I’m a ’69 concert where hippies got mellow;
In Shakespeare, my murder provoked the duello;
I’m Snoopy’s small buddy, all feathered in yellow;
And also a book by that Walter Scott fellow.
Who am I?
UPDATE: Riddle solved by Asher. See comments for answer.
Now that impeachment of President Trump seems somewhat likely, some are also calling for the concurrent impeachment of Vice President Mike Pence.
Whoa, cowboy.
That’s a nice little fantasy you’ve cooked up there. I have no opinion about whether or not Pence deserves to be impeached; I’m certainly no fan, but I haven’t seen enough evidence to convince me that he should be.
But even if you disagree, there are strong arguments against bringing Pence into this. If this were a purely legal process, public opinion wouldn’t matter. But impeachment is a political process, and there needs to be a way forward after it’s over. According to a recent Fox News poll, 51 percent of American voters think that Trump should be impeached and removed from office. As the process continues, that number should continue going up. But if the Democrats are seen as making a power grab, it could go down. As long as the process ends with the Republicans retaining the Oval Office, nobody can credibly accuse them of that.
Once the House votes to impeach the president, it will be up to the Republican-controlled Senate to remove him from office, a very unlikely outcome. Until recently, I’d have said impossible, but the conservative backlash against his betrayal in Syria has been vehement. And as this president seems incapable of learning, it’s not hard to imagine him committing similar offenses in the near future. How many more of them will it take for his colleagues in the Senate to start wondering if they might not be better off dealing with a Pence administration, especially if public support for impeachment continues to grow. But there is no scenario whatsoever that would lead the Republicans in the Senate to approve a course of action that would lead to President Nancy Pelosi. None. Don’t even want it.
The main thing the Democrats have to avoid at this point is the appearance of overreach. Speaker Pelosi is well aware of this. Impeaching and removing a president is extreme enough, and it would be a phenomenal win if accomplished. But it would be a win for the American people and the principles of democracy, not the political agenda of a particular party. That’s how impeachment should be. There is a price for this kind of win, though, and that price is President Mike Pence.
I say it’s worth it.
From Julius Caesar:
Our course will seem too bloody, Caius Cassius,
To cut the head off and then hack the limbs,
Like wrath in death and envy afterwards;
Shift around the letters, and it becomes:
Many wish to handcuff the churl Donald for treason, take out the Vice Crook as well.
Eh, it’s a bad idea. House wins must stay credible.
I make Snickers, 3 Musketeers, (sadly, not U-No);
I’m TV’s Veronica; music’s famed Bruno;
Fourth rock from the sun, the red neighbor that you know;
And Rome’s god of war, for my mother was Juno.
Who am I?
UPDATE: Riddle solved by Asher. See comments for answer.
President Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from northern Syria to make way for a Turkish invasion has met with a chorus of disapproval, including such unlikely voices as Nikki Haley, Mitch McConnell, and even Lindsey Graham. The decision was apparently made after a phone call with President Erdogan of Turkey, and seems to have caught everyone else off guard.
Clearly, a deal was made between the two leaders. But the question is, was Trump negotiating on behalf of the United States, or on behalf of Donald Trump? Given recent events involving Ukraine, it seems fair to speculate that it might be the latter. So, did Trump benefit financially from the deal, possibly related to Trump Towers Istanbul? Did Erdogan agree to dig up dirt on Trump’s political opponents? Did the orders come from Putin? We just don’t know, and again, this is all speculation. But something doesn’t feel right about this. And this time, it’s his own party that’s calling foul.
I say to them, you have only yourselves to blame. This is why we don’t tolerate corruption in our leadership. If you were comfortable with his abuse of power when it was only to steal an election, you are the ones who have given him license to abuse it now to sell out US foreign policy. For you bid this be done when evil deeds have their permissive pass and not the punishment.
From Measure for Measure:
For we bid this be done
When evil deeds have their permissive pass
And not the punishment.
Shift around the letters, and it becomes:
He’s evil. Had the dumb VIP wimps not entertained of his peevishness, he’d now be restrained.
I can lift up a bag; I can open a gate;
I’m a nickname on Twitter; a grip for a weight;
I’m to cope when emotional; manipulate;
And to manage the tasks that you find on your plate.
Who am I?
UPDATE: Riddle solved by both Asher and Neel Mehta. See comments for answer and explanation.
Hello, Mr. President. It’s me, again.
You may remember that I wrote to you about single-payer healthcare. I never heard back from you, so I assume you’re still working on it. But this time I’m not writing about what you can do for me. I’m writing to give you some advice that may be helpful to you. I know you’re going through some troubling times, and I think you should do the one thing that nobody is expecting you to do. You should resign. But you won’t be resigning in disgrace; you’ve done nothing wrong! You are resigning in protest of the very, very unfair way you’ve been treated. That would show everyone. That would show them all!
The Democrats would be horrified by this very smart move. They were counting on a long drawn-out impeachment process that would drag your name through the mud between now and the election. You can rob them of that. Instead, they get President Mike Pence, who would be his own nightmare for them, injecting religion into politics in a way they never had to worry about from you. The Republicans love you, and rightfully so, because you give them the tax cuts and judges they so badly desire. So where are they now? Instead of keeping silent, they should be out vigorously defending you. No, they will not truly appreciate you until you’re gone. They will beg you to come back, and then you can remind them of their disloyalty.
Let’s face it: there’s a recession coming. Your decision to start an unprovoked trade war with China was absolutely brilliant, sir. Unfortunately, a lack of domestic support gave the Chinese too much confidence in their position because our threats weren’t credible. The Dems may never fully appreciate how much damage they caused. So why should you get the blame for the subsequent recession? If you resign now, the burden will fall on Mike Pence who, let’s be honest, was never really a team player. All of the charts will show a healthy economy under President Trump, with the dip coming later. What’s more, your resignation will trigger a market crash (your leadership was the only thing keeping it afloat) and your legacy will be even more secured. Then, they’ll all be sorry. Believe me.
Resignation will also make all of your legal troubles go away. It was all fake news anyway, driven by the partisan political agenda of the Dems. So once you’re out of power, there won’t be any reason for anyone to prosecute you for their made-up accusations of tax fraud, treason, or crimes against humanity. You can go back to your old wonderful life, maybe even retire to upstate New York. I hear Ossining is nice.
This country never appreciated you and never deserved you. You did them a favor by running and how did they repay you? You have a chance to set the terms of your departure. Sure, you’d have won in 2020, and now nobody will ever be able to say otherwise. It’s time to go, sir. And once you do, they won’t have Donald Trump to kick around anymore.
I invert any trig function back where it came;
I am Joan La Pucelle by her better-known name;
How a plot will develop as writers would frame;
And a slice of circumference with angle the same.
Who am I?
UPDATE: Riddle solved by Bronx Richie. See comments for answer.
I was planning a rant about the Ukraine scandal this morning, but the Atlantic article “If This Isn’t Impeachable, Nothing Is” says everything I was going to say and more. I can’t even pull a quote; just please go read it and then come back and enjoy the anagram.
So basically, the timeline is this:
It is now incumbent upon Congress to impeach. Failing to do so at this point is a dereliction of duty. It is no longer enough to say that we can’t do it because the Senate won’t convict. I think Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez put it best (regarding calls for impeachment made before this particular scandal broke):
I want to see every Republican go on the record and knowingly vote against impeachment of this president, knowing his corruption, having it on the record so that they can have that stain on their careers for the rest of their lives, because this is outrageous to protect the amount of lawlessness and corruption coming out of this presidency.
On the other hand, if this President is still not held accountable, even for something as outrageous as this, what else will he then feel entitled to do? At some point, we have to stop blaming him for all of this, if the rest of us are willing to just sit back and allow it all to happen.
From Timon of Athens:
Nothing emboldens sin so much as mercy.
Shift around the letters, and it becomes:
Congress must hold him in, as conmen.
Bye.
To the Romans, I’m D (yes, we’ve been here before);
I’m the miles the Proclaimers would walk (and then more);
I’m an Indy car race; I am Fortune’s top drawer;
And this riddle, by number, for those keeping score.
Who am I?
UPDATE: Riddle solved by Trish White. See comments for answer.
I’m a state of good health; I’m a hole people sink;
A performance of excellence; storage for ink;
Gravitational field; the bar’s cheaper-brand drink;
And a word used before what you actually think.
Who am I?
UPDATE: Riddle solved by Asher. See comments for answer.