Trump, truth and impeachment: Letters to the editor, March 6, 2020

The White House as a barnyard

The farm with a large white barn, that has seen better days, can be seen from Pennsylvania Ave. Donald, a fat old hog with a comb over, squeals loudly for attention, as he wallows in the mud next to a broken down golf cart and rusty golf clubs. Two scrawny roosters, Mitch and Lindsey, stand on the fence crowing off key and out of sync with each other as they try to get the attention of Nancy the hen as she scratches and pecks at some ink pens strewn about the yard.

Inside the barn, a frustrated Farmer Chuck is attempting to milk Devin the cow. Instead of milk the only thing coming out of the teats are lies. The rustling sounds coming from the hay loft and from under some old boards are caused by the vermin Don Jr., Ivanka, Eric and Jared.

If I were a cartoonist I would draw this and hang it on my wall.

Not learning from history is painful

In high school civics classes young Americans learn that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land. The impeachment vote, however, renders that notion obsolete.

We find ourselves in new and dangerous territory.

It’s the president who embodies the supreme law, apparently. He is above and outside the law.

According to a decades-old DOJ opinion, a sitting president cannot be indicted; according to professor Dershowitz, any crime a president commits to advance his re-election is OK.

The abdication by the Senate majority to uphold the Constitution and check the abuses and gross misconduct of this commander-in-chief ensures that, in the future, it will play no role in presidential oversight. Whatever the boss says goes. The president is king.

This is not a road-to-Damascus moment; it’s the road to fascism we are on, and we are well down that dark road, led by a cruel and ignorant man-child unbound by law or ethics or patriotism, and held aloft by a deranged cult of personality.

“We learn from history that we do not learn from history,” Hegel said.

The Senate vote is our object lesson.

Lev and Igor and finding the truth

When I first heard the names Lev and Igor, I laughed. It sounded like a Saturday cartoon show like Scooby Doo, where the bad guys are named Lev and Igor. We all laughed.

And then I watched the interview between Rachel Maddow and Lev Parnas, and I came to a conclusion: Lev Parnas is telling the truth. Why would I say that? Because Mr. Parnas is in serious legal trouble. People in Lev’s position tend to decide to come forward and tell the truth because they want to help themselves in the long run. Tell the true story of what happened, who was involved, etc., and the “state” may take your cooperation into consideration during sentencing. It happens all the time, especially in high profile cases. It doesn’t get any higher profile than this. People in this position have nothing to lose and everything to gain in coming out with the truth.

So before you decide to not listen to the likes of a Lev Parnas, ask yourself what the motivation is. The answer is clear; to save their own hides.

Revolution’s cause gets trashed

I taught civics for several years. I always mentioned one reason for our revolution was fighting the divine right of kings, and for local representation (including basic rights in court).

These basic beliefs were trashed in the impeachment trial. POTUS defenders kept saying he had an absolute right to forbid witnesses, and the Republican leader and his henchmen voted to support that.

I suppose you could argue that he never should have been impeached. I wouldn’t believe you, and anyhow that does not excuse the complete lack of judicial responsibility shown by POTUS’s lawyers and the Republican lawmakers. Would you like it if you went to court and the judge said he believed you were guilty and would do everything to see that you were convicted.? And if you had witnesses you couldn’t present them? If you were listening you’d know both happened.

If Trump had nothing to hide, why did he fight Bolton’s appearance in front of the Senate? Was he afraid his slimeball appointee would turn on him? Frankly, its appalling the number of his so-called supporters that have slimed him — and gotten slimed in return.

This story was originally published March 6, 2020 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Trump, truth and impeachment: Letters to the editor, March 6, 2020."