Monthly Archives: October 2019

Bishop Arts Theatre Center’s The Wild Party Has Sex, Drugs and a Live Jazz Band – Dallas Observer

Posted: October 24, 2019 at 10:50 am

The flamboyance and glamour of the 1920s make for an excellent canvas upon which to paint the emptiest side of humanity. Self-obsessed, alcoholic, drug-addicted, highly sexed and violent, the many characters of Andrew Lippas The Wild Party exhibit the oft-romanticized hedonism of the Jazz Era. But while we are happy to watch them onstage, they dont inspire us to be guests at their party. This is a good thing.

This jazzy piece of musical theater focuses on the relationship between two sexually hungry characters. Burrs (Nolan Spinks) is a vaudeville clown who we first see pulling a never-ending handkerchief, not out of his pocket, but straight out of his pants; and Queenie (Kristin Colaneri), who as both her vivid wig and the musicals first song tell us was a blonde. This song shows us how the two lovers meet; the next couple of tunes take us through three years of a relationship that turns verbally and physically abusive.

This is the prologue to the main attraction: Queenie, tired and frustrated by Burrs abuse, plots a massive party at which she plans to deeply embarrass the clown. How else is a woman supposed to get back at an abusive lover?

Although Burrs actions make the audience writhe, Queenies wily acts of retribution cost her any sympathy we may have had for her. She exhibits enough self-determination and sass that we know she can stand up for herself against Burrs and get out of a bad situation. That only makes it worse when she instead vengefully throws herself deeper into their dog-eat-dog relationship.

Even at this early point in the show, nobody in the audience likes Queenie and Burrs. And nor should we: They are perhaps anti-role models, people we despise so much that we would do anything not to be like them.

We would hope, then, that we could turn to some of the other characters for hope. Surely, somewhere among the wild partys guests, there is a character who is good? But no. The company of partygoers include a pair of performers who are definitely lovers and maybe brothers; a proud whore; a prouder lesbian; a loving but totally vapid couple; and, most horrifically, an innocent minor whose innocence slowly drips away throughout the party. No wonder this show is restricted to mature audiences.

Many of these characters wouldnt draw a second glance in todays society, but in the20s, they represented the corrupt of society. We would like to disagree with the social ideals of the 1920s, but with this cast of characters, its rather impossible.

A possible reason none of these characters show even a glimmer of goodness is that they simply dont get enough time onstage. There are so many characters, and each of them contributes a little something to the diverse picture the show paints of just how many ways there are to be a bad person. And because there are so many of them, none of the characters develop beyond their vices.

That being said, many of the actors seize their short time in the spotlight to show off impressive acting or a great voice. Ashley Ragsdales performance as coked-up Kate, who spends much of the play sloppily seducing Burrs, is surprisingly stirring. The character is devoted to being the Life of the Party, an empty dream that she expresses in an upbeat song nonetheless underlain with the desperation and hopelessness of a life spent partying. It takes a certain something to express, primarily, the happy lust of a partygoer, while still layering the performance with the torment of a life dissatisfied on different levels. Ragsdale does just this.

Another character, played by Jason Hallman, has scarcely a role in the plot, and has no lines (when hes introduced, its said that his tongue was cut out) but there is a moment, late in the party as most everyone has fallen asleep, when he dances across the stage wearing nothing but a white shirt glowing in the blue stage lights. His drunken, sightly stumbling (purposefully so, it seems) ballet catches the audience off guard: Perhaps theres something endearing about humanity after all. It is but a quick glimpse at beauty, but an important one.

But why would we want to watch a musical that represents humanity so hopelessly? Why would anybody want to create a piece of theater so sadistic? Maybe Bishop Arts Theatre Center wants to instill their audience with sadness and despair. But given BATCs general mission to lift up the downtrodden rather than push them down further, this work likely means something more. Under the direction of Adam Adolfo, who is also the director of marketing and community engagement at BATC, The Wild Party serves to show a very real aspect of humanity an aspect of humanity that we should want to help.

And BATC offers plenty of opportunities to turn that charitable desire into a reality. They host short conversations after the shows with nonprofits or charities around the area that can both help us realize the reality of what the musical expresses and show us how to help people afflicted in similar ways.

Catch The Wild Partys final weekend onstage Friday-Sunday, Oct. 25-27, and immerse yourself in a glamorous, terrible world of sex, drugs and jazz which also serves as a healthy reminder that you can help fix the real problems you see onstage.

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In a trendy Seoul neighborhood, a taste of repressive North Korea – CNN

Posted: at 10:50 am

Seoul (CNN) In a hip neighborhood in Seoul, South Koreans are getting a taste of one of the world's most repressive regimes.

There are posters of smiling North Korean women. There are banners in the style of North Korean propaganda. And there are beers that look like they've come straight from a North Korean state-owned brewery.

Welcome to Pyongyang Pub, Seoul's North Korea-themed watering hole.

Forbidden fruit

With its authoritarian regime and tightly controlled tour groups, North Korea isn't the easiest place in the world to visit. North and South Korea are technically still at war, and for many South Koreans, Pyongyang Pub is as close as they are likely to get to going north of the border themselves.

Here, you can order what regular North Koreans eat, try on traditional hanbok (dresses) that North Koreans wear, and check out household items made in North Korea, including toothpaste, cosmetics and cigarettes.

Although there are other places in Seoul where you can try out North Korean fare, this is the city's first-known restaurant that has tried to turn itself into a little slice of the Hermit Kingdom.

Both the inside and outside the bar are painted mint green, a nod to apartments and buildings in North Korea which are often in pastel colors, according to the owner Kim, who asked not to give his full name as he was concerned about online criticism.

On the other side

But there are little signs that the bar which sits alongside fashionable boutiques and bustling restaurants in the trendy neighborhood of Hongdae isn't exactly like the pubs across the border. Hongdae, a university area next to the city's Han River, is also home to the headquarters of YG Entertainment, one of the biggest K-pop labels.

For a start, the propaganda slogans on Pyongyang Pub swap patriotism for hedonism -- think "more drinks for comrades," "let's bring about a great innovation in the manufacturing of bar snacks," and "let's make a new leap forward in the construction of a drinking powerhouse."

And here, the beer is German -- on closer inspection, the Taedonggang label is only a parody of North Korea's most famous beer. (Eagle-eyed diners will spot that the characters on the bottle are slightly different, swapping "dong" for "ddong," which means "poop").

About two years ago, Kim decided he wanted to bring authentic North Korean food to South Korea. And from the moment people walked in, he wanted it to feel like North Korea -- a place that carries a lot of mystique in South Korea.

He pored over images on social media from people who work in embassies in North Korea, and consulted with North Koreans who had defected to South Korea. He decorated the place with authentic North Korean items that were smuggled out via China.

Shifting rivalries

On the spot where Pyongyang Pub now stands, Kim ran a Japanese restaurant for about seven years. But this year's ongoing trade spat between South Korea and Japan saw sales slip by 50% compared with last year, so Kim closed the restaurant in July and opened his long-planned North Korean bar in its place.

The menu features common North Korean food, such as rice with marinated tofu, sweet rice sundaes and potato rice cakes.

Pyongyang Naengmyeon, a dish of cold noodles on the menu at Pyongyang Pub.

Charlie Miller/CNN

But even before the bar opened, Kim found himself at the center of another controversy.

The law itself is controversial. Used widely while South Korea was under military dictatorship from the 1960s to 1980s, the law was designed to protect South Korea against North Korean propaganda and to prosecute spies. The most serious punishment under the act is the death penalty.

Police from Mapo-gu -- the district where the bar is located -- said that police had decided that the pub wasn't in violation of the act, although that decision wasn't finalized and they were continuing to monitor the situation.

"For it to be a violation, it must have the element of intentionally praising (North Korea's regime or its leader)," a police official told CNN. "However, it was for marketing purposes."

Nevertheless, Kim took steps to make sure his bar didn't cross any lines. He took down the portraits of two former North Korean leaders that hang in every North Korean restaurant, and switched them for pictures of United States President Donald Trump and comedian Kim Gyeong-jin (no relation) pulling silly expressions.

"It is just to induce a laugh. It does not have a deep meaning," he said. "I didn't want the bar to have a serious atmosphere."

Ultimately, Kim said, he didn't open the restaurant to praise North Korea's leaders.

"I just made it so that people could have fun and enjoy," he said.

North Korea-style propaganda at Pyongyang Pub reads: "Welcome, this is Pyongyang Pub."

Charlie Miller/CNN

The talk of the town

Still, Pyongyang Pub's theme -- and its controversial local coverage -- has already attracted curious local customers and a smattering of foreign patrons.

"It has recently become the talk of the town, so I felt like coming at least once," said 27-year-old Byeon Yoon-suk, who works at a beverage company and visited the bar with his colleagues. "I think the interior is most unique ... It's kind of novel."

And many customers were unconcerned about worries the bar could run afoul of the law.

"[The bar] never glorifies North Korea," said Kim Jin-ah, a 45-year-old who hosts a home shopping show on television. "I think you can understand it as just a parody, (something) fun."

And while the place is clearly a novelty, some people said they'd like to come again.

Pyongyang Pub, 6 Wausan-ro 19-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea, +82 2-332-3066

Sophie Jeong reported from Seoul and Julia Hollingsworth reported from Hong Kong. CNN's Kim Na-yeong, Shin Jae-eun and Jake Kwon contributed reporting from Seoul.

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Louis Tomlinson: Harry Styles on magic mushrooms? I was the sex, drugs and rocknroll one – Metro Newspaper UK

Posted: at 10:50 am

HARRY STYLESS admission about biting the tip of his tongue off during a mushroom trip came as a surprise to Louis as he was always the one being told off for being One Directions tearaway stoner.

Recalling his days of hedonism, Louis proudly boasted he is actually the natural born rebel who has done his fair bit of sex, drugs and rocknroll.

I am not going to lie. I was pretty surprised to see the whole mushroom thing with Harry. I always used to get told off for smoking joints, he said.

But anyway there are some people who want to be known as that guy wild, crazy, whatever there are some people that just are.

Spilling on his own mischief, he added: There was a good year in the band, especially when I had my mates out. I think I did my bit for the pop rock world, shall we call it that. I did me bit.

Meanwhile, Louis had a giggle at his other 1D bandmate Niall Horan, who recently told Guilty Pleasures he was the vanilla one in the band. That is f***ing funny, Louis laughed. Its a very funny thing to admit.

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WhistlePig finishes rye whiskey in umeshu barrels – The Spirits Business

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Vermont-based producer WhistlePig has launched a limited edition 16-year-old rye whiskey finished in umeshu-seasoned barrels, called The Boss Hog: The Samurai Scientist.

The Samurai Scientist is finished in umeshu-seasoned barrels from Japanese brewery Kitaya

WhistlePig partnered with Japanese brewery Kitaya, which produces sak, shochu and umeshu, to create the limited edition offering. Kitaya is located near Yame City in the Fukuoka Prefecture of Kyushu Island.

It is the sixth edition in WhistlePigs Boss Hog range, which includes expressions aged in a variety of casks such as Scotch and Calvados apple brandy.

The rye whiskey was finished in barrels that contained Saikoo, a uniquely traditional umeshu aged for 11 years.

With umeshu being an intensely aromatic spirit, it does not take long to impart deeply complex flavours, said Pete Lynch, master blender of WhistlePig.

Each barrel of The Samurai Scientist is bottled at proof. Only 90 barrels exist and each bottle notes the barrel number and proof, ranging between 120-122.

The whiskey was distilled in Canada using koji fermentation and was bottled by hand on the WhistlePig Farm in Shoreham.

The new expression is said to be powerfully complex and distinctly unique from anything WhistlePig has introduced before.

The whiskey is named after Japanese chemist Jkichi Takamine, who introduced koji fermentation to the American whiskey industry in the 19th century.

It was an honour to work alongside the team at Kitaya to bring this collaboration to life in the form of the first American whiskey finished in Japanese umeshu barrels, added Jeff Kozak, CEO, WhistlePig.

With the introduction of The Samurai Scientist, WhistlePig continues to pave the way for innovation across the rye category.

Distinctly unique

In November 2018, the industry mourned the loss of WhistlePig master distiller Dave Pickerell, who died in San Francisco.

Dave Pickerell committed to five promises for The Boss Hog, including being distinctly unique from anything weve done before, Kozak continued.

He had a thirst for exploring and trialling techniques from around the world, and Takamine was likeminded in propelling whiskey innovation across continents. This vision continues to drive us to explore beyond the limits of American whiskey.

On the nose, the expression is intensely aromatic, with cinnamon, maple syrup and toasted marshmallow. The palate brings bold notes of tobacco, ginger baking spices and savoury umami. The addition of a few drops of water reveals rye spice, oak char and vanilla.

The bottle comes with a pewter stopper representing Takamines heritage and contributions to the chemistry industry.

Bottled at 60-61% ABV, The Samurai Scientist is available in premium alcohol stores, bars and restaurants in the US, with select international markets to follow in the coming weeks.

The whiskey will launch in the UK on 1 December and will be available from The Whisky Exchange, Master of Malt and Hedonism Wines with an RRP of 600 (US$772).

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Foals lash Brexit as the earth dies screaming Music – RTE.ie

Posted: at 10:50 am

Foals have just released the second part of their two-part album Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost, Yannis Philippakis talks imminent apocalypse, Brexit, and why his band are more old school rock `n' roll thanpeople might expect

It is the day of the latest Extinction Rebellion spectacles in London and while Foals singer Yannis Philippakis is too busy with press duties to superglue himself to a passing tube train, he is in fighting form.

Will you be out marching later, I ask. "If you your keep your questions short, I will be." he fires back.

As one mans eco warrior and another mans spoiled middle class crusty take to the streets below to protest against climate change, there is another rather pressing matter engaging the UK - the Brexit nightmare is still rumbling on.

Like an orangerag to a Trump detractor, I just have to mention the B word to 32-year-old Oxford drop-out Philippakis and hes off.

"I feel angry and I feel deeply let down," he says. "To see Britain descend into this morass of language and hatred and tribalism. Being haunted by its own empire and the lack of clear information and the willfulmanipulation of facts . . . When we first toured America I came across Fox News for the first time and I remembered thinking to myself, probably quite naively, thank god that isnt going on in Britain.

"There are standards and those standards have been shown to be figments of a prior age. I am angry and resigned that that is the reality. I wonder whether theres a way back from that, whether its in the UK or the States."

These are all themes addressed on Foals' new album, the second part of their ambitioustwo-part album Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost release. The first part came outlast March and went top 10 in Ireland and was nominated for a Mercury Prize and heralded the return to the idea of the album as a mysterious artefact for the adventurous Oxford band with the big, big sound.

Both albums are continent-cracking, tectonic plate-shifting, epochal forces of nature but if that first part sounded like Foals were auditioning to be the house band at the end of the world, then part two shimmers with at least some kind of optimism and a sense of cleansing, some kind of hope amid the wreckage.

"Maybe," says the intense and highly-intelligent Philippakis, unwilling to commit too much. "The end of part one is quite bleak and this one is about picking yourself up amongst the wreckage and then finding a sense of perseverance or purpose and finding something that keeps you going.

"We're ravaging the planetin the full knowledge of what we are doing because we have the tools and the power to treat it with disrespect. We are challenging our own potency and that is sad and perverse."

"So in that sense it is a more optimistic album but its all still in the landscape, in the wreckage so I guess it becomes more of a backdrop. Its less preoccupied with apocalyptic things."

Call if tropical prog or just good old loud rock `n roll but with their eco concerns and songs about human greed, hubris and idiocy, Foals could be sound tracking Extinction Rebellions well-meaning but flawed campaign methods.

But these are also deeply personal lyrics for Yannis. "The lyrics are these two records were definitely blotting paper for our minds," he says. "I wrote them in pubs in south London. More often Id write in Greece so these records are more plugged into London and the perils and confusions that are here at the moment.

"Ive been writing about environmental issues for years and I felt it was time to express the anxieties and anger I felt about those themes in these records. These lyrics are like blotting paper for what it feels like to be alive in 2019 as a young, frustrated person."

It is also somewhat of a crossroads for Foals. 2019 marks their first decade together and these twin albums are the first theyve recorded without founding member Walter Gervers, who amicably departed the band in 2017. It was a time of self-examination for Philippakis and his band mates Jimmy Smith, Edwin Congreave and Jack Bevan.

"Walters departure really shook us in some way and gave us a certain sense of wanting to overcome adversity on this record," says Philippakis. "We had to dig in a bit more but I dont really see that in the songs as such. It was more in the mentality behind the approach.

"A kind of `us versus them approach, which is why we self-produced the album. Did it in our neighbourhood and then wed walk home together via the pub and it definitely felt like a record that was made in a batten down the hatches way."

The singers Greek roots and his father, who sparked his interest in music by teaching him traditional Greek songs, have always been a huge influence on Philippakis and it is present and correct on new album track Ikara, named after the Greek Island where Icarus is said to have plummeted to earth after flying too close to the sun.

Yannis also sings about delusions of grandeur on new album track Black Bull and nobody has to labour the metaphor. "The tragedy and the black humour in our predicament is that were an incredible species thats able to do so much and yet we always overstep and thats whats so amazing about some of the myths in general, not just the ancient Greek myths.

"It makes me angry to see Britain descend this morass of language and hatred and tribalism. Being haunted by its own empire and the lack of clear information and the wilful manipulation of facts . . . "

"They teach this has been known for a long time and these qualities are ingrained in mankind and yet 3,000, 4,000 years down the line we still havent really learned the lessons. We could live beautifully and in harmony with nature on this incredible planet that has given us everything that we could possibly want and were ravaging it and were not ravaging it from a place of ignorance.

"Were ravaging it in the full knowledge of what we are doing because we have the tools and the power to treat it with disrespect. We are challenging our own potency and that is sad and perverse."

But back to music. Foals are about to release a new tour film entitled Rip Up The Road - Live From Alexandra Palace. Filmed over a 12-month period as the band embarked upon a world tour, the film will be shown on Amazon Prime Video andhones in on two shows at Londons Alexandra Palace.

Philippakis may sound rather like Atlas with the weight of the world on hisshoulders but Foals are more rock `n roll than they seem and thats double when it comes to touring. "Its definitely not about discipline on the road," he says. "Ive not seen the documentary and to be honest were all quite nervous about it.

"Ive seen the footage from Alexander Palace which was filmed properly and its filmed beautifully and Ive seen the trailer. The filmmakers had a lot of access to us and I think that most people who know the band know that we definitely prescribe to the hedonism of the road, I think were probably a little bit old school in that way. Im excited to see the film but also a little big terrified."

Alan Corr @CorrAlan2

Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost - Part 2 is out now. Rip Up The Road - Live From Alexandra Palace is onAmazon Prime Video on Friday November 15

More music news, reviews and interviews here

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Article II of the Constitution: Trump’s ‘right to do whatever I want?’ Or a roadmap for impeachment? – USA TODAY

Posted: at 10:48 am

Trump and impeachment: Can President Trump block witnesses and subpoenas, and what can Congress do about it? Lawyer and author David Stewart explains. Hannah Gaber, USA TODAY

"I have an Article 2, where I have the right to do whatever I want as president." President Donald Trump, July 23, 2019

WASHINGTON The Constitution of the United States of America does, indeed, have an Article II. It's the president's job description, circa 1787, and it gives him sweeping powers.

But not whatever he wants. In fact, it defines something he doesn't want: the terms for his impeachment, conviction and removal from office.

AsHouse Democrats prepare their case for impeachment, attention increasingly will focus on the nation's founding document, which outlines the unique roles of Congress, the president and the federal courts.

And so, the question: Has Trump violated the Constitution?

And does that justify ending his presidency?

Not if his lawyers have anything to say about it. In federal appeals court in New York Wednesday, they argued that Trump could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue without criminal consequence because he is immune from prosecution while in office.

Immunity: President Donald Trump could shoot someone in public and escape prosecution, his lawyer tells federal court

Article II spells out the president's oath of office, which concludes with his duty to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." It also specifies that he "shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed."

Then it sets out the potential reasons for his removal: if he is impeached by the House, and convicted by the Senate of"treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors."

Impeaching a U.S. president might not be the be-all-end-allfor their career. We explain why this is the case. Just the FAQs, USA TODAY

Throughout Trump's presidency,investigations into Russia's efforts to influence the 2016 election and other matters relating to his business dealings have made impeachment a possibility. This summer's revelations that Trump asked Ukraine's president to investigate past and future political opponents made it probable, if not inevitable.

Ukraine: Trump's conspiracy theories thrive in Ukraine, where a young democracy battles corruption and distrust

"We believe the acts revealed publicly over the past several weeks are fundamentally incompatible with the presidents oath of office, his duties as commander in chief, and his constitutional obligation to 'take care that the laws be faithfully executed,'" 16 conservative and libertarian lawyers wrote earlier this month under the imprimatur of the group Checks and Balances.

University of Southern California law professor Orin Kerr, a former Justice Department official and a member of the group, putsit simply: "Hes taking care of himself, not taking care of the country."

But Georgetown University law professor Randy Barnett says Trump's accusers "have been alleging impeachable offenses since before President Trump took the oath of office."

"They have their conclusion in hand," Barnett says,"and now theyre just trying to fill out the bill of particulars.

"When the president does it, that means that it isnot illegal." Former President Richard Nixon, May 19, 1977

What Trump did on July 25 was ask Ukraine's new president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to investigate the Democrats' leading presidential candidate at the time, Joe Biden, and his son Hunter. Trump also asked indirectly for a probe of emails stolen from the Democratic National Committee in 2016.

In the same conversation, the president noted that "the United States has been very, very good to Ukraine. I wouldnt say that its reciprocal, necessarily."

More: Key takeaways from Ukraine diplomat Bill Taylor's 'explosive' opening statement

Jonathan Adler, a Case Western Reserve Universitylaw professor and a member of Checks and Balances, saysthe persistent efforts to use foreign policyas a means of advancing or protecting his own political interests" conflicts with the presidential oath.

"'High crimes and misdemeanors' has never been understood to be limited to or consigned to things that are crimes in the narrow legal sense," Adler says. "They encompass actions that are violative of the solemn obligations that a public official takes."

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"Im taking money from here and there and there and there.... We have all these different sources coming from all over the place because they wont approve it." President Trump, July 23, 2019

The president was referring at the time to financing his long-sought wall along the border with Mexico spending power that the Constitution largely reserves for Congress. He has moved funds from the Pentagon and other agencies to the Department of Homeland Security for that purpose.

That's another constitutional violation, saysGeorge Mason University law professor Ilya Somin, another Checks and Balances member. Trump, he says, is using the federal budget as "his personal piggy bank" going so far as to withhold nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine previously appropriated by Congress.

This is a big deal, frankly a bigger deal than some of the stuff thats more in the headlines, Somin says, calling it "an unconstitutional usurpation of Congress' power of the purse."

"You people with this phony Emoluments Clause." PresidentTrump, Oct. 21, 2019

That would be Article I, Section 9, Clause 8 of the Constitution, whichbars federal officeholders from accepting gifts from foreign governments. It is derived from the Latin word "emolumentum," meaning "profit" or "gain." Andanother prohibition in Article II prohibits the president from receiving domestic emoluments.

Trump's continuing ownership of hotels and restaurants,such as Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., where foreign leaders often stay, has spurred three federal lawsuits. Two courts of appeals are scheduled to hold oral arguments in December.

Deepak Gupta, an attorney litigating two of the lawsuits, says Trump's presidency is "a walking, talking Emoluments Clause violation" because Trump never divested himself of his real estate holdings.

"The Framers were obsessed with the possibility of corruption," Gupta says.

Rather than retreat in the face of the Emoluments Clause, Trump last week sought to double down by scheduling the upcoming Group of 7conference of Western global economic powers at Trump National Doral, his Miami-area resort. Only in the face of withering criticism from Republicans as well as Democrats did he reluctantly back down.

"President Trump and his administration cannot participate in your partisan and unconstitutional inquiry under these circumstances." Pat Cipollone, counsel to the president, Oct. 8, 2019

An eight-page letter from the White House counsel earlier this month basically declared war on House Democrats' impeachment inquiry. The president, Pat Cipollone said, won't cooperate.

If that constitutes obstruction of justice, critics say, it wouldn't be the first time. They cite special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 election, which outlined Trump's efforts to withhold evidence and influence aides' testimony.

The Article IIpower does not extend to telling subordinates and others to lie about what occurred, Adler said, referring to the president's attempt to have former White House counsel Don McGahn say that Trump did not seek to have Mueller fired.

But others defend the president's resistance. In testimony to the House Judiciary Committee in July, Chapman University law professor John Eastman said "Mueller was not fired, and even if he had been, the investigation would not have been stopped."

"If that is obstruction, it pales in comparison to recent examples of real obstruction that have gone largely unremarked," Eastman said.

"An impeachable offense is whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment in history." Former President Gerald Ford, April 15, 1970

Alexander Hamiton wrote extensively on impeachment in the Federalist Papers, but the Constitution gives it only six brief mentions. The references leave plentyof leeway.

"The Constitution gets violated all the time," Barnett says. "That doesnt make the violation of the Constitution a high crime or misdemeanor."

Some don't see the need for specificity.Its about abusing the office, not about violating a technical provision of a particular clause," Kerr says.

While Trump's critics see obvious cause for impeachment and his defenders do not, others simply see a reason for disagreement. University of Texas law professor Sanford Levinson wrote in the journal Democracy in August that the problem is the Constitution itself.

The impeachment clause "has been captured by lawyers who simply shout at one another about what in fact constitutes such a 'high crime or misdemeanor,'" Levinson wrote. "The correct answer is that nobody really knows."

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Donald Trump, Life of a Zombie Party – The New York Times

Posted: at 10:48 am

Oct. 4 was an interesting day.

It was a week and a half after the Democratic-led House opened a formal impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump, following a whistle-blowers complaint alleging that he corruptly pressured Ukraine to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son.

Between the opening of the inquiry and Oct. 4, the White House released a summary of a phone call between Trump and Ukraines president, which only seemed to confirm the whistle-blowers allegations. House Democrats continued to come out in favor of the investigation. And, on Oct. 3, Trump in broad daylight, in front of a gaggle of reporters, openly asked Ukraine and China to investigate Biden.

Impeachment at that point was looking almost inevitable. Trumps abuse of power in this instance was irrefutable. Indeed, it was being affirmed by the abuser himself.

So, it was an odd bit of scheduling that throngs of young black conservatives arrived at the White House on Oct. 4 for the so-called Young Black Leadership Summit, apparently a brainchild of the brainwashed racial quisling Candace Owens, who once called Black Lives Matter protesters a bunch of whiny toddlers, pretending to be oppressed for attention.

Trump took the mic before the crowd in the East Room and soon called on Owens to speak. She introduced the topic of the moment and expressed her stance: Let me say this: The media the audacity of them to think that theyre going to impeach our president. The audience booed. Owens continued: No. Its not happening. Its absolutely not happening. Not under our watch. We need to make sure we fight for this man the one man who is standing up for black America, we are going to fight for, guys. We have to keep it going. The audience clapped.

But it was the next speaker Trump called to the mic, the young black conservative comedian Terrence K. Williams, who offered the better framing of defending Trump among those who blindly follow and mindlessly adore him. As Williams put it:

First of all, I just want to say I love President Donald J. Trump.

The audience applauded.

The media is attacking him. But when they attack him, they are attacking us.

The audience applauded again.

Because he is out here fighting for us. And they are harassing you, Mr. President, so they are harassing me.

The audience applauded yet again, as a wide Cheshire cat grin spread across Trumps face and he patted Williams on the arm.

This idea that Trump is the embodiment of Republican voters and a personification of their ambitions and fears, and therefore, attempts to punish him are spiritually transferable and translatable as an attack on individual Republicans and the party as a whole seemed to seize Trumps imagination as a perfect way of positioning the impeachment inquiry.

At a rally in Dallas nearly two weeks later, Trump tried out the message before a live audience:

Now they continue the outrageous impeachment witch hunt with nothing. With nothing. They come after me, but what theyre really doing is theyre coming after the Republican Party. And what theyre really, really doing is theyre coming after and fighting you, and we never lose.

The crowd applauded as Trump pursed his lips and surveyed the success of how the line had landed. It was a winner. It was a keeper.

Trump was making himself into the voodoo doll of conservative politics: Whatever pain he felt, his supporters would feel, and they would object to it in unison.

There is no separation between the Republican Party and Donald Trump. In fact, Trump killed the old Republican Party and now he alone animates the zombie party that lurched forward after its death.

This is Trumps army. And he is warning his congressional generals, the lawmakers who protect and defend him, that there will be no defections, lest the army turn on them.

At least since August, Trump has been tweeting his stratospheric approval rating among Republicans every few days. That is less about informing than warning. This message is to Republican politicians, those who will hold his fate in their hands as the impeachment process unfolds, to stay in line and toe the line.

This week, Trump said of his impending impeachment: All Republicans must remember what they are witnessing here a lynching. But we will WIN!

It was not I will win, but we will, because this isnt happening to me alone but to us. These Democrats the women, the minorities, the Jewish, the gay are torturing the white man. And he inverted the language of anti-black white supremacist terror to make the hollow point of white supremacist patriarchal victimhood.

White men have always made the rules, and the most powerful and most wealthy have lived above them. Holding this white man to account is a threat to white power, to his power, to his supporters power.

For Trumps supporters, he has made his malpractice appear in their mirrors.

Only in the strange, upside down days in which we now live could a young black comedian offer the ideal framing of Trumps message of white supremacist solidarity.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. Wed like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And heres our email: letters@nytimes.com.

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Donald Trump, Life of a Zombie Party - The New York Times

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Evangelicals have stuck by Trump. But polls hint at trouble ahead. – POLITICO

Posted: at 10:48 am

This gives evangelicals pause because now theyre wondering, Hmm, that was not a good move. Whats next? Does this mean hes going to throw Israel under the bus if he threw the Kurds under the bus? a longtime friend of the president said. Another evangelical Trump ally told the president he was offended by a comment the president made about Kurdish fighters having plenty of sand to play with, according to a person briefed on the conversation.

Its a first for Trumps presidency: The same evangelical leaders whove been notoriously unmovable through prior controversies have spoken out forcefully to condemn his policy toward Syria. Televangelist Pat Robertson said Trump was in danger of losing the mandate of heaven. Family Research Council head Tony Perkins described the move as inconsistent with what the president has done previously.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee shake hands with then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. | Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

I was concerned about it, but feel more confident after talking with POTUS and seeing the results of the cease-fire and the economic sanctions, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who initially blasted Trumps decision to ditch the Kurds as a huge mistake, wrote in an email to POLITICO on Tuesday. (In remarks from the White House Diplomatic Reception Room less than 24 hours later, Trump announced he would be lifting those same economic sanctions against Turkey remarks that came a day after the U.S. special envoy for Syria engagement told a Senate panel the Turkish military offensive had killed hundreds of Kurdish fighters.)

The outrage over Trumps Syria decision, combined with the growing threat of impeachment, has left the president facing a new test in his relationship with white evangelicals as signs of tensions have begun to surface in recent polls. For some, his culturally conservative agenda may not be enough to keep them from walking away if the situation in Syria deteriorates further.

Its a dilemma that has left Trumps biggest religious boosters asking themselves whether his sky-high support with so-called values voters will last through next November.

If hes going to win in 2020, said the longtime Trump friend, he has to be north of the 81 percent [of white evangelicals] he won in 2016. Im not suggesting that the polling is all of a sudden going to show that his support is plummeting because of Syria. But if it stays stagnant, hes a one-term president.

White evangelicals have long grappled with a president they consider their greatest champion since the Reagan years, but who rarely approaches policy matters or discourse with their preferred tone or moral code. They have asked Trump not to curse at his campaign rallies, despite standing by him when he was caught on tape making vulgar comments about women in 2016. They have endorsed his hard-line immigration policies, but privately urged him to ditch the harsh language about immigrants and refugees. And they have consistently cited his appointment of anti-abortion judges as a hallmark of his presidency without mentioning the uncomfortable moment when, as a candidate, he suggested punishing women who choose to end their pregnancies.

Now, the presidents evangelical allies are pressing him to consider the consequences of pulling troops from Syria, which he has cast as a financially sensible decision. And they are warning him of trouble ahead if he doesnt both in the region, where U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters have been killed by Turkish airstrikes in recent days, and with his political standing back home.

This is a danger zone for this administration when it comes to evangelicals. They see religious persecution, Iran gaining a foothold, Israel facing threats and the possibility of ISIS reemerging, and what Trump keeps talking about is the land, and the money, and the deal-making, said the longtime Trump friend. The moral compass is missing, and hes off balance here with evangelicals.

Unlike other voting blocs that have slowly moved away from Trump, white evangelicals have displayed a certain level of elasticity in their support for him opting to adapt to the worst moments and elements of his presidency, even when they have shown initial signs of shock.

Hes a blue-chip stock for evangelicals and theyre cashed in fully. If theres fluctuation in the market, they always ride it out, said the Trump pal.

Its an enduring mystery of the Trump era and one that prompts questions about tribalism and the state of both major political parties. Do white evangelicals stand by Trump because there is no suitable Republican or Democratic alternative? Or do they embrace him because thats what theyve seen the most prominent among them do?

My gut says white evangelicals will jump when and if Fox News does, said Elesha Coffman, a scholar of American religion at Baylor University. Any movement, if we see it, isnt going to come from within their religious communities.

A lengthy study released this week by the Public Religion Research Institute offers other clues about the current state of Trumps relationship with white evangelical voters, as well as why it could change between now and Election Day. In striking terms, the survey captures just how substantial the presidents support is among white evangelicals: 99 percent of GOP-leaning white evangelical Protestants oppose impeaching and removing Trump from office and 63 percent say he has done nothing to damage the dignity of the presidency, separating them from majorities across all other major religious groups that said he has.

Other figures raise questions about the durability of white evangelicals support for Trump, particularly given the precarious position he finds himself in with Syria.

For example, 63 percent of white evangelical Protestants in the PRRI study said terrorism is a major concern for them more than immigration (55 percent), which has been Trumps single biggest issue, or health care (53 percent). Those figures come amid warnings that the U.S. pullout from Syria could rekindle terrorism in Europe and cause a resurgence of the Islamic State. Already, a separate NPR/Marist survey found that nearly 30% of white evangelicals believe U.S. security has been weakened by Trump.

The worse the situation becomes in Syria the more comfortable white evangelicals might feel about distancing themselves from Trump, Coffman said. That happened gradually during the Watergate era, when rank-and-file evangelicals slowly walked away from President Richard M. Nixon.

After the Syria cease-fire, will things get much worse? Will we get pictures of children who get victimized by chemical weapons? Will there be enough of a rebuke from Republicans or more voices inside white evangelicalism speaking out about this? Coffman asked, adding that its possible well see movement then, but I wouldnt bet on it.

There is also the shadow that impeachment has cast over Trumps presidency, and how white evangelicals are responding.

A much-discussed Fox News poll found that nearly three in 10 white evangelicals want the president impeached and removed from office a figure that startled some officials on Trumps 2020 campaign, according to an outside adviser. And in the NPR/Marist survey, which was taken after House Democrats began their impeachment inquiry, only 62 percent of white evangelicals said they definitely plan to vote for Trump next fall.

Thats the number Trumps top evangelical supporters are closely monitoring and cautioning the president not to ignore. Eighty-one percent of the white evangelical vote in 2016 was enough to carry him to the White House, they say, but with underwater approval ratings among other key constituencies he needs to do even better next fall.

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Even the Trump Organization Doesnt Want to Be Associated With Trump – Vanity Fair

Posted: at 10:48 am

As anyone with even a cursory knowledge of Donald Trumps business history knows, the real estate developer made the bulk of his money licensing his name to businesses he does not own, slapping it on everything from hotels to condos to cologne in the biggest, most garish letters possible. Truly no product was too small or ridiculous for Trump to emblazon, whether it was a fake university, a line of vodka, or steaks sold through the Sharper Image catalog. And while his name never connoted the luxury and class he thought it did, after he kicked off his bid for the presidency in 2015, it suddenly evoked racism, debatable mental stability, and questionable moral conduct, leading a number of hotels and condos around the world to try to remove it from their buildings, both out of disgust and a genuine belief that it was costing them money. Where licensing deals had lapsed, there was nothing the Trump Organization could do about such decisions. But where they remained in place, the presidents family business, run by his two adult sons, fought the tenants and investors tooth and nail. Which makes the news that the Trump Organization has chosen to hide the Trump name from one of its marquee properties all the more humiliating.

The Washington Post reports that at the Wollman Rink and Laser Rink in Central Park, which Trump has run since the 1980s, Trump Organization employees have been removing the five-letter name from sight, taking it off the boards around each rink where giant red TRUMP signs once surrounded customers and off of the desk where visitors rent skates, now covered in a large white tarp until it can be permanently taken away. Its a complete rebranding, Geoffrey Croft, of NYC Park Advocates, told the Post. Theyve taken [the name] off everything. Off the uniforms, everything. (The Trump Organization did not respond to the Posts request for comment.)

And while some might assume that the citywhere the president is deeply unpopularwas behind the move, a spokeswoman said it was the companys decision. The Trump Organization notified us in late August that they planned to change the on-rink branding, said Crystal Howard, a spokeswoman for the city parks department. While Howard said the Trump Organization did not explain its decision, an employee who spoke to the Post hazarded a guess: Even the presidents business knows hes bad for business. I do believe thats the answer. It was hurting business, the employee said. A lot of the schools, you know, liberal private schools up here, come to parties up here. That was a big income earner up here Monday and Tuesday night. (In early 2017, a skating party for students from the Dalton School was canceled after some parents refused to let their children go to a rink with Trumps name on it.)

And in other not-great news for noted narcissists:

Support for the impeachment inquiry into President Trump has reached a new high, a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday found. Pollsters discovered that 55% of respondents approved of the inquiry, while 43% opposed it. Last week 51% supported it while 45% did not.... Almost half of all respondents48%backed impeachment and removal of Trump, up 2 percentage points from last week. Forty-six percent said they are now against impeaching and removing him.

Earlier this month the president bragged that only 25% of Americans wanted him impeached, so hell have to update his models.

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Even the Trump Organization Doesnt Want to Be Associated With Trump - Vanity Fair

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Donald Trump Jr. on impeachment: When is it ‘going to be enough?’ – Fox News

Posted: at 10:48 am

Donald Trump Jr. appeared on "Hannity" Wednesday night and voiced his frustration with Democrats continuing to pursue impeachment against his father President Trump, calling it "disgraceful."

"It's a telephone game of nonsense proportions. But, you know, the media gets that first wave. They get it directly from [Rep. Adam] Schiff. They get to run with it as though it's fact," Trump said. "In a month when they open up the process and everyone else sees it,they will have done the damage. That's why it's disgraceful."

TRUMP ALLIES PUSH BACK ON 'QUID PRO QUO,' SAY ENVOY TESTIFIED UKRAINE INITIALLY UNAWARE OF AID HOLDUP

Trump continued to vent his frustration with the Ukraine controversy following former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report.

"This shouldn't be going on here. If this was going on in a banana republic, we'd say that's pretty bad,' Trump told host Sean Hannity. "It's going on in the United States of America. It's going on in Congress. And it's enough."

Trump wondered allowed why the media didn't have a problem with House Democrats and their lack of transparency.

"I'm surprised that the media, who has been so vocal about not wanting democracy to die in darkness, Sean, they don't want it to die in darkness," Trump said. "They're totally fine with this being and going on in total darkness. It's a disgrace."

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The president's oldest son praised Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., for his protest Wednesday and asked Hannity when "enough is enough."

"It was great to see guys like Matt Gates and so many other Republicans, the House, finally say enough is enough. But when is it really going to be enough, Sean?" Trump asked. "When are they actually going to do something about it? Because this is nonsense."

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Donald Trump Jr. on impeachment: When is it 'going to be enough?' - Fox News

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