I spotted a family, consisting of a man, woman and two young boys (8 - 10 years of age) in the neighborhood the other day. The man was wearing a t-shirt bearing the following note:
"Hit the road Amigo".
While it was tempting to tell him that I had considered wearing my "Elect A Clown Expect A Circus" shirt that day, I instead considered that not only do such antics only serve to exacerbate the current political polarization, but that anyone who considered that clothing item appropriate would most likely not consider physical violence an inappropriate reaction to such a remark.
After taking office, Trump asked FBI Director James Comey to abandon the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election—which the FBI had already connected to Michael Flynn.
When Comey refused to alter course, Trump fired him. . .Trump then admitted the firing was over “the Russia thing” in a televised interview. . . In a tweet months later, he stated that he “had to fire Michael Flynn because he lied to the FBI”— further affirming that he dismissed James Comey in an attempt to quash the FBI’s investigation.
2. Profiting from the Presidency
The Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause prohibits the president from accepting personal benefits from any foreign government or official. . . Trump has retained his ownership interests in his family business while he is in office. . . Thus, every time a foreign official stays at a Trump hotel, or a foreign government approves a new Trump Organization project, or grants a trademark, Trump is in violation of the Constitution. . . For example: shortly after he was sworn into office, the Chinese government . . . gave preliminary approval to 38 trademarks of Trump’s name. Then, in June, China approved nine Donald Trump trademarks they had previously rejected. . . And every time he goes to golf at a Trump property, he funnels taxpayer money into his family business—violating the Domestic Emoluments Clause.
3. Collusion
In the middle of the 2016 election, Trump’s son was invited to meet with a Russian national regarding “information that would incriminate Hillary and…would be very useful to” Donald Trump . . . The Russian, Natalia Veselnitskaya, had ties to high-ranking Kremlin officials. . . Trump Jr. took the meeting. He said, “I love it,” when told Veselnitskaya may have had dirt on Clinton. Paul Manafort and Jared Kushner also attended. . . Federal law prohibits campaigns from soliciting anything of value from a foreign national. . . After journalists broke this story, Trump personally dictated a public statement on behalf of his son that lied about the intended purpose of the meeting. . . This relationship between the Trump team and the Russian national raises questions of whether the campaign aided a hostile foreign power’s active operation against the United States.
4. Advocating Political & Police Violence
When Trump gave cover to the neo-Nazis who rioted in Charlottesville and murdered a protester, he violated his obligation to protect the citizenry against domestic violence. . . When Trump encouraged police officers to rough up people they have under arrest, he violated his obligation to oversee faithful execution of the laws. . . When Trump shared anti-Muslim content on Twitter, he violated his obligation to uphold equal protection of the laws. . . This represents a pattern of disregard for some of the president’s basic responsibilities as defined by the Constitution.
5. Abuse of Power
President Trump’s decision to pardon Joe Arpaio amounted to an abuse of the pardon power that revealed his indifference to individual rights and equal protections. . . Joe Arpaio was convicted for contempt of court after ignoring a court order that he stop detaining and searching people based on the color of their skin, which constitutes a violation of their rights. . . Pardoning this conviction goes against the Fifth Amendment, which allows the judiciary to issue and enforce injunctions against government officials who flout individual rights.
6. Engaging in Reckless Conduct
High-ranking administration officials involved in foreign affairs have signaled that Trump does not have the capacity to make informed decisions in the event of a military crisis.
Even worse, his actions could spark a needless confrontation stemming from misunderstanding or miscalculation. . . We see this in full effect every time Trump tweets or makes a public statement taunting and threatening the North Korean regime. . . The president may be the “Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States,” but that does not give him the right to behave in reckless or wanton ways that put millions of lives at risk. . . If he is unfit to perform his duties as Commander in Chief, he cannot be allowed to remain in the position.
7. Persecuting Political Opponents
President Trump has repeatedly pressured the Department of Justice and the FBI to investigate and prosecute political adversaries like Hillary Clinton. . . This is not based in concerns with national security, law enforcement, or any other function of his office—it is an attempted power play, plain and simple. . . There’s no question that this constitutes an outrageous and inappropriate abuse of executive branch powers and serves as clear grounds for impeachment.
8. Attacking the Free Press
President Trump has repeatedly attacked the concept of an independent press. . . He’s called critical coverage “fake news” and journalists “the enemy of the American people,” made threats to change libel laws and revoke licenses, and his battles with CNN led him to try to interfere in the AT&T/Time Warner merger. . . This demonstrates his unwillingness to respect and uphold the Constitution, and disdain for the crucial foundations to our free society. . . Thanks to Free Speech for People, whose white paper, ‘The Legal Case for a Congressional Investigation on Whether to Impeach President Donald J. Trump,’ served as the basis for this list.
9. Violating Immigrants' Right to Due Process
Enforcing its new “zero tolerance” policy, the Trump administration separated as many as 3,000 immigrant children from their parents at the southern border. This policy was meant to deter families from attempting to cross the border. . . The children and their families have been held in internment camps and cages with what lawyers call “inhumane conditions” . . . Due to negligence, the Trump administration has no plan to reunite all children with their families, even deporting some parents while their children remain detained. . . Thanks to Free Speech for People, ‘New ground for impeachment hearings: cruel and unconstitutional imprisonment of children and their families,’ served as content for this impeachable offense.
10. Violating Campaign Finance Laws
Donald Trump knew disclosure of his extramarital affairs with Stephanie Clifford (A.K.A. Stormy Daniels) and Karen McDougal could hurt his chances at winning the 2016 election. . . At the direction of Trump, Michael Cohen and American Media, Inc. (AMI), the publisher of the National Enquirer bought the rights to the women’s stories and forced them to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements to prevent them from going public. . . Cohen admitted to making illegal, hush-money payments to hide Trump’s affairs in the fall of 2016, just weeks before the election. . . Federal prosecutors, and Trump’s co-conspirators Cohen and AMI, all say that Cohen made the payments at Trump’s direction, “in concert with the campaign,” and with the intention of helping Trump win.
Trump is an unindicted co-conspirator because he directed Cohen to “cause an unlawful corporate contribution” and an “excessive campaign contribution” by paying the two women hush money with the intent to influence the election.
(https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/texas-church-shooting/fact-check-no-more-guns-won-t-prevent-mass-shootings-n818126)
". . . But there’s no evidence that more guns can reduce gun violence broadly, said Daniel Webster, Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research at the Bloomberg School of Public Health. . . “As a researcher, that drives me nuts,” he said, explaining that guns increase the number of everyday moments or interactions — like bar fights, road rage, suicidal thoughts — that turn lethal. “The more guns are readily available, the more shootings occur. That’s what the latest research shows. When states make it more easy for people to carry guns, the number of incidents of aggravated assault grows.”. . . According to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, 93 people die a day from gun violence, including 32 murders and 58 suicides. A study out of Stanford Law School analyzed crime data from 1977 to 2014 and found that areas with more relaxed “right-to-carry” gun laws saw higher rates of violent crime. . . “If more guns made America safer, we’d be an awfully safe place,” said University of California Los Angeles law professor Adam Winkler, author of "Gunfight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America.". . ."
. . . another of the MANY English words of which this man does NOT know the meaning . . .
(https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/las-vegas-shooting/trump-meets-shooting-survivors-las-vegas-hospital-honors-their-bravery-n807441)
". . . President Donald Trump met Wednesday with surviving victims of the Las Vegas shooting at University Medical Center in the city and hailed their heroism for trying to save others even as their own lives were in danger. . . Trump also credited the bravery of law enforcement members and honored the professionalism of doctors and other medical staff for their response to the massacre.
. . "I have to tell you: it makes you very proud to be an American when you look at the job that they’ve done," he said. . . When asked at University Medical Center his message for those impacted by the shooting, Trump said, "We're with you 100 percent," adding that he had invited some victims to the White House. . . "And believe me, I'll be there for them," he promised. . . Asked about gun violence in the aftermath of the Las Vegas shooting, Trump deflected, saying he wouldn't talk about that today.
. . . of MANY sources for you to read . . . (Donald et al)
(http://www.globalresearch.ca/non-muslims-carried-out-more-than-90-of-all-terrorist-attacks-in-america/5333619)
". . . U.S. News and World Report noted in February of this year: Of the more than 300 American deaths from political violence and mass shootings since 9/11, only 33 have come at the hands of Muslim-Americans, according to the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security. The Muslim-American suspects or perpetrators in these or other attempted attacks fit no demographic profile—only 51 of more than 200 are of Arabic ethnicity. In 2012, all but one of the nine Muslim-American terrorism plots uncovered were halted in early stages. That one, an attempted bombing of a Social Security office in Arizona, caused no casualties. . ."
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. . . but misguided, irrationally dependent and counterintuitive!!
". . . We ask why there is violence in our schools but we have systematically removed God from our schools. Should we be so surprised that schools would become a place of carnage? Because we've made it a place where we don't want to talk about eternity, life, what responsibility means, accountability -- that we're not just going to have be accountable to the police if they catch us, but one day we stand before, you know, a holy God in judgment. If we don't believe that, then we don't fear that. And so I sometimes, when people say, why did God let it happen. You know, God wasn't armed. He didn't go to the school. . . " -Mike Huckabee
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We will most likely hear of this type of situation in many more American cities before any meaningful change occurs. But it will. It has to. The time has come. The time is now.
(http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/25/us/baltimore-freddie-gray-protest/)
". . . Protesters angry over the death of Freddie Gray got into physical altercations with police Saturday night in downtown Baltimore near the city's famed baseball stadium.
Some of the hundreds who confronted lines of police officers got into shoving matches with helmeted cops while other demonstrators threw objects. At least five police cars were damaged by people who smashed windows and jumped on them.
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said she was profoundly disappointed by the violence, adding that 95% of the protesters were respectful but a "small group of agitators intervened."
Twelve people were arrested, Police Commissioner Anthony Batts said. . ."
OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak. Please Visit http://www.ohomusic.com
My latest solo offering, Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak, featuring original, instrumental piano music is now available at - Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak
(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)
“Force is all conquering, but it's victories are short lived.”
― Abraham Lincoln
“Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.”
― Albert Einstein
"Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man."
Mahatma Gandhi
“I was not designed to be forced. I will breathe after my own fashion. Let us see who is the strongest.”
― Henry David Thoreau
“In the present case it is a little inaccurate to say I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible to any public office of trust or profit in the Republic. But I do not repine, for I am a subject of it only by force of arms.”
― H.L. Mencken
“. . . the paradox of tolerance: Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them.
― Karl Popper
“I find I am much prouder of the victory I obtain over myself, when, in the very ardor of dispute, I make myself submit to my adversary’s force of reason, than I am pleased with the victory I obtain over him through his weakness.”
― Michel de Montaigne
“Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible to know more.”
― Confucius
OHO's
"Ocean City Ditty," the
CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if
you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD)
My latest solo release, '2014', can be downloaded digitally at:
(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)
(from http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/04/28/palin-waterboarding-is-how-we-baptize-terrorists/?hpt=hp_t3)
". . . Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin told a capacity crowd at a National Rifle Association rally how she would baptize terrorists if she was an elected official.
“If I was in charge,” Palin said Saturday in Indianapolis, “they would know, waterboarding is how we baptize terrorists.”
Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who ran against then Sen.-Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election, with Palin as his running mate, has spoken out against waterboarding, calling it illegal and ineffective. During the Vietnam War, McCain endured years of torture and imprisonment as a prisoner of war under the North Vietnamese.
In her speech, Palin also said the Washington insiders who called the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood a case of workplace violence “don’t know what is right.” That shooting was carried out by Maj. Nidal Hassan.
“Not when that evil Muslim terrorist Major Hassan massacres his fellow military soldiers at Fort Hood,” she said.
Characterizing Hassan, “that devil” as a ‘disgruntled employee,’” is hypocritical, said Palin.
Palin called liberals hypocrites for their stance on issues varying from gun control to torture at the NRA event that was part of the organization’s 2014 convention.
But she backtracked later, saying, “Not all intolerant anti-freedom leftist liberals are hypocrites.”
OHO's
"Ocean City Ditty," the
CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if
you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD)
My latest solo release, '2014', can be downloaded digitally at:
(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)
(from wikipedia.com)
"Machiavellianism", is a widely used negative term to characterize unscrupulous politicians of the sort Machiavelli described in The Prince. The book itself gained enormous notoriety and wide readership because the author seemed to be endorsing behavior often deemed as evil and immoral.
(from The Hidden History of 9-11, Edited by Paul Zarembka)
". . . It is vital in a democracy to question the state's own account of itself - to engage in what I call, oppositional theorizing. Rather than accepting the official story of 9-11, which contains so many unsatisfactory elements, the left ought to theorize the attacks on New York and Washington from an oppositional standpoint. "Citizens are free . . . so long as nothing is hidden from them. Thus, they must watch, surveil, expose and reveal" (Dean, 2000, p. 16). Sadly, the established left has done the opposite. Respected left commentators have embraced a radicalized version of the White House 9-11 account of September 11. (sic) Claiming the attacks are payback for globalization exposes the left to charges of supporting terrorism. Even while denying stereotyped views of Islam, the left hardly doubts bin Laden's "cartoonish parody ... [of] Muslims as angry and violent" (Gusterson, 2004, p. 144).
The left embraces a distorted notion of political violence that sees it as an understandable response of the weak to provocations of the powerful. Yet, what I have called Machiavellian state terrorism is a common feature in history. Acts of terror are vulnerable to manipulation, and far more likely to be a weapon of state rulers and their agents, than the oppressed masses. As a legitimized protection racket, the state may be tempted to inflict harm secretly on its own citizens in order to achieve unpublicized but highly desired goals. Rival power holders may find it inconvenient to confront lies which help maintain the current regime. This is likely the case with September 11, which provided American power a convenient excuse to conduct ware on Afghanistan and Iraq that had been planned well before. The left abjures conspiracy theory (while enabling the official bin Laden story) but oppositional theorizing - questioning government and looking for connections between events, perceiving the world "to be organized beneath the surface" (Sturken, 1997, p. 77) - is a critical feature of what it means to be vitally active in the political universe. . . "
The kid who was incarcerated over an alleged threat on Facebook is now free thanks to an anonymous donor who posted his $500,000 bail. The threat came during an argument about a video game when he claims to have 'sarcastically' said he was going to "shoot up a kindergarten." He was jailed in February.
School violence and free speech came head to head as a result of the incident. In response to reporters, the young man said, "I certainly would have thought a lot more about what I said and how permanent my writing -- and everyone's writing -- is (on the Internet). People should be very, very careful of what they say. It's being recorded all the time, if you say it on any website, anywhere. And you can get in trouble for something that's not something you should get in trouble for. I just want people to be warned."
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