1) The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Starting an Impeachment Trial

2) It is unclear when and how the Senate may begin President Trump’s second impeachment trial. The problem with “starting” an impeachment trial is that once you start, under the Senate impeachment rules, it can potentially supersede all other Senate action.

3) That’s the case - UNLESS - the Senate works out some sort of an agreement on handling an impeachment trial. Otherwise, once you start an impeachment trial, without a side agreement, the Senate meets six days a week at 1 pm et, Sundays excluded, until the trial is finished.

4) The key is when the House sends over the article of impeachment. That triggers a lot of things.

First things first. The Senate must send a parliamentary message to the House that it’s ready to “receive” the article.

5) This is kind of like a football referee waving his hand at a kickoff returner stationed in the end zone to make sure he’s ready to proceed with the kickoff. Once the Senate does that, the House can send the articles.

But…

Well after House Dems pushed through the sham impeachment we all witnessed, now we have 30 House Democrats asking questions after the FBI released photos of about 180 suspects, some of the the faces looked familiar. Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill was the first to come forward.

Thread: (Read the whole thing)
"In brief, models can play a contributory role in thinking through possible mitigation measures, but they cannot be more than an ancillary aid in deciding policy." -- Until now, when all the so-called experts, knowing this, LIED.

2/
"Political leaders need to understand the likely benefits and the potential consequences of disease mitigation measures, including the possible loss of critical civic services and the possible loss of confidence in government to manage the crisis." -- Until this time.....

3/
"hospitals have often accelerated the spread of contagious disease because of the presence of highly contagious patients and their close proximity to the medical staff who care for them and to other patients who are ill and vulnerable to infection." - WE KNEW this would KILL.

4/
"Second, hospitals must establish strategies for coping with what will presumably be a large and relatively sustained surge in demand for medical care. At present, hospitals have little capacity to meet such demands." - We DID NOTHING despite FOURTEEN YEARS warning.

5/
"General respiratory hygiene, such as covering one’s mouth when coughing and using disposable paper tissues, is widely believed to be of some value in diminishing spread, even though there is no hard evidence that this is so." - We KNEW masks did not work; ZERO evidence.

As I have pointed out in a previous posting, many of the rioters found to their dismay and bewilderment that there was no plan, at least that they could discern, for the mob to carry out that day. 1/63

The only thing they knew is that there had been a call to action--and to a large extent to arms as well--to disrupt the certification of Biden’s electoral college win. 2/63

According to Ali Alexander (formerly known as Ali Akbar) the idea was to show up so angry and in such overwhelming numbers that it would “change the hearts and the minds of Republicans who were in that body, hearing our loud roar from outside.” 3/63

(In fact, there is mounting evidence that Ali and other organizers of the event intended for the rioters to get INSIDE the fenced-in perimeter and even the building itself, which would in themselves have been unlawful actions--but that is a subject for another thread.) 4/63

Ali’s description might well fit the motives of many in the mob that assembled on January 6. But the more interesting and important question is: What did Trump and the activists and event organizers expect (or a least hope) that the *members of Congress* would do that day? 5/63

Now that the political calculus has changed in US...

I don't accept the notion that one must critique both right & left in the same way or even give equal time to critiquing them in order to have a fair & faithful public witness. Why?

1. Critiques that aim for equal time will end up missing underlying dynamics of power & responsibility. Those w/ power are responsible in different ways than those w/out it. And those who claim the name of Christ have distinct repsonsiblities from those who don't.

2. Critiques that posit right/left as mirror images miss that while each may operate on different principles, they do so w/in the same set of social shaping forces. IOW, they might be swimming in different directions but they're in the same stream

3. Critique emerges from a specific ethos & is directed to a certain audience. Critiquing those outside your tribe is so much easier than those w/in it. B/c of this, faithfulness might sometimes mean more focused critique of your own group & less of your ideological opponent.

4. Critique of opponents requires extra work to do fairly b/c it means understanding their arguments as they understand them. It requires asking right questions, hearing answers, & being able to find true sources of disagreement, not superficial ones.

No, Biden hasn't won yet — one more nightmare scenario

Most likely, Biden is our next president, but we could be in for a very rough ride between now and Jan. 20."

"And, @RealRLimbaugh broke it down on Dec 16 - "they do not have as many delegations as the Republicans do. So voting by delegation the Republicans would then control the House and any vote there

It is NOT unprecedented for the electoral count to be challenged, Dems did in 2916.

It is fascinating.

"So under this “endgame maneuver … The Senate, claiming that there is no Electoral College result, picks Pence,” as the vice president. “Overturning an election? Why not?"

#Christian #Patriots who love #America and oppose the #marxist #takeover of our Country. -- We need to start forming leaders to defend the USA. Plan CONFERENCES in January on the day of the Inauguration. Explain how to defend America by whatever means are just! ACTION! >>

Here is a summary of talking points for your conferences
1. Christ is our King, and we owe him everything, esp gratitude for America
2. We must show it by loyalty + service even unto the risk of everything.
3. True liberty is liberty to be Christian.
4. Marxism is opposed to this

5. We must recognize the Masonic tactic of diverting our loyalty to Christ to their projects.
6. Instead we must insist on Christ and Christian civilization, which is not Judeo-Christian, but Christian.
7. Must recognize that America has been infiltrated by those who hate Christ.

8. Must recognize Election Fraud is just the tip of the iceberg of treachery in America
9. We must therefore organize Christian controlled response to take back America and MAGA as a Christian nation
10. In case of usurpation, this means we cannot go silently into the night

11. Therefore, in such a case, we must organize Christian Patriots, convince Mayors to levy Constitutional Militia, take back 1 town at a time, declare liberty from the govt of the Marxist Usurper, stop paying all taxes to his gov and to any state govt in league with him.

1/ Many people remark that we wouldn't have survived 4 more years of Trump (ym'sh) - and I agree - but this was a 40 year project of destroying the democratic form of US gov., starting with Reagan, and accelerated from Gingrich.

DJT was to almost the final hammer blow.

2/ Both Roosevelts changed the function of the government from preserving the entrenched power to an instrument to help people survive & thrive

TR was a Progressive, tore down the monopolies, established public health etc. When he left the party, the GOP became what it is today

3/ Wilson took up TR's platform (TR helped by splitting the 1912 vote) and when the GOP won in 1920, they actively tried to undermine the entire new project of what America would do for its

4/ Of course 12 years of retrograde regressive GOP destroyed the economy and led to a worldwide depression which aided the rise of totalitarianism around the world. 1920/1929 and 2020 share so many characteristics

But FDR, thank God, was able to pull us from the brink

5/ For the next 40 years FDR's vision of the government being the support and protector of its citizenry culminated in LBJ's Great Society, finally bringing many of the gifts to the oppressed engine that drove America's prosperity: African-Americans

1) Why we need the electoral college system. (A thread)

Using the popular vote and not the electoral college count would have made Hillary Clinton president last time and Joe Biden president this time, in a landslide, which is what we anti-Trump citizens wanted.

2) But what about "next time"? Trump is an incompetent bozo who killed 130,000 Americans, crashed the economy, embarrassed the nation and he's still very popular.

What if the next Trump is just as evil, but actually competent? The next Trump could win the popular vote, too.

3) Direct democracies ALWAYS commit suicide because the public always falls under the spell of a demagogue at some point, and they vote themselves into catastrophe.

Athenian Democracy lasted only 140 years -- far less than the US so far.

4) The Spartan system lasted 600 years, because it was more like our system -- the popular vote was merely the opinion of the people, and a wise few made their own choice -- usually with the popular vote, but not always.

5) In our system, the voters don't choose the president. Everyone thinks they do, but they do not. The president is selected by Electoral College electors on December 14.

The election we just had was the American public giving the EC our opinion.

Okay, let’s do this. A thread.

1. Donald Trump is *an* anti-Christ. He has twisted, perverted, & manipulated the Christian Faith. He has sowed seeds of discord & has nurtured profound disunity in the body of Christ & even garnered the support of prominent Christian leaders...

2. We keep talking about how he is power hungry, how he’s a Narcissist, & about how he is immoral; but we aren’t naming this stuff using the various categories scripture gives us when dealing with someone like Trump. The man is an “anti-Christ” (notice I said “an” & not “THE”).

3. He hasn’t just garnered the praise of right-wing Christian Nationalists who’ve never championed orthodoxy or the gospel; he has also garnered the unwavering support & affirmation of prominent preachers & theologians who only a few years ago declared him evil.

4. We too quickly dismiss this almost hypnotic power Trump has over otherwise respectable Christian leaders as if it’s natural; we have 3 options.

1. He has something on them.
2. They are just power hungry.
3. There is some dark hypnotic power Trump has.

Maybe it’s all 3. 🤷🏽‍♂️

5. We’ve seen Trump demand stage presence in the church of David Platt (a godly brother who I’ve met personally & truly believe is a faithful brother & pastor) and next thing we know he is on stage, in the middle of the service, & all Saints forced to pray for him.

[THREAD] There's a lot of talk about divisiveness and unity right now. The country is at a low point and if you take the politics out of it, it is an opportunity for each of us to take a hard look at how we contribute to both divisiveness and unity. I've been thinking about /1

all the times that I retweeted something snarky, posted a meme that reinforced stereotypes about 'the other side', used words that I would never say in front of my mother or my child, and generally just gave into visceral, knee-jerk reactions to things I disagreed with. /2

That's not to say there wasn't plenty of crap that deserved strong pushback and loud protesting. It's our role as citizens to not only elect our representatives but also hold them accountable. The vitriol is optional, and I chose it more often than not. I don't know if I can /3

really change, but it's clear to me that I should at least try not to make things worse. I am a very different person now compared to 2016, capable of a sort of hatred I'd reserved for very few people I personally knew who did things I considered unforgivable. Not this. /4

Not hatred for a group of strangers who oppose what I believe in, just as I oppose what they believe in. Some may be vile, despicable, truly dangerous people. Most are probably not. I have led a privileged life. Born in comfort from parents who encouraged critical thinking, /5

Let’s talk about how the attempted take-over of the US Capitol came to pass. For months leading up to the general election, Pres. Trump sowed the seeds of doubt in the election, repeatedly tweeting that it would be “rigged”. (Thread)

Hyper-partisan right wing media and social media influencers cultivated that doubt. They amplified his rigged claims, and combed the internet for stories that they could fit into their developing theories of voter fraud.

Ballots from 2018 round in a recycling bin? Fraud! Ballots accidentally discarded in a trash can? Fraud! An information card mailed to an old address in CA (mislabeled as a “ballot”)? Fraud!

This started in September and continues today.

If you look closely, you can see the same set of actors mobilizing again and again and again to spread these false claims. From accounts affiliated with right wing media and right wing political organizations to members of Trump’s inner circle. And of course, the Pres. himself.

Here’s a table we generated from months of work at the @2020Partnership of false/misleading information “incidents” on Twitter, from August through November:

(Thread) Over the Cliff Notes: Impeachment #2

Let’s start with the Article of Impeachment itself: https://t.co/KRiPGstRwi

The charge: Incitement of Insurrection.

Spoiler: This is a slam-dunk in the impeach-and-convict department, and will create a moment of truth for the GOP.

1/ The basics:

🔹Impeachment requires a majority vote in the House. 

🔹Impeachment is followed by a Senate Trial.

🔹Conviction requires 2/3 of the Senate.

After conviction, preventing Trump from holding office again requires a simple majority vote.

2/ This is not a criminal trial.

The Constitution specifically says that a criminal trial may be appropriate AFTER impeachment and removal.

Defendants in a criminal trial have special protections because they stand to lose their liberty, property, or even their life.

3/ An impeached president stands to lose his job and the ability to hold the job again.

Therefore certain requirements for a criminal trial, such as the requirement that allegations be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, do not apply.

4/ In addition to charging Incitement of Insurrection, the Article invokes the 14th Amendment (sec 3) and Trump’s duty to faithfully execute the oath of office. 

Notice the 14th Amendment doesn’t give the procedure for determining when Section 3 applies.

If you're one of the people who've had to cut folks out of your life for being Trump voters, please know that I'm proud of you and I know you may feel grief. I'm sorry for us.