The Siegfried Line

Germans were in a panic in 1944.

In the book, Siegfried, The Nazis' Last Stand, Hitler is quoted as telling Colonel-General Guderlan in January of 1944:

"Believe me, General. I am the greatest builder of fortifications of all time. I built the West Wall."

How Trump's hold on military aid to Ukraine helped the Russians?

There were plans in the works for the new president, Zelensky, to meet with Putin and Russian representatives about finding a resolution to the war in eastern Ukraine and the Donbass region.

By withholding military aid to Ukraine, Trump strengthened the hand of the Russians. Without the aid, the Ukrainians were weakened and had a much weaker hand with which to negotiate with the Russians. It emboldened and strengthened the Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine.

Trump signaled to the Ukraine people that America was not standing behind them in their war with the Russian rebels. It was a heavy blow for the new leaders and the new democracy.

Some argued that the delay in assistance had no impact because Ukraine eventually got their military aid. They were wrong. It helped Russia and it hurt Ukraine.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

“Above all, don't lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love.”

The investigations will continue.

They will not stop with the acquittal of Donald Trump. Senators need to understand that.

The facts will continue to come out. Witnesses will continue to come forth. Secrets will continue to be exposed.

There is no sweeping it under the rug.

Six months from now, it will look much worse for Trump and the Republicans. The truth will not be denied.

This is a time for them to save themselves, and our country, from the disaster ahead. Things are not going to get better under Donald Trump. There is still time for them to organize their Party and compete in the next election.

But, don't doubt. The people are watching.

The American people will not let this stand.

Lisa Murkowski

Lisa is not happy that the House did not finish their job by going thru the Courts. And now have put it in the lap of the US Senate.

If that is true, should the Senate simply ignore it? Should they see no urgency in assisting the House in getting rid of the national security threat in the White House? Because the House did not complete its investigation to meet Lisa's, and some Republicans', expectations, it has put them in a very tough situation. That is understandable.

But, a vote for witnesses is not a vote to convict. Neither is it a vote to acquit. That is the uncomfortable position that the Republicans have been placed.

However, without witnesses, the people will not see this as a fair trial. They will not see Donald Trump as being acquitted of anything. They will see a cover-up.

The witnesses will give the trial legitimacy. Otherwise, it will be nothing but a failed whitewash.

When witnesses have testified, and documents analyzed, then the vote to acquit or convict should be taken.

But not until then.

America

The lesson for today

It is that the corruption runs so deep that not even a silver sword or the brightest light of truth can penetrate.

The lies have taken root. It is much like the days of McCarthy.

Like lemmings, they(we) see the cliff up ahead, but they(we) keep marching along.

Do they(we) really think the truth will not emerge??

Do they(we) not understand that a trial without witnesses, especially under these circumstances, would not be a legitimate trial.

It would be incomplete. It would not be a fair trial.

Can they(we) not see that?

The people will exact a price from those on the wrong side of this issue.

A vote for "No Witnesses" is a vote for complicity.

Every Senator is granted the right to vote to acquit or to convict. They have a right to their own opinions. We may not agree with their vote but they have that right.

But they do not have the "right" to vote to prohibit witnesses in a trial or to prohibit evidence in an impeachment. They have the power to do it, but they don't have the right. It is anti-constitutional and anti-American to do such a thing.

If there are no witnesses and no documents, it is not a fair trial.

If they vote to acquit or convict after listening to the relevant witnesses and seeing all the relevant documents, they will have much better standing in the eyes of the law and the American people, whether or not we agree with their decision, in my opinion.

"Everybody was in the loop"..

They have no choice.

They either all hang together or they all hang separately.

They have no response to the facts and no defense for Donald Trump.

What you see is what you get.

They are all corrupt to the core. All.

Repubs say: "Democrats want the Senate to do their job for them."

Really?

Everybody knows their job is to defend Donald Trump, not the Constitution or the institution of the Senate.

The Constitution says that the Senate has the sole power to "try" all impeachments. They have a responsibility to have a trial when the House impeaches. Their job is not to defend the Executive Branch. Their job is to defend the US Senate and our Constitution.

It is not the job of the House to "try" the charges against the President. That is the Senate's job. They should do their job and stop covering up and making excuses.