Glitter...

All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes, a fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadows shall spring;

Renewed shall be blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king.^[1][2]

Real...

High Crimes and Misdemeanors.

Fatso...

The Tip...

No one in the political arena is ignorant about where this ship will end up. However, it is a chance to be in front of a microphone telling a tall tale about something we don't care about.

It will end up badly for some.  Just a thought.

Personal...

Shame...

NYC agrees to temporarily stop moving homeless families to N.J. city. New York City will temporarily stop sending homeless families to live in Newark with a year's worth of rent paid up front, according to an agreement reached between the cities in federal court.

Democratic Newark Mayor Ras Baraka sued the city last week, claiming the program, known as Special One-Time Assistance (SOTA), puts a burden on his community.

The program sends homeless families to communities across the country to get stable housing, often in neighborhoods cheaper than in the five boroughs. The city pays a full year of rent up front and is supposed to inspect apartments to make sure they are in good condition.

The lawsuit and a city watchdog investigation this week found families are put in substandard housing, with vermin and no heat.

Borders...

Federal agents have arrested the driver of a moving truck at the southern United States border after finding nearly a dozen Chinese migrants hiding inside furniture within the vehicle.

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officers inspected the truck when it arrived on Saturday night at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Diego, California, attempting to cross over from Mexico.

As officers searched the contents of the vehicle, they discovered 11 migrants concealed within various pieces of furniture and appliances, including a wooden chest, a dresser and a washing machine, according to a press release from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.

Last month, officers at the same port of entry discovered six Chinese migrants concealed behind a false wall in another moving truck.

And in the United Kingdom in late October, 39 Vietnamese migrants were found dead in a refrigerated truck container that had traveled into England from Belgium.

Quick Quo...

Deadlines have a way of motivating Capitol Hill to get to work.

Democrats have been outspent in the impeachment fight, and are worried about being out-maneuvered. They still need to sort through their own conflicting instincts and political agendas before they can move on to the serious matter at hand.

In addition to the self-imposed pressure Democrats now face to work quickly on impeachment, there's also a fast-approaching deadline at the end of the month for Congress to pass a spending bill to avoid a government shutdown.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi said last week that she did not think Congress was headed for a shutdown.

Giuliani's travels to Ukraine aside, the Republican effort to portray as a circus what Democrats want to showcase as a sober responsibility has had some impact.

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.