Here's where we're at: US Ambassador Marie Yovanovich was surveilled and stalked

in Ukraine by a current GOP Congressional candidate and was warned, in a 1:00 a.m. phone call, to "get out on the next plane".

UKRAINE IS INVESTIGATING. The US? Crickets.

The same Russian crew that hacked the Clinton campaign and who knows how many voting machines in 2016 has now hacked into Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company that hired Hunter Biden to its board. Trump has publicly solicited foreign interference in the upcoming election in which Joe Biden, Hunter's father, may be Trump's opponent.

UKRAINE IS INVESTIGATING. The US? Crickets.

In any other administration with an Attorney General worthy of the name, a Special Prosecutor would have been appointed days ago to pursue the revelations of Lev Parnas. But, we do not have an AG worthy of that title, so--------.

Our choice is either to flush the White House or-----get used to the crickets.

Why I believe most of what Parnas said.

First---I am no expert. I have no inside info and I understand that "confirmation bias" may play a part in my decision, but---

Most of what Parnas said in the interview with Rachel seemed to fit in with information we already have. There was little in the way of totally uncharted territory revealed by what he had to say.

And, what Parnas provided was not "just" his unsupported account of his communication and dealings with the Trump mob: he had contemporaneously created notes and lots of emails and documents.

And, the standard argument against believing someone like Mr. Parnas---who is currently facing several felony charges---is that he is inherently unbelievable and likely to lie due to his precarious legal situation. "Who you gonna believe? A guy out on bail or------" is the usual decisive inquiry. But, in this case, the "or" is followed by "---Donald Trump, who lies as often as he speaks about anything and everything."

So, I'll go with Lev for now.

So, the impeachment trial of Donald John Trump will begin exactly three years to the

day after close to a million of us travelled to DC for The Women's March.

Shouldn't we be returning?

During the Nixon investigation, when you could still drive past the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue, citizens were encouraged to "honk for impeachment" and the noise was sometimes non-stop. There were marches of sign-toting protestors demanding Nixon's resignation. I personally saw Michigan Avenue in Chicago filled curb to curb for many blocks with protesters led by a huge banner reading "Nobody Wants A Crooked Dick!"

Today, we sit quietly in front of screens of various sizes and tap out our outrage. I have already heard the empty streets and our silence characterized as "America doesn't care".

I do. What's the world record number for a "flash mob"? 72 hours notice would be helpful.

"preside": "to exercise guidance, direction and control". That's how the dictionary defines

the term.

The Constitution says that the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall preside over the impeachment trial of a POTUS.

Will he, or will he refer all decisions ( relevancy, subpoenas, etc. ) to McConnell and his squirming caucus?

The insistence by some in the GOP to have the Bidens testify is nothing more than

a brazen attempt to have GOP Senators accomplish what Trump could not with his criminal extortion attempt in Ukraine: the smearing of Joe Biden.

Putin has to be grinning ear to ear.

Who was the "Democrat" who opposed delivering the Articles of Impeachment? nt

I won't be Susan "Lucy" Collins' Charlie Brown. I wish there was some small reason to think

otherwise, but ol' "Lucy" is going to pull the football away ar the last second---again.

So, she is "concerned" about McConnell's announced bias, but she supports his approach to the impeachment "trial".

She "would like to hear from witnesses", but agrees with Mitch's plan to prohibit them.

And, now, she is criticizing House Democrats for not exploring evidence they did not know existed, but which Barr had in his possession.

I hope I am wrong, but this looks like a "done deal", folks. Prepare for a brief "proceeding", not a trial, which will conclude without a single witness being called, without a single document being produced. The Senate will vote along party lines NOT to convict just in time for the State of the Union to feature repeated references to Dear Leader's "total exoneration".

It's gonna get worse before it gets better.

I think we are entering a period during which we should all question just about everything we

read on line, see on TV or hear on radio. Literally millions of dollars are being spent---by both domestic and foreign actors---in an attempt to sow chaos, confusion and angry division among us and the entire voting public.

Some of the effort will involve the public release of embarrassing emails (candidate X referred to Senator Y as an imbecile); some will grossly exaggerate some nugget of truth in order to negatively distort it; and, of course, some will do what they do best: lie shamelessly.

The "sources" of most of this vile sewage will have red, white and blue uber-patriotic names and many of the "associations" and "alliances" will actually be either Russian bots or a couple of twisted Nazi wannabes funded by our closet fascist billionaires.

Bottom line: use your common sense and stick to what you know to be facts, not some breathless speculation posted by----who?

"Vote Blue, No Matter Who!"---up and down the ballot!

Even a 4 year old knows when " the big people" are bluffing and when they'd better behave or face

immediate punishment. When little Johnny hears "If you don't stop pouring grape juice on Aunt Betty's sofa, YOU'RE GONNA BE SORRY!", but he's heard that warning many times and no one has ever "made him sorry", Aunt Betty's going to have a purple sofa.

It is written somewhere in "Parenting 101" that rules that are not enforced are useless. None of the above is news to anyone, so what's my point?

It is just that we have witnessed Trump violate the laws, defy court rulings and ignore long-accepted customs of civility and ethical behavior.

We have heard McConnell and numerous other Republican senators boast about their plans to openly violate their oath to be impartial in the impeachment trial.

We have struggled to endure the cognitive dissonance we experience when we hear Republicans denying what we heard them say just hours before.

What punishment has been meted out to any of these people? Are we to merely sit in embarrassed silence while they run amok like self-centered brats---"rules be damned"? Are we really "the adults in the room" or not?

A prayer for anyone paying attention to the GOP's outrageous lies and shameless hypocrisy:

"Lord, give me patience and give it to me NOW!"