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Trump impeached for 'inciting' US Capitol riots:
The US House of Representatives has impeached President Donald Trump for "incitement of insurrection" at last week's Capitol riot.
Ten Republicans sided with Democrats to impeach the president by 232-197.
He is the first president in US history to be impeached twice, or charged with crimes by Congress.
Mr Trump, a Republican, will now face a trial in the Senate, where if convicted he could face being barred from ever holding office again.
But Mr Trump will not have to quit the White House before his term in office ends in one week because the Senate will not reconvene in time.
Mr Trump will leave office on 20 January, following his election defeat last November to Democrat Joe Biden.
The Democratic-controlled House voted after several hours of impassioned debate on Wednesday as armed National Guard troops stood guard inside and outside the Capitol.
[...] Impeachment charges are political, not criminal.
Also at Newsweek, c|net, Al Jazeera, Washington Post.
[Ed Note - The linked article has been revised since submission. The quoted text has been revised accordingly. - Fnord]
(Score: 2) by driverless on Thursday January 14 2021, @05:04AM (2 children)
At best it would make bugger-all difference - just as the determined programmer can write FORTRAN IV in any language, so the electoral climate in the US can make a mess of any political system. Canada also has FPP, and they don't have anything like the issues the US has. Conversely, Italy has proportional representation and they're a mess. Changing the electoral system is just rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic, it's a distraction from the real issues. As long as people are willing to vote for a philandering atheist multiple-bankrupt narcissist on the basis that he's secretly fighting a bunch of satan-worshipping baby-eaters, it doesn't matter what electoral system you have, you're fucked.
(Incidentally, reread that last sentence. If you proposed that as a movie plot and you weren't Trey Parker they'd probably send you to a loony bin, but this is our current reality. That's how badly broken things are).
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 14 2021, @06:07AM (1 child)
AC you replied to here.
I understand you pessimism, although I don't accept or agree with it.
As for your statement that "As long as people are willing to vote for a philandering atheist multiple-bankrupt narcissist on the basis that he's secretly fighting a bunch of satan-worshipping baby-eaters,"
you're referring to a small, but significant, fraction of Trump voters. Many Trump voters just wouldn't vote for a Democrat. Especially with the constant drumbeat of "socialism!" from the far right media conglomerates that control most of the *local* TV and radio stations across the midwest, south and southwest.
That's a big problem too.
But I don't agree that it's impossible to have change. Especially since most of that change has to come from the grassroots. At the local and state levels.
You can throw up your hands and give up, but then you're part of the problem and not the solution, even if you tacitly support cleaning up our political system.
I refuse to do so. Maybe I'll fail, but I'd rather fail while trying to do some good than just sit around and watch. Maybe that's because I *hate* popcorn?
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 14 2021, @08:48PM
“As for your statement that "As long as people are willing to vote for a philandering atheist multiple-bankrupt narcissist on the basis that he's secretly fighting a bunch of satan-worshipping baby-eaters,"
you're referring to a small, but significant, fraction of Trump voters.”
That they had different reasons for their willingness does not negate their willingness. They still occupy the circle on the Venn Diagram labeled “people willing to vote for a philandering atheist multiple-bankrupt narcissist” and that circle has 100% reciprocal coverage of “Trump voters.”
They are not just equivalent sets, they are equal sets. So, no, the reference is to every Trump voter with precisely zero exceptions.