I Speak Life!

Today is a day that will go down in the history books of the United States.  It is a day during which members of Congress must adhere to their solemn duty to uphold the Constitution and cast votes that will determine if the President of the United States is to be Impeached by the House.  This has happened very few times in our country's history, which is why it is such an important day.  Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Congress are the two Articles of Impeachment that are to be voted on.  These hinge upon the actions taken by Trump to withhold approved aid from a foreign government until that government went public and announced they would be launching an investigation into a political rival of the President of the United States. The money was withheld and a visit to the White House was also withheld.  This is factually proven through interviews, transcripts, and testimony.  Second, and more overt in nature, is the charge of Obstruction of Congress....

I have seen a ton of talk about the Electoral College in recent months.  The majority of Americans feel that going to a Direct Popular Vote like the rest of the world is the way to go.  Those on the Right seem to be completely against abolishing the Electoral College.  The question is why? The most common argument given is that we shouldn't let voters in all the big cities decide who is in office for the entire country, and that with Direct Popular Vote, those people who live in rural communities also get a say.  When you break down that argument, you quickly find all the holes that exist within it.  Let's start by talking about one other thing that is completely unfair in our current political system.  Let's look at the Senate. In the Senate, each State elects 2 Senators to go to Congress in Washington D.C.  Sounds fair right? Let's look at the most populous states and least populous states and how many people in each state Senators repres...

Those who have served at war together have a connection that is difficult to explain.  I will start this blog by explaining how I felt after getting out of the Army in late 2004. My Battalion deployed to Iraq from 2003 to 2004 during the initial occupation year of the conflict.  After arriving home in 2004 and going on vacation with my wife and then only daughter, I sat with a retention NCO and got out of the military.  My wife knew at the time how difficult of a decision it was for me to make, and she almost demanded that she come along to ensure I signed on the line to get out instead of Re-Up.   I became depressed when many of my fellow brothers and sisters-in-arms were deployed back to Iraq.  It baffled me.  There I was, back from a war zone and happy to be with my family safe at home.  Why was I feeling sick to my stomach because I wasn't getting thrust back into a war I wanted nothing to do with anymore?  It's because those peop...

What is Quid Pro Quo, and what has to be present in order to determine that a Quid Pro Quo exists?  I wanted to take a blog to explain this to people who may not completely understand the subject. QUID PRO QUO - Something Given or Received for Something Else. I am going to use a term that is very important to the impeachment inquiry currently underway in Washington D.C.  The term is important because is makes the term Quid Pro Quo unnecessary.   It is Bribery.  The founders understood bribery as, "an officeholder's abuse of power of an office to obtain a private benefit rather than for the public interest." If you look at that, it literally describes Trump's approach to the Ukraine and other things in his past, and he can be impeached for that.  Let's talk about the facts we know about today. Trump clearly, even in the partial written version of his phone call to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, held nearly 400 million dollars in aid up for som...

It amazes me how blind politicians can be to corruption when they feel their future political prospects are at risk.  The laundry list of corruption surrounding Trump and his administration is obvious to the majority of sane Americans, but you ask any member of the GOP about it and they act as if they know and see nothing.  The funniest thing I have noticed in interviews over the past couple of weeks are the replies to one specific question.  Reporters have asked many GOP law makers the following question, or a version of the following question: "Do you believe that a President asking a foreign power for political favors in turn for releasing aid for their country is ok?" Every time the question is asked, the GOP law maker will immediately talk about Biden, gaslight, or completely change the subject.  They can't answer the question because they know it is completely wrong.  Special interest groups and large corporations own the GOP, and many own members ...

I am at the point in this presidency where I feel physically ill every time I hear the president speak.  I am baffled that anyone can stand behind the overt corruption and lies and call this president great.  There is only one way to Make America Great Again, and that is to start by ousting Trump from office either through Impeachment or General Election, and then continue by ousting every complicit GOP member along with him.  The actions of the GOP and Trump over the past 3 years are disgraceful to put it lightly.  Never in the history of this nation has so much overt corruption been allowed to occur unchecked politically.  These GOP Senators and Representatives know Trump has committed crimes and many, many impeachable offences, but they refuse to stand up against a tyrant president who has a goal of destroying everything that makes this country so wonderful.  If a Trump supporter hasn't stopped supporting him yet, they never will.  Knowing that,...

Division in America is the worst it has been in as long as most can remember.  Seeds of hate are incorporated into the political arena now; hate seeds that sew conformity on the Right; not conformity with standard laws and practices, but conformity with a political party that stands behind a leader who has no moral compass and has committed multiple, provable crimes.  Those in the House and Senate conform to the way of Trump because they are scared standing up against him will cause them to lose their seats in the next election.  They may come from purple states and are in fear of their jobs.  The problem with that is the oath they have all taken.  The oath reads as follows: "I, (name), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose ...

I remember 9/11 like it was yesterday.  I was a manager at a paint store and one of the large contracts came in and said that something major was happening on the East Coast.  We turned on the Television and that television didn't get turned off all day long.  We closed the store, watched the news, and sat in absolute bewilderment at every new update... 8:46am Flight 11 with 92 people aboard crashes into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.... 9:03am Flight 175 with 65 people aboard crashes into the South Tower of the World Trade Center..... 9:37am Flight 77 with 64 people aboard crashes into the Western facade of the Pentagon in Washington D.C...... 10:07am After passengers aboard Flight 93 mount an attack on the terrorists who took over the plane, the terrorists deliberately crash the plane into a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, killing all 40 passengers and crew aboard..... 9:59am The South Tower of the World Trade Center collapses..... 10:28am The ...

I have always had a more Centerist viewpoint when it comes to politics.  Historically I have voted for Republicans, Democrats, and Independents in local, state, and national elections.  There was a time when there was more individual thought in politics, and more politicians willing to challenge the status quo in Washington to stand up for what is right.  I don't see that in today's Washington.  I see a 2 party system that is broken, and a country being led by a man who has been described in many ways (all with factual backing); including but not limited to the following: Racist Xenophobe Misogynist Sociopath Narcissist Bigot Pathological Liar Completely Lacks Empathy Sexual Harasser Philanderer Don't get me wrong, this country has had bad leaders before.  Our country has bad leaders now at the local, state and federal levels of the government aside of the presidency.  I look at this one man, Donald Trump, and wonder how he can have even a 36...

I have watched the splintering of the Democratic Party over the past couple of years, and it is very concerning.  The party has broken into smaller pieces and the infighting has become far more prevalent since the November, 2018, Elections.  What we are seeing at this point are viewpoints of essentially 3 generations of leaders coming to a head, and an unwillingness for any of them to work together toward a common goal.  Look at the Republican Party right now.  Do you think Evangelicals truly love Trump?  Heck no they don't.  Trump's words and actions go against nearly everything those Evangelicals believe in, but they show their full support because he will push for the policy positions they believe in, like in the case of abortion.  They love that McConnell is loading the courts with Judges who may just try to overturn historic abortion law, and hold judicial power for nearly a generation moving forward; even if the right loses power.  Do yo...

We have had more mass shootings in the United States this year so far than there have been days in the year.  More than one per day, and yet nothing is happening to make our system better.  All you see is a tragedy followed by scores of politicians going on social media and in front of the media talking about thoughts and prayers, as if that is enough.  It isn't enough, and my question is simple.  How many people have to die before this is an important enough issue to address on a national scale? As of August 4th, in the United States, more than 1,300 people have been injured or killed in mass shootings in 2019, according to data collected by Gun Violence Archive.  Gun Violence Archive defines a mass shooting as any event in which at least 4 people were shot.  By their calculations there have been some 292 mass shootings in the United States in 2019. The United States has more guns than any other country in the world.  There are over 120 guns per e...

Mueller is set to sit in front of Congress on Wednesday this week and answer questions regarding the Mueller Investigation.  The DOJ, and organization that is supposed to look out for the best interests of America but has recently decided to become Trump's personal Law Firm, has sent correspondence to Mueller about what he can and cannot answer. For instance, you have the question of the 10 documented cases of obstruction in volume 2 of the report.  Mueller made it clear that he was bound by DOJ policy and could not indict a sitting president.  One very important question the Congressional Leadership will likely ask is, "If Donald Trump wasn't the sitting President, would you have indicted him based on the amount of evidence in the report?"  That question in every respect is fair.  You are asking the head of an investigation if they would have indicted someone had an arbitrary roadblock not been in place.  I say arbitrary roadblock because the policy is...

Robert Mueller is going to testify this Wednesday regarding the 448 page Mueller Report.  You may be wondering why Mueller's testimony in front of Congress is so important considering he already published his 2-part report and said clearly if he were to be called to testify that the report speaks for itself and he would not add any additional information. So why have him come and testify? The reason is simple.  His testimony has the ability to cut through the lies and gaslighting that have occurred since the report became public.  The Trump Administration, to include Barr, the new Attorney General who came to an individual conclusion that the Mueller Report essentially exonerated the President, have been lying regularly to make Americans think that the report contains no solid evidence against the President. Even though there are at least 10 documented cases of Obstruction within the Mueller Report that over 1000 former Justice Dep...

RACIST - A Person who has prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism and directs it against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior.  BIGOT - Person with an intolerance toward those who hold different opinions from oneself. XENOPHOB - Person who has a dislike of or prejudice against people from other countries. SOCIOPATH - a person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behavior and a lack of conscience. EGOTIST - Person who practices talking and thinking about oneself excessively because of an undue sense of self-importance. DIVISIVENESS - A tendency to cause disagreement or hostility between people MISOGYNIST - Person with a dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against women. NARCISIST - a person who has an excessive interest in or admiration of themselves. PATHOLOGICAL LIAR - Someone who lies compulsively, and is a known trait of some personality diso...