Friday From the Front Page

The Impeachment Trial continues as the prosecution lays out its case in a carefully constructed manner which is frustrating the defense which has to wait another day before being able to take center stage. 

Here are some of the headlines I found associated with the impeachment proceedings:

Democrats emphasize abuse-of-power charge against Trump as GOP complains of repetition - The Washington Post

Trump, Democrats keep their distance from GOP moderates as crucial impeachment votes loom - The Washington Post

Trump trial: The case for the conviction of a president - The Times (UK)

Donald Trump ‘flagrantly’ abused power: Impeachment trial - The Hindustan Times (India)

Two days into Trump’s trial, Republicans appear unmoved but offer Democrats some praise - The Hindustan Times (India)

The House Managers’ Star Witness? Trump Himself - The New York Times

I checked Tass--the Russian News Agency, for a mention of the impeachment proceedings--it is not mentioned at all. 

Day 4 is about to begin. The prosecution will complete its case and tomorrow, yes, I am told there will be Saturday testimony, the defense begins.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD 

The In-Between Week

I decided to take a break from writing about the Impeachment Trial and write about football.

Welcome to the in-between week. Since the NFL Pre-Season began during August, we have had a steady diet of football--until this week. This week the only game on tap is the Pro Bowl and that just does not generate a lot of interest. I may watch it because there are a lot of Ravens playing in the game who would rather be playing in the Super Bowl, but alas, the fortunes of football did not shine kindly on them during their last game of the season against the Titans. 

Next week, the Super Bowl hype will begin in earnest as the ramp-up to the big game begins. But this week--there is a void of football reporting and most sports reporting for that matter. I did read that Derek Jeter and Larry Walker were selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. 

It is, however, generally quiet on the sports front and, hence, the Impeachment Trial seems to be the biggest news around. 

But to get out there and back to the Super Bowl, I am picking the Kansas City Chiefs to defeat the San Francisco 49ers and win their first Super Bowl in 50 years! And I am an ole time Chiefs fan as I was cheering for Kansas City 50 years ago when they defeated the Minnesota Vikings 23-7 even though the Vikings were 13 point favorites! It was the Chief's second Super Bowl--they lost to Green Bay in the first Super Bowl which was not called the Super Bowl when they played the game. 

Super Bowl Fact: Super Bowl IV, won by the Chiefs was the last Super Bowl played between the AFL and the NFL. After that season the AFL merged into the NFL to become the NFL that we have today.

And so the in-between week continues. And now, back to the Impeachment Trial.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

As the Senate Churns

Day 1 of the Senate Impeachment Trial of the President is complete. I have to admit, I found it fascinating to watch the strategic dance being performed by the donkey and the elephant. The party lines, the rampant partisanship is so firmly entrenched in the Congress that despite rational and compelling arguments, the Senate can produce nothing other than a 53-47 vote. 

I fear for the future of our Republic if we can not overcome the partisanship that has so profoundly gripped our government. Because of the partisanship, the Senate is abrogating its responsibility to find the truth and conduct a trial. And we will hear of this later today as the President likely will trumpet from his Twitter throne that not one Republican has broken ranks!

The truth is out there--but we are afraid to find it.

The trial, it seems, is not about truth, but rather it is about having the elephant crush the donkey regardless of the cost to the country, our reputation, our integrity. 

Has the presidency become a monarchy? Is the president above the law? After Day 1, apparently so.

Day 2 is on tap--I wonder what new revelations will be uncovered today.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Dryer Repair - Complete

LG Dryer with the Top and Electronics Removed

The holiday project was replacing parts on the 10-year old dryer to get the heat back up to temperature and shorten the drying cycle. 

LG Dryer
Disassembled Including the Tub

The parts replacement required the complete disassembly of the dryer. Thank goodness that there was an incredibly helpful video to get me through it. While disassembling the dryer Chris and I were amazed at the amount of spare change that we found and the amount of lint that accumulated since the dryer was placed in service. Disassembling the dryer allowed us to do a thorough cleaning which will assist in helping the air flow through the heating unit. 

The actual parts replacement was fairly straightforward after the disassembly was complete. It only took three tools to complete the entire project: Philips screwdriver, straight blade screwdriver, and needle nose pliers. The video did not indicate the needle nose pliers were required, but I needed them to help pop-in the tabs on two of the parts I was replacing.

I am calling the project a qualified success--we have not actually dried a load of clothes in it yet, but when I conducted the test run the heat was hotter that before. I feel confident that it will work properly now. If not, there are two other parts that can be replaced, but in my reading of the symptoms and suggested repair they were not indicated as the problem. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - January 20, 2019

1. It is Martin Luther King Jr Day. A federal holiday. It is the third Monday of 2020. I have almost gotten used to writing 2020 as the date. I'm enjoying the day off to recover from an upper respiratory bug that has claimed my voice. 

2. Ever notice how some drivers are possessive of the lane they are in on the road? I like this image. 

3. We were supposed to get a terrible storm on Saturday. We received rain with occasional ice. I wish the weather forecasters would actually forecast the weather with more accuracy.

4. I had a very scary thing happen while driving to work the other morning. While merging onto a lack highway, the driver in the lane nicely signaled and mover over to let me merge onto the highway. But, just as I began my maneuver a speed-crazed driver dashed through the newly opened lane. Had I not checked as I was beginning my merge, it would have been a very bad day and I likely would have been involved in a very serious accident.

5. Big project for the holiday. I have repairs to do on our clothes dryer. The parts arrived on Saturday and that is how I will be spending the day off.

Lucas and Friends
Main Event, Columbia,, MD
January 18, 2020

6. Along with a couple of his friends, the family gathered to wish Lucas a happy 10th birthday on Saturday at the Main Event. It was an enjoyable afternoon of bowling, laser tag, pizza, and birthday cake. A great way to celebrate the beginning of his next decade. All of the grandsons are now in double digit ages.

7. Today in History - 1981. Iranian Hostage Crisis Ends. Minutes after Ronald Reagan’s inauguration as the 40th president of the United States, the 52 U.S. captives held at the U.S. embassy in Teheran, Iran, are released, ending the 444-day Iran Hostage Crisis.

On November 4, 1979, the crisis began when militant Iranian students, outraged that the U.S. government had allowed the ousted shah of Iran to travel to New York City for medical treatment, seized the U.S. embassy in Teheran. The Ayatollah Khomeini, Iran’s political and religious leader, took over the hostage situation, refusing all appeals to release the hostages, even after the U.N. Security Council demanded an end to the crisis in an unanimous vote. However, two weeks after the storming of the embassy, the Ayatollah began to release all non-U.S. captives, and all female and minority Americans, citing these groups as among the people oppressed by the government of the United States. The remaining 52 captives remained at the mercy of the Ayatollah for the next 14 months.

Headlines

The Secretive Company That Might End Privacy as We Know It - The New York Times

Harry and Meghan’s Hard Exit - The New York Times

Massacred at Home, in Misery Abroad, 730,000 Rohingya Are Mired in Hopelessness - The New York Times

China confirms 139 new cases of pneumonia over weekend, virus spreads to new cities - Reuters

SpaceX says 'picture perfect' test paves way for human mission  - Reuters

China trade deal was pitched as a boon for the working class, but Trump celebrated with Wall Street titans - The Washington Post

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

Today, America does remember Dr. King as a drum major for justice, as a giant whose life was far from being in vain. In a sermon on the eve of his assassination, he surely described his own mission when he asked, ``Who is it that is supposed to articulate the longings and aspirations of the people more than the preacher? Somehow the preacher must be an Amos, and say, `Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.''' Martin Luther King, Jr., did exactly that. He gave eloquent voice and powerful leadership to the long-cherished hopes of millions as he headed a crusade to end bigotry, segregation, and discrimination in our land; to foster equal opportunity; and to make universal America's promise of liberty and justice for all.

  Proclamation 5927 -- Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, 1989, December 23, 1988


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Dangerous Times in Virginia

Welcome to the holiday weekend where we take time to reflect upon and to celebrate the life and work of Martin Luther King Jr. and his call for equality under the law. 

How I wish we, as a society, could get to a place where equality and justice were fully realized by all people living in our country. But, it seems that every day new obstacles appear in the path to true equality and "justice for all."

The gun rally in Richmond is but one example. 

Thousands expected to head to Richmond for gun rights rally on Monday

I am good with the gun rights rally, everyone, under the Constitution, has the right of free speech and the right to rally for what they believe. The concern that 2nd Amendment Rights are being abridged in Virginia is very real and requires rational people to discuss and determine a way forward. But what concerns me are the arrests during the week of the White Supremacists heading for this particular rally which resulted in the Governor restricting the rights of the people attending the rally to hopefully ensure the safety of those rallying.

The whole idea of militias among us, as described in the news item, concerns me because invariably these militias are not dedicated to preserving the fullness of the Constitution, but rather devoted to depriving someone of their rights under the Constitution.

We live in tumultuous times. We must keep our eyes wide open to the events occurring around us and consider the implications of the actions and reactions to those who are professing a splinter ideologies which will impact our rights, our freedoms, and life in America. 

At the close of the I Have a Dream speech, Martin Luther King Jr. gave us his vision for America as a land of equality and freedom.

This will be the day, this will be the day when all of God’s children (Yes, Yeah) will be able to sing with new meaning: “My country, ‘tis of thee (Yeah, Yes), sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. (Oh yes) Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim’s pride (Yeah), from every mountainside, let freedom ring!” (Yeah)

And if America is to be a great nation (Yes), this must become true. So let freedom ring (Yes, Amen) from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. (Uh-huh) Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. (Yes, all right) Let freedom ring (Yes) from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. (Well) Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. (Yes) But not only that: (No) Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. [cheering] (Yeah, Oh yes, Lord) Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. (Yes) Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. (Yes) From every mountainside (Yeah) [sustained applause], let freedom ring.

And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!” 

-- Martin Luther King Jr, I Have a Dream Speech, August 28, 1963, Washington, DC

How could this be a bad thing?

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Saturday before the Senate Trial

This three-day holiday weekend is the calm before the constitutional storm. 

Next week the third impeachment trial in the history of these United States will convene. 

What I observe:

1. I am tired of people using the phrase that something related to the impeachment has never happened before in the history of the U.S. The fact is that an impeachment trial has only happened twice in our history; hence, there really is no historical precedent upon which to base what is normal. The entire proceeding is not normal. 

2. What the founding fathers thought, said, or meant as they wrote the Constitution is difficult to interpret and apparently there are few immutable truths. I have heard opinions on issues being interpreted to support whatever partisan politics demands.

3. While designed to get to the bedrock truths, I doubt that such a truth is available. We will all be left with a bad taste in our mouths when everything is concluded, although the subject is not nearly so distasteful as the Clinton impeachment. Bottom line is that there are no winners and we are all losers in some manner. 

4. The impeachment is an historic event. Every American should watch the proceedings and resolve to determine for themselves, based upon an examination of the evidence and the explanations of the constitution, their opinion about the impeachment. 

Finally, I implore everyone to remain calm and somewhat detached and unemotional. We need to be civilized and able to discuss what we see and believe without feeling the necessity to forcibly change another person's opinion. Apparently, there is no right or wrong answer because there is no absolute truth. Everything is relative.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Interesting Turn of Events

Yesterday was an historic and tragically sad day for our Republic. Articles of Impeachment were delivered to the Senate to begin the next chapter in a saga that has been distracting our lawmakers for the past several months. The delivery of the articles begins, hopefully, the final chapter in the process.

It should be an interesting event next week as the Senate meets for only the third time in history to determine whether to convict and remove a President from office. Of course given the partisan nature of the Congress, the outcome is likely assured, however, the case and the evidence to support the charges is the most interesting and fascinating part of this exercise. 

I have also been interested in seeing how some members of the Senate have changed since the last impeachment. It seems they have short memories because some of what they are saying now to defend their position is polar opposite to the arguments used in the Clinton impeachment proceedings. 

The bombshell yesterday was the finding by the GAO that yes, the President did break the law. All along the Republicans have been saying that this impeachment is the first in history, of course there were only two others so there isn't a lot of precedent, where the president was not charged with a crime. Although everyone quickly dismissed the GAO finding of yesterday, that statement may no longer be true. 

Here is the headline from the New York Times:

G.A.O. Report Says Trump Administration Broke Law in Withholding Ukraine Aid

Well, that is potentially a game changer, no, wait--it is being discarded as irrelevant because it is convenient to do so. 

And so the Congress lurches on! 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Wake Up To Politics

The arrival of 2020 brings with it the recognition that we will be electing a President this year. The campaigns have been underway for quite some time on both sides and I am already tiring of the constant assault upon my intelligence. The recent spat between Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren was really beneath everyone. 

There is a small, independent political reporter that I discovered a few years ago. He is Gabe Fleisher,  a 17-year old high school student from Missouri, and writes a newsletter titled, Wake Up To Politics. The newsletter is posted nearly every day when he is in school. I find his reporting to be refreshing and non-partisan. Truly. He has been writing this newsletter for a few years and he was credentialed as a news reporter for Tuesday night's debate in Iowa. His reporting provides some interesting insights on the debate as seen through the eyes of a young person. 

I am growing weary of the professional media with their slanted inputs designed to sell biased-opinions as news and so I find his insights and reporting to be fresh and mostly un-biased. We can all identify the left-leaning and right-leaning news networks and so it is nice to find someone mostly reporting news without a political axe to grind. 

The All Sides Media Bias Center ranks Wake Up to Politics as being in the center. 

I enjoyed one of Gabe's observations of Tuesday's debate:

For the first time in the cycle, discussions of foreign policy took center stage on Tuesday, as the candidates discussed their views on war powers amid President Donald Trump's killing of a top Iranian commander earlier this month. 

I found that comment very interesting.

Personal bias: I consider foreign policy to be a critical issue and that is one of the issues upon which I will base my vote. 

I recommend checking out Wake Up To Politics off yourself. It is political news without the bias.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Most Productive Day of the Week

Going to work during darkness and coming home with the sun setting is getting old! As the winter deepens, my longing for sunshine is increasing. The gray skies of the past couple of days is definitely not helping the situation. I needed something to bring some excitement into the dark and bleary days. 

A coworker told me as I walked into work yesterday that Tuesday was the most productive day of the workweek. I wonder if that is true, but it seemed to be the case yesterday. I did find this article form 2014 which seems confirm that Tuesday is the most productive day of the week. Who knew? 

I enjoyed the article because I have always felt similarly about Tuesday. It is the lost day in between Monday and Wednesday. Now its true character comes out. 

There discussion of Tuesday leads me to theorize that Friday is the least productive day of the week. 

Time will, of course, tell.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, M