impeachment

Impeachment Again: What You Need To Know

On Monday, the second Trump impeachment trial in the Senate is scheduled to begin.

(I know; just when you thought he was finally gone, right? Wrong. Trump is back in the headlines for another few weeks — and it’s a good thing for everyone. But more on that later. -Editor)

In order to prepare for the upcoming outcomes of these events, there are a few aspects of the proceedings that you should be aware of going into this so you can adjust your expectations. That way, there are few surprises and there will be little room for disinformation going forward. The proper correction for fake news is, after all, a strong infusion of the truth.

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Mitch and Chuck: Are They The Problem?

If you missed the headlines over the weekend… well, as usual, you didn’t miss much. To no-one’s real surprise, the threat of filibuster was only a threat, and Mitch and Chuck have arrived at a power-sharing agreement. Later today, the Senate will convene as a court rather than a deliberative body, and Senator Patrick Leahy — the President Pro Tem, by tradition the longest-serving member of the majority party in the Senate — is expected to preside over Donald Trump’s second impeachment.

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F&L: Warren Out West, Lebanon N.H.

It’s easy to forget, but there’s a big chunk of New Hampshire that exists cheek-by-jowl with Vermonters that live on opposite sides of the Connecticut River valley.  It’s a demographic the state doesn’t quite know what to do with; the urban centers (such as they are) are lumped in with mountain recluse compound-dwellers to form the Fifth State Senate District.  Fifty thousand people live right along here; two thirds are Pantsuit Nation loyalists and the rest vote MAGA.  There might be a moderate somewhere but if so he’s in hiding.  The only reason there isn’t open war is only the MAGA faction is armed — and they just want to be left the hell alone.

You couldn’t pay me enough to canvass for a Democrat outside city limits. (more…)

Fear & Loathing 2020: Tom Steyer Live

“Come away, come away if you’re going; Leave the sinking ship behind!”

It’s no random choice that selected CCR’s “Around The Bend” as Tom Steyer’s theme song.  On the face of it, his candidacy is absolutely insane; he’s an honest-to-God billionaire running on a platform of “Get Money Out Of Politics”; I’ve never (more…)

F&L: Let’s Not Forget Tom Steyer

He’s a late entry and is polling lower than Delaney in Iowa and New Hampshire.  Nevertheless, it’s a mistake to ignore Steyer; he’s going to make a difference in at least two early races unless something big changes, and all else aside he’s likely to split that all-important Billionaire Bloc of voters.  So who is he?  Why do we care that yet another rich old white guy is running? (more…)

The Not Fake News: Emergency Editorial

Today was a bad day.

We knew it was coming; the fix has been in for weeks. But still, it was disappointing to some few of us that placed our hope in witnesses.

Personally, I think it’s for the best.  Lisa Murkowski put it pretty well: It’s a sham trial; there’s zero sense dragging it out, and witnesses won’t make any difference to the result.  There’s maybe three people, maybe four, who hadn’t made up their minds before the Senate show began.  Right now there might be one. (more…)

Fear & Loathing 2020: Take The Iowa Challenge

Nate Silver is trying to get us to commit before Iowa.  I’m willing.

The following is a transcript of my live Twitter rant, fresh off the Mojo Wire. It’s edited slightly for format purposes and to remove potentially libelous content about Betsy Warren’s dog, who when all is said and done has done nothing to deserve that sort of treatment.  Besides, I love Bailey; he’s a Good Boy, isn’t he?  Yes he is!  (Follow @FirstDogBailey on Twitter!) (more…)

F&L: Donald Trump and MAGA

One could write volumes about Donald Trump the celebrity, the business mogul, the particularly slimy real estate developer, and so on.  I’m giving that a miss.  As a public person I find him odious and in business I’d resort to extreme measures to avoid him (I haven’t ruled out self-defenestration).  Beyond saying that, it’s entirely immaterial for our purposes.  Our subject is Donald Trump as president: the pros and cons of his tenure, his chance at escaping unscathed from impeachment to run again, and his likelihood of winning in 2020 based on the issues.  That should be enough for one article.

(What:  You didn’t honestly think I would give him a pass just because he’s the Evil One, did you?) (more…)

Impeachment: Day Zero

It is the editorial policy of The Not Fake News to avoid covering things that you’ll hear about anyway unless what you’re going to hear is wrong.

In this instance, the danger is that you’ll have long since overloaded before you get to the essentials, so I’m going to kick you those.  I’m limiting myself to matters of fact (more…)

It’s Not A Coup

Both the departure of Evo Morales from the presidency of Bolivia and the ongoing impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump have been called coups by loyalists.

Lest there be confusion on this point:  I could be talking about either or both of them when (more…)