This week, a Japanese ship was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz. Although there is a claim from our DoD and State Department that the attack came from Iran, the source of the attack is not clear, and the Japanese owner of the ship disputed Trump administration claims that it was an Iranian landmine that caused the fire on the ship.

The neocons in the administration, Bolton and Pompeo, as well as their Saudi allies, have been beating the drum to start a war with Iran, which would make the Iraq war look like a picnic. Iran is much bigger, and much more technically advanced than Iraq was in 2003,1 43 CL39K JAGUAR 3.4 (Mk1) race KIT BY SMTSCar model AMO-F15 1 43 USSR and they would probably take a much more aggressive stance than Iraq did. The American people are, understandably, hesitant to follow our leaders into a war, having been lied to by the Bush Administration about WMD in Iraq.

The larger problem for Trump is that, regardless of the source of the attack (which COULD be Iran), BROOKLIN MODELS 15 1949 FORD MERCURY 2 DOOR COUPE GREEN MIB mqSiku 2819 Mercedes Benz Feuerwehr Drehleiterwagen in OVPhe and his administration are having a great deal of difficulty selling this war to our allies, largely because he is not seen as credible, and also because he has not proven to be a reliable partner. Trump has now told, since taking office, almost 11,000 verifiable lies. He lies the way most of us draw breath. This is nothing new; he has always been a liar. He also has never shown loyalty to anyone. If you doubt that, ask Mike Pence, who after being the most sycophantic of sycophants for the last 22 months, can still not count on an endorsement from Trump in 2024.

This President also has a startling tendency to blab intelligence secrets to perceived friends (witness his May, 2017, meeting with Former Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak, in which he revealed top secret intelligence information gathered by Israel to Kislyak). It is certain that even the Russian leadership would use a trust-but-verify approach to anything Trump tells them. As if to highlight the seriousness of this issue, the New York Times just published an article in which, Car model ZIL 117 1 43 USSRMercedes-Benz G Bimobil Husky 235 (D, 1984)buried well down the column (I believe it was paragraph 21 or so), the DoD and State Department revealed that they do not provide Trump with unvarnished information for fear he’d reveal it. He is, in Ralph Kramden’s words, “a blabbermouth.” We can afford one of those as a mother-in-law, but not as a President.

This creates a very serious problem for US foreign policy going forward (to say nothing of domestic policy). If our leaders cannot be trusted, there is little point in believing them. This threatens our place in the world, and thereby, the stability of our alliances. Thus, the utter failure of the GOP in Congress,1 43 Spark Sauber C30 Ferrari Monaco GP Kamui Kobayashi SJ005Tin toy soldiers ELITE painted 54 mm Ashigaru with trophies, 2nd floor. 16 - ear the State Department, the DOJ, and the DoD to adequately rein in Trump has caused huge problems for us, well beyond any benefit to them of protecting the man’s fragile ego. He is certainly not a man who can be trusted at any level.

I have already stated how harmful a President like this is domestically and with regard to human rights, but this is a new wrinkle that must be appreciated. Trump is not only a clear and present danger domestically, but also one internationally. He must be removed from office.

• WWP T-62 MBT in Detail T-62 and Tiran 3 6 Main Battle Tank Photo Manual
• Capsule Plarail Thomas All 16 Species
• Buffalo Games 4000 pc Jigsaw Puzzle New York City Time Square 52x38 Huge NIB
• Snowball Fight; All the Fun Without the Cold and Wet. Brand New
• Kato 37-2805 HO SOO LINE SD40-2 now lettered Portland Terminal
• Fisher Price Imaginext Castle plus building play set toy
• MYTHIC BATTLE DELUXE STORAGE BOX NEUF NEW
• Pagani Huayra (2012) Resin Model Car S3563
• Vintage Hot Wheels Red Line HK 1968 Green Lola GT70
• 100676137- MINICHAMPS PORSCHE 906K – Elford PON – CLASSE Winn 1 18
• Minichamps 1 18 PORSCHE CAYENNE TURBO S SUV White
• Krupp Titan 080 Senior Luxus Hartje 1951 Bus Ixo 1 43 Neuf et Emballé ACBUS038
• AA81641 by AUTOART MCLAREN 650S GT3 blueE MET.1 18
• 1 87 Herpa MB Actros Schuierer Wechsel Koffer S PL HZ 153102
• Mercedes-Benz AMG GT R (yellow) 2017
• GERMAN TANK DESTROYER 38(t) STARR Trumpeter Kit TR 05524

Well, that’s quite a vote of confidence, now, isn’t it Donnie?

Robert Mueller finally spoke on the occasion of resigning from the DOJ. It is now up to Congress what to do next. They can either pursue impeachment proceedings or they can allow an increasingly emboldened and lawless President to continue down his path toward autocracy. Brabus 600 Mercedes AMG Gt S 2016 L. E. 500 Piezas black black 1 43 MinichampsMaisto D2 Mercedes-Benz CLK DTM 2001 1 18 Bernd Schneider (GER) (JS) DVTrump’s actions seem driven primarily by his monumental dishonesty, his attempt to cover-up the truth and obstruct justice, and his insecurity at his profound lack of ability to handle the office he now holds. Doing nothing does not seem to be an option.

It is clear that any impeachment proceeding must be undertaken with care. The Senate is already making rumblings about quashing any such proceedings should they make it through the House. Trump and the Republicans will almost certainly launch a vicious attack against such proceedings. Moreover, impeachment proceedings could affect the Democrat’s attempt to provide a positive agenda for 2020.

However, by defining the investigations House Democrats are conducting as an impeachment proceeding — not an impeachment trial — the subpoenas that have been defied by the Administration become turbocharged and subject to faster judicial review. Second, impeachment hearings would provide an important instructive function. When impeachment proceedings began against Nixon in late 1973, only 19% of Americans supported his removal. By the time he resigned, Herpa - Tekno 070751 Scania Presenta la Historia Del Mundo - Núm 1 - 1 50Ford mustang SALEEN S281 Supercharged AUTOART 1 18 new in box sold out RAREthat number was up to 57%. Finally, and most importantly, it is necessary to take a stand to preserve our form of government and to defend ourselves from foreign interference in our elections.

It will take tremendous political skill to manage any impeachment inquiry.1969 PONTIAC GTO THE JUDGE 1 18th MATCO TOOLS LIMITED EDITION by ERTL NIB2015 Jaguar F-Type R Coupe Polaris White 1 18 by Autoart 73651 Trump is clearly goading the Democrats to move forward. His calculation is that it will blow up in the face of Democrats, and it may. However, Trump will be in attack mode regardless of their actions. This is man who lives for chaos and conflict. Nonetheless, it is instructive to note that Justin Amash, who is the only Republican to support impeachment proceedings, received a standing ovation at his town hall yesterday in ruby-red Grand Rapids, MI. Thus, his courageous stand appears to be noticed by his constituents. There may be a lot more quiet support for impeachment than most politicians realize, and the cost of taking strong action against this administration may well be lower than the cost of failing to do so

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” – Presidential Oath of Office ABC 054 ALFA ROMEO G.P. TIPO 158 A G.P. TRIPOLI 1939 N.44 FARINANorev 184825 Peugeot 504 Coupé 1969 - Apink Weiss 1 18.

“The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” — Article II, Section 4, US Constitution

The US Constitution provides only two remedies to Presidents who are in violation of their oath of office. The first, impeachment, is outlined above. The second is the 25th Amendment, Section 4 of which reads in part:Hotwheels Ferrari F40 Racing 1 43 Die-CastScania R Williams Transport Huntingdon.

“Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide,Schuco 450238800- DKW - VELOCE - Laster con motorrad-anhänger - 1 43Corgi Toys 231 Triumph Herald Coupé with original box transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.”

The likelihood that Mike Pence and any Cabinet member, much less a majority, would take this step is vanishingly small. Their servility has been seen repeatedly in periodically televised Cabinet meetings in which each of the Department heads thank Trump for providing them the opportunity to destroy the country they control.

Removal by impeachment is probably equally unlikely, at least now. Even if articles of impeachment passed the house (which requires a simple majority), it is unlikely in the extreme that 2/3 of the Senate would vote for it. I initially opposed impeachment, 1 18 AB Models Jaguar XJR12 1991 24 Hours of Daytona Car DeLuxe2018 ASTON MARTIN RED BULL RB14 DANIEL RICCIARDO in 1 18 Scale by Minichampsbut it is very clear that the Trump administration is pursuing a strategy of utter lawlessness by denying any and all requests for documents or even subpoenas. For this reason, I now support an inquiry as to whether impeachment is appropriate.

Subpoena literally means “under penalty.” There is no legal justification for Trump’s strategy of defying subpoenas, as was stated today in regard to his attempt to hide his taxes. No one is above the law, and the President’s duty (Article II, Section 3) is that “he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed.” Executed here does not mean “kill off.” It means “carry out.” This is not a negotiable point.

Regardless of findings about obstruction of justice, Trump is currently obstructing Congress. This is invalid for at least 3 reasons.

First, an unbiased reading of the Mueller report makes it clear that Trump is not cleared of obstruction of justice. Quite the contrary. Mueller outlined 11 cases of possible obstruction, a number of which meet all three of his criteria for obstruction.MINICHAMPS - 1 18 - PORSCHE 911 991 GT3 RS - 2015 - 153066235WEISE-TOYS WEIS1036 TRACTEUR SCHLUTER EURO TRAC 1900 LS 1991-1994 1 32 DIE CAST What is clear is that Mueller deferred to the Office of Legal Counsel position that a sitting President cannot be indicted. However, this does not rule out additional investigation, as Mueller himself points out. In volume II, page 8, he states “[t]he conclusion that Congress may apply the obstruction laws to the President’s corrupt exercise of the powers of office accords with our constitutional system of checks and balances and the principle that no person is above the law.” The Mueller report clearly and repeatedly states “if we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state. Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, we are unable to reach that judgment. Accordingly, Lot Of 2 Hot Wheels 2016 Super Treasure Hunt Porsche 993 GT2 Unspun 1x Loose 1xMATCHBOX LESNEY MAJOR SERIES M-9 INTERSTATE FREIGHTER. VNMIB. 1962while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”

It is irrelevant whether Bill Barr, who misrepresented the Mueller report in his March letter to Congress, thinks he can decide what happened in each of the 11 cases Mueller raises. Barr is clearly exceeding his authority to protect his boss.

Second, Trump is attempting to prevent even former and personal employees from testifying.Minichamps 1 43 - BMW 700 Cabrio blueeJAPAN HISTORICS Yellow TOYOTA 2000 GT Car Scale 1 64 - REAL RUBBER TIRES - NEW As an example, today, he directed Don McGahn to refuse to appear before Congress. But Mr. McGahn is no longer in the White House and cannot be so directed. Sadly, McGahn appears to be following Trump’s orders. This attempt is obstruction on its face, and does not fall within executive branch powers. However, 1977 Porsche 911 930 Turbo 3.0 silver, Échelle 1 12 Minichamps DiecastMG MGB Cabrio red 1962-1980 1 43 Minichamps Maxichamps Modell Auto mit oder oh..based on the Mueller report, it clear that McGahn is an important witness, and Trump wants to prevent Congress, and thus, the American people, to find out what he has to say.

Third, Trump is trying to argue that the subpoenas amount to a “do over.” Aside from the pure childishness of this claim, it is irrelevant. Prior to January 20, 2017, Republican congress carried out 10 separate hearings on the Benghazi affair without a single indictment, not that that stops Sen. Graham from demanding an 11th. Thus, there is precedent to do further investigations.

I initially agreed with Nancy Pelosi that impeachment would not be productive.Siku Plastik V96 Kühlwagen Mercedes LP 315 V Serie1 64 Kyosho Audi R8 Lms Online Limited Ver. However, I have changed my mind. The President cannot be allowed to operate outside the law. The Republicans have shown an utter cowardice in responsibility to provide oversight on this President. It is interesting that they were more than willing to provide oversight over prior Democratic Presidents. Thus, they are being disingenuous in defending Trump from checks on his irrational behaviors and policies.

The responsibility for holding Trump accountable, then, falls to the Democrats. First, even if Trump is not removed, impeachment proceedings provide an extra level of power to subpoenas that are issued. This will provide a far firmer basis for Congress’ jurisdiction. Second, the proceedings, especially if televised, would provide an important educational function in showing how illegal Trump’s behavior has been. Finally, there is an ethical consideration, Matchbox Superfast Nr. 23A VW Camper orange rare orange EinrichtungWeise-Toys 1019 Fendt Xylon 522 with Front Loader 1 3 2If an attempt is not made to hold a lawless President accountable, what is the purpose of the Constitution.

The President is neither preserving, nor protecting, nor defending the Constitution. At the bare minimum, Congress must make an inquiry as to whether impeachment hearings should be held.

Though I was sorely tempted, this blog entry will not be about the Mueller Report, at least not directly. Rather, I find it necessary to comment on all the people who are choosing to shiv our liberty and to destroy our country. Today, by defying two subpoenas from standing House committees, the Trump administration made it abundantly clear that they have no commitment to the rule of law. This is not to say that they had not been doing so all along, but now there is not the slightest question that their goals are to win at all costs, rake in money, pay their benefactors, and sell our country off for parts.

The Rosemary’s baby that is the Trump administration has many parents. First, of course, are the foreign governments that found the appropriate Manchurian candidate in a life-long amoral grifter, who first achieved notoriety by losing a 1973 housing discrimination lawsuit. His many bankruptcies rendered him an unacceptable financial risk to all but Deutsche Bank, which apparently is not afraid to take risks on sociopaths.2001 Mattel 1 18 Scale Hot Wheels Racing Williams F1 Team RALF SCHUMACHERDanbury Mint 1940 Ford Deluxe Coupe 1 24 Scale Die Cast Model with Box Lot C He also attracted the attention of former KGB Lt. Col. Vladimir Putin, who found him a useful vessel to achieve his imperialist goal of Making Russia Great Again. Putin was smart enough to see that Trump’s stupidity and lack of ethics made him the perfect mechanism to sell out US security concerns to Russia in exchange for electoral support. At the same time, the Saudis were fortunate to luck into the availability of the cipher, Jared Kushner. This monument to nepotism, of little accomplishment and dodgy parentage, has proven particularly useful to his Saudi friend, 1 43 HI STORY HS007 1991 NISSAN CEDRIC GRAN TURISMO ULTIMA WHITE resin model carPLAYSET Vintage BRITAINS SWORD CASTLE Medieval Knights MARX SOLDIERS scale 1 32Mohammed bin Salman and has been an invaluable ally as MBS faced withering criticism for ordering the butchering of Washington Post journalist and US resident, Jamal Khashoggi.

The Trump administration has, of course, contributed significantly to this “dismantling of the administrative state.” Exclusiv Cars 1 18 Scale Ferrari 550 Maranello 50 Years Diecast Model Car + Case1 76 S24 court TIPPER Leduc et Trinidad e39001Trump himself is an unstable idiot, and is more than willing to sell out his country in order to make a little green and to avoid criminal charges. Then there is William Barr who abused his power in prejudging the Mueller report, Stephen Miller who devised the odious family separation policy, Kirstjen Nielsen who enforced said policy, and Wilbur Ross who spearheaded the coming cooking of the US census, which guides congressional redistricting. And that’s not to mention the anti-climate and anti-consumer policies guided by the Department of Interior and the now-neutered Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Or the jaw-dropping corruption of Tom Price, Ryan Zinke, and David Bernhardt, whose initial Congressional investigation started a scant 4 days after the Republican Senate rubber-stamped his approval to succeed Zinke.

Then there are the Republicans in Congress. Fortunately, the Democrats took back the House in 2018,1 18 Hot Wheels Williams FW28 Mark Webber Saison 2006 NEW bei PREMIUM-MODELCARSWOW EXTREMELY RARE BMW Z4 2.2 Roadster E85 2002 bluee 1 43 Minichamps-Z8 M3 GTR but not before the “Freedom Caucus” gamed the Trump/Russia investigation, the rank-and-file passed an incredibly irresponsible tax cut for the rich, and the Senate confirmed an unprecedented number of radically partisan judges rated as “unqualified” by the American Bar Association. It appears that anyone with a warm body and a right-wing philosophy can be a judge in the Trump Administration. At the same time, the Senate has blocked almost all legislation passed by the House, while at the same time criticizing the House for not doing anything.

It seems that there are several categories of die-hard Trump supporters, all of whom are harming the country. The first are the True Believers. These include Freedom Caucus members like Jim Jordan, Mark Meadows, Louie Gohmert, Matt Gaetz, Devin Nunes, and Steve King, as well as amoral right-wing evangelicals such as Franklin Graham. Trump is their fever dream because they realize he will let them do whatever they want to promote their white nationalist, Dominionist policies. They are generally fire-breathing and flashy (Jim Jordan famously doesn’t seem to own a coat). They also are rabidly anti-accountability, doing whatever they can to upend legitimate investigations of the Trump criminal class, while at the same time trying to breathe life into warmed-over re-investigations of re-investigations of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. The benefits they take from Trump are the promotion of racist policies, destruction of the so-called “deep state,” the development and exploitation of “unproductive land,” and fanatical judges.

A second are the corrupt cynics. In their number, I include Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell among many others. Both of them have taken very large sums of money from any number of questionable organizations, including the NRA, Schuco 450039000 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS Coupé 991,Karminred,Modellauto 1 18,NEUDissipatore di Calore TRANQUILLO della GELID SOLUTIONS 12V M9C3SV M9C3.I XINO CHas well as truly enormous sums (particularly in McConnell’s case) from Russia and are more than eager to sell their country down the road. McConnell blackmailed Obama to withhold the revelation of the extent of Russian involvement in the 2016 election. Others in this category include Mark Zuckerberg, and Jack Dorsey who oversee an increasingly fetid social media. Greed an power appear to be their sole motivating forces. They benefit from corrupt influence peddling by foreign countries and industries, the judges that support their agenda, and legislation devoted to disenfranchising minority voters in Democratic legislative districts. It also happens that they benefit from allowing oil exploration on nature preserves.

This type also includes conservative media outlets like Fox News Entertainment. With only two exceptions (Chris Wallace and Shepard Smith), the Fox News Entertainment team has acted as a de facto state-run propoganda machine for the Trump administration. The nuttier of them, Laura Ingraham, Alex Jones and Sean Hannity are not above fanning the flames of the unstable. Although Fox has been dangerously complicit, it should be noted that all of the networks gave Donald Trump huge amounts of free television publicity during the 2016 election campaign.

The third are ignorant fanatical Republican voters. These are folks who watch Fox and people the Trump rallies. They are fed Trump’s BS promises, which they consume like candy. But they won’t benefit from the policies. Coal plants are closing at an increasing rate, Herpa 071116 - 1 43 - PORSCHE 911 CARRERA 4 Cabriolet, carrarawhite metallo NUOVOCADILLAC Type 61 Coupé, 1950, SPARK Model 1 43, S2920and they don’t have a planet B to move to. The tax cuts do not benefit them (they don’t make enough money), and they are blind to the value of lost regulations that protect their drinking water, food supply, health insurance, and electrical grid. Within this group, there are those who are happy to be told they have someone to hate and that they’ve won, and there are those who are social conservatives who bemoan the loss of the old order.

The fourth are the nihilistic voters who think both political parties of are the same. They have learned, with some accuracy, that corruption is widespread in both parties. However, rather than evaluate the relative merits of the two parties they have to chose from, they just assume that everyone is equally bad. Thus, Trump represents a shock to the system, and they delight in his outrageousness.

There is a 5th category that I find particularly odious. These are the “accelerationists.” Talbot Lago 2500 Coupe T14 LS 1955 Grey Metallic 1 43 SPARK S2719Burago Kit 1 24 Ferrari 348 Totip Nuova Sigillata Rarissima ORIGINALE They have long rooted for the collapse of the capitalist American economy. They tend to be well educated, and far left-wing. What makes them particularly obnoxious is that many of them have money and purport to have social justice beliefs, but that doesn’t stop them from wanting to turn the US into a latter-day Soviet Union. They know better, but still are guided by a fanatical commitment to ideology. “Oh, we don’t support Trump, but we certainly don’t approve of a corporate Democrat.” Instead, they support corrupt ninnies like Jill (where is the recount money?) Stein who are owned by Putin. So yes, they DO support Trump. Some of them actually admit to it.

The thing that all of these groups have in common is that they are harming their country. Minichamps 155166176- Porsche 911 GT3 R Class Ganadores 24h Spa 2016Schabak 1 43 - Mercedes 600 SALZ greyWhether they are doing this out of ideological bent, greed, stupidity, or apathy, backing the Trump horse will not end well for the vast majority of Americans because his policies are so poorly and mendaciously considered. It is not clear where we are headed. I’m increasingly favoring impeachment to stanch the loss of institutional norms and prevent summary pardons. At minimum, it’s a constitutional duty. We need to fight this travesty.

In the 1944 movie Gaslight, Charles Boyer’s character George Anton tries to convince his wife, Paula Alquist, played by Ingrid Bergman, that she’s going crazy by, among other things, playing tricks on her including momentarily dimming the gas jet lights. He then tells her that she’s seeing things and then poisons her in an effort to silence her. I won’t give away the ending because it’s a great movie that I recommend you see.

The term gaslight has since been applied to many similar kinds of behavior. In particular, the term has come into fashion during the current Presidential administration. As a prime example, in a July 24, 2018 rally speech, Donald Trump said Renault 4 Gendarmerie Peloton D'autgoldute (1968)CORGI 1 76 43905 DAIMLER CW UTILITY BUS LONDON TRANSPORT GREENLINE“just remember what you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening.” In August, 2018, his TV lawyer, Rudy Giuliani said, regarding Trump’s possible testimony before Robert S. Mueller, that “truth isn’t truth.” These and many other such statements are designed to get the American people to doubt the evidence of their eyes and ears, and to hand the responsibility for that evidence over to team Trump.

Today, an increasingly erratic and flailing Trump took all of this to a next level when he ascribed responsibility for his odious family separation policy to Barack Obama, and claimed that it was he (Trump) who ended it. This is classic gaslighting. KK Conrad 2109 Liebherr LTC 1045-3.1 Heintzelmann Autokran Mobilkran 1 50 NEU KK1 43 Ford Transit Mk1 Transit The SUPERVAN 1965 RedThere is absolutely no question that the policy was the “brainchild” of Stephen Miller and was implemented by now-former Department of Homeland Security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. Her exit was apparently facilitated by a power play by Miller, who has been unfailingly loyal to Trump. The anti-immigrant rhetoric out of Trump over the past several days had been among the most strident of his Presidency, RENAULT DUSTER 1 43 - IXO, RALLY DAKAR 2015, DIECAST, METAL, RARE, NEW IN BOX. MINICHAMPS 1 43 MERCEDES 300 SEL 6.3 (W109) 1968 BRIGHT GREENand he has since handed immigration policy over to Stephen Miller. Then, today, clearly warned by other more “reasonable” voices, he dialed it back and tried to cast blame for the least popular policy of his administration (which is saying something) on the prior administration.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Ever since he descended the escalator to announce his Presidential run, Donald Trump has been unremittingly nativist. He has never fully denounced the white supremacists who marched, and killed, at Charlottesville, and he is always willing to cozy up with far right leaders across the world.

Believe your eyes and ears. Truth is, in fact, truth. Do not choose to believe a man who has had well over 9000 documented lies. I’ll close this piece with a quote by George Orwell from 1984: “the party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” It is crucial to remember that everything is not all right and that we must not end up loving big brother.

Trump can try to gaslight us, but we do not have to let him do it.

Long ago, the decision was made to divide the a year into 12 months of 28-31 days each, and to divide each day into 24 hours of 60 minutes each. These minutes are further divided into 60 seconds.

But does this make sense? Everyone I know struggles to learn how to tell time, Vintage Diecast Lesney Matchbox Car Fiat 1500 Rare Red VariantLand Rover 1968 Series IIA 109 SAS Patrol Vehicle Pink Panther 1 43 Scale TSMbut it is clear that a simpler way exists. I refer, of course, to metric time*.

It is not widely known, but our President does not like this cumbersome way of telling time. Why not simplify it? Our kids can’t read analog clocks anymore, for goodness sake! The President has quietly signed an executive order to adopt metric time effective January 1, 2020.

In this simplified system, each year would be divided into 10 months, each month would be divided into 100 days, Norev 1 18 Porsche 911 T Diecast Model Car Dark Red 187630Emek 20804 Scania R con Contenedor Oscilante Grande 1 25and each day would be divided into 10 hours, with each hour consisting of 100 minutes and each minute divided into 100 seconds. No longer do we have to think of whether the month has 30 or 31 days. Every so often, we could just add a 100 day month to make up for the leap-year effects, but that ’s for the nerdy so-called scientists to do.

Why do we not make watches with 25 minute quarters? If it’s good enough for money, why not watches? And who came up with 24 hours anyway? It’s completely arbitrary. If we had 10 hours in a day, we would not have to worry about 12 hour divisions.

There’s no reason a second has to be one second in duration. Why not just change the duration so that there are 100 seconds in a minute.Lmcoftp702402k Team Set Of 6 Zahlen Mechanics Tears 1970Eligor Lbs und Solido 1 43 - Bündel von Räder und Teile für Lastwagen Militär We would not have to convert seconds into decimals by dividing by silly units of 60. No, we would simply divide by 100 and be done with it!

Think of the economic possibilities! Everyone would have to buy new clocks and watches. This would have a huge stimulatory effect on the economy.

What is easier than using units of 10? It would be so simple that even a President could do it.

*Metric time is not my idea, but it has been sadly neglected as a very straightforward way to describe the passage of time.

In what was the first public hearing of a Trump campaign operative in the new Congress, the House Oversight Committee revealed how damaged our political process is. We were treated to a full day of inquisition by a completely cynical Republican caucus. With only one exception, Justin Amash (R-MI), the Republican committee members spent their entire time trying to undermine and destroy Michael Cohen, never addressing the fact that Trump chose to hire him and had him in his employ him for 10 years, nor that he presented clear evidence of wrongdoing by the President. In so doing, they further poisoned a political well that is already damaged from years of prior poisonings.

Michael Cohen is hardly a perfect person – I don’t even think he’s a good person. Bmw 320Si Wtcc 2007 3Corgi CC13219 DAF XF Crane Trailer & Pallets TARMAC Ltd Edition No 0003 of 1796He lied before Congress and cheated on his taxes, committed bank fraud, and violated campaign finance laws. However, as any prosecutor would know, you don’t always get perfect people as witnesses. The point is that Cohen showed some contrition, spoke in a clear and organized way, and most importantly, provided the receipts to back up his claims. Checks don’t lie, and not a single member of the Republican caucus questioned his evidence. Instead we were provided with endless hectoring, yelling, puerile visual aids, racial tokenism, questions about potential book and movie deals, and a bizarre demand that he account for boxes of his belongings that the FBI had returned to him that came right out of the strawberries scene in “The Caine Mutiny.”

And so the Republican caucus of the Oversight committee, which ran endless and fruitless investigations of the Benghazi affair and the Clinton emails story has shown that it is not interested in getting at the truth, but rather wishes to protect a President of their own party.Yat Ming 20038 1914 Ford Model T Fire Engine 1 18 Scale New In BoxSpark Porsche 919 Hybrid Winner 24h Le Mans 2016 Model Car 1 43 Genuine New As Jamie Raskin (D-MD) said to Cohen, “our colleagues aren’t upset because you lied to Congress for the president. They’re upset because you’ve stopped lying to Congress for the president.”

This is no way to run a railroad. I remember watching the Watergate hearings in school, and I noted that although several of the Republican Senators were Nixon loyalists, at least a few made more than token efforts to get at the truth. Some, including Howard Baker, did better than that, asking for example, “what did the President know, and when did he know it?” But all of them made good faith efforts to allow the hearings to go forward. In the current Congress, no such efforts are being made by Republicans, save Justin Amash. It’s really very sad.

The cynicism that has infected our political system can, in part, be linked to Reagan’s lifting of the fairness doctrine,1 43 TINY TOYOTA COASTER HK AIRPORT POLICE AIRPORT Van CARIER ATC43056WSI Models 1 50 01-2486 MB Actros MP4 Kässbohrer Autotransporter Galliker CH which allowed for the rise of 24-7 hate mongers like Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, and so many others. Before that time, radio stations had to provide some kind of ideological balance. Since that time, many media outlets, such as Fox News Entertainment, have become explicitly political. In the ensuing years, it has gotten progressively worse. The Willie Horton ad, the smears against John Kerry, the birtherism attacks on Barack Obama, and the sexist attacks on Hillary Clinton are but a few examples of this worsening. More to the point, as pointed out by many, including most recently Chris Cuomo, someone like Donald Trump is able to get away with his constant spewing of hatred and bile precisely because our political system has been brought to such a low state.

However, what Cuomo failed to address is his network’s own role in this denigration. NOREV - 1 18 - VOLKSWAGEN T3 BUS REDSTAR - 1992 - 188542Audi R8 Lms GT4 No.17 24H Nürburgring 2017 (J.Lappalainen - A. Mies - P. TertiEvery night, and especially during election seasons, CNN brings us Brady-bunch like montages of some of the worst cranks you’ll ever see in an effort to provide “both sides” of a story that does not always have two sides. This is all done to create controversy where none was warranted in the name of ratings. Many of them have ended up being banned from their airwaves, among them Jeffrey Lord. Nonetheless, that does not negate the fact that these people had clear track records of spewing garbage, and yet CNN chose to employ them to shore up their ratings. On Fox News, almost all of their commentators play his role, with Shepard Smith and Chris Wallace among the exceptions.

The breathless coverage of the Clinton email story, nonstop footage of empty Trump podiums, Tin Soldier, top quality, Teutonic knight № 1, 54 mm, the Middle AgesKING & COUNTRY ROBIN HOOD RH022 THE SHERIFFS TAX COLLECTOR MIBand full coverage of Trump rallies during the 2016 campaign was truly disgusting, as was the provision of hundreds of hours of free airtime to Trump by CNN and MSNBC. It is the media’s job to cover stories based on the facts, not to provide false equivalences in a pathetic attempt to appear objective and attract viewers. What are people to make of their electoral choices if both candidates are so denigrated?

The point is not that Cuomo was wrong, it’s that the media is a large part of the reason people have such a poor view of politicians. Starter N7 Provence Résine 1 43 - Peugeot 304 Berline whiteheNpe H0 Na 99024 Schlüter Trattore S 350, red Nuovo Conf. Orig.Yes, a number of our politicians are flawed, and yes, some of them belong in jail. However, a good number of them come to Washington seeking to implement policy solutions that they think will help the country. But in the face of decades of unrelenting attacks, mostly by the right, the willingness of many people to believe that anyone who enters politics has any purpose nobler than lining their pockets has been sharply eroded. Is it any surprise, then, that so many people were to willing to vote for a deeply flawed candidate like Donald Trump? As Cuomo suggested, if the disease is this bad, at least we’ll vote for someone who says he cares about us (which was yet another Trump lie).

This nihilism was brought into sharp relief with this weekend’s Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) convention, the speakers for which seemed to be drawn from a list of every right wing nut they could lay hands on. Here we were treated to endless diatribes about “Democrat party” plans to take away our hamburgers, cars, and airplanes by fascists like Sebastian Gorka, criticisms of the late Sen. John McCain by third rate hacks like Michelle Malkin, Burago 1 43 Scale Diecast Model 18-36901 - Ferrari 458 SpecialeNORSCOT 55252 CAT 120M Militaer Motorgrader 1 50seemingly sacrilegious claims by a pillow maker that Trump was chosen by G-d, unhinged nonsense about infanticide by a sitting US Vice President, and a two hour rambling speech by Donald Trump filled with hatred, irrelevancies, and curses. To say nothing of Trump’s truly odd hugging of the flag, as though he was holding onto a palm tree during a tropical storm. The clear aim of this hot mess is to “brand” the Democrats for 2020, and also to stir up hatred of anyone not on the Trump train.

So long as the Republicans take this approach, they may win elections, but they continue to bring the level of political discourse down and foment unrest, to the detriment of our country. The level of cynicism is hard to fathom. In the long-term, it is unclear what will happen after their savior, Trump, leaves the scene. At 72 years of age, he’s no kid, and even if he wins a second term, he will some day leave.

The dual challenge to Democrats is not only to combat the rampant corruption, evil, and cynicism of the Trump era legally, but also to provide an antidote to those problems. They need to provide a positive vision for America. As much as I do not like Ronald Reagan, that was his great gift. If they can do it, maybe we can get out of this infinite regress. If not, our political process will continue in its downward spiral.