impeachment inquiry hearings thread

[Brisketexan 104,537]

28 minutes ago, deech said:

So?

I mean I completely agree with your analysis.  100%.  But then what?  Would you have them not make their case for impeachment?  The President and his minions competed an impeachable act.  You make the case in the House exactly like they are today.  You have solid, credible witnesses tell their story for all of America to see.   You make the case as best you can as clearly as you can.  Simple.  Then the vote is whatever the vote is.  

The alternative is to let slide an impeachable offense due to political calculation.  Maybe I'm too much of an idealist, but you take the L if that is the end result for the system and hope that the public vote of R's and Trump's second term vindicates that L historically.

I agree with this.  We have to run the play, because goddamit, it's the right thing to do.

You remember To Kill a Mockingbird.  Atticus Finch tried one HELL of a case.  He was right.  Tom Robinson was innocent.  He deserved acquittal, and justice.

But Atticus knew -- like we know now -- that the jury would never do justice.  He knew the whole time.  He knew from opening statement to closing argument.  He knew that the facts and evidence didn't matter.  The jury was going to do what it was going to do.

The reader knows that it's a great wrong.  The reader wants Atticus to win, but knows all along that he surely won't.  

Atticus offered some wisdom that fits the current circumstances:

Quote

Those are twelve reasonable men in everyday life, Tom’s jury, but you saw something come between them and reason. You saw the same thing that night in front of the jail. When that crew went away, they didn’t go as reasonable men, they went because we were there. There’s something in our world that makes men lose their heads—they couldn’t be fair if they tried.

Quote

I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.

We the People are going to take the L on this one.....because the party in power has something between them and reason (power, greed, venality).  And they couldn't be fair if they tried.  We aren't going to win.  But we're going to write the book.  Because maybe someday, there will be people who read it and are as disgusted by wrongdoing as they should be.  And shit, write the book for no other reason than that it's more wrong than to just go along and allow an unjust result without even putting up a fight.

[Chooky 13,296]

3 hours ago, Zavala said:

Ok Boomer

Yeah, nailed it.  I have zero doubt that you're still saying "dilley dilley" and wondering why the people around you avoid eye contact.

[Irwin F Fletcher 3,550]

I thought day one went very well. The timeline was well established by Ambassador Taylor. The republican arguments (if you can even call them arguments) did nothing to defend the actions taken by Trump. The facts are being established. Aid was approved by Congress. Said aid was being held back by Trump/Mulvaney in an attempt to get the President of Ukraine to announce an investigation into VP Biden. Aid was only released after Congress got involved.

 

Future testimony will not only confirm this timeline, it will begin to include those who interacted directly with the President (Sondland) and those who where involved with various agencies. Add to that the notes and documents that have been subpoened from DoD and State. Additionally, you have evidence of foreign interference with the removal of the previous Ambassador to Ukraine.....along with other criminal paths that Giuliani was directly involved in.

 

Icing on the cake would include testimony from Bolton, Giuliani, Mulvaney and Pompeo. The Democrats, to quote Al Pacino should be yelling "I'm just getting warmed up!"

 

 

[David Dennison 18,646]

38 minutes ago, NameAlreadyInUse said:

Pretty sure David agrees that's what you do, but he's decrying the fact that the Dems didn't do a good job today of creating any new undecideds, or swaying anyone's opinion.  He's actually hoping for impeachment AND a conviction still.  I think the rest of us already know its one of those times you take the L.

I know Dems are going to take the L on impeachment and removal.

I just hope that L doesn't linger and result in another one next November. A re-elected Trump would be a nightmare.

[Brisketexan 104,537]

Just now, David Dennison said:

I know Dems are going to take the L on impeachment and removal.

I just hope that L doesn't linger and result in another one next November. A re-elected Trump would be a nightmare.

We can only try.

If our country decides to self-immolate, we can't stop that.

If the GOP successfully follows the path of voter disenfranchisement, voter intimidation, and cooperation with foreign interference, then we will lose.  That will also mean that we no longer live in a functioning republic under the rule of law.  And if the rule of law no longer applies, it no longer applies.  We the people will then have to decide what that means.  Spoiler alert: it rarely means anything that doesn't end quite messily.

You know how I'm betting it goes.

[Jack Straw 2,953]

56 minutes ago, workswithseed said:

$80 for a backpack seems hefty.

like your mom 

[David Dennison 18,646]

4 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

We can only try.

If our country decides to self-immolate, we can't stop that.

If the GOP successfully follows the path of voter disenfranchisement, voter intimidation, and cooperation with foreign interference, then we will lose.  That will also mean that we no longer live in a functioning republic under the rule of law.  And if the rule of law no longer applies, it no longer applies.  We the people will then have to decide what that means.  Spoiler alert: it rarely means anything that doesn't end quite messily.

You know how I'm betting it goes.

I wish the Democrats knew how to go for the jugular.

[Brisketexan 104,537]

20 minutes ago, David Dennison said:

I wish the Democrats knew how to go for the jugular.

The GOP strategy of continuing to collaborate with foreign powers and destroying the rule of law works really, really well....until it doesn't.  Then, there won't be any "Democrats" - it will just be people.  And they'll go for more than the jugular.

Pigs get fat.  Hogs get slaughtered.  The GOP is not heeding the inherent warning of that adage.  Their path ends in shit like the guillotine.  It's stupid as hell.  But they're hell-bent on pursuing it full-speed ahead.

[Anastasis 23,390]

KUT just ran a series of Austin man on the street bits and most didn’t want anything to do with talking to reporter. A couple seemed reluctant about impeachment. A couple were ready to go. If that’s the temperature gonna be a long row to hoe. 

[horn4life 3,753]

Overall Welch was the best because he simply made the argument that good parents make to their children, (somthing several gerenrations of Trump's didn't get) what is right, and what is wrong.  I think most Americans can see who is honest and who is not. Only big missed opportunity in my opinion would have been a follow up on the " you piss off corrupt people when you investigate corruption. I would have followed up with "So the Trump State Department asked you not to testify correct? The Trump State Department aslo refused to give you any guidance on testifying as well didn't they? It almost sounds like they are pissed you are testifying doesn't it?"

To hear Nunez try to close out with spin this as all some sinster Obama plot, was rich. But some folks love to believe lies are truth these days.  

IF there are fair minded people who are undecided that saw today's testimony, there is only one reasonable conclusion they can come to. Will that percentage be enough to stop the duly elected 6th grade council members from spouting misinformation?  Nope.  But the at this point I think a majority of the public is a lot clearer on what happened and how unsusual and unethical the president's actions were.  Polls are gonna drift but not fast enough to prevent the GOP from falling on their swords for a man they know to be immoral and they know used US military aid as a bargaining chip for opposition research.

From an election standpoint you have to like the GOP position of obstinance and obstruction.  It may keep the President from being forced from office, but the GOP collectively is gonna wonder what they are gonna do with their excess campaign contributions in their new lives.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bozo_Casanova 26,271]

Is that anything like a thot?

Uh, no.

[Brisketexan 104,537]

17 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

KUT just ran a series of Austin man on the street bits and most didn’t want anything to do with talking to reporter. A couple seemed reluctant about impeachment. A couple were ready to go. If that’s the temperature gonna be a long row to hoe. 

Oh, it's going to be a long row to hoe indeed.  We're collectively too stupid to deserve this freaking birdsnest on the ground we have been given* -- huge country, incredible natural resources, protected from foreign wars by oceans on each side.

Franklin framed the issue correctly -- what we created was "a Republic, if you can keep it."

We've answered that rather resoundingly -- we can't.  We're entering the end-stage.  And we're doing it with the passionate glee that only ignorance and stupidity can support.

 

* given, taken from the original inhabitants, who we genocided the shit out of, why quibble?

[triplehorn 2,664]

clumsy GOP perfidy 

 

[Nivek 16,843]

1 hour ago, JimmyJames said:

It really is simple. Trump should be impeached because he is a criminal that has put his own interests above those of the country. 

If the criminal enterprise we call the Republican Party wants to let him get away with that, fine. Let history judge them for what they are, criminal hacks.

Future textbooks will spell out to our future children why Mitch McConnell was called “Moscow Mitch,” that Lindsay Graham was completely compromised but they are too young to view those tapes, and how comprised and corrupt the Republican Party became before completely disintegrating after the deaths of the baby boomers. 

This will be taught in schools one day and hopefully referenced here about what not to do.  Maybe the GOP is correct that we need higher standards for voting.  Based on the current polling, it seems prudent to allow only white people with college degree should be allowed to vote.  Every other race is free to vote without restriction.  

[henrygandorf 29,174]

santorum is losing his shit on cnn panel (that includes john dean and carl bernstein).  he got all revved up, then finished strong with a "but obama" and then they went to a commercial break.

how come people who are on the right side always talk over everyone and get so loud?

[tantric superman 4,667]

LIked deech's post, but worth saying that in a separate post.

[bolverk 29,394]

2 hours ago, hayden_horn said:

that's actually something i was thinking about earlier, depressing the fuck out of myself.

think about this: these motherfuckers and their ingenuous bullshittery are actually representing the majority of their constituents. this is what their constituents WANT. 

that's the real kick in the face.

Look no further than these two pieces of shit. They're actually taking great pleasure in purely partisan jackassery, regardless (or maybe because) of the longterm damage being done to our country.

2 hours ago, Zavala said:

 

 

3 hours ago, Incredulity said:

Is this the anger or bargaining stage of grief?

 

[EMAWesome 101]

1 hour ago, Brisketexan said:

I agree with this.  We have to run the play, because goddamit, it's the right thing to do.

You remember To Kill a Mockingbird.  Atticus Finch tried one HELL of a case.  He was right.  Tom Robinson was innocent.  He deserved acquittal, and justice.

But Atticus knew -- like we know now -- that the jury would never do justice.  He knew the whole time.  He knew from opening statement to closing argument.  He knew that the facts and evidence didn't matter.  The jury was going to do what it was going to do.

The reader knows that it's a great wrong.  The reader wants Atticus to win, but knows all along that he surely won't.  

Atticus offered some wisdom that fits the current circumstances:

We the People are going to take the L on this one.....because the party in power has something between them and reason (power, greed, venality).  And they couldn't be fair if they tried.  We aren't going to win.  But we're going to write the book.  Because maybe someday, there will be people who read it and are as disgusted by wrongdoing as they should be.  And shit, write the book for no other reason than that it's more wrong than to just go along and allow an unjust result without even putting up a fight.

If you are comparing Adam Schiff to Atticus Finch then you are crazier than the love child of Gary Busey and Ashley Judd.

[Biff Tannen 45,491]

He's not, but of course you would make that logical leap, because you're a moron.

[Tuco 5,076]

Agreed. I thought the afternoon went badly for the Democrats precisely because members did not yield their time to the chair or counsel.
Castro and Swalwell were awful.

I think we probably disagree on what a successful day looks like. Nobody is going to watch more than five minutes a day of this. (Okay, nobody who hasn’t already made their mind.). Being successful means you get maybe three minutes of compelling video out of this. A sharp quip - like the “we’d like the guy who started it too” - is a solid line. That will get shared, and repeated on late night shows. And there is a great logic behind it. It’s absurd to demand a protected whistleblower to testify, when Trump won’t even testify on his own behalf. That may move the needle for someone halfway paying attention. You know who isn’t going to have a line like that? The Dems’ lawyer. His job is to present a solid, logical argument for the record. And maybe that shames some of the Republican Reps into backing off support for Trump. But sadly , it will do little to move public opinion. Imperfect as it is, this is the thing the politicians are uniquely skilled at: convincing the public to vote a certain way.

[Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand 13,545]

That's still less crazy than a guy that believes in windmill cancer.

[bolverk 29,394]

1 hour ago, Anastasis said:

KUT just ran a series of Austin man on the street bits and most didn’t want anything to do with talking to reporter. A couple seemed reluctant about impeachment. A couple were ready to go. If that’s the temperature gonna be a long row to hoe. 

Missed it but maybe man on the street didn't walk to talk because the temperature is fucking cold.

[RPM 26,209]

4 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

Hardly any of these turds in Congress could have passed the foreign service exam.

[Anastasis 23,390]

34 minutes ago, bolverk said:

Missed it but maybe man on the street didn't walk to talk because the temperature is fucking cold.

I think the quote played was “I don’t do politics” not “fuck off it’s too cold”. 

[Biff Tannen 45,491]

50 minutes ago, Tuco said:

Nobody is going to watch more than five minutes a day of this. (Okay, nobody who hasn’t already made their mind.)

This is the only thing that makes me not as furious about the Rs being ridiculous children.  This is only relevant to a very small part of the population.  It is obviously the right thing to do so let's do it, but overall it's not going to change minds.  It should, but we live in a dumb reality.  The election might as well be held tomorrow.  We've got one chance to see what this country is really made of and it's coming next November.  

[Disco Strangler 1,865]

4 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

Tying into my comment above, this comment is 100% targeted at a Republican voters.  

Theres a reason why Graham didn’t want them watching the hearings.   

Just e-mailed Cruz and Cornyn to ask them the question of whether they watched today's hearing.  Seems like they should.  I will let you know what they say.

[shnsajax 3,589]

 
If I made a drinking game out of how many times they said Obama I'd have alcohol poisoning.

Actually it would just make you Matt Gaetz.

[Gil Bang 25,894]

3 minutes ago, shnsajax said:

 

Actually it would just make you Matt Gaetz. Stephanie Grisham

 

 

[bolverk 29,394]

34 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

I think the quote played was “I don’t do politics” not “fuck off it’s too cold”. 

Apologies. My lame attempt at gallows humor must've missed its mark.

[Incredulity 11,541]

1 hour ago, bolverk said:

Look no further than these two pieces of shit. They're actually taking great pleasure in purely partisan jackassery, regardless (or maybe because) of the longterm damage being done to our country.

 

 

Fuck your own face.

I take no pleasure in this whole joke of an impeachment.  This absolutely ends in a vote pretty much along party lines(most likely a couple D’s vote no).  D’s will claim they kept their promise and R’s will cry foul.

 

[SuingToGetAMessageBoard? 3,861]

1 hour ago, Tuco said:

 

I think we probably disagree on what a successful day looks like. Nobody is going to watch more than five minutes a day of this. (Okay, nobody who hasn’t already made their mind.). Being successful means you get maybe three minutes of compelling video out of this. A sharp quip - like the “we’d like the guy who started it too” - is a solid line. That will get shared, and repeated on late night shows. And there is a great logic behind it. It’s absurd to demand a protected whistleblower to testify, when Trump won’t even testify on his own behalf. That may move the needle for someone halfway paying attention. You know who isn’t going to have a line like that? The Dems’ lawyer. His job is to present a solid, logical argument for the record. And maybe that shames some of the Republican Reps into backing off support for Trump. But sadly , it will do little to move public opinion. Imperfect as it is, this is the thing the politicians are uniquely skilled at: convincing the public to vote a certain way.

 

you need a statement of moral clarity from a witness that has maintained non-partisan bona fides, imo.  "we'd like the guy who started it too" is good for amusement.  I'd rather have Taylor one time say "What Trump was trying to do was wrong."

[bolverk 29,394]

2 minutes ago, Incredulity said:

Fuck your own face.

I take no pleasure in this whole joke of an impeachment.  This absolutely ends in a vote pretty much along party lines(most likely a couple D’s vote no).  D’s will claim they kept their promise and R’s will cry foul.

 

Be forthright and honest -- if you have it in you. In your opinion, does Trump deserve impeachment? Take a stand or shut the fuck up with your cowardly drive-by comments.

[SizzleChest 8,275]

3 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

I agree with this.  We have to run the play, because goddamit, it's the right thing to do.

You remember To Kill a Mockingbird.  Atticus Finch tried one HELL of a case.  He was right.  Tom Robinson was innocent.  He deserved acquittal, and justice.

But Atticus knew -- like we know now -- that the jury would never do justice.  He knew the whole time.  He knew from opening statement to closing argument.  He knew that the facts and evidence didn't matter.  The jury was going to do what it was going to do.

The reader knows that it's a great wrong.  The reader wants Atticus to win, but knows all along that he surely won't.  

Atticus offered some wisdom that fits the current circumstances:

We the People are going to take the L on this one.....because the party in power has something between them and reason (power, greed, venality).  And they couldn't be fair if they tried.  We aren't going to win.  But we're going to write the book.  Because maybe someday, there will be people who read it and are as disgusted by wrongdoing as they should be.  And shit, write the book for no other reason than that it's more wrong than to just go along and allow an unjust result without even putting up a fight.

[SizzleChest 8,275]

Today was a draw.  Theatre to the max.  "Ha, I got you fucker" Rod Farva-level theatrics.  

The divisions are getting crisper, though.

Those white, suburban Rs that don't enough time to watch Fox (or anything else) will only start to move if Schiff et al can score punch points - not theatre - but actual knockout blows that are clear and concise and can get replayed ad nauseam.  John Dean, Alexander Butterfield level sound bites.  If Schiff can't engineer that, this will carry on and add more data points, but they won't get anywhere close to 67 in the Senate.  Maybe that's not or ever was the goal.  We'll see.

[lemonlime 5,503]

We've gotten stupid and lazy.  The witnesses were extremely credible and gave damning testimony.  But 95% plus of the country won't be bothered to watch it and at best is only looking for a soundbite posted on facebook.  It doesn't matter what any of the participants did, other than the Republican Congressmen who made Bozo the Clown seem sensible.  And no one who wasn't already decided is even aware of their shenanigans.  The democrats did their job, but it just isn't going to matter.

This is only about creating a record for posterity.  Get the traitors on record and if there are actually books when this over, make the criminality clear for history.

[Longhorn_Fan68 33,831]

Stupid question: will it be the same people asking questions in each hearing?

[henrygandorf 29,174]

54 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

This is the only thing that makes me not as furious about the Rs being ridiculous children.  This is only relevant to a very small part of the population.  It is obviously the right thing to do so let's do it, but overall it's not going to change minds.  It should, but we live in a dumb reality.  The election might as well be held tomorrow.  We've got one chance to see what this country is  five specific states are really made of and it's coming next November.  

fixed because the e.c. is dumb.

he's gonna lose by 8mm votes.

[Hugo Stiglitz 23,356]

Republicans gonna try to call George Soros into testify before this is all over.  

[henrygandorf 29,174]

so it sounds like david holmes - the guy who overheard the "phone call" - is being questioned behind closed doors on friday.  and sondlond is going in public next week.  assuming holmes' transcript isn't made public, that could get very tricky for sondlond.  in fact, they could hang out with holmes for a few hours and not even bring up the call, and it would still be in sondlond's head.

[shnsajax 3,589]

Republicans gonna try to call George Soros into testify before this is all over.  

Well yeah of course. I mean they do watch Fox News.

[Gil Bang 25,894]

56 minutes ago, Incredulity said:

Fuck your own face.

I take no pleasure in this whole joke of an impeachment.  This absolutely ends in a vote pretty much along party lines(most likely a couple D’s vote no).  D’s will claim they kept their promise and R’s will cry foul.

 

Should OJ not have been charged?  After all, the bleks all voted "not guilty". 

[UpperWestside 6,126]

5 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Know how I know you have a teen daughter?

Sigh. Mine carries it as her every day backpack. Her German and Norwegian friends were wearing them two years ago, so she jumped on that trend.

Not to go too far off-topic, but everyday last year when I went to work they had a giant advertisement in Times Square for their products not far from where I work. Honestly it looks like a really good product from what I can tell. I am going to look inthe morning to see if they are running that advertisement again this year.

I am thinking about buying their backpack and using it for hiking when I go to the mountains upstate this winter or hopefully a trip to Norway and Finland if I can convince my better half to endure the cold so we can see some amazing sights. If nothing else I think she would like Lofoten.

[UpperWestside 6,126]

6 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Crap, I messed up again.  I always make typos.  I accidentally texted "ASS MEND" to 808-10.  Oops.

 

 

 

I texted assclown. Seems appropriate.

[Gatorubet 30,083]

4 hours ago, David Dennison said:

I wish the Democrats knew how to go for the jugular.

GOP does not agree what a jugular is, and denies that a jugular injury is a problem. More fake news.    So if the jugular was sliced, all you would really have is libs lying about their bright red commie juice.

Edited November 14, 2019 by Gatorubet

[bolverk 29,394]

1 hour ago, Incredulity said:

Fuck your own face.

I take no pleasure in this whole joke of an impeachment.  This absolutely ends in a vote pretty much along party lines(most likely a couple D’s vote no).  D’s will claim they kept their promise and R’s will cry foul.

 

 

1 hour ago, bolverk said:

Be forthright and honest -- if you have it in you. In your opinion, does Trump deserve impeachment? Take a stand or shut the fuck up with your cowardly drive-by comments.

@Incredulity is a completely corrupt coward who is unwilling to take a moral public stance on an anonymous message board. He's a weak-minded fraud left speechless without talking points dribbled on his forked tongue.

I'm somehow not incredulous by his lack of spine but am impressed by his intestinal fortitude in regurgitating the slithery slime he digests.

[Born to Run 6,558]

 

Welcome to ignore you fucktard. Join the ranks of uneadable fucks like icono or johny sack.

[Incredulity 11,541]

6 hours ago, bolverk said:

 

@Incredulity is a completely corrupt coward who is unwilling to take a moral public stance on an anonymous message board. He's a weak-minded fraud left speechless without talking points dribbled on his forked tongue.

I'm somehow not incredulous by his lack of spine but am impressed by his intestinal fortitude in regurgitating the slithery slime he digests.

Dude, turn off MSNBC and take a walk or something.  Everything is going to be ok.  

Congress decides whats impeachable by definition.  I don’t think this was the hill to die on.  After this party line exercise it just makes any further effort to impeach exponentially harder.

If your satisfied with a symbolic effort then congratulations, you got it.

[DigglerontheHoof 21,044]

2 minutes ago, Incredulity said:

Dude, turn off MSNBC and take a walk or something.  Everything is going to be ok.  

Congress decides whats impeachable by definition.  I don’t think this was the hill to die on.  After this party line exercise it just makes any further effort to impeach exponentially harder.

If your satisfied with a symbolic effort then congratulations, you got it.

So it doesn't concern you that after the Reps let Trump off the hook, he will continue to coerce foreign governments to do his bidding over the interests of the U. S.? 

 

If so, step back and, literally, fuck your own face. 

[Incredulity 11,541]

3 minutes ago, DigglerontheHoof said:

So it doesn't concern you that after the Reps let Trump off the hook, he will continue to coerce foreign governments to do his bidding over the interests of the U. S.? 

 

If so, step back and, literally, fuck your own face. 

Which isn’t remotely related to what I said. For the 10,000th time Trump is a moron.  He isn’t smart enough to play puppet master to foreign countries doing his bidding.  There are allegedly dozens of issues that are impeachment worthy, this one isn’t going to get it done.

[BradInATX 9,208]

30 minutes ago, Incredulity said:

Which isn’t remotely related to what I said. For the 10,000th time Trump is a moron.  He isn’t smart enough to play puppet master to foreign countries doing his bidding.  

But you liberals forced me to vote for him again because socialism!