Getting ready for 2020

The GOP on impeachment, then and now.

  Siddeeq el-Amin and I were not the only ones to have this thought.

Coming in 2020.

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  -- Dan Damon [follow]

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A perfect Christmas present for these times

The note accompanying the perfect Christmas gift.

Detail showing the dumpster fire pattern. Apropos of 2019.
Let's hope not 2020.

Well, it certainly has been one 'bumpy year' as Queen Elizabeth put it in her annual Christmas address.

And my goddaughter -- a Plainfield native now living in Chicago -- and her husband hit the spot with a gift of a pair of socks featuring, what else -- a dumpster fire.

We'll see where things go in 2020, but I am expecting the Senate to acquit Trump -- if not in the process attempting to exonerate him.

(That will be difficult unless they allow the calling of witnesses, which puts them in something of a bind -- because the relevant uncalled witness are all folks who witness behavior that will not benefit Trump.)

So I think we can plan on seeing a wounded president up against an as yet unknown candidate from the Democrats, who at this point are offering their own multi-ring circus.

But things will get serious real quick.

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  -- Dan Damon [follow]

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Rethinking Christmas

The Nativity at the Methodist church in Claremont, CA
has focused many Christians' Christmas attention on
President Trump's border policies.

Thanks to Donald Trump, people of faith -- among whom I count myself -- will never be able to think of Christmas in the same old way.

Growing up with images of angels singing to the newborn Babe, living creches with farm animals, and Christmas mornings with piles of presents under the tree, I never dreamed Christmas would assume a new dimension.

But Donald Trump's policy of separating immigrant families at the border has focused attention on another aspect of the Christmas story -- there all the time, but not in focus.

The baby Jesus, his mother Mary and her spouse Joseph were undocumented immigrants.

The Holy Family fled to Egypt from the murderous Herod, who was intent on murdering all male children in the area under the age of two (Matt. 2:16-18).

The image of an immigrant family fleeing for its lives has reframed the Christmas celebration for many, who now place an emphasis on helping refugee families trapped in Trump's cruel border policies.

Here is a list of organizations helping families at the border for those who wish to help --

"Seven activist groups helping families at the border"

  -- Dan Damon [follow]

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Pemberton Avenue closure update

I noticed this detour sign on Randolph Road for
the first time on Thursday (12/12).

Map shows location of bridge repairs (and also
indicates where Pemberton Avenue starts).

 
When barricades went up in Cedar Brook Park a couple of weeks ago preventing through traffic, Plainfield social media erupted with questions.

No one seemed to know what was going on.

Here's an update based on answers to some questions I asked --

• The bridge over the Cedar Brook, which runs through the eponymously named park, is being replaced by the County, which is responsible for the roadway between the beginning of Pemberton Avenue and Park Avenue.
  
  
  
• The work is estimated to take several months and may not be completed until the spring of 2020.
  
  
  
• Folks who use this as a direct route to Park Avenue should plan alternate routes. Detour signs have popped up on Randolph Road.
  

Users of the sports fields can still get in from Park Avenue to the parking lots and Arlington Avenue extension.

The Shakespeare Garden is accessible from Rose Street.

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  -- Dan Damon [follow]

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Paul Volcker, Plainfielder who saved the U.S. dollar, dies

Always a smoker, Paul Volcker in 1980.
You can see the dime-store cigars in his hankie pocket.

  Paul Volcker died on Sunday. A few will remember him as chairman of the Federal Reserve under presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.

Fewer still will remember him as a Plainfielder, but indeed he was.

Born in Cape May in 1927, where his father was the city manager, he grew up in Teaneck, where his father had been lured to save the town from bankruptcy.

His father's sense of public service led him to consider public service the highest good in his life.

A graduate of Princeton, he combined an interest in economy, history and public administration.

In the early 1950s he returned from the London School of Economics, where he had studied on a Rotary scholarship, and went to work as a staff economist for the New York Federal Reserve Bank.

Always frugal -- and notorious for his dime-store cigars and ill-fitting ready-to-wear suits (he was 6-foot-7) -- it seems likely that Volcker and his new wife Barbara Bahnson came to Plainfield after getting married in 1954.

In line with his reputation as unostentatious, the Volckers did not pick one of Plainfield's leafy historic areas or a tony street with the up-and-coming, but instead settled for a modest new home on what was then a raw-looking Carnegie Avenue. 912 to be exact.

The house at 912 Carnegie Avenue where the
Volckers lived from 1956-1962.

One anecdote told of him -- and it may well fit with his time in Plainfield -- is that when the front seat in his old Nash Rambler gave out, he removed it and replaced it with a wooden chair whose legs had been cut down.

It was probably here at Muhlenberg Hospital that their children and Janice and James were born, and they may have attended Evergreen School for a few years before the family relocated to Washington, DC, in 1962 when he joined the administration of John. F. Kennedy.

Paul Volcker is most remembered for his shock therapy to get inflation under control. Under pressure from the oil crisis of the early 1970s, by 1979 inflation in the U.S. had reached 1% per month (we now get palpitations if it exceeds 2% per year!) -- or more than 12% per year.

President Jimmy Carter offered him the job at the Fed in 1979 and the first thing he did was announce an all-out war on inflation, which was destroying the value of the U.S. dollar.

But instead of manipulating interest rates as was the expected maneuver, Volcker decided to limit the amount of money in circulation, allowing the market to set interest rates on its own.

Within a short time, interest rates had risen to more than 21% on mortgages and auto loans. (Memories of selling homes in this market were still coin of the realm among veteran realtors when I began my real estate career in 1986.)

Though the recession this brought on probably cost Jimmy Carter a second term, Volcker was kept on by Ronald Reagan until 1987, at which point he retired. Within two years the runaway inflation had been brought under control.

He was brought back by President Barack Obama to deal with the economic meltdown of 2008 and once again recommended strong medicine. Relations with Obama's advisers -- mostly Clinton-era deregulation advocates -- were tepid at best.

Under pressure from Congressional Democrats on the Obama administration, we have him to thank for the 'Volcker Rule' announced by Obama in January, 2010.

This rule prevents banks from making investments only to increase their bottom line, instead of benefiting their customers. Banks have never been happy with the rule, and President Trump has signaled he wants to dismantle it.

Pretty heady stuff for someone who lived in our quiet little community.

He was literally a giant among men, and before we are finished with Donald Trump I think we will rue the loss of Paul Volcker.

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  -- Dan Damon [follow]

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Dan is back from a week in the hospital

To understand stents, one of my doctors suggests thinking
of the Chinese finger traps we played with as kids.

 Well, I'm back from an unexpected week in the hospital. Actually 6 days, but who's counting.

After suffering increasing pains in my chest and shortness of breath over several days, beginning with Thanksgiving, I finally cut the macho crap and had Nat take me to the JFK Emergency Room on Monday morning.

I spent four days at JFK, two of them (to my mind) unnecesary.

Monday was entirely in the ER. I sat in the lobby for a more than an hour while everyone else before and after me was ushered into the ER. When I walked to the bathroom and back and had shortness of breath and asked at the desk, they rushed me back.

Once in the ER, I was given a gurney in the hallway. They were jammed. They were very busy. My nurse told me I was her 8th patient. Without pain and not complaining I sat on my gurney until 4:30, when they put me in a curtained cubicle. Later that evening they transferred me to the Access Center, which is for patients who will be there a couple of days but not fully admitted.

Tuesday, in the Access Center, I was given dialysis, which I had missed at DaVita on Monday.

On Wednesday, I had a catheterization which determined there were serious blockages. My cardiologist, Dr. Mahmoud Alam, determined that because I was a 'high risk' patient (with a triple-bypass already) I needed further treatment at a facility that also has a heart surgery license -- just in case.

Thursday was spent deciding whether I would be sent to Beth Israel or Robert Wood Johnson. It turned out to be RWJ-New Brunswick.

At 2:00 AM Friday morning I was transferred to RWJ by ambulance. This is because Medicare required billing to start on a 'new' day -- which means after 12:01 AM.

At 6:30 AM Friday, I was the first -- and only -- patient in a 20+ bed area reserved for angioplasty and cath patients. Dr. Hussein and crew worked diligently, using the 'roto-rooter' to remove calcified plaque and place four stents. I was back in my room by 8:30 AM, in time for breakfast.

Since I needed dialysis to remove the dye used in the procedure but was exhausted from it, it was decided I would get dialysis on Saturday AM and be discharged afterward.

Dialysis on Saturday was long (four hours) and after getting a sandwich and waiting for an hour for a doctor to discharge me, I was finally out the door somewhat around 3:00 PM.

Now look, kiddies, I have some advice: Do not try to self-diagnose if your symptoms could be of something serious.

I told myself it was indigestion and took some Alka-Seltzer. However, I am very rarely subject to this complaint and never two days in a row. With shortness of breath on top of it.

Listen to your body. It's telling you something important.

I am glad to be back and putting Plainfield Today and CLIPS together for all.

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  -- Dan Damon [follow]

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Plainfield Council agenda-session looks harmless. Is it?

Google satellite view shows the small NJ Transit
lot on North Avenue adjacent to the station.

Plainfield City Council meets Monday at 7:00 PM for its December agenda-setting session.

Amid much routine business -- the annual Free Holiday Parking, a resolution thanking Councilor Cory Storch for his 16 years of service, another by Councilor Davis noting the 400th anniversary of the arrival of enslaved Africans in America -- there are several items of interest.


The proposed NJ Transit agreement may spark some discussion, as well as the health benefits contract.

197 PROPERTIES PLAN - 5th Revision

Ordinance 2019-28 is removing 28 properties from the remaining total of 78, leaving just 50 in the remaining plan. A scan of the list reveals all but one are now privately owned (several are vacant, undersized lots); the one city-owned property being an undersized lot on Carnegie Avenue. With nearly 3/4 of the properties in the original plan now disposed of, I think we can declare it mostly a success -- after more than 20 years.

MOU WITH THE BOARD OF ED

The City of Plainfield and the Plainfield Board of Education are renewing the Memorandum of Understanding entered into some time back, whereby each is able to use the facilities of the other without fees. This has certainly been a boon for the City when meetings are held that are designed to appeal to the different wards.

SALE OF CITY-OWNED PROPERTIES

Tax Assessor Tracy Bennett is preparing for another auction of city-owned properties. Of the 16 on the current list, 14 are vacant land, one is a 2-family residence, and one is a commercial property.

HEALTH CARE AIN'T CHEAP

A resolution for a short-term renewal of the City's medical and prescription benefits for active and retired employees with Aetna suggests that the City's annual tab for benefits is in the range of $15M per year. As we all know, healthcare ain't cheap.

NJ TRANSIT AND PEDESTRIAN MALL

The City proposes to enter into an agreement with NJ Transit to take over the small NJT-owned parking lot on the North Avenue side of the station as part of the proposed North Avenue Pedestrian Mall project (see satellite view above). NJ Transit is attaching several conditions, including how the City is to replace the displaced parking spaces. In planning for over a year now, I hear constant murmurs of concern from the merchants who will be (along with tenants in upper floor apartments) vastly affected by the proposed mall.

GATEWAY REDEVELOPMENT (MUHLENBERG)

The Economic Development is moving quickly to designate the large former Muhlenberg parking lot on Park Avenue across from the hospital complex as a non-condemnation redevelopment area. Anyone want to bet there's someone waiting in the wings? It's a juicy piece of property. Apartments? Retail? Medical offices? Stay tuned.

MISCELLANEOUS

Evona Avenue: Because necessary tree removal in the project is not covered by CDBG grants, the City must make up the $2,000 cost.
Garfield Avenue: The City will use the Morris County Co-op to replace sidewalks on Garfield Avenue for $18,000.

City Council meets in an agenda-setting session at 7:00 PM in the Council Chambers / Courthouse at Watchung Avenue and East 4th Street. Parking available on the street and in the lot across from Police Headquarters.

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  -- Dan Damon [follow]

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A Thanksgiving Eve surprise

Dan's NJ Senior Gold Prescription Program card.

 
I got a surprise on Thanksgiving Eve that should warm the hearts of thousands of New Jersey seniors -- and save them considerable money.

Along with about 30 million other Americans who are Type 2 diabetics, I must regularly use insulin to help regulate my blood sugar.

Though the general public is mostly unaware, diabetics are acutely aware that insulin prices have shot up in the past year or so.

When I started taking insulin three years ago, a year's supply of two types of the drug cost me $200.

At the end of 2018, I paid $403 out of pocket for one kind of insulin. This in spite of the fact that insulin is covered by Medicare (though participants have deductibles and copays).

A year and a half ago, the insurer who provides my supplementary insurance through the Kidney Fund insisted that I had to provide proof that I was ineligible for Medicaid.

Now, with my Social Security and my nearly fictional NJ pension, I do receive more than the base for Medicaid -- which I already knew.

But no, I had to have written proof. (Bear in mind this is an insurance company bureacracy -- not government).

So, off I go to Union County Social Services at 200 West Front Street (the Jerry Green Building).

Like many others, I have never had a reason to use Social Services, so the whole experience was new to me.

A receptionist determined what I was there for and told me to take a seat. Within a couple of minutes a social worker led me to a cubicle where we had a modicum of privacy and did an intake interview.

I had all the paperwork in hand and she said, of course, I didn't qualify. Of course, I said. I just needed a written statement denying me and I would be fine.

Not so simple, says she. I must apply, and then I will be denied with a form letter from the State.

So I filled out the Medicaid application and -- because I am a Senior -- an application for NJ's prescription drug assistance programs which she gave me. (There are two levels, depending again on income figures.)

After several weeks, I received my Medicaid denial letter. Under separate cover and later, I received my NJ Senior Gold drug discount card -- effective June, 2019. I tucked the card in my wallet and promptly forgot it.

As time for my next insulin refill approached, I took the card to my pharmacy (Twin City on Park Avenue in South Plainfield -- I highly recommend them). They activated the
by filling one of my minor prescriptions for about $8. I recognized some savings but didn't give it much thought.

Today, Thanksgiving Eve, I picked up my insulin refill. Total cost to me: $30.

If you are a Senior in New Jersey, you need to be sure and check out this program.

I know it is fashionable to roll eyes about the sausage factory that is Trenton, but this is a case of government doing well by the governed.

You can learn more about the program on the State's website here. The page also includes a link to fill out an application online (it may save you a trip to Social Services). Note that participants in this progam must renew every year -- the State notifies you in advance.

A Happy Thanksgiving to all -- and especially Senior readers!

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  -- Dan Damon [follow]

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Netherwood Heights 2020 Calendar now available

The 2020 Calendar celebrates historic sites
throughout the Queen City.

 
Thanksgiving means that the Holiday season begins in earnest on Friday (I'll pass on that madness).

And everyone needs 'stocking stuffers' -- those little gifts sprinkled among friends, co-workers and family. (And for you Realtors out there -- holiday gifts for your customers who have bought in Plainfield!)

What about a Netherwood Heights 2020 Wall Calendar? Sounds perfect to me.

In a break from their tradition of focusing on the Netherwood Heights neighborhood for historic photographs to illustrate the twelve months, this year -- in recognition of the 150th anniversary of Plainfield's incorporation as a city -- the images in the calendar reflect a selection of historic sites throughout the Queen City.

These handsomely designed and high quality calendars are just $20 apiece, and can be ordered on the Netherwood Neighbors website here.

They can also be picked up at the following locations: Swain Galleries, the Drake House, or the Coffee Box.

For more information or bulk purchases, call (908) 668-0388 and leave a message.

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  -- Dan Damon [follow]

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Souza and Strauss Saturday at Plainfield Symphony

John Philip Souza is America's undisputed March King.

 
Things are sure to have a red, white and blue hue Saturday evening as the NJ Army Reserve Band takes part in the Plainfield Symphony's second concert of its 100th season.

Though I don't know what they'll be performing, it doesn't matter -- John Philip Souza's music is designed to get everyone pumped up and feeling patriotic.

The program will also features works of Strauss.

Tickets may be purchased online here, and are also available at the door: Reserved seating (first 6 rows) $65/person, General admission $45/person, Seniors (over 65)/Students (with ID) $30/person.

The concert starts at 7:00 PM sharp. The Plainfield Symphony Orchestra performs at Crescent Avenue Presbyterian Church, at East 7th Street and Watchung Avenue. Parking available in the church lot on First Place, on the street or in the Swain Galleries lot across from the church.

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  -- Dan Damon [follow]

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Monday is cut-the-cord day

Our house is cutting the cable cord Monday.

 

Monday is cut-the-cord day at our house.

Sometime before 1:00 PM, a Verizon technician is supposed to arrive to get rid of our cable connection.

We will still use Verizon for Internet access (their other business arm).

But for TV, it will be YouTube, Netflix and Hulu.

Savings per month on the order of $100.

Though I am a news junkie (MSNBC, CNN, Fox), there is little else that I really watch except TCM (otherwise known as 'the old farts' channel').

I have been assured everything I'm interested in will be available -- on my laptop or the big TV screen.

Let's see what happens.

Anyone else already done this? Comment on FB.

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  -- Dan Damon [follow]

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A sly take on Trump's week (cartoon)

Tom Tmorrow's take on Trump.
Click to enlarge or print.

 

I'm not a huge fan of Tom Tomorrow, but this strip is hilarious.

Hope you enjoy it.

Back to Plainfield tomorrow.

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  -- Dan Damon [follow]

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Local artists invited to Plainfield Arts Council's networking event Friday

Logo of Plainfield artists' organization.

 

CORRECTION: The event is Friday, Nov. 15. Plainfield Arts Council invites all local artists and members of the Plainfield arts community to “Talk and Taste,” a networking event on Friday, November 15, 2019 from 6 - 8:30 pm at duCret School of Art, 1030 Central Avenue, Plainfield, NJ.  The event will feature wine and food tastings from local restaurants.

“Plainfield is home to a vibrant arts community, and this event will help artists connect and support each other,” said Arne Aakre, president of the Plainfield Arts Council. “We invite those directly involved in the arts – music, theater, visual arts, film – and those who support Plainfield’s arts community to attend.”  Aakre noted that the Plainfield Arts Council hopes to make this a regular event.

The Plainfield Arts Council is a 501 (c ) 3 organization established to promote and celebrate the arts in Plainfield, highlighting the city’s variety, multiculturalism, and rich historical legacy; and to support community growth and engagement through arts and culture.  This event is free to attendees, with a suggested donation of $20.

 For more information, visit www.plainfieldartscouncil.org or visit the Council’s Facebook page here.

mmm

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  -- Dan Damon [follow]

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Is Cleveland Avenue project a 'canary in the coal mine' for future Plainfield projects?

Rendering of proposed mixed use project
at Cleveland Avenue and East 5th Street.

Approval by the Zoning Board of Adjustment this past Wednesday of a mixed-use project for the Bradford's Wreck-a-mended building at the corner of Cleveland Avenue and East 5th Street raises a the question of whether this is a 'canary in the coal mine' case.

Canaries were used by miners in the past to give them an advance warning of deadly gases in the mines. The canaries would expire long before the gas was noticed by miners.

The phrase has come to mean an event or circumstance that gives warning of a larger issue.

In this case, the matter is parking.

The building is planned to have 18 rental apartments: 9 one-bedroom and 9 2-bedroom. Plus a store and a bakery.

Yet the plan calls for only 11 on-site parking spaces. The issue was raised by members of the board, but it did not deflect them from voting unanimously to approve the application.

Think about it. Parking will be required not only by residents, but employees of the bakery and the additional retail space that is planned.

This alone makes the number of spaces allotted suspect of being inadequate.

Whether or not this is a 'canary in the coal mine' will depend on what parking arrangements are proposed as more developments in this 'Arts District' come forward.

At least, though, it seems one mystery has been solved: Why the block of Cleveland Avenue between 4th and 5th Streets was recently turned from one-way to a two-way street.

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  -- Dan Damon [follow]

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Mayor's Executive Order #1 and other items of interest from Tuesday's Council agenda

President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued over 3,000 Executive Orders.
The most notorious was No. 9066 (shown here)
interning Japanese citizens during WWII.
Governors and mayors have also used them.
They have the force of law.

Plainfield City Council meets in a combined agenda and business session on Tuesday, November 12 (Monday is a holiday), at 7:00 PM.

Mayor Adrian O. Mapp's first-ever executive order has occasioned considerable comment and questions. But there are plenty of other items worth paying attention to as well.


EXECUTIVE ORDER No. 1
 

Although this is a first for Plainfield, executive orders at the local level are not unknown in New Jersey.

Mayors Steve Fulop of Jersey City and Ras Baraka of Newark have both used them to reaffirm their city's 'sanctuary' policy regarding undocumented immigrants.

Most often though, they appear to be used exactly as Mayor Mapp is using his: to clarify policy and put departments on notice of the Mayor's expectations.

In this case, it concerns the 'administrative assistants' that Mayor Mapp added to the revised city charter request.

While the revised city charter specified these were to be hired outside of the Civil Service structure, the language in the EO suggests future hires would follow Civil Service guidelines. Perhaps some clarification is needed about the language here?

What is also unusual about the Plainfield EO is that it is presented to the City Council as 'correspondence from the Mayor'.

In other communities, they are simply publicly announced -- though Newark has had a requirement that they be advertised.


OTHER BUSINESS

EMERGENCY APPROPRIATION: The $600K bond ordinance for the emergency appropriation to pay reinstated employees' back wages is up for second reading and passage.

STATE HEALTH PLAN: After having left the state plan, the City is rejoining. I am told coverage under the state plan is better, which begs the question why the City left in the first place.

REDUCING CONTRACT AMOUNTS: Something unheard of -- change orders to reduce contract amounts. Two street resurfacing contracts are being lowered by about $8,000. A first for Plainfield, far as I can recall. Congrats to Director Oren Dabney and crew.

BUS FOR SENIORS: The Senior Center is proposing to make use of a federal program that will pay for 80% of the cost of a new bus for senior transportation. 20% is to be paid by NJ Transit. Kind of makes you wonder why Plainfield never applied before.

REDEVELOPMENT PLANS: The condemnation and non-condemnation plans that have caused so much comments are on for adoption (again), as are proposals to do studies on two vacant inidustrial buildings on Waynewood Park (the street next to Auto Zone), and the former SSYC property on South Second Street.

SPECIAL IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT: The 2020 budget for the new and handily-named Plainfield Central Business District Management Corporation is up for approval also. That total is $162,323 and covers salaries, rent, utilities, insurance, and other overhead. No program expenses are listed (except for $30,000 for holiday decor -- which looks like it is money already in the bank). Looks a little skimpy to me, especially in light of the generous contracts to outside vendors for promotion and 'rebranding' of the city. A Rumpelstiltkin operation?


SCATTERED-SITE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN: The 20-something year-old plan for vacant, abandoned, and city-owned properties is being whittled down in a fifth amended plan, dropping 28 properties from the current list of 78. This was an unusual redevelopment plan because the properties were scattered throughout the city. Development was partially successful with a number of new houses being built, but developer misconduct led to the abandonment of the original effort and nothing has been done for years. All but one of these properties is listed as 'privately owned', and the city-owned one is probably too small to build on.

City Council meets for a combined agenda and business session at 7:00 PM in the Council Chambers / Courthouse at Watchung Avenue and East 4th Street. Parking available on the street and in the lot across from Police Headquarters.

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  -- Dan Damon [follow]

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PLAINFIELD TODAY is 15 !

Has it really been 15 years?

PLAINFIELD TODAY is fifteen years old.

I began the blog in November of 2005 out of exasperation with the Courier News which did not find a story about the city's first online auction of BANs (Bond Anticipation Notes) to be 'newsworthy'. You can check out that first post here.

After I retired in 2006 I began posting daily (sometimes more than one story per day); in recent years I have slowed down to four times per week.

Nevertheless, PLAINFIELD TODAY has had 5,308 posts -- 167 short of one per day.

Not too shabby, considering I was out of action in 2012 for my leg amputation, in 2016 with my heart attack and bypass surgery (see here), in 2017 with a pacemaker implant, and in 2018 commencing dialysis.

It is still my pleasure to cover Plainfield politics, government and culture.

Look forward to more.

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  -- Dan Damon [follow]

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Vulgar or not, the truth is the truth (Impeachment thoughts)

The simple, vulgar truth of this impeachment.

Sometimes the truth can be simple.

Sometimes the truth can be vulgar.

Sometimes the truth can be simple and vulgar.

But the truth is always the truth.

I owe the inspiration for the graphic above to my friend (and retired Plainfield Police Captain) Siddeeq el-Amin, who posted a version on Facebook recently. (I have made one small correction.)

Vulgar as it is, it is important for everyone to grasp that this underscores an essential truth about the current impeachment investigation.

The Republicans are claiming that President Donald Trump is a victim.

Please bear in mind that the ongoing investigation is focused on conduct involving the national interests of the United States, an attempt to extort a foreign power to provide dirt on a political opponent of the President, and obstructing Congress' investigation into these matters.

Whatever else develops, we should keep in mind that these are the people who impeached President Bill Clinton over lying about a sexual peccadillo in a civil trial and encouraging another to lie (obstruction of justice). No national interest. No extorting foreign countries. No involvement of cabinet members or other high officials.

Keep that in mind through all the blizzard of words supporters of Trump will throw up.

If you are interested in reading up on impeachment, here are two small but excellent books --

IMPEACHMENT: AN AMERICAN HISTORY

Four authors outline the Constitutional debate on impeachment by the founders; the impeachment of Andrew Johnson (Lincoln's VP and successor); the impeachment of Richard Nixon; the impeachment of Bill Clinton; and a section on Donald Trump. Note the book was published in 2018, before impeachment became a real issue for Trump. I found a bargain copy (new but sold as used) at Amazon here.

IMPEACHMENT: A CITIZEN'S GUIDE

Published in 2017, Cass Sunstein approaches the topic as a handbook for citizens interested in understanding the process, several misconceptions that he corrects, and various scenarios that explain why some cases are easy and some hard. Through it all, he works to dispel fog about this crucial tool in the Constitutional toolkit. I found it on Amazon here.

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  -- Dan Damon [follow]

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