Columnists

Ready or not, the Impeachment of Donald Trump is coming. Before the end of 2019, the House of Representatives may vote on a variety of impeachment charges and the issue will be passed to the Senate. Here's what we've learned so far.

1. During the next 90 days, there will be an impeachment vote in the House of Representatives. The House Intelligence and Judiciary committees have already assembled enough evidence to call for a House vote. (It's not a matter of if, but when the vote will occur.) Trump appears to be guilty of multiple violations of the U.S. Government code including bribery, extortion, obstruction, and campaign finance misdeeds. (He's also guilty of obstruction and, quite possibly, conspiracy.) The House Dems are going forward, at a deliberate pace, to build the strongest case possible before year end. Some of the impeachment counts require information that will be provided only if ordered by the Supreme Court. -more-

Many things can affect the amount, type, and quality of cognitive faculties. Environment is one of them. If the environment in which we live is excessively demanding, and if we do not get enough time of not being hassled, it can negatively impact faculties. In order to create and maintain mental faculties, we need peaceful time and space. If we can't get that, deterioration is the result.

Many people believe it is a waste of time to sit and ponder. Sitting and pondering is exactly what Albert Einstein did, allowing him to arrive at longstanding rules of physics. Sitting and pondering is exactly what the ancient Egyptians and Greeks probably did, when they first arrived at and improved upon Geometry, and many other areas of thought that are used to this day.

While we don't need to invent math or physics, there is a place in our lives for sitting and pondering. It can help us understand ourselves much more. It can help us reflect about things, including past behavior patterns or other relevant material, and the fruit of this is better actions. There is a place in our lives for clarity.

You normally can't get clarity without some level of pondering or reflecting. You can't deeply reflect when the environment is excessively demanding. -more-

Favorite Soundbite of the Week

KCBS and Chronicle commentator Phil Matier offered the following during a live radio discussion on the Fate of the Republic:

"On one hand, you've got the Democrats over on one side singing 'We Shall Overcome' and Trump's up there on center stage like Meatloaf, singing 'Like a Bat Outta Hell!'"

PS: For those unfamiliar with this deranged ditty, here's a sampling of the lyrics:

The sirens are screaming, and the fires are howling
Way down in the valley tonight
There's a man in the shadows with a gun in his eye
And a blade shining oh so bright
There's evil in the air and there's thunder in the sky,
And a killer's on the bloodshot streets
And down in the tunnels where the deadly are rising
Oh, I swear I saw a young boy down in the gutter
He was starting to foam in the heat -more-

The impeachment inquiry should continue even though there is already enough evidence of “high crimes and misdemeanors” to support impeachment. The evidence so far includes Trump’s admission that he solicited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden, his possible opponent in the 2020 election, and his son Hunter Biden for corruption, in violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971. This alone is enough for impeachment.

Trump did not produce any evidence of this alleged corruption by Joe and Hunter Biden and none has emerged so far.

In addition, Trump conditioned the release of $391 million in mother relatives for Congressionally-approved military aid to Ukraine and a coveted personal visit to the White House, on this asked for investigation of Joe Biden. A quid pro quo. Then the White House attempted to cover-up the whistleblower’s complaint about the solicitation. -more-