WATCH LIVE: Trump’s Second Impeachment Trial Concludes in Senate | Day 5

by Nomad

Embed from Getty Images

"Ordinary Political Rhetoric" 

On Friday, Trump's defense team took the helm and attempted to weaken the Impeachment managers' case against the former president in his second impeachment trial. 

WATCH LIVE: Trump’s Second Impeachment Trial Begins in Senate | Day 1

by Nomad

Today we will witness history when members of the Senate take on the role of both jurors and witnesses in the unprecedented second impeachment of ex-president Donald J. Trump.

The Week in Review (Sept.24- 30) and a Musical Sanity Break

by Nomad

Calling this an "incredible" or a "historical" week just doesn't do justice to the political roller-coaster ride that Nomads endured in the last seven days. I am sure that most of you feel a more than a little "shell-shocked" by the events. 
So, here, in all its glory, is a record of the events as they unfolded. 

Gates of War: Donald Trump and the Temple of Janus

by Nomad

Keeping the decision to go to war out of the hands of a single person has long been considered a prudent policy, dating back to ancient times. History has plenty of examples of what can go wrong when this restraint on executive power is ignored.
And that's exactly what Congress is doing with Trump.

The Sacred Gates of War

In Roman mythology, the god Janus was always connected to the ideas of beginnings, of gates, transitions, but also conclusions and endings. This duality is usually the reason Janus is depicted as having two faces, with one face looking to the future and the other to the past.

The Temple of Janus in Rome had a sacred custom of opening its great double-doors during times of war and closing them again in victorious peace. Not too surprisingly, the gates of war were rarely closed. There were always wars being waged somewhere, first to expand and later defend the conquered lands.

The Moment When Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans Attempted to Silence the Opposition

 by Nomad

This week saw an ominous moment in Congressional history. That was the moment when a female US Senator was told shut up and sit down by her male colleagues.

Massachusetts Democrat Sen. Elizabeth Warren had been attempting to read a 30-year old letter by Coretta Scott King of Jeff Sessions for a federal judgeship. By reading the letter into the Congressional record on the Senate floor, Warren had planned to King letter as evidence of Session's unfitness to serve as Donald Trump Attorney General.

However, Majority Leader of the Senate Mitch McConnell cited Senate Rule XIX - an obscure 115-year-old rule to aimed at keeping Senators from fistfighting. The rule states that Senators are prohibited from impugning another senator.
McConnell said

“She was warned. She was given an explanation Nevertheless, she persisted.”

Warren was then ordered to be silent for the remainder of the debate. In a CNN interview, Senator Warren later said

"I literally can't be recognized on the floor of the Senate. I have become a nonperson during the discussion of Jeff Sessions."

And she added:

"They can shut me up, but they can't change the truth." 

Here's Why Mitch McConnell's Blanket Rejection of all SCOTUS Nominees is such a Dangerous Gamble

by Nomad

The decision by Senate Majority Leader McConnell to block each and every nominee submitted by President Obama could be a very dangerous misjudgment with devastating consequences in November. 

Leader of the Majority in the Senate Mitch McConnell's announcement to stall any SCOTUS candidate President Obama put forward came hours after the news of Justice Scalia's death. McConnell claimed that the matter could not too important to be decided in an election year.

Under McConnell's order, anybody nominated by President Barack will not succeed Justice Antonin Scalia. The confirmation process will be stalled until nearly a year from now after a new president is sworn in. As reported by USAToday, Mcconnell said:

"The American people‎ should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new President." 

Democrats pointed out that the American people already had a voice in the selection. It was called the Senate. Their representatives in Congress- democratically-elected- have been designated by the Constitution to act as a Vox populi. Surely McConnell knows his own job description.

Recess Appointments and Partisan Obstructionism: Two Sides of the Same Coin

by Nomad

This week the Supreme Court is reviewing a lower court's decision which declared unconstitutional President Obama's use of recess appointments.

The ramifications of a Supreme Court decision upholding the lower decision could be disastrous for Obama. Why? Should the Senate fall into the hands of the obstructionist Republicans, Obama's chances of getting any nominations may be impossible. How the justices decide in this case could play a crucial factor not only in the remainder of this administration but in future presidencies.

Recess Appointments

Like a lot of cases before the Supreme Court, the actual importance and impact are buried beneath mounds of mundane details. Such is the case of the constitutionality of recess appointments. For instance, strictly speaking, the case is straightforward. It revolves around the president's ability to make appointments while the Senate is at recess. What are the limits to this presidential power according to the constitution? 

There is no reason question whether the US constitution gives Presidents the right to fill a vacant position if the Senate is in recess. Wikipedia describes recess appointments this way:

The U.S. Constitution requires that the most senior federal officers must be confirmed by the Senate before assuming office, but while the Senate is in recess the President may act alone by making a recess appointment to fill "Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate."   

In a happier world in which all of the branches of government work together and make nice to one another, this could be seen as merely a way to smooth the confirmation process along. But of course, that's not the world in which we live and Washington has never a happy place for long.