Does Trump Deserve Impeachment?

ARTICLE I, SECTION 9, CLAUSE 8 of the United States Constitution says

“No Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”  

This has always been held to apply to the President of the United States. It means that the President cannot accept any money, or other things of value, from a foreign power. That means if the President is found to be profiting off foreign relationships, he is in violation of this clause in the Constitution of the United States, and is guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors deserving to be impeached.

If it can be shown that Donald Trump is profiting from foreign sources, he is guilty of violation of the US Constitution and deserves and should be impeached. He cannot be allowed to flout the Constitution for his own personal monetary profit. On March 8, 2017, the Chinese Communist government granted Trump 38 trademarks for China, including one for an escort service. This is how he makes a lot of his money, licensing his name. After constantly, throughout his presidential campaign declaring China a currency manipulator, and after getting these trademarks, and a visit by the Chinese president, Trump now declares that China is not a currency manipulator. His daughter, Ivanka, had a few trademarks thrown in for herself after dining with the Chinese president during the visit.

Call me old fashioned, but I resent the high office of the Presidency of the United States being reduced to a business deal like this, and I believe it to be illegal and worthy of impeachment under the emoluments clause of the United States Constitution.

Healthcare "Debate" 2017 March

You have no idea how much this healthcare "debate" is bothering me. It's probably because I've had some experience over the last ten years with my own healthcare.

I will admit, I did not think much about my healthcare over the first five decades of my life, beyond trying to live a healthy lifestyle, watching what I ate, taking vitamins and supplements, and getting some exercise. Thank God, I was pretty healthy. What I didn't have was health insurance to take care when anything went wrong.

The big problem came in 2008, when I was diagnosed with colon cancer and had to face it without insurance. I didn't have it because I couldn't afford the crummy insurance my company was offering me, but truth be known, their policy wouldn't have paid for it anyway. Thank God, I came through it, and became a cancer survivor. However, the financial burden I incurred has seriously affected my life over the nine years since.

Between 2008 and now, I have been uninsured, had crummy company insurance, had Obamacare, had Obamacare-comparable company insurance, and have finally made it to Medicare, the very best of all. My crummy company insurance wouldn't pay for my cancer checkups at Perlman. or vein work in my legs giving me a good chance of a clot forming and travelling to my heart. Obamacare paid the hospital portion of my colonoscopy with no copay, but my doctor wasn't part of the network, and I'm still paying him off. Going back to company insurance because they had good dental insurance rolled into it, they were not going to pick up a CT scan I needed to get, deductible, you know, and I was on the hook for over $3500 out of pocket. I don't have that kind of money. I make less than $20,000 a year. (At this point, I would like to say that over the last nine years, I payed thousands of dollars on my health care bills. A significant portion of my year income.)

I finally made it to Medicare, and I am needing it. I have been diagnosed with cancer again, and need to have surgery again to root it out. My portion will be a reasonable and manageable part of my income. This is what healthcare should be in America, and why I advocate Medicare For All.

Il Douche and Jim Acosta, 01.11.17

I saw PEOTUS's news conference Wednesday, and was appalled by the arrogant jerk's utter disrespect for the CNN reporter. He was annoyed about the CNN Network's reporting and took his wrath out on the reporter, as if he were the one responsible. Then he accused the reporter nof being rude. No he was rude! What a boorish, classless, and utterly vulgar display of prideful arrogance! He is NOT emperor or king that all others are to kneel and bow down and do obeisance, he is merely the President of the United States (by some fluke of our Constitution, at that). He is our representative and public servant, not our ruler or master. He is a man like you or me. He is not better, nor above us. We give our respect until he loses it. He has with me.

Then, even more horrifying was, the rest of the reporters went on like nothing had happened! They got totally cowed by him making an example of Jim Acosta. As a body they should have stood up and said, No, you don't get to treat us like that, and walked out, and reported just what happened to the American people. They are the fourth estate, but it looks like like they're lapdogs of the first. (h/t Driftglass and Blue Gal)