There is a Coup Afoot in the Palace

Ah, the storm clouds are gathering, the cabal is meeting and there
is a coup afoot.  The madman is becoming a bit more to handle
than once thought.  The plot to impeach was thought to be a sure
thing, but some Senators are asking for a bit more than originally
planned.  They want guarantees of election victories before they
cast their fate with the plotters.

It seemed so simple at the beginning, put the buffoon in and pay
no attention to the man behind the curtain.  But the chump had
some ideas of his own.  Ever since daddy put him in military school,
he was in awe of the uniforms and medals, just not enough to risk
winning one himself, not for combat that is, but for avoiding syphilis
perhaps.

So he surrounded himself with generals of every ilk, with the mind
of having his office run with military precision.   But that was not part
of the plan.  These were men of honor who had sworn to uphold the
constitution, who were bound by duty not to a man but the country
they swore to protect and defend.  And they were not reticent about
advising the man in the highest office.  They had to go.

And along with them, the other voices of reason, Tillerson, Flynn,
Powell, Shanahan, Sessions, and Comey, to name just a few; the
adults in the room. Those who dared to speak truth to power.  The
idea, of course, was to keep the simpleton isolated, and feed him
daily doses of flattery and adulation.  Let him only hear those who
give credence to his proclamations, to reaffirm his mastery.  Keep
him occupied with the trappings of his office and shuttle him
back and forth from D.C. to Florida.

Parade him in front of adoring crowds, no matter how much they
cost per head, and give them all signs and hats, always with the hats.
Start the chants, 'lock her up', build the wall', and 'send her back',
and see the look of pure delight on his face, he positively beams.
It is as if he is transfixed,  mesmerized by what he considers
adoration from his minions.

And most of all to keep his little hands occupied.  Hundreds of tiny
tap, tap, tappings, from early morning to late at night; tap, tap, tap.
And when he got a little far afield, that was easy to change, just
reissue a corrected statement, it keeps our allies on their toes, and
gives the press something to buzz about.

There is only one fly in the ointment, the dolt was beginning to
believe in his invincibility.  That wasn't in the script. Something
must be done, but it mustn't look contrived.  It had to come from
the other side.  That was no problem, the other side was more than
eager to oblige.  And so the leak became a current and the current
became a groundswell.  And there was enough intrigue to make
the game more enticing.

It was easy enough to get a majority to vote for impeachment.  And
there is enough to convict, counting the fence sitters and those
retiring and those who were about to make history.  Now it is almost
in their grasp, they are turning the religious conservatives, and the war
hawks.  It is time for the man behind the curtain to come out, and show
the world  his credentials; Pence, and along with him Pompeo, and Bolton,
the triumvirate, the religious zealots, the protectorates of the State of
Israel, the ones who will issue in the true Second Coming.  They are the
chosen ones.  They will destroy the infidels, and bring down the tribulation
upon the State of Israel and then will come the Rapture.

Sound far-fetched, so did President Donald J Trump.   I'm just sayin'.
   







   

Tail Wagging the Dog Again?

The assassination of Qasem Suleimani, Friday January 3, 2020, by a
targeted drone missal, has sent the middle-east region into turmoil.
The Trump administration undertook this attack without the advice
or even notification of Congress, our allies, or NATO.  The
administration said the attack was in response to an imminent threat to
to the safety of the United States and its citizens.  The threat was supposedly
uncovered by our intelligence agency.  Is that the same intelligence agency
that Trump has demonized, and dismissed as incompetent and filled with
never Trumpers?  Their sudden rise in prominence is nothing short of
miraculous.

On Sunday, Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, was on every morning
talk show defending the drone strike.  The talking point of the day,
just in case you missed it, was 'protect and defend Americans'.  I lost
count of just how many times he said it.  But he said it was the duty of
the president to protect and defend America, and not to do so would
be grave misconduct on the part of the administration.

To which I say, Baloney!   Actually I would say something stronger,
but I am striving to maintain some semblance of decorum here.  I
have listened to the talking heads for three days now and no one has
put forth what I consider the true reason for the attack on Suleimani.
Trump ordered the drone strike to divert attention from the Articles
of Impeachment which are scheduled to be released to the U. S.
Senate sometime this week,  TRUMP HAS BROUGHT THE WORLD
TO THE BRINK OF WAR for his personal gratification.  He feels that
a president at war cannot be bothered with a sniggling matter such as
impeachment.  He feels that the country will rally behind a strong
leader who stepped up to take out the bad guy and save America.  He
may be right, his base is giddy with excitement.

However, the silence from our allies speaks volumes.  The only laudatory
remarks came from the man in the same predicament as Trump, and that
would be Israeli Prime Minister, Netanyahu.  Perhaps, he was one of
the little birds whispering in the president's ear, "Donald, this will solve
both of our problems".

Qasem Suleimani was not just some tin pot terrorist, he was a Senior
Official in the Iran government.  His assassination was tantamount to
the assassination of the Joint Chief of Staff of the United States. And
along with Suleimani there were other high offficials of Iraq.  Suleimani
had been in a position of power for more than twenty years.  Both
Republican and Democratic administrations have dealt with his disruptions
in the middle-east region, many of which involved loss of lives.  But it
has always been the determination that Suleimani was more dangerous
dead than alive.  As a military tactitian he did not possess a brilliant
mind but his genius lay in his ability to rally the support of the terrorist
organizations in the region.  He was not universally admired for his
drive to oust the Sunnis and promte the Shiite fundamentalism.

Of late demonstrations in Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq were taking
place to protest the expansion of Iran's influence into the region.  But
the death of Suleimani and the other officials, has galvanized hatred for
the United States by these same countries.  Chants of "death to America"
once again fill the streets.

In 1998, then president Bill Clinton, with the help of British forces attacked
the Saddam Hussein's army.  At the time citizen Trump, accused Clinton
of starting a war for his benefit, even though the attacks were sanctioned by
the United Nations and all our allies.  The Republicans in Congress were
outraged, the whole episode was termed 'Wag the Dog', and it was said that
the attack was used to deflect from the impeachment inquiry of Clinton in
the House of Representatives. Where is the Republican outrage now?

It appears that Trump has taken a page from that playbook.  The only
difference is that Clinton's actions were sanctioned and included our
allies and Trump's action was unilateral and a surprise to our allies.
In addition to the initial strike, Trump has tweeted that any threat of
retaliation by Iran will be met with swift destruction of 52 targets of
strategic and cultural value in Iran.  In response to that threatening
tweet, the Secretary General of the United Nations had this to say:
     "Any deliberate destruction of our common cultural
       heritage constitutes a war crime and represents an
       attack on humanity"

Once again Trump has brought down the ire of the world upon the
United States.  Is there no limit to which he will go to shame and
embarrass us?  And all just to cover up the shame of his
impeachment.  Donald Trump is a disgrace and now a danger to
us all as Americans.  
                                            I'm just sayin'.