Ahead...

The Republicans will not agree with the Democrats in this impeachment endeavor. They don't want to hand victory to the Democrats.

By the same talking, the Democrats wouldn't hand the Republicans any victory on any issue.

The impeachment process is a way to vacate the unexpected choice of the people not to elect a politician at this time. Those who voted for Trump earlier will not just accept these trickery from Pelosi and her pals.   Just a thought.

Hardly...

We are in such an era of polarization and tribalism that it is extremely hard to move public opinion even when the facts and the law all seem lined up consistently in one direction.

 It appears that the House Judiciary Committee will soon draw up multiple articles of impeachment and pass them out of committee without any Republican support.

The articles will then move quickly to the House floor and send the matter to the Senate. And because Republicans hold a majority in the Senate, it seems nearly impossible for that to happen.

A compromise may be reached. Instead of impeaching the president, we may see a move towards censure, which signals disapproval.

All of this points to a fundamental political principle: when there is serious political division and leaders need to be held accountable, an impeachment is hardly ever the solution.

Misguided...

A New York man who tweeted an offer of $500 to anyone willing to kill a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer was acquitted.

The case against Brandon Ziobrowski, 35, centered on whether a threatening social media post is protected speech under the First Amendment.

A federal jury in Boston cleared Ziobrowski of using interstate and foreign commerce to transmit a threat after a week of testimony. He had faced up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.

Regardless,   In 2019, over 100 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty, that is protecting you and me.

Damn...

Joe Biden got into an extremely tense, aggressive confrontation with a potential voter in Iowa, lashing out about the man’s intelligence, calling him a liar and — in what’s becoming a signature Biden move — challenging him to a push-up contest.

Biden responding heatedly after the man, who described himself as an “old, Iowa retired farmer,” stood up to ask why Biden had “sent” his son Hunter to Ukraine to “sell access to the president.”    

 Biden angrily retorted, “You’re a damn liar, man,” before getting into a tense back-and-forth. When the man said he had heard claims about Biden selling access via his son on MSNBC, Biden snapped, “You don’t hear that on MSNBC you do not hear that at all.

This issue will destroy the half hearted candidacy of Old Joe.
The way Joe responded, walking towards the person as if to intimidate
 him, and  challenging the guy.....  Just a thought.

Creepy...

 

Warped...

A quick turnaround on impeachment articles, an event of historic significance, a vital moment of moral reckoning for the nation, will occur over the sleepy holiday season when Americans’ attention is sparse.

The Senate trial, will  force Senators Booker, Klobuchar, Sanders and Warren to cease campaigning in the crucial month before the Iowa caucuses to return to sit as jurors. Rushing to draft articles also means that crucial information about the Ukraine scandal will not be made public.

More broadly, such a narrow and quick impeachment process risks being not only politically wasteful for the Democrats, but cowardly as well, in the admittedly warped logic of American political messaging.    Just a thought.

Produce...

Just when you thought dairy and raw meat were more likely to get you sick, it turns out that produce may actually be the biggest culprit.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, produce is the culprit for about 50 percent of all foodborne illnesses. However, meat and poultry are only involved in about 22 percent of the cases, in comparison.

Recent research from the FDA has proven the risk unwashed produce can do for your health.

In one experiment, the Food and Drug Administration tested the bacteria existing in avocados and guacamole, later determining that E. coli and Salmonella were present in most of the samples. Furthermore, three out of the four subjects that tested positive for listeria came from domestic suppliers.

Facial...

China put into effect new regulations that require Chinese telecom carriers to scan the faces of users registering new mobile phone services, a move the government says is aimed at cracking down on fraud.  

The rules mean millions more people will come under the purview of facial recognition technology in China.

Supermarkets, subway systems and airports already use facial recognition technology. Alibaba hotel in its headquarters city of Hangzhou where guests can scan their face with their smartphones for advance check-in.

The metro systems of some major Chinese cities will use the technology to "classify passengers" for "different security check measures."

Fast...

 To give guns to criminal organizations was questioned during the operations by a number of people, including ATF field agents and cooperating licensed gun dealers. During Operation Fast and Furious, the largest "gunwalking" probe, the ATF monitored the sale of about 2,000^[1]:203[15] firearms, of which only 710 were recovered as of February 2012. None of the targeted high-level cartel figures had been arrested.^[6]

Guns tracked by the ATF have been found at crime scenes on both sides of the Mexico–United States border, and the scene where United States Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was killed in December 2010. The      .
"gunwalking" operations became public in the aftermath of Terry's murder.^[2] Dissenting ATF agents came forward to Congress in response.

 According to former Mexican Attorney General related firearms have been found at numerous crime scenes in Mexico where at least 150 Mexican civilians were maimed or killed.^[17] Revelations of "gunwalking" diplomatic relations were damaged.^[2]

Was that a high crimes and misdemeanor?

Crashes...

The number of Americans who died from firearms surpassed those who died in car accidents for the first time in 2017, according to a new far-reaching report on gun violence.

The report, released by the congressional Joint Economic Committee (JEC), found that nearly 40,000 people were killed in the U.S. by a gun, including approximately 2,500 school-age children.

In 2017, 37,133 people died in motor vehicle crashes, according to the Department of Transportation.

Additionally, the report found that race and where you live are key indicators in tracking gun violence and deaths. The report found that rural states have the highest rates of gun violence “measured as a share of their economies.” 

States with the highest rates of gun ownership, including Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Montana, West Virginia and Wyoming have the highest rates of gun suicides. 

Sixty percent of the total number of people who died from firearms died by suicide.