx citizens, for gifting us this crackerjack lawmaker.





In a personal aside, it was really cool texting with my son and my Sister Resister Karen in real time about the hearing, including the moment between Meadows and Tlaib.


As usual, our satirists give us perhaps the most adroit analyses:

The Onion:

Offended Mark Meadows Reminds Colleagues He Never Once Complained About Capitol’s Integrated Drinking Fountains


Seth Meyers in his Closer Look:




...and last night's Saturday Night Live. Nailed it. ...Especially Kyle Mooney's impersonation of Rep. Gosar. Gotta laugh!






Our resistance — our votes — placed the Democrats in the House, and our resistance is pushing them to use their power on our behalf. We ourselves, as a nation, are on a better road. Keep it up, Brother and Sister Resisters! Keep it up!



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Sunday, June 25, 2017

Who said it? Don Corolone or Don Scrotolone?

"A group of politicians deciding to dump a President because his morals are bad is like the Mafia getting together to bump off the Godfather for not going to church on Sunday." -- Russell Baker

Who said it? Mob Boss or Toddler Boss? (answers below)

1. "Goddamn FBI don't respect nothin'."

2. "A friend should always underestimate your virtues and an enemy overestimate your faults."

3. "I need loyalty. I expect loyalty."

4. "Friendship is everything. Friendship is more than talent. It is more than the government. It is almost the equal of family."

5. "Never rat on your friends, and always keep your mouth shut."

6. "The only one who can do what I do is me."

7. “Nobody knows the system better than me, which is why I alone can fix it"

8. "I'm just a businessman, giving the people what they want."

9.“I never lie to any man because I don’t fear anyone. The only time you lie is when you are afraid.”

10. "You know what else they say about my people? The polls, they say I have the most loyal people. Did you ever see that? Where I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters, okay? It’s like incredible."

11. "Don’t ever take sides with anyone against the family again. Ever.”

12. “It has not been easy for me. It has not been easy for me. I started off in Brooklyn. My father gave me a small loan of a million dollars."

13. "The best way to enter our business is to be born into it."

14. "They better be careful or I will unleash big time on them."

15. "Maybe he should have been roughed up."

16. “I can’t stand squealers, hit that guy!"

17. "I'll beat the crap out of you!"

18. "You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history - led by some very bad and conflicted people!" 

19. "To me being a gangster was better than being President of the United States."


 And I'm just gonna leave these right here.....

The Cabinet Love-Fest (video)

*  


The Don demands loyalty (video)






Who said it?
1. "Goddamn FBI don't respect nothin'."  Sonny Corelone, The Godfather

 2. "A friend should always underestimate your virtues and an enemy overestimate your faults." Don Vito Corelone, The Godfather

 3. "I need loyalty. I expect loyalty." SCROTUS

4. "Friendship is everything. Friendship is more than talent. It is more than the government. It is almost the equal of family."  Don Vito Corleone, The Godfather

 5. "Never rat on your friends, and always keep your mouth shut."  James Conway, Goodfellas

 6. "The only one who can do what I do is me."  Frank Costello, The Departed

 7. “Nobody knows the system better than me, which is why I alone can fix it" SCROTUS

8. "I'm just a businessman, giving the people what they want." Al Capone, American gangster

9.“I never lie to any man because I don’t fear anyone. The only time you lie is when you are afraid.” John Gotti, American Mafia Boss

10. "You know what else they say about my people? The polls, they say I have the most loyal people. Did you ever see that? Where I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters, okay? It’s like incredible." SCROTUS

11. "Don’t ever take sides with anyone against the family again. Ever.” Sonny Corolone, The Godfather

 12. “It has not been easy for me. It has not been easy for me. I started off in Brooklyn. My father gave me a small loan of a million dollars." SCROTUS

13. "The best way to enter our business is to be born into it."  Joseph Massino, American mobster

14. "They better be careful or I will unleash big time on them." SCROTUS

15. "Maybe he should have been roughed up." SCROTUS

16. “I can’t stand squealers, hit that guy!" Albert Anastasia, American mafia boss

17. "I'll beat the crap out of you!" SCROTUS

18. "You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history - led by some very bad and conflicted people!" SCROTUS

19. "To me being a gangster was better than being President of the United States."   Henry Hill, Goodfellas






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