Politics – Page 6 – An Echo That's Reversing

Impeachment

(diary)

The DOJ has been destroyed with Barr, now on to the IC with Richard Grenell. No experience in intelligence (no pun), hated by Germany when he was Trump’s ambassador to Germany, Fox News contributor. He’s an “acting” director so, no Congressional oversight. A senior adviser to Grenell is Kash Patel. He worked closely with Giuliani and tried to discredit the Russia probe. Quoting Masha Gessen: “Institutions will not save you.”

Impeachment

(diary)

Fri 14 Feb 2020

I’m ending the week that should have despondency instead with optimism. One of the lawyers I follow (probably Teri Kaniefeld?) advised that the coming months up until the election, and likely after, will contain a maelstrom of offenses. He’s completely unfettered, he benefits from distractions, there’s no chance that Rs will check him in any way from this point on. Instead of focusing on the day’s chaos, plan for the exit strategy that is the next election. Accept that there is (very likely) no punished or pause for him while in office. This is good advice that could have been given at any point in the last 3+ years, so the following it always depends on just how much zen-like calm you can muster.

Impeachment

(diary)

Fri 7 Feb 2020

Every week is exhausting and I don’t want to write and think about what is happening.

Just today, in casual conversation, I spoke with a guy who said–politics not having been broached prior–that it’s stupid to think that the political climate is worse than it’s ever been. This is the same guy who once said that he doesn’t follow political news because you can’t trust anyone. Yes, those two ideas express an internal, intellectual contradiction. This is what we’re up against. (Unrelated: he also felt that it was stupid to encrypt medical data because everyone “shares all of their personal information on social media anyway.” I pointed out that encrypted data gives them the choice to reveal what they’re comfortable with revealing. His response was a defensive retreat, explaining that he just found it “humorous” that people stress over medical privacy while at the same time revealing medical conditions. This is a corollary to reality TV syndrome: watch people make bad decisions in life so that you can feel superior. This form is: label others’ decisions bad so that you can feel superior. (The mood of the conversation ended poorly.))

Impeachment

(diary)

Fri 31 Jan 2020

For the past 3+ years political events have compounded daily to the horrible then more horrible; this week compressed that and moved the catalyst of horribleness from Trump to (mostly) the Republican Senators. What they’ve done is shocking.

Impeachment

(diary)

Thu 23 Jan 2020

We’ve been going through the House’s presentation to the Senate. The Senate with at times almost 20 Republicans away from their desks and missing from the room. Lindsey Graham left when he saw that the video of him was about to be played, from 1999, where he argued that a crime doesn’t need to be committed for there to be an impeachable offense. This absence is cowardly and illegal… but nothing will be done. Reporters have been blocked from contact with the Senators during recesses. The Senate Republicans are doing their best to hide from any confrontation about their accountability.