On with the Trial

Plus: Democrats hammer out the details of their new stimulus bill.

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Good morning. They tell me I’m not the best at these newsletter introductions. My husband suggested I start this off with a haiku, but that doesn’t seem very sustainable. Folks on Twitter had a few suggestions, including this one. So, for now, a photo of my dog Skippy:

Trial Begins in Earnest

Former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial begins in earnest today, and as with his first, the outcome isn’t really in doubt. 

Most Republicans are expected to vote against convicting Trump after hearing the House managers’ case against him. Only five Republicans—Sens. Mitt Romney, Ben Sasse, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Pat Toomey—voted to proceed to the trial alongside Democrats last month in the face of a GOP effort to dismiss it. Seventeen Republicans would have to join Democrats for conviction to be successful. That isn’t looking likely.

“It’s not a question of how the trial ends, it’s a question of when it ends,” South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said on CBS over the weekend. “Republicans are going to view this as an unconstitutional exercise, and the only question is, will they call witnesses, how long does the trial take?”

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  1. Jim Sneeringer

    Advice from a writer that is meant to encourage you. Strive to tighten up your writing. Be concise. Be clear. Eliminate unnecessary words. Get to the point. Avoid self-referential musings. I agree with Sean, the simple "Good morning" intro is all you need.

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    C C Writer

    A doggie! Dogs are good.

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    Devin H

    You said you weren't doing haiku and I still counted syllables in case you were being clever!

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    Boomer Bob

    Yay Skippy! :)

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    Ohio Gas Hog

    I have a feeling that Skippy may give a new meaning to the phrase "Working like a Dog!"

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  6. Mary Stine

    Poetry is not needed
    to speak the truth
    Like snow that cleans the air on a frosty day
    reality is refreshing

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    JohnM.

    Skippy was a fine intro. to another excellent newsletter (Jonah nods). Thanks, Haley.

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  8. Ingenero.lux

    I’m not a stickler for a particular intro - I like when people do what suits them. Though I won’t complain about pictures of a happy, sleepy dog - I can’t have one of my own (my wife has bad allergies), so living vicariously makes me happy.

    And I hope the impeachment trial at least takes enough time to really sink in to the national psyche. I want Trump barred from office, though that looks like a remote possibility, but I also want the full ramifications of what happened to sink in rather than being glossed over. I understand the Democrat’s desire to move on Biden’s agenda before the inevitable bog down, and in normal times I’d be happy with any sand in the gears. But this really has little to do with my usual enjoyment of a wrench in the works forcing Congress to slow down - it seems like we’re already moving on from an unprecedented event, one that needs to be recognized as the terrible thing it truly was, and one that should be branded into the national conscience. Sadly, I think it’s destined to be brushed off by most Republicans and turned into grist for the usual political mill by most Democrats rather than used to force a reckoning with what actually happened.

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    Synchronize Your Dogmas (Bill B)

    God! Please create another party I won't regret voting for five seconds after I've marked my ballot!

    Apparently Progressives are in a rage(when are they not?) because some Democrats don't want to hand out stimulus checks to undocumented immigrants. The unctous Sen. Dick Durbin explains, “Neither Biden nor any Democrat is proposing in this package to give any money to any undocumented person. The question is if you are the legal child, citizen of the United States, of an undocumented person, should you receive a check? I say yes," What? I wasn't aware we were mailing stimulus checks to minors? Imagine the Happy Meals a five-year old could buy?

    Presumably the check would have to go to the undocumented parent and not the minor child so Democrats would indeed be giving money to an "undocumented person". It's like they talk themselves into being stupid. Maybe they're just trying to talk us into being stupid? I'm getting stupider just thinking about it.

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    Sean

    Maybe it's just me, but I like the simple, "good morning" intro. It needs nothing more. It reminds me of good broadcast journalism, getting right into the subject I want to learn about. And best of all: no one else does it, so it makes you unique!

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      Haley Byrd Wilt vertical-nib Author

      I’m saving this comment for when my editors take issue with the boring “good morning” intro in the future 😂

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