I Found Some Bernie Ads By GreenBlackLogic !! - John Oliver on Medicare For All - Paul Street On How they are Trying to Bury Bernie -123 Executions So Far this Month In Tijuana - YTD Total For Tijuana = 290 Dead

Okay, this was my last day on ibuprofen, but I'm afraid to take the tramadol...we'll see how it goes.


Meanwhile somehow I found these Bernie ads which were put together by "GreenBlackLogic" on You Tube; GreenBlack Logic says:

" GreenBlackLogic Pinned by GreenBlackLogic GreenBlackLogic 22 hours ago It's officially passed 100,000 views! Many thanks to Kyle Kulinski, Michael Moore and everyone else who shared this ad to help spread the word, and there's more ads coming. Bernie 2020! "

Also, John Oliver on "Medicare For All".  Locally down here - even nationally there doesn't seem to be much interest in the US election, and I imagine there is no interest in "Medicare For All" especially since the plan is to build huge Hospital facilities  (at least in Tijuana) for the surplus  millions of gringos who can't afford to pay the US Insurance and Hospital costs.


1. "Thank You | Bernie 2020 Ad"




2.  "Bernie vs. Trump | Bernie 2020 Ad"


 


3. "Medicare For All: Last Week Tonight With John Oliver (HBO) - 02/16/20 (19 minutes)


 


~~~~~

 ~ From Counterpunch: And it is in full swing to bring Bernie to Full Stop:

The "Liberal" Media's Propaganda War On Bernie Sanders
By, Paul Street 


~~~~~

And finally some stats:

From Zeta - BTW, click Noticias del Dia, another Radio host (and his wife) blown away.


 Reportan 6 Muertos en Tijuana - 02/24/20


  "During the last hours, six people were reported dead in Tijuana, according to the State Security and Investigation Guard. So far in February, 123 wrongful killings have been recorded. Yesterday, February 23, at around 6:05 a.m. on Real de Nayarit Street, corner of Real de las Lomas Street in front of # 23 A Colonia Real de San Francisco, a young man identified as Gabriel Eduardo Verduzco Solís, 18 years old , perished after an armed attack. Another individual was injured, so it was necessary to transfer to a hospital. An hour later, on a neighborhood road in front of the Seventh-day Adventist Christian church, in the San Luis neighborhood, a male corpse was located. The victim has not been identified. Later, a male between 30 and 35 years old was killed while on San Francisco and Jalisco Street in the creek of the stream, in the Lomas Taurinas neighborhood. The victim had chest injuries. Then on Hacienda San Rafael Street in the Terrazas del Valle neighborhood, second section, José Luis Herrera Villarreal, 19, was found lifeless. The deceased today had head injuries caused by a firearm. While the morning of this Monday 24, in a vacant lot located on King David Street and Buenos Aires, the body of a male with traces of violence was found. He was bound hand and foot. Finally, at around 08:50 a.m. there was an assault on shots against a couple who were aboard a vehicle on the ITR Nuevo León street in the Technological colony. The woman was declared lifeless in the place, while the man was transferred to a local hospital. His state of health is serious. Witnesses report that the alleged perpetrators fled in a blue vehicle. At the scene of the crime several caps were located. In Tijuana, so far this year there have been 290 malicious killings." ~~~~~


~~~~~

Poor Mike has been picking up the slack around here.. he brings me acai sorbets, he's been buying out Sprouts & Vons.......I think it is going to be tight in So. Carolina on Saturday, we'll see. You can vote here regarding last night's debate:

 ~ From The Oregonian:

Who Won The South Carolina Democratic Debate? Vote Here


See you guys later. 

Keep On Rockin' In the Free World !!! Bernie Takes Nevada !!! And Go Fuck Yourself Trump !!!

I can sit here and do this because the ibuprofen I took has kicked in:  OMG Go Bernie !!!


 


 ~~~~~



Keep On Rockin' In The Free World You Guys..... !!!!







~~~~~

The Russians Are Coming...Again !

It appears they have landed somewhere in the South Bay or this could possibly be the Punta Banda Estuary ! OMG !

The Russians Are Coming...Again ! ( volga boat guys song on link)

As it happens, I have been out of circulation since the shooting at SADM.  I had to go to Sharp Urgent Care for outrageous pain down by my kidney.  For over a week, I thought maybe this was a Kidney infection so I was drinking tons of Cranberry juice.  The Doctor there diagnosed this as a hernia.  Next, I had to go back up and check in with my Primary Care Physician who is an internist, who doesn't think this is a hernia but a problem with the muscle, and no one will really know until I get a Cat-scan which is scheduled in two weeks, then a return trip to the Primary Doctor at the end of March.  The problem is I am in intolerable pain and self medicating with ibuprofen, which we all know is really bad for kidneys.  Right now I am slightly numbed out by 800mg of ibuprofen every eight hours and really pissed off that our Medical Insurance(the co-pay on cat scan is $125.00) and Provider (Sharp Reese Stealy)  are pieces of shit. It still is impossible for me to bend over or get up from sitting or even walk.  We are attempting to speed this process up, and get some answers and service.  Sharp Reese Stealy overloads their Doctors and this insurance is expensive ($1,000.00 a month)...what a joke. I guess we're all in the same boat.  So, going to make this short and sweet and go back to bed.

Edit:  Mike called SRS early this afternoon for someone to address this problem and was told someone would call him back.  They never called him back.

John King Takes On Trump Jr's attack: This Is Dangerous 


~~~~~


11 Bottles Of Beer On the Wall.....

 ~ From The Chicago Tribune/New York Times: 

The 11 Criminals Granted Clemency by Trump Had One Thing In Common: Connections






 ~~~~~

All The News:

Democracy Now ! 

~~~~~

Local Mayhem:

The last I checked  90 people executed in TIJ this month (which so far is incredibly low as compared to previous monthly totals - to early to tell if this is the beginning of a trend or just a lull in the action)) and we are back to body parts again both here and in Ensenada.  So, what you need to do is go to the link, drop down to to Noticias del Dia to stay informed.; infact hit all the links. You will notice the urgent call from the Mexican population to end the Femicides, and make a mental note to yourselves exactly how AMLO plans to deal with this outrage. Looks like CANACO has some good ideas, I'll post that a bit later. Big show of force in the Zona Rio a couple of days back:

Zeta Tijuana 


~~~~~

Unsure of when I'll be back kids...


 

 ~ Nevada Caucus tomorrow !

Shooting At SADM - Complete Details Not In Yet & We May Never See Them; Zeta Names the Guard Who Has Died As 30 Year Old Nestor Luis Gutierrez Alvarez, Gunshot Wounds To Head, Face and One Arm - 02/15 TIJ Stats: So Far, 75 dead, YTD TIJ = 244 Dead

SADM Looking North

Just moments ago on his walk with Paris, Mike ran into Reuban and was told that a couple of hours ago (that would be around 3:00pm ), one of the Guards of SADM was shot. Unknown at this moment if he survived the shooting or has died. This Guard was apparently the Chief Guard, unknown what his relationship is/was with the Tijuana Municipal Police.

Here is what Reuban told Mike:

The guard was investigating a  vehicle (Jeep) which had pulled off the  Scenic Highway between the North and South entrances to SADM (closer to the South entrance).  The driver of the Jeep pulled off the shoulder onto the flat open stretch in front of the wall and the first row of houses.

The guard went to investigate and upon approaching the vehicle, was shot in the chest.

@6:11pm: Mike called Reuban re status of the guard. According to Reuban the guard is alive but  in critical condition at Hospital.

This is bad...more details coming up as we get them .

Thanks Reuban & Carmen


~~~~~

Update/edit:  6:15pm:

No reports in yet on this developing story, keep an eye on the links:

 ~ From El Sol de Tijuana:

Policiaca


 ~ Zeta Tijuana 


~~~~~~ 

Update/edit: 10:33pm: 

Still no coverage of this shooting on the local news sources.

~~~~~~

UPDATES/EDIT 02/15/2020: 


This morning, Mike spoke with both Pete & Reuban who told him the guard died in the Hospital.

Still, no mention of the guard, the Scenic Highway or of SADM in the news sources; just like the old days.  We all know why there is no mention - due to tourism and real estate concerns. Same as we never hear anymore about the contaminated ocean and beaches right in front of us which none of us can enjoy or the vile lingering smell of raw sewage being dumped from behind us from Tijuana flowing down our barranca  onto the beach and into the sea (last dump was roughly two weeks ago in the early predawn hours.)

 There is no way in the world I will ever disbelieve Pete or Reuban, these are the best and most honest guys in the world . What we are also learning is that the guard was an "Auxiliary Officer" of the Tijuana Municipal Police Department. Welcome to Mexico.

These reports came in overnight and earlier this morning:

 ~ From El Sol de Tijuana:

Notice they say a man, not the guard or his name, nor where he was shot:

Continua La Violencia en Tijuana, Matan a 4 Durante el Viernes
Por, Daniel Angel Rubio


"Tijuana.- A man who was transferred from Playas de Rosarito died this morning at the General Hospital of the city.
 
According to the report of the State Attorney General's Office (FGE), the victim was received yesterday afternoon with gunshot wounds to the face, head and right forearm.

However, he died around midnight, about six hours after being received at the hospital, the investigating authority said. 

He also announced that during Friday he recorded four more murders in the city, where all the victims were men.
 
Among them one that was found with the feet and hands tied with a rope and a padlock, in addition to three head shots.
 
This was past nine o'clock at night in the Habitat white stones subdivision.
 
The prosecution also said that the body previously located in the Hippodrome Bureaucrats colony, in addition to being wrapped in a blanket had stab wounds and had no hands."
 
 ~~~~~

 ~ From Zeta:

5 Meurtos Mas en Tijuana, 75 Homicidios en lo que va de Febrero

Last paragraph:

"In the month of February in Tijuana, 75 malicious homicides have been recorded, of which 70 were male and 5 female.
 
Together with the killings of last January, there are 244 homicides.
 
Between Friday, February 14 and the first hours of this Saturday 15, five homicides were recorded, the first was at 12:49 on Friday in the El Rubí neighborhood, of the San Antonio de los Buenos delegation.
 
In the event, a man identified as Mario Alberto Romo Aguilera, 57, was found dead outside the home marked # 10 on Edmundo Guajardo Street. The man presented a firearm injury to the head, where 4 .380 caliber caps and 3 warheads were located.
 
A few hours later, in the vicinity of the Illusion Street of the El Porvenir neighborhood, another man was found dead. The body had blood spots on the head and did not carry any identification.
 
At 5:11 p.m., between the streets of Faisán and Paloma in the bureaucracy racecourse, a man identified as 33-year-old Manuel Carrillo Valencia was found dead. The body had wounds due to sharp sharp objects in the face and the hands were missing.
 
At 9:30 p.m., a man was found without life and with his limbs tied, in a neighborhood road of the Habitat Piedras Blancas subdivision, in the Natura district. The body did not have identification, rolled between 40 and 45 years of age.
 
In his hands he had black handcuffs, while the legs were fastened with a yellow nylon rope. It also had three head injuries, caused by a firearm and 3 .9 mm bushings were located there.
 
In the first minutes of Saturday, February 15, the death of Néstor Luis Gutiérrez Álvarez, 30, was reported at the Tijuana General Hospital. According to information provided by the hospital staff, the deceased had entered about 6 in the afternoon, from the Rosarito General Hospital with gunshot wounds to the head, face and one of his arms."
~~~~~~

Bernie Takes New Hampshire !!! We Have Some Tijuana Stats BTW...coming up...after the chamomile...02/13: UPDATE: THE STATS FOR TIJ: JANUARY ENDED WITH 169 EXECUTIONS; 62 SO FAR THIS MONTH YTD TIJ = 231; FEMICIDES RISING

 

I wasn't exactly calm this morning after the news about the reduction of the sentence  of the Trump scumbag and fellow gangster, Roger Stone:

 ~ From Politico: 02/11/20

"The reckoning following President Donald Trump’s impeachment acquittal came into sharper focus on Tuesday.

Less than a week after the Senate rejected two articles of impeachment against Trump, the president bashed federal prosecutors for recommending a stiff sentence for Roger Stone, attacked the judge overseeing high-profile cases involving his ex-advisers, and suggested that the military could discipline Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a star impeachment witness..."

Read More....

Trump Takes Post-Impeachment Reckoning to Next Level - 02/11/20

By, Josh Gerstein and Daniel Lippman 

~~~~~

That news was preceded by William our neighbor next door who is a Bernie supporter telling Mike that essentially Bernie would be buried by the DNC a few more primaries down the road, a CNN front page interview with  James Carville (Bill Clinton's campaign manager) warning the Democratic Party is losing it's collective mind promoting "radical" leftists (of course we are to assume he meant Bernie) and in so doing is doomed to failure in 2020 and the two following reports:

 ~ From Counterpunch: (and this one should make you cry)

The Game Is Rigged

By Paul Street

And for the record, we love Jeffrey St. Clair...sometimes I wonder what it would be like to meet him at a party if I were ever to be invited that is being from the upper balcony; probably I would be overwhelmed and dumbstruck and intimidated due to his Mensa level. But he broke my heart here, even though he is correct:

"+ Who says there are no second acts in American political life? The DNC is conspiring to change its nominating rules to stop Sanders at the convention in Milwaukee. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, your Uber has arrived…

+ The Democratic Party has finally begun to fight dirty like a real Resistance™ movement…against Bernie Sanders.

+ If voting could change anything, they’d make an app for it…(Apologies to Emma Goldman.)

+ Russia, if you’re listening, and you can find the missing votes in Iowa, America will be forever grateful…"


Read More Here, he covered the whole shebang:

 ~ From Counterpunch: 

Roaming Charges: When Satan Quotes Scripture - 02/07/20 
By, Jeffrey St. Clair 


~~~~~

Which brings us to this evening watching the returns from New Hampshire. I was on Needles and Pins-a, and after Bernie's Victory Speech, I cried in the dish water.  When the fawk is America ever going to get its shit together ?

Nine Minutes of Bliss:






 Would someone please wake me up and tell me this is NOT going to be a heartbreaker ?






~~~~~~

Stats coming up, I desperately need a chamomile salt soak.


~~~~~ 

UPDATE/EDIT 02/13/2020:  Okay, finally some stats.  I think it is too early to tell if the drug war is winding down in our region..  You may want to compare the current numbers to last years... noticing a drop in the executions from the other Municipalities.  If you go to Zeta , click the Noticias del Dia and what I've also noticed seems to be a higher rate of drug seizures up and down the coast.  I need to mention that since the statement of Padre Solalinde last year, the National Guard itself has been involved in several  instances of corruption with drugs throughout their ranks and across the country, and of course their role has pivoted to the focus of holding back the Migrantes. 


 ~ From Zeta:

January of 2020 ended with 169 executions/homicides in Tijuana .  We are not receiving inside information at this point if the killers (sicarios) of the victims are recovering drug shipment/ locations from their adversaries then killing them and keeping this information for themselves or handing it over to the authorities, or even sharing it:

Concluye Enero Con 169 Homicidios en Tijuana
Por, Lourdes Liza Romero 


Just a bit after noon today, Zeta reports that 62 people have been executed in Tijuana so far this month, giving the city a YTD figure of 231 dead.  Importantly, the emphasis is on yet another femicide in Tijuana, bringing the number up to five so far this month and YTD 19 femicides in Tijuana.  There has been an ongoing movement not only in Tijuana but nationwide to protest the ever increasing numbers of femicides in Mexico, which have become status quo.

Matan a Otra Mujer, Van 19 en Tijuana en 2020 


"In a state of putrefaction, the body of a woman was located in an unpopulated area in the Abelardo L. Rodríguez dam, in Tijuana, on the night of Wednesday, February 12. With this fact they  have added 5 victims in the month, and 19 so far this year; according to figures from the State Security and Investigation Guard (GESI).
 
Information referring to ZETA, indicates that yesterday around 20:08 hours to the emergency center it was reported that on a neighborhood road, almost to the edge of the Rodriguez dam was the lifeless body of a woman.
 
Elements of the Municipal Police arrived at the site and confirmed the finding; Therefore, the presence of the State Research Agency's Processing Group was requested to carry out the corresponding procedures. So far the woman has not been identified.
 
In other malicious events on Wednesday, the murder of a man identified as Jesús González Jiménez, 28, was recorded. The victim had a head injury from a firearm projectile. The crime occurred on Estrella del Sur Street on the slopes of the hill of the Niño Artillero neighborhood.
 
Then, on Revolution Street and Fernando Montes De Oca, in the Arenales B neighborhood, the male body of approximately 50 years was located, which was covered with a blanket. The deceased, so far unidentified, was a bruised wound on his face.

Two men were arrested, after their alleged participation in a homicide registered in the La Gloria neighborhood, the morning of this Thursday, February 13.
 
Finally this morning of Thursday, February 13, a man was executed while traveling on Miguel Hidalgo Street, in La Gloria neighborhood. After the events the hitmen fled aboard a black Hyundai van, heading for the Free Rosarito-Tijuana Highway; site where a police persecution began that culminated in the streets Governor Lugo and Guillermo Prieto in the Cacho neighborhood. Two men were arrested and secured by a firearm.
 
So far this month, 62 people have been executed, while in the year 231 homicides have been recorded."

~~~~~

Over and out for now.  

end edit.  
 

 

Warning: No Grim Drug War Events, Focus Is On WTF Iowa and DNC? - Message For "Anonymous" Includes Link to Paul Street's "How To Not Remove A Fascist"

I stayed up until after 2:00am waiting for the Iowa Caucus results, boy was that dumb.  The results are slowly showing up, WTF Iowa and DNC?  Here we go.....


 ~ From CNN:

 The 2020 Iowa Caucuses


~~~~~


Have to add this from yesterday please read it and weep if you haven't already:


 ~ From Democracy Now !


As Bernie Sanders Surges Ahead of Iowa Caucus, DNC Under Fire For Changing Rules To Help Bloomberg In the 2020 Iowa Caucuses 


~~~~~ 


Damn, I swear to god Hillary is running the DNC. 

P.S. If you love the Monarch Butterflies, don't go down to Michoacan to see them.  Try Pacific Grove, CA.

 Stats and  local events are late again, sorry.

~~~~~

Update/edit:

 ~ For "Anonymous" :

Have to run Paris up to the States and I have my hands full so probably won't be back for a few days with the local mayhem, nothing has changed BTW. Thought you would get a kick out of this one:

 ~ From Counterpunch: 

How to Not Remove a Fascist 
by, Paul Street

Plus, here's the link that did not come up:









end edit.

Putin Won ! America Stabbed In The Back By A Bunch of Republican Cowards !

Just a snippet of an email I sent this afternoon as a reply regarding the Impeachment "Trial":

" Hi Bev, well I think I said either way on the so-called "Trial" I would be hyperventilating.  There are going to be even more problems ahead - I wanted witnesses and all the information, no matter how long it took.  Apparently the only one with any balls was Mitt Romney and even now in Utah the Republican Trump cabal have introduced bills to remove him from office.  I never grew tired of Adam Schiff,  absolutely eloquent and precise and  polished,  Trump's attorneys were idiots. The problems ahead are serious and we should all be concerned.  especially if you have kids and grandkids.  From now on, any President can have a foreign  even hostile countries interfere/intervene with the elections and do whatever he pleases for his own personal benefit like a freakin Monarch, but also shattered( unless someone comes up real fast with amendments) the Constitutionally granted checks and balances which have been blown to shit. In other words, Putin the asshole won. At this point, America is no better than any third world banana republic you will find down here or anywhere in the world.  Worse, from reading the polls, the American people on a whole were generally disinterested, what a bunch of brain dead hillbillies.  Doh. It is embarrassing.

"So, what I'm thinking is that IF the Democratic Party actually lets Bernie take this thing (and they may not, it has happened before) Bernie should choose Mitt Romney to be his running mate.  Who knows, at that point Mitt may need a job. (; "

~~~~~

Keep the Faith everyone and feel the Bern !

 

 

While We Are Waiting to See If Witnesses, Information and Documentation Will Be Allowed at the Impeachment "Trial"

Before I start hyperventilating one way or the other as to if or not witnesses, information & documentation will be allowed at the Impeachment "Trial", here's Jeannie Moos (a complete crack up, when's SNL going to sign her ?) putting another smile on our stressed out little faces and oh BTW whoever is messing my blog up on google you are the biggest coward clown ever FU ! Back to Ms. Jeannie:

~~~~~



~~~~~

P.S. More on John Bolton from Truthout: (which you may have already known, still ...they need some dinero....)

John Bolton Is A Shark, And There's Blood In The Water
by, William Rivers Pitt


~~~~~

 

Impeachment Update: John Bolton

Passing this along, I am hopeful and keeping my fingers crossed, Mike doesn't think this will go  ~ anywhere...but, you can sign up for their updates.  I'll be back with local updates, more violence here, migrantes trapped and attacked down south,Padre Solalinde defends the Trump-AMLO alliance against the migrantes, excellent speech by Javier Sicilia at the Zocolo although he and his thousands were rejected by AMLO, insulted, jeered at and called traitors.  Wow, unreal. Very sad about Kobe.

First some great toons:

~~~~~

courtesy David Horsey 

By

David Horsey

Seattle Times cartoonist

California Congressman Adam Schiff is doing a masterful job leading the House Democratic team that is laying out the case against President Donald Trump in the Senate impeachment trial. Always in command of the facts, often eloquent and occasionally quite emotionally effective, Schiff and his colleagues have repeatedly made the point that the nation’s founders who wrote the Constitution were intent on dividing the powers of government between the executive, the legislature and the judiciary to guard against the rise of any form of monarchy akin to the one they had thrown off in the recent revolution. Placing in the hands of the Congress the power to impeach and remove a renegade president was the ultimate expression of this concern.
At one point, Schiff read a quote from a letter Alexander Hamilton wrote to George Washington in 1792 in which Hamilton described the sort of populist demagogue he feared could rise up and shatter the foundations of democracy: “…a man unprincipled in private life, desperate in his fortune, bold in his temper… despotic in his ordinary demeanor—known to have scoffed in private at the principles of liberty… when such a man is seen to mount the hobby horse of popularity… it may justly be suspected that his object is to throw things into confusion that he may ride the storm and direct the whirlwind.”
Hamilton well understood the greatest potential threat to the republic he helped invent. In quoting this founding father, Schiff provided a disturbingly prescient portrait of the current occupant of the White House.
See more of David Horsey’s cartoons at: st.news/davidhorsey
View other syndicated cartoonists at: st.news/cartoons

David Horsey Seattle Times cartoonist

 

  ~~~~~

By

David Horsey

Seattle Times cartoonist

Former national security advisor John Bolton has thrown a wrench into the works of the Republican plan to quickly terminate the Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump. Bolton quit his job with the administration (or was fired, depending on who you believe, him or the president) and has written a soon-to-be-published book that could be relevant to the trial. In the manuscript, he says Trump told him directly that the administration would withhold crucial military aid to embattled Ukraine in an attempt to coerce the Ukrainian government into announcing a bogus investigation of Trump’s chief political rival, former-Vice President Joe Biden, as well as into a false accusation promoted by the Russians that the Ukrainians meddled in the 2016 presidential election.
Contents of Bolton’s book were leaked to the New York Times and, now that his version of events is public, it puts more pressure on the Senate GOP majority to extend the impeachment trial and bring in Bolton as a witness. The added days of deliberation could run past Feb. 4, the date of Trump’s state of the union address. That could rob him of the chance to crow about exoneration in front of the assembled members of Congress.
In all probability, even if Bolton’s testimony confirms the House Democrats’ case against Trump, the Republicans will choose to ignore such a hot smoking gun and vote against removing him from office. Nevertheless, Bolton’s words give the sane world confirmation that the president acted with nefarious motives to undercut a fledgling democracy in a time of peril and, thereby, shame his own country.
See more of David Horsey’s cartoons at: st.news/davidhorsey
View other syndicated cartoonists at: st.news/cartoons

~~~~~


 ~ From CNN Impeachment Watch:(click link to subscribe, it doesn't cost anything !)

 Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here.
Questions? Comments? impeachment@cnn.com

Bolton blows the impeachment case back open

                  by Zachary B. Wolf

"In reality, where we all live, the White House and Republicans scrambled Monday to deal with the situation created by John Bolton, who has blown the impeachment trial open with his leaked manuscript.

There were new revelations from the book Monday from the New York Times, which first broke details of Bolton's book on Sunday and is now reporting that Bolton told William Barr, the attorney general, that he was concerned President Donald Trump was doing personal favors for autocratic leaders.

Trump's alternate reality
In the cloistered confines of the Senate chamber, Trump's defense team made its arguments as if the Bolton bombshell had no impact on their case.

"Nothing in the Bolton revelations, even if true, would rise to the level of an abuse of power or an impeachable offense," said Alan Dershowitz, the first and only Trump defender to mention the manuscript said Monday.

"That is clear from the history. That is clear from the language of the Constitution," he said, arguing that presidents routinely intertwine their personal interests with policy and that quid pro quo between world leaders is perfectly normal. "You cannot turn conduct it is not impeachable into impeachable conduct simply by using words like 'quid pro quo' and 'personal benefit.'" 

What Bolton knows
According to reports on a leaked manuscript of his book, Bolton alleges that Trump absolutely tied the release of US security aid to investigations by Ukraine into his political rival Joe Biden.

It all confirms and amplifies the storyline behind the charges that Trump personally abused his power and obstructed Congress.

More: 3 ways Bolton contradicts Trump's defense

These are the bullet points from a much more in-depth story from CNN's Marshall Cohen about how Bolton pokes holes in the defense Trump's team is currently presenting:

• Quid pro quo confirmed, again
• No policy reason for aid freeze
• Firsthand accounts of Trump

Read the whole thing here.

His book is called "The Room Where it Happened"
That last point about firsthand accounts is so important. Since most White House aides agreed to ignore House subpoenas, this is key first-hand testimony, confirming US Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland's account that Trump was directly orchestrating the pressure campaign.

Or, rather, it would be first-hand testimony if Republican senators want to hear it.

The cat is out of the bag
Whoever handed over the manuscript -- Bolton's attorney has blamed a White House review process -- has unleashed Bolton's allegations into the world.

Regardless of whether Bolton actually testifies under at the Senate trial, he's given his side in the court of public opinion. 

Impossible to ignore
The Times reported the White House could feasibly block elements of his book from publication. The leak solves that too.

The White House had suggested that Bolton's testimony could be blocked for violating Trump's executive privilege. But now the White House would be blocking something that's already known. However, Bolton could lose protection from prosecution for disclosing something that's privileged or classified if he intentionally sidesteps that White House approval process.

Read more about how books are approved by the White House, at a little-known office within the National Security Council.

Stop it, John Bolton, says former Bolton aide

Bolton's former chief of staff and longtime colleague, Fred Fleitz, worried about executive privilege and the President's ability to get sound, confidential advice, asks in a Fox News op-ed for his former boss to withdraw his book.

Will Bolton change Republican minds?

Republicans feel blindsided by news of Bolton's book. They shouldn't.
Bolton basically begged to testify in the House impeachment hearings, but back then he wanted the imprimatur of a judge to protect him. His lawyer specifically said he had knowledge of things that hadn't been reported. And, out of nowhere earlier this month, he said he would no longer require a judicial decision. He'd happily testify at the Senate trial.

White House got Bolton's book December 30. They didn't tell Mitch McConnell.
But the fact that the White House had the manuscript for so long and didn't bother to tell any of the Republicans serving as Trump's jurors has caused some frustration.

Were they trying to bury it? Or did they just not think of it?
To oppose his testimony after Bolton's accusations is willful ignorance of a direct allegation of abuse of power from someone spit out of the inner circle of the White House. And CNN's Dana Bash reported today that even if Bolton's name was not mentioned by Trump's defense, it was all over the halls of Capitol Hill as senators assessed the fallout.

That doesn't mean most Republicans won't vote with the White House and oppose his testimony. But it does make that vote more difficult.

Democrats need four Republicans to subpoena Bolton. We still only know of two
Democrats need four Republicans to support their calls for Bolton's testimony. Two -- Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine -- have said they'll likely want to hear from witnesses. Another, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, is on the bubble.

More Republicans expected to support Bolton testimony
"It's relevant and therefore I'd like to hear it," said Romney, although he would not speculate about how it would affect his final vote on the trial. But stay tuned for more Republicans backing Bolton's testimony.

"I think it's increasingly likely that other Republicans will join those of us who feel we should hear from John Bolton," he said.

But who?
Romney was criticized by a colleague for his openness to witnesses.

"After 2 weeks, it’s clear that Democrats have no case for impeachment. Sadly, my colleague ⁦‪@SenatorRomney‬⁩

wants to appease the left by calling witnesses who will slander the ⁦‪@realDonaldTrump‬⁩ during their 15 minutes of fame. The circus is over. It’s time to move on!" said Sen. Kelly Loeffler on Twitter.

When does curious become committed?
Sen. Lisa Murkowski is, as yet, no more than curious about Bolton.

“I said before I was curious about what Ambassador Bolton might have to say. I’m still curious,” she told reporters Monday.

Historical note on Romney Republicans: Remember when John Bolton endorsed Romney's presidential campaign in 2012?

Democrats, meanwhile, are invigorated.
"The Senate needs to hear from Bolton," said Alabama Sen. Doug Jones, the most at-risk Democrat in the Senate, on Twitter. "The American people deserve to hear from Bolton. If we can’t get Bolton let’s get a subpoena for the book!"

The arguments you'll hear Republicans make against Bolton testimony

He's just trying to sell books
Sen. John Barrasso, a solid Trump supporter, downplayed the Bolton news. "Yeah, there's really nothing new here. It does seem to be an effort to sell books," Barrasso said.

Here are the other arguments against a subpoena for Bolton:

Issues with testimony, executive privilege
GOP sources told CNN's Manu Raju they expect the Senate Republican leadership to reiterate to their conference the arguments they’ve been making for weeks: That seeking John Bolton testimony would raise constitutional and executive privilege concerns,

It'll take a long time
If the White House going through a protracted legal fight for his testimony would accomplish very little since Trump is expected to get acquitted anyway.

Not their job
Republicans in the Senate, as well as Trump himself, have argued it's not the Senate's job to conduct a probe. The House should have done it.

Of course abuse of power is against the law

When President Trump's defenders argue he has broken no law and committed no crime, they point to a paper written by a Harvard law school professor, Nikolas Bowie.
But they're wrong, according to Bowie, who argues in the New York Times today that abuse of power and obstruction of Congress are common law crimes not specifically written out in statute.
Read: crimes so obvious nobody thought to pass legislation outlawing them.
"Abuse of power may be 'unwritten' in any code, and obstruction of Congress may be 'implied' by statutes, but these crimes are now as well established, well defined and destructive of the public trust as bribery or treason. If the President did what the House accuses him of doing, he can and should be punished."

Irony alert: The media and Hunter Biden

Trump's defense team spent much of the day Monday focused specifically on Hunter Biden and his involvement with Burisma. And while Trump has often complained there has not been enough coverage in the news media of this storyline, the case presented by his team rested largely on mainstream media reports.

Trump has repeatedly made unfounded and false claims to allege that the Bidens acted improperly in Ukraine. There is no evidence of wrongdoing by either Joe or Hunter Biden.

Fact Check: Daniel Dale breaks down the Trump team's arguments on Hunter Biden

Witness swap? Not happening, Democrats say

Joe Biden, who spent most of his career sitting in the Senate alongside some of the very same people who are now pushing for Hunter Biden to testify, made clear that his son is not to be used as a bargaining chip. On the campaign trail Monday in Iowa he repeated a line he used over the weekend, saying that Republicans have maligned his "only surviving son" -- a reference to the 2015 death of his son Beau Biden. 

For all their efforts to push for testimony from Bolton, Senate Democrats are already fighting the idea that Hunter Biden might have to testify. The idea of a swap is an attempt to "feed red meat to their base but also red herrings to distract us from the central issue," Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts said on CNN Monday.

Kenneth Starr warns of "age of impeachment"

He singlehandedly brought about the Bill Clinton impeachment, so Ken Starr's inclusion on the Trump defense team is an incredible thing. What does he offer to the process? In addition to his legal expertise, he's a handy reminder of the Clintons, and Trump is always interested in reminding Americans of the Clintons.

As independent counsel more than two decades ago, Starr published the investigative report that bears his name and went into great detail about Bill Clinton's extramarital affair, contributing to an intense partisan standoff that paved the way for today's state of affairs. On Monday he stood before the Senate and warned about a "grave disruption of government," and pleaded that all future impeachments must be bipartisan. It was a bizarre trip into an alternate reality where the 1990s never happened. Read here for our refresher on what happened back then. 

One past impeachment witness speaks up

Another person hoping to re-cast the view of 1990s history is Monica Lewinsky, the former White House intern who had an affair with the President but was entrapped by Starr and then called to testify at Clinton's impeachment, back when Republicans wanted to hear witnesses at impeachment trials and Democrats did not.

Lewinsky today has access to Twitter, which did not exist back then. She's tweeted a pointed request to keep her out of the current proceeding (I've deleted her expletive here): "A gentle reminder for ways other than using my name re 1998. let’s not frame it by the woman + youngest, least powerful person involved: The Starr Investigation The 1998 Impeachment The Scandal of 1998 The Clinton Impeachment That Crazy, F####ed Up 1998"

Trial schedule

The Senate impeachment trial continues Tuesday at 1 pm ET.
 

Guidance for the rest of the week from CNN's Ted Barrett:
Trump’s legal team is expected to continue its opening argument although a White House official working with the defense lawyers would not provide guidance on what they will say. It’s the third and final day of their presentation.  The White House official wouldn’t say how long their arguments will take but the team is not expected to use all 24 hours that were allotted to them.

After the defense ends its opening arguments, there will be up to 16 hours of questions by senators, submitted in writing to Chief Justice John Roberts, and then read aloud to the House managers and defense team. This will likely take two days but the exact schedule is not set yet, and some of the time could be yielded back.

Next, there will be four hours of debate, equally divided between the two sides, to argue on the question of whether to “subpoena witnesses or documents.” The trial organizing resolution says these arguments will be “followed by deliberation of the Senate, if so ordered under the impeachment rules.” Senators and aides are a bit blurry as to exactly how or if these deliberations might take place, since senators aren’t allowed to speak on the floor during the trial.

The big vote on whether to compel witnesses and documents likely will occur Friday or Saturday, Sen. John Thune predicted. A vote on the articles would happen sometime after that.

Reminder: The Iowa caucuses are on February 3. "

~~~~

  

Senate Impeachment "Trial" A Disturbing And Shameful Joke - Local stats: TIJ in 2019 Total= 2,185 - Baja California in 2019 Total=2,845 - Nationwide 2019 Total Highest Ever 34,582 Homicides/Exections - January 2020 we Are Up To In TIJ 124 executions - 2019 Ensenada Over The Top - - Javier Sicilia's March Coming Up.....

I am emotionally distraught over the Senate Impeachment "Trial" - so much so I almost could not bear to turn it on this morning.  I said almost. Mike is furious, more blunt; he said, "..this is bullshit!"

So, you can watch it here:

Democracy Now! 


Also here - and love the George Conway comments on sidebar: 

CNN


Here's a good one:


~ From MSN - Law & Crime:

 Impeachment Manager: Trump Just Confessed To Obstructing Congress
by, Jerry Lamb

Will return with the situation here, which is not good and begs the question, has the drug war become normalized at least in Baja California ? Kind of feels that way.

 P.S.  Blogs are appearing completely jumbled up and out of order on Google, appearing under fake sites, etc...ha ! Just like the old days.

~~~~~

I was able to pull up a few reports on the social violence here and nationwide in an attempt to make sense of the mess, but I really recommend  you keep in touch with the Mexican news sources like Zeta and Proceso, Animal Politico and Riodoce. The Guardian also has fabulous coverage, as well as Justice In Mexico.


Fifteen years ago, most of us who lived here and were paying attention to the drug war developments were in a state of unrest which some have described as a social-psychosis caused by the unfolding and constant drug violence surrounding us, which then was such a shocking aberration.. We're no longer traveling in caravans to go to the Playas or Ensenada, it doesn't seem that most people are holding on to their steering wheel so tightly making deep finger impressions in the hard plastic with eyes darting around to survey conditions or even following the directives and warnings from local authorities. In these recent times, there really haven't been any warnings from local authorities such as leaving at least two car spaces in between you and the guy in front of you in case of a shoot out so that you give yourself room to escape.


I'm finding that most of the Mexican Nationals I speak with- and this is north of Ensenada; I have no idea what folks are saying down in Ensenada - simply don't talk about the violence; but this time I haven't yet decided whether that is due to the overwhelming nature of the violence, fearfulness or the fact they have grown used to it. Overall I have noticed the jitteriness which was so obvious in the earlier years is non apparent. Of course, gringos are nervous over if or not they can sell their houses and leave.


The drug war violence is old news and doesn't seem to make the headlines in the States as it did several years ago except in select hideous massacre cases involving US citizens.  What impacts should we expect from non coverage ?

From Zeta, November 2019:

En 11 Meses 53 Masacres en Mexico


From Zeta , 01/16/20:

Agreden a Militares en Tamaulipus; 11 Civiles Muertos




~~~~~



Let's take a look at the local stats:

 ~  The month of December in Tijuana closed with 148 executions, bringing the YTD Tijuana total to 2,185 people killed.  This number  is actually 323 executions less than the YTD 2018 Tijuana total.
Baja California overall stands at 2,845 people executed in 2019.


From Zeta:

Suman 2 Mil 185 Homicidios en Tijuana al Cierre de 2019


~~~~~


 ~ In the beginning of this month, Zeta reported that there have been no positive results fighting the violence in Ensenada - 275 executions in 2019, not counting the human remains of the disappeared dozens of bodies and body parts located from Sauzal all the way down south, plus hundreds more missing; femicides on the rise, law enforcement infrastructure is weak, or even completely non-existent in the hundreds of cases of missing people, threats, extortions and kidnappings are on the rise, higher ups of Law Enforcement are pointing the finger at the Sinaloa Cartel who is fighting to retain control of the trafficking routes and the plaza - so not just the narcomenudo just like Leyzaola said.  A powerful report:

From Zeta:

Sin Resultas en Combate a la Violencia en Ensenada
Por Lorena Lamas


~~~~~

 ~ A summary of the Nationwide violence:

From Zeta:

  2019, Ano Mas violento de la Historia Reciente: 34 Mil 582 Homicidios
Por, Carlos Alvarez 


During 2019, 34 thousand 582 malicious homicides were registered, so the first year of Andrés Manuel López Obrador's government was the most violent in the recent history of Mexico, according to figures published Monday by the Executive Secretariat of the National Security System Public (SESNSP).

 The previous figure represents an increase of 2.48 percent with respect to the homicides that were committed in 2018, year in which 33 thousand 743 were registered. In addition, the Executive Secretariat, under the Ministry of the Interior (Segob), reported that there were records of 1,006 femicides committed during the past year.

 Also, during the past five years, murders have grown 93 percent, while femicides increased 136 percent and kidnappings rose 23 percent.

 Since 2015, when the new SESNSP methodology was implemented to date, malicious homicides have increased by 93 percent.

 In that year, 17,886 victims were reported. While in 2016, 22,554 were counted; for 2017, 28,871 were registered; and for 2018 there were 33,743.

 On the other hand, during 2015, 426 victims of femicide were reported; for 2016 it was 642; already in 2017 765 were counted; while in 2018 912 were registered.

 On the other hand, kidnappings also increased, since in 2019, 1,614 victims were counted, a figure higher than 1,559 in 2018.


 In 2017, 1,390 were reported; in 2016 there were 1,381 and in 2015 there were a record 311 victims."


~~~~~

What's Happening With The Violence? I'll be back with last month's report from Riodoce via Zeta of Luis Astorga who offers his perspective on the "non-security" measures in Mexico.  Most importantly tomorrow Javier Sicilia's march from Cuernavaca to Mexico City begins to support the victims of the violence and a call to end the violence.  It's safe to say that Javier is on AMLO's shit list right now and has been for months.

This should hold you over.

Have to run up to states tomorrow.

Meanwhile....

 

Drug War & Violence in Baja California Superseded By Iran Crisis - Ed Vulliamy's Report on Julian Leyzaola

It's not that I am not keeping tract of the drug war & violence  in Tijuana and Baja California, I am and it has never stopped.  We are to put it mildly, consumed with the Iran Crisis and Trump's repulsive lies one right after the other and his beyond disturbing behavior as is most of the world.

There have been so many terrific responses to Trump's self indulgent and perverted rigging of the Senate Impeachment "Trial" (what "Trial"  - ain't no fuckin witnesses !) and his murderous escapade in Iran which has shaken the entire Middle East  and the world  - well except for Boris Johnson who is an asshole -  but here's one which is notable for present and prescient USA characteristics:



 ~ From Truthdig:

America Could Look Like Hungary if Trump Is Re-Elected
by, Thom Hartman


"Now that we’ve entered an election year, there is a lot of speculation about what America could look like if Donald Trump gets another term, by hook or by crook. As Trump uses a crisis he created in the Middle East to distract us from impeachment, increases his chances of reelection, and boosts the fortunes of his buddies in the Military-Industrial Complex, it’s important to understand how other demagogic leaders consolidate their power.


Steve Bannon has said that Hungary’s strongman prime minister Viktor Orbán was “Trump before Trump.”


In August of 1989, my best friend Jerry Schneiderman and I spent the better part of a week sitting in outdoor cafes on the Buda side of the Danube River, eating extraordinary (and cheap!) food, staying in a grand old hotel, and generally exploring Budapest.


Two months earlier, there had been massive pro-democracy demonstrations involving hundreds of thousands of people, demanding that the Soviet Union let Hungary go. The summer we were there, over a quarter-million showed up in Heroes’ Square for the reinterment of the body of Imre Nagy, a hero of the ill-fated 1956 rebellion against the USSR. The final speaker was 26-year-old Viktor Orbán, a rising politician who would soon be a member of Parliament. To an explosion of enthusiastic cheers, Orbán defied the Soviets (the only speaker to overtly do so) and openly called for “the swift withdrawal of Russian troops.”


Nine months later, in March of 1990, Hungary held its first real elections since 1945; in 1999, it joined NATO; and in 2004, it became a member of the European Union.



For 20 years, Hungary was a functioning democracy; today, it’s a corrupt oligarchy.


In nine short years since he was elected in 2010, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, now fabulously wealthy by Hungarian standards and an oligarch himself, succeeded in transforming his nation’s government from a functioning European democracy into an autocratic and oligarchic regime of single-party rule.


Orbán took over the Fidesz Party, once a conventional “conservative” political party, with the theme of restoring “Christian” purity and making “Hungary great again.” His rallies regularly draw tens of thousands.


 He campaigned on building a wall across the entirety of Hungary’s southern border, a promise he has largely kept.


He altered the nation’s Constitution to do what we’d call gerrymandering and voter suppression, ensuring that his party, Fidesz, would win more than two-thirds of the votes in pretty much every federal election well into the future.


He’s now packed the courts so thoroughly that legal challenges against him and his party go nowhere.


His party has rewritten grade school textbooks to say that refugees entering the country are a threat because “it can be problematic for different cultures to coexist.” Using this logic, he has locked up refugee children in cages.


When the Hungarian Helsinki Committee said “the indefinite detention of many vulnerable migrants, including families with small children, is cruel and inhuman,” Orbán said the influx of Syrian refugees seeking asylum “poses a security risk and endangers the continent’s Christian culture and identity.” He added, “Immigration brings increased crime, especially crimes against women, and lets in the virus of terrorism.”


Five years and one week before American Nazis rallied in Charlottesville and murdered Heather Heyer, a group of some 700 right-wing “patriots” held a torchlight parade that ended in front of the homes of Hungary’s largest minority group, chanting “We will set your homes on fire!” Orbán’s police watched without intervening. In 2013, Zsolt Bayer, one of the founders of Orbán’s party, had called the Roma “animals… unfit to live among people.” Orbán refused to condemn him or the anti-Roma violence.


Orbán has handed government contracts to his favored few, elevating an entire new class of pro-Orbán businesspeople who are in the process of cementing control of the nation’s economy, as those who opposed him have lost their businesses, been forced to sell their companies, and often fled the country.


Virtually the entire nation’s press is now in the hands of oligarchs and corporations loyal to him, with talk radio and television across the country singing his praises daily. Billboards and social media proclaim his patriotism. His media allies are now reaching out to purchase media across the rest of Europe to spread his right-wing message.


Last year he began dismantling the Hungarian Science Academy, replacing or simply firing scientists who acknowledge climate change, which he has called “left-wing trickery made up by Barack Obama.”


The world, in particular the EU, has watched this nine-year political nightmare with increasing alarm, and even the EU’s 2015 and 2018 attempts to essentially impeach Orbán have backfired, increasing his two reelection margins as his handmaids in the media proclaim him a victim of a European “deep state” and meddling foreigners, particularly George Soros (who, ironically, once paid for a young Orbán to study in Britain).


While he blasts Soros and his own country’s Jewish leaders with anti-Semitic tropes, he was feted by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, who called him “a true friend of Israel.” Orbán replied, “A Hungarian patriot and a Jewish Israeli patriot will always find something in common.”


In May, the same month Rudy Giuliani said he had a former Ukrainian prosecutor willing to testify that Joe Biden was corrupt, Donald Trump invited Orbán to the White House for a state visit; Orbán has been one of Trump’s two primary sources of information about how Ukraine opposed or tried to sabotage the U.S. president.


In a rally three months before his White House meeting, Orbán said that countries that accept refugees are producing “mixed-race nations.”


Orbán is now back in Hungary, ruthlessly using his own nation’s diplomatic and criminal justice systems to aid foreign criminal oligarchs, having hired his own local versions of Bill Barr and Mike Pompeo.


Before you say, “It can’t happen here,” you may want to make a trip to Budapest."


~~~~~~

The Links:

Democracy Now! 


Democracy Now|Iran  

***


Informed Comment

(Note 01/15 report on million person march)

***

The Intercept 

The Intercept|Targeting Iran  

***

 Counterpunch 

***

 Truthdig

***

Common Dreams 

***

Truth Out 

***

Courtesy The Guardian

 ~ I promised this report a few blogs back and never delivered due to Holiday chaos.  Personally, since I  am a foreigner and live here (even though we are "permanente") I'm not allowed to comment on Ed Vulliamy's focus, Julian Leyzaola.  However, one of my neighbors who is a Mexican National did comment and he said, " ...Leyzaola is a social pariah for the simple reason that he knows too much, he knows who all is involved or connected to the drug business."  He was speaking about government & business models.


 ~ From The Guardian:


The Man Who Took Bullets Waging War On Mexico's Cartels Is Now Taking On Politics 
By, Ed Vulliamy


~~~~~

Going to make some banana bread, later everyone. 

 Still, Julian Leyzaola has always reminded me of Paladin.






 He reminds many people of Marshal Will Kane who believed that " running away does not solve the problem" and like Leyzaola, was abandoned by his close friends.

 Both are strong characters who bear a steadfast sense of decency and fortitude, a rarity these days.


~~~~~ ~~~~~

Edit 01/16:

Not to bore you with even more character analogies, but late last night Mike reminded me that there are many realists who compare Leyzaola to  Alonso Quixano (aka Don Quixote).  But, to win either battle, to eliminate organized crime through a militarized drug war or to fight for the legalization of all drugs with the creation of rehab treatment and education facilities on both sides of the Border seems to me impossible dreams.

Sort of like the Impeachment "Trial" happening now in the US Senate...anyways,  Gary Cooper was sure outasight, wow. And, maybe we should be handing this over to Saint Jude (the Patron Saint of Hopeless Causes) for help, it has been known to work.

" ...and the world will be better for this,
that one man scorned and covered with scars
still strove with his last ounce of courage,
to fight the unbeatable foe,
to reach the unreachable star."


~~~~~

  end edit.