Here are my observations and opinions on my select news of the day.

DRAINING THE SWAMP – Voters of Donald Trump weren’t under any illusion that draining the swamp was going to be easy.

Through the Mueller investigation, a number of wrongdoing holdovers from Obama’s Department of Justice and its Federal Bureau of Investigation were identified with the plan to undermine Trump’s presidency.

Evidence of their covert actions, which have already been chronicled in books like Gregg Jarrett’s book, “Witch Hunt,” will be officially noted in DOJ IG Michael Horowitz’s report and further investigated by U.S. Attorney John Durham.

Now, with the president’s conversation with Ukraine President Zelensky, the spotlight has turned to the bastion of 75,000 members of the Department of State.  These unelected career people – people most of you have never heard of – are the those being deposed by the Schiff committee. They have had their feelings hurt by a president who doesn’t believe we have to do something the way we have always done it.

“Privileged bureaucrats are so high on their self-righteousness that they actually think they’re protecting the Constitution by obstructing the foreign policy of the elected president,” writes Adam Mill (a pen name) in The Federalist.

These career people believe that they possess the experience that Trump supposedly lacks in foreign policy, yet there is no mention of “dedicated career professionals” in the Constitution, while Article II vests power to the President of the United States,

Elections have consequences.  Presidents pick their foreign policy team to match their goals.  Those who do not see eye-to-eye with the president have a choice of following his wishes or resign.

NOW IMAGINE THIS – Adam Schiff, himself a liar and a leaker, and his intelligence colleagues, will be cherry-picking negative statements about Trump from these disgruntled bureaucrats, that will become the charges of impeachment.

Is this really happening in the United States of America?

LT. COL. ALEXANDER VINDMAN, who decided to testify against President Trump before the Schiff committee, may just regret it since his testimony over the Ukraine phone call appears to be flimsy. You will recall in my October 31, 2019 posting that the colonel seemingly wanted to impress the committee as he appeared for testimony in full military dress, even though he regularly wears civilian clothes as an NSC advisor.

Regarding my reference to his regretting the decision to testify, a retired Army officer who worked with Vindman came out of the woodwork to tell of his witnessing him make condescending remarks about America.

After Lt. Col. Jim Hickman, who retired from the Army in 2017, went on Twitter to say, “He (Vindman) is a political activist in uniform,” noting how the media “right on cue” began calling Vindman a war hero with a Purple Heart, Debra Heine at American Greatness interviewed Hickman for his thoughts.

On the day of Vindman’s testimony, his appearance in uniform seemed to impress Fox’s Dana Perino, who said, “I would never criticize his service.”

“Knowing his political bias, backed by his somewhat radical left-leaning ideology, it was my obligation, indeed my duty, to come forward” said Hickman.

Reminding Heine of Vindman being a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Ukraine, Hickman related how Vindman made fun of the United States to the point that it made other soldiers “uncomfortable.”  Calling Americans “rednecks” in the company of Russians during a joint U.S.- Russia exercise, he elicited a big laugh at America’s expense.

“He (Vindman) was apologetic of American culture, laughed about Americans not being educated or worldly, and talked up Obama and globalism to the point of (sic) uncomfortable,” and then commented about American’s “falsely thinking they’re exceptional,” Hickman tweeted.

Sitting within earshot of Vindman as he spoke, Hickman had enough, and took him aside and “verbally reprimanded him for his actions.”

Lest anyone think this is one man’s view of Vindman, Hickman’s boss at the time, Thomas Lasch, vouched Hickman’s account.

It will be interesting to read the transcript of Vindman’s testimony.  He was “extremely disturbed” by the Ukraine call.  Was he concerned over the president’s desire to learn more about Joe Biden’s role in the 2016 election?

You may recall that he once worked with Biden.

I THOUGHT SO, TOO – I thought President Trump pulled us out of the foolish Paris Accord in June of 2017, but I have since learned that Article 28 of the Accord prevented it from becoming official until November 4, 2019, four years after the agreement came into effect.

The administration made it official on November 4, but that was just another step in the process.  The U.S. will be able to complete the process of leaving the Accord on November 4, 2020, one day after the presidential election.

“WHAT THE HELL IS HE THINKING?” I wrote in criticism of Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), on October 28, 2019, who appears to want take the place of former Sen. Jake “THE” Flake (R-AZ), as a Trump antagonist.  This is a time when we need unity among Republicans, as witnessed in the solid vote of House Republicans in opposition to the impeachment inquiry.

“The Utah Republican is looked at positively by just 18 percent of Americans, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll,” writes Tim Pearce in the Washington Examiner.

A PREGNANT WOMAN WITH AN AR-15 most likely saved the lives of her family when two masked intruders, armed with pistols, entered her home in Lithia, Florida.  While the intruders were pistol-whipping her husband and grabbing her daughter, she retreated to the bedroom, and came back with an AR-15.

She shot one, who died in a ditch outside the home, but the other suspect got away.

Sounds like another story for Dana Loesch to use in her work with the NRA.

May God continue to bless the United States of America.