My favorite poet, Robert Hunter, died this week.
As with most poets, his work touched on many themes. But two that resonated most with me were the seemingly contradictory themes of ever present solitude in life and the incalculable importance of social connection.
Perhaps the clearest representation of the solitude of life comes from the masterpiece Ripple
There is a road, no simple highway
Between the dawn and the dark of night
And if you go, no one may follow
That path is for your steps alone
And not just a path for only one, Hunter often talk about solitude in terms of a song only you can sing. For example, in Black Muddy River he writes:
I will walk alone by the black muddy river
And sing me a song of my own
We see it again in Eyes of the World
Wake now discover that you are the song that the morning brings
It is a clear theme: there is a special, amazing path just for you. Sometimes it is a tough, brokendown path, and sometimes it is filled with the light, but it is all yours. Hunter counsels us: you have your own song to sing, battles to fight, and path to find.
But Hunter was also just as clear about the importance of other people in our journey.
In Ripple, even though the writer knows that we each have our own paths, he also knows that we ache to help one another on our journeys
If I knew the way, I would take you home.
and in Box of Rain:
A box of rain will ease the pain and love will see you through
So which is it? Are we in this on our own or are we in it together? Both, of course. As he writes in Eyes of the World
Sometimes we live no particular way but our own
And sometimes we visit your country and live in your home
Sometimes we ride on your horses, sometimes we walk alone
Sometimes the songs that we hear are just songs of our own
We each have out own paths, our own hardships, and our own struggles… and our own songs.
But we are also in this together. And it is through the amazing, wonderful, and irreplaceable feeling of connection — of being a part of something bigger than oneself — that safety and love and hope and joy fill our worlds.
On our best days, that is what the Good News Roundup aims to bring. That is what we have toiled to create in these dark and trying times: a place to remember that we are not alone in this struggle and in this life. The Good News Roundup community — from the writers, to the people who frequently comment, to those who only read once in a while — have formed a family to help one another through the darkness. Our message has been, in a true Robert Hunter fashion <albeit with less poetry>: yes this path is hard, but you do not walk alone. If we knew the way, we would take you home.
We are Impeaching the Mother Fucker
trump’s actions are clear-as-day impeachable, even from the call that THEY released:
and this:
oh, one more:
OK, this is really the last one:
The rough transcript is devastating. How could Trump not know that?
<narrator: because he is an idiot>
At least Richard Nixon had the good sense to resist releasing the “smoking gun” tape until finally forced to do so by the Supreme Court. That is because Nixon, the worst criminal to occupy the Oval Office until now, at least had a modicum of moral sense and self-awareness. He knew what he had said was wrong — he was heard plotting to use the CIA to shut down the FBI investigation of Watergate — and he realized that the tape’s release would be devastating to him.
President Trump, by contrast, is so clueless — so lacking in even the most basic sense of right and wrong — that he could actually tweet this morning: “Will the Democrats apologize after seeing what was said on the call with the Ukrainian President? They should, a perfect call — got them by surprise!” Suffice it to say, there were no apologies after the release of the Memorandum of Telephone Conversation (TelCon) between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on July 25. This isn’t a verbatim transcript, and it’s always possible that it was doctored in some way, but what is revealed in its five pages is deeply damaging to Trump.
How could he be this dumb? Well first: he is trump. Second → Dodging Mueller Made Trump Cocky Enough to Get Himself Impeached
Trump himself, in the transcript of his conversation with Zelensky released Wednesday, outright boasted about getting off the hook with Mueller, and asked the new Ukrainian president to work with U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr in probing Biden:
"I would like to have the Attorney General call you or your people and I would like you to get to the bottom of it. As you saw yesterday, that whole nonsense ended with a very poor performance [yesterday] by a man named Robert Mueller, an incompetent performance, but they say a lot of it started with Ukraine."
They are admitting hiding this too, which is bad for them → White House says lawyers directed moving Ukraine transcript to highly secure system
The White House acknowledged Friday that administration officials directed a now-infamous Ukraine call transcript be filed in a highly classified system, confirming allegations contained in a whistleblower complaint that have roiled Washington.
The admission lends further credibility to the whistleblower complaint description of how the July 25 transcript with the Ukrainian president, among others, were kept out of wider circulation by using a system for highly sensitive documents.
Here is a summary of what they could be legally &%$#ed for → The 4 possible crimes in the Trump-Ukraine whistleblower scandal, explained
1. Did Trump or his associates violate campaign finance law? Federal law makes it illegal to “solicit, accept, or receive a contribution or donation” from a foreign national. The question of whether or not the president ran afoul of that law certainly seems in play in light of what we saw in the transcript.
2. Does Trump’s act constitute bribery? Prosecutors might also look to a federal anti-bribery statute, which imposes criminal sanctions on a public official who “corruptly demands, seeks, receives, accepts, or agrees to receive or accept anything of value personally or for any other person or entity, in return for ... being influenced in the performance of any official act.”
3. Did he commit extortion? The Hobbs Act prohibits actions that “in any way or degree obstructs, delays, or affects commerce or the movement of any article or commodity in commerce, by robbery or extortion.” The word “extortion,” is defined as “obtaining of property from another, with his consent, induced by wrongful use of actual or threatened force, violence, or fear, or under color of official right.”
4. Did he obstruct justice? Several other federal laws make it a crime to tamper with documents related to a federal investigation. One statute, for example, imposes criminal liability on anyone who “knowingly alters, destroys, mutilates, conceals, covers up, falsifies, or makes a false entry in any record, document, or tangible object with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence” a federal investigation. If Trump or one of his associates committed such an act to cover up other potentially criminal activity, they could face prison time (though, again, any prosecution of Trump would have to wait until he leaves office).
More and more people are seeing this as the damning and important issue that it is:
More than 300 former officials call Trump’s actions concerning Ukraine ‘profound national security concern’
More than 300 former U.S. national security and foreign policy officials have signed a statement warning that President Trump’s actions regarding Ukraine are a “profound national security concern” and supporting an impeachment inquiry by Congress to determine “the facts.”
Polls will change a lot in the coming weeks so don’t pay too much attention to them yet Nonetheless, early trends are encouraging
Support for impeachment jumps in new poll
Voters are now evenly split on whether Congress should begin impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, a marked increase in support for impeachment, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll.
and this
Support for Trump impeachment rises 12 points in new poll
A new Hill-HarrisX survey on Friday found support for impeachment proceedings against President Trump has risen 12 points compared to a similar poll conducted three months ago.
The survey was conducted on Sept. 26-27, just days after House Democrats started a formal impeachment inquiry over a whistleblower complaint involving Trump’s communications with Ukraine.
Pelosi is ready for this fight:
oh, just one more from her:
And Schiff is all over this → Intelligence Committee members to work during recess
Members of the House Intelligence Committee plan to continue working next week through Congress’s scheduled recess, as Democrats seek to build a case for impeachment based on President Trump’s controversial call with the leader of Ukraine.
Lawmakers shared their plans hours after Trump called for the committee’s chairman to resign and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) accused Attorney General William P. Barr of having “gone rogue.”
and this won’t just affect trump:
and:
and this asshole:
they are going to have to testify:
and don’t forget about this asshole:
This is the first step:
Meanwhile, cracks are forming at Fox News
“IT’S MANAGEMENT BEDLAM”: MADNESS AT FOX NEWS AS TRUMP FACES IMPEACHMENT
in public, Donald Trump’s allies are putting on a brave face, repeating talking points, mostly staying on message. But in private, there are few who believe that the allegations leveled by an intelligence agency whistle-blower that Trump abused American foreign policy to leverage Ukraine into investigating Joe Biden won’t result in considerable damage—if not the complete unraveling of his presidency. “I don’t see how they don’t impeach,” a former West Wing official told me today. “This could unwind very fast, and I mean in days,” a prominent Republican said.
Sean Hannity told friends the whistle-blower’s allegations are “really bad,” a person briefed on Hannity’s conversations told me. (Hannity did not respond to a request for comment). And according to four sources, Fox Corp CEO Lachlan Murdoch is already thinking about how to position the network for a post-Trump future.
Among the powerful voices advising Lachlan that Fox should decisively break with the president is former House speaker Paul Ryan, who joined the Fox board in March. “Paul is embarrassed about Trump and now he has the power to do something about it,” an executive who’s spoken with Ryan told me. (Ryan did not return a call seeking comment.)
and among republicans
Senators evolve from parroting trump to clamming up
As House Democrats began to move en masse Monday toward impeachment proceedings, Senate Republicans were holding tight to Donald Trump's party line. Asked about the whistleblower allegation that wasn't fully public yet, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio simply elevated Trump's Biden conspiracy theory.
Fast forward to Thursday, following the release of both the damning notes of Trump's call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the whistleblower complaint. Now Rubio has clammed up while he awaits more facts. Wow—facts.
“I’m not talking about this issue until all the facts have come forward," Rubio told reporters as he walked away from them. He added that the whistleblower complaint left him with "more questions than answers."
Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, who's running for reelection in 2020, went through a similar transition from Wednesday when the call notes were released to Thursday after the complaint had been made public. "I’ve looked at the transcript; I don’t see anything there," she offered on Wednesday. But by Thursday, nothing. "I haven't read the full report," she told Washington Post reporter Robert Costa, adding that she was happy to talk ethanol.
White House officials were scrambling Thursday to figure out how to counter the House Democrats' impeachment inquiry, with one source familiar with the situation describing a sense of “total panic” over the past week at the lack of a plan to address the new reality.
There appears to be rising “anxiety, unease, and concern” — as one person close to the White House described the mood in the West Wing — that the whistleblower’s allegations could seriously wound the president and some of those around him. “There’s not a lot of confidence that there’s no there there,” this person said.
The amazing Jennifer Rubin sums up much of what we have been talking about → Seven important and awful signs for Trump
1. the muted reaction of Senate Republicans that leads the list of disastrous signs for the president. The assumption that there could never be a vote to remove him or that it would never get Republican votes needs to be rethought.
2. The polls are already moving in favor of impeachment — and moving fast.
3. the involvement of so many people — possibly including Attorney General William P. Barr and acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney — gives this a Watergate feel and creates many witnesses.
4. when Trump’s remarks threatening a whistleblower immediately leaked one could see not only a new basis for impeachment but a willingness of all sorts of people to rat him out.
5. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has given the laboring oar to the Intelligence Committee headed by the very able Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) and on which two of the sharpest Democrats sit — Reps. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) and Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.). While ranking Republican Devin Nunes (Calif.) is clownish and disruptive, Rep. Will Hurd (R-Tex.), a former CIA officer who is both conscientious and politically liberated since announcing his retirement, also sits on the panel.
6. Pelosi has wisely decided to focus on the whistleblower material for impeachment. This topic alone could provide a basis for impeachment articles on abuse of power, obstruction and threatening a whistleblower. This subject is compelling, recent and easy to comprehend.
7. Trump is even less circumspect, disciplined and rational than usual. There is little doubt he will be regarded as one of the worst if not the worst president in history. As that rolls around in his weary brain, he is likely to become more self-destructive, antagonistic and downright crazy. All of that makes it that much easier for Republicans to abandon him.
Just for fun → Just Quotes From Trump About The Ukraine Scandal Over Lucille Bluth Photos
Here is just one:
Good 2020 News
Trump campaign pessimistic about winning Michigan again
Donald Trump has long heralded Michigan as the crown jewel of his 2016 victory. But the president's campaign team is increasingly grim about a repeat performance in the traditionally blue Rust Belt state.
Trump’s takeover of GOP forces many House Republicans to head for the exits
Republican Rep. Paul Mitchell’s surprise retirement began with a President Trump tweet.
Moments after Trump’s July 14 missive telling four U.S. congresswomen of color to “go back” to their countries of origin, the congressman from Michigan phoned a fellow House GOP leader and asked him to get Trump to stop. “It’s the wrong thing for a leader to say,” he told the leader, whom he declined to name. “It’s politically damaging to the party, to the country.”
Three days later, Mitchell was awaiting a prime-time CNN appearance when he saw footage of Trump rallygoers chanting “send her back,” aimed at one of the congresswomen, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.). Stunned, Mitchell said he scribbled question marks on a notepad to silently ask an aide: “How do I even respond to this on TV?”
But one of the final straws was the unwillingness of people in Trump’s orbit to listen. Mitchell implored Vice President Pence, his chief of staff, Marc Short, and “any human being that has any influence in the White House” to arrange a one-on-one conversation between him and the president so he could express his concerns.
It never happened. And 10 days after the Trump tweet, Mitchell — a two-term lawmaker who thought he’d be in Congress for years to come — announced his retirement.
New poll shows major shift in how Americans think about men in power
It started back in the fall of 2016, when the research firm PerryUndem began hearing something new in focus groups with Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters: “this palpable sense of who has power and control and who’s losing it,” Tresa Undem, a partner at PerryUndem, told Vox. More than ever before, voters were talking about the power white men seemed to have in American society and how they used it to control everybody else.
We would’ve never seen this three or four years ago,” Undem told Vox in an email. Beliefs like that could have effects at the ballot box; in 2018, voters’ views on men’s power in government were a strong predictor of whether they voted Democratic or Republican, Undem said. Overall, Americans — including men — are getting fed up with the balance of power in society. And they’re heading to the ballot box to change it.
Warren Is Spending Campaign Cash to Unseat Susan Collins
In an email sent to her campaign supporters, Warren’s campaign manager said that they plan to devote staffers to helping win back the Senate.
Other Good News
Our little community raised 3,542 for Fair Fight 2020 just last weekend 😍
thanks so much everyone! Any other ideas for fundraisers we can do in future weeks?
Judge rejects Roger Stone request to suppress search warrant evidence ahead of November trial
A federal judge Tuesday rejected Roger Stone’s request to suppress all evidence gathered through 18 search warrants at his November trial, finding that the Justice Department properly obtained court approvals before charging the longtime confidant of President Trump with lying to Congress and witness tampering
Consequential GOP class of 1994 all but disappears
Twenty-five years ago Friday, 367 Republicans running for Congress lined up on the Capitol steps on a clear September day weeks before the midterm elections to sign the Contract with America.
Seventy-three were sworn in a few months later as part of the first Republican House majority in 40 years — and one of the most consequential groups of newcomers in modern political history.
Only three of those Republicans remain in Congress.
Automakers defy Trump, stick with California in climate change standoff
California officials, teeing up an epic fight with President Donald Trump’s administration over climate change and air pollution rules, have potentially powerful allies in their corner: four of world’s largest automakers.
Ford, Honda, BMW and Volkswagen are sticking with an agreement they made to meet California’s stricter standards on greenhouse gas emissions, the head of the California Air Resources Board said Thursday
That is it for today at the end of this bonkers, hope filled week. ❤️
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul
❤️ ✊ ❤️