The Trump Presidency: Part 18

[a_unique_person]

I don't know.



But I did find interesting Rachel Maddow going over the texts back and forth to Sondland where it clearly shows he lied during the inquiry when they deposed him and actually lied when he revised his statement. Sondland was still couching the facts pretending he didn't know who or why military aid was suspended.



The texts show he definitely did know who and why the aid was suspended because he himself told Ukrainian leaders that military aid was suspended until they publicly announced an investigation into Burisma and Joe/Hunter Biden.



https://youtu.be/qPL-HBdnBy0

Did he actually use the term "Quid Pro Quo"? If you don't then it's not a crime.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Republicans so concerned about access to impeachment hearings, that they're not bothering to come

Shock! Such shock!

Also, looks like the Blue Wave hasn't really diminished even in these off-year elections. Looks like we're up to 9 state legislatures flipped since 2016, all to Democrats, and serious losses just about across the board for Republicans in numbers that help make Trump's removal more feasible politically.

Of course they aren't showing up, it's hard to gaslight an empty room (no audience) and it doesn't look as good on paper.

Wait until the public hearings next week, they will claim every minute of their time to rant about the kangaroo court.

 

[a_unique_person]

I don't know.



But I did find interesting Rachel Maddow going over the texts back and forth to Sondland where it clearly shows he lied during the inquiry when they deposed him and actually lied when he revised his statement. Sondland was still couching the facts pretending he didn't know who or why military aid was suspended.



The texts show he definitely did know who and why the aid was suspended because he himself told Ukrainian leaders that military aid was suspended until they publicly announced an investigation into Burisma and Joe/Hunter Biden.



https://youtu.be/qPL-HBdnBy0

That was Maddow actually being informative for a change.

 

[acbytesla]

That was Maddow actually being informative for a change.

I think, she's always informative. Also repetitive and often drags her teases out where they can become unbearable for some of us. But informative always.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

She's very informative and brilliant. She just thinks everything needs this waaay too long and often boring buildup to get to the point.

 

[dudalb]

Also think Maddow is a bit too narrow in her interests;she ignores foreign affairs, for instance, until she thinks she can use them as a club to beat Trump with.

 

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

I love Rachel, she does stuff no one else comes close to, but she can circle a topic and say the same thing again and again and it drives me crazy. I get why she does that technique (people don't hear much the first time), but she does it a bit too much.

I agree here. I like reading transcripts of her show, but when I watch I'm always thinking, Just get to the point!

 

[quadraginta]

I thought it was understood that Trump is a plant to identify seditious elements in the population by selling them Red Hats - the next Democrat President can have them all rounded up and send to FEMA re-education camps.

At this stage I doubt the FEMA camps would want them.

They'd bring down the neighborhood standards.

 

[Delphic Oracle]

Either she's the type of person who, when writing fiction, would spend a lot of time in description and atmosphere, as opposed to moving the plot along, or she's padding her time.

I'd put it more as a fiction writer who doesn't start chapter 1 in the thick of the 3rd act. A major part of a narrative that grabs a lot of people is giving them a bite of a side dish and letting their curiosity about the main dish do the rest. I get why her style* rubs people on this forum the wrong way, by and large we don't need clever devices to keep us interested (in fact probably more the opposite).

*I get why she needed the Bechtel tease. As she hinted at, it is a frequent pariah of liberal quackery (I say from the outer fringes of Progressive land, myself) and even the Tacoma Narrows Bridge to softly ease into that (a quaint bit of American lore that is at least vaguely familiar to a wide-ish audience as most don't know what "a Bechtel" is) for the reasons I elaborated on. So for informed Liberals and general audience both, she's tapped into the "ooh, what's this now?" impulse.

I think the bridge too far (pardon the pun) was having to spend 45 seconds explaining where Tacoma, Washington is. That sounds a lot more like a decision made by an EP pointing out (somewhat rightly) that "nobody knows where Tacoma is or cares."

 

[Trebuchet]

You know what is Trump's biggest problem? He's spent his whole life lying and cheating, to the point where now it's his automatic response to any and every situation. Even when he doesn't need to.

 

[quadraginta]

You know what is Trump's biggest problem? He's spent his whole life lying and cheating, to the point where now it's his automatic response to any and every situation. Even when he doesn't need to.

One might even think he enjoys lying and cheating.

 

[Trebuchet]

One might even think he enjoys lying and cheating.

He enjoys life. And lying and cheating has been his whole life.

 

[quadraginta]

He enjoys life. And lying and cheating has been his whole life.

I wonder if he cheats at solitaire.

Actually, no, I don't.

Of course he cheats at solitaire.

 

[Cain]

One might even think he enjoys lying and cheating.

The only people who complain about cheating are losers.

Exception: When someone after you plays by the rules, accuse them of being "very unfair" (e.g., Shifty Schiff's conduct during impeachment).

 

[Trebuchet]

The only people who complain about cheating are losers.

Exception: When someone after you plays by the rules, accuse them of being "very unfair" (e.g., Shifty Schiff's conduct during impeachment).

Or the whole Mueller ingestgation.

 

[SezMe]

I disagree. They have to make a clear case for obstruction and that requires gathering facts including public statements but also private discussions of withholding evidence. Obstruction is ongoing and Mueller's report has already been dismissed by ther GOP, so new arguments are essential.

Of course it has, but that means nothing. IIRC, that report documented around 10 cases of obstruction. So no new incidents are needed; the ones already documented just need to be put front and center by the Dems in the upcoming hearings.

 

[SezMe]

So, are we taking odds on the dam never being built, vs. being built incredibly shoddily because Trump encourages them all to shaft their contractors?

According to the wiki article, construction started in 2011 and was 60% complete in 2017. Assuming the same rate of construction, that means it will take another 8 years to finish, meaning 2025.

 

[SezMe]

Does he know what the results are? It's a blue sweep.

Not in Kentucky. The GOP won all races except for governor.

 

[SezMe]

I love Rachel, she does stuff no one else comes close to, but she can circle a topic and say the same thing again and again and it drives me crazy. I get why she does that technique (people don't hear much the first time), but she does it a bit too much.

She usually has a 5 minute story and 42 minutes to tell it.

 

[Armitage72]

Not in Kentucky. The GOP won all races except for governor.

Which means that once it's confirmed that the Democrat has become Governor, the legislature will probably start changing the rules to limit his power, like what happened in another state.