PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN GLASS HOUSES
SHOULD NOT THROW STONES.
For years, Garry had a thing about westerns. “Why,” he asked, “Do they always break the windows? Don’t they realize how expensive reglazing is? Can’t they just open the window?”
A friend from Texas felt it was the drama of the breaking glass. “Shattering glass gets the audience’s attention,” he said. It certainly always got mine.
I have never lived in a glass-house, but I have lived in houses that contained a lot of glass. I admit I was very careful about throwing things — and not just rocks. Pottery, books, old dysfunctional cell phones, blocks, tools — anything hard was a no-no. Especially when it came to really BIG windows, you can easily spend a month’s salary getting someone out to your place just to give an estimate much less repair the damage!
So should I ever be unlucky enough to live in a glass house — which I would rather not do since it would require I always be dressed and make would make showering treacherous, I would definitely hold back on any casual stone-throwing. Unless I was making a movie. Then I’d fling stones to my heart content.
Because we want the viewers to feel more involved!
What with this mess we’re watching in D.C., we wandered into a discussion. “What if Trump decides to take over the country? Like, you know, hold a military coup?” There was a time when this kind of speculation would have been ridiculous, but these days, nothing is ridiculous and anything, no matter how absurd is possible.
Then, I realized a great truth.
Trump can’t stage a coup because he doesn’t have an army. It’s true there’s a parallel between Trump and Hitler (and after he was in office, Hitler did ultimately stage a military coup), but until that point, his actions were legal. It’s important to remember that Hitler was elected. Just like we elected Trump.
But here’s a big difference. Trump has no army.
The military hates him. All the militaries hate him. All the alphabet agencies loathe him too — CIA, NSA, FBI, Intelligence Department and most of DOJ. I’m pretty sure that none of them will take over the country because he tweets them. Hitler built a dedicated army, including the Gestapo, Brown, and Blackshirts. Trump has no military support. No matter how rabid his supporters are, they are not a military force and this isn’t the 1700s when a rabble can take over a country with a modern military. Moreover, he has never had the support of the majority of this country’s population.
If he can’t stage a coup, there’s little he can actually do except say “Hell no, I won’t go,” but in the end, he will go. Even if the Secret Service has to carry him bodily from the White house. Which to be fair, I would love to see.
Now, or later, unless he enlists his mythical Space Force, a million tweets will not make him king.
Imagine, if you will, that you have been summoned for jury duty. You know as a good citizen that it is an honor to serve the justice system. It is an important part of your life as a law-abiding citizen of the country. You show up on time and ready to be an impartial juror. After you are seated on the jury, you learn to your shock and utter disgust that another member of the jury has already made up his mind. Worse than that, he is engaged in convincing other members of the jury to vote for acquittal. The trial has not yet started.
As you are preparing for the trial you learn that this ring leader of injustice has also been coordinating efforts with the defendant! He is working to keep the trial short by not allowing witnesses on either side. For some strange reason, it is this juror and his colleagues who set the rules for the trial, not the judge. Opening arguments are followed by closing arguments. Since no evidence is presented, it is hard to say if there is guilt or not. The arguments by the prosecutor have certainly made it seem like the defendant is guilty, but who can tell? No evidence was allowed.
Those lined up to vote for acquittal before the trial did so without paying attention to the charges. The defendant claimed victory and set out on a course of retaliation against those who spoke against him. “This is outrageous!” you might think. “Nothing like this could happen in our country. Such a travesty could not take place.” The problem is this. It did happen.
Violating the Oath
“Do you solemnly swear that in all things appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of Donald John Trump, president of the United States, now pending, you will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws, so help you, God?”
Not only were Senators asked to take this oath by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, but they were also called up one at a time to sign the document of such oath. This means that many Republican Senators went to the floor of the Senate and swore before God to do something they had no intention of doing. They lied to the Chief Justice right there in their chamber of Congress. Everyone in the country who was paying attention knows they lied.
No matter what side of the aisle you sit, you can’t deny these Republicans are liars before God. They swore to God that they would be impartial when they had promised for weeks to vote for acquittal and not allow any evidence. If you do not paint these people as liars and hypocrites, what else could you call them? In a normal world, if you violated an oath like this you would find yourself in jail.
Total Coordination
In early December, long before the trial, Senator Mitch McConnell promised in a FOX News interview that there was no chance of removal from office and that he would have “total coordination” with the White House and the President’s lawyers. As he had taken sides before the Articles of Impeachment (aka indictment) were presented, did the Senator then recuse himself? No. Instead, he planned to lie before God and falsely sign a document before the Chief Justice.
Mitch McConnell
Cheating the Country
“If my Republican colleagues refuse to even consider witnesses and documents in the trial, what will the president conclude? We all know: he’ll conclude he can do it again, and congress can do nothing about it. He can try to cheat in his election again, something that eats at the roots of our democracy.”
Senator Chuck Schumer stated this belief in advance of acquittal. If a majority of Senators will protect a lawbreaker, can there be any justice at all? They have announced through their actions that they do not care about their oath and they do not care about justice. Is the president now free to act like a dictator and violate any laws he chooses? The Senate majority has already proven they will protect him.
Retaliation
Following the end of the Senate trial, the president has gone after the whistleblowers in violation of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act already in place. And who is to stop him?
Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, fired! Lt. Col. Yevgeny Vindman, not a part of impeachment, fired for being the brother of Alexander Vindman. Ambassador Gordon Sondland also fired. There will be more to come.
And all the others who didn’t agree with him who went before. This tyrant doesn’t allow disagreement. No discussion, no reasoning.
Where’s the Outrage?
To counterbalance the outrage of many news outlets around the country are the efforts of one prominent news network and other smaller outlets. Some consider this no better than state-run television, spinning a tale much different than what virtually every newspaper and broadcast opinion board and commentators are saying. With the announcement of the intention to lie to the Chief Justice of the United States, U.S. Senators have told you that they and their cult-leader-in-chief can break the law if they feel like it.
Making My Home A Haven is important to me. Sharing homemaking skills. Recipes and food. Bible Studies. This is a treasure chest of goodies. So take a seat. Have a glass of tea and enjoy. You will learn all about who I am.
