Finally - The Corrupt Gaslighter-in-Chief Has Been Impeached

He could have been impeached anytime after January 24, 2017.  Why?  Because on that date he violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).  See my essay here:  https://individualsovereignty.blogspot.com/2017/07/trumps-violation-of-nepa-sepa-laws-rules.html
He did so by signing the authorization for the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), without an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) being done on that project.  It's a direct violation of the Law, a Law which has not been repealed.  Trump thinks he can contravene a Law simply by issuing an Executive Order.  Nope, not legally anyway. 

Here's the kicker.  The reason given for ignoring that Law was as follows.  The Administration claimed that each section of the main pipeline was the equivalent of a spur line.  Short spur lines are not required to have a separate EIS done.  They branch off from the main pipeline for a short distance to some terminus or another.  Any EIS on the main pipeline would encompass spur lines.  It's sheer nonsense to claim that each section of the main line is the equivalent of a spur line, and thus the whole pipeline does not require an EIS.  Such a concept is so ridiculous that it's absolutely hilarious.

That violation by Trump was at the very least a misdemeanor, and grounds for impeachment.  On January 18, 2017, the Army Corps of Engineers (the Lead Agency on the project) filed a Notice of Intent to write an EIS for DAPL.  After Trump took Office, the Corps of Engineers withdrew/cancelled that Notice.  I'm sure that was at the behest of The Don.

That whole business was a minor misdeed by Trump compared to his violations of the Constitution; nevertheless, it's an impeachable offense.  A President cannot essentially repeal a Law on his own...not legally.

In my view, The Democrats dropped the ball by not including all Trump's egregious violations in their Articles of Impeachment.  Ralph Nader has the same view.  According to him and a team of Constitutional scholars, there are at least a dozen misdeeds by Trump that constitute violations of his Office.  At least, indeed.

Too bad the Repub Senators are too chicken to do what's best for our country in the upcoming Trial.  Too bad, indeed.  Here's the good news.  As Al Green (a Rep. from Houston, & the 1st one in Congress to bring Impeachment of Trump to the floor of the House) pointed out, just because a President has been impeached once doesn't mean he/she can't be impeached again.  Let's see what our Serial Liar-in-Chief is hiding in his tax returns.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Points For and Against the Current Oval Office Occupier

For---
1.  He kept us out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).  I've covered the disastrous downside of that Trade Pact elsewhere on this venue, so won't go into it again in this piece.  Talks related to joining the TPP were started under Dubya Bush, and accelerated under Obama.  Trump killed it his first day in office.

If interested in why the TPP is the worst Trade Treaty in history, use this blog's Search function to locate my assessment of it.  Or even better, Google/Bing/etc. :  Lori Wallach and the TPP.

2.  There is no number 2.  I was tempted to list his meetings with North Korea, but decided against it because he's the one who provoked that country with virtually insane threats of nuclear annihilation.  The person really responsible for averting (for now, at least) catastrophe is the President of South Korea, Moon Jae-in.

Against---
1.  He's a serial liar; he, himself, has proven that over, and over, and over.  In terms of frequency of lying, Trump beats out both Dubya Bush and Obama... which I didn't think was possible by anyone.

2.  He's mentally unstable, and thus emotionally unfit to be in any political office, much less the Presidency.  He, himself, has proven that over, and over, and over.  Now admittedly, I've had only a couple university pysch courses; however, you don't have to be a master carpenter to recognize a shack.  😊  Plus, there's a long list of psychologists and psychiatrists who have stated that he needs to be professionally examined.

3.  Based on his words and actions, he doesn't have a broad understanding of anything that a President should know.  His understanding of key issues, world affairs, diplomacy, statesmanship, war, the economy, the environment, fiscal and monetary matters, cultural matters, science, genuine capitalism, the Law, health matters, etc. is so limited as to be nothing short of comical.

4.  He promotes divisiveness in our country and in the world.  Plus, such promotion is not inadvertent.  He does it on purpose.

5.  While in office (never mind previous to that), he has violated Laws of the Land.  Here's only one example---
https://individualsovereignty.blogspot.com/2017/07/trumps-violation-of-nepa-sepa-laws-rules.html
Read it carefully.  The acronyms and other abbreviations used are not as confusing as they first appear.

6.  He doesn't have even a rudimentary understanding of the United States Constitution.  Many times, he has violated his Oath of Office by failing to "preserve, protect, and defend" the Constitution.  For example, he (like many other Presidents) has violated the War Clause of Article I, Section 8.  Another example--- the Executive Branch (of which he's in charge) violates the Fourth Amendment on an almost daily basis.  Another example--- it's crystal clear that Trump is violating the Emoluments portion of Article I, Section 9 (the Nobility Clause).

7.  As President, his conflicts of interest truly are beyond the pale.

8.  Similar to numbers 1 & 2 above, Trump is the King of Public Gaslighters.  Nothing he says can be trusted.

9.  He cares not at all for the common people of this country.  He's merely manipulating & using some of us in order to further enrich himself.  This is so obvious that it's painful.  Some of his supporters finally have realized it.

10.  He is both an embarrassment and a danger to this country.  I've detailed all that in previous posts, so enough said.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well
p.s.  For any new readers, I'm not a Republican or a Democrat.  Ironically, neither is The Don.

Impeach the Fake President

Below is a copy of the bulk of an email I sent to my New Mexico Congressman, Representative Lujan.

...........................................

Whenever possible & appropriate, I hope you will share the following with your colleagues.

1.  I'm not a Democrat or a Republican, but I've been keenly observing American politics since 1956 (1956 is not a typo)... for about 15 years now as an Independent.

2.  Trump has violated the Constitution at least twice... emoluments, and bombing without approval from Congress... not only the Syrian airfield, but elsewhere as well.  [The fact that other Presidents have taken similar actions does not mean that Trump's actions are legal.  The War Powers Act does not supercede the Constitution.]

3.  He has violated NEPA (Nat'l Environmental Policy Act) at least once.  [Environmental regulatory compliance is one of my areas of expertise.] The DAPL Project requires an EIS (Environmental Impact Statement); there's no question at all about that.  Immediately prior to Trump taking office, the Army had filed an NOI (Notice of Intent) to complete the EIS ; in February, they cancelled that NOI, and later, Trump bragged about closing his eyes & just signing it (the authorization for DAPL).  He did so without a NEPA-required EIS in place.  In short, he violated the Law.

4.  He has made us a laughingstock throughout the world.

5.  His conflicts of interest are beyond belief.

6.  Republicans in Congress are starting to desert him.

7.  It's time to get serious about the Articles of Impeachment that already have been introduced.

...................................................

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Trump's Violation of NEPA-SEPA Laws-Rules

Preface---
Formerly I've been an independent environmental regulatory compliance consultant to businesses.  In that capacity (and others) I became very familiar with the various National and State environmental laws and regulations.  In addition, I did the research for and wrote a number of EISs (Environmental Impact Statements, which are required by Law for many projects) for some clients.  Because of that, I became well versed in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)---a Law passed during the Nixon years---and a few different SEPAs (State Environmental Policy Acts).
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A couple days ago, I came across an article with a link to a page in the Federal Register dealing with the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL)...specifically, a Notice of Intent (NOI) stating the Army would be doing an EIS in relation to the Pipeline.  That NOI was published in January of this year.  I was a bit surprised because I had seen no indication of such an EIS all this year.  [Because this whole thing is in my field, I keep my eyes peeled for EISs on huge, major projects.]  I did another Search...no luck.  I then contacted (by email) the Army's Corps of Engineers Civil Projects section and asked to see a copy of the EIS in question...or, if there was none, why not?  Incredibly, I heard back within the hour.  Here's the body of the text/reply:
"Upon revaluation of the Dakota Access Pipeline project the U S Army terminated its intent to complete an EIS. This action was announced in the Federal Register in February 2017.".

The Army, as the Lead Agency, published the NOI on January 18, 2017...a couple days before Trump was sworn in as President.  Here's the link:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/01/18/2017-00937/notice-of-intent-to-prepare-an-environmental-impact-statement-in-connection-with-dakota-access-llcs
The easement for crossing the Missouri River at Lake Oahe is owned by the Army Corps of Engineers.  The point being:  there's no doubt that the NEPA requirement for an EIS applies in this situation.  Sometime after Trump is sworn in as President, the Army publishes its EIS termination notice... in February.

Not long ago, I saw a News clip of Trump bragging how no one else had the guts to authorize DAPL.  "But I closed my eyes and just signed it.".  Yes, and here's what that means: 
you have violated the National Environmental Policy Act.  If the Fed Gov't issues a permit for a project of that size & potential impact (& owns the easement on which the project is located), and even if the project is completed by a private company, an EIS is required.  That's well established...there's no question about it.

SEPAs also require an EIS on major projects.  [If an EIS is completed under NEPA Rules, it fulfills any State requirement.]  North Dakota doesn't have a SEPA, but South Dakota does...and the DAPL goes through portions of both Dakotas, Iowa, and Illinois.  It's a HUGE project with significant potential impacts.  For one thing, it crosses (or goes under) more than one major river.  There's no doubt at all that an EIS is required by Law.

I think the Standing Rock Tribe has filed a lawsuit over this very thing.  I hope so.  Trump is not above the Law; he just thinks he is.

It's not relevant to my point here if you are for or against fossil fuels, or for or against the Rights of Native Americans/Indigenous People/American Indians.  It's not even relevant if you believe the EIS requirement on major projects is a good or bad thing.  What's relevant is that the President has violated the Law.  He can't repeal a Law without Congress.  Perhaps the Corporate Media and the Democrats should stop beating to death the Russia distraction, and instead, concentrate on something solid...such as this scenario.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well