Let's start with Cohen.
1. I think probably 90% of what Cohen said is true. Trump probably is racist. He probably did threaten his HS and college to not release his grades. He probably did pay Stormy to be quiet. He is a liar. He is a con man. The thing about Trump is that all those things are already known. He has an ego problem. He lies all the time. Don't you think if he had a 4.0, he would attach those to every tweet. Now here is where I get frustrated. The Cohen testimony could have been exactly the same without some Dem help/coaching. He could have just revealed his relationship with Trump. That would have been fine. We know Trump is scummy. Why did Dems have to have Cohen coached and prepped? You may ask, how do you know he was coached? You are just speculating and for almost the entire testimony, you would have been right. HOWEVER, during his closing statement, Cohen went through some Dem talking points. He said "ou don’t separate families from one another" Now I feel extremely confidant that Cohen doesn't give a crap about immigrant families. So why would he even think to put that in? Seems very odd. Additionally, ripping on Trump for ripping on Gold Star families? I would think Cohen wouldn't even remember that. So I feel pretty confidant that his closing remarks were crafted with some help from the Dem party. And frankly, it is not needed. Trump can ruin himself without Dem over reaching, they continue to eff this up. Personal history here. I once went into a Claim Construction hearing and my case had some hard arguments. I made those hard arguments and I sat down thinking I was going to lose those claim term definitions, but the other side got up and extremely over reached on every term, so the judge just went with my terms in the end. I had no business winning a couple of those and I am not some super star lawyer (especially that day), but the other side over played their hand and it cost them. The Dem party continues to do that. Stupid Stupid Stupid.
2. The one Remark that I agree with Cohen that does scare me. He said that he feared Trump would not leave the white house willingly if he lost the 2020 election. I could honestly see that, especially if it were very close. However, I think the dems continue to over reach and Trump some how pulls off another upset. The GND is an over reach. People don't like extreme change. Every politician knows that. Even Obama said, The Govt is an aircraft carrier, you can make tight turns. My fear with the Dem party is that they are not interested in taking proper avenues to pass some of the changes they want. For example, they want to restrict gun access. I get that, I am fine with a lot of it. But any significant changes should go through the congressional amendment requirements. The Dem party wants Judges/Justices who will enact laws that legislators cannot pass. We should all be scared of such power grabs. I have in my line of work a SCOTUS decision where they just created, conjured, "Judicially Created Exceptions" to section 35 USC 101. How the hell do they have the power to do that? If ever you look at what a politican is doing to enact law or enforce laws, imagine the other side doing it, how would you feel? If you are dem, you hate all the Exec Orders that Trump is doing? The Declaration of Emergency? Then you better hope that your candidates, your chosen leader, doesn't take the same avenue. I hope Trump loses the Emergency Declaration for the southern border.
3. A rep in a committee hearing just called another rep racist for bringing a black guest. WTF world are we living in? You don't like "token" guests, but you want to pass laws requiring interviewing minority candidates? You are inviting this kind of grandstanding. It is ridiculous. Imagine if your first defining characteristic is your race or gender? It completely marginalizes people. You are not a great neuro scientist who discovered how to stop growth of dementia, but you are a great latin neuro scientist. I get that you want other latin children to look up to this person and think, Hey, they did it, we can too, we are smart, we can be great. And the scientist should be recognized, but lead with accomplishments, not race. I think back to Michael Sam's interview, "I want to be a great football player who happens to be gay". I agree Mr. Sam, I agree.
I think these hearings will get worse before they get better. ON a side note, if you haven't seen the SNL Feinstein video, go look it up, it is hilarious.
4. On government, maybe politicians should just have a thread on their websites denouncing statements, actions, etc. That seems to be the finger pointing constantly now. It's not what you voted for or what you voted against, it is that a colleague or some group said something bad and you better denounce it or you are a terrible person. I aint got time for that sh!t. Move the eff on. This is now a game being played by both parties and it is so damn stupid.
5. John Hickenlooper, former Gov of Colorado declared he is running for POTUS this week. Former AG Eric Holder said that he is not running. HRC is still quiet. Ho lee crap, how many candidates is that now? I still see these as the top 4: Bernie, Harris, Booker, Warren, but I don't know who will win. I actually don't think any of them will win. I think we are getting Bernie and Warren Fatigue. Booker would be wise to just stay quiet and collect money right now. Bernie is a money making machine right now.
6. The Nuclear Sumit came and went and Trump walked away from table. I think he did the right thing. PRK won't destroy until we lift sanctions, too bad, they should destroy some nukes, then we relax sanctions. I thought Trump's statement about Hanoi was great about Vietnam post communism. But I still think Kim Jong Un is still scared about becoming Ghadaffi.
7. Personal funny note. I booked a flight on Asiana in April flying from Taipei to Seoul. It reminded me of what I thought was the greatest prank of the 21st century:
1. I think probably 90% of what Cohen said is true. Trump probably is racist. He probably did threaten his HS and college to not release his grades. He probably did pay Stormy to be quiet. He is a liar. He is a con man. The thing about Trump is that all those things are already known. He has an ego problem. He lies all the time. Don't you think if he had a 4.0, he would attach those to every tweet. Now here is where I get frustrated. The Cohen testimony could have been exactly the same without some Dem help/coaching. He could have just revealed his relationship with Trump. That would have been fine. We know Trump is scummy. Why did Dems have to have Cohen coached and prepped? You may ask, how do you know he was coached? You are just speculating and for almost the entire testimony, you would have been right. HOWEVER, during his closing statement, Cohen went through some Dem talking points. He said "ou don’t separate families from one another" Now I feel extremely confidant that Cohen doesn't give a crap about immigrant families. So why would he even think to put that in? Seems very odd. Additionally, ripping on Trump for ripping on Gold Star families? I would think Cohen wouldn't even remember that. So I feel pretty confidant that his closing remarks were crafted with some help from the Dem party. And frankly, it is not needed. Trump can ruin himself without Dem over reaching, they continue to eff this up. Personal history here. I once went into a Claim Construction hearing and my case had some hard arguments. I made those hard arguments and I sat down thinking I was going to lose those claim term definitions, but the other side got up and extremely over reached on every term, so the judge just went with my terms in the end. I had no business winning a couple of those and I am not some super star lawyer (especially that day), but the other side over played their hand and it cost them. The Dem party continues to do that. Stupid Stupid Stupid.
2. The one Remark that I agree with Cohen that does scare me. He said that he feared Trump would not leave the white house willingly if he lost the 2020 election. I could honestly see that, especially if it were very close. However, I think the dems continue to over reach and Trump some how pulls off another upset. The GND is an over reach. People don't like extreme change. Every politician knows that. Even Obama said, The Govt is an aircraft carrier, you can make tight turns. My fear with the Dem party is that they are not interested in taking proper avenues to pass some of the changes they want. For example, they want to restrict gun access. I get that, I am fine with a lot of it. But any significant changes should go through the congressional amendment requirements. The Dem party wants Judges/Justices who will enact laws that legislators cannot pass. We should all be scared of such power grabs. I have in my line of work a SCOTUS decision where they just created, conjured, "Judicially Created Exceptions" to section 35 USC 101. How the hell do they have the power to do that? If ever you look at what a politican is doing to enact law or enforce laws, imagine the other side doing it, how would you feel? If you are dem, you hate all the Exec Orders that Trump is doing? The Declaration of Emergency? Then you better hope that your candidates, your chosen leader, doesn't take the same avenue. I hope Trump loses the Emergency Declaration for the southern border.
3. A rep in a committee hearing just called another rep racist for bringing a black guest. WTF world are we living in? You don't like "token" guests, but you want to pass laws requiring interviewing minority candidates? You are inviting this kind of grandstanding. It is ridiculous. Imagine if your first defining characteristic is your race or gender? It completely marginalizes people. You are not a great neuro scientist who discovered how to stop growth of dementia, but you are a great latin neuro scientist. I get that you want other latin children to look up to this person and think, Hey, they did it, we can too, we are smart, we can be great. And the scientist should be recognized, but lead with accomplishments, not race. I think back to Michael Sam's interview, "I want to be a great football player who happens to be gay". I agree Mr. Sam, I agree.
I think these hearings will get worse before they get better. ON a side note, if you haven't seen the SNL Feinstein video, go look it up, it is hilarious.
4. On government, maybe politicians should just have a thread on their websites denouncing statements, actions, etc. That seems to be the finger pointing constantly now. It's not what you voted for or what you voted against, it is that a colleague or some group said something bad and you better denounce it or you are a terrible person. I aint got time for that sh!t. Move the eff on. This is now a game being played by both parties and it is so damn stupid.
5. John Hickenlooper, former Gov of Colorado declared he is running for POTUS this week. Former AG Eric Holder said that he is not running. HRC is still quiet. Ho lee crap, how many candidates is that now? I still see these as the top 4: Bernie, Harris, Booker, Warren, but I don't know who will win. I actually don't think any of them will win. I think we are getting Bernie and Warren Fatigue. Booker would be wise to just stay quiet and collect money right now. Bernie is a money making machine right now.
6. The Nuclear Sumit came and went and Trump walked away from table. I think he did the right thing. PRK won't destroy until we lift sanctions, too bad, they should destroy some nukes, then we relax sanctions. I thought Trump's statement about Hanoi was great about Vietnam post communism. But I still think Kim Jong Un is still scared about becoming Ghadaffi.
7. Personal funny note. I booked a flight on Asiana in April flying from Taipei to Seoul. It reminded me of what I thought was the greatest prank of the 21st century:
