The Daily Dose/January 18, 2020
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience…
WE THE PEOPLE: The trial of President Donald Trump by the United States Senate is underway, with assorted participants sworn in this past Thursday and the trial will resume on Tuesday with senators voting on how the trial will be conducted. Trump is the third president to be impeached by the House of Representative and tried in the Senate, joining Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, both of whom were acquitted. 67 senators must vote to convict Trump and the only penalty for conviction is removal from office.
Broad Historical Context: It’s useful to look at the trials of Johnson and Clinton, and at the proceedings against Nixon for some context and to see how the articles against Trump stack up.
There are three standards. The Johnson Standard is that the president shoud not have even been impeached in the first place. The Clinton Standard is, yeah, well, you know, maybe he did some things, but they’re really not deserving of removal from office. The Nixon Standard is he’s guilty, guilty, guilty, go and hang the bastard.
Leading Off: Article I accuses the president of abuse of power and yeah, he did but who is really surprised by this? Article I is, at its core, an indictment of Trump trying to bully and influence people for his own personal benefit. This is not a bulletin, it’s part and parcel of how Trump does business; he’s been pestering people for his own personal gain probably since he came out of the womb. While this meets the Clinton Standard, we don’t think this meets the Nixon standard for impeachment and conviction. We’d vote no.
And In This Corner: Article II accusing the president of obstruction of Congress has more meat on it. Obstructing others so he can get his way is also how Trump conducts his affairs, but you can’t mess around with Congress and for our money this meets the Nixon Standard and if we had a vote we’d vote to convict on this article. Somewhere, Nixon is beaming with pride.
Get Your Official Daily Dose Policy Right Here: We’re not betting the rent money on it, but we would not die from shock if enough Republican US Senators have had enough of Trump’s nonsense and take the opportunity to stage a palace coup and convict him. Trump is a lying sexual predator who believes the moon is part of Mars whose only real talent is drawing attention to himself. We can do better.
Today At The Site
Editor’s Note: it’s Read Free Fortnight at The Diary of a Nobody. So go, scoot, click on the link and enjoy the Diary with Sparrow’s compliments.
The Diary of a Nobody: Sparrow has the latest from the Veterans Service Office. Today’s Diary.
I’ve started adding a weekly feature called Benefit Spotlight to my county VSO webpage…It runs every Friday and today was the third installment, a chat about our VA home loan benefit…It really isn’t a loan in that the VA doesn’t lend the money, but they do guarantee a portion of it which virtually every lender is willing to accept in lieu of a down payment, a pretty nice benefit…Virtually everyone who has served since World War II and doesn’t have a dishonorable discharge is eligible and even some surviving spouses are too, and The Shire was purchased in no small part because of this benefit…The other two were on my role as a VSO and our VA medical benefit.
Click here to get in on the laffs: Sparrow, The Bottom Ten, the funniest books you’ve ever read. We offer 4Ever and Ever access, or cheapskates can purchase books and columns individually.
On This Date
Great moments in us.
In 1943 – The first armed resistance by Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto against the Nazis occurs. Known to History as the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, it followed the deportation of roughly a quarter-million Jews to German concentration camps for killing the previous summer. The uprising ended on May 16, after German troops burned the ghetto to the ground. About 36,000 Jews were sent to the concentration camps, while another 20,000 died in the ghetto. The uprising killed 17 Germans.
In 1967 – Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia 76ers establishes a new NBA record for most field goals made in a game without a miss, going 15-for-15 in a 113-105 victory over the Detroit Pistons. Chamberlain broke the old record of 14 established by Bailey Howell of the Baltimore Bullets in January 1965 and Chamberlain would break his own mark twice more this season, including establishing the current mark by going 18-for-18 on Feb. 24.
In 1936 – Tommy Dorsey is at #1 on Your Hit Parade – a radio program that was the first chronicler of American charted music – for the second of three consecutive weeks with The Music Goes Round and Round. It was the sixth time at #1 for Dorsey since the first Hit Parade chart on Apr. 20, 1935 and his second as a solo act. The other four were with the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra, which he led with his brother Jimmy. Tommy Dorsey died in 1956, choking to death in his sleep at the age of 51.
Quotebook
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
O, what an untold world there is in one human heart!
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
It’s not who you know, but what you know.
Wayne Gretzky holds the NHL record for most career hat tricks with 50. To date, 878 NHL players have had at least one hat trick.
Today’s Stumper
Cheaper than Trivia Night at the bar.
What was Wilt Chamberlain’s field goal percentage for the 1966-67 season? – Answer next time!