"Joy and pleasure are as real as pain and sorrow and one must learn what they have to teach. . . ." -- Sean Russell, from Gatherer of Clouds

"If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right." -- Helyn D. Goldenberg

"I love you and I'm not afraid." -- Evanescence, "My Last Breath"

“If I hear ‘not allowed’ much oftener,” said Sam, “I’m going to get angry.” -- J.R.R. Tolkien, from Lord of the Rings

Thursday, October 24, 2019

The Rule of Law

Remember when we had that? I don't think I'm being partisan when I say that we can thank the Republican party for the loss of a fine old tradition. Given that the party as it is now composed (and has been for decades), of plutocrats and theocrats, both of which are sworn enemies of democracy, it's only to be expected that Republican members of the House would engage in behavior like this:

Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.) shared audio of a phone call he made from inside a secure room at the Capitol where Democrats were attempting to interview a witness as part of the impeachment inquiry into President Trump.

The interview was delayed for hours after a group of conservative Republican lawmakers, including Mooney, stormed into the room to protest what they say has been an unfair impeachment process.

The protest took place inside what's known as a SCIF — an acronym for sensitive compartmented information facility. Such rooms are used when secure, nationally sensitive information is to be shared or discussed.



The article does note that the call was made on a secure landline, because all their cell phones were confiscated, but there is still the fact that he's broadcasting a recording of it, and there are pictures of him recording himself on video on the way in.

It's "secret" because classified information is being presented to the committees engaged in the investigation. Duh.

It's also worth noting that this idiot is parroting Glorious Leader's attacks on Schiff, or at least being sure to target Schiff.

I'm not sure if this little frat boy stunt is a violation of the law, but it certainly violates security protocols -- first, breaking into a secure room which they were not authorized to be in, and then making an unauthorized phone call from inside. What's more important is that it happened at all: guess which party has no respect for the rules that make this a civilized country. It's so outrageous that it got a reaction from none other than Lindsey Graham -- who then promptly back-pedaled. And I'm sure Susan Collins (R-ME -- and somehow that seems a fitting designation) is concerned.

What really depresses me, though, is the near certainty that there will be no consequences. If the Democratic leadership is expecting these idiots to pay at the ballot box, they've really got their heads up their asses -- their constituents love this sort of thing. If Pelosi or Schiff don't do something, no one else will.

For more backstory on this see here -- and here's an interesting tidbit.

Via Joe.My.God.

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