Third Saturday Seminar 2019-2020

This Second Phase of the Impeachment enquiry, the open hearing of witnesses that have already testified in closed session has the best chance of producing the true facts out of the cloud of  the smokescreen has been thrown up to conceal and confuse the truth.  

This week there will be three strong witnesses.  I strongly encourage as many people that can watch or listen to them.  If you have a DVR, record them. And, that make our discussion better informed Saturday.  On the other hand, there are a small army of broadcast media journalists who will fill up the afternoon and evening news  programs.

Here are

 (CNN) House Intelligence  impeachment hearings will begin this Wednesday and Friday as Democrats  take their case against President Donald Trump to the public.

House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff a California Democrat, said that three witnesses will testify this week: US diplomat Bill Taylor and State Department official George Kent will appear on next Wednesday, and former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch is testifying  Friday.   I expect it will actually covered by all the major cable networks and some broadcast so check schedules and set your DVR  The first hearing of the House intelligence committee’s hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday, with the second on Friday at 11 a.m.  (Check listings to be sure. Commentaries will often be in following time slots.)

The  ABC’s of high crimes and misdemeanors…
Dems tie what U.S. founders considered ABC’s of high crimes and misdemeanors warranting impeachment to Trump/Ukraine:
               A = abuse of power (using office for personal benefit)
               B = betrayal of national security (compromising U.S. ally)
               C = corruption of U.S. elections

The country should not be in a hurry to see the process reach the final debate and passing of the articles of impeachment.  Remember that if the articles go to the Senate for trial, the House is expected to produce a team of prosecutors and if removal of the president is indicated, then at least 2/3 of the electorate must be convinced and clearly indicating this to their congressmen and senators

In Watergate, Nixon was reelected, even though he was under a cloud.  Only 18% were interested in removal.  As time went on 2/3 of the electorate made it clear to their senators that it was time to remove him.  When Nixon was made aware of this, he resigned, to be replaced by Gerald Ford, the speaker of the house, since Vice President Spiro Agnew had been found guilty of receiving bribes from when he was the executive of Baltimore County and resigned from office.

Impeached Presidents of the United States
The Troubled Presidencies of Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson
 by Tom Murse , Updated October 17, 2019
            There are only two impeached presidents in United States history, meaning only two presidents have been charged by the House of Representatives with committing “high crimes and misdemeanors.”
               Neither of the two impeached presidents, Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, were convicted by the Senate. In fact, there has never been a president removed from office using the impeachment process. 

Our tradition as a nation of laws is becoming a mockery

When the president unabashedly spreads falsehoods to justify irrational decisions and favorably regards and dictators who suppress their citizens …

As usual, our world is still in “interesting times.” We will start the session with “Current Events” led by Curt Gibby
Disclaimer: Due to the fluctuating state of our government; anything written here can be “inaccurate” by Saturday or sooner.

President Donald J. Trump will have been in office for 1,030  days by Saturday.  There are 353 days to the next General Presidential Election, 3 November 2020.   Texas holds its Primary Elections on Super Tuesday, 3 March 2020 in 108 days.  First day of early voting in the Primary is 18 February 2020 (94 days)

For those who like to read ahead:

The following listing of “Current Events” usually includes just the top paragraphs from the sources.  This hopefully will get your attention and you will continue deeper by clicking the URL/Internet link (text in blue) to get more of the context.   /Curt Gibby/

Divided Supreme Court leans toward allowing Trump to end DACA
By John Kruzel – 11/12/19 12:53 PM EST
            The Supreme Court on Tuesday was sharply divided over President Trump‘s move to end Obama-era protections for immigrants who arrived in the U.S. illegally as children, as the justices heard oral arguments in one of the most closely watched cases of the term.
            Members of the court’s conservative wing appeared wary of allowing the court to review the administration’s decision to begin phasing out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which grants deferral from deportation to nearly 700,000 young adult immigrants without legal status.
And questions from conservative justices during oral arguments suggested they appeared to think the administration had supplied legally sound reasons

Nikki Haley defends Trump’s Ukraine call in heated ‘Today’ interview
By Yaron Steinbuch November 12, 2019 | 11:07am
Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley stuck to her guns during a heated interview on the “Today” show Tuesday in defending President Trump’s phone call his Ukrainian counterpart.

Rex Tillerson denies Nikki Haley’s claim he tried to undermine Trump’s policies
By Bob Fredericks November 12, 2019 | 12:16pm
                  “During my service to our country as the Secretary of State, at no time did I, nor to my direct knowledge did anyone else serving along with me, take any actions to undermine the President,” Tillerson said in a statement to the Washington Post.
                  “My conversations with the President in the privacy of the Oval Office were always candid, frank, and my recommendations straightforward. Once the President made a decision, we at the State Department undertook our best efforts to implement that decision,” Tillerson said, before dissing Haley for supposedly being out of the loop.
                  “Ambassador Haley was rarely a participant in my many meetings and is not in a position to know what I may or may not have said to the President. I continue to be proud of my service as our country’s 69th Secretary of State,” Tillerson said.

Gov. Abbott Says He’ll Use 5 Acres Of State-Owned Land To Temporarily House Homeless Austinites
            Gov. Greg Abbott’s office said the state will use 5 acres of state land at U.S. Highway 183 and Montopolis Drive as a temporary campsite for homeless Austinites. The site would serve as a stopgap until a privately backed effort brings a temporary shelter online in the downtown area.
               John Wittman, the governor’s spokesman, confirmed the effort in a statement to KUT.
               “That area (780 S US Highway 793)  is the closest to downtown the State has available,” he said. “The state-provided location includes portable restrooms, hand washing stations, and comes with commitments from local charities to deliver food multiple times during the day.”

How did the Taliban come about? (From last month)
The Taliban was formed in the early 1990s by an Afghan faction of mujahedeen, Islamic fighters who had resisted the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan (1979–89) with the covert backing of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and its Pakistani counterpart, the Inter-Services Intelligence directorate (ISI).Jul 4, 2014
The Taliban in Afghanistan | Council on Foreign Relations https://www.cfr.org › backgrounder › taliban-afghanistan
Also, read “The Brzezinski Interview with Le Nouvel Observateur (1998)”

and,“Our terrorists”

We’ll talk more about it in class.

Bring your insights and your concerns to Third Saturday Seminar and we will share.

Academy for Lifelong Learning: LSC-Montgomery , http://www.lonestar.edu/all-montgomery.htm
Registration: Download the form and submit it to ALL
In person: LSC-Montgomery (3200 College Park Dr., Conroe, TX 77384), Continuing Education/ALL Office Building E (Room 205)

• Phone: 936.273.7446
• Fax: 936.273.7262
• Steve Gorman is the ALL Director (936) 273-7259),

Third Saturday Seminars – Fall 2019  –  3 Sessions

Each Session normally starts with a review of current events often followed by a noteworthy topic often presented by guest speaker.  Class discussion is encouraged. The Third Saturday Seminar is about demystifying what is going on around us.Topics have included health care, internet safety, and, providing medical care to civilians in Iraq. Meets the third Saturday of September, October, and November: 9/21, 10/19, 11/16.

16647         3rd SA     9/21-11/16       9:30 AM-12 PM      B102              Gibby

 Click for Campus Map

“Some part of our being knows this (the universe) is where we came from. We long to return. And we can. Because the cosmos is also within us; We’re made of star-stuff. We are a way for the cosmos to know itself. ”  Carl Sagan

2019 continues to be an “INTERESTING” year!  We will keep you informed to the best of our ability. See you on Saturday.  Curt Gibby 

Next Meeting 16 November 2019 (3d Saturday).  No Meeting in December.  We restart in January 2020