The Daily Dose/October 5, 2019
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
Leading Off
Notes from around our human experience:
What’s going on here?
The United States House of Representatives has opened an impeachment investigation into President Donald Trump. Impeachment is how the House investigates the president, and others, for wrongdoing. The Constitution is very specific on what federal officials can be tried on, with Article 2, Section 4 limiting it to “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors”.
OK, I’ll bite. What is a “high crime”?
While archaic now, the phrase was familiar to our Founding Fathers and had been used in English and British parliaments for centuries. It generally refers to duties inherited after taking an oath of office that can only be done by someone in that position.
President Trump has demanded the House take a vote of the full house before investigating him. Can he do this?
Yes and no. The president can demand whatever he wants, but there is no provision in the Constitution for the House taking a vote before proceeding. The Constitution, as it can be from time to time, is wonderfully vague on the matter, Article 1, Section 2, Clause 5 saying, in part, that the House:
…shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.
That’s about all it says, though. The House can go about the matter of impeachment however it sees fit and can open an impeachment inquiry at any time and for any reason, with or without the concurrence of the full House. The fact the president is demanding this shows the utter ignorance of him and his staff. This is straight out of Impeachment 101.
Has this happened before?
Yes, indeed. In fact, this is the fifth time the House as opened an impeachment investigation. Previously they’ve investigated presidents James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton. They declined to impeach Buchanan, impeached both Johnson and Clinton and would have impeached Nixon had he not resigned.
Isn’t this awfully partisan?
Yes, but that is the nature of the impeachment beast here in America. We are a two-party country and have been since before the founding of our republic, so it hardly the Upset of the Year that this is, and will continue to be, a partisan circus because previous impeachements were, too. We must say, though, the Trump affair may well make the whole Nixon imbroglio look like something out of Mother Goose.
What happens if the House does impeach the president?
A trial in the United States Senate will occur, presided over by the chief justice. If the president is acquitted, he continues being president. If he is convicted by the Senate, he is removed from office immediately. There are no other penalties following conviction by the Senate. Both Johnson and Clinton were acquitted in their Senate trials, Johnson by one vote, Clinton by a more comfortable margin.
Today At The Site:
The Diary of a Nobody: Sparrow enjoys a day of rest. Today’s Diary.
The Wife knew her husband was weary and took very good care of me…In fairly short order I had a thermos of coffee on the coffee table and a bit later she brought me a morning meal: a cheese omelette, wheat toast, bacon, and oatmeal…From time to time I’d get up to use the can or stretch but after a minute or so I’d yawn, weary from the exertion, and was back on the couch soon enough…Dinner was at 1600 – the homemade enchiladas she made last week, plus some other tasty stuff to include tater tots because the tortillas didn’t have enuff carbs on their own – and this was the longest I was off the couch all day, and I spent that time sitting down…After another 90 minutes or so of reading I started dozing off so I retired for the night, exhausted after a long day on the couch…I fell asleep in short order and slept until 0400 Friday morning (see Sleep Log below).
It’s Sparrow, an average man passing an average life
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On This Date
In 1982 – Johnson & Johnson recalls 31 million bottles of Tylenol products nationwide after seven people in the Chicago area died after taking Tylenol products that had been laced with cyanide. The killer was never found. A New York City man who wrote Johnson & Johnson trying to extort money in exchange for the murders stopping did serve 13-years for extortion, but otherwise could not be tied to the crimes. The usual federal laws were passed and changes in the way over-the-counter drugs were packaged were instituted, which is why some medicines now come in seemingly adult-proof caps.
In 1983 – The Edmonton Oilers defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-4 in the season opener for both teams. For the Oilers, Wayne Gretzky had a goal and an assist, the first of an NHL 51 consecutive games Gretzky would have a point in. The streak would end on January 27, 1984, and Gretzky broke the record of 30 consecutive games he had established the previous season.
In 1985 – Dire Straits is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the third and final consecutive week with Money For Nothing. The song also went to #1 in Canada and peaked at #4 in the group’s native Great Britain. It was Billboard’s 8th biggest song of the year and ranked 272nd on Billboard’s 60th anniversary chart in 2018. It was their second of three Top 40 hits in the US – all Top 10s – and remains their only #1 song.
Quotebook
In times like these, it helps to remember there have always been times like these.
Paul Harvey
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Ray Charles’ final #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 was I Can’t Stop Loving You in 1963.
Today’s Stumper
How many points did Wayne Gretzky have during his 51-game consecutive point streak? – Answer next time!
