Mr. Donald J. Trump has sent his formal objection to the article of impeachment sent for trial to the Senate. A ‘legal analysis’ by Mr. Seth Abramson has been published recently in response*, by way of informal rebuttal. We set out the essence of each, with our ripostes thrown in for good measure. TRUMP: The Senate of the United States lacks jurisdiction over the 45th President because he holds no public office from which he can be removed, and the Constitution limits the authority of the Senate in cases of impeachment to removal from office as the prerequisite active remedy…
Continue Reading →With apologies and thanks to Charles Dodgson, The Varnished Culture offers some poetical parodies (based on great poems) to synthesize our thoughts on the preceding and forthcoming years… “Un vieil imbécile sans pitié“ (Inspired by “La Belle Dame sans Merci” by John Keats) O, what can ail thee, Joe Biden, Alone and palely loitering? The right has pulled-back from D.C. And no tweets sting. I see creases on thy brow, With anguish moist and fever dew, And in the gardens fades the rose: Fast withereth too. You met a lady on the Hill Full socialist, and Woke,…
Continue Reading →“The Earl of Louisiana” by A. J. Liebling (1961) Liebling’s witty and nostalgic book shows us something of the old time politics and how it seems fresher and more vibrant than the sterile and shrill shenanigans of today. True, he had to travel to Louisiana (where the citizenry don’t expect corruption, they demand it) and he had a ringside seat to the Long legacy (the famous ‘Kingfish,’ Huey Long, Governor from 1928 to 1932 and a U.S. Senator until his death by gunfire in 1935, had been followed by younger brother Earl, Governor from 1939 to 1940, 1948 to 1952,…
Continue Reading →As we look forward to a hilarious four years of the Biden Administration (the last 3/4ths of which will probably be completed by President Harris), it is apt to consider the wise words of a statesman whose eloquence rivals that of Pericles, Cato, Cicero, Marcus Aurelius, Asoka, Jefferson, Lincoln, Disraeli, Churchill, FDR, De Gaulle, Mandela and Obama. We’ll set aside the instances of Joe being touchy (either in a tetchy way or a creepy way) or difficult matters like his 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act that consigned millions of African Americans to life behind bars (“what I…
Continue Reading →5 November 2020 (Australian Central Time): An overnight flip has put Joe Biden ahead in Michigan and Wisconsin. And a weird stay of counting in North Carolina and Georgia doesn’t matter, nor does Pennsylvania, because Joe has 264 electoral college votes now and he will win Nevada (6 electoral votes) which puts him over the top. Congratulations, and if you thought the Trump Show was a wild ride, wait till you get a load of Joe and Kamala and their retinue! [UPDATE: Bad things seem to have occurred in Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, Arizona and Pennsylvania, in terms of dodgy electoral…
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