The two party system in the US is such a mirage

In the US, we have this idea there are two political parties. There are the democrats and republicans, liberal and conservatives, elites and working-class, socialists and capitalists, big government and small government, and on, and on. The 2016 election brought this to the foreground more than ever before. We had two choices, a long-time politician, full of dirty laundry, but with a lot of experience; and a new-comer, full of dirty laundry and with many new ideas and cavalierism. The good vs evil, or evil vs good. The...

February 26, 2020

-

Doug Dlod

Disinformation is probably the biggest existential threat we face

The internet age was supposed to be the age of information. The age in which all information known to humankind, could be shared democratically to all of humankind. It was the idea that someone that lived in the Congo could have the same access to information as someone in Paris, so long as they had a connection to the internet (albeit perhaps not as reliable). That was the promise with which it was launched. A naive and childish promise. Sure, the supporters will pipe up and claim that...

February 19, 2020

-

Tiab James

The 2020 meltdown

What would happen if there were a meltdown in the 2020 election? Is the United States government prepared to handle this? And even if it were prepared, would the outcome be anything less than disastrous and more divisive? If the state of the union speech, and the subsequent crowing after his formal acquittal are any way to judge, I think we can expect a long-road ahead. Richard Hasen, a law professor at UC Irvine, proposes that we may be in more trouble than we can imagine if the...

February 6, 2020

-

Dolores Anaicna

Trump has been acquitted

The outcome most expected, and I personally dreaded, has materialized. Trump, only the 3rd President in the history of the US to be formally impeached, was charged with two crimes, abuse of power and obstruction of congress, was acquitted. On the latter, Trump was acquitted straight through party-lines, with 53 votes (Republicans) for acquittal and 47 for conviction. However, the former, the article on abuse of power, though Trump was still acquitted, one Republican broke party lines and voted to convict Trump, Mitt Romney. The vote on abuse...

February 5, 2020

-

Doug Dlod

Acquittal is almost certain

If the impeachment of Donald Trump seemed almost certain at the end of last year, his acquittal seems equally so. On Friday, the Republican-led senate voted 51 to 49 not to call witnesses. Until Friday, there had been some murmuring that McConnell didn't have the votes to block witnesses from testifying. However, by the end of the day, the two outstanding Republican senators he needed, namely Sen. Lamar Alexander and Sen. Lisa Murkowski both decided to vote against the motion to call witnesses. The rationale they gave so...

February 3, 2020

-

Doug Dlod

We live in interesting times

I feel this must have been said many times before, and yet, why does it appear that we, our generation, always seemingly live in the most interesting of times? Why? I'm not sure if I'm right or not, but I can tell you that in the trial of the Impeachment of Donald Trump, the arguments presented by his defense are the most interesting, strangest, and least anchored in reality I have ever heard. Of particular note is Alan Dershowitz's, who yesterday argued that a quid pro quo cannot...

January 30, 2020

-

Doug Dlod

Senators questions begin

The trial in the Impeachment of Donal Trump continues, as opening statements from the prosecution, and the defense, have concluded. The next step in the trial is the questioning phase from Senators. As we discussed before, the questions must be submitted in writing and the jurors, senators, will have 16 hours in which to submit them. Earlier in the week, after Bolton's upcoming book manuscript was leaked, it seemed the possibility of first-hand witnesses, Bolton being one of them, would indeed materialize. On Monday and Tuesday, the issue...

January 29, 2020

-

Doug Dlod

The prosecution is done, the defense begins

The prosecution in the trial of the Impeachment of Donald Trump, has concluded. The evidence presented was of no surprise for those who have been following the impeachment. I originally thought the defense would take place on Monday, but I was wrong. The defense began today. This means the defense attorneys may reach final statements on Monday or Tuesday of next week. The defense is basically down to the following: There was crime, since abuse of power is not a crime. The democrats are after Trump since 2016...

January 25, 2020

-

Doug Dlod

Lev Parnas was not kidding - Updated

In a recent interview, Parnas said that every time Trump claimed he didn't know him, Parnas would release a photo with the two together to prove it. This is not a photo, but actual video of Parnas being invited to the White House a Trump Hotel to dine with the President. The video is lengthy, but at around minute 40, you can hear Trump give the order about Mrs. Yovanovitch. https://youtu.be/SFEWB3oKh5c?t=2521 There are so many things wrong with Trump's presidency that I cannot even get started. But the...

January 25, 2020

-

Doug Dlod

Second day of the trial, even less surprises

The second day of the trial of the Impeachment of Donald Trump concluded yesterday with very few surprises. The impeachment managers, the prosecution, took to the floor to make their case for the removal of the President. The day concluded with very few surprises. Today marked the first day of the actual trial, as the first day was spent agreeing (or disagreeing) on the rules. The impeachment managers have 24 hours in which to make their case and having used 8 of those 24 hours leaves them with...

January 23, 2020

-

Doug Dlod