Nancy, Nancy, Nancy. 🙄

I don’t think Nancy is completely pulling impeachment off the table but I get so damn tired of someone telling us No all the time.

I’ve heard that she’s concerned with moderates who might suffer a backlash if the House impeaches. Let me put that to idea to rest where it comes to Pennsylvania. We redistricted last year. Democratic voters overturned a bunch of seats. It made a huge difference. And those of us who got shoved in Moderate D districts, like Conor Lamb, are not going to vote for a Republican Representative. In fact, Lamb has so many of Mike Doyle’s Democrats, he should be very worried that he’s not kissing up to us enough. We gave him a decisive victory. But ok, if he wants a close race next time, blow us off. Pretend all of us Hilary voters don’t exist.

I might run against him.

It could happen.

Nancy is also not inclined to show Hilary voters any respect. There’s no sympathy for those of us who had our votes stolen. No movement towards righting that wrong. We’re just supposed to suck it up Year after year. It’s incredibly demotivating, Nancy.

Now, I know she’s not ruling it out. I saw some conditions in her comments yesterday. And she was one of the gang of eight who were briefed on the national security threat that Trump’s associations with Russia posed. Remember Andrew McCabe told us about that? She knows more than we do. Is she just going to bide her time until the truth comes out?

That’s one scenario.

The other is that she will get freaked out by the prospect of a bunch of white guys voting for Trump no matter what and we never get satisfaction.

I just think that’s the wrong message to send. For so many reasons.

A judge of honorable families

The Marquis and his nephew talk about the decline of civilization in France at the beginning of the French Revolution. Tale of Two Cities, chapter IX, Charles Dickens:

“In effect, sir,” pursued the nephew, “I believe it to be at once your bad fortune, and my good fortune, that has kept me out of a prison in France here.”

“I do not quite understand,” returned the uncle, sipping his coffee. “Dare I ask you to explain?”

“I believe that if you were not in disgrace with the Court, and had not been overshadowed by that cloud for years past, a letter de cachet would have sent me to some fortress indefinitely.”

“It is possible,” said the uncle, with great calmness. “For the honour of the family, I could even resolve to incommode you to that extent. Pray excuse me!”

“I perceive that, happily for me, the Reception of the day before yesterday was, as usual, a cold one,” observed the nephew.

“I would not say happily, my friend,” returned the uncle, with refined politeness; “I would not be sure of that. A good opportunity for consideration, surrounded by the advantages of solitude, might influence your destiny to far greater advantage than you influence it for yourself. But it is useless to discuss the question. I am, as you say, at a disadvantage. These little instruments of correction, these gentle aids to the power and honour of families, these slight favours that might so incommode you, are only to be obtained now by interest and importunity. They are sought by so many, and they are granted (comparatively) to so few! It used not to be so, but France in all such things is changed for the worse. Our not remote ancestors held the right of life and death over the surrounding vulgar. From this room, many such dogs have been taken out to be hanged; in the next room (my bedroom), one fellow, to our knowledge, was poniarded on the spot for professing some insolent delicacy respecting his daughter—HIS daughter? We have lost many privileges; a new philosophy has become the mode; and the assertion of our station, in these days, might (I do not go so far as to say would, but might) cause us real inconvenience. All very bad, very bad!”

The Marquis took a gentle little pinch of snuff, and shook his head; as elegantly despondent as he could becomingly be of a country still containing himself, that great means of regeneration.

“We have so asserted our station, both in the old time and in the modern time also,” said the nephew, gloomily, “that I believe our name to be more detested than any name in France.”

“Let us hope so,” said the uncle. “Detestation of the high is the involuntary homage of the low.”

“There is not,” pursued the nephew, in his former tone, “a face I can look at, in all this country round about us, which looks at me with any deference on it but the dark deference of fear and slavery.”

“A compliment,” said the Marquis, “to the grandeur of the family, merited by the manner in which the family has sustained its grandeur. Hah!” And he took another gentle little pinch of snuff, and lightly crossed his legs.

But, when his nephew, leaning an elbow on the table, covered his eyes thoughtfully and dejectedly with his hand, the fine mask looked at him sideways with a stronger concentration of keenness, closeness, and dislike, than was comportable with its wearer’s assumption of indifference.

“Repression is the only lasting philosophy. The dark deference of fear and slavery, my friend,” observed the Marquis, “will keep the dogs obedient to the whip, as long as this roof,” looking up to it, “shuts out the sky.”

He’s blameless, of course.

Trying to wrap my head around this…

Are there any dentists out there who can enlighten me about what services for underprivileged children, native Americans or Vets are considered “wasteful”?

I used to think that keeping all your teeth for a lifetime through preventative treatment was less wasteful than pulling teeth, abcesses, gum disease and dentures because these things lead to sickness, days of missed work and school, pain and chronic unemployment.

But what do I know.

What is, “Not today, Alex!!”?

The answer is: This is what we say to the God of Death.

Double down, Alex.

How we see him

I just ran across this on Twitter. Some people really believe that Trump is a god fearing man who prays. Let that sink in. Oh, and Democrats want to let Mexicans and caravans of Europeans into the country.

My new painting – “National Emergency”
“They hold the flags they cherish…
And trample America’s interests…
And endanger millions of people…
It is a national emergency.” – Jon McNaughton
For a list of figures standing on the flag: https://t.co/seFYh2IXWV pic.twitter.com/YKRK6oRQuy

— Jon McNaughton Art (@McNaughtonArt) March 6, 2019

You can’t make this stuff up. Ok, so the artist made it up. It’s the hard bright blindness to seeing Trump as he actually is.

Hokay.

So, that’s the purple sky contingent on the right.

And on the leftish, we have Randy Rainbow setting the Trump Era to music. Rogers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific, if I recall correctly.

That’s more like it.

The left is just funnier.

Why should we care?

The media is all breathlessly aflutter with the prospect that Democrats might be getting ready to impeach. All the journalists are prodding them to say that they are. That’s what all the document requests are about, right? Right?? Say it, damnit! Just say it!!!

You know that the minute they do, those same journalists will turn and accuse them of partisanship. Then they’ll wag that dog all the way to November 2020.

So, we know what’s going to happen. They can’t help themselves. But why should we care?

There’s more evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors to impeach 5 presidents 10 times over. WE know it but there are still some Americans out there who think that since no one has reigned in Trump, it can’t be that bad.

That was the magical fairy dust of having two houses of Congress in Republican hands with all the Devin Nuneses you could eat. That era is over. Now we can lift the cover on all that racketeering, fraternizing with the enemy and personal enrichment. It’s all going to come out in all it’s seedy glory.

I’m not going to predict that Trump’s faithful base is ever going to turn on him. Nope, I expect them to double down because they hate the libs more than they love their country.

But there were 65 million people who had to sit on their hands for three years of a coup and none of us have threatened a civil war. We want to see how it happened and how Trump and his allies did it. Once that’s out in the open, then we can decide whether to impeach.

It can’t be done until it’s absolutely certain that he can’t get back up.

So, stuff your ears, Jerrold Nadler, Adam Schiff, Maxine Waters and Elijah Cummings. Keep your eyes on the prize – the Truth.

And ask journalists if they’re interested in knowing the Truth because that’s all that counts.

Walk to work: Medium honey blonde

It’s cold AF today but I have my hair to keep me warm.

😉

Palantiri are dangerous

My favorite tweeters are upset by a new NBC/WSJ poll:

https://twitter.com/mdhillraiser/status/1102536336756695042?s=21

Yes, it is shocking and infuriating but before we take to a bridge in despair let’s remember that the election is still a ridiculous 20 months away. That’s almost 2 years. A lot could happen in 2 years.

We don’t know who’s going to emerge as our front runner. We don’t know how the economy will do, especially since president Giant Orange Marshmallow peanut doesn’t know what he’s doing. We don’t know whether stark, irrefutable evidence of wrongdoing will be uncovered to make him look like the biggest Benedict Arnold in American history.

We don’t know whether the evangelical crowd will suddenly get scared of nukes raining down on them from North Korea. Or whether the prospect of a nuclear holocaust between Pakistan and India will get their attention. Sure, we don’t live anywhere near the Indian subcontinent but that radiation shit travels and we are most definitely downwind. What’s orange peanut going to do about that, huh?? Once upon a time, US presidents were expected to have some “we’re monitoring the situation, sending our best diplomats, and will intervene if necessary” message to reassure the world. Can we get that from the big orange? I don’t think so.

Maybe Bernie Sanders will grow a conscience, come to his senses and realize that he’s taken his followers too far. (Ok, I’m not hopeful about that but it could happen). Maybe the Democrats will crack the code that entrances 41% of Americans. I’ve seen some inklings that Pelosi et al are starting to figure it out.

Maybe the media will start to acknowledge that Hillary voters are THE most important voting bloc in 2020 and if they really want a compelling narrative, they should run with that because we intend to kick ass again like we did in the midterms.

Maybe, maybe, maybe. So many parameters can change, sending Nate Silvers’ models flipping and churning with high volatility. Much of what happens will depend on how well WE can adapt and seize opportunities when they arise.

So, let’s stop psyching ourselves out with images of doom and despair.

Despair is for those who see the end beyond all hope. We do not.

Calm your tits already. You can’t think straight and plan when you’re scared silly.

Work then play

I’m at work this morning. Had a long nap before I went to bed last night. Feeling pretty perky right now.

How are you this morning?

This is for BiFF: