"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!"

OK, so most everyone with an IQ higher than a philodendron by now KNOWS that Trump did not

kill Soleimani because of any " imminent threat". The public statements made by Esper, Pompeo and Trump himself admit as much and were delivered with a defiant unspoken "So what?" attitude.

Can someone point me to something that indicates that anyone will pay a price---of any kind--- for the unconstitutional murder?

Has "No one is above the law" become a total joke; a saying voiced only by naive fools?

This will be a very simple post. And, yes, I understand that some would term it "simple- minded".

What I believe to be an obvious but often overlooked truth struck me as I listened to a succession of Republican Congressmen screw on their "earnest" faces and then proceed to lie through their damned teeth about how the White House's briefing about why Trump killed Soleimani was "complete" and "crystal clear" and proved the attack was "legally justified". And, what is the "often overlooked truth" that I rediscovered while listening to this nauseating mendacity?

There are NO good Republicans. Period. Full stop.

I confess that, over the past several years, I have often let myself slip into the "Yeah, but---" frame of mind: "Congressman/Senator Asshat campaigned with Trump!" "YEAH. BUT---Asshat is basically a decent American. He/she will never support unqualified judges; will never support racism; will never look the other way when shown clear evidence of corruption and criminality." But, I'm all better now. I once again see clearly.

Some may occasionally vote with us, but they do so only when their own personal position, profit or liberty is threatened. (Looking at you, Matt Gaetz!)

If they make a statement, it is either false or a temporarily convenient truth.

If they ask a question, they are up to something because they don't need to ask questions---they know everything.

If they shake your hand, count your fingers.

"Good Republicans", like "left-over wine", may exist in theory, but I haven't seen any lately.

I just saw Louie Gohmert --- IN DRAG! --- spewing his usual amazing ignorance

on the House floor and --- get this!--- he's using an alias: "Lesko".