Three Impeachment Attempts, A Book to Read, A Film to See, The President's Future, A Call to Republicans, Sportstime and RoboCalls

The Two-time Loser

Three times in American history has impeachment come into play.  Once, its mere threat resulted in the resignation of a President, Richard Nixon.  On two occasions, however, the House of Representatives went so far as to actually approve Articles of Impeachment of a President:  Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton.  Neither were passed by the Senate, so the full impeachment of an American President has never taken place.

Andrew Johnson 

Nixon Resigned to Avoid Impeachment

Bill and Monica

There is a world of difference, however, between the reasons for these two failed impeachment attempts.  Bill Clinton supposedly lied under oath about his sexual involvement with a White House intern.   Andrew Johnson fired his Secretary of War, something a law at the time (the Tenure of Office Act) did not permit him to do.  Johnson disagreed with his Secretary of War about the details of how to deal with the defeated Confederacy and the freed slaves at the end of the Civil War. 

Clinton’s lies, as abhorrent as they might be, do not come near approaching the issues affecting national policy which the unsuccessful impeachment of Andrew Johnson involved. Today, criticism of President Trump exists on both moral grounds

Trump with Stormy

as it did with Bill Clinton and also on Constitutional issues and on national policy as was the case with Andrew Johnson.   Potentially, Trump can be a two-time loser.

Jack Lippman

 A Book to Read

Lawrence Wright writes for the New Yorker, but in God Save Texas, a Journey into the Soul of the Lone Star State, he writes about something which should be of great importance, not only to Texans and those serious folks who read the New Yorker, but to all Americans.  

After he makes it clear to non-Texans (especially those from the Northeast, Florida and California) why Texas and Texans are somewhat different from other Americans, he also makes it clear that the Texas experience is a microcosm and perhaps a preview of what is going on in the other 49 states, only magnified in the way Texan things always seem to be.  Is Texas our future?  Although it’s an easy 350 page read, it you’re short on time, just read Chapter Seven (Dallas) which like that city, covers a lot of ground.  The book, despite its title, is not about Texas.  It’s about America.

JL 

A Question about the President

After the President Trump’s term of office is over (or otherwise ended), what will he be calling Michael Cohen?

Answer: “Cellmate.”  (Not really.  See below)

Seriously, If Michael Cohen goes to jail, Donald Trump also must.  The President is an accessory to some of the crimes to which Cohen has pleaded guilty.  If someone commits a crime at your behest, for you, and you are aware of it, you are equally guilty.  Cohen has provided evidence to that effect regarding the President and others are substantiating that evidence. The President has already admitted to personally reimbursing Cohen for the “hush money” he paid out, supposedly taking the payments outside of the realm of illegal campaign contributions, even though they took place just weeks before the 2016 election instead of anytime during the many intervening years between the “hushed” occasions and that election.  But he finally, after months of denial, admits reimbursing Michael Cohen who took care of paying the "hush" money.

Stop a second!  All of this, and the Mueller investigation too, could just be Democratic sideshows to divert the nation’s attention away from the facts that the economy is doing great, unfair taxes have been gotten rid of, and foreign countries have stopped taking advantage of us, all to the credit of Donald J. Trump!  That is the real truth in the eyes of what millions of Americans see daily on Fox News!  Never forget that.  Okay, now you can read on.  Just remember, millions of Americans are not on your side (nor mine).

Trump’s temperament and lies were acceptable for years in a part of the business world where everyone lies to some extent, bribes officials, pays off people, and cheats and insults others in order to come out ahead.  In that business, if you behave otherwise, you become a loser.  And in that business, Donald Trump was a winner!

Therefore, he honestly doesn’t think he has done anything wrong. He is just doing what he has always done.  His doctors’ lies kept him out of military service and good lawyers’ lies probably have kept him out of jail over the years.  So that makes it all legal in his eyes.  

But those days are coming to a close.  He will be impeached or more likely resign, be indicted afterwards, be convicted and, instead of incarceration, be allowed to live in exile somewhere.  I recommend Patagonia, along with Don, Jr., Jared and Ivanka to keep him company.

JL

A Call To Republicans

Republican Voters!  Is that collection of liars and ostriches in Washington really your party? Republicans used to be conservative, respectable people. Those who supported G.O.P. candidates throughout the party’s history were always the “nicest” people, even in the eyes of those who disagreed with them politically.  That’s why it was called the “Grand Old Party.”

But something has happened over the past decade.  Bigots, white nationalists, folks who are still fighting the Civil War, anti-immigration groups and conspiracy-believers have moved into your party and taken it over.  One who caters to them sits in the White House and the rest of the Republican Party now depends on their votes to keep their otherwise moribund party alive.  Sadly, the President’s questionable ethics have trickled down to many who call themselves Republicans today.  What a tragedy.
  

It’s not your party any longer.  Vote for Decency in 2018 or go fishing on Election Day. 

JL   

A Movie to See:  BlacKkKlansman

It’s almost September and the really good films are starting to appear.  Those released in the Spring and early Summer may be popular with the popcorn munchers but they never win any awards.  This one might, though! Don’t miss Spike Lee’s new film, “BlacKkKlansman,” starring John David Washington (Denzel’s son).  Set in the 70’s, which many of us remember, it doesn’t ignore today’s challenges as well. 

(Don’t remember the 70’s? Okay, just “google” Angela Davis and Stokely Carmichael for starters before you see the film. You probably already know who David Duke is.  He’s still around and a supporter of you know who.)

JL

It’s Sports Time

High school and college educators should reconsider the role of athletics, particularly football, at their institutions.  That role must always be secondary to the school’s primary mission, education.  

When I read about high school athletes transferring from one school to another because of an athletic program which promises to better enable them to use their skills and enhance their opportunity for a college athletic scholarship, I wonder if someone is getting their priorities mixed up.  At the college level, athletes jumping from one college to another to improve their chances of getting a professional offer is nothing to be proud of either.  (The number of such athletes at Florida Atlantic University, for example, causes me to wonder if that school has an Admissions Office, or just a Recruiting Department.)

The small number of high school athletes who actually benefit from such transfers and move on to a college education which they might not otherwise be able to access, and the miniscule number of college athletes who might make it to the NFL and its financial rewards, make such transfers a misleading goal for the many more students who would be better off pursuing other pathways to achieving success in their lives. 

Finally, there is no reason for high schools to play football at night. It’s just inviting teenagers to get into trouble after the game.  That started in rural areas where there wasn’t much to do in the evening anyway, but that isn’t the case here in South Florida.  Back in the day where I grew up, public high school football games were played in daylight on Saturday, and on Sunday after church, the parochial high schools played.  And no one got shot.

(This is an expanded version of a letter I recently submitted to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, which had to be limited to 150 words.)

JL

"Hello?  Hello? - Is Anyone There? 

The world of landline telephones has been captured by criminals who make robocalls.  Forget the telemarketers who attempt to pitch something if you pick up.  You can always hang up on them.  The real culprits are those calls which you reluctantly pick up, usually because they seem to be from your local area and might be someone you know, despite the absence of caller ID information, and greet you with profound silence.  

Occasionally, I have picked up such calls and then, promptly hang up when there was no one there.  In some way, however, my act of picking up the phone on these very few occasions was enough to enable these criminals to capture my phone number to use in making further calls like the one I was foolish enough to pick up. I know this because I occasionally receive calls from people who, seeing my number, but with no message left, call me back.  (I believe these criminals make their money by assembling a list of phone numbers which they sell to supposedly legitimate marketing businesses, or use as the first step in identity theft.) 

When apprehended, these crooks should be tried and if convicted, serve hard time in prison.  (If they are located outside of the United States, our government should impose economic sanctions on the nations harboring them.)

The same problem exists on my mobile phone but to a far lesser extent and is much more easily monitored.  Unlimited numbers of such phone numbers can be permanently blocked on most mobile phones while landline phones usually have a limited capability for number blocking, which I always use to capacity.  I now tell my friends not to call me on my landline number and to call my mobile phone, or text or email me.  The only reason I keep a landline phone is because my burglar alarm provider requires one in connection with its system.  Within a few years there will be no such thing as landline phones except for businesses.  Right now, most people under age 50 don’t even have them.  Some don’t even know what they are.
JL

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Jack Lippman