“We do not believe any group of men adequate enough or wise enough to operate without scrutiny or without criticism. We know that the only way to avoid error is to detect it, that the only way to detect it is to be free to inquire. We know that in secrecy error undetected will flourish and subvert.” –J. Robert Oppenheimer
In 90 minutes, Nadler will gavel in the Judiciary and begin the next phase of the “Impeachment Inquiry”. We begin with 4 law professors, three of whom are already on record, for years, as pro-impeachment. They’re supposed to tell us, lecture us, why it’s important to impeach the President. Jonathan Turley, often seen as a FOX Pundit, is the other Constitutional Lawyer chosen by the Republicans.
Let’s see what happens.
The hearings will dominate the news today, with cable channels going wall-to-wall coverage. Special pundit panels have been brought in. We can use this thread for comments and I will add details to this thread as we go, to use as a resource for later.
According to Alan Dershowitz, the problem Hamilton addresses is that the accuser of wrongdoing as well as the judge of the accusation are both political bodies. Hamilton warned that the process of impeachment might become political, causing factions to polarize further away from each other in their defense or prosecution of the impeached individual. He rejects the notion that the Supreme Court should judge impeachment due to its small size. His recommendation is for the Senate to conduct impeachment proceedings as apolitically as possible.[1] In the end, Hamilton concedes that this is an imperfect solution, but the best one available.
They are of a nature which may with peculiar propriety be denominated POLITICAL, as they relate chiefly to injuries done immediately to the society itself. The prosecution of them, for this reason, will seldom fail to agitate the passions of the whole community, and to divide it into parties more or less friendly or inimical to the accused. In many cases it will connect itself with the pre-existing factions, and will enlist all their animosities, partialities, influence, and interest on one side or on the other; and in such cases there will always be the greatest danger that the decision will be regulated more by the comparative strength of parties, than by the real demonstrations of innocence or guilt.
Federalist #65 Hamilton Essay (emphasis mine)
Federalist #66 goes on to discuss a trial in the Senate. We’ll review that one at a later date.
We an expect highlights for youtube fundraising from members of the Judiciary Committee. Links for various members of the Judiciary Comm go straight to the Open Secrets website, so you can easily view their primary donors. Have fun!!!
I don’t know how President Trump does it. What a nest of vipers, loud mouths with no ammunition to back up their bite. Weak and feckless leaders…..
It’s Day Two at the Summit of Toddlers. The EU/NATO knows they have screwed over the USA. NATO was either going to be an effective organization, modernized for the 21st century to face new threats of terrorism and China, or NATO would be relegated to the dust bin. They know President Trump will not accept current situation, waffling allies who do not honor their commitments, and they know what is coming. President Trump is Daddy, and the allies are whining.
Don’t ever forget this video clip. Ever. Watch it repeatedly, and let your blood boil. These are our allies, who don’t spend 2% on defense, who take advantage of the benevolence of the American taxpayer, but expect our sons and daughters to die for their defense.
This happens at every NATO summit with Trump. Every G7. Every G20. The US President is mocked by US allies behind his back. pic.twitter.com/FWncEM7jVs
This is Boris Johnson, representing the UK who loves the fact that Americans spend 4.5X’s as much for the top 20 medicines at US taxpayer expense. This is Macron, whose French subsidies screwed over Boeing. When France lost at the WTO, he thought it would be a good idea to tax our tech companies. President Trump shamed him publicly… and yes, we’re paying for 2,000 French ISIS citizens in Syria, which Macron refuses to remand. This is Trudeau, a black-faced-bigot, ineffective leader….. the Hunter Biden of Canada.… more concerned with his socks, Climate Change, virtue signaling, and how deeply he can kneel to China. He was embarrassed in the presser, by Trump, in front of the world’s media, when he did not know how much Canada spends on defense. Princess Anne, member of the Royals, rounds out the crew.
Good thing we don’t face a real world war with allies like these. Weak leaders, brimming with false pride, smug and spoiled. Yeah, if I were a radical in the Middle East, video tape like this would make me think these countries would be ripe for the picking. If I were China or Russia, I would be licking my chops at the weakness of Europe. And of course, our American media loves it. Anything to defeat Trump and America is good.
Schedule for the Day:
♦3:25am ET / 8:25am Local – THE PRESIDENT departs Winfield House Landing Zone en route to the Grove Landing Zone, London, UK
♦3:40am ET / 8:40am Local – THE PRESIDENT arrives at the Grove Landing Zone, London, UK
♦3:50am ET / 8:50am Local – THE PRESIDENT departs the Grove Landing Zone en route to The Grove, London, UK
♦3:55am ET / 8:55am Local – THE PRESIDENT arrives at The Grove, London, UK
♦4:20am ET / 9:20am Local – THE PRESIDENT participates in an Official Welcome with the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Jens Stoltenberg, and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Boris Johnson, London, UK
♦5:00am ET / 10:00am Local – THE PRESIDENT participates in a North Atlantic Treaty Organization Plenary Session, London, UK
♦7:30am ET / 12:30pm Local – THE PRESIDENT participates in a bilateral meeting with the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Angela Merkel, London, UK
♦8:15am ET / 1:15pm Local – THE PRESIDENT participates in a working lunch with the NATO two-percent club, London, UK
♦9:00am ET / 2:00pm Local – THE PRESIDENT participates in a bilateral pull-aside with the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, London, UK
♦9:45am ET / 2:45pm Local – THE PRESIDENT participates in a bilateral pull-aside with the Prime Minister of the Italian Republic, Giuseppe Conte, London, UK
♦10:30am ET / 3:30pm Local – THE PRESIDENT participates in a press conference, London, UK
~ NATO Summit Concludes ~
♦11:20am ET / 4:20pm Local – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY depart The Grove en route to the Grove Landing Zone, London, UK
♦11:25am ET / 4:25pm Local – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY arrive at the Grove Landing Zone, London, UK
♦11:35am ET / 4:35pm Local – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY depart the Grove Landing Zone en route to London Stansted, London, UK
♦11:55am ET / 4:55pm Local – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY arrive at London Stansted Airport, London, UK
♦12:05pm ET / 5:05pm Local – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY depart London, UK, en route to Washington, D.C., London, UK
♦8:20pm ET – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY arrive at Joint Base Andrews, Joint Base Andrews
♦8:30pm ET – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY depart Joint Base Andrews en route to the White House, Joint Base Andrews
♦8:40pm ET – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY arrive at the White House, South Lawn, Washington DC
It may be up to President Trump, and maybe Poland, to single-handedly defend western civilization. The Trump Admin is ready for the challenge and having a luncheon for those countries who budget 2% for defense and honor their agreement.
We’re beginning another day in London at #NATO70 while the Do Nothing Dems literally continue to accomplish NOTHING in THE SWAMP. Sadly, they will do anything to see the POTUS and America fail, but that’s not happening! We’re winning, the American people see through their SHAM!!
Here are the pressers from yesterday. And yes, President Trump sucked all the oxygen out of the room, all the oxygen in England. Trump publicly embarrassed Macron and Trudeau.
Remember the background………….
Robert Lighthizer, USTR dropped a MOAB on France, completing their investigation with perfect timing to recommend up to 100% tariffs on anything French. Similar action is expected for Austria, Italy, and Turkey, who are also targeting USA companies. Yes, the “digital tax” is also being considered in Great Britain and Canada (It’s so easy to shake down USA companies). Again, we have another example of the expropriation of American wealth. Please consider, the recommendation comes AFTER the 7 Billion dollar ruling for America, against France, in the WTO for subsidies to AirBus, harming Boeing.
The U.S. government on Monday said it may slap punitive duties of up to 100% on $2.4 billion in imports from France of Champagne, handbags, cheese and other products, after concluding that France’s new digital services tax would harm U.S. tech companies.
The U.S. Trade Representative’s office said its “Section 301” investigation found that the French tax was “inconsistent with prevailing principles of international tax policy, and is unusually burdensome for affected U.S. companies,” including Alphabet Inc’s Google <GOOGL.O>, Facebook Inc <FB.O>, Apple Inc <AAPL.O> and Amazon.com Inc <AMZN.O>.
As financial contributions to NATO have been a subject for many years, let’s take a look at the 2.5 billion dollar budget. Wait, what???? Not a much as we thought and the terms are confusing. How can President Trump claim to add 130 billion when the budget is only 2.5 billion? When President Trump refers to 2% of GDP spending, it is the internal military spending for the various countries own defense as a percentage of their GDP. After all, we don’t want an ally who is not ready and prepared to defend or contribute to the defense of other members.
“NATO Allies have agreed the civil and military budgets for 2019. At a meeting of the North Atlantic Council on Tuesday (18 December 2018), Allies agreed a civil budget of €250.5 million and a military budget of €1.395 billion for 2019.” The extra 130 BILLION is other member countries beefing up their own defenses, to become stronger allies. AND when the media tells you the USA is decreasing their spending to 16% and Germany will match at 16%, don’t be fooled. It’s only the 16% of the 2.5 billion……… in effect, a few hundred million for Germany. Chump change, not the billions needed to assume real responsibility for defense of Europe. https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_161633.htm
What is the purpose of the North-American TransAtlantic Organization? It used to be the group were allied to defend Western Europe against Russia. Yet today, France wants to buy ships from Russian military and form a closer alliance with Moscow. Germany has been working on Nordstrom pipeline, to supplying 60% German citizens with LNG from Russia. Obviously, Western Europe does not perceive Russia as a threat.
Newly declassified documents paint a CLEAR picture of the promise from George Herbert Walker Bush and his admin, to Gorbachev of Russia around the time of the of the Berlin Wall. The promise made was that NATO would NOT expand past the East German Border, “not one single inch”. In effect, if the Soviet Union was to disband, there was no further purpose to NATO. Yet, various interests in the USA and Europe were reluctant to give up the fiiefdom of NATO. In fact, over the last 30yrs, NATO has expanded to include 13 former Soviet Bloc Nations, and advance all the way up to the Russian border. https://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/newly-declassified-documents-gorbachev-told-nato-wouldnt-23629 RT points to the 30 documents as proof of a broken promise. https://www.rt.com/news/413029-nato-gorbachev-expansion-promises/
Of course, IF the USA and NATO broke their promise to Russia, it would still be fresh in the mind of Putin, who was stationed in East Germany 1985-1990. AND it would explain his objections, nervousness, as NATO absorbed more and more countries, placed Patriot missiles in Poland, and probably why Putin would object to our involvement in Ukraine.
Again, we come back to Ukraine. Funny, eh?
Yet, this particular NATO Summit is fraught with high stakes drama from all sides.
A NATO Summit the week before the election gives Boris Johnson a chance to take the stage as a world leader. Look for President Trump to try to help him as much as possible.
Added to the drama is our squirrelly ally Macron of France. He gave an interview to the Economist in November and his comments were “scary” as to the future of NATO’s alliance. He doubted if the USA would show up for a conflict in Europe and said NATO is experiencing “brain death”. https://www.economist.com/europe/2019/11/08/allies-aghast-at-emmanuel-macrons-dismissal-of-nato The Allies were “aghast”, as The Economist points out, they were sure it would be Trump who would make the incendiary remarks. (Sigh).
French President Emmanuel Macron’s critical remarks about NATO were “dangerous”, Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in an interview published on Sunday evening by the Financial Times.
Macron told The Economist last week that NATO was experiencing “brain death”, citing a lack of coordination and U.S. unpredictability under President Donald Trump. (Got that? Macron waffles on NATO – but blames Trump)
“I think President Macron’s doubts about (NATO’s commitment to mutual defense) can make other allies wonder if perhaps it is France that has concerns about sticking to it. I hope that we can still count on France fulfilling its obligations,” Morawiecki was quoted as saying. (Morawiecki puts the blame back where it belongs)
“France is spending below 2 per cent of GDP (on defense) . . . I think it’s worth asking why certain aspects of NATO do not look as we wish. And it’s not for the lack of U.S. commitment to the alliance, but rather the lack of reciprocity on the part of some European allies,” he said. (Ouch, that one hurt, but Morawiecki is correct)
France has traditionally had an ambivalent role in NATO, taking no part in its strategic military planning from 1966 to 2009 despite being a founding member. Still Macron’s comments – a month before NATO’s Dec. 4 summit in London – were unexpected.
Wait……… What do you mean France takes no part in strategic military planning and hasn’t since the mid-60’s? So, France contributes less than 2%, complains about it, and has absolutely no idea how their country is defended? Did France just become the 14yr old teenager, consuming more than they contribute?
With friends like France, who needs enemies? Of course, everything is relative and media cannot be trusted. Many times leaders use hot rhetoric to their domestic audience which does not play well on a foreign stage.
Take a look at Germany’s Defense Minister, Ursula von der Leyen ……. the petite blond to the right of Merkel, and Kramp-Karrenbauer, known as “Mini-Merkel” the brunette to the left of Merkel….. thought to be Merkel’s successor…. a “coronation in waiting”. The woman on the far right, wearing red, is German Politician Julia Kloeckner.
Germany has pledged to bump defense spending to 2%……. but by the year 2031. They hope to get to 1.5% by the year 2014. No kidding, they’re waiting until 2031. According to Kramp-Karrenbauer “A country of our size, with our economic and technological power, our geostrategic position and global interests, cannot just stand on the sidelines and watch,” she said.
The Bundeswehr should be deployed proactively abroad, the defense minister said. She has pledged to bump defense spending to 2% of GDP by 2031, which could make Germany the third largest defense spender in the world.
In other words, Germany wants a seat at the table but for the USA to pick up the tab. President Trump believes this is unfair to the USA taxpayers….. but apparently President Trump is a brut for asking his allies to pay for their meal.
Merkel has problems with her health, the videos of her shaking violently are still fresh on the minds of others. She also has problems with allowing free speech in Germany, her most recent contentious policy stance. Merkel is on the way out. It will be interesting to see if her “replacement” accompanies Merkel and is introduced to new leaders. Watch the makeup of the German delegation.
According to AP, the USA will pay less for NATO in 2019 and Germany will pay more. The U.S. spends more on defense than all other 28 allies combined. Macron refuses to increase France’s portion, citing the death of 13 French soldiers.
Macron said France won’t increase its contributions for NATO’s in-house budget and referred to the 13 French soldiers killed in a helicopter collision as they were fighting Islamic State group-linked extremists in Mali.
“If anyone wants to see what they call cost sharing, they can dome to the ceremony that France is organizing on Monday,” he said. “They will see the price.”
As Eastern EU nations are still fearful of Russia, western EU nations look to strengthen ties with Russia. Eastern nations strongly object to the dangers of nation security which come with more immigration from the Middle East, while Germany/France/Belgium and Spain embrace more and more migration. Trade/IP theft/National Security and surveillance from China and problems with radical Islam present new problems.
Whatever happens this week in England will surely make headlines.
Since favorite Christmas movies don’t technically need to be about Christmas, and we need a peppy tune here, this is the march and theme to one of the most underrated American movies made in the last fifty years. It has all the hallmarks of an American classic. Good guys and bad guys, guns, an all star cast AND a score written by John Williams. (I recommend the director’s cut.)
Okay, so here’s the deal. This is the open thread. This is where we all come to get the news that other Q tree inhabitants think is worth knowing and sharing. Please, post links to any “news” stories quoted, and ask for help if you are stumped as to how to do that. We’re a friendly lot. Someone will be with you shortly, and there is no reason to have to press one for English.
Free speech, and the open exchange and hashing out of ideas is not only allowed, but encouraged. If we all don’t use it, we’re going to lose it. There are, however, limits to civility, and those limits are strictly observed here. We are all on the same team. Infighting here tends to resemble…well, this.
There is absolutely no reason for infighting to result in burning down the tree, house up in the branches and all. Yes, it can be rough to temper speech. However, those who would like to slog it out from the comfort of the seat behind your keyboard, Wolf has provided a venue known as the UTree. Please, take it there.
And now for some house keeping:
There are a few rules here in the branches of the Q Tree. Our host, Wolfm00n, outlined them in a post on New Years Day. Please, review these rules from time to time.
Fellow tree dweller Wheatie gave us some good reminders on the basics of civility in political discourse:
No food fights.
No running with scissors.
If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.
Steve suggests – to be accurate – no shooting at the nuclear weapons, but to be safe about it, don’t event point firearms toward them. I, Deplorable Patriot, bossy chick that I am, request no teasing the animals, pets and wildlife alike. FG&C asks that you wash your hands and take some vitamin C.
Teasing and trolling the lefties and their bastions, on the other hand is a moral imperative.
In the eternal fight against the forces of evil and darkness, unceasing prayer is always needed.
From the Apocalypse, chapter 12:
And there was a great battle in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels: [8] And they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. [9] And that great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, who seduceth the whole world; and he was cast unto the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. [10] And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying: Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: because the accuser of our brethren is cast forth, who accused them before our God day and night.
As always, prayers for the fight against that which seeks to enslave us are welcome.
