After listening to the first several hours of the impeachment inquiry public hearings, I continue to believe the Democrats’ choice to focus on the quid pro quo bribery of Ukraine is too limited and too easily attacked by current Republican congresspeople. Even arguments that what Trump wanted never came to pass does not mean it was not wrong to attempt it. And it also sidesteps the use of back channel foreign policy and corruption in our own government (witness Paul Manafort sitting in jail right now for his machinations in Ukraine.)

There are so many OTHER high crimes and misdemeanors, I wonder how the supporters of President Trump could refute them all. I’ve taken the list below from https://impeachdonaldtrumpnow.org/case-for-impeachment/

“From the moment he took office Donald Trump’s refusal to divest from his business interests has placed him in direct violation of the US Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause and Domestic Emoluments Clause. Since then, his corruption and abuse of power have only increased.”

1. Obstruction of justice; (documented the Mueller investigation/report)
2. Violations of the Foreign Emoluments Clause and Domestic Emoluments Clause of the United States Constitution; (Among other things: Trump hotel stays, including such domestic instances as use of Trump properties way out of the way of VP Pence’s visit to Scotland; Ivanka’s advantages for her business interests in China)
3. Conspiring with others to: (a) commit crimes against the United States involving the solicitation and intended receipt by the Donald J. Trump campaign of things of value from a foreign government and other foreign nationals; and (b) conceal those violations;
4. Advocating illegal violence, giving aid and comfort to white supremacists and neo-Nazis, and undermining constitutional protections of equal protection under the law;
5. Abusing the pardon power; (one example: Sheriff Joe Arpaio)
6. Recklessly threatening nuclear war against foreign nations, undermining and subverting the essential diplomatic functions and authority of federal agencies, including the United States Department of State, and engaging in other conduct that grossly and wantonly endangers the peace and security of the United States, its people and people of other nations;
7. Directing or endeavoring to direct law enforcement, including the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to investigate and prosecute political adversaries and others, for improper purposes not justified by any lawful function of his office, thereby eroding the rule of law, undermining the independence of law enforcement from politics, and compromising the constitutional right to due process of law;
8. Undermining the freedom of the press;
9. Cruelly and unconstitutionally imprisoning children and their families; and
10. Making and directing illegal payments to influence the 2016 election.

These articles of impeachment don’t include all the allegations of rape and sexual assault by this president, even when he admitted he had a right to “grab them by the pussy.” See this running list of Trump’s accusers.

Nor do these articles include his documented 13,400 false or misleading statements over 928 days.

I’m still listening to the testimony, and it takes a lot of stomach to handle the voice tone and lack of dignity of the Trump defenders compared to the dignity of the witnesses. If these hearings don’t succeed in removing or fatally damaging Trump’s 2020 campaign or to convince the American people that our democracy is in danger, I believe it will be because of Nancy Pelosi’s caution. I know there are reasons, but just like the catastrophe of climate change, huge problems need huge remedies.

In conclusion, I’ll commend KPFA radio (94.1 FM) for its commitment to broadcasting the hearings in their entirety on Pacifica Network stations throughout the county. I urge considering a donation to this listener-sponsored 70-year-old station.

To distract from the glorification of gunshots, bombs and explosions that brought crowds to my South Park neighborhood (yes, I could view Sonoma County Fairgrounds 4th of July fireworks from my front porch), I watched the film Capernaum, which was on my list as a Golden Globe and Oscar nominee.

The Lebanese director Nadine Labaki made history for being the first female Arab director to win the Jury Prize at Cannes. The premiere screening of Capernaum during the film festival received a 15-minute standing ovation and when it was over I wanted to applaud as well. “Now that was art!” I said aloud.

The film featured first-time actor Zain al-Rafeea, a 14-year-old Syrian refugee (he looks much younger but his resourcefulness proves beyond his years) whose family was displaced from Syria in 2012. Labaki’s husband, Khaled Mouzanar, produced and composed the film. The haunting musical score, remarkably uncontrived feel, and brilliant performances by the entire cast had me mesmerized.

(Read this interview with the director to learn more about the making of this narrative and the current life situation of its wonderful young star.)

The director noted that her child actors could not memorize lines. She just asked them to be who they are. She explained, “Usually the actor is at the service of the text. In this case, we were at their service. We had to be observant. There were takes that lasted hours and hours.”

What touched me most was how the film managed to incorporate the situation of migrants and refugees common the world over, but made it very real and specific. The universal story applies to children on the Mexican border, in the favelas in Brazil, in the entire middle east. “We’re talking about kids not receiving their most fundamental rights,” Labaki said.

When an interviewer noted, “Some critics may see the film as ‘poverty porn’,” the director replied, “Get real. Get out of your cafe where you’re writing your critique and go out into the world and see what’s happening around you. What you see in the film is nothing compared to reality. Children are suffering unbearably. I didn’t put rape scenes in the film, I didn’t put real abuse in the film — because I couldn’t.”

For that much, I am grateful.

See this film however you can, Netflix, Amazon Prime… Here are links to reviews in the New York Times and Al Jazeera.

A corollary film review: the 2016 documentary Fire at Sea features a physician on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa who treats rescued African refugees after their overloaded boats land at this way station enroute to Europe.  With beautiful cinematography and searing images, this film introduced me to the use of mylar blankets. The DVD extras interview with the compassionate doctor answers many of the objections of those who would refuse these refugees entrance.

My main references in this post are from radio interviews today, March 25, 2019, with John Nichols of The Nation, Ruth Coniff editor at large of The Progressive, and Jeff Cohen, journalism professor, founder of FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting) broadcast on the KPFA program Letters and Politics with Mitch Jeserich.

I agree with those journalists who say that the Democratic Party establishment’s strategy of “Waiting for Mueller” —like Samuel Beckett’s theater of the absurd characters Estragon and Vladimir—is bankrupt. Outside the narrow scope of Robert Mueller’s 2-year investigation, is a very long list of abuses by Donald Trump, in plain sight, documented, and proudly asserted by the so-called president himself. Just because the Republican-dominated Senate would not convict their corrupt, lying standard-bearer, does not mean that articles of impeachment should not be brought.

It would bring media attention back from the obsessive cable coverage of “Russiagate” to an ever-growing list of impeachable offenses and damage to our constitutional democracy. Below are the articles of Impeachment from RootsAction.org with links to an explanation of each. This information should be put before the American public night after night. It might help balance the flock of tweets emanating from the Oval Office or presidential bedroom each night.  (FAIR noted 5000% more airtime coverage on MSNBC regarding the Mueller investigation than on the U.S. complicity in the war on Yemen and humanitarian crisis there.)

Trump Articles of Impeachment
Violation of Constitution on Domestic Emoluments
Violation of Constitution on Foreign Emoluments
Incitement of Violence
Interference With Voting Rights
Discrimination Based On Religion
Illegal War
Illegal Threat of Nuclear War
Abuse of Pardon Power
Obstruction of Justice
Politicizing Prosecutions
Collusion Against the United States with a Foreign Government
Failure to Reasonably Prepare for or Respond to Hurricanes Harvey and Maria
Separating Children and Infants from Families
Illegally Attempting to Influence an Election
Tax Fraud and Public Misrepresentation
Assaulting Freedom of the Press
Supporting a Coup in Venezuela
Unconstitutional Declaration of Emergency

Both Pence and Trump lied today in their statements saying Trump was “completely exonerated” while even the 4-page summary noted that Mueller took no stand on the obstruction of justice charge against the president. Bernie is demanding release of “the whole damn report” instead of a cursory summary of two years of work by an Attorney General who had exhibited bias about it long before he was confirmed. What information might be there to add to congressional oversight hearings?

As noted by Common Cause president Karen Hobert Flynn:

“The [Mueller] investigation has already led to 199 criminal charges, 37 indictments or guilty pleas, and five prison sentences. Numerous additional investigations of possible criminal conduct uncovered by the Special Counsel have been spun off to other prosecutors. The string of crimes that have already been unearthed and made public is staggering and unprecedented in our nation’s history.”

Yes, sister. You got that right.

Below are links from a blog post on Amazon’s headquarters deal with New York that I never completed. Check them for background to the article I’m pointing out today from The Nation titled “New York Fights – and Amazon Flees.” Yes, the company with $11 billion in 2018 profits that has paid no income tax for the past two years and is, in fact, getting a $120 million Federal tax rebate, has picked up its marbles and gone elsewhere.

There are economic diversity issues for New York to consider, as the article points out at the end, but things could be done that would benefit the city more than Bezos and his helipad. Good work, citizens!

Here is the Press Democrat editorial that incited me to write about Amazon last Fall.

“Amazon and Bezos plays taxpayers and cities for suckers”

Also check out Richard Wolff ‘s “Economic Update” on the Amazon sweet deal from November 30, 2018.

WordPress has changed, so this is not exactly how I wanted my first post of 2019 to be, but I don’t have time for the tutorial now. Stay tuned as the old dog tries to learn new tricks.

[10:15 – 2:15; 4:30 – 8]
A newspaper article on theories of why we sleep suggests humans need sleep to repair neural damage, and to assist in the process of integration we call learning. The research also showed that animals get less sleep when migrating, mothering, and hunting when food is scarce. In other words, sleep cycles respond to the demands of the organism within its environment. A baby growing and developing needs more sleep than a person who is mature. A human who is in the process of valuable work might not need as much shut-eye, in fact may be too excited to sleep.

While my ex-husband used to say “a good night’s sleep is a meal in itself,” sometimes I think that insomnia is a form of time management. I stay awake when there is creative work to be done or when my inner artist needs some input, like that enjoyable bedtime reading or excellent film that helps me dream better afterward.

Just before dawn, I finished Rose Tremain’s stunning novel, The Colour. The title refers to discovered gold, and the story takes place during the New Zealand gold rush in the latter half of the 19^th century.

Watching Joseph’s shirts billowing in the wind…she felt no tenderness towards any clothes of his. Love, she thought, can be measured by what we feel for items of laundry.

That passage helped me remember a crush I had on a man whom I admired, who perhaps I wanted to be, because of his athletic grace, his charisma and ability to inspire students to excel beyond what they thought they were capable of. He hired me to clean his house, which I did only once, because picking up his biking shorts from the bedroom floor and running my fingers over the fabric filled me with a terrible longing.

[11:30 – 6:30 Yay!]
Now that I’m retired from a full-time j-o-b, irregular sleep is not so devastating to my health. I can nap, I can go back to bed early in the morning and sleep until 9. (Advantage of having a bedroom located opposite the sunrise). I appreciate the absolute quiet of those hours when only the graffiti artists are out. The neighborhood’s army of dogs is not barking (unlike now, when the Chihuahuas across the street are going nuts); the white noise of highways 12 and 101 is calmed; even the birds are asleep, at least until 4:30 when the true tweeting begins. I occasionally hear the neighbor’s cat clattering over the wooden gate to my outdoor shower—this I know from finding its long white hairs caught in the jagged tops of the irregular boards and the claw scratches halfway up. But otherwise, it’s pin-drop quiet.

On full moon nights, the silver light comes directly through the south-facing window at the head of my bed, and I have often given myself to moon-bathing. I open the blinds, or even raise them completely, and feel the beams on my face and body. If I’m open to it, this lunar energy feeds my right brain, just as tropical sunshine nourishes my left.

A month ago, my doctor ordered an Adrenocortex Stress Profile, for which I collected my saliva into a test tube every 4 hours for one day. This hormonal diagnostic “gives insight into the natural circadian diurnal cortisol rhythm, and helps clinicians address specific daily stressors.” If the results show abnormal spikes in cortisol (a chronic stress hormone) especially during the night, I could use a supplement called Cortisol Manager that will normalize the hormonal pattern over time and help me get a few more hours of sleep.

In the meantime, I’ve promised myself to continue to roll with the changes that come with age, and take advantage of the creative inspiration that may be found in those silent nights.

[Jet lag, Italy, 1997]

SLEEPLESS IN TUSCANY

I wish I were talking all night
with someone who wanted to know me

the way olive trees know the wind
or marble steps know the shuffle of pilgrims.

I would spread my lush table, course after course
and by some holy miracle, he would never say

stop, enough.

(to be continued)