Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D.

Many believe that by the Senate giving credence to a trial based on the no evidence, no crime, read the transcripts, “no pressure” Impeachment Hoax, rather than an outright dismissal, it gives the partisan Democrat Witch Hunt credibility that it otherwise does not have. I agree!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2020

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Re: “Democrats, it’s time to move on”:

I believe this argument is no longer relevant. Since President Donald Trump’s latest move against Iran, times have dramatically changed.

It’s time for Democrats to move on, Republicans too—for the removal of this president from office.

Marsha Conn, Seattle

Note from KBJ: I'm confused, Marsha. What did President Trump do "against Iran"? He did no more than Barack Obama did when Obama ridded the world of Osama bin Laden. Did you call for Obama's impeachment?

Where have the Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats gone when they have spent the last 3 days defending the life of Qassem Soleimani, one of the worst terrorists in history and the father of the roadside bomb? He was also looking to do big future damage! Dems are “unhinged.”

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2020

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Power Windows (1985). Neil Peart, requiescat in pace.

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Yesterday evening, Katherine and I watched The Falcon and the Snowman (1985), which Katherine had never seen. I saw it many years ago on cable television, but remembered little except the basic plot and the wonderful soundtrack (which I own on compact disc) by Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays. The movie stars Timothy Hutton and Sean Penn as friends (former altar boys) who find themselves at the center of international intrigue as a result of one of them (Penn's character) delivering state secrets acquired by the other (Hutton's character) to the Soviet embassy in Mexico. The acting is strong; the plot is clear; the situations are plausible. Indeed, the movie is based on actual events involving Christopher Boyce (Hutton's character) and Daulton Lee (Penn's character). You can read about these men on Wikipedia. Both are still alive and both are now out of prison.

Here is the trailer.

Eerie parallels are apparent between President Trump’s aggressive actions toward Iran and the ill-fated decision of President George W. Bush to invade Iraq in 2003: overconfidence in American military power; a false sense of invulnerability; lack of transparency; ideological and politically driven policy; personal vendettas in high places; weak and fabricated justifications for US aggression; unwillingness to question assumptions or consider nonviolent alternatives; lack of attention to long-term consequences; capitulation of influential administrative and legislative voices; and a quiescent public.

One senses the same unwise itching by officials to apply military force, the same lack of honesty about national security, and the same desire for illegal regime change.

What is it about a country that tempts it to undertake a second costly, misconceived, and self-destructive action in the Middle East in less than two decades?

John Aram

Brookline

Note from KBJ: Yes; they're exactly the same, John.