Impeachment over: Senate votes to acquit Trump

Via RT.com, Feb. 5, 2020

The final vote on the first charge (abuse of power) was 52-48, with Mitt Romney (R-Utah) crossing the aisle to vote “guilty” alongside the Democrats. The vote on the second charge (obstruction of Congress) was 53-47, with Romney returning to the fold. It would have taken 67 votes to convict Trump on either count.

“Donald John Trump, president of the United States, is hereby acquitted,” Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court John Roberts announced after the votes, ending the process that kicked off in September 2019, over allegations that Trump improperly sought foreign influence in the 2020 election by demanding a corruption investigation in Ukraine.
.................................................

The acquittal comes a day after Trump’s triumphant State of the Union speech, and the embarrassing fiasco of the Democrats’ caucuses in Iowa, where even according to incomplete and questionable results, Biden ended up fourth.

Trump is only the third US president ever to be impeached in the House, after Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1999. In all three cases, the impeachment failed in the Senate, allowing the president to stay in office. Contrary to popular opinion, Richard Nixon was never impeached – he resigned before the official proceedings could begin, in August 1973.

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wendy davis's picture

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Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@wendy davis

are happy now. Hmmm. Maybe Guaido is a Putin plant? Could it be?

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

wendy davis's picture

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal

but he's really a CIA usurper plant. ach, i'd tried to find the photo of him MoA had shown of him mooning his arse, but i cannae. it's in my media files, but not available via General Bingle. ; )

#WhatACrassDick

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4 users have voted.

@wendy davis I would say 'Come to Venezuela! Our voting is better than Iowa's!"

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wendy davis's picture

@Mickt

and oh, is it wild in VZ and bolivia courtesy of the US/OAS/CIA. arrests of MAS supporters, journalists in bolivia, and most reports indicate random guaido's final tour (including parliament) is over. aspirational rather than rational? stay tuned, i guess.

actual socialist nations must not be allowed! as a very side note, mr. wd said that russian FM lavrov is headed to cuba, mexico, then venezuela. he's a true diplomat, and all the alliances are swiftly changing, aren't they?

who will take out the US global terrorist organization? those who can...and must.

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6 users have voted.

John Bolton will have your membership packet.

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15 users have voted.

Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.

@Dr. John Carpenter

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wendy davis's picture

@Le Frog

and slap leather!

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Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Le Frog

Certainly waited a long time to come to Jesus. Not sure I trust him.

After getting burned by Markos "I used to be a Republican and took some CIA training but didn't really join the CIA and I saw the light and am not a Republican anymore" Moulitsas, it's hard to rely on people's repentance.

And yes, that is Markos' actual full name. Smile

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12 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

travelerxxx's picture

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal

Peter Daou ... Certainly waited a long time to come to Jesus. Not sure I trust him.

That would make at least two of us.

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4 users have voted.

@travelerxxx People have changes of heart, and that's a great thing when it happens. However, I reserve the right to not forget my first impression.

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Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.

wendy davis's picture

@Dr. John Carpenter

lol.

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1 user has voted.

Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Dr. John Carpenter

dropped it off with this guy:

dickpainter.jpg

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4 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

I thought that meant a slamdunk for impeachment? No? Oops.

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wendy davis's picture

@Le Frog

she'd ripped up her list of 'How to Work Across the Aisle'...as every item had been crossed off already.

a Q: were the congressional Ds sporting their ancient Pink Pussy Hats at the SOTU?

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@Le Frog https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7970209/It-felt-like-Mike-Pence...

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0 users have voted.

Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.

Bernindownthehouse's picture

I wouldn't read too much into Romney's vote. His seat is safe. He isn't even up for reelection until 2024. He can afford to take a principled stand, if that's what it is.

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"Not me. Us."

snoopydawg's picture

@Bernindownthehouse

I posted a link to comments in Mark's essay if anyone is interested in seeing them.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

wendy davis's picture

@snoopydawg

but i'm not trying to imply i'm speaking for the room, either. he'd split the baby in half, rather solomonesquely, yes?

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snoopydawg's picture

@wendy davis

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

wendy davis's picture

@snoopydawg

nay on the other seems solomonesque to me. just my opinion, of course, but Utahans must have approved one of his votes, i'd think.

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snoopydawg's picture

@wendy davis

.of Romney's vote if you do want to know.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

wendy davis's picture

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wendy davis's picture

@Bernindownthehouse

one 'returning to the fold', but point taken. but fancy if Trump had been impeached on actually impeachable crimes, such as International War Crimes! clearly, he and the past five amerikan presidents belong in prison at the Hague.

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@Bernindownthehouse
Unless he runs as a (D)

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3 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

@The Voice In the Wilderness

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1 user has voted.

Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.

Bollox Ref's picture

Next!!

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16 users have voted.

Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

wendy davis's picture

@Bollox Ref

you reasonably stable genius. ; )

#Eric Ciaramella WTF? Ooopsie, chief roberts.

i love "Next!!!" More Pink Pussy Hats? bitching, but okay-ISH with Orange Man's further attacks on the social safety net because: TINA?

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Bollox Ref's picture

@wendy davis

Listening to NPR's daily, breathless coverage, seemed to think there might be something in it. I assured her that the Republicans wouldn't see anything in it. They had already said so.

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Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

wendy davis's picture

@Bollox Ref

but i'm not decoding your comment.

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Bollox Ref's picture

@wendy davis

Mrs. Bollox listens to NPR religiously. She was convinced that the Republicans would see 'sense'.

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Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

wendy davis's picture

@wendy davis .1.1.1

and thanks for the explanation.

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Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Bollox Ref

Something dreadful Russia has done, no doubt.

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5 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

snoopydawg's picture

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal

their new chemical weapons scam and will be telling the world that Assad poisoned his people again. After that opcw debacle I'm sure that the world will not believe them this time. I'm sure of it.

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7 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

"Present" "Acquit" or "Convict"
Radio news says all (D)'s voted to convict, but they are also saying the Mayo Cheat wiped Bernie's butt in Iowa, with every announcement widening his lead.

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4 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

snoopydawg's picture

@The Voice In the Wilderness

He says no one is above the law. I reminded him that Obama's administration thought tortures were above the law as well as the bank CEOs that crashed the global economy and lots of other very bad peoples were above the law. He hasn't answered me yet.

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12 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

@snoopydawg
The only principled vote was Tulsi's.
If Bernie thinks the charges were proven, let alone proven beyond a reasonable doubt, he is mentally challenged. If he doesn't, but voted to please the press, then he is a craven oathbreaker and I retract my support. Either way, I will send him no more money.
Chewing it over before changing my sig.

I see Cook county has a Green primary ballot. I may just take that instead of the (D) ballot.
It sounds like the Greens may be serious about building from the ground up.
Mfa? Obama also talked about it (the public option) until he was seated as President.

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5 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@snoopydawg

on impeachment, Russiagate, Ukrainegate. Bleah.

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13 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

wendy davis's picture

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal

kept asking pluto why she thinks the bern is 'the authentic 'left', although i haven't had the time to go back tocheck one of the myriad threads for her response. to me, there IS no left in amerikka save for anarcho-syndicalists, actual socials, etc.

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Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@wendy davis

One of Ed Murrow's colleagues is being targeted/tormented in the newspapers, and he asks Murrow for help, and Murrow says "I can't take on both McCarthy and Hearst."

I suspect that's where Bernie is at. He opposes the MIC on some things--like he actually called Soleiman's (sp?) killing an assassination (gasp! clutch your pearls!), he has actually criticized Israel. But there's a definite limit. He toes the line on everything else in the Middle East and he parrots the Russiagate BS and, apparently, is on the dumb side of Ukrainegate.

Meanwhile, to give him credit where it's due, he *is* pissing off Wall St, Big Pharma, the national Chamber of Commerce, the Waltons and Bezos especially, the telecomms, and, last but certainly not least, the fossil fuel barons. Oh, and, of course, both political parties who, though they are all basically employees, not bosses, have a not inconsequential amount of power as long as they aren't crossing said bosses.

I am not happy that he's siding with the liars and propagandists and warmongers on anything. It wasn't great that Murrow wouldn't take on Hearst either. But I get it.

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5 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

wendy davis's picture

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal
credit where it's due: domestic policies mainly, it seems. i do remember he'd later called trump's assassination of qassem soleimani a 'killing' later, but that may be a small point. on assange? even his followers were apparently eager for him to call out his arrest at the ecuadorian embassy and transport to belmarsh gitmo, and he finally did...to an extent.

for me, 'leftists' aren't imperialists, and while many of his followers call bernie anti-war, he sure isn't that, there's a long list, but beginning w/ voting for 'the defense on nato act'. for me, it's my main issue, but then the ballot box is no way to change Empire for good. but as many have said, most of the best social movements and dissenters to the realm...get shunted into/coopted by the D party.

i may never heave seen 'good nght and good luck'; the cast is phenomenal as well. but imdb has a section on quotes, and oh, my: this one is stellar:

Edward R. Murrow: No one familiar with the history of this country, can deny that congressional committees are useful. It is necessary to investigate before legislating. But the line between investigating and persecuting is a very fine one, and the Junior Senator from Wisconsin has stepped over it repeatedly. We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty.

We must remember always, that accusation is not proof, and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason if we dig deep into our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men. Not from men who feared to write, to associate, to speak, and to defend the causes that were for the moment unpopular. This is no time for men who oppose Sen. McCarthy's methods to keep silent or for those who approve.

We can deny our heritage and our history but we cannot escape responsibility for the result. We proclaim ourselves as indeed we are, the defenders of freedom wherever it continues to exist in the world. But we cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home. The actions of the Junior Senator from Wisconsin have caused alarm and dismay amongst our allies abroad and given considerable comfort to our enemies. And whose fault is that? Not really his, he didn't create this situation of fear, he merely exploited it, and rather successfully. Cassius was right, the fault dear Brutus is not in our stars, but in ourselves.

Good night, and good luck.

my last bold reminding me of these lines from for AIM leader john trudell's (RIPower) Rich Man's War:

Some ones are crazy or
Maybe we take turns
Dreaming about some kind of life
We say it could have been different
But it wasn't because we weren't

Some things start good and go bad
Some things get bad and stay bad
Are we caught in between
Living a lie or not living at all

Eliminated choices
Lost in dreams we let go
Memories we never got to have
Something else to think about

but apenultimate has a new post up quoting 538.com showing that bernie will win the whole enchilada, so he is actually surging to the delight of so many.

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Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@wendy davis

is lifted direct from what Murrow actually said. He was significantly to the right of me (and somehow he was apparently friends with Lewis Powell which blows my mind), but his underlying values make him my soul brother. Here's another quotation that matters a lot to me:

Last week, Senator McCarthy appeared on this program to correct any errors he might have thought we made in our report of March 9th.

Since he made no reference to any statements of fact that we made, we must conclude that he found no errors of fact. He proved again that anyone who exposes him, anyone who does not share his hysterical disregard for decency and human dignity and the rights guaranteed by the Constitution, must be either a Communist or a fellow traveler.

I fully expected this treatment. The Senator added this reporter's name to a long list of individuals and institutions he has accused of serving the Communist cause. His proposition is very simple: Anyone who criticizes or opposes McCarthy's methods must be a Communist. And if that be true, there are an awful lot of Communists in this country.

...

Here's the part that I like the most:

The Senator charged that Professor Harold Laski, a British scholar and politician, dedicated the book to me. That's true. He is dead. He was a socialist -- I am not. He was one of those civilized individuals who did not insist upon agreement with his political principles as a pre-condition for conversation or friendship. I do not agree with his political ideas. Laski, as he makes clear in the introduction, dedicated the book to me not because of political agreement but because he held my wartime broadcast from London in high regard -- and the dedication so reads.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

wendy davis's picture

@snoopydawg

snoopy dawg. as a side Q, and given bernie's long-time rants against maduro, hugo chavez, and evo morales, did he applaud random guiado at the sotu? (even knowing how careful candidates are...)

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Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@wendy davis

because when he went to the Vatican, Evo Morales was there, and after Bernie's address, he made a point of walking up to him and shaking his hand.

I have the greatest respect for Mr. Morales.

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0 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

wendy davis's picture

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal

often show that Tweeted handshake and the bit of praise he'd given evo. but there are often disconnects among the ruling class, aren't there? with bern and maduro his red line became: "but i never called him a dictator!"

thanks for this and for the extra quotes above, and i think i'll see if mr. wd can get the film thru inter-library loan. sorry it took me so long to come back; i just hadn't seen new comments recently...and so, yanno.

i reckon that's what's silly about calling someone somewhere on a linear left-right theory. not only does the overton window ratchet ever-rightward now, but sometimes the line bend like a horseshoe when Truth is at stake. guess that's what bugs me about folks gasping: "oh! libertarians!"

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Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@wendy davis

Maybe I should have written about that in my OT this week. I thought about it.

A political realignment is trying to happen. Not right vs left so much as true vs false, or real vs fake.

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0 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@wendy davis

given Evo, and more about the respect Evo gave him. Evo has more credibility for me than Bernie, which is not an underhanded way of dissing Bernie. I think Bernie preserves as much of his integrity as he can while staying in his job.

We could argue that Tulsi does far better, but my guess is Tulsi will not have a public sector job after this campaign cycle--didn't she withdraw from her Congressional race?

There's a real price to pay for keeping those seats. Even Alexandra Ocasio Cortez does things like vote for Pelosi as party leader and try to excuse it with "She was the most progressive person running." (I have, btw, more problem with the excuse than with the act, since she clearly couldn't topple Pelosi).

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0 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

snoopydawg's picture

..

Biden is not Trump's political opponent. He is the opponent of every person running for president. And now he is tanking in the polls and again he has not made it out of Iowa. But of course Trump was very naughty to not have sent lethal weapons to Ukraine so that they could sit in a warehouse far from the front. But Raytheon and other weapon makers are very happy with their profits.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

DERP!!!

derp-face.jpg

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6 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Timing was the only interesting part of it.
Who had their voters revved up? At time of Dem primaries?
Trump.

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6 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

wendy davis's picture

@on the cusp

the failed and narrow D ukrainegate impeachment debacle just handed the election to trump, i'd aggree, barring other potential considerations.

i had wondered earlier, that given the rules say that '2/3 of the senate needed to remove X from office', what that would mean in terms of senators not voting. but on this one, all 100 did vote it seems.

p.s. did you cancel your trip to milan in the end?

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@wendy davis Had to cancel my Thanksgiving trip to Guatemala due to a damn pothole on the runway at the Guatemala City airport.
Will try again next year over Thanksgiving.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

wendy davis's picture

@on the cusp

i'd thought you'd said milan, and might cancel due to coronavirus (sp?).

best to you,
wd

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wendy davis's picture

and will leave you with this worthy and applicable quote:

'There was no corner of the known world where some interest was not alleged to be in danger or under actual attack. If the interests were not Roman, they were those of Rome's allies; and if Rome had no allies, then allies would be invented. When it was utterly impossible to contrive such an interest—why, then it was the national honor that had been insulted. The fight was always invested with an aura of legality. Rome was always being attacked by evil-minded neighbors, always fighting for a breathing space.

The whole world was pervaded by a host of enemies, and it was manifestly Rome's duty to guard against their indubitably aggressive designs. They were enemies who only waited to fall on the Roman people.”

~ Joseph Schumpeter, 1951

#Amerika the Beautiful

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