We the People

Next Steps To Save America

2020-03-09T00:20:00.001-04:00

Current Situation

So, Warren is out. Moderates and the majority of the the Black vote have clearly coalesced around Biden. Based on a January Emerson College poll, up to 47% of Sanders' base said they would not #VoteBlueNoMatterWho in the General Election. It may be a lower percentage now that his base has grown, but we are in deep trouple if we lose even 20%. Plus, if Biden does win, his current platform doesn't address the serious need in America. I have some ideas to hedge our bets.

The Danger of a Contested Convention

I'm a Progressive, but my fervent hope is that we do not have a Contested Convention. I want no excuse by the radical faction of the Progressive Movement to create a rift. The radical faction of the progressive base wants a political civil war among the Democratic Party. They will use a Contested Convention to create this rift.

Even if the DNC follows the rules, this faction will use any excuse to create a rift in the party. They have already claimed the rules are undemocratic and are threatening a political civil war.

I agree. The rules are undemocratic. But they are the rules agreed upon by all Candidates. The DNC can't change them in the middle of the contest. And the DNC did change the rules on super-delegates last time, based on public pressure. They have proved malleable to the voice of The People. We can continue to pressure them to improve over time.

Please know that not all who want a Contested Convention are part of the radical faction. Some may simply see it as their last hope to get the help America needs.

The Risk of Losing in the General Election

Getting rid of Trump must be our top priority. Our very democracy, imperfect as it is, is at stake. If the radical faction succeeds in fomenting resentment about the Contested Convention, then we bleed voters and go weak into the General Election. We may even lose to Trump as we did last time.

This set up is almost the same as 2016. Group Leaders are reporting Russian Trolls are trying to infiltrate groups already. They will foment discontent and bitterness. We must act more wisely, this time, my fellow Americans.

I'm not here to tell you how to vote. I'm saying this is where we are. The Moderate and Black vote has solidified around Biden. Sanders is underperforming 2016. Right now it looks like Biden will win. There is a small possibility that could change, but this is where we are and this is what we must do:

Stay United Against Trump

Prepare to stay united against Trump regardless of the outcome of the election. If there is a Contested Convention, and a rift is created, please stick with us to get rid of Trump. Think of ways to punish the DNC that do not result in a Trump win, but instead result in positive change. Be skeptical of those calling to vote third party in retaliation.

Hedge Your Bets to Fight For Americans In Need

We also have to think of the Americans who need help and who won't get it under Biden's current platform. Biden is most vulnerable to public pressure now as he tries to coalesce the base. Even if you will vote for Sanders, you can still pressure Biden into implementing Warren's version of your most important Progressive Plans. This is hedging your bets.

If you agree with Warren being VP if Biden wins, also ask for that. This would help unite the country. She may not want the job, but it would at least give her negotiating power to get some of her plans implemented. Here are a few key plans:

Warren's Medicare-For-All Plan

If we have Sanders M4A plan on his side and Warren's M4A plan on Biden's side, we are covered either way! Her plan covers children and those at 200% of poverty level immediately, almost entirely through Executive Order. So it covers the greatest need quickly. The rest is phased in over time.

Warren's Green New Deal

Biden's Climate Change plan sucks. Warren's has been reviewed by independent organizations as the best. Inslee gave her permission to use his Green Energy Plan, which was touted as the best plan, and she added 1 trillion to it. We need her plan.

Warren's Anti-Corruption Plan

We know Biden takes Big Money. But if we can push him to take on at least parts of Warren's anti-corruption plan, we can at least weaken the corruption in Washington to make it easier to fight next time.

Pressure Biden While He's Vulnerable to Public Pressure

There are those of you who are skeptical Biden will do anything to help the people. I think he is a good guy who just doesn't get it. It can't hurt to demand it and it is a small thing to do to help The People. When he needs votes is the best time to pressure him on policy. It will be far more effective than after the election. The time to strike is now. Make sure he knows that you will be watching to see if he will take on Warren's plans. Remember, you can still vote for Sanders and fight for Sanders, even if you write Biden.

Summary of Next Steps To Save America

Stick together. Hope there is no Contested Convention.
Expect radical factions to try to split us. Plan ways to punish the DNC for undemocratic rules without giving us 4 more years of Trump.
Hedge your bets by writing Biden's campaign and insisting Biden take on some of Warren's plans. (Climate Change, M4A, Anti-Corruption, etc.) If you are a Progressive, tell him! If you haven't voted yet, tell him! All the better.
Consider recommending Warren as a unifying VP. She may not want the job, but it will at least give her negotiating power with Biden, and she is a formidable negotiator.
Write Biden using his contact form. Click here.
Share these steps.

Thank you,

Lisanne Lombardo

Advocate for Democracy and Self-Determination

My Rage Statement: About the Treatment of Elizabeth Warren

2020-03-06T07:49:00.000-05:00

To the Progressive Left,

To America,

If you can't handle a rage statement, please move on. I'm deeply enraged and will continue to be for a good long while.

Someone told me again that Elizabeth Warren lied and is a snake. They were speaking about Sanders telling her that a woman couldn't win. She didn't lie, and this is how I know.

I heard hundreds of men and women say a woman couldn't win.

Further, I saw the Progressive Left and America look down at the most qualified candidate America ever had, period, and they selected two old white men instead.

I saw them scorn a candidate with the most robust progressive policies ever designed.

I saw them ignore the most intersectional set of policies we've ever seen, created by the most diverse staff of any candidate, ever.

She has chewed up and spit out CEOs, who abused Americans, for lunch.

During the Big Bank bailout, when everyone else was busy propping up the banks who screwed us, and while Sanders was doing nothing but yelling about the bailout, she was busy protecting The People. She dreamed up, fought for, and stood up the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau to protect the average American from predatory banks. With it, she returned 12 billion dollars to 29 million people, mostly low income and minority families, who were scam victims.

In Congress, she tore apart the Wells Fargo CEO, for the fraudulent scam of creating multiple unauthorized accounts for Americans, to drive up share prices. She publicly excoriated him for blaming and firing a swath of $12 an hour employees, while collecting hundreds of millions on the scam for himself. She paved the path to fine Wells Fargo 3 billion dollars for the scam and still calls for the executives to go to jail to this day.

She ended the sexist, racist Bloomberg candidacy by herself, in less than 5 minutes flat.

The Progressive Left has been loud and clear. They paid back her efforts by called her a corporatist shill.

They called her a fake, a fraud, and a snake.

They believe Sanders over Warren when no one was in the room.

And men and women everywhere said she couldn't win because her voice was "too shrill."

And men said, "I hope for her sake America doesn't see her like I do."

And they called her a "plain looking school marm."

And they said that "an angry Warren was unattractive."

And they said no one would elect an "English grade-school teacher" because they didn't even bother to look up her resume.

How did they rewarded this awesome, intelligent, empathetic, courageous, gladiator of a woman, who stood in 4-hour selfie lines and pinky promised little girls they could be President? They rewarded her with snake emojis.

I got the message loud and clear. I didn't have to be in that room.

Sanders said it. He said it because it is true.

America is sexist. A woman can't win.

A woman can't win because we believe a woman can't win.

Also, the Progressive Left isn't Progressive at all. I'm Progressive. What they did to Warren isn't Progressive. It's destructive. It's regressive.

My memory is long. I haven't entered a Chick-fil-A since 2012.

My rage is deep. I will not ever support the Progressive Movement until they actually are Progressive, which I expect will take a good long time, if ever.

And after Trump is out, I will not vote for a male Presidential Candidate again, until we have first had several female Presidents, if ever.

Are we clear?

I will do this because there are men and women who will never vote for a woman. And there are even more people who fear others won't vote for a woman, making the problem even worse. So, they will now need to reckon with me, a woman who won't vote for a man.

When the fear of the those who won't vote for men finally equals the fear of those who won't vote for women, the sexist slant of power will be equalized.

Every time I hear my fellow Americans, be they family, friends, or strangers, adding to the societal chant that "a woman can't win" I will do everything in my power to shut them down.

Getting Trump out in 2020 is essential for the survival of our democracy. This must happen first.

But, starting in 2024, I encourage both men and women to stand with me in boycotting men from the Presidency until the power is balanced.

We should still vote because we need to win the down-ballot races and protect Congress. However, if there is no woman on the Presidential ballot, we will simply write "A Woman" in the write-in space. We must ensure our party knows why they are failing to garner our vote for the highest office. Women make up 65% of the Democratic electorate. We must break this final glass ceiling!

240 years of male Presidents . . . I've had enough.

This is my pledge:

My vote is my power.

I will wield that power to equalize power imbalance.

#LastMaleVote2020

A woman can win.
A woman will win and we will demand it.

Pass it on!

Lisanne Lombardo

Citizen of the United States

Advocate for Self-determination

#LastMaleVote2020
#RageStatement

We Will Have Justice Served

2020-01-28T22:27:00.001-05:00

Dear Senators Thom Tillis and Richard Burr,

I am your constituent and I noticed that both of you voted against witnesses and evidence in Trump's Impeachment Trial. This concerns me.

Now we hear that Ambassador John Bolton, a long-respected member of the Republican Party, has relevant testimony to share on the Ukraine scandal. Leaks from his manuscript suggest Trump may have traded personal favors with the heads of states of other countries, including Turkey and China.

Trump's defense attorneys keep saying there are no first-hand witnesses. Bolton is a first-hand witness and is willing to testify. Further, former White House Chief of Staff, General John Kelly, who is another long-respected Republican, has publicly stated that Bolton's testimony should be trusted.

I expect each of you to take your oath seriously and act as impartial jurors. Please request witnesses and evidence to get to the bottom of this matter. America deserves to know if Trump traded our tax dollars and our Nation's interest for his personal benefit.

If Trump abused his power, he must be held to account by the Senate Impeachment Trial just like any other American would be held to account in a criminal trial. If the Senate exonerates Trump without a real trial, it will not be a real exoneration. If either of you support a trial designed to cover-up corruption, North Carolina will hold you to account with our votes. Future generations will hold you to account in our history books.

In the United States of America no one is above the law and we will have justice served.

Lisanne Lombardo
Voting Citizen of the United States of America
Candler, North Carolina

Dear John Bolton, Have you grown bone spurs?

2019-11-23T18:42:00.000-05:00

Dear Ambassador John Bolton,

I understand you are originally a Baltimore man, of solid blue-collar stock, born to Virginia Clara Bolton, a housewife, and Edward Jackson Bolton, a fireman. In due time you earned a BA degree from Yale, with honors (1). I am also of solid blue-collar stock from the Chicago suburbs. My mother was an administrative assistant and my father was an airplane mechanic, having learned his craft while volunteering in the Vietnam War. I assume you were similarly raised to value hard work and courage.

Both our fathers put themselves at risk to help others and to care for their families. My father used to relate stories of his foreman at United Airlines pressuring him to sign off on airplanes, but my father would refuse if there were unresolved issues; he wouldn't put the lives of passengers at risk. As a fireman, your father probably raised you on stories of irresponsible people who led to the fires that caused the deaths of others through their bad actions. It is the contentiousness of everyday people like them that permeates this country, men and women who understand the consequences of their actions and try to do the right thing for all of us.

For a long time now, you have been a prominent voice in the Conservative party, described as a forceful defender of our Nation and strong opponent to Russia aggression. But your relationship with Russia gets a bit twisted in recent years.

In 2013, while you worked with the NRA you participated in a video presentation, orchestrated by Maria Butina, promoting gun ownership in Russia (2). In 2014, Mercer, the founder of Cambridge Analytica, gave your Super PAC five million dollars. Your Super PAC then hired a company, founded by Mercer, for one million dollars to support the party and ultimately help get Trump elected (3). You have come to earn and manage quite a lot of money for the son of a fireman from Baltimore. But perhaps the cost was greater than the worth.

The company you hired was the now defunct Cambridge Analytica, and the contract specified "behavioral microtargeting with psychographic messaging" (4). designed to psychologically profile Americans, and ultimately, to manipulate them. You were one of their first customers. We later learn from UK Parliamentary investigations that Cambridge Analytica data was accessed by Russia and may have been used against Americans in Russia's disinformation campaign that helped Trump win the election (6).

This is the opposite of Democracy, by the way. This is mass social engineering. It is the manipulation of an entire society to affect their thinking and ultimately change their actions to achieve the preferred ends of one man. It is more power than any single person should have, and you really mucked it up.

You and Russia, and others who participated in this scheme were the real coup against The People of the United States. Now, we are simply trying to wrest control back. And we will, for as our founders knew, we, The People, are the true source of power behind the Constitution.

Our founders felt freedom and self-determination was a human right. My mother's ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War for that right. Later, our country fought a civil war that resulted the ability of slaves to claim the same right.

There is no greater American value than that of self-determination. Every word in the Constitution is crafted to achieve that end. We've shed rivers of blood to claim that right and you, who undoubtedly still feel love of country, tried to take that right away in some shady back-room data deal, subverting our free will to your choice.

This is a vile act, but it may be so new that we may not have laws against it, sans Foreign Country involvement. It is a vile act, born of arrogance rather than maliciousness, I suspect. Perhaps, your Yale education, your success, and your relative fame led you to lose touch with your humble beginnings. So, you decided your assessment of how America should vote was better than The People arriving at their own assessment, uninfluenced by psychological manipulation. This is the folly of a man who never understood that it is the combined will of all The People that brings the best results. The left, center, and right balance each other. We must make choices together.

Still, even your critics believe you to have a vein of solid patriotism running through your curmudgeonly heart. And I believe it too. But it has been dirtied up over the years. I imagine your solid blue-collar upbringing, your decades of support for conservative values, and your own complicity in the Russian attack on our Nation, all, combined with your patriotism, caused quite a storm of inner turmoil in you after you realized the full import of what you had done. Perhaps I'm overly optimistic and give you too much credit; it's a fault of mine. I even imagine you took the job with Trump to attempt your hand at damage control. An arrogant man would do just that, and that, in my view, is likely your primary fault that led you to this point.

Yet you left the job half-done. Tsk, tsk, tsk . . . My father would scold for that.

But, I digress. Back to Russia . . .

By the time of the election I'd say you were more than a little bit dirtied up by Russia. Perhaps you were even compromised. It is no wonder you adamantly avoid discussing Russian collusion with journalists.

You were recently called to testify in the Trump Impeachment hearings about the Ukraine scandal. In a letter to the House of Representatives, your attorney informs The People's House that you have much relevant information to share. But you demure, willing only to testify if ordered by a court of law. Yet, you freely share details at private paid speaking engagements about impeachable offenses Trump committed. That you scorn him is clear.

Many speculate you duck the hearings because of your pending book deal. Have you truly grown so far from your father's example that you would let Trump violate the Constitution freely, and let Russia gain further purchase in our country so you can gain more wealth?

I think not. Not now that you see how you have already mucked things up. You are arrogant, not stupid.

It's far more likely that you fear questions asked of you under oath, given your own Russia entanglements. Or worse, perhaps Trump or Putin has Kompromat on you. Why did Butina reach out to you for that Video so long ago? It was no coincidence, is my guess. Were you a mark from the beginning, identified as a key player in Conservative politics on her scouting mission?

Russia continues their disinformation campaign against The People to this day, and Facebook still collects our data and willingly spreads political disinformation. The People have not yet received justice for that, but I assure you, we've not forgotten. Justice will be ours in the end. If you played a part in knowingly sharing our data with Russia, there will be a price to pay.

But, let's put that aside for the moment and talk about your duty. Your highest duty is to your fellow countrymen.

Not to the President.
Not to the Office of the Presidency.
Not to a Party.
We are the Nation.
We are the power imbued in the Constitution.

If you are a true patriot, you owe allegiance to us, all of us regardless of party. You owe allegiance to us. together, as The Nation. You have done enough harm. It's time to come clean, damn the consequences to yourself. Let The People hear your testimony, sworn under solemn oath in the Hall of Congress, so we can judge this President with the full truth. Neither subpoena nor court order should be necessary. Only reclaiming your honor is required.

I ask you to remember the example of your father. Sometimes we must risk ourselves to help others. Your Nation needs you now. That should mean something to you. In fact, from your public statements, your desire to expose Trump is practically palpable. I suspect you have simply grown a bad case of bone spurs.

As my father would say,

"Get over it. It's time to face the music."

My father, love him as I do, is not exactly inspirational. Instead, he gets quickly to the point. If that isn't enough for you, then let me leave you with this some lines from the timeless Mother Goose poem (6). It is well worth reflecting on.

There was a Crooked Man
There was a crooked man, and he walked a crooked mile,
He found a crooked sixpence against a crooked stile;
He bought a crooked cat which caught a crooked mouse,
And they all lived together in a little crooked house.

Imagine if all the Crooked Man had wrong with him were a bad case of bone spurs. He would only have to shave them off to walk straight again for the rest of his life.

In expectation of your illuminating testimony before Congress,

Lisanne Lombardo
Citizen of the United States of America
Advocate for Democracy and Self-Determination
http://wethepeople-liftourvoice.blogspot.com

**************

Sources

(1) Wikipedia, John Bolton
Public Encyclopedia, found November 23, 2018
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bolton

(2) Mother Jones, The NRA Welcomed Maria Butina—Even as She Worked to Arm Anti-American Thugs Abroad
By Mark Follman and Hannah Levintova, February 7, 2019
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/02/nra-russia-maria-butina-putin-crimea

(3) SLATE, The Real Value of Cambridge Analytica
By Carrie Levine and Dave Levinthal, July 16, 2018.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/07/john-bolton-had-5-million-reasons-to-work-with-cambridge-analytica.html

(4) The New York Times, Bolton Was Early Beneficiary of Cambridge Analytica’s Facebook Data
By Matthew Rosenberg, March 23, 2018
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/23/us/politics/bolton-cambridge-analyticas-facebook-data.html

(5) The Guardian, Facebook data gathered by Cambridge Analytica accessed from Russia, says MP
By Press Association, July 18, 2018
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jul/18/facebook-data-gathered-by-cambridge-analytica-accessed-from-russia-says-mp-damian-collins

(6) Poetry Foundation, There was a Crooked Man
By Mother Goose, date unknown.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46948/there-was-a-crooked-man-56d22710e66f5

Behold the Light of Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch

2019-11-16T16:44:00.003-05:00

It was the second day of impeachment hearings in the House of Representatives and the Nation watched, transfixed, despite the President's supporters' attempts to avert viewers with dire prophecies of dull nothings.

Marie Yovanovitch, straight of spine and soft of speech, shared her tale of being victimized by the President's henchmen in an orchestrated smear campaign to have her removed from her Ukranian post. At times her voice was but a whisper, and the packed room seemed to collectively lean in as they strained to hear how Giuliani, Parnas, and Fruman laid to waste her thirty years of dedicated service to our Nation.

In quiet dignity Ambassador Yovanovitch spoke to the hearts of Americans. She gave her life's work to a Nation that sheltered her family and gave them refuge from Nazis and authoritarianism by gifting her with democracy, freedom, and the hope of equality. Through her, we see how Lady Liberty has blessed our Nation. By lifting her light in the darkness, America gains those who are grateful for that light and know the worth of that flame.

All this plays in the back of the minds of The People, as they watch Yovanovitch from the comfort of their homes, stream her on their mobiles in coffee shops, listen to her in their cars as they dash to soccer games or to the gym.

But it would be dishonest to pretend all admire her. There are those enthralled by Trump's myth of returning America to a more homogeneous facade, where people who are different are segregated into different schools and neighborhoods, or tucked away in prisons. They see her as a foreigner who has somehow made their own lives less bountiful.

Yovanovitch cares neither for her detractors' opinions, nor her supporters'. She is driven by her own moral guide and she answers to her own sense of integrity, her own honor, and her oath to the Constitution. There are few times in life where you encounter one so pure in motive and so strong in character that she easily concedes a point to either party when they speak the truth. For she doesn't see either party; she sees only falsehood and truth.

The Republicans desperately attempt to distract the audience with claims her words mean nothing because she didn't hear the President commit his crimes with her own ears. But, like her career, Trump lays their efforts to waste by tweeting out insults in the middle of her solemn testimony. He only proves the smear campaign was led from the top.

At the end of the day, when her part of this saga has been fully told, she stands to a courtroom exuberant with applause. As heartfelt as it is, it can mean nothing to one such as she, for she will measure her actions against her own value structure, not against the approval or disapproval of her audience.

And so she gathers her cape of dignity around her, as though to cocoon herself inside it, and immerse herself in the safety of obscurity again, now that her duty is done. Unbeknown to her, all eyes follow as she walks toward the exit. She doesn't realize that the flame she borrowed from Lady Liberty so long ago, burns incandescent inside her, and leaves a trail of light bright enough for an entire Nation to follow, for those with eyes that wish to see.

Neither Republicans nor Democrats will decide the outcome of this story. The future of our country will be decided by those who hold no party allegiance and have been looking elsewhere. But they just caught a brief flare of Yovanovitch's light out of the corner of their eyes, and now they squint behind their sunglasses and realize they need to focus on this story to decide the proper ending.

The truth is there for those bold enough to seek it. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch has courage enough, but what of the country?

Lisanne Lombardo
Citizen of the United States of America
Advocate for Democracy and Self-Determination
https://wethepeople-liftourvoice.blogspot.com

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High Crimes and Misdemeanors Are Not Always Crimes

2019-11-02T21:15:00.000-04:00

Given the historic moment we find ourselves in, considering if the President has committed high crimes and misdemeanors, I'd like to review what that means.

United States Constitution, Article 1, Section 4:

"The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."

Treason and Bribery are specified, but what of 'other high crimes and misdemeanors'? When the Constitution was written there was no written law on federal crimes yet, so other high crimes and misdemeanors can't mean only existing criminal law.

We create criminal law for bad things the average American might do. We do not create it for bad things the average American is unlikely to do. For example, the average American isn't going to litter on the moon, so we don't have laws against littering on the moon. In the future, if we have a constant stream of traffic to the moon and littering became a problem, we might eventually create laws against it

Our Founders were in such a position. They knew we would write laws pertaining to crimes as they became needed, but they were not written yet. Additionally, Congress, our legislative body that enacts laws, is the very same body responsible for writing Articles of Impeachment and for conducting the Impeachment Trial. So Congress is the right body to determine if a President has committed an act that hasn't been written into criminal law yet, but should be considered a high crime and misdemeanor. Our Founders added the phrase 'other high crimes and misdemeanors' to cover all possible bad things a President might do that deserve Impeachment.

Other high crimes and misdemeanors includes things like:

Abuse of Power
Violating Public Trust
Bribery
Treason
Violating the Oath of Office

For example, the Mueller Report showed that Paul Manafort, Trump's Campaign Manager, met with Russian Agent Konstantin Kilimnik and gave him internal polling data, repeatedly.

Internal polling data is the contact list of potential voters for a campaign, plus information collected when people donate money, take their surveys, write the campaign, or interact with the Campaign in other ways. So it is all the data they collect on Americans, including names, addresses, phone numbers, social media account names, their policy preferences, their policy concerns, and other details.

This data on Americans was given to the Russians without the permission of the American People who provided that data.

The Mueller Report also found that Russia targeted the American People with a disinformation campaign, to benefit Trump. It is certainly possible that the data Manafort gave to Kilimnik was used to target specific Americans in the disinformation campaign, but we don't know for sure.

Americans gave their data willingly to the Trump Campaign, so it was the Campaign's data to use. But I doubt any American expected the Trump Campaign to give their data to a foreign power to use against those same Americans in a disinformation campaign.

There must be no law against giving American data to a foreign power without their permission, because Mueller knew that Manafort did this and wrote about it in his report, but he didn't charge him with a crime for this. And frankly, why would there be? I don't know any Russian Agents and I've never operated a campaign that a foreign power would be interested in. I'm willing to bet the same is true for you. This is not a crime the average American could pull off, so I wouldn't expect there to be laws against this.

However, giving American data to a hostile foreign power to use against those same Americans is a violation of public trust. It is a betrayal. It is impeachable.

If we knew Trump had knowledge of and allowed Manafort to give that data to Kilimnik, we could impeach Trump for that. But Manafort didn't cooperate with the investigation. In fact, he lied specifically about the transfer of this data, which is why his cooperation agreement was ended. As a result, we don't know if Trump had knowledge of it, or if Manafort did it on his own. Trump obstructed the investigation by dangling a pardon to Manafort, so we may never learn.

Owning personal data on Americans and then giving it to a Foreign Power is not a crime. Obstruction of Justice is a crime. Both of these actions could also be a high crime and misdemeanor. We could Impeach for both of these actions, if Congress and The People supported it. Conversely, if a President jaywalks, that could be a misdemeanor, but it isn't Impeachable. There is no way The People would get behind a trial for such a minor offense.

The difference isn't if the crime is written into law or not written into law yet. The difference is if the The People and Congress see the act as highly unethical and wrong for a President to do, and if they will demand accountability for that action. Just as we vote a President in, if they do something we find to be very wrong while in office, or even if we find they did something very wrong to get into office, we can remove them by an Act of Congress supported by the Will of the People.

Presidents get their power from The People and The People can take that power away if we believe a President abused that power.

The remedy is Impeachment, which is really the American People saying, "You did wrong!"

The remedy can also be Removal from office, which is the American People saying, "You did wrong, and it was so bad, you don't get to be our President anymore. We don't trust you with that power!"

We, The People, decide if an action is a high crime and misdemeanor, and we do this by letting our Congressional Representatives know that our future votes for them depend on how they vote for the Impeachment. Congress can also Impeach and Remove a president against our Will, but it isn't likely if they want to keep their position in Congress as they answer to the people at election time.

One caution though. If we do not Impeach the President for a certain action, we are setting a precedent that The People are okay with all future Presidents committing the same action. We may even expect the current President to be emboldened to repeat the action, or do worse next time, as wrongdoers often do. As the old saying goes, "Give them an inch and they take a mile."

We should not Impeach frivolously, nor should we ignore real wrongdoing. We must evaluate the evidence soberly, with thought for how it will effect our government currently, and for centuries to come. Impeachment is a responsibility we must use wisely.

My advice for all Americans is to watch the Impeachment Hearings and the Trial, without prejudgment, and discuss it with your friends and family. Consider the consequences of allowing that behavior to continue, now and in the future, with our current President, or with future Presidents. If the behavior is unacceptable, then Impeachment and Removal is the remedy.

Call or write your Congressmembers to let them know your thoughts and that your vote for them is on the line.

Remember, our elected Representatives, including our President, get their power from us, The People. What we give them, we can take away. In fact, it is our duty to do so, if they abuse that power.

Lisanne Lombardo

Citizen of the United States
Advocate for Democracy and Self-Determination

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Our Nation: At a Precipice

2019-10-25T18:36:00.002-04:00

Today, our democracy stands at a precipice, facing the final stretch of a long ascendancy toward progress on one side, and the shattering of our Constitution in the gully below. We have climbed here together; some encouraging others forward, some throwing stones at our feet, trying to drive The People back.

Trump and Putin stand at the top of the mountain, taunting us with their shields of power and swords of corruption. Vultures perch on their shoulders, hissing in their eagerness to scavenge off the poor and the sick. Between them, Lady Liberty lies broken, with appendages strewn across the fireweed.

Putin is flanked by an army of bots and trolls, each holding faux news signs, trying to confuse and send us in the wrong direction. His pockets overflow with rubles, grotesquely painted with the mocking faces of his Oligarchs. Behind him, crouching in the bracken, the Russian mob waits in ambush.

Trump is flanked by FOX News on the right, hypnotizing many of us into believing we are not climbing a mountain at all. Bill Barr and his army of lawyers stand at his left. He proclaims Trump the King of the Mountain and vows none can touch him.

This is a rocky mountain, with sheer sides and rough ground that shakes and crumbles with each step we take. When we peer over the edge of the ravine we see a rushing river far below. Sunlight sparkles off the wild water, and we glimpse tiny rainbows, tantalizing us and enticing us into the cool depths. But when the sun dips low, and the water grows dim, we see the reflection of our democracy on the glassy surface, as though it has already careened over the cliff. We console ourselves with the belief it is but an illusion, created in the gray of twilight. But some of us wonder if it is real, and if we have already been mesmerized.

We are but a few miles from the top of this mountain after a long and arduous journey. We have gained treasures of wisdom along the way. But it was not free. We've had to barter our trust and naivete to survive so far. Weary, we pause and strategize about how to best claim the peak. We must pass both their evil armies to knock Trump and Putin over the edge.

We grip staffs strengthened with justice, we wear helmets padded with truth, and we bear shields forged of compassion. Aching, and heavy of heart, we pause but a moment to drink from a pond of knowledge, then we march on, chanting, "Rule of Law, Rule of Law, Rule of Law."

Our foe is at our backside, trying to trip us, screaming profanities in a language we no longer understand. But our resolve is strong and our purpose clear. We are The People and we will not stop until we have reclaimed the top of the mountain.

We will wield our staffs of justice, and knock Putin and Trump off the peak. Let them sink in the river depths, amidst the scattered reflections of our democracy. We will reclaim the reality of our democracy at the top. Though it is obscured in mist, we know it still lives. We hear its heartbeat in our own veins, flush with drops of blood gifted from our native, immigrant, and slave-owned forefathers who battled to live equal and free. It is this shared inheritance that fills our heart and powers our lungs with breaths of fresh hope.

We will take our democracy back. You can't steal it. You can't strip it from us. You see, it wasn't a gift from our forefathers at all. No. Their gift was even more valuable. They taught us the power of self-determination.

That power is immense and is not bought by wealth or stolen with guns. It is a power so vast it has toppled every civilization that has disappeared from our songs. That same power has birthed each nation anew. It is realized by our combined will. We get to create our shared vision of the future, and with our shared action, we make that vision come true. Self-determination is the actualization of the Will of the People.

Hark Putin and Trump! We call on you. Come down off that mountain top. We are The People and we will make it so.

When you are gone and the mist finally thins, the voice of our democracy will ring clear across the mountain side, spilling into the valleys below and lifting up toward the sun. Our land will be protected by a wall of laws made by The People. And at the peak of the mountain where you once stood, defiling it with your corruption, we will repair our Statue of Liberty. Then we will light her flame anew with the fire of our love, so the weary traveler can find her, and so the world will once again see our shining light on the hill.

We will win because we Will it so. Never will we capitulate to a government of force. Our Will is to be ruled by laws, created by the chorus of all our voices and for the shared benefit of all. We will not be ruled by the fickle and selfish will of one corrupt man, backed by a murderous dictator.

We embrace self-determination. We are The People and our shared future is ours to make.

By Lisanne Lombardo
****************

I hope you enjoyed this inspirational piece. Remember, to effect change we must act. As Elijah Cummings would say, one day our grandchildren will ask what we did in this moment. Did we sit on the sidelines or did we act? Register voters, volunteer as an election monitor, join a call bank, find some way to act that works for you.

Please follow this blog for more pro-democracy and resistence content.

NC State Board of Elections Betrays Voters

2019-08-25T17:20:00.002-04:00

Last Friday, in a stunning betrayal of public trust, the Democratic Chairman of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, Damon Circosta, appointed by Governor Roy Copper, joined two Republicans to vote down two motions that would have given all NC voters the ability to use hand-marked paper ballots. The first motion would have made hand-marked paper ballots mandatory statewide. The second motion (a perfectly reasonable compromise) would have made them optional.

Instead, in several 3 - 2 votes, Circosta helped knock down both motions and allowed the certification of an ES&S computer-marked barcode voting system that will cost millions for any county implementing it and will prevent citizens who are forced to use the system from verifying their vote. Any county can switch to this system now, so every North Carolinian should be concerned.

What are Hand-Marked Paper Ballot Systems?

This is a paper ballot that lists your candidate options for each office with an empty oval or box next to it. You mark in the oval or box with a writing utensil, by hand, to indicate your selections. The hand-marked paper ballot is read into an optical scanner to count the vote. The original hand-marked paper ballot is saved and used for audits and recounts.

What are Computer-Marked Barcode Ballot Systems?

Voters select candidates on touch screens, then the computer or voting machine (ballot-marking device) prints a paper summary ballot. The summary ballot looks like a poor-quality receipt, listing candidate names with barcodes. The barcodes are read by another machine to count the vote. The summary ballot is saved for audits and recounts.

The problems with Computer-Marked Barcode Ballot Systems:

Touch screens may flip the vote. This could be due to malfeasance or human error.
Voters must verify the candidate on the summary ballot, but many forget or don't even realize they are supposed to validate the summary. If they don't check, they can't catch errors.
Summary ballots may omit party affiliation, so voters may miss if candidate selections flip, unless they have memorized each candidate name.
Barcodes may not match the candidate's name & voters won't know because humans can't read barcodes. For example, the barcode could be for Warren, but the printed name could be for Trump. The barcode could be for Trump, but the printed name could be for Warren.
Because voters can't verify the barcode, these systems are ripe for hacking. We can't catch the errors.
There is a 3% error rate when the barcode ballots are read and counted because of the poor quality and nature of barcodes.
There's no true record of the voter's intentions for audit and recount. The summary ballot may be incorrect.

The Benefits of Hand-Marked Paper Ballot Systems:

None of the above-mentioned problems exist. We know exactly who the voter intended to vote for and their original hand-marked record is available for audit and recounts. Additionally, these systems cost half the price.

During the board meeting two dozen individual citizens, independent experts, community professional programmers, and citizen advocacy groups spoke out against the computer-marked barcode ballot systems. In fact, the only speaker supporting the system was the representative of the system itself. The bi-partisan Will of the People was overwhelmingly for using hand-marked paper ballots and The People's concerns were completely ignored.

The vendor, in speaking for his system, had the utter audacity to compare the use of barcode voting systems with making a purchase at the grocery store. He seemed to believe North Carolinians don't understand the great responsibility of casting their vote.

We, The People, understand that choosing a politician who serves as our Voice on matters as profound as immigrant detention, healthcare, and war, is a solemn duty, not to be trivialized by equating it with accidentally being overcharged an extra 20 cents for a bottle of shampoo.

I ponder why a system that citizens overwhelmingly distrust and that costs twice as much as the system that citizens want, would be certified. Given the $92,000 ES&S has donated to both parties in North Carolina, my suspicions are dark indeed.

What Does This Mean for NC Voters?

Now that this unsafe system has been certified, any county can implement it. If your county implements it, you will have no option to use the hand-marked paper ballots that over 70% of North Carolinians currently use, trust, and love. Further, you would likely be stuck with this unsafe, unverifiable system for 15 - 20 years. And it would cost twice the money, which you pay out of your taxes. Counties that don't currently use hand-marked paper ballots, and who must replace their outdated systems, will likely be purchasing these unsafe systems right away for use in 2020. Since their vote counts as part of state and federal elections, their unsafe votes may impact the election outcomes.

Elected officials have no more sacred of a duty than listening to the Voice of The People who elected them, and to protect our vote. On Friday, the collective voice of The People was ignored. If Governor Roy Cooper refuses to hear the sound of my voice, then perhaps the sound of wallets snapping shut across the state will garner his attention. This life-long Democrat is canceling her donations to Cooper's re-election campaign and welcomes a Democratic Primary challenger until Cooper gets his priorities and board straightened out.

We are Not Socialists! We are . . .

2019-08-04T19:30:00.001-04:00

In the United States of America, our economic system is a mix of free market capitalism and socially funded programs. Our form of government is a Federal Republic and a Constitutional Representative Democracy.

We use our Representative Democracy to choose together what markets we want to operate with free market capitalism and what programs we want to socially fund. We, The People, are always debating the correct mix and we always should. Our needs change over time.

There is really nothing scary about this. But the Right wing is currently trying to scare people into thinking we are turning into a socialist state. Socialist states force economic equality and shared ownership of production.

Force is the key word. In a Democracy there isn't a person at the top forcing socialism on The People. Instead, democratic systems allow The People to choose together what socially funded programs they want. And if The People don't like what they chose last election, they can make a new choice the next election. The People can then adjust the funding method of their markets to match their current needs.

Socialism is Force
Socialism is top down controlled and The People have no choice. These governments don't last long because they don't respond to The People's changing needs and The People soon become dissatisfied.

Democracy is Freedom of Choice
Democracies are flexible and responsive to The People's needs. This makes them stronger as The People can constantly adjust the laws and tweak the economic system to remain satisfied.

We are not Socialists.
We are not Democratic Socialists.

We are Americans using our system of Representational Democracy as our founders intended.

What we should really be scared of is the threat to our elections. Because without secure elections our choice is taken away.

#ProtectDemocracy
#ProtectChoice
#ProtectTheVote

Warning Signs in a Democracy

What if we are currently in a democracy and most of The People are dissatisfied? That is our current situation. That means that democracy isn't working correctly. It means that The Will of the People is not being exercised in Congress. There are many things the majority of Americans want that they are not getting. Most Americans want some gun legislation reform, improved schools and affordable health care.

When the Will of The People is being subverted, The People must identify how that is happening. Right now I can identify the following problems:

Foreign, Corporate and Special Interest Group influence in our elections.
Dark money financing our elections.
Gerrymandering of our voting districts.
The Majority Leader in each Chamber can refuse to bring a bill to vote. This acts like a defacto veto power.
Many of The People are not educated on how the government works and they are not informed of what their rights and responsibilities are, as part of a democracy. The whole system is a black box to them.

Democracy Threatened

A democracy is designed to serve the needs of The People. In a country as financially flush and powerful as the United States, we can expect corrupt and greedy individuals to always be attempting to subvert our democracy to serve their individual desires. We, The People, must remain ever vigilant, and work together to preserve and strengthen our democracy.

Our problem is not socialism, or the lack-there-of. Our problem is that our democracy is being subverted and the Will of The People no longer rings through the Halls of Congress.

Preserving and strengthening democracy must be the priority of every American.

URGENT: North Carolina is Certifying Unsafe Election Systems!!!

2019-07-30T14:38:00.001-04:00

The Urgency

North Carolina Board of Elections is considering certifying the Barcode Paper Ballot Back-up systems on August 23, 2019. These systems are NOT SECURE! Even if you currently use #HandMarkedPaperBallots, if these Barcode Paper Ballot machines are certified, your county could switch to them. This is urgent for everyone in North Carolina.

This post explains the problems with these voting systems and what you can do about it. We have until August 23 to convince our State to BAN Barcode Paper Ballots and only use Hand Marked Paper Ballots.

Mueller and our Intelligence Agencies have told us Russia is messing with our election right now. They intend to attack us again. In fact, they expect other countries like China and Iran to follow suit.

North Carolina is a swing state, so it will most certainly be a heavy target for malfeasance. We must be able to prove that the outcome of our election is what the voters actually intended. We must preserve the integrity of our elections.

Barcode Paper Ballot Back-up Systems

Let me explain how they work and why they aren't secure.

Issue 1: The touch screen may flip the vote.

I enter my vote on a touch screen and the machine interprets my touch as a vote. The touch screens are notorious for incorrectly interpreting the vote. We know this from other states. This could be caused by human error, miscalibration, or malfeasance.

You might have intended to vote for Trump, but your selection is picked up as a vote for Warren.
You might have intended to vote for Warren, but your selection is picked up as a vote for Trump.

This is called flipping the vote.

Issue 2: Humans can't read barcodes and the barcode is the vote.

A receipt is created that shows who you voted for as a barcode. However:

Humans can't read barcodes. So, you can't tell if the barcode accurately represents who you intended to vote for.
The barcode is what is counted as your vote.

Issue 3: Many voters will not check the printed candidate name, even if the system prints it out.

Some barcode paper ballots also print out the name of the candidate for the voter to verify. However:

Voters don't check the receipt after every selection, and sometimes the voter has 6 to 15 vote selections to make. Often voters don't check until they are done voting. At that point they may have forgotten who they intended to vote for.
Many voters don't check the receipt at all.
Some voters have a hard time reading the fine print of the receipt.

Issue 4: Even if there is a printed name, the barcodes may not match the candidates' printed name and we, the voters, would never know that.

Even if the receipt does print the candidate names, and even if the voter does check the receipt every time, the barcode may not be the correct barcode for the name. This could be caused by miscalibration or malfeasance. Because humans can't read barcodes you would never know.

My ballot could say Trump, but the barcode could read "Warren"
My ballot could say Warren, but the barcode could read "Trump"

The barcode is what gets counted as your vote.

Issue 5: There is no true original record of who we, the voters, intended to vote for, for auditing purposes.

The receipt with the barcode is now the "paper back-up" used for audit. You can see that this record may be incorrect. It may not represent what you actually intended.

There is no real original record of what the voter actually intended as their vote, for audits.
The paper ballot used for audit may contain errors.

Hand-Marked Paper Ballot

Let me explain why they are better. In that system there is an oval next to the names of the candidates, such as Trump and Warren.

You fill in the oval next to the name of the candidate you want with a marker.
Your mark is what is read in the scanner.
Your mark is what is counted.
Your mark is what is audited.
We always have your original mark to go back to.

Hand Marked Paper Ballots are way more secure.

North Carolina Board of Election Loyalty

I listened to the last board meeting and they seemed to weigh concerns of inconvenience for the vendors as important as security for the voters.

I don't know about you, but I found this outrageous. The board should not concern themselves with vendor inconvenience at all. They should be solely focused on the needs of the voters and our right to democracy which demands secure voting systems.

What You Can Do

Please write the NC State Election Board and ask them to BAN all Barcode Paper Ballot Back-up Systems entirely and request that they only certify Hand Marked Paper Ballot Systems for North Carolina.

Email: elections.sboe@ncsbe.gov

You can use this text or something similar:
**********
Dear Board Members,

As a North Carolina Citizen I submit the following comment about the certification of Barcode Paper Ballot Back-up Systems under consideration.

Firstly, please do not consider vendor convenience in your decision making. Your sole loyalty should be to North Carolina Citizens and your sole objective should be to provide us with the most secure system possible with an original record of our intended vote for auditing purposes.

With that in mind, I respectfully request that you ban all barcode paper ballot back-up voting systems as they have the following inherent problems:

Issue 1: The touch screen may flip the vote.

Issue 2: Humans can't read barcodes and the barcode is the vote.

Issue 3: Many voters will not check the printed candidate name, even if the system prints it out.

Issue 4: Even if there is a printed name, the barcodes may not match the candidates' printed name and we, the voters, would never know that.

Issue 5: There is no true original record of who we, the voters, intended to vote for, for auditing purposes.

Instead, please only certify voting systems with Hand-Marked Paper Ballots where the voters true intended vote, as marked by their hand, is used for counting the vote and for auditing purposes.

Hand-Marked Paper Ballots are the Gold Standard for election security and Citizens of North Carolina deserve it. It is the only method that will ensure our will is represented.
**********

The Time To Act Is Now

Fellow North Carolina Citizens,

Regardless of party, we should all care about the integrity of our election system.

Please do send the email. We must act now. The final decision will be August 23.

If you belong to any group of concerned citizens, please bring this post to their attention, especially local political groups. Encourage the entire group to act. Share this post widely.

Comments and likes are welcome, but they will NOT secure your vote. Only your action now can do that. However, I would adore comments noting what real action you took or intend to take.

Please stand up with your fellow North Carolinians and protect the vote for all.

I hope this post was helpful in explaining the situation and thank you for doing your civic duty.

Lisanne Lombardo

Action Required to Protect Your Vote!

2019-04-28T07:00:00.000-04:00

The next generation of the federal voluntary voting system guidelines is out for public comment until May 29th, but it doesn't include a ban on wireless modems or internet connectivity.

Take action & urge the EAC to include a ban on wireless modems & internet connectivity.

Email: votingsystemguidelines@eac.gov

Insert this text in your email:

***************

"We strongly support the draft Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG) and commend the robust principles and guidelines for software independence, auditability and ballot secrecy.

Given the fact that our election systems are being targeted for interference through cyber attacks, we believe it is imperative the VVSG also include a prohibition on connectivity to the public Internet through wireless modems or other means. Therefore, we urge the Commission to include a guideline under:

Principle 13: DATA PROTECTION:
"The voting system does not use wireless technology or connect to any public telecommunications infrastructure"

***************

More Information including a link to the full guidelines.

https://www.electiondefense.org/eac-public-comments

Please share this post far and wide!

Why Trump Must Be Impeached and How to Pressure Pelosi!

2019-03-17T05:14:00.001-04:00

The Democratic Party is Mine, but it isn't Perfect

If you, like me, believe in principle, and cannot support Pelosi's "not for Impeachment" position, chances are you're as frustrated as I am about how to effectively resist her decision. I'm a Democrat. I've been a Democrat for my entire adult life, but that doesn't mean I believe the Democratic party is without fault. And it certainly isn't without need for guidance by its members.

When I'm most frustrated with the Democratic party I imagine abandoning ship. But then I cool down and remember that it's far more effective to shape the Democratic party from within. As a member, I will not hesitate to raise my voice and let them know when their decisions are not in concert with my values. We are the party. Our collective values define the party's values. Sometimes though, the party officials don't understand what the collective wants or how badly they want it. It's then our responsibility to guide them. This is especially important when they take a moral position we cannot support.

I absolutely cannot support Pelosi's stance that she's "not for Impeachment" and the result, which is that our party, who we put into power with our votes, will not impeach Trump. Thus, it's my responsibility to let her know this. If you feel the same way, it's your responsibility too. Our party acts with the power we granted it with our votes. We must do our best to ensure the party is using the power in a way we collectively believe is moral and right.

Why I reject Pelosi's Position on Impeachment

If you're as sickened by Pelosi's "not for Impeachment" statement as I was, but are unsure if you should go along with it, I'm happy to share my reasoning as to why I will not.

We have a criminal in the White House.
Ohh, let me count the ways . . .

Conspiracy to Commit Campaign Finance Violations

Trump is an unindicted co-conspirator in a conspiracy to commit campaign finance violations. He was named as Person-1 in the indictment under which Michael Cohen was charged and for which he is now going to jail. We heard Trump lie after the Stormy Daniels payments were made, saying that he knew nothing about the payments. Then a tape was released where Trump was speaking with Cohen about the best method for making the payments, before they were made, clearly proving he knew about them. We saw the actual reimbursement checks to Cohen with Trump's and Trump Jr.'s signatures on them. Some of the checks Trump signed were after his inauguration. Trump's accountant was also engaged in issuing of the checks.

I cannot emphasize this point enough; Trump literally engaged in criminal activity to hide information from us and violate our laws from the Oval Office, which we pay for with our tax dollars. That should enrage every American.

Committing Fraud

During Cohen's public testimony he testified that Trump inflated his assets when attempting to acquire bank loans and get favorable insurance rates. Cohen provided the fraudulent financial statements to Congress. Rachel Maddow showed us how one of Trump's properties was listed at over ten times what he'd previously listed it for, for tax purposes. There is also a good likelihood from Cohen's testimony and evidence that Trump committed fraud on his taxes. So that is bank, insurance, and tax fraud, all easy crimes to prove as they are document crimes.

Violating International Law and US Law at the Border

Trump has directed his administration to close off large portions of the border and to refuse entrance to Asylum seekers at some ports of entry. International law, which we have agreed to, requires that refugees be allowed to seek Asylum and have their cases heard on an individual basis. The law requires that they must be on US soil to apply for Asylum. He is preventing them from entering the border at the Ports of Entry to file for Asylum legally, then has them arrested if they cross the border elsewhere, insisting they are crossing illegally and therefore are illegal. It is lawful for them to seek Asylum from anywhere in the US, regardless of where they cross. Still, he has them arrested when they actually follow the law. Then he takes their children away from them and some have not been returned. Worse, young girls, some as young as eleven, many of whom have been raped, are denied access to abortion while in ICE custody.

Violating the Emoluments Clause

Since the day of Trump's inauguration, he has been personally benefiting from the Office of the President by having foreign dignitaries stay at his hotels. We've heard stories that he asks foreign dignitaries where they are staying when he meets with them. The message is clearly that they should answer in a way that pleases him. This seems to be, in effect, a bribe. The price of a favorable conversation with President Trump starts with supporting his hotels to his personal financial gain. He seems to be violating the emoluments clause in many other ways as well. I've provided the before mentioned as a simple example.

Conspiracy with Russia to Subvert our Democracy

We know that during the campaign Trump was negotiating for a Trump Tower Moscow, all the while lying to the American people with calls of, "No Russia! No Russia!" His campaign manager gave polling data to a Russian intelligence agent, Konstantin Klimnik, and Russian hackers then targeted portions of the electorate with fake news. Did this impact the election? There are people to this day who believe Clinton was engaged in Pizza Gate murders, so let's guess, maybe . . . YES!

On top of that we heard Trump, on national television, asking Russia for Hillary's emails. That very night Russia started hacking the DNC. Roger Stone, Trump's Senior Campaign Advisor, later bragged about meeting with Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, and the emails were subsequently released from Wikileaks. Assange is known to have close ties with Russia. Only a fool would look at those facts and not suspect a real conspiracy was afoot.

Spreading Hate Across the World

Like it or not, the world looks to us for leadership and Trump is our leader. Both the massacre of 11 Jewish Americans at the Pittsburgh Tree of Life synagogue and the massacre of 49 Muslims at the New Zealand Christchurch mosque were inspired by Trump's hate agenda. Americans have collectively given Trump the largest bully pulpit in the world and he spreads his hate daily. Only Americans can take that power away from him and only Pelosi can start the impeachment process. If she refuses to impeach him, then she is complicit in all the horror that follows. If we remain silent and allow him to continue to abuse the power we have given him, then we are also complicit in all the horror that follows.

We gave Pelosi power with our votes. We must insist she use it well.

I Will Choose Principle over Political Capital

I will not be silent. I will not be complicit. I must absolutely reject Pelosi's "not for impeachment" position.

I understand that the Senate must approve impeachment. Many say that the Senate will never go against Trump. This is only true now because the base is so strongly for Trump. However, I do not believe all Trump supporters are aware of his criminal activities and agree with it. In fact, I think only a small portion would actually support him once the full extent of his criminality came into view.

FOX News has allowed a good portion of the electorate to stay ignorant of Trump's crimes and have shown Trump in a sympathetic light. They control the news their followers see. We need impeachment hearings because Pelosi can control those hearings and show the whole truth of his criminality through public testimony. There were those on conservative news outlets who said that Trump couldn't even survive another week like the week of Cohen's testimony. And it appears Trump has crimes coming out of his eyeballs. There is so much more to discover, if only Pelosi would hold impeachment hearings.

Yes, the Senate must vote to impeach Trump and I think once the full extent of his criminality is exposed to his base, even a majority of his base would support impeachment. The left has gone so far in repeating the whole "Republicans are evil" mantra that many of us actually believe it. Republicans are not evil. Most of them are conned, perhaps willfully so, but conned nonetheless. The harsh light of truth will undo much of that by making his criminality impossible to ignore.

You don't change from people who believe in the Rule of Law to supporting a criminal in the space of a few years. A person's basic character remains constant throughout their life. As proof of this, Paul Manafort, Trump's Campaign Manager, was pronounced guilty by a jury that included an avowed Trump supporter. She saw the facts and had to judge him on those facts. I believe many Trump supporters will respond in exactly this way.

I disagree with Pelosi that impeachment hearings are necessarily divisive. We are not impeaching Trump over a blow job. We are impeaching over Trump betraying our country and being the worst criminal politician we have ever known. Further, I don't even believe she thinks these impeachment hearings would be divisive. Already the majority disapproves of Trump. They are not going to like him better after hearing about the massive extent of his criminality. That is utter nonsense, and she knows it. What I believe she is doing is trading Principle for Political Capital, and that's just wrong.

Pelosi can turn the tide by aggressively pursuing impeachment hearings. We have more than enough reasonable suspicion of crimes, as mentioned above, to do this. She should hire a professional prosecutor and start those hearings immediately. Once the tide has changed, then she should submit articles of impeachment.

What if the tide never changes?

I don't care. I am a person of moral integrity and I will do what is right, because it is right. If the Republicans decide to hold on to their immoral position and protect Trump, then let them be the only party who is immoral. Let's give the country at least one principled party to cling to in this time of flagrant criminality and immorality. It's not okay to trade principal for political capital in the next election. Isn't that what the Republican Senators are doing now when they shelter this corrupt President? Aren't they watching out for their own hides in the next election and forsaking principle? Are we to do the same? How could we, and still respect this party? I cannot.

Instead, I will pressure my party to be principled. It is my duty as a citizen and a member of the Democratic party to shape it to adhere to my values.

How to Pressure Pelosi

We know that the most effective means of pressuring a party is to hit them where it hurts, right in their pocket. However, we don't want to cripple Democrats, or else we will be in trouble in 2020. So I'm suggesting you target the party, not your local Representatives, in this way:

Move Your Party Money

If you are currently contributing to any party organizations like the DNC or DCCC, stop those contributions now. Instead, move those contributions to the campaign of the local Democratic Representative, Senator, or Presidential Candidate you want to support. So no money to party organizations. Do give directly to the candidate.

Cancel your Party Subscriptions

If you are like me, your inbox is littered with emails from Democratic Party organizations keeping you informed and requesting contributions. Somewhere on every single email is a link to unsubscribe; usually at the bottom. Click that link on all Democratic emails except those from Representatives who directly represent your locale.

There is almost always a comment box where you can leave a comment. You can copy the comment I have used or create your own. Stating a reason for unsubscribing is very important so they know you are protesting Pelosi's position on Impeachment.

"I will NOT SUPPORT a party who leaves a CRIMINAL in the White House. He has engaged in a conspiracy to commit campaign finance violations, bank, tax, and insurance fraud, emoluments violations, violations of international law at the border, and likely conspired with Russia to subvert our democracy. He spreads his hate agenda worldwide. Pelosi must IMPEACH him!"

When I did this I received no response from the party. I did receive a response from the email of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who does not directly represent my locale, as follows:

"Thanks so much for reaching out, and for sharing your thoughts with us. This inbox is maintained by volunteers that support Alexandria's campaign team, but we’ll make sure your message gets to the right place. Thank you again for reaching out."

You can bet that as we start turning off the Party spigots, Pelosi will hear about it. Repeat this process for every single email you receive from party organizations or from representatives who do not directly represent your locale. Watch your inbox and keep doing the same thing until you have turned off all those emails. Place those emails in a folder so you can go back and sign up again when Pelosi starts impeachment hearings.

This action is targeted to the party, not the individual Democratic candidates of your locale. It will hit the Party in the money, where it hurts without undercutting the 2020 election. It will send a message that we are not going along with her immoral position and if the Party wants our support, they must seriously start impeachment hearings.

I stress, you should not stop supporting your local Democratic candidate. The 2020 vote should be a Plan B for getting Trump out of the White House. But please know, he will not peacefully transfer power, and the 2020 election will be attacked again. Trump has done nothing to protect our elections and has, in fact, cut the budget on international cyber security. If we win he will claim election fraud. We must get him out in time to secure the elections and ensure a fair and free 2020 election.

You are a citizen of the most powerful democracy on earth. Lift your voice and use your power. We must get the Criminal out of the White House.

Happy resisting!

Lisanne Lombardo
Citizen of the United States
Country before Party

Mueller is Revealing Collusion

2019-02-17T01:09:00.001-05:00

Some important news has come out of recent court filings.

Roger Stone, who was a Senior Advisor on the Trump Campaign, was recently indicted for:

Obstruction of Proceedings
False Statements (6 counts)
Witness Tampering

In a court filing in this case, Mueller reveals that when subpoenaing documents for Wikileaks and Guccifer 2.0, they encountered evidence that Roger Stone was communicating directly with Wikileaks and Guccifer 2.0 during the campaign.

Guccifer 2.0 is the Russian organization that was indicted for hacking the Democratic National Committee (DNC). It claimed to leak its documents to Wikileaks. It now looks like a coordinated effort involving Stone, Guccifer 2.0, and Wikileaks.

Court Filing Excerpts

So let's review key facts we know from public filings and public documents:

Trump was negotiating the Trump Tower Moscow deal during the Campaign.
Trump's Senior Campaign Advisor, Roger Stone, was in direct contact with the Russian hacker of the DNC emails and Wikileaks who leaked the DNC emails.
Trump's Campaign Manager, Paul Manafort, and his Assistant, Rick Gates, met with Russian Agent Constantin Klimnik and gave him polling data.
Trump publicly asked Russia to find Hillary's emails on national television. On that same day Russia started hacking her account.
The very month Trump took office, he attempted to end Russian sanctions.
His administration recently succeeded in softening sanctions on Russian Oligarch Deripaska to the favor of VTB Bank (Putin's Main Bank).

Mueller has collusion.
I think he is just tying up some pieces. His strategy is to write speaking indictments on false statements, because then he can prove the statements are false by sharing the truth, in court, in sealed or partially redacted documents and court transcripts. He is cementing the truth right in court. He is forcing the truth to be confirmed in each case.

The courts are the only safe place. He can't fully trust the Department of Justice, which is headed by Trump appointees, or Congress.

Mueller's report is the court documents. And at the end, the facts will all be unsealed and unredacted. Sure, he will do an official report when he is done, but he isn't leaving it to chance.

Mueller is freaking brilliant.

Big pieces that I think are coming soon:

NRA/Russian Money Indictment
The Final indictments of Trump Jr. and Kushner that show Trump knew about all of it.

Ohh, I think there is a lot more. Many cases will branch out of this, and they may take years to fully unfold. But the heart of the investigation is close to an end. I think Mueller will connect all the dots in the main cases within the next six months, if not sooner. There is enough out there already that even the new Attorney General, William Barr, couldn't hide it if he wanted to. Neither he, nor Congress can control the courts.

Thank goodness our forefathers had the foresight to create three equal branches.
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SOURCES
Roger Stone Indictment
https://www.justice.gov/file/1124706/download

Special Counsel Response
https://t.co/yjUIoCF0wG?amp=1
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My Top Ten Resistance Wins for 2018!

2019-01-01T23:04:00.001-05:00

As we move into the new year, it's important to reflect on our successes to help renew our spirit for the fight to come.

Gun Safety

1. NRA membership is down and they are in the red by over 30 million dollars. (Source)

2. 27 states passed 67 new gun safety laws and enthusiasm for more gun safety regulation is still high. (Source)

We still need to elect a Senate willing to implement comprehensive gun regulation. No longer will we accept being slaughtered in mass numbers by our home grown terrorists. Never again will we be complacent about our children hiding under desks to prepare for an eventual predator to attack them. I expect future Supreme Court battles on this issue. Bring it!

#MeToo Movement

3. 201 Powerful men were brought down by the #MeToo movement and over half their replacements were women. (Source)

4. Dr. Christine Blasey Ford came forward and testified against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Many consider this a loss because Kavanaugh was still confirmed, but I consider this a win on three points.

Dr. Blasey Ford had the strength to come forward and people rallied around her, supporting her with donations for a security detail, and with notes of social support. (Source)

More Americans believe Dr. Blasey Ford than Kavanaugh, by, like, a lot (12%)! (Source)

In an act of moral integrity, Senator Heidi Heitkamp, who had won her Democratic seat in North Dakota by less than 2000 votes, voted against confirming Kavanaugh. This move may have ensured her re-election loss in the recent midterms. (Source)

The #MeToo movement isn't a quick storm. It is a rising sea. When Dr. Christine Blasey Ford stood there, with her voice shaking as she told her story, her voice reverberated with the sound of truth that resonated in the memories of millions of victims who have faced their own harrowing moments. She shook our country with her power, because she spoke a truth we all know. She spoke with the voice of millions.

Diversity in Congress

5. We have just elected the most diverse Congress in history, making it more reflective of America.

116 women were elected to Congress in the midterms, so that 126 women will be seated in Congress this year. (Source)
23 House freshmen are people of color. (Source)
There are 10 LGBTQ members of Congress. (Source)
28 women are mothers of young children. (Source)
1 Senator is breastfeeding her baby on the Senate floor. (Source)
2 Muslim women have been elected to Congress. Ilhan Omar will be the first to wear a hijab.(Source)
The first openly bisexual woman, Kyrsten Sinema, has been elected to Congress. (Source)
2 Native American women have been elected to Congress. (Source)
Nancy Pelosi holds her position as the speaker.(Source)

The midterms were about many things: fighting for health care, putting a check on Trump, protecting Mueller, and stopping the abuses at the border, among others. But all of those things could have been accomplished by white males. The fact that a diverse Congress was deliberately chosen by the people is proof that we want our Congress to truly be reflective of who we are. We have not achieved perfect parity yet, but we made a great leap this time. Further, I believe we will never go back.

Immigration Wins

6. Despite the Trump administration's legal efforts to end DACA status, for the time being, DACA recipients can continue to renew their applications. (Source)

7. The Trump administration was forced to end the family separation policy. It is still happening, but at a much lower rate. (Source)

It is hard to think of us as having won anything in the immigration fight when we now have child internment camps in Tornillo, Texas, we have witnessed gassing of refugees, and we have recently seen two migrant children die for lack of medical care at the border. Please remember that we are resisting in a situation where we have no Congressional power. Had we not resisted, the cruelty would have gone unchecked and perhaps unnoticed, and I hate to even guess at what atrocities would have occurred in that case. Our resistance is especially necessary when it comes to the most vulnerable populations, such as refugees.

Health Care Debate

8. 70% of Americans support Medicare for all. (Source)

We have discussed health care publicly, ad nauseam, for ten years since ObamaCare was in initial planning phases. Now 70% of the country wants Medicare for All. If our democracy were working correctly, this would be enough for a Constitutional Amendment. Sadly, our democracy isn't working correctly. But protecting pre-existing conditions became so important politically that Republicans attempted to lie that they supported those protections. The results of the midterms should have taught them that lying about that support wasn't enough. Next time they will need to actually support it, assuming they are the sort who learns from experience.

Rule of Law Trumps Trump

9. The Trump Foundation is forced to close over illegalities. (Source)

10. The Mueller investigation is still chugging along, despite Trump's most fervent wishes.

There are at least 17 investigations going on right now surrounding Trump and his assets. If he is as corrupt as many think he is, we will find a lot more evidence of criminality as 2019 unfolds.

Looking Forward

We are rightfully exhausted. Remember the old days when we mostly ignored politics and just showed up for Presidential elections? Well, that is how we got into this disaster to begin with, so let's not think too fondly of those times. It would be nice if our efforts and attentions made more progress though, but that is the nature of being in the position of RESISTING.

Beginning January 3rd, we will have power in the House, so we can do more than just resist. Our new diverse Congress can negotiate for positive policies we need and help us defend against changes that offend our values.

If we play our cards correctly, in two years we can be in a position of complete power and start IMPLEMENTING instead of RESISTING.

My, but doesn't that sound nice?!!!

We should take a moment to pat ourselves on the back for all our efforts to fight for what we believe in and for all we've learned this last year.

Here's a toast to us. May 2019 be filled with reunited refugee families, health care wins, a plan to combat climate change, further progress toward equality, many indictments, and a return to the rule of law.

Happy New Year!

Lisanne Lombardo
Citizen
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We the People: Introducing New Graphics and Branding!

2018-12-09T15:07:00.003-05:00

Okay, I admit, I'm pitiful. I am a designer, but I am not a developer. I have no idea how to get the url for my blogger Twitter card without first posting my Twitter card image, so that I can then use that url to create the Twitter card. I've changed the name of my blog and updated the branding. Here is the big reveal. Now I have to implement these files. Hopefully it will all be up by the time people start viewing it.

We the People

So here is a post to show off my new Header, Logo, and Favicon for my newly rebranded blog.

I love the new styles. Unfortunately, all the previous links I created, broke, the minute I changed the site name. Sigh . . . better now than a year down the road after I had grown.

Logo

This should show up in any links to my general blog page on Twitter or Facebook. Hopefully I will have this working soon.

Header

You can also see this ABOVE this post in all its glory.

Favicon

This is the little tiny icon that shows up next to the url or on the browser tab. It almost the same as the Logo, only it will be tiny, so I had to make it high contrast.

Great American Betrayer

2018-12-02T02:39:00.000-05:00

My aim with this post is to take individual cases of Trump's betrayal of America and break them down into clear points that readers can use in dialog with fellow citizens to express how Trump is unfit for office. I hope these conversations can be done in a non-partisan way. Even though people are dug in to their side, it may be helpful to remind people, as the crimes become more difficult to deny, that they do not need to switch parties to admit this President is unfit for office. They don't have to (read in Darth Vader voice) "come to the Blue side," if you will.

Case 1: Trump's Aides Proffer Russia Sanction Relief and a 50 Million Dollar Penthouse Bribe to Open Path to Financing for the Trump Tower Moscow.

Summary

It was a three decade dream of Trump's to build a Trump Tower Moscow.
Michael Cohen and Felix Sater worked on the deal until summer of 2016, with plans for financing by Russian banks subject to US sanctions.
Financing with those banks would have been impossible while sanctions were in place.
As part of the deal, the plan was to give Putin a 50 million dollar penthouse.
Cohen kept Trump and family apprised of his efforts toward the deal.
Trump repeatedly lied to the US public about business dealings with Russia, both during the campaign and after, keeping his Trump Tower Moscow deal negotiations secret.
Before inauguration, Trump refuses to divest his businesses and Trump's incoming National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn, has conversations with a Russian diplomat about Sanctions.
Days after Trump's inauguration, Trump's administration makes moves to drop US sanctions against Russia, despite the fact that the most recent sanctions were levied in response to Russias interference into our election.
Cohen, Sater, and a Ukrainian lawyer Andrii Artemenko draw up a Russia-Ukraine peace plan that includes dropping US sanctions on Russia, and deliver it to Flynn.
Trump was willing to eliminate sanctions, the only deterrance we have to try to keep Russia from meddling in our elections.
Trump would have benefitted personally from Russian sanctions being dropped by opening the door to financing the Trump Tower Moscow deal, his decades long dream.
In short, Trump was willing to give up our election security for Trump Tower Moscow. He knew it was wrong and so he lied about it. This is a betrayal of the citizens of the United States of America.

Facts

1987: In the Art of the Deal, Trump's memoir, Trump described his vision for “a large luxury hotel across the street from the Kremlin in partnership with the Soviet government.” (Source)
1996: Trump makes an exploratory trip to Russia and registers his trademark. (Source)
2007: In a court deposition Trump says, "We will be in Moscow at some point.” (Source)
September 12, 2014: (Russian Bank) VTB Bank was sanctioned and US Persons were prohibited from transactions including loans of longer than 90 days. (Source)
October 13, 2015: Felix Sater sends Cohen a copy of draft Letter of Intent for the Trump Tower Moscow deal. He includes a note, "Lets make this happen and build a Trump Moscow," it reads. “And possibly fix relations between the countries by showing everyone that commerce & business are much better and more practical than politics. That should be Putins message as well, and we will help him agree on that message. Help world peace and make a lot of money, I would say thats a great lifetime goal for us to go after.” (Source)
October 28, 2015: Trump signs a letter of intent for the Trump Tower Moscow deal. A copy of the preliminary draft is available publicly. (Source)
Around November, 2015: Felix Sater exchanged a series of emails with Michael Cohen, Trump's attorney promising to get the Trump Tower Moscow deal done and to get Putin's help in getting Trump elected. One of the quotes is "I will get Putin on this program and we will get Donald elected." (Source)
Around November, 2015: In the same series of emails Felix Sater confirms he had lined up financing with VTB Bank for Trump Tower Moscow. (Source)
December 2015: Felix Sater emailed Michael Cohen, saying he had a former Russian Military Intelligence General, Evgeny Schmykov, on the phone and needed Cohen and Trump's passport information so VTB Bank could arrange for a passport. (Source)
December 22, 2015: (Russian Bank) GenBank was added to the sanctioned list. (Source)
December 31, 2015: Sater informs Cohen that financing will now be through GenBank and that meetings in Moscow will include Putin's Press Secretary, Dmitry Pescov. (Source)
January 20, 2016: Cohen and Peskov's assistant speak on the phone about the deal includes giving a 50 million dollar penthouse to Putin. (Source)
Late 2015 - Early 2016: Don Jr. and Ivanka are included in emails about the deal. Ivanaka recommends an architect. (Source)
Summer, 2016: Cohen and Sater continue to work the Trump Tower Moscow deal. (Source)
Up through June 2016: Cohen kept Trump apprised of the deal and Russia contacts. (Source)
November 8, 2016: Trump is elected.
December 28, 2016: New Russia sanctions are announced by the Obama administration for their involvement in the US election interference. (Source)
December 29, 2016: Incoming National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn, has phone conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, about Russia sanctions. (Source)
January 11, 2017: Trump announces that he won't divest his assets and will instead pass control to his two eldest sons. (Source)
January 20, 2017: Trump is inaugurated.
Days After Inauguration: Trump administration makes moves to drop sanctions in exchange for nothing (Source)
Late January, 2017: Cohen and Sater, meet with Ukrainian lawyer Andrii Artemenko to draw up a peace plan for Russia and Ukraine that included lifting sanctions and kompromat on the current Ukrainian President (Source)
Early February, 2017: Cohen goes to the White House and leaves the peace plan in Michael Flynn's office. (Source)
July 2016 - May 2017: Trump, his campaign, and his aids continually and repeatedly denied contact with, or business dealings with Russia, despite at least 92 contacts and ongoing deal negotiations. (Source)

Case 2: Trump’s Cover-up of Putin’s Crime of Election Influence Campaign: Via Denial or Gaslighting

Summary

Trump knows the cyberattacks happened.
Trump knows Putin ordered the crimes against America.
Trump lies to the American people about it.
Trump is covering up Russia’s crimes against America.
Trump is betraying America.

Facts

Two weeks before Trump took office he was shown highly classified intelligence indicating unequivocally that Putin personally ordered the cyberattacks to sway the 2016 elections. (Source)
Since Trump took office, the intelligence community has repeatedly publicly asserted Russia is behind the cyberattacks. (Source)
Since taking office, Trump has repeatedly called the election cyberattacks a hoax and fake news. (Source)
He occasionally admits it happened and blames others. He rarely admits it was Russia. But then he goes right back to denying it. This can be seen as gaslighting, which is psychological manipulation and in this case the victim is the American public. (Source)
Sometimes Trump cites Putin’s denials of the attacks, in his denials. (Source)

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Now that we have reviewed the cases, what should we do about it?

The Constitution defines the requirement for impeachment in Article II, Section 4. as:

The President, Vice President, and all civil Officers of the United States shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors.

Treason is further defined in Article III, Section 3, as:

Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.

One of Clinton's Articles of Impeachment included charges of Perjury (Lying to Congress) so 'High Crimes and Misdemeanors' is pretty loose. However, I'm not just considering the requirements for impeachment here. Most citizens are not lawyers and frankly we don't need to be concerned with if Trump meets the legal requirements for impeachment. That is the job of Congress.

Our job, as citizens, is to determine if he has met our moral definition of traitor or betrayer, violated his oath of office, or if he has not upheld his duties to the Constitution.

Webster's definition of 'betray' includes:

lead astray;

deliver to an enemy by treachery;

fail or desert in time of need; and,

to prove false.

The oath of office is:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

The preamble to the constitution is:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

If we feel he has betrayed us, the people, or our country, based on our moral definition of betrayal, violated his oath of office, or failed to uphold the constitution, then our duty is to call for his impeachment and removal.

We the People put him in office.
We the People are responsible for taking him out of office.

When we elect a President, we give him the reins of the most powerful country on earth. It is our duty to choose wisely. Should we make an error, it is further our duty to push as hard as possible to remove him from office. That is the responsibility of citizens of a democracy. The same power we are gifted with to determine our Presidents, must then be used to remove them from office. We must exert the Will of the People.

Since impeachment is a political process, and Congress is a political body, it's wisely hesitant to impeach a president who is supported by the Will of the People. Congress should not wish to unduly deprive us, the people, of a president we, the people, put into power via our democratic vote. Congress will want to know that the Will of the People is behind impeachment. So, at the point where we, the people, find Trump has met our moral definition of traitor or betrayer, we must start calling for impeachment. We must loudly express our will to impeach him.

Only when both the Will of the People demands impeachment, and Congress finds that Trump has met the legal requirements for impeachment, will impeachment be likely to occur.

Given this, I have not limiting my cases of betrayal to those that meet the legal definition of traitor or requirements for impeachment. This post is aimed at citizens, not lawyers or Congress. Indeed, I have no legal expertise, so I can't speak to the legal requirements beyond the references I've provided. Further, the information that most of us has, is information in the public space, through the free press and public documents. We aren't on a grand jury and we aren't part of the special counsel, but we do have our role to play. It is perhaps the most important role of all. Our role is to articulate the Will of the People.

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I hope this post was helpful! I'll update it soon with cases for the following, as more information becomes publicly available:

Trump’s Cover-up of Putin’s Crime of Election Influence Campaign
Trump Acceptance of Foreign Aid to Influence Election: Via Funneling Russia Money through NRA

Warm regards,

Lisanne Lombardo

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Essential Guide to Understanding Trump's Collusion

2018-11-18T13:39:00.002-05:00

Book Review
Title: Proof of Collusion: How Trump Betrayed America
By: Seth Abramson

I have been avidly, and perhaps obsessively, following the Trump collusion investigation since it officially began, because, like many Americans, I was stunned by his election and the clear Russian interference into our election process. The assault on our Democracy offended me at the deepest level and my patriotic heart thrummed for justice . . . for a way to heal the wound to our nation.

The scope of the investigation, and many lines of criminal inquiry, are massive. This poses a problem for many people, like me, who have trouble memorizing random points of data. So many facts have hit the public sphere, it really is impossible for anyone, except those most gifted in memorizing detail, to see the whole picture.

Author Seth Abramson has done the public a great service in his piece of work, Proof of Collusion: How Trump Betrayed America. He has meticulously tracked all of the publicly available data points from reputable news sources and public filings, and has codified the relevant facts into a master timeline and provided that information in this book.

I have just finished one listen to the Audio. I intend to listen two more times, as I want to commit it to memory as much as possible, and my memory for this sort of detail is less than stellar, unless I were doing the research myself.

Abramson addresses some of the more interesting and obscure threads that I've been tracking myself, and which I've seen few others approach, including:

Nastya Rybka: Belarusian escort and ex-lover to Russian Oligarch Deripaska, jailed in Thailand, who claimed to have relevant video regarding the Trump Russia investigation, which Russia seemed to find worrisome enough that it threatened to cut YouTube off for their entire country. (Nothing to see here folks.)
Carter Page: Foreign Policy Advisor to the Trump Campaign, who had been under FBI surveillance for knowingly consorting with known Russian spies, since long before Trump officially announced his candidacy, and who once, himself, claimed, in writing, to be an advisor to the Kremlin.
The NRA Connection: Maria Butina and the funneling of Russian Oligarch Torshin's money through the NRA to assist the Trump Campaign.
Cambridge Analytica: Their ties to Russia, how the Facebook data got into Russia's hands, and the microtargetting of Americans with Fear Campaigns.

In addition to the more obscure threads noted above, Abramson covers all the more familiar threads such as:

The Trump Tower Meeting
The October Surprise
The RNC Platform Change on Russian Sanctions

If you want to have the best grasp of the public information to date, this is the book. Forget all the rest. This is purely factual. If you are looking for political drama, look elsewhere. Abramson even handles the more salacious bits in a factual manner.

The only way you could get a better grasp of all that is currently known in the public sphere is to meticulously catalogue every journal article that relates to collusion yourself and build your own master timeline. Plus, to match the value you get in this book, you would need to be a lawyer yourself, as Abramson adds his expertise in understanding how the facts correlate to actual criminal statutes. Or, you can skip going to law school, years of research, and for a mere pittance comparatively, have it all at your fingertips.

Facts matter. These are the facts as best we know them at this time.

I 100% recommend this book. It would also make a most excellent holiday gift.

This book is available in Audio, Kindle, and hardcover and I now own all three. I personally recommend buying the Audio and the Kindle version and listening as you read. The Russian names are a little daunting and having them spoken for you helps a lot. The Kindle version is great as a searchable reference. I can type in a search, such as 'Carter Page', and quickly find all the references about him. This feature will be especially convenient when Mueller starts indicting folks again.

This book is also available outside of Amazon and can be found in many libraries. Consider requesting that your local library order a copy, or donate a copy to them as I understand waiting lines in some libraries are already quite long.

Link to book on Amazon

#BookReview #Review

Want to help get this book into the hands of every Congress Member? Please consider contributing to this GoFundMe. #Resist
https://www.gofundme.com/give-all-of-congress-a-copy-of-proof-of-collusion

All I Want for Christmas Is My Democracy Back

2018-11-13T05:12:00.000-05:00

Democracy in Distress. Please help!

Democratic National Committee
Representative Nancy Pelosi
Senator Chuck Schumer
Governor Roy Cooper

Dear Democratic Leaders,

I'm a citizen in gerrymandered district NC11. While we were not successful in getting our Democratic candidate elected, I donated what I could to support his efforts, as well as many other Democrat's campaigns, both in the House, Senate and some Governor races. I donated my time in a variety of efforts to get out the vote. I also lifted my voice, every single day, for the last few years. Clearly, I was not alone.

The amount of money that was spent by individual contributors (me and many others), in an attempt to compete with large PAC and SuperPAC donations, is nothing less than gross waste. Imagine how many homeless vets we could have housed, or orphaned children we could have helped. I'm certain our forefathers never dreamed that citizens would have to financially compete with corporations to get our voices heard.

This must be corrected.

The blame lies in many places. As citizens, we must own part of the blame for not paying enough attention to politics for too long, and allowing those who wish to corrupt, free rein. Democracy is a ship that requires a captain to steer it. We, the citizens, are that captain. We must steer the ship. I assure you, we are steering now.

Look at the money that came from individual contributors, through Democratic organizations and to individual campaigns. Take this letter and multiply it by all those individual contributors, and hear our voice:

We need campaign finance reform. We do not want to spend so much money getting our voices heard. We are not here to employ and support a massive campaign system. We prefer to spend that money on making our country better and helping each other. This system must be made efficient.

Still, I don't regret it. This is where we are now and it had to be done. However, I insist you work toward changing this in the future. We should not have to fight so hard, and spend so much to have our voices heard.

As you consider how to use our new found power, I want to share my priorities. You can consider this my Christmas Wish List.

Protect the Mueller Investigation

I don't care if you have to shut down the entire federal government to do it. Do it. Get it done. Our national sovereignty is at stake. States should prepare to help the most needy in the case of a shutdown. This may be a long battle.

Strengthen Democracy

The Will of the People must once again ring through the Halls of Congress and in our State Houses. Once that is done, all other policies become easier to pass, because most Americans are not that far apart on most policy.

Fix Election Problems

We need federal minimum election standards. I want:

Paper ballots.
An optional receipt documenting our votes.
An online account where we can privately check that our vote still matches what shows on our receipt.
A national hotline where we can report discrepancies.
Automatic auditing of a sampling of the paper ballots to make sure they match the online count, in all states, in all cases. A close race should not be required. Auditing deters fraud/hacking. If discrepancies are found, a full recount should be done.
A mandatory full recount in the case of close races.
A small tax credit for all who vote.
Civics education nationwide. Our system is confusing and not understanding the process is a big reason young voters don't participate.
Laws that hold candidates, their teams and vendors, and election officials, and elected officials, accountable, under threat of serious jail time and disqualification from running for any office, for voter suppression. No person who has any connection to, or benefit from an election should participate in any activity, purposefully, or through gross negligence, to suppress the vote.

Outlaw Individually Targeted Political Ads and Fear Campaigns

Not near enough national attention has been paid to the targeting of individuals with political ads. This is harmful to society, because it creates a different reality of the state of our country. Talk to the American Psychological Association (APA) about it and seek their expertise. We must all live in the same reality and have a common understanding of where we are so we can form a common vision of how we need to change. Individual targeting gives people a different sense of reality, a different sense of now.

Further, fear campaigns are a vile abuse on the individual and must end. They exploited individual weaknesses. Can you imagine being high on the neurotic scale and getting pounded daily by ISIS and MS-13 fear campaigns? That is psychological assault. Ask the APA about the damage my fellow Americans are suffering from this.

We have been downgraded to a "flawed democracy" for the second year in a row, by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), due to the doubts about our elections. Our trust has wavered and this must be corrected.

Thank you for listening to my voice. As my civic duty requires, I will be watching your actions and I will be holding you accountable by my future votes and contributions.

Lisanne Lombardo
Citizen of the United States
NC11, Candler, North Carolina

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We need to build a common vision of our future!

Vote Young People, Vote!

2018-11-02T03:34:00.001-04:00

We need your unjaded, hopeful hearts, unhindered by thoughts of "how things have always been" and instead, simply seeing "how things are" and "how they should be."

We need your bright, educated minds, whose curiosity has brought you to Google questions and YouTube ideas we haven't even thought of.

We need your values and vision of the future to determine what our government should be.

You will live with the consequences of this election, whether you vote or not. Do you really want me defining the future of the country you must live in, without your say? Do you really want to relinquish your power to me? Do you think I know enough about what you want, what you need, to shape this world to your standards?

This election is the most important election in my lifetime, and many say, since the birth of our nation. It will likely be the most important of your lifetime too.

Vote your conscience.
Vote for your hopes, your dreams.
Vote for your future.

Own your power. Wield it.

VOTE

Make Voting Cool!

2018-07-26T18:30:00.000-04:00

I came up with a brilliant idea (at least in my own mind!) of making voting cool with social media voting badges.

Little icon badges would display on the user account of major social media applications if the user:

Verified they are a Registered Vote
Voted that Election Cycle

Almost half of U.S. citizens do not vote and the fastest way to make the positive change we need is to get a good portion of them voting.

Social media badges will absolutely start a conversation around this. People will see a badge on a friend's account and be like, "Hey, where did you get that badge?" And the friend says, "Oh, I just verified that I'm a registered voter. This is how you get the badge . . ."

Karmic Justice

There is some karmic justice in targeting social media to do this for us, because frankly, they helped get us into this political mess with fake news and letting our data get in the wrong hands. They can darn well put some effort and dollars into helping us get out of this mess!

Please Sign the Petition

Please click the link below to sign the petition and share it as broadly as possible.

Make Voting Cool: Social Media Voting Badges

Dear Party of Democrats

2018-07-22T15:32:00.003-04:00

I am a Democrat, but there are two issues that have held me back from donating to party organizations since 2016. Instead, I have donated to individual Democratic candidates who align with my values.

The two issues are:

Super Delegates
Lack of concrete effort to fix campaign finance (in my view)

I see the Super Delegate issue has been dealt with and now they will only vote in the case of a tie. I'm pleased about that. I also see that your platform has included campaign finance reform on your website. I'm not sure if you have updated the platform or if it is the same written commitment it has always been.

What disturbs me is I recently (perhaps a month ago) received a survey to find out what people care about most, as far as issues. I believe it was your survey and the survey completely left out campaign finance reform and amending the Constitution to overturn Citizens United. Those are my top issue as I believe they are the core corruption in our political process that prevents all other issues from being resolved or makes them near insurmountable.

I absolutely care about many other issues, but as long as money corrupts our politics then it is unlikely those issues will be resolved. Even if they are, it will come at a high price to the public as both Citizens United and Big Money corruption cause polarization in our political parties. So the fact that you omitted these issues from the poll makes me question your dedication to these issues.

If I am remembering incorrectly about the content of the poll, that it was your poll, or if you have since published another survey that includes Citizens United and Campaign Finance Reform, then please do correct me and point me to details about the poll. That will help assure me as to your commitment on these issues.

My vision is that all Big Money should be removed from politics. All lobby groups should be prevented from lobbying congress. That doesn't mean special interest groups shouldn't exist. They should. But they should lobby the American people and educate the American people. The American people then should communicate their priorities to Congress. Lobby groups should never be allowed to touch Congress. Congress is there to represent the People. That is the way it should work in a democracy where the power is supposed to ultimately reside in the People and the People's Voice and the People's Will should drive Congress.

Additionally, right now our political process is such that an ordinary citizen of ordinary means would find it near impossible to run for a major elected political position. If these positions require a means threshold, then this feeds into the average citizen’s suspicion that all politicians are corrupt in some way. Citizens view it that the ordinary citizen with average means must align with some source of Big Money in order to be successful in politics. Therefore their very success means they are someone corrupted by Big Money. So it is essential that citizens see a path for ordinary citizens like them to become successful politicians without Big Money support. It isn’t enough to fight Big Money, but you must show the average citizen that this means threshold has been removed, leaving the door open for any good citizen to be successful in politics. This requires both policy change and public education.

So I really want to hear back from you and understand more fully what the Democratic Party vision of Big Money, Citizens United, Campaign Finance Reform, and Lobbying is. I want to know specifically why you would leave such crucial elements off of a public poll. I also want to know how you see the average citizen of average means making it in politics.

I am a dedicated Democrat and I strongly believe in democracy. I would like to donate directly to you and I will do so as soon as I confirm your goals align with mine. Otherwise, I will continue to reach out to individual Democrat candidates who I know align with my values and support them independently.

Let me be clear. I am not an Independent and never will be. Though I sympathize with the Independent movement, I feel it is the wrong strategy. I believe the correct (and far more effective) strategy is to pick a party and to lobby the party to change, to fit the moral view of the party members. That is exactly what I am doing and what I intend to continue to do. I am a Democrat and you are stuck with me. The main issues we seemed to diverge on are issues relating to commitment to democracy. Democracy certainly is not, nor ever should be, inconsistent with the Democratic party platform. We can come together on this. You have to make Democrats, like me, happy, to get our full support. It seems you are attempting to do this and I commend you on that. When you do ultimately make us happy, you will be meeting the requirements of many Independents as well and will garner their votes. Additionally, I would like to think that I am able to articulate clearly to you the concerns of a specific set of Democrats who think like me, and this clear articulation will allow you the ability to better respond. So, I hope that this will be a mutually beneficial conversation between us.

I will be publishing this letter to my new personal blog (https://lisannelombardo.blogspot.com/ ). It only has 600 views at this time, but do keep in mind that it is only about 24 hours old. I expect it will grow in size fairly quickly as my personal opinions are prolific and they seem to spill out my fingertips with ease. I am also sharing this letter with my more established author platform where I have a following that will be eager to hear your response. My current followers under my author platform can attest to the prolific nature of my opinions and writings, and I’m sure they are laughing at this last paragraph as they read it.

I will gladly publish your response under both platforms as I am not the only one with these concerns, I assure you.

Warm regards,

Lisanne Lombardo
Citizen of the United States of America
Advocate for Democracy

P.S. You may also enjoy my first post under this new blog. Feel free to share it if you wish.
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If you enjoyed this letter and are hoping for a response (like me!) from the Party of Democrats, please follow this blog. I will publish any response here. Also please consider sharing this post.

Where is Obama? I know.

2018-07-20T22:13:00.000-04:00

My Fellow Americans,
Do you believe President Trump has fulfilled his oath of office? If yes, then this letter is not for you.

This letter is for the rest of us who watched in horror as President Trump praised Putin and denied his involvement in the assault on our democracy in the 2016 elections. A denial that must be seen as a cover-up and collusion with Russia since we now know he was informed by American intelligence agencies, immediately upon taking office, that the attacks on our democracy unequivocally came from Putin. He boldly and blatantly lied to the American public, calling it Fake News, which can be seen as nothing less than aiding and abetting our enemy.

This letter is for those willing to protect their fellow countrymen's right to free and fair elections regardless of which party they belong to. It's for those shocked by Trump drawing equivalency between the word of a murderous dictator and our own Director of National Security who has dedicated his career to serving the American people. It's for those disgusted by President Trump esteeming a man currently perpetrating cyberattacks against our infrastructure and our upcoming elections. It's for those aghast at hearing Trump actually considered allowing our Ambassadors and other American citizens to be interrogated by Putin, who we know has been responsible for polonium tea and nerve agent murders of those on his death lists.

This letter is for those whose soul stirs with outrage, whose eyes fill with frustrated tears, whose breath stills with shock, whose heart has already broken so many times over the losses caused by this administration that they are unsure their heart can break again. And yet it is.

I see you calling for Obama, wondering where he is and why he doesn’t help us. I know you yearn for a leader to step up and fix this travesty that is occurring to our country, right now, before our very eyes.

My Dear Fellow Americans, My Dear True Patriots,

Obama has already helped us and we already have all the tools we need. I beg just a few moments of your time to remind you of a few truths.

We live in a representative democracy. Despite what recent disinformation campaigns have tried to sell the American people, democracy and republic are not mutually exclusive and both make up the very bones of our Constitution. We vote for our President and Congress members, and they in turn must listen to us throughout the duration of their time in office because their duty is to serve us. We put Obama in office, and he never held any power greater than the power we granted him by means of election. While we question the legitimacy of Trump’s ascension to the Oval Office, he holds no power that we cannot also take away; by voting for a replacement or by calling for impeachment. We live in a democracy and we have that power.

The United States government is set-up as a system of self-governance, and the ultimate power resides in We the People. This means, the buck stops with us, the citizens. We are the power that ordained and established the Constitution. It is our power that we allow to pass to the President for him to use for a time. We are ultimately responsible for all aspects of our government, including crimes committed by our president. And like any errant child, if a president abuses the powers we have granted, it is our responsibility to take them back. It is no less than our solemn duty.

So now I return to my first question. If you do not believe President Trump has fulfilled his oath of office, if you believe he has betrayed this country, committed your moral definition of treason, if you believe he does not have America’s best interest at heart, if you believe he meets your moral definition of a traitor, then it is your solemn duty to call for his impeachment. There can be no question of what we should do. We must call for his impeachment today and every single day thereafter until the Great American Betrayer is out of the Oval Office, whether it happens through impeachment or through our next election cycle. It matters not. What matters is that we do our duty and use all peaceful means available to eject him now, and we keep doing it every day until the glorious day the Great American Betrayer is no longer in the Oval Office. Trump was placed in office by the citizens of this country and he can be removed from power by the citizens of this country. Have no doubt of this, my fellow citizens. You not only have the power, but you are the power.

But why doesn’t Obama step up and help us? I know you are asking this as I see it posted all over social media. Some speculate that he is afraid. Others just wonder at the void and don’t understand why he is silent. He is not afraid, my countrymen. Oh no, it isn’t fear that stills his voice.

Obama first taught us to hope. Then he taught us that change was not to be feared, but to be used to propel us to a greater future. But he cannot step up now to help us to this new future, because he believes so strongly in democracy, and part of democracy is that when one takes the mantle of power of the presidency, one must be willing to give it back to the people. We have heard him say to keep fighting, and in those words, he is telling us all we need to know.

Obama has one more lesson to teach us though, and that is about self-empowerment. That lesson must come to us through his inaction. I can see him now, sitting next to Michelle, watching the Russia Summit Unmasking. I can see Michelle taking in a slight indrawn gasp and Obama, so in tune with her, turning toward her with the sparkle of tears in his beautiful eyes. I can see his great love of his country and his pain at our pain, and his frustration at his inability to act because of his great reverence for our democracy.

Then I imagine he turns introspective for a moment and starts remembering the last two years. I imagine him reviewing the first protest when women said they would not be objectified. Next, all protests since run through his mind like an old fashioned still movie, with old and young people, wearing pink hats and carrying erudite signs. Then I imagine him reaching over and holding Michelle’s hand and giving it a gentle squeeze with a slight nod, saying, “They’ve got this. They will do it.”

You see, when you wonder where Obama is, all you have to do is stand in front of a mirror or close your eyes and look inside yourself. We all have pieces of him already. We brought pieces of him to each march, rally, and protest. We have already practiced his final lesson. First he taught us Hope, then he taught us not to fear Change, and our final lesson is Self-empowerment.

When you need a leader, just stand in front of a mirror and you will see one. “Keep fighting,” Obama tells us. He is talking to you.

We have a democracy. The People put Trump in power. The People can take him out. We are citizens of the United States of America and we will not stand for someone who we believe to be a traitor to sully the Oval Office. We have been told that, because of Trump, America can no longer be considered the leader of the free world. Well, clearly the world hasn’t been paying attention, because our presidents never were the leaders of the free world. We are a republic. It has always been our citizens who have led, because our presidents are never greater than We the People are, from whom they are granted their power. We are the first great democracy on earth, and I’ll be damned if Putin is going to silence Our Voice or Our Will with a puppet president.

If you believe Trump has violated his oath of office, if you believe he doesn’t have America’s best interest at heart, if you believe in democracy, if you believe your will matters and your voice has power, then lift it. Lift it I say. Call your U. S. Representative to demand impeachment. If you think they won’t listen, then call the House Judiciary Committee where they will tally your call for impeachment and pass it on. Call your U. S. Senators and tell them you will stand for this nonsense no longer. Light up the phones. Write letters. March. Register new voters. Give hope to the disaffected. Share your vision with the disillusioned. Speak out in public forums, in your places of worship, in bars, in coffee shops, on street corners, yes, even on social media. Roar your truth from rooftops. Peacefully occupy your town squares in shifts and shout out your truths over megaphones. Lift up your voice. Be the leaders Obama knows you to be. Use the power of our democracy and do not stop until Trump is doomed to be nothing more than a cautionary tale we share with our grandchildren. Show the world what the first great democracy on Earth can do when it decides to shine its light and forge a new future.

And when you are done, flick Putin off your mind, like the inconsequential piece of lint that he is. He is one man, a dirty trickster who thinks being the president of a corrupt authoritarian regime is a great thing. He’s got nothing on us. We emerged from the skirts of Lady Liberty who not only holds a light to shine the way, but also opens her arms with compassion and has the strength to shelter the weary. We have the blood of all First People of all Nations on Earth running through our veins. The American Eagle is our symbol because we taught the entire world what freedom means. We are the most powerful free body on earth. We are Citizens of the United States of America. We are We the People.

Where is Obama you asked? We the People birthed Obama from the belly of our diverse nation, we are his legacy that can never be undone, and he is a piece of our hearts. He is confident we will overcome the travesty of the American Betrayer even without his help because Obama knows his greatness came from us, not the other way around. Now let us use our Power, use our Will, use our Voice, use our Wings of Liberty and let the world watch us soar.

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If this post has moved you, I hope you will share it.

We the People

Next Steps To Save America

Current Situation

The Danger of a Contested Convention

The Risk of Losing in the General Election

Stay United Against Trump

Hedge Your Bets to Fight For Americans In Need

Warren's Medicare-For-All Plan

Warren's Green New Deal

Warren's Anti-Corruption Plan

Pressure Biden While He's Vulnerable to Public Pressure

Summary of Next Steps To Save America

My Rage Statement: About the Treatment of Elizabeth Warren

We Will Have Justice Served

Dear John Bolton, Have you grown bone spurs?

Behold the Light of Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch

High Crimes and Misdemeanors Are Not Always Crimes

"The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."

Other high crimes and misdemeanors includes things like:

Abuse of Power

Violating Public Trust

Bribery

Treason

Violating the Oath of Office

This data on Americans was given to the Russians without the permission of the American People who provided that data.

Presidents get their power from The People and The People can take that power away if we believe a President abused that power.

We should not Impeach frivolously, nor should we ignore real wrongdoing. We must evaluate the evidence soberly, with thought for how it will effect our government currently, and for centuries to come. Impeachment is a responsibility we must use wisely.

Lisanne Lombardo

Our Nation: At a Precipice

NC State Board of Elections Betrays Voters

What are Hand-Marked Paper Ballot Systems?

What are Computer-Marked Barcode Ballot Systems?

The problems with Computer-Marked Barcode Ballot Systems:

The Benefits of Hand-Marked Paper Ballot Systems:

What Does This Mean for NC Voters?

We are Not Socialists! We are . . .

We are Americans using our system of Representational Democracy as our founders intended.

Warning Signs in a Democracy

Democracy Threatened

URGENT: North Carolina is Certifying Unsafe Election Systems!!!

The Urgency

Barcode Paper Ballot Back-up Systems

Issue 1: The touch screen may flip the vote.

Issue 2: Humans can't read barcodes and the barcode is the vote.

Issue 3: Many voters will not check the printed candidate name, even if the system prints it out.

Issue 4: Even if there is a printed name, the barcodes may not match the candidates' printed name and we, the voters, would never know that.

Issue 5: There is no true original record of who we, the voters, intended to vote for, for auditing purposes.

Hand-Marked Paper Ballot

North Carolina Board of Election Loyalty

What You Can Do

The Time To Act Is Now

Action Required to Protect Your Vote!

Why Trump Must Be Impeached and How to Pressure Pelosi!

The Democratic Party is Mine, but it isn't Perfect

Why I reject Pelosi's Position on Impeachment

Conspiracy to Commit Campaign Finance Violations

Committing Fraud

Violating International Law and US Law at the Border

Violating the Emoluments Clause

Conspiracy with Russia to Subvert our Democracy

Spreading Hate Across the World

I Will Choose Principle over Political Capital

What if the tide never changes?

How to Pressure Pelosi

Move Your Party Money

Cancel your Party Subscriptions

Mueller is Revealing Collusion

My Top Ten Resistance Wins for 2018!

Gun Safety

1. NRA membership is down and they are in the red by over 30 million dollars. (Source)

2. 27 states passed 67 new gun safety laws and enthusiasm for more gun safety regulation is still high. (Source)

#MeToo Movement

3. 201 Powerful men were brought down by the #MeToo movement and over half their replacements were women. (Source)

4. Dr. Christine Blasey Ford came forward and testified against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Many consider this a loss because Kavanaugh was still confirmed, but I consider this a win on three points.

Diversity in Congress

5. We have just elected the most diverse Congress in history, making it more reflective of America.

Immigration Wins

6. Despite the Trump administration's legal efforts to end DACA status, for the time being, DACA recipients can continue to renew their applications. (Source)

7. The Trump administration was forced to end the family separation policy. It is still happening, but at a much lower rate. (Source)

Health Care Debate