Big News Hitting Jan 1 You Need to Know

On January 1, with the new year, a new law is taking effect in California that has the chance, if not likelihood, of effecting lots of us, across the entire nation. What it is:

California Consumer Privacy Act

CCPA defines personal information as information that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular consumer or household such as a real name, alias, postal address, unique personal identifier, online identifier, Internet Protocol address, email address, account name, social security number, driver's license number, passport number, or other similar identifiers.

It has to do with companies sharing or selling our personal information. It's the first protection for consumers from any government in the US, state or federal. I know some banks, for instance, online banks, are putting it into effect for all consumers, not just Californians. The New York Times has an article today on it:

What Does California’s New Data Privacy Law Mean? Nobody Agrees

Notice it's coming out of California, once again, where the government actually works for the people and not only for the corporations and the already-wealthy.

Additional links:

CCPA California Consumer Privacy Act: The Basics

Here Comes America’s First Privacy Law: What the CCPA Means for Business and Consumers

What is “personal information” under the CCPA?

Top 5 Impacts of the CCPA - Download the Whitepaper

Big Money In Our Politics and Government--We're Being Bought--And Sold

There is a terrific article in Friday's print edition of The New York Times more voting age Americans should read.

Big Money and America's Lost Decade

A bit of the article:

The first thing you need to know about the very rich is that they are, politically, different from you and me. Don’t be fooled by the handful of prominent liberal or liberal-ish billionaires; systematic studies of the politics of the ultrawealthy show that they are very conservative, obsessed with tax cuts, opposed to environmental and financial regulation, eager to cut social programs.

The second thing you need to know is that the rich often get what they want, even when most of the public want the opposite...

Why do a small number of rich people exert so much influence in what is supposed to be a democracy? Campaign contributions are only part of the story. Equally if not more important is the network of billionaire-financed think tanks, lobbying groups and so on that shapes public discourse. And then there’s the revolving door: It’s depressingly normal for former officials from both parties to take jobs with big banks, corporations and consulting firms, and the prospect of such employment can’t help but influence policy while they’re still in office.

Last but not least, media coverage of policy issues all too often seems to reflect the views of the wealthy.
We're got to work our way out of this mess, these messes.

Join us:

Get the Big, Ugly Money Out of Our Election System and Government

Bring Back the Fairness Doctrine

Outlaw Gerrymandering and End Voter ID Laws

Link:

GOP economic policy: Give more money to millionaires, forget everyone else

Pretty Damning Information--Evidence?--Today On This President

There is a pretty significant, if not out and out huge revelation today on President Trump and his "quid pro quo"/blackmail/extortion of Ukraine with our federal tax dollars.

White House official ordered aid to Ukraine be withheld 90 minutes after Trump call with Ukraine president, documents show

That's a pretty incredible development here, folks. It's not a big surprise but it certainly weakens this President's case and situation. It also weakens his Republican Party's defense of him and his actions.

Sadly, to date, the Republican Party has been largely lockstep with their man. It's party over country and power over all, for sure.

2 Options In the Republican Party Under Trump: All In or Out

We have got to, as a nation, break this stranglehold this President and his Republican Party has on us--on our elections and election system, what with their gerrymandering and voter ID laws and more.

Not Just Impeachment--Five Big Takeaways From This Week

Yes sir and ma'am, it certainly was a big, big week here in America, politically, historically, everything. And for me, besides or rather, along with the impeachment, there were 3 more things that were either announced or that took place this week that I think should be noted and taken away from it all. They tell a bit better just where we are presently.



First, we impeached a President, of course. And for only the third time. That's pretty big in and of itself.

Trump Has Been Impeached

Second, a group of people from the President's own political party created a political action committee, a PAC, to make sure he doesn't get re-elected next November. That is, if he makes it that far in this Presidency.

We Are Republicans, and We Want Trump Defeated

Additionally, fourth, the uber conservative magazine originally begun by none other than William F. Buckley, his National Review, even they came out for impeachment of this Republican Party President.

Four Tests for Impeachment

Third, none other than Russian Premier Vladimir Putin came out in support of his buddy and pal Donald Trump.

Putin Criticizes Democrats for Impeaching Trump

Putin says impeachment case against Trump is 'fabricated'

Russian leader dismisses the impeachment in Washington as political theater

This came very shortly after the impeachment vote in the House this week. It's like old Vlad is doing our work for us. Fantastic.

Fifth and finally today, after this tumultuous, historical week, even the Evangelical magazine first begun by televangelist Billy Graham came out publicly for this Republican Party President.

Trump Should Be Removed from Office | Christianity Today

Trump rages at Christian magazine that called him ‘grossly immoral'

I actually hope, think and believe this op/ed writer has it correct, too.

'Christianity Today' anti-Trump editorial is a sign of things to come

Yes, it was quite a week for us, America.  Since the 2016 election campaign for the Presidency, I've said nothing is or has been predictable. This is more of that. No one can say where we'll go next or what we'll happen.

Happy New Year, everyone.

We hope. We only hope.

Link:

Trump’s impeachment shows he hasn’t yet completely defeated the Constitution

Exactly How Bad Does This President Have To Get For Republicans?

I ask you, in all seriousness and sincerity, just exactly how bad does this one Republican Party President Donald J Trump have to get before people in his political party wake up? What's it going to take?

• He asked the head of a foreign nation to investigate a private American citizen who, oh, by the way, just happened to be the son of his foremost political rival in the current election campaign for his very job
• People on his staff who were on the phone call that day realized and accepted that he, this President, was offering a "quid pro quo" of the hundreds of millions of dollars our Congress has already formally set aside for that country to fight against our mutual enemy, Russia. I prefer to see it for what it really was. That is, blackmail or extortion.
• In spite of insisting, again, repeatedly, on his deep innocence, this President refused subpoenas from our own Congress---you know, that other branch of our government?--and had all the members of his administration do the same. Does that seem like something an extremely innocent man would have to do? Is that not contempt of Congress? 
• He, this President, has been, for 3 years, and still is today shattering the Emoluments Clause of our Constitution by accepting money--and large amounts--from foreign nations while serving as President by not having divested himself of his hotels here in the nation and across the world. Plenty of us out here think the man leading the nation shouldn't be taking not just money but large amounts of money from foreign nations. Imagine that. Our Founding Fathers warned us of it, rightly, of course.

So, what's it going to take?

Yes, some Republicans have thankfully, finally come out against Mr. Trump and are actively working against him (see last link below). But it's no way enough.

I think the DC Reporter has the current situation correct.

Senators Have A Choice: Convict Trump Or Crown Him

Letting the President Get Away with Contempt of Congress Will Make the Legislative Branch as Irrelevant as the Roman Senate

Meanwhile, much to this President's likely delight, Russian Premier Vladimir Putin called out his support for Mr. Trump.

Vladimir Putin Backs Trump, Calling Impeachment Charges 'Completely Made Up'

Can you imagine the outpouring of outrage and vitriol there would have been if the previous President Obama had public support from Vladimir Putin?

So what will it be, ladies and gentlemen?

We're not just in a Constitutional crisis but at least a few, if not more.

What's it going to take with and for these people, these Republicans, these Trump supporters?

Just exactly how bad does he and our situation have to get?

I hope we don't find out and I hope we don't have to.

Links:

Trump vs. the Constitution: A Guide

Trump and the Constitution: A year in review

Donald Trump has violated US Constitution

Donald Trump Has Broken the Constitution

Trump has violated his oath to the Constitution

Can Trump Really Get Away with Murder?

We Are Republicans, and We Want Trump Defeated 

On This President & Impeachment: It Had To Be Said

Just saying.

A Notable, Don't-Miss Speech From the Impeachment Proceedings Yesterday

House Representative Steny Hoyer (D-CA) said it all and said it so very well yesterday in the impeachment hearings. It shouldn't be missed by any adult, voting American.

Transcript of U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer’s speech on the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump

“Madam Speaker, I’ve had the honor of serving in this House for over thirty-eight years. I’ve served during six presidencies. I’ve been here through moments of tremendous progress and terrible tragedy. I’ve seen periods of rank partisanship and patriotic bipartisanship. I’ve seen our two-party system work, and I’ve seen it break down.

“Never, in all my years serving in this great institution and the people of my district, did I ever expect to encounter such obvious wrongdoing by a President of the United States. Nor did I expect to witness such craven rationalization of presidential actions, which have put our national security at risk, undermined the integrity of our elections, and defied the Constitutional authority of the Congress to conduct oversight.

“We’ve heard from Republicans that this impeachment really has to do with policy differences or concerns about the President’s temperament or that we simply dislike the President. They’ve alleged that Democrats have been itching to impeach him since he first took office. The facts say otherwise.

“Throughout the Trump presidency, Democrats have resisted pursuing impeachment even as we watched with dismay and disgust at a pattern of wrongdoing. That pattern included ordering federal agencies to lie to the public, firing the FBI Director for refusing to end an investigation of his campaign, siding with Vladimir Putin over our intelligence agencies, taking funding away from the military to put toward an ineffective border wall, and setting policies that have led to the separation of families and the caging of children. We have, to be sure, deep disagreements with the policies and actions taken by this president. But they are not reasons to pursue what Chairman Schiff has called, ‘a wrenching process for the nation.’

“In fact, Democrats rejected that process emphatically in three specific votes. In December of 2017, Democrats overwhelmingly voted against pursuing articles of impeachment, including the Speaker and myself. We did so again in 2018, with over sixty percent of Democrats rejecting that path. Again, in July 2019, just days before the infamous July 25 telephone call, we did the same, with sixty percent of Democrats voting not to proceed.
“What I will do is remind Americans that the House provided President Trump every opportunity to prove his innocence. Instead, he ignored Congressional subpoenas for documents and for testimony by White House officials and ordered his subordinates not to cooperate. This itself is unprecedented. When Presidents Nixon and Clinton were asked to hand over documents and allow officials to testify, ultimately both complied. Because it is the law. Such actions of the President can be taken as further evidence of his obstruction and abuse of power. It is itself impeachable conduct, the subject of the second article in this resolution.

“These two articles before us concern two very profound Constitutional issues about the abuse of power in our republic. First, whether it is acceptable for the President of the United States to solicit foreign interference in our elections, undermining our national security and the integrity of our democracy. And second, whether it is permissible for the president to obstruct Congress and act as if he is above the law and immune from Constitutional oversight.

“On December 4, the Judiciary Committee heard the testimony of Constitutional law experts who weighed in on these points. One of them, Professor Noah Feldman, cautioned: ‘If we cannot impeach a president who abuses his office for personal advantage, we no longer live in a democracy. We live in a monarchy, or we live under a dictatorship.’

“The votes we are about to take concern the rule of law and our democracy itself. Let us not forget the words of the philosopher John Locke, so influential to the Founders of our republic. He warned: ‘Wherever law ends, tyranny begins.’

“This impeachment asks whether we are still a republic of laws, as our Founders intended – or whether we will accept that one person can be above the law. In America, no one is above the law, but only as long as we hold every person accountable for breaking the law – even a president. Especially a president.

“If the House does not act – if we wait and delay – we run the risk of allowing the President’s misconduct to be repeated at the expense of the integrity of our elections, our national security, and our Constitutional system of separation of powers. Democrats did not choose impeachment. We did not wish for it. But President Trump’s misconduct has forced our Constitutional republic to protect itself.

“These votes we are about to take – and the process that will follow in the Senate – are not only an assessment of the President’s commitment to the Constitution or to his oath of office. It is, as well, a test of our own. Damning evidence of the President’s high crimes has emerged. Nevertheless, Republican Members of this House and of the Senate have continued to defend a President whose actions and statements are indefensible.

“All of us feel a sense of loyalty to party. It’s what makes our two-party system function. It’s what helps hold presidents and majorities accountable. But party loyalty must have its limits. And as evidence of the President’s impeachable offenses has mounted, it has become increasingly clear that the limits of partisanship have been reached and passed.

“Now, Democrats and Republicans together face a test before our constituents, our countrymen, and our Creator.

“The New York Times on October 18 summarized the question now posed to House and Senate Republicans: ‘Compromise by compromise, Donald Trump has hammered away at what Republicans once saw as foundational virtues: decency, honesty, responsibility. …Will they commit themselves and their party wholly to Mr. Trump, embracing even his most anti-democratic actions, or will they take the first step toward separating themselves from him and restoring confidence in the rule of law?’

“Madam Speaker, we have seen Republican courage throughout our history, from the Civil War to the Cold War. In 1950, Margaret Chase Smith, the Senator from Maine, spoke bravely against the cancer of McCarthyism in her party, leading six of her Republican colleagues in a ‘Declaration of Conscience’ against their own leadership.‘We are Republicans,’ they declared, ‘but we are Americans first.’

“In 1974, one Congressman took the brave and principled step of becoming the first Republican on the Judiciary Committee to support impeaching President Nixon. He said to his colleagues and to the country: ‘…It isn’t easy for me to align myself against the president to whom I gave my enthusiastic support… on whose side I’ve stood in many legislative battles, whose accomplishments in foreign and domestic affairs I’ve consistently applauded. But it’s impossible for me to condone or ignore the long train of abuses to which he has subjected the presidency and the people of this country. The Constitution and my own oath of office demand that I bear true faith and allegiance to the principles of law and justice upon which this nation was founded. And I cannot in good conscience turn away from the evidence of evil that is to me so clear and compelling.’

“That Congressman’s name was Larry Hogan Sr. He represented the Fifth District of Maryland, which I now represent. His son is presently the second-term Republican governor of our state. When Larry Hogan Sr. died in 2017, every obituary led with praise for his great act of political courage. Who among us, many years from now, will receive such praise as a man or woman of courage? Who will regret not having earned it?

“When Rep. Justin Amash left the Republican Party, he admonished his colleagues that: ‘This president will only be in power for a short time, but excusing his behavior will forever tarnish your name.’ Rep. Amash, of course, is the only Member of this House who has no allegiance to either party. He is supporting both articles of impeachment.

“We need not ask who will be the first to show courage by standing up to President Trump. The question we must now ask is: who will be the last to find it?

“The pages of our history are filled with Americans who had the courage to choose country over party or personality. But, as President Kennedy wrote: ‘The stories of past courage …can teach, they can offer hope, they can provide inspiration. But they cannot supply courage itself. For this each man must look into his own soul.’

“I urge my colleagues in the House and in the Senate: look into your soul. Summon the courage to vote for our Constitution and our democracy. To do less betrays our oath and that of our Founders, who pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. Let us neither turn away from the evidence, which is so clear, nor from our good conscience, which compels us to do what in our hearts we know to be right. Let us not allow the rule of law to end or for tyranny to find its toehold."

A Big Day, Where We Are Now and Where Will We Go?

First, let's just say folks, today, that, not only was Republican party President Donald Trump impeached, ladies and gentlemen, but he was impeached bigly.

Trump was impeached with more votes against him than any other President

Yes sir and ma'am, he certainly does things "the best" as he promised he would. So much winning.

But let's be clear on this--

Impeachment isn’t Democrats vs. Republicans. It’s right vs. wrong.

Meanwhile, lots of us now know Mr. Trump can, will and does go ever lower. He said this last night at his political campaign rally.

After Trump suggests John Dingell is in hell, Rep. Debbie Dingell says: ‘My family’s still hurting’

He is stunning in his insensitivity, as he's shown in the past and repeatedly and now this. This is Rep. Dingell's and her family's first holiday season without their husband/father. It's just a matter of new lows for Mr. Trump.

Then, as if Trump and the Republicans aren't all bad enough and in enough of a bad situation, they got this support overnight.

Trump, Impeached in Washington, Is Defended by Putin in Moscow

Vladimir Putin Backs Trump, Calling Impeachment Charges 'Completely Made Up'

Russia's Vladimir Putin is practically, virtually making the Democrats' case for them here. Again. Stunning. You'd think President Trump and the Republicans would ask their buddy over there in Russia to clam up but hey, he's doing the Democrats' work them them. Thanks, Vlad, buddy!

This, however, is a disheartening, if not depressing thought.

To avoid removal, Trump only needs senators representing 7 percent of the country to support him

Fortunately, from the same article here, just above, is this: "The House vote, however, largely mirrored what Americans in those districts would have wanted."

Then there is the letter Mr. Trump sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi a few days ago, just before the impeachment vote in the House.

Fact check: Trump’s letter is littered with falsehoods

Meanwhile, today, Senator Schumer--and lots of us--have a question for Mitch McConnell and, yes, this President.

Schumer rips McConnell: Why are you afraid of impeachment witnesses?

Eric Swalwell, admittedly a Democrat, from California, makes an excellent point.

Eric Swalwell on Trump: Innocent people don’t intimidate witnesses

As for going forward, few days ago, famous Watergate attorney John Dean had what looks to be sage advice to and for Speaker Pelosi and the House after this impeachment.

John Dean: Pelosi can hold articles of impeachment in House

He's saying that since Senator Mitch McConnell has publicly said and declared he fully intends to work only with the President himself and his staff and attorneys on this impeachment. 

McConnell’s vow of ‘total coordination’ with White House on Senate impeachment trial

He's come to the conclusion, ahead of the trial, ahead of the evidence and facts, that this President is already innocent. To heck with the trial, the facts, the evidence---heck, to heck with the Constitution, nation and people. Full steam ahead!

I think Mr. Dean is correct. Hold the impeachment in the House from now until next November. Then, keep investigating. Keep getting yet more facts and information as it will inevitably come out. Let this President prove himself guilty as he most surely, clumsily, ignorantly will. It looks, rather hopefully, that Speaker Pelosi is taking that position, too, at least for now.

Pelosi says House may withhold impeachment articles, delaying Senate trial

What far too many Americans don't know is that the Republicans ending, killing the Fairness Doctrine in our government is what brought us to this hyper-partisan point in our nation, pitting Left vs. Right, Democrat vs. Republican. It was after Right Wing media like Fox was allowed to exist, we began having very slanted, one-sided, very ugly reporting in media, frequently filled not just with bias but with out and out untruths, misrepresentations and, honestly, lies.

What stuns and even frightens me is the ability of too many Republicans and Trump-supporters to blindly follow all things Republican and/or all things Trumpian.  Blindly. It is very concerning.

Anyway, here we are today. The third President of the United States has been impeached in our history.

Wither now, America?

An Unfortunate, Sad But Ultimately Necessary and Even Proud Day

Yes sir and ma'am, I think today is all that--an unfortunate, necessary, sad but ultimately proud day for our nation, for us all. We are voting to impeach the President of our United States today, on two counts--one for abuse of power and the 2nd for obstruction of Congress.

Herein, simplified, are the reasons and evidence:

• This President, Donald J Trump, asked the leader of a foreign nation to investigate a private American citizen and a citizen who just happened to be the son of his foremost political rival in the current campaign for the election for his very office.
• The President took it further, however, and people from his own administration testified it was clear he and understood that he, President Trump, proposed to and was, in fact, withholding approximately 400 million dollars in Congressionally approved aid to Ukraine in their effort to wrest away from the Soviet Union.
• Once this was all brought to light and the House of Representatives wanted to investigate these widespread and assumed allegations, the President blocked his own staff from his administration from responding to and answering subpoenas the House sent down.

Mr. Trump has insisted all along that the call of July 25 this year, wherein he and the leader of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky spoke was a "perfect call" and that he is completely innocent. In spite of that innocence, he blocked all from his administration from responding to those Congressional subpoenas.

If he is, in fact, so very innocent, why, then block these people's testimonies?

And when it comes to these current proceedings, the heck of it is, the impeachment hearings today on these two issues don't even begin to touch on the also-impeachable offence of this President virtually shattering the 25th Amendment of the Constitution, the Emoluments Clause, in his taking not just money but large amounts of it from foreign nations, no less, from his hotels in Washington, DC, Florida and elsewhere.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the right and true and just and correct thing is happening today.

Our own House of Representatives is voting to impeach Republican Party President Donald J Trump. And for only the third time in our nation's history.

As it ought.

God help and save the United States of America.

May justice be done.

I'm personally proud our nation includes a process wherein even the highest in the land are held accountable. That people in his own political party supporting him, because they don't want to lose political power in Washington and the nation, will go down in history as having been on the wrong side of justice and right and good and that very history.

This isn't about Democrats trying to undo the election of November 2016, not in any way.

None of us can be above the law.

Let's Compare Presidential Administrations, Shall We?

Yes, by all means, let's compare Presidential administrations--and in a couple ways.

First, let's compare the administrations on a one-to-one basis as to which has and has had the most--and least--criminal indictments, convictions and prison sentences.

Then, after that, let's compare them Democrats vs Republicans, shall we?

Illuminating, don't you think?

"'Twas the Eve of Impeachment..."

With kudos and many, many heartfelt thanks to Frank Bruni at our own New York Times.

’Twas the Eve of Impeachment

Finding verse in this curse.

’Twas the eve of impeachment, when all through the House

No Republicans wavered, each last one a louse.

The articles were drafted by Democrats with care

In hopes that a conscience would soon bloom there.

We pundits were tossing all steamed in our beds,

While Trump’s certain acquittal danced in our heads.

And I in frustration, feeling all solemn,

Wished I could capture my woe in a column,

When out on the web there arose such a clatter,

I signed in to Twitter to see what was the matter.

And there I beheld him, the master of lies,

Weaving fresh falsehoods, to no one’s surprise.

He savaged the Bidens, he smeared Adam Schiff,

And cycled through villains in a furious jiff,

Not to mention distractions, like the teeth of the Speaker.

Could a “leader” be cruder, could his morals be weaker?

So now he’s a dentist, in his all-knowing ways?

I prayed for deliverance one of these days.

When what to my cynical eyes did appear

But a raft of excuses pulled by mangy reindeer,

With a weasel-eyed driver, so meek and so zany,

I knew in a moment he must be Mulvaney.

More shameless than con men, the sycophants came,

And Trump gloated, so bloated, and called them by name:

“Now, Rudy! Now, Jared! Now, Lindsey and Mitch!

Please fly this democracy into a ditch!

It is how you will save me. It is how I prevail.

Or else I will join poor Paul in the jail.

That’s the toll of a presidency ended too soon,

So you must sing along to my favorite tune:

‘It’s a witch hunt! A hoax!’ Those are lyrics for me.

That’s the verse, that’s the chorus, for eternity.”

He was dressed in a necktie, from his jowls to his soles.

He had tanned beyond tanning. Imagine the moles.

His hair, how it swirled! His legs, how they splayed!

On such fishy foundations was his confidence laid.

And we couldn’t stop looking — not his fans, not his foes.

That was what he was after: the show of all shows.

Its plot strained belief. Its appeal tested reason.

Still it was soaring toward a second season.

The economy roared. The Democrats whimpered.

Vladimir chortled. Emmanuel simpered.

In the bag that Trump carried, he had goodies galore:

Lower taxes, the Dow, right-wing judges and more.

They weren’t for the many, they favored the few,

But that was obscured by the smoke that he blew.

All was fog, all was mist, all was boast, all was fiction,

As he hid his true airs with bad diet and diction.

He could do as he wanted and never know fear,

For an elf — and a savior! — named Barr hovered near.

And then there was Tucker and of course Hannity

To put an extra-fine gloss on insanity.

What great luck to discover a country so riven

You could smash it and rule it if suitably driven.

You could summon the Russians, you could bully Ukraine,

Just as long as you made “It’s fake news!” your refrain.

I cringed as I watched him and cried for us all,

Our values, our futures hijacked by his gall.

A last bid to preserve them was cause to impeach

But his party’s corruption put him beyond reach.

So then why all his thrashing? His howls of dejection?

It was just a performance for the next election.

It brought more donations. It rallied the base.

You could see, if you looked, a clear smirk on his face.

If you listened, you heard it: a lilt in his voice.

In drama like this, he would always rejoice.

So as history scarred him, he could nonetheless yell,

“Merry TrumpMas to all! I’m the king of this hell.”

Hope--- And a Way to Stop Trump

I was heartened, very heartened, in fact, today by a column in the New York Times. It's by none other than George Conway, Kellyanne Conway's husband, the outspoken Republican, conservative and  critic of this President.

We Are Republicans, and We Want Trump Defeated

The president and his enablers have replaced conservatism with an empty faith led by a bogus prophet.

By George T. Conway III, Steve Schmidt, John Weaver and Rick Wilson

The authors have worked for and supported Republican campaigns.

Just a bit of the article:

"Patriotism and the survival of our nation in the face of the crimes, corruption and corrosive nature of Donald Trump are a higher calling than mere politics. As Americans, we must stem the damage he and his followers are doing to the rule of law, the Constitution and the American character.

That’s why we are announcing the Lincoln Project, an effort to highlight our country’s story and values, and its people’s sacrifices and obligations. This effort transcends partisanship and is dedicated to nothing less than preservation of the principles that so many have fought for, on battlefields far from home and within their own communities.

This effort asks all Americans of all places, creeds and ways of life to join in the seminal task of our generation: restoring to this nation leadership and governance that respects the rule of law, recognizes the dignity of all people and defends the Constitution and American values at home and abroad."

So there's some hope for the day, hope for the country, for the nation, for us all. Between this and the fact that most of the nation, according to polls, want Mr. Trump out of the White House and that all the Democratic candidates with big support poll far better than this President and have for some time, it all gives me, us, hope.

Have a great day.

Link. Go here to join:

The Lincoln Project 

The Lincoln Project is holding accountable those who would violate their oaths to the Constitution and would put others before Americans.

More information, additional link:

George Conway, Other Prominent Republicans Create PAC to ‘Defeat President Trump and Trumpism’

Most Caring Cities in America?

The website Wallethub is out with its national ranking of-

Most Caring Cities in America

And wow. It's an eye-opener.

First, the winner, the top of the heap:

Virginia Beach, VA, at no. 1.

"Boston tied with Lincoln, Nebraska, for the most residents working in the community and for social services per capita, and it was in the top five for the most teachers caring for students' well-being."

Lincoln, NE at #4. Minneapolis at #5 and St. Paul, MN, #6, Omaha, NE, #20.

We here in Kansas City...wait for it.... are at a rather lowly #66.

We were beat--trounced--by NEW YORK CITY, for pity's sake, at their number 12 spot. NEW YORK CITY, more caring than Kansas Citians??

It goes on...  Chicago at 30. Geez, folks. I thought we were better than this.

A silver lining, of sorts?

St. Louis was behind us. At 67. Small compensation.

Wichita, KS, 86.  Tulsa, 90.

Worst?

Birmingham, AL at 100.

Ow.

Quote of the Day -- Timely Trump Version

Forget Trying to Prove What This President Did--What We Already Know About Donald J Trump

• Inherited approximately 493 million dollars from his father
• Declared bankruptcy at least 6 times
• Had to pay back 25 million dollars because of illegalities with his self-named Trump University
• Took money illegally--stole?--2 million dollars from a charity. For himself. And the charity was to help American military Veterans
• Cheated on his first wife with the person who would become his second wife
• Cheated on his second wife to get with the person who would become his third wife
• A minimum of 25 separate women have publicly accused him of sexual assault
• Asked the head of another, foreign nation to investigate a private American citizen. Oh, and that private American citizen just happened to be the son of his foremost political rival in the coming national election for his very job

All this we know. We already know it's all true. It's fact. Verifiable. It's history.  Provable and not debatable.

Yet this is the man people support as the head, the leader of our nation.

This is the man people in his political party defend---all so they can maintain power.

I submit to you, ladies and gentlemen, that is stunning.

That and Richard Nixon was a piker, by comparison.

Links:

Federal court approves $25 million Trump University settlement

The 25 women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct