Not original, but appropriate: "THE WHOLE WORLD'S WATCHING!" nt

As a gray-haired white man with some familiarity with firearms, today's gathering in Richmond,

Virginia is embarrassing. It would be giving these misfits too much credit to call them "punks". They are vacuous strutters snarling practiced false talking points before breaking into ear-to-ear grins when someone admires their penis substitute.

I did not see one weapon carried at this "rally" that was not designed to kill PEOPLE. There were no bird guns; no bolt action deer rifles. There were, however, plenty of "mow 'em down" pieces.

And, what can one say about the "GI Joe" costumes"? Lots of camo; bullet-proof vests; bandoliers; Kevlar helmets and, of course, assorted "edged weapons". Several of these "warriors", however, could barely fit into there "can't see me suits" due to the extra fifty pounds or so of belly they were carrying in addition to their weapons.

All in all, these people sucked big time. And, since nearly all of the idiots were white men, I felt the need to state my hope that they will not be considered representative of the rest of us.

Assuming that McConnell is successful in preventing any witnesses or documents from

being subpoenaed and forbids any evidence being used that was not presented in the House, what do the House managers have to lose by being "less than nice" in their presentation?

To be clear, I am not talking about calling Trump or anyone else five kinds of sonsabitches and I am not proposing the screaming hyperbole of the Collins/Jordan variety. But, everyone with a pulse knows Trump is a liar so why not refer to him as one whenever it seems relevant?

"Hypocrite" is another term that could be used accurately and repeatedly in this "proceeding". Dershowitz, Starr, Graham and McConnell---and several other Republicans--- argued vociferously in the Clinton impeachment that it was not necessary to charge an indictable crime in order to impeach a POTUS and "OF COURSE" there have to be witnesses if you want to discover the facts.

And, as indicated above, if McConnell gets his way---which is likely--- this will not be a "trial" by any stretch of the imagination. We should not use that word at all. We should instead refer to "this proceeding" or "this political theater".

Some will think this inappropriate, but I think it fits: "Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light".

Let's be clear: at this point, Alan Dershowitz is a "constitutional scholar" in the same way that

Father Guido Sarducci was a "theological scholar". Both say outrageous and silly things in order to bask in the attention of a large TV audience.

Father Guido made me laugh. Dershowitz triggers my gag reflex.

Rudy Giuliani. Alan Dershowitz. Sarah Huckabee-Sanders. Louie Gohmert. Jim Jordan.

Devin Nunes. Mike Pence. Matt Gaetz. Kelly Anne Conway. Lindsey Graham. Marsha Blackburn.

That's just a sample of the people in the news who see their sole purpose as the worship of Donald J. and whose primary concern is that they not be the first to stop applauding whenever he speaks. They could start their own group of "Asskissers Anonymous"

The White House has become a virtual "Island of Misfit Toys", but I don't think this one will have a happy ending.

Notwithstanding extremely stiff competition, GOP Senator Joni "Pig Castratrix" Ernst has

been named a finalist in this month's competition for the coveted "Box o' Rox*" trophy. Her statement that yesterday's GAO announcement that Trump broke the law was "moot" since Ukraine eventually got the funds put her over the top.

*as in "Dumber than a box of rocks"

For anyone still wondering about Trump's intelligence and judgment, here's a "tell".

After deciding to force Ukraine to illegally investigate the Bidens in a way that would not have his fingerprints on it, who did he send over to accomplish the deed?

Igor Fruman, Lev Parnas and----wait for it!----RUDY GIULIANI!!!

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.