There is a lack of reality in the Borgist Resistance

" ... enemies are defined very precisely under American treason law. An enemy is a nation or an organization with which the United States is in a declared or open war . Nations with whom we are formally at peace, such as Russia, are not enemies. (Indeed, a treason prosecution naming Russia as an enemy would be tantamount to a declaration of war.) Russia is a strategic adversary whose interests are frequently at odds with those of the United States, but for purposes of treason law it is no different than Canada or France or even the American Red Cross. The details of the alleged connections between Russia and Trump officials are therefore irrelevant to treason law.

This was true even in the 1950s, at the height of the Cold War. When Julius and Ethel Rosenberg handed over nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union, they were tried and executed for espionage, not treason. Indeed, Trump could give the U.S. nuclear codes to Vladimir Putin or bug the Oval Office with a direct line to the Kremlin and it would not be treason, as a legal matter. Of course, such conduct would violate various laws and would constitute grounds for impeachment as a “high crime and misdemeanor” — the framers fully understood that there could be cases of reprehensible disloyalty that might escape the narrow confines of the treason clause."  Washpost

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It seems to me that the Borgist Resistance is intent on removing President Trump from office and probably in this calendar year.  One must ask how they think they can do that.

- They are flirting with the idea of a charge of treason or espionage based on Trump's supposed subservience and surreptitious loyalty to Russia.  They face serious barriers to this ambition; 1.  They control neither chamber of Congress.  Controlling both is necessary to removing a president through impeachment by the House and trial in the Senate.  2.  What would be the charge?  IMO there is no plausible charge.  Thus far there is no publicly known evidence of collusion with Russian government and even if there were such evidence this professor of law does not think that would qualify as treason.  3. Common sense dictates that such collusion even of proven would not qualify as "espionage" which as a crime against the US is always about collecting information rather than covert actions. 

Since the impeachment/trial scenario is so implausible the Borgist Resistance is now contemplating the 25th Amendment to the US Constitution as a means of action against President Trump.

25th Amendment -

"Section 4. Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President."

What's the chance of this happening?  IMO 0%

And ... the Borgist Resistance seems blind to the continued loyalty of those who agree with the 9,000 people who rallied for Trump in Melbourne, Florida this week.  Does the Borgist Resistance really want to defy all those who would feel cheated by the removal of the president?  pl 

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/five-myths-about-treason/2017/02/17/8b9eb3a8-f460-11e6-a9b0-ecee7ce475fc_story.html?utm_term=.9986158b6ea2

Comments

[bks]

His unfathomable comment about Sweden at the campaign rally would seem to indicate a problem. In fact, why is he having a campaign rally at all?
http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=31195

[turcopolier]

bks

Thank you for serving as an example of the nuttiness of the Borgist Resistance. pl

[Cvillereader]

I have several family members who have never owned or shot a gun in their life, who have decided that now is the time to make the purchase, get the license, and take the necessary lessons.

All of them are affluent, in their fifties, and live in deeply blue states. They also voted for Trump.

The Resistance should carefully consider how long they will be permitted to continue their antics, without encountering a backlash from people who have a lot more invested in the future of this country than they do.

[Wrxrally]

Bks, its amazing how easily Trump can make his make his opponents dance on cue with an irrelevant comment. All he has to do is make an outlandish comment and you guys jump on it like vultures. Like the inaguration crowd sizes, EC biggest landslide since Regan, Conway's "alternative facts" etc. It drives his opponents crazy, while real policy issues are largley ignored. Trump is succesfully trolling you and you don't even realize it, you take the bait, every time. While his opponents gleefully mock some stupid thing Trump said, most Americans could not care less, they want jobs and security and are hopeful Trump will deliver. Trump is succesully isolating his opponents and making them look hysterical and childish. These are not gaffes, he did it througoht the campaign, and its still working like a charm.

[bks]

And Trump's comment wasn't nutty?

[jld]

Sorry but I can only reiterate my assessment of MOST lefties.
"hostile deranged idiots"
To me, not an American, this is the most important consequence of Trump election, discovering so many people were gone to the nutty side and how far they were.
I would never have guessed from their ordinary conversations, whatever disagreements I could have had with them.

[Thomas101st]

Trump's comment was in regard to the fact that, as the result of the Muslim invasion, Sweden has become the rape capitol of the world. Not unfathomable at all. What IS unfathomable is that the members of the Swedish government responsible for this have not been arrested, prosecuted, and executed for treason.

[Lee A. Arnold]

I think the Borg just wants rid of Bannon.

[Ken Halliwell]

bks

The problem is that DJT misconstrued what he heard on Fox News -- not to be confused with Faux News.

As to the rally, my only complaint is that tax-payer money was wasted on aviation fuel to fly POTUS, via Air Force One, to a political rally -- this has long been a pet peeve of mine.

[Valissa]

A tale of two female liberal Hillary voters and lifelong Dems and what they think now about Trump and current events.

These are the only 2 friends that I can somewhat discuss my own non-partisan political viewpoints with and who are receptive to the information I share about the true nature of our gov't and politicians and where the US is now in the larger historical context. Both are females in their late 60's. Both have long been into 'self awareness' and spirituality, which is how I connected with them originally. Both expressed much disgust about Trump during and after the election. Like the great majority of Americans, neither of them reads alternative news sources or political blogs, either through lack of interest or lack of time.

One of them has finally realized the media is not to be trusted, is avoiding news headlines, and she is a bit freaked out and very turned off by all the hysteria and the way the Democrats have been acting. This plus her increasing recognition that the Dems have become a corporate-owned war party have effected her such that she is no longer sure she is a Democrat anymore. She still doesn't like Trump, but her lips no longer curl in deep disgust when we discuss him. She is trying to take and wait and see attitude. She is a very sweet and gentle person by nature, and a massage therapist. She grew up in California in a middle class family and now lives down the street from me in a Boston suburb.

The other friend has a PhD in psychology and did a stint in the navy in the mid-late 60's so that she could afford to go to college. She grew up in a large Catholic working class family in an old Massachusetts industrial city. She lives and works in Florida now and went to the first protest at Mar-a-Lago a few weeks ago. I asked her what she was protesting since Trump has not been in office long enough to actually change anything yet. Very uncharacteristically for her, she could not articulate it very well ... she just wants Trump gone. When I asked her how she thought the protests would accomplish her goal she mentioned the protests of the 60's and how that convinced LBJ not to run for another term. Then I gently challenged that belief and asked her a couple more questions to try and make sense of her current thoughts and feelings about Trump and why she thought protesting would change anything, but it was clear her rational mind was not engaged in the conversation so I changed the topic. She is caught up in the tribal hatred of "the Other" right now. She primarily gets her news from watching CNN in the morning as she is getting ready for work and again at night as she is getting ready for bed. She says she does not have time to read any online alternative news sources, though back in the 60's protest era she avidly read the alternative newspapers and we have talked numerous times about propaganda in the media in recent years.

IMO, these two women have both been experiencing cognitive dissonance around this election, but it's pushed them in different directions. One has chosen to be part of the Resistance (and identifying even stronger as a righteous Dem) and the other has chosen peace and acceptance (is reconsidering her political affiliation, though she hasn't left the party yet).

I think these two women are probably representative of the choices millions of Democrats are making. The media is making a big deal about the Resistance because most of them are part of it, but I'm not yet convinced that membership in the Resistance is large enough to accomplish anything. I think it's being magnified by the anti-Trump MSM. Also the so-called Resistance does not seem to have any goal other than getting rid of Trump. They are angry about election results and have no positive vision of their own as to how to improve the Democratic party and pull others into their fold.

[iowa steve]

Regardless of your feelings about Trump, impeachment/removal ain't happening for the reasons stated.

If the dems want to do something constructive in opposition to Trump, they need to offer concrete policy alternatives that deliver real economic benefits to the working and middle class--Medicare for all and a minimum wage increase would be good starts. But as the election showed, the dem elite is not interested in those things. Hence, the nonstop, non-policy oriented gibberish about Russia. It's all they got.

[TV]

And the Borg (ruling class) apparently doesn't know (or care) that those yahoo flyover Trump supporters are the ones who own most of the guns.

[Hood Canal Gardner]

bks, Come on in any other circumstance, admit it, you would not be listening or reading "rally" transcripts. You must have lots of disposable time .. but maybe not.

To your Q "why is he having a campaign rally at all? For one mundane answer bts check his 2017 tax returns. I'll bet you a quarter that his accountants claim a chunk of the cost numbers as deductible business expenses..

[JJackson]

pl
1. They control neither chamber of Congress.
Don't they? While the Dems may be withering on the vine the Borg (adherents of the long standing US FP positions seem alive and well). Unless this is not the group you mean by 'The Borg'. I note Bolton has reappeared on the Flynn replacement short list. I thought - or at least hoped - we had heard the last of him.

[eakens]

Just? If you believe that then I don't know what to tell you

[Sam Peralta]

Col. Lang

The Borg Resistance live so completely in their own echo chamber that they believe their own BS. One of the downsides of the vast information trove on the internet is that every conspiracy theory have all the information for confirmation bias. No longer are people in general seeking the truth or seeking information sources with limited bias. Most align with the information and sources that confirm their own bias. The MSM is fully dedicated in propagating the Borg groupthink. It seems we are in the interregnum between the death of the MSM as an outlet of real news and the rise of the next sources. SST is at the vanguard of this next epoch of news.

Trump is unusually savvy about the use of media and communications to promote his brand. I don't think he was particularly successful as a real estate developer but he was hugely successful in building a brand. I believe the preponderance of revenues of the Trump Organization come from brand licensing deals. His rally in Florida yesterday was I believe again masterful. He is giving his supporters a feeling of being part of something larger.

The Borg is again making the same mistakes they made during the election campaign. Once again the stories are about a White House in disarray just like the stories earlier of a campaign in chaos. Trump with his fight back against the MSM is making them less relevant among large swathes of the people. The Democrats are so esconced in their DC/coastal/MSM bubble that they are making no effort to understand why they have steadily lost so many states over the past decade and becoming less and less relevant. It is quite possible that Trump will play a huge role in backing primary challenges to many GOP Borgists during the next mid-term.

[LeeG]

He needs some adulation and photo ops at Mar-a-Lago won't support the Trump brand like Air Force 1 and cheering fans.

[b]

I don't get why anyone would even think of blaming Trump (or Flynn) of any talk with the Russians.

It is his publicly declared policy to seek better relations with Russia. That of course requires communication with it. Non-public communication for starters. Trump could have easily protected Flynn with just a few words: "I ordered him to explore some possibilities with Russia." I still wonder why he did not do that. (He would have had better ways to get rid of Flynn who seemed way of his capabilities as NSA.)

The Dems are currently behaving like that McCain dude. Ranting against Trump but enabling him on all real policy issues that actually could need active opposition. Its childish theater. Who do they hope to win with such nonsense?

[David E. Solomon]

If the Democrats and Trump's other enemies proved successful in removing him, just how much would they like having a President Pence?

[Degringolade]

Whew....

Heirs of the Gracchi

https://twitter.com/repblumenauer/status/832024632203046913

[Jason]

It will be Pence and McCain leading the charge to remove Trump. Since Trump has trolled Democrats into hysterics, they will join in even though it isn't in progressive interests to remove him. I have been pushing my friends and associates hard to see the danger posed by Borg/Deep State actors and finally making headway. Strategically why not let the Republicans attempt to take him down? Why would anyone on the left prefer Pence to Trump?

[Ghostship]

"At Florida rally president refers to attack in Sweden that did not happen, possibly confusing it with Sehwan in Pakistan"
The Guardian is being charitable and suggests he might be confusing wSweden with Sehwan in Pakistan where there was a major ISIS terrorist attack on a Sufi shrine last week. I wonder who hates Sufis enough to fund such an attack.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/19/sweden-trump-cites-non-existent-terror-attack
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/16/thirty-killed-100-injured-isis-bomb-sufi-shrine-pakistan-sindh.
http://www.newstatesman.com/world-affairs/2014/11/wahhabism-isis-how-saudi-arabia-exported-main-source-global-terrorism

[Valissa]

Are Liberals Helping Trump? https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/18/opinion/sunday/are-liberals-helping-trump.html?_r=0
… for many Trump voters, even peaceful protests are unsettling. “I don’t have a problem with protesting as long as it’s peaceful, but this is destroying the country,” said Ann O’Connell, 72, a retired administrative assistant in Syracuse who voted for Mr. Trump. “I feel like we are in some kind of civil war right now. I know people don’t like to use those terms. But I think it’s scary.” Mrs. O’Connell is a registered Democrat. She voted for Bill Clinton twice. But she has drifted away from the party over what she said was a move from its middle-class economic roots toward identity politics. She remembers Mr. Clinton giving a speech about the dangers of illegal immigration. Mr. Trump was lambasted for offering some of the same ideas, she said.

“The Democratic Party has changed so much that I don’t even recognize it anymore,” she said. “These people are destroying our democracy. They are scarier to me than these Islamic terrorists. I feel absolutely disgusted with them and their antics. It strengthens people’s resolve in wanting to support President Trump. It really does.” Polling data suggest many center-right voters feel the same way.
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[Valissa]

Extreme Protest Tactics Reduce Popular Support for Social Movements https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers2.cfm?abstract_id=2911177
Abstract
Social movements are critical agents of change that vary greatly in both tactics and popular support. Prior work shows that extreme protest tactics – actions that are highly counter-normative, disruptive, or harmful to others, including inflammatory rhetoric, blocking traffic, and damaging property – are effective for gaining publicity. However, we find across three experiments that extreme protest tactics decreased popular support for a given cause because they reduced feelings of identification with the movement. Though this effect obtained in tests of popular responses to extreme tactics used by animal rights, Black Lives Matter, and anti-Trump protests (Studies 1-3), we found that self-identified political activists were willing to use extreme tactics because they believed them to be effective for recruiting popular support (Studies 4a & 4b). The activist’s dilemma – wherein tactics that raise awareness also tend to reduce popular support – highlights a key challenge faced by social movements struggling to affect progressive change.
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[Cvillereader]

Tell that to Obama.

http://nypost.com/2017/02/18/obama-linked-activists-have-a-training-manual-for-protesting-trump/