No, POTUS cannot pardon himself...

Ostensibly, I am the political science writer for these pages. Certainly, others dabble in politics all the time, but if I had to categorize my own assignment and/or status, it would be the Poli Sci Guy.

The problem is that “science” implies logic. Common sense. Facts. Cause and effect.

Americans elected a cheerleader as their president, choosing the man who broke all previous records for lack of policy positions during a campaign. Long on rhetoric, short on specifics.

Six months into his tenure, POTUS still enjoys the support of 80 percent of the GOP.

Despite “I will release my tax returns.”

Despite “I will not touch Medicare.”

Despite “Who knew healthcare was this complicated?”

Et Cetera.

Science? Hardly.

“There were no meetings with Russia.” “Well, I didn’t know there were any meetings.” “The meetings were about business.” “The meetings were about many things, but all perfectly legal.”

“There was no Russian influence.” Yesterday, Pompeo said there was Russian influence, “…in this election, in the last election, and the one before that…”

Look, I don’t need to go on and on about the shenanigans in this White House, the utter chaos in this administration. Anybody who’s paying attention knows what’s been going on for the last six months, and if you are one of the many who are not paying attention, shame on you.

For years and years, we have watched the double standard that the Republicans have. As long as you are one of theirs, you are forgiven — even if you get caught being gay in a restroom in a Minnesota airport, or consorting with hookers in Texas.

“The party of God” on Sunday ignores transgressions for the rest of the week.

So, where are we now?

POTUS is thinking seriously about firing his earliest supporter, Jeff Sessions, from his job as Attorney General, for having integrity (a little, anyway, right?) and recusing himself from the Russia investigation.

He is also thinking seriously about firing the second Special Investigator, Robert Mueller, a man of integrity by all accounts, who is now reportedly investigating Trump’s business dealings with Russia.

To hear many people speak, even those in the GOP with integrity, a second firing from each of these two positions would bring about a Constitutional crisis.

It most certainly would, just as it did when Nixon fired Archibald Cox from his position of SI.

The United States Attorney General has a Pardons Section. Lawrence Kupers runs it, and there are statutory guidelines for pardons.

Richard Nixon being pardoned by Gerald Ford notwithstanding, here is what the statute says:

§ 1.2 Eligibility for filing petition for pardon.

“No petition for pardon should be filed until the expiration of a waiting period of at least five years after the date of the release of the petitioner from confinement or, in case no prison sentence was imposed, until the expiration of a period of at least five years after the date of the conviction of the petitioner. Generally, no petition should be submitted by a person who is on probation, parole, or supervised release.”

It is very clear, then, that pardons cannot be granted for people not convicted of a federal offense, and not before they have been free from some sort of bondage for at least five years.

End of discussion.

Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution states about POTUS: “and he shall have Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment”.

It seems to me that the legal issue here is clear. POTUS cannot interfere with any impeachment process — OR WITH OFFENSES THAT MIGHT LEAD TO IMPEACHMENT.

Impeachment deals with, most notably, “high crimes and misdemeanors,” and other offenses against the United States.

Any pardon before impeachment commences still constitutes a case of impeachment, and the Constitutional Convention’s intent is clear. If impeachable crimes were pardoned, they disappear, and so do the grounds for impeachment.

So, no, POTUS cannot pardon himself, his VP, or anybody else that has not been convicted of federal crimes.

End of discussion, and I frankly do not know why we are having the conversation. Granted, it has never been adjudicated, but methinks that even that idiot Clarence Thomas couldn’t screw this one up.

But that’s just me.

Pardon me, I am off to feed the cat and make breakfast.

I am a political science writer. 

The problem is that “science” implies logic. Common sense. Facts. Cause and effect.

Americans elected a cheerleader as their president, choosing the man who broke all previous records for lack of policy positions during a campaign. Long on rhetoric, short on specifics.

Six months into his tenure, POTUS still enjoys the support of 80 percent of the GOP.

Despite “I will release my tax returns.”

Despite “I will not touch Medicare.”

Despite “Who knew healthcare was this complicated?”

Et Cetera.

Science? Hardly.

“There were no meetings with Russia.” “Well, I didn’t know there were any meetings.” “The meetings were about business.” “The meetings were about many things, but all perfectly legal.”

“There was no Russian influence.” Yesterday, Pompeo said there was Russian influence, “…in this election, in the last election, and the one before that…”

Look, I don’t need to go on and on about the shenanigans in this White House, the utter chaos in this administration. Anybody who’s paying attention knows what’s been going on for the last six months, and if you are one of the many who are not paying attention, shame on you.

For years and years, we have watched the double standard that the Republicans have. As long as you are one of theirs, you are forgiven — even if you get caught being gay in a restroom in a Minnesota airport, or consorting with hookers in Texas.

“The party of God” on Sunday ignores transgressions for the rest of the week.

So, where are we now?

POTUS is thinking seriously about firing his earliest supporter, Jeff Sessions, from his job as Attorney General, for having integrity (a little, anyway, right?) and recusing himself from the Russia investigation.

He is also thinking seriously about firing the second Special Investigator, Robert Mueller, a man of integrity by all accounts, who is now reportedly investigating Trump’s business dealings with Russia.

To hear many people speak, even those in the GOP with integrity, a second firing from each of these two positions would bring about a Constitutional crisis.

It most certainly would, just as it did when Nixon fired Archibald Cox from his position of SI.

The United States Attorney General has a Pardons Section. Lawrence Kupers runs it, and there are statutory guidelines for pardons.

Richard Nixon being pardoned by Gerald Ford notwithstanding, here is what the statute says:

§ 1.2 Eligibility for filing petition for pardon.

“No petition for pardon should be filed until the expiration of a waiting period of at least five years after the date of the release of the petitioner from confinement or, in case no prison sentence was imposed, until the expiration of a period of at least five years after the date of the conviction of the petitioner. Generally, no petition should be submitted by a person who is on probation, parole, or supervised release.”

It is very clear, then, that pardons cannot be granted for people not convicted of a federal offense, and not before they have been free from some sort of bondage for at least five years.

End of discussion.

Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution states about POTUS: “and he shall have Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment”.

It seems to me that the legal issue here is clear. POTUS cannot interfere with any impeachment process — OR WITH OFFENSES THAT MIGHT LEAD TO IMPEACHMENT.

Impeachment deals with, most notably, “high crimes and misdemeanors,” and other offenses against the United States.

Any pardon before impeachment commences still constitutes a case of impeachment, and the Constitutional Convention’s intent is clear. If impeachable crimes were pardoned, they disappear, and so do the grounds for impeachment.

So, no, POTUS cannot pardon himself, his VP, or anybody else that has not been convicted of federal crimes.

End of discussion, and I frankly do not know why we are having the conversation. Granted, it has never been adjudicated, but methinks that even that idiot Clarence Thomas couldn’t screw this one up.

But that’s just me.

Pardon me, I am off to feed the cat and make breakfast.

I Miss Facebook

Facebook version 1.0 was the recruitment period, when it spread like a wildfire in California. People were clamoring aboard like lemmings, and the site was in constant transition. People would just get comfortable, and there would be changes. There were false starts, some retreats, some revisions, some growing pains, of course.  

Then, Facebook hit its stride, and the changes were smooth, mostly popular, and we were having fun.

Version 2.0 was the golden years for Facebook, methinks. It was all about life, and the members. Births, weddings, pets, family events.

Starting during the onslaught of double-standards and racism that Obama faced, Facebook is now focused on politics, and the polarization of the country has never been greater. Trump leaves the nuclear option on the table, no criticism. They would have advocated lynching for Obama.

The lies about Russia are more numerous than flies on dog excrement — which is a very apt comparison.

Et cetera. Ad nauseum.

I have been guilty myself, so I’m not pointing fingers, just making an assessment.

I miss my friend Gary posting song links routinely, giving me shit about this or that, and taking crap about being from Vacaville and “loving” cats. This past week’s pictures from Boston were fabulous, and it seemed like old times. And the “discussions” we had about “classic” songs were priceless.

It’s been months since I got a comment from my friend Norb about being the “hyphen-tatted” one, a reference to my tattoos and my hyphenated last name.

Sports? My friend Matt was once the leading sports commentator of all my Facebook friends, particularly his love of the University of Spoiled Children’s Trojans. I don’t want to be too hard on Matt, though, nor anybody else either. Matt has done a fabulous job of educating us about some of the social ills that are the bane of a civilized society.

Frankly, the “Like” button has made some of us lazy. Many of us still read everything, but we don’t respond — it’s too easy just to click Like, and move on. Maybe we need “I agree wholeheartedly!” and “You are full of shit!” buttons, instead. Hehe.

Politics has taken over, and it started under Obama — we were sick and tired of the criticism, which began before he was even sworn into office, and continues unabated to this day. How dare we put a socialist-Muslim-Kenyan terrorist in the White House — one with a faked birth certificate!

How dare he travel to Hawaii a couple times each year? Clearly, we know now that he should have just gone to Florida every weekend, because spending more in smaller increments is OK, obviously.

We know now that he should have kept Michelle and the girls in another city, perhaps his hometown of Nairobi? Job security for the Secret Service, right?

Sad, funny, and pathetic all at once.

I digress.

What can I do to help, to maybe bring back some of the old times? Well, I can try to post one song link a day, serious or otherwise. Charlene’s “Never Been To Me” and the Royal Guardsmen singing “Snoopy vs. The Red Baron” are always crowd favorites.

My personal favorites might just be Lee Marvin singing “Wandrin’ Star” or Clint Eastwood’s rousing “I Talk To The Trees”.

I can also regularly post pictures without comment simply for their comedic value. I loved the one yesterday, where the baby boy was giving advice about women: “If you yell loudly enough, tits will fly into your mouth!” Buahahahaha!

As far as my writing, I can seek more balance, as well. My sense of humor can be brought to bear on these pages more often, and there is no shortage of humorous subjects available besides POTUS.

Facebook is not a total political desert — I don’t want to imply that at all.

My friend Jake still keeps us informed of all things Scottish. One of my Matt friends keeps us informed up his latest epicurean delights. And there are many others who dabble in the non-political, but the numbers are dwindling.

If you agree with my assessment, consider setting some Facebook goals. A daily post goal? A funny picture, a favorite song. The book you’re reading, or maybe your favorite of all time. A song you love — or a song that drives you crazy. A post about Jayden K. Smith’s latest endeavor? A favorite recipe, or a funny label you see in Wal-Mart or Target.

The latest news about your team(s), or a funny pic about the team you hate, which may very well be the Dallas Cowboys, right?

Anyway… just a thought. I’ve already started doing my part, to have more fun, to make people laugh, to tag people in appropriately caustic posts.

Of course, we cannot give up on Trump completely. The country deserves our very close attention, especially right now. That being said, we can seek more balance, and provide ourselves with some stress relief at the same time.

Tweak or Tweet

The word of the week is “healthcare.”

Or not.

I am tired of hearing how much premiums have increased under the Affordable Care Act. All legitimate studies have shown that the rate of increase in healthcare premiums has slowed under the ACA. Sure they have gone up, but not as fast or dramatically.

One faction is pissed off that the GOP proposal does not go far enough to do away with coverage, to reduce government.

The other faction is not supportive of the cuts to Medicaid, which go well beyond just the expanded formula levels. The proposed cuts are huge, and they fly in the face of the very-specific promises that Trump made during his campaign for POTUS.

Somebody asked me the other day why I am picking on POTUS, because all politicians lie. Huh? Really? How about the buck stops there?

This is going to be controversial, but so be it.

Arguably, the greatest prayer ever written is the St. Francis Prayer. It’s not a Catholic prayer, but a prayer designed to make us the best, most selfless, spiritual people we can possibly be. It is right there with anything Buddha or any of the Dalai Lamas have written.

There are many versions of the prayer, having been tweaked by many, to suit their fancies, or to suit the environments in which they are used. Here is one of them, which may be the original:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.

This is healthcare, and the debate thereof, in a nutshell.
What would St. Francis do? What would Jesus do? Buddha? Mohammed?

You see, they were not just Sunday Subscribers, getting their religious books delivered only on Sunday. They lived it — not without failure along the way, but with overall consistency and fervor.

Every. Single. Day.

If you support what the GOP is trying to do, you are not a Christian. Period.

This is not about politics anymore. This is not about smaller government, nor is it about priorities.

It is about people with severe character defects, with out-of-control egos.

They unblinkingly want to throw more money at the most powerful military in the history of the world, more money gifted away to the rich, more money sent to our allies around the world — while ignoring our own.

Where is the decency? Where is the humanity?

Where are the jobs? Where is the $1 trillion infrastructure package? Where is the easily-funded Medicare for all? Why hasn’t somebody pivotal stepped up and said that the military should not get more than 50 percent of the federal budget? Somebody needs to say to the generals and admirals: “Deal with it!”

Jesus is your co-pilot, and you want to take medical care away from the poor, from children, from those with pre-existing conditions? We are the only first-world country without universal health coverage — even under the ACA, too many have no coverage at all.

And, of course, there is a racism component to all this.

Screw the poor minorities, right? They didn’t support Trump, and he has shown that he intends to retaliate or withhold funds from states/people that oppose him.

So, where are we now? We are looking at “Repeal, Replace later.” AYFKM? Things are not getting better, they are getting worse.

Personalities over principles. I hear that comparison often in my life, of course, in my meetings.

I have found that it’s not too difficult, but also rare, to have principles, to have a philosophy, and to stick to it most, if not all, of the time.

One of my favorite movie quotes: “John, it’s not easy dealing with a man who sees things in black and white.” Mr. Skimmerhorn, sometimes it’s not easy being a guy who sees things in black and white…”

Sure, sometimes my philosophy costs me more money, or inconvenience, or outright angst. But that’s the cost of having beliefs, of being consistent. One thing I can say without hesitation, is that I have never knowingly violated my sworn oaths in serving the public in my various capacities, even if there were personal deficiencies involved.

Repeal.

I am tired of hearing that the ACA is a disaster. It’s all PR bullshit.

Millions have coverage. Pre-existing conditions cannot be held hostage. The economy of the masses.

Some areas have only one provider. They may very well have had none without the ACA, but you never hear that.

“We need to be able to cross state lines in covering people.”

Red Herring, because they can do that now.

Yes, it needs some tweaking, of course it does.

So, perhaps the slogan for the weeks ahead should be “tweak over tweet.”

The Hill has eyes- and ears!

The GOP elected and appointed officials in the White House are running for the hills. Even Vice-President Mike Pence has now retained a criminal lawyer to represent him over the ongoing probes into the connections between the Trumpsters and the Russians.

POTUS has confirmed via Twitter that he is under investigation.

Talk shows are rife with discussions about whether or not POTUS will be firing the Special Counsel, or even Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

Unconfirmed, anonymous reports are stating that the staff is vehemently opposed to firing anybody right now, because, coming on top of James Comey’s firing, the guilt-appearance will be a tidal wave.

The Administration is now relying on that philandering slimeball, Newt Gingrich, to anchor the defense, to defend the president. “The POTUS cannot, by definition, obstruct justice.”

Photo source: The Movie

Wrong.

The articles of impeachment against both Nixon and Clinton — and of course, Gingrich was there in support of Clinton’s impeachment — included “obstruction of justice.”

This week, as we noted the anniversary of the Watergate break-in, the comparisons between Nixon and Trump are bubbling to the surface, like old bones in the La Brea tar pits.

How come? Well, maybe it’s because POTUS tweeted that Comey better hope there are no tapes of their meetings together?

They have secret tapes in common, perhaps? Well, they certainly have paranoia and insecurity in common.

On the other hand, there is no record that Richard Nixon ever convened a meeting for the express purpose of having his cabinet kiss his ring and tell him how great he was doing — disgusting, pathetic, but mostly sad.

Look, he’s out of control, and he’s picking on himself. Two-thirds of the people in this country see that clearly, and are simply pointing it out.

They can run for the hills, but they can’t hide. We know that the national security people have been recording contacts with foreign governments for quite some time now. Unfortunately for them but fortunately for us, the hills have eyes — and ears.

No guilt can or should be apportioned to the retention of an attorney. That’s not the way our system works. All of us have a right to an attorney, sometimes despite law enforcement’s desires to the contrary. Dangling the carrot out there is a favorite technique, and one I have used myself during my qurater-century as a fire investigator. However, I did so always with the thinking of myself as an officer of the courts, and sincerely offered a carrot simply to get to the truth.

Those of my liberal friends, who are being smug, that are saying, “I told you so!” are wrong. Flat wrong.

This is nothing to gloat over, nothing to celebrate, nothing to take satisfaction from being prescient. This is quite simply a tragedy. We put a man in the White House with no political experience, with no experience at putting together a cohesive team, with no experience at delegating his authority to people more experienced, more knowledgeable. We know he really only trusts himself, and anybody who does not dance to his tune becomes the enemy — or at least becomes expendable.

Our allies are either afraid, uncertain… or they’re laughing hysterically.

Trump has alienated or offended our closest allies: Trudeau, Macron, Merkel, individually, and the French as a group. He has engaged in a running battle with Mexico, literally pushed tiny Montenegro aside, and ignored the world, climate science, and most of the business giants in his own country by casting aside the climate accord.

He knows best. He’s a legend in his own mind, and the numerous divorces, bankruptcies, and lawsuits that he has lost have not noticeably altered perhaps the “greatest” ego to ever reside at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC, 20500.

As I write today, we are celebrating the ratification of the second greatest document in recorded history, after the Magna Carta — the United States Constitution, in 1788.

Certainly, the country will survive this, but we need some changes. We need to get back to talking, to compromising, to getting some of the things we want, and letting the other guys get some of their needs met, too. We have never been so polarized, so far apart, so pigeon-holed.

And,now — and likely to be the subject of my next column — is the devastating Trumpcare bill. Making the rich richer, voiding many campaign “promises,” and ruining the healthcare net for so many Americans, many in states that supported Trumpelstiltskin.

Sad. Pathetic. Despicable.