Stand Up For Jesus; Twilight Zones Forbode

My hope and prayer this first day of the new year and new decade 2020 is that America finds a renewed sense of love and compassion. My fellow Christians, instrumental in electing Trump -- a not-so-cleverly-concealed wolf in sheep's clothing -- let's wake up, shake off the deception, get honest and defend truth and justice for all as Jesus Christ did.

My Fellow Christians, it's time to stand up for Jesus.

                                            ***

As The Twilight Zone marathon airs on Sci-Fi Channel as I write this New Year's Day 2020, I'm reminded of the many ways, through myriad episodes, the masterful Rod Serling's work speaks prophetically to Americans today.

Case in point, "The monsters are on Maple Street":

"..You're all set to crucify somebody. You're set to find some kind of a scapegoat. You're all desperate to point some kind of a finger at a neighbor.

"Well believe me friends the only thing that's going to happen is that we're going to eat each other up alive."

Others include: "It's Good Life," "People Are Alike All Over," "The Masks."

Peace.

Will Evangelicals Heed Christianity Today?

Christianity Today's Dec. 19 editorial calling for President Donald Trump's removal from office the day after the President was impeached by the House of Representatives was welcome news.

But, as a Christian who has been pointing out the glaring and grating hypocrisies of Trump for four years now, I have to ask: What took so long?

Predictably, the Christianity Today opinion stirred the impulsive autocratic ire of the morally-bankrupt, endlessly divisive, lawless and arguably treasonous President, who attacked the magazine on Twitter, calling it a "leftist" organization.

This is the same Christian magazine founded in 1956 by Reverend Billy Graham -- the same Reverend Graham, by the way, who in a 1981 Parade magazine profile cautioned that Christian evangelists "can't be closely identified with any particular party or person."

In the Parade profile, Graham admitted getting a little too close to politics himself and said if he had his druthers he would have done things a little differently.  

"I don't want to see religious bigotry in any form," Graham said in the Parade interview. "It would disturb me if there was a wedding between the religious fundamentalists and the political right. The hard right has no interest in religion except to manipulate it."

Read that last line again: "The hard right has no interest in religion except to manipulate it."

Boy, has the Reverend been proven right.

The question remains, will the vast majority of "Evangelicals" who helped elect Trump to the presidency in 2016, finally wake up with "eyes to see" the truth before the 2020 elections?

President Donald Trump Impeached

“In America, no one is above the law. Donald J. Trump sacrificed our national security in an effort to cheat in the next election. And for that, and his continued efforts to seek foreign interference in our elections, he must be impeached.”

House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff in his opening address Wednesday during the House impeachment of President Donald J. Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, expertly and succinctly laid out the damning case against the President.

Trump through his corrupt, arguably traitorous actions gave legislators -- charged with defending the integrity of the American Republic''s Constitution -- no choice but to pursue impeachment.

Schiff's full opening statement before the House of Representatives voted on the articles of impeachment against Trump follows:

                        December 18, 2019

 I rise to support the impeachment of President Donald J. Trump.

“When a man unprincipled in private life desperate in his fortune, bold in his temper, possessed of considerable talents, having the advantage of military habits—despotic in his ordinary demeanour—known to have scoffed in private at the principles of liberty—when such a man is seen to mount the hobby horse of popularity—to join in the cry of danger to liberty—to take every opportunity of embarrassing the General Government & bringing it under suspicion—to flatter and fall in with all the non sense of the zealots of the day—It may justly be suspected that his object is to throw things into confusion that he may ‘ride the storm and direct the whirlwind.’”

These are the words of Alexander Hamilton, written in 1792. Could we find a more perfect description of the present danger emanating from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?

The Framers crafted a constitution that contemplated free and fair elections for the highest office in the land but also afforded the Congress with the power to remove a president who abused the powers of his office for personal gain, who compromised the public trust by betraying our nation’s security, or who sought to undermine our democratic system by seeking foreign intervention in the conduct of our elections. I would say that the Founders could have little imagined that a single president might have done all of these things, except that the evidence has sadly proved this is exactly what this president has done. Hamilton, among others, seems to have predicted the rise of Donald Trump with a staggering prescience.

Having won freedom from a King, the drafters of our Constitution designed a government in which ambition was made to check ambition, in which no branch of government would predominate over another, and no man would be allowed to be above the law, including the president — especially the president, since with whom would the danger be greater than with the officer charged with being our commander in chief?

Over the course of the last three months, we have found incontrovertible evidence that President Trump abused his power by pressuring the newly elected President of Ukraine to announce an investigation into President Trump’s political rival — Joe Biden — with the hopes of defeating Mr. Biden in the 2020 presidential election and enhancing his own prospects for reelection. He didn’t even need the investigation to be undertaken, just simply announced to the public; the smear of his opponent – the smear of his opponent - would be enough.

To effectuate this scheme, President Trump withheld two official acts of vital importance to a nation at war with our adversary, Vladimir Putin’s Russia. The President withheld a White House meeting that Ukraine desperately sought to bolster its standing on the world stage. And even more perniciously, President Trump suspended hundreds of millions of dollars of military aid approved by this Congress to coerce Ukraine into doing his electoral dirty work.

The President of the United States was willing to sacrifice our national security by withholding support for a critical strategic partner at war in order to improve his reelection prospects.

But for the courage of someone willing to blow the whistle, he would have gotten away with it. Instead, he got caught.

He tried to cheat, and he got caught.

Now, this wasn’t the first time. As a candidate in 2016, Donald Trump invited Russian interference in his presidential campaign, saying at a campaign rally: “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,” a clear invitation to hack Hillary Clinton’s emails. Just five hours later, Russian government hackers tried to do exactly that. What followed was an immense Russian hacking and dumping operation, and a social media disinformation campaign designed to help elect Donald Trump. Not only did candidate Trump welcome that effort, but he made full use of it, building it into his campaign plan, his messaging strategy, and then he sought to cover it up.

This Russian effort to interfere in our elections didn’t deter Donald Trump; it empowered him. The day after Special Counsel Bob Mueller testified before Congress about Russia’s sweeping and systemic effort to influence the outcome of our last election, the day after President Trump believed that the investigation into his first electoral misconduct had come to an end, the President was back on the phone urging yet another country, this time Ukraine, to help him cheat in another election.

Three consecutive days in July tell so much of the story. Three consecutive days in July of 2019.

July 24th: the day that Special Counsel Mueller testified before Congress, and President Trump thought he was finally in the clear.

July 25th: the day that President Trump got on the phone with the Ukrainian president, and in the context of a discussion about military support for that embattled nation that the President had recently frozen, said, “I would like you to do us a favor though,” and asked Ukraine to do two investigations to help his reelection efforts in 2020. That was July 25th.

And then we come to July 26th: the day Gordon Sondland called President Trump on his cell phone from a restaurant in Ukraine. Gordon Sondland, not some anonymous “never Trumper,” but a million dollar donor to the President’s inauguration and his handpicked ambassador to the European Union. What does President Trump ask Sondland? The day after this call, what does President Trump ask? What does the President want to know? Did he ask about Ukraine’s efforts to battle corruption? Of course not. Did he ask how the war with Russia was going? Not a chance.

On the phone, his voice loud enough for others to hear, President Trump asked Sondland: “So he’s going to do the investigation?” And the answer was clear. Sondland assured Trump that the Ukrainian president was “going to do it” and that he would “do anything you asked him to.”

If that wasn’t telling enough, my colleagues, in a conversation that followed, an American diplomat dining with Sondland asked if it was true that President Trump didn’t give a [blank] about Ukraine. Sondland agreed, saying the President cared only about “big stuff.” The diplomat noted that there was big stuff in Ukraine, like a war with Russia. And Sondland replied that the President cared only about big stuff that benefits him personally, like the “Biden investigation that Mr. Giuliani was pushing.”

In that short conversation, we learned everything we need to know about the 45th President of the United States. He doesn’t care about Ukraine, or the impact on our national security caused by withholding military aid to that country fighting for its democratic life. All that matters to this President is what affects him personally: an investigation into his political rival and a chance to cheat in the next election.

As Professor Gerhardt testified before the Judiciary Committee two weeks ago, “If what we’re talking about is not impeachable, then nothing is impeachable.”

Even as this body uncovered the facts of this Ukraine scheme, even as we opened an impeachment inquiry, even as we gathered evidence, President Trump continued his efforts to seek foreign help in the next election. “Well I would think,” he said from the White House lawn on October 3rd, “that, if they’re being honest about it, they’d start a major investigation into the Bidens. It’s a very simple answer.”

And he made it clear it’s an open invitation to other nations as well, saying, “China should start an investigation into the Bidens,” too.

President Trump sent his Chief of Staff to the White House podium and he told the world that, of course, they had linked aid to investigations, and that we should just “get over it.” And even as these articles have made their way to this House floor, the President’s personal attorney has continued pursuing these sham investigations on behalf of his client: the President.

The President and his men plot on.  The danger persists. The risk is real. Our democracy is at peril.

But we are not without a remedy prescribed by the Founders for just these circumstances: Impeachment. The only question is: Will we use it, or have we fallen prey to another evil that the Founders forewarned?  The excess of factionalism, the elevation of party over country.

Many of my colleagues appear to have made their choice — to protect the president, to enable him to be above the law, to empower this president to cheat again, as long as it is in the service of their party and their power.

They’ve made their choice, despite this President and the White House stonewalling every subpoena, every request for witnesses and testimony from this coequal – coequal - branch of government. They have made their choice knowing that to allow this president to obstruct Congress will empower him – and any other president that follows – to be as corrupt, as negligent, or as abusive of the power of the presidency as they choose. They have made their choice, and I believe they will rue the day they did.

When Donald J. Trump was sworn in on January 20th, 2017, he repeated these words:

I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of the President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.

Has he lived up to that sacred obligation? Has he honored his oath of office? Has he preserved, protected, and defended the Constitution of the United States?

The uncontested evidence provides the simple, yet tragic, answer: He has not. In America, no one is above the law. Donald J. Trump sacrificed our national security in an effort to cheat in the next election. And for that, and his continued efforts to seek foreign interference in our elections, he must be impeached.

No Choice But To Impeach This Divisive, Lawless President

It's time to impeach President Donald J. Trump.

It's time to remove the dictatorial President, who from the get-go of his chaotic presidency has used the office as his own private brand builder.

It's time to ouster the "commander-in-chief" who has acted like anything but a leader.

It's time to end the reign of Trump, who with crude, cruel, inciting and traitorous policy, tweets and language has painfully divided the country, undermined our democracy, and consistently run cover for the pro-Trump Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, who interfered in the 2016 U.S. elections.

It's time to defend the proclaimed democratic ideals of truth and justice of the American Republic.

It's time to stand up for our purported Godly values.

Before we run out of time.  

Period.

Repubs' Weak Trump Defense: "You Just Don't Like The Guy."

"If what we're talking about here is not impeachable, then nothing is impeachable," said Gerhardt. "This is precisely the misconduct that the framers created a Constitution, including impeachment, to protect against."

For Republicans it all comes down to a popularity contest.

The real reason the most lawless, treasonous, morally bereft, mentally unstable President in United States history faces impeachment, according to rabid Republican defenders of the autocratically ambitious Donald J. Trump, is that Democrats simply don't like him.

That's it.

"You just don't like the guy," said Georgia Republican Doug Collins, ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee, in his opening statement that criticized the impeachment inquiry as nothing more than partisan rancor.

Partisan rancor is right. Republicans are glaringly guilty.

Never mind all the proof that Trump is "giving aid to a foreign enemy," committed bribery and engaged in "high crimes and misdemeanors" -- all infractions the Founders deemed impeachable in our Constitution.

Republicans insist Trump's documented attempts to coerce Ukraine to dig up dirt for his own personal gain, while withholding military aid and trying to discredit our own intelligence on Russia's 2016 U.S. presidential election intrusions, is simply "hearsay."

But, all of the Republicans' distracting theatrics during Wednesday's House Judicial Committee impeachment hearing aside, Trump's abetting loyalists must know deep down that it's them who lack credibility in defense of this President.

Do we need to regurgitate all of Trump's ugliness and criminality?

Collins claimed the impeachment inquiry of Trump comes "way too early" in the Ukraine scandal investigation. What more does Collins need? A written confession from Trump?

In fact, for the President, who has spent these past three years inciting fear, division and lethal violence while intentionally trashing our Republic, impeachment proceedings are coming way too late.

The future of the American Republic hangs in the balance like no time since the Civil War.

Three legal expert witnesses Wednesday were asked: "Did President Trump commit the impeachable high crime and misdemeanor of abuse of power?"

All agreed Trump did. University of North Carolina's Michael Gerhardt expounded:

"If what we're talking about here is not impeachable, then nothing is impeachable," said Gerhardt. "This is precisely the misconduct that the framers created a Constitution, including impeachment, to protect against."

Enough said. Let's act in defense of America. Impeach Trump.

Will There Be "Ears To Hear" During Impeachment Hearings?

"Hardcore right wing partisanship, under the national spotlight, will be challenged in the coming days, weeks and months like never before."

On the cusp of President Donald Trump's nationally televised impeachment inquiry hearings, are Americans ready for what's coming?

We are entering what will be remembered as a landmark period in American history, as the House scrutinizes the evidence for possible impeachment of the brazen President. And it's likely to get ugly. 

As the facts of Trump's abuse of power are revealed through the course of witness testimony, starting this morning, it's a given that Republicans' mind-numbing slavish loyalty to the demagogic President these past few years will kick up a notch or two.

Reason and truth will collide head on with willful blindness for all the world to see. Trump abetters will attack, spin and outright lie.

But it has to be. If we are still America, committed to truth and justice, the truth must be heard, justice defended.

But, will the truth be heard?

Hardcore rightwing partisanship, under the national spotlight, will be challenged in the coming days, weeks and months like never before.

We've got a long way to go, but a relatively short time to get there to impeach the President before the 2020 presidential elections just a year from now. 

In the end, will enough of the Trump-supporting citizenry eventually open their minds to the facts? Will they listen?

Whether America survives as a democratic Republic or not, will be determined by the people. Most Republicans in the House and the Senate, by enabling the criminality of Trump for so long, have made it clear they don't give a damn about things like truth and justice.

Clearly, Republicans are compromised in some way -- like Trump, by the Russians, Trump or each other. Bribery? Extortion? These are the central themes running through this presidency. And it seems to have encompassed in some way all the President's inside men.

There may never have been a more disingenuous bunch of crooks on Capitol Hill and in the White House.

So, "the people" -- who have more power than they think -- will be our best shot at ensuring that impeachment ends in justice.

House Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff will no doubt keep the inquiry professional, orderly. The testimony will have to be compelling. The facts unassailable. The witnesses reliable, believable.

If impeachment does proceed, conservative citizens shouldn't let their opinions be shaped by their rogue congressional representatives or Trump propaganda outlets like Fox News.

The citizenry as a whole needs to put aside their partisanship, and do some soul serious searching. If enough Americans see the light, they can make enough noise so that their elected representatives in Congress, particularly the Senate (where the deciding votes will be cast) finally pay attention and follow their lead -- instead of the other way around.

Call it wishful thinking. But when it's all said and done, America's only genuine hope to save itself, with God's help, lies with the people.

The Mounting Threat of Trump

President Donald Trump poses a mounting, serious threat to the United State's domestic and national security.

How many times and how many different ways does that drum need beating before the overwhelming majority of the American citizenry, hears the foreboding warning?

The only aspect more disturbing than America's present fragile reality is the unsettling fact that a complacent core of Republicans -- enabling the President's blatantly destructive impulses -- have refused to see the light.

Trump's sudden abandoning of our Syrian Democratic Force Kurdish allies in northeast Syria, to slaughter by Turkey, is a castrophe with untold ongoing reprecussions.

Not only did Trump's abrupt pullout of U.S. troops from northeast Syria greenlight Turkey's bombing of the region, killing Christians and Arab innocents, including children -- it's reportedly led to the escape of hundreds of jailed ISIS terrorists.

It's insanity. After much fighting and bloodshed in recent years the U.S.-backed Kurds had effectively stamped down and contained the threat of ISIS.

Then Trump, in a mindless move that appeases Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, scraps it all after a phone call with the Turkish President.

Innocents are dying. Terrorists are free to inflict more bloodshed and chaos. Meanwhile, Trump's many business interests in Turkey and Russia are safe and sound.

What further drastic measures will this President take to protect his own interests and, just as importantly, distract from pending impeachment?

A growing number of mental health experts are sounding the alarm bell louder than ever over the menace this President represents.

You don't hear much about it in the mainstream media due to the Trump-fueled chaos that steals the headlines.

In a recent letter to Congress, the authors of "The Dangerous Case Of Donald Trump" edited by Bandy Lee, MD, violence expert and forensic psychiatrist, warn lawmakers about the implications of Trump's "pattern of fragile sense of self."

The letter by the World Mental Health Coalition  (see here https://dangerouscase.org/) points with concern to Trump's threat to the anonymous whistleblower, the House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff and the President's prediction of civil war should he be impeached.

The letter further reads:

"The unfolding of an impeachment inquiry raises the specter of President Trump feeling threatened in ways he never has before. This sense of threat is likely to lead to an exacerbation of his attacks on perceived enemies and to increased encouragement of violence against them. This encouragement may lead to violent actions by others, such as we have seen over the last couple of years but highly exacerbated.

"We also should not ignore the President’s ability to initiate a conflict with other countries in order to distract from his political troubles, perhaps with the hope of rallying the country around him, as often happens at the beginning of armed conflict. The fact that the President holds in his hands alone the ability to initiate nuclear war cannot be ignored.

"We issue this letter to request that honorable lawmakers take these fears of increased violence seriously and plan accordingly. As mental health professionals, we have a professional obligation to use our knowledge and expertise to help individuals and groups avoid harm. Our ethical guidelines also encourage us 'to serve society by advising and consulting with the executive, legislative, and judiciary branches of the government.'

"Two things are urgent:

"The impeachment hearings must proceed with all deliberate speed, and
If possible, Congress should reinforce existing laws that limit a president’s ability single-handedly to make war or launch military actions."

Will our elected Republican representatives, in particular, listen?