Eleventh Hour Plea To Mueller

Robert Mueller, you have demonstrated that you are a patriot and dedicated public servant. You have established that you are a brilliant lawyer and superb investigator. Now, your country’s survival as a democracy governed by the rule of law is at a tipping point and in jeopardy.
We do not ask that you depart from the findings of your report or engage in partisan politics. But truth and accuracy mandate that you resist the straitjacket Attorney General Barr, who has mischaracterized your findings, is attempting to place about you. Your nation requires that you set the record straight. That your report did not exonerate the President nor did it find “ no collusion, no obstruction “. That the decision not to indict was dictated by Department of Justice policy and that your intent was to put the substantial evidence uncovered before Congress for its consideration.

Trump's Assault On American Values

We started by chastising Donald Trump for his thinly veiled racism. That was ineffective. His vile rhetoric only grew more virulent and degrading, spurring a rise of hate crimes across the nation. Then we took to task Republican politicians and officeholders for their spineless failure to denounce or rebuke the unprecedented stream of divisive demagoguery pouring from an American president. Those erstwhile defenders of American values only maintained their silence or offered mealy-mouthed support for the president's tirades.

Even the scolding by Democrats and a heightened disapproval voiced by a large part of the national media have merely served to gratify Trump's thirst for attention and have inspired even grosser vituperation. 

It comes down to this. The American people are responsible for rescuing the fundamental essence of our society. They must rise up in righteous outrage and in defense of all that has made America the symbol of democratic governance. We, the people, must take to the streets by the millions to reject the bigoted, despotic direction taken by this president. We must make clear to the world and to history that the United States, in this generation, responded to the challenge of tyranny and race baiting and resisted the abrogation of its underlying principles. Where is the Thomas Paine of these times now that we need him more than ever.

Census Citizenship Question

Attorney General William Barr, bowing to the demands of his client, Donald Trump, has announced that he has divined a way to put the citizenship question on the census form. The Supreme Court stayed the inclusion of that question on the ground that the reason offered by the government for including it was patently contrived. Recently discovered evidence has reinforced the obvious conclusion that the government's motive is to engineer an undercount of immigrants and their families and, thus, disadvantage Democrats and states controlled by the Democratic Party, both fiscally and electorally. 

Apparently, Mr. Barr's theory is that the executive has the constitutional authority to include the question and is not required to offer any explanation for doing so. Surely, this disingenuous turnabout will be challenged in the courts. If the Supreme Court reverses course, and pronounces itself satisfied by this transparently deceitful maneuver, the rule of law will be in serious jeopardy.

Questions the House Judiciary Committee Should Ask Mueller

I urge the members of the House Judiciary Committee to include the following questions of Special Counsel Robert Mueller when he gives testimony before the Committee.

1. Is it accurate to say that your investigation found no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian government operatives?
2. Was there some evidence of such "collusion" and, if so, in what respects did the evidence fall short of meeting the requirements for a charge of conspiracy?
3. Is it accurate to say that your investigation found no evidence of obstruction of justice by President Trump?
4. Was your decision not to charge Mr. Trump with obstruction influenced by the policy of the DOJ that a sitting president may not be charged with a crime?
5. Did you reach a conclusion about the existence of obstruction which you felt an obligation to withhold because of the unfairness of accusing a person who cannot be formally charged?
6. Was it your intention to have the Attorney General resolve whether Mr. Trump committed obstruction? If not, in what forum or manner did you believe that issue should be resolved?
7. Do you believe that the Attorney General, in his initial written summary, subsequent press conference and congressional testimony, accurately described the findings and conclusions of your investigation? If not, in what respects was his account inaccurate?

A New Salute For the Fourth, Starring Trump

Now that the Fourth of July has been transformed into Honor Trump Day, it is time to take the next step. The Department of Homeland Security should allocate funds (no need for congressional approval) to erect an enormous Colossus-like statue of our 45th president, dwarfing the Statue of Liberty, the tallest and grandest in human history. It should stand in New York harbor as an ever present deterrent to any who might consider invading our shores to seek asylum or a better life. We have had enough of the tired and the poor.