Archives for June 2019

Day 905 Sunday June 30, 2019

491 Days until the 2020 election and 569 days until the Inauguration

Megan Rapino and Obstruction of Justice

Ah yes, Megan Rapino, the co-captain of the Untied States soccer team. The woman who said, “I’m not going to the fucking White House.”

Well this seems to have folks on the right incensed. Imagine that? She should resign from the team! She won’t put her hand on her heart during the playing of the National Anthem! The outrage. The discourtesy! How could one be so disloyal. How indeed?

I have a problem too. It’s not with Ms Rapino, but with others. 

Let me summarize from volume II of the Mueller Report of the evidence of Obstruction of Justice.

There are multiple times when the president or his associates obstructed justice.

This is breaking the law as opposed to what some see as Ms Rapino’s disrespect for the country.

So I have a problem with people in office, and in this case high office, who break the law.

Well, wait a second you say, he says he didn’t break the law and that there is no evidence that he did.

To which I say Bull Shit.

There are at least ten cases in the Mueller Report that clearly show Trump and his cronies met every legal requirement under the United States Code of Obstruction of Justice.

The specific law is known as 18 U.S.C. 152(c). Mueller hones in on subsection (2) of 18 U.S.C. 152(c) but here’s all of section 18 U.S.C. 152(c):

(c) Whoever corruptly—

(1) alters, destroys, mutilates, or conceals a record, document, or other object, or attempts to do so, with the intent to impair the object’s integrity or availability for use in an official proceeding; or

(2) otherwise obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding, or attempts to do so,

shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both. 

You can google it for yourself.

Under this law anyone who obstructs an investigation, regardless of whether a crime has been committed is guilty (a la Martha Stewart). Or in the case of Micheal Cohen, there was a crime committed. A crime he was directed to do by the president. For which he is serving time in prison.

Mueller lists with all the evidence needed to satisfy every part of 18 U.S.C. 152(c)(2) of at least ten cases of Obstruction of Justice.

Here’s a quick run down of two of them:

1. Trump made repeated efforts to have McGahn as White House Counsel fire the Special Counsel. He, Trump, then lied that he had done so. There is no question that this happened.

2. Trump repeatedly tried to have the investigation into Flynn’s conduct stopped and then signaled to Flynn’s lawyers and Flynn that he should consider changing his testimony. This is witness tampering. Again, there is no question that this went on.

2 (2^nd part) Manafort and Gates were indicted on federal crimes. Trump’s personal lawyers told them they “were going to be taken care of.” This is witness tampering and obstruction of justice. Again, there is no question as to whether this happened.

(BTW since the Mueller Report was issued it has now come to light that Sean Hannity of Fox News, who enjoys a close personal relationship with the president, had been in constant contact with Manafort. We know that Hannity speaks almost daily with Trump. You think this wasn’t discussed? )

2 (3^rd part) Harm to an ongoing matter (redacted). 

Okay so let me stop here with the possible Obstruction of Justice claims against a sitting president of the United States and let us compare this to Ms Rapino’s behavior. OMG. How can these people be so upset at a soccer player for expressing herself when the man in charge of our country has committed these crimes?

Meanwhile, in other news the president met with his boss and handler, Vladimir Putin. They had a secret meeting where I’m sure Vlad told his puppy what to do next. They had a photo-op where our president joked about “fake news.” Putin said they have it too. Except in Russia they imprison and kill them – ha ha pretty funny.

Meanwhile, Jared is playing diplomat and sidling up to MBS the man who had a Washington Post reporter dismembered.

What’s not to like?

491 Days until the 2020 election and 569 days until the Inauguration

PS What are you looking at?

Day 903 Friday June 28, 2019

493 Days until the 2020 election and 571 days until the Inauguration

Megan Rapino visits the White House (a dream).

I have a dream.

I dream that Megan Rapino, co-captain of the Women’s USA Soccer Team visits the White House, along with the rest of her teammates. I dream that when the official photo is to be taken the women gather around the president. That they place their hands on his body and that they rub up against him, and as the photographer gets ready to take the official photo Megan whispers to the president, “You know, you’re not my type.” As she does this she grabs his crotch and squeezes and twists. Simultaneously, two other players give the Donald’s nipples twisties. (That’s where you grab the nipple pinch as hard as you can and twist.) At the same time several other players grab his underwear and hank up on it giving him a super wedgie as other players grab his belt and rip downwards – depantsing him.

Imagine the live action stop photos!

Donald smiling,

Donald making that O-face of pain,

Donald bending over,

Donald being pulled up as the wedgie lifts him back up and his head tilts back in surprise,

Donald standing in his tidy whites and pants around his knees.

I think the women should then yank his pants back up so he’d be standing there with his shirt half way out, his tie disheveled and hair askew.

Megan could say something to him like, “Hey, welcome to the team. You’ve been initiated. Great job!”

Or maybe, “I always thought you were a fucking pussy.”

Okay. That’s my dream.

And I dream that some day, every group that comes to the White House will show the president the respect he deserves by acting in a similar fashion.

Now on to the Democratic Debate. Wow. What a difference to the Republican Debates of 2016. Here candidates addressed issues people were interested in, problems we face, and potential solutions. The first night the attack ads began. There was one of those “What’s he hiding?” scary ads in gray, black and white with yellow overtones. But the best part of the debates were that the candidates on the stage were talking about problems we face as a nation, as a people, as the world and how to deal with them.

My favorite part was when Elizabeth Warren was asked if she had a plan to deal with Mitch McConnell if he was still head of the Senate in 2020.

“Yes.” She stopped there for five seconds or so. I wish she had just stopped. Or waited until the moderators asked her what it was, but still it was great.

Some of the candidates were one note. Some were spouting pat high level answers. Some had really thought about how to solve the problem they were talking about. 

I kept thinking about how that compared to the Republican debate when the Fox folks asked the candidates what women they would want to see on a U.S. $20 bill. Some said their wife, or their mother. One said Margaret Thatcher. Wow, how friggin’ stupid. (No living person can be on U.S. currency, nor can a foreign individual be on our currency. Oh well, those are just rules. We don’t need no stinkin’ rules.)*

*Just to spell it out for those who might not follow the logic here. Because Margaret Thatcher is British she could not be pictured on our currency. If a person’s wife or mother is alive they could no be pictured on our currency. So maybe the only possibility would be someone’s mother who died. Great thinking there you all.

Universal health care, protecting our children from gun violence, naming the biggest threat to national security – these were the topics and issues being discussed by the Democratic candidates for President. 

I don’t know about you, but somehow this seemed more germane to what we need to be discussing as a nation than whose mother should be on a twenty dollar bill.

Have a nice day!

Remember – Today is the first day of the rest of your life.

Thank-you, the management.

 493 Days until the 2020 election and 571 days until the Inauguration

PS Rocket Man

This is known as the El Baúl Ballgame Stella. There is a copy of it on the outside side wall at the National Archaeology Museum in Guatemala City, which typically you see as you are leaving the museum. To see the original you have to go to southern Guatemala where you pull up to a twenty foot high gate with an armed guard. You pass by a several rusting large building that are the remains of a sugar cane processing plant. Under a series of open roofed areas there are many sculptures. Some have thorny branches on top of them. Along one of these open corridors is this stella. No one knows much about it’s meaning or origin that I know of. However, this has not stopped the speculation that this is evidence of ancient aliens coming to visit us. I was told that most of these sculptures were discovered when plowing the area for sugar cane fields. Also, in this area of Guatemala are large rounded rocks with faces carved in them. 

After speculating as to the meaning of the thorny sticks atop some of the sculpted heads (religious or spiritual interpretation perhaps?) we asked.

The answer? “Naw, we just put the thorny branches up there to keep the birds off of them.” So much for deep spirituality. I wish we could ask someone about the helmeted rocket man.

Day 901 Wednesday June 26, 2019

495 Days until the 2020 election and 573 days until the Inauguration

Of Solar Cells and Swimming Holes

Before my trip to Indonesia I bought a small square white light at REI. It could be charged off the solar cell on its back or via a USB connection. I wanted it to be able to take pictures in dark places and to position the light at an angle to generate shadows to highlight what I was photographing. This technique is called raking and hence I would use it as a raking light. Before leaving I charged it up, turned it on briefly, saw the white light and turned it off. Fortunately, I never needed it, because it didn’t work correctly. 

When I got back and turned on the light it went into what the directions described as “Party Mode.” Party mode runs through four different colored lights in sequence: white, orange, blue, and green. Then the light shut off. The directions said you got to party mode by pressing the on/off switch four times quickly in succession. Regular mode, ie the white light, press once. Flashing press twice. Something else press three times. It didn’t matter what I did it went to “Party Mode” ran through the four lights and shut off. 

I took it back to REI. The clerk suggested that I get another off the rack. Seemed like a good idea. The blister pack had a cutout around the on/off switch with a “Try It!” printed on it. Guess what? Party Mode and shut off, just like the one I bought. I tried the next one, and the next one, and all six or eight on the pegboard holder. They all did the same thing. I brought them to the clerk. Hum. What to do? He called the floor guy, who came over and pressed my unit multiple times, confirmed that it only went to party mode and took the others and put them back on the rack. He suggested another light. One that used three triple A batteries.

But wait! What about the lights that don’t work as advertised? 

Why put them back on the rack? Do you think there are folks out there that want a light that only goes into Party Mode for one cycle and then shuts off?

What happened to individual responsibility? I would have thought the clerk or the floor guy, or both together would have discussed this as a problem and sent it up the line. I mean there must be a lot of these lights throughout the stores nationwide. Wouldn’t it make sense to pull them all, not let your members be stuck with them and have to take them back to the store? 

It made me think of “The Great Generation” as the WWII folks are called. Or “Greatest”, okay? Why? They saw a threat, recognized it and dealt with it. Then when they got home the government passed the GI Bill so they could get a good education. ( I wonder was anyone screaming “socialism” about that government funding? ) There are tons of stories about those people, my parents’ generation, solving problems, pitching in, helping one another.

A few years ago I went back to Great Pond. The place where I learned to swim. Where I spent many hours. There were picnic table and stone fireplaces under the trees away from the beach sand. I remember having picnics there and grilling hotdogs and hamburgers. Dad would sit by the coals with a marshmallow on a stick slowly turning it until it was a huge golden tan. There was a float with a diving board on it. That float held 55 gallon drums and had a ladder that you climbed up. There was also a rock in the shallow water. It had a wooden platform on top of it and a lovely rock ledge step so that any kid could climb up onto it. I spent many an hour on that little wooden platform.

When I went back all that was gone. The big float was replaced with a low level float with no diving board. The rock? It was gone. No platform. There was a strip of snow fencing down the middle of the beach. To keep the Canadian Geese away. No one else was there. Apparently, everyone now has there own swimming pool. I owned a swimming pool – once. One trip to the pool store for chemicals was equivalent to a year membership in a community pool. With a community pool you didn’t have to keep it clean, worry about someone drowning in your pool, paying extra insurance, etc. etc. etc. And the great thing about a community pool is you meet your neighbors. In the old days there was a shed where aluminum patio chairs were kept. When you came to the pool you got a couple of chairs out, when you left you put them away. Now? The shed was gone.

What happened to our sense of community? To our sense of togetherness? Of helping one another?

When did we become so fearful? I don’t know what else to call it. We’ve lost our sense of helping our fellow person. We’re fearful to do anything. WTF?

Meanwhile those 350 migrant children were moved out of the facility that was reported to be unsanitary. Then they moved in 100 other kids. Soap? Toothpaste? Toothbrushes? They were all donated to the centers. The administration turned them away. They have all that stuff. Right. So why aren’t the kids getting that stuff? I haven’t heard an answer to that. Other than it’s the Dems fault because they won’t pass an appropriation bill that includes funding for the wall. 

Then there is the picture of a father and his daughter face down, dead. Both drowned trying to cross the Rio Grande. Why the illegal crossing? They were refused entrance at a regular crossing. There is chaos at our southern border. Immigration is at a 50 year high. ICE agents are frustrated and confused by Trump’s policies and lack of direction. Is this what winning looks like?

Meanwhile, our democracy is under attack. There are comparisons to 1984, the book, that was written as a warning about the rise of fascism. There are comparisons to Hitler’s rise to power, and Stalin’s. Meanwhile, the right wing fanatics are worried that Bernie is a socialist. Really? That’s what you’re worried about? We’ve got an international criminal enterprise running this country and you’re worried that someone might get free medical care? 

The best Facebook post I saw yesterday was a picture of a billboard in Kentucky. It had Mitch McConnell’s face on it. Printed in large capital letters were the words, “PUTIN’S MITCH.”

Yup. That’s where we are. Have nice day. Interesting that none of my right wing buddies have taken up the gauntlet to let me know specifically how Trump has improved their lives. Or Mitch.

495 Days until the 2020 election and 573 days until the Inauguration

PS What are you looking at?