What Was the Second Impeachment Suppose to Accomplish?

What was the purpose of the second impeachment; the real purpose? To answer that question, we first need to ask what's the purpose of an impeachment in the first place? The Constitution says it's to remove anyone found guilty of "high crimes and misdemeanors", but what does that mean?

Simply put, high crimes and misdemeanors are any crimes, regardless of the scale or type committed by an elected officer, whether is simply a matter of conduct, morals, or actual crimes such as thief of public funds, physical assault. Trump was accused of sedition because of text messages taken out of context, which ultimately proved to be a red herring.  So, was there an ulterior motive?

The purpose of the second impeachment was simply not just to remove Trump from office, but to ensure that Trump could never run for office again. They also have to destroy his character so that not just was his reputation ruined, but so was his credibility. Lastly, he had to be destroyed financially. They will keep Trump tied up in court on charges ranging from serious to petty, but all fictitious. Donald Trump has to be not just rendered a spent force, never to rise again, but also held up for all the world to see as a warning. 

As an aside, care to guess what the impeachment cost taxpayers? According to Yahoo Finance, the first impeachment cost about $11.5 million. As for the second impeachment, we simply don't know. Estimates range from 1.83 million up to $33 million.  The investigation and impeachment trial of Bill Clinton in 1994 cost approximately $80 million dollars. I suspect there's an estimate of the cost of the second impeachment out there...somewhere, but they just don't want us to know about it. 

Trump saw himself as a reformer; a crusader. Someone who was going to expose the corruption of the Beltway Mafia. A lot of politicians promote themselves as a reformer, but the truth is that they never are. They always claim that they are going to "stand up" to the villain de jure or that they are going to tell Congress, the State Legislature, or City Hall that we aren't going to take it anymore.

The truth is that no single individual is capable of doing a damn thing. Not even a small group of well intentioned crusaders can affect much change. The fact of the matter is, despite their intentions, they will either conform to the corruption, or they'll be isolated and removed.   As former Speaker of House, Sam Rayburn (D-TX) once famously said, "to get along you have to go along".

Once you're elected, your time and energy are directed to committees (especially fundraising for the party and committee chairs). The dirtier your hands get, the more you're trusted, the better the committee assignments and the higher you rise on the greased poll of seniority.  You stay so preoccupied, you have no time for actual reform other than, perhaps, superficial changes. "Window dressing" is always popular to sooth the unruly mob out in "flyover country".

 If you don't "go along", you'll be kept off important committees like the Ways and Means, Education, Appropriations, Budget, or Labor, and cut off from any campaign financial support. When reelection rolls around, the party bosses will find an "opponent" for you and you'll find few, if any friends, among your associates. some might give you words of encouragement but no actual support.

Their loyalties are to the committee chairs and to the party. They dare not risk "offending" the hand that feeds them.  If you manage to survive your contested election, consider yourself warned. You might not be so lucky the next time around. That's how politics is played.

Trump was elected to drain the swamp that is Washington. Instead, he found himself waist deep in a swamp filled with all sorts of nasty creepy crawlies. Every one of them has multiple heads with at least two faces. Trump was isolated. He had few he could trust or confide in that had any real clout.  We was cut off from his base.

Trump is now viewed as a warning to all current and future reformers by the Status Quo. There may be some typical cosmetic changes, but nothing of substance will be changed.  Power is never willingly surrendered. The elites on both sides of the aisle will take steps to ensure no one like Donald Trump will happen again while making it appear that all things are now possible.

That isn't to say that change can't or won't happen. It will when we start realizing that we have more in common than not and that we aren't each other's enemy regardless of race, gender, or any other artificial barrier leveled against us by those who seek to keep us divided.

The real enemy is a system which seeks to control and subjugate us for its own benefit; which has substituted our democratic Constitutional Republic with a Corporatocracy managed by a handful of super wealthy Oligarchs. It has gradually replace freedom with politically correct "right think" to quote from George Orwell's book, "1984".

We've become a surveillance state on our way to becoming a police state. Is that what we want for ourselves? Our children or their children? It will be, after all, the legacy we bequeath to them if we continue to do nothing.

The second impeachment attempt of Donald Trump was a more than a symbolic warning shot across the bow of our country. It was intended to let us know that any further attempt at resistance won't be tolerated. Our compliance is no longer being politely requested by the Status Quo. It's to be expected. Speak out and you'll be silenced. Resist and you'll be "cancelled". Act out and you'll be demonized, ridiculed...or worse.  

So, what will we do? Will we meekly return to our daily existence, perhaps muttering something formerly patriotic to ourselves as we shuffle along? Will we resort to acts of passive resistance like tearing off bumper stickers, wishing someone a "Happy Fourth of July", a "Merry Christmas", or flying the American flag?  Maybe we'll quietly cheer on someone who bravely and openly supports the Second Amendment or perhaps we'll discreetly read a non-conformist political blog!

Resistance is never futile. Nothing is too small. Every act, however insignificant it seems, is important. The Status Quo must never feel it's fully in control. It can never be comfortable with its power. It must always question itself and its decision.

Some people dislike Trump. Some were even happy with his impeachment. That's understandable. He can be abrasive, argumentative, and petty. He has flaws, just like the rest of us, but on a bigger scale because he occupies a bigger stage than the rest of us. The spotlight magnifies the man--warts and all---especially when it's his enemies behind the spotlight.

Nevertheless, we must look beyond the man to what he represented. Trump was seen as the embodiment of the "ordinary American"; as someone who loves this country and what it stands for, and has come to despise what it has become. We wanted Trump to "drain the swamp", and try as he might, the swamp, with its creatures on the Left and Right, was too wide and too deep. It stunned us. We were devastated to see who fought against him, and to what extent they would go to destroy him.

They weren't ultimately intimidated by Trump because they weren't afraid of the American People. The system was so corrupt that it insulated them from those they were supposedly elected to serve. We saw who they really represented, and it wasn't us. The mask had more than merely slipped. It was dropped and we saw the grotesqueness of what our once proud Republic had become.  

Now, we're back to business as usual. The Status Quo is back in charge. Of course, there will be some changes.  Both parties will make sure no one like Trump will again threaten to deprive them of their control and power. Challenges to the Status Quo will no longer be tolerated.

We're already seeing it on social media, TV, and even with our cultural icons like Dr. Seuss, Bug Bunny, John Wayne, and so on.  What was once seen as a threat will now be dismissed or ridiculed at best or demonized at its worse. Compliance will be made to be seen as traditional and rational.

Trump supporters are portrayed as buffoons or racists just as those who looted, rioted, committed vandalism and arson in 2020 are now labeled as "peaceful protesters". They may even be honored with the Nobel Peace Prize, which has long lost its sheen. Education seeks to install a distorted view of America. Colleges and universities discourage critical thinking and the open critique of ideas.

A timid society must be made timid from the beginning and kept timid. It must be reinforced by the media and incorporated into entertainment in order to be seen as normal and acceptable. That is how to gain and maintain control. It's happening. It's been happening.  The question is whether or not we will allow that to continue?

How much will the Trump impeachment trial cost?

Fact check: No evidence to support online claims impeachment cost $33 million

A Message to the Protestors: Be The Change You Demand Of Others

 

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There's a lot of finger pointing about Breonna Taylor's death. Was it Kenneth Walker's fault? Was it Jamarcus Glover's? We know it was Detective Myles Cosgrove who fired the fatal shot. You know what would have saved her life? Not running around with drug dealers. That would have saved her life. Her choices are what put her on the path that led to that fateful evening of March 13th.

It's time to stop blaming other people for your decisions. This country, for all its flaws (and there are many),  offers more opportunities for minorities than any other country. People come here with virtually nothing and make it. Far too many blacks, Asians, Hispanics, Muslims, gays, and yes, "poor white trash" have succeeded to believe there's some "systematic racism" or other barriers holding you back.

The only "racism" is the one people wear on their sleeve as a "you owe me" patch. The only thing anyone is owned is an equal chance. What you do with is up to you. Stop teaching kids to disrespect or run from cops. Stop telling them that doing well in school is "acting white".  A quality education is the key to a good life regardless of who you are or where you come from. Gangbanging leads to an early grave. No pride. No honor. No respect.

I know these protests were supposed to be about "social justice", so please explain to Louisville and the nation why there's looting, arson, riots, graffiti, and violence. Where's the "social justice" in attacking innocent people minding their own business? What happened to your "peaceful" protests?  I'll tell you what happened. It got hijacked. You got played. You've become a "useful idiots" to quote Lenin. It was taken over by BLM which itself was hijacked by Marxist organizers more intent in a race war than social justice.

You are losing Middle America (if you haven't already lost it). Without Middle America there is no solution. Think there are no "innocent bystanders"? Keep it up and you'll be right. All your efforts will be for nothing and you'll end up worse off than when you started. If you lose Middle America, then no matter how "noble" your cause, you've lost. Let that sink in.

Politics is corrupt. The political system is broken beyond repair. Our Republic has been hijacked just like your movement. They sold out long before you were born. We know. We get it. But violence and anarchy will only give the power elite ---the ruling Oligarchy---what they want, an excuse to declare martial law and impose a full out police state. We're already on the precipice as it is. 

Don't like capitalism? Remember that the next time you pull out your Smartphone or order off of Grubhub. Of course, you can always check out China, North Korea, or Cuba if you like warm weather anytime you like. Just buy yourself a ticket and hop on the next plane (another capitalist perk). Instead, why don't you put some action behind your high ideals? 

 Try picking an issue which benefits working class America irrespective of race or any of the other artificial divisions imposed on us by the elites, then organize and make it happen. Start local and work your way up. Worried about the environment? Great! Start doing something by picking up you're all's garbage.

Think about the consequences of your actions. Pull your pants up. No one is impressed with your underwear.  Reconsider those tats, especially on your hands and face. Same with your piercings. The only statement about you that they make is that you make bad decisions. As trite as it may sound, treat people the way you want to be treated and most people will do the same. Act like an asshole and get treated like one.

Want more change? Start a business in your neighborhood. Learn what it's like to start from scratch and build something from nothing. Learn what its like to have strangers depend on you. It's rewarding, but damn hard work. It may also give you a better perspective on what it's like to have some punk come along and steal everything or burn it down.  Want a "revolution" or "civil war" instead? More fun to destroy than build? Be careful. You might just get one and it may not turn out like you think. 

Try instead creating or joining a police review board, even informal ones to monitor and report on police actions---the good and the bad. Publicly acknowledge the good cops and expose the bad ones before another "George Floyd" happens.  Create block watches and neighborhood associations...and be active in them. Don't leave it to someone else to do the work. If you do it probably won't get done.

Work to clean up neighborhoods. Get rid of the need for the police to be there. That means getting rid of the wrong crowd. It will improve not just the physical appearance of your community, but it's value too (that's money in your pocket), not to mention reduce shootings. Empty lots? Grow a community based garden and trade with each other. Think of how much money you all could save in grocery bills.

Demand that schools require civics classes again. Learn how the system is suppose to work so you can bring about change. Skip anything which divides us and seek out what unites us as a community. Divided we're vulnerable. United we're unstoppable.  Remember that "identity politics" like "identity education" is a dead end street. If everyone starts pursuing a "me only" agenda then everyone winds up with nothing because everyone will have their hand out and there's only so much money to go around.  

Breonna Taylor got off to a good start. Becoming a EMT is tough. She worked hard to become one, but then ended up with the wrong crowd. As a result she threw all that hard work away and ultimately, it cost Breonna her life.  Was it worth it? Was it worth dying in a hail of bullets in the middle of the night at the age of 26?  I can't imagine it was.

So, if you want to make her a martyr; a symbol of the new social justice movement, just remember that her's was a life wasted. Social justice begins with fundamental change and that starts in the home, and then the neighborhoods, the churches, and expands from there. It doesn't start with riots, looting, arson, destroying or defacing property, or sucker punching someone. It sure doesn't start by taking pot shots at cops or anyone else. Change, be it personal or public, is all about taking responsibility. Remember that.