This is where I thought Trump devotees would go from the beginning.

You are in denial. Trump refused to defend himself. Nadler invited him and his lawyers. That is common knowledge, but you didn't know it.

President Donald Trump and his lawyers will not participate in a congressional impeachment hearing this week, the White House has said, citing a lack of “fundamental fairness”.

Trump’s aides responded defiantly on Sunday to the first of two crucial deadlines he faces in Congress this week as Democrats prepare to shift the focus of their impeachment inquiry from fact-finding to the consideration of possible charges of misconduct over his dealings with Ukraine.

White House counsel Pat Cipollone wrote to committee chairman Jerrold Nadler, according to a copy of a letter seen by Reuters: “We cannot fairly be expected to participate in a hearing while the witnesses are yet to be named and while it remains unclear whether the judiciary committee will afford the president a fair process through additional hearings.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...d-his-lawyers-refuse-to-attend-unfair-hearing

Cipollone's letter makes no sense. Nadler promised Trump fair process, but his lawyer says, "it remains unclear whether the judiciary committee will afford the president a fair process "

In any case, Trump refused to defend himself, not the judiciary committee.

 

It's common sense.

If people don't know what they're capable of it's that much easier to keep them enslaved. This is exactly why humanity keeps repeating the same mistakes...and has so for millennia. The Few have ruled the Many through a steadfast social paradigm of fear, authority & hierarchy...which is why we continue to allow ourselves to be governed by the Few and enslaved to a monetary system.

"The important thing is this: to be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become." ~ Charles Du Bos

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” ~ unknown

 

Your last quote is from Einstein.

You can't tell people what they are capable of and have them turn into it. It's a nice idea, but your biggest opposition will be the person themselves. You are in effect raising the bar for them to see and meet their potential- and most people want the bar lowered to where they are, so they get credit in the status quo, no matter how miserable it is. Telling them they can be more implies they are not enough now, and that offends them.

There is no question that we all have the capacity to be more, but that is not the same as the ability. Some people push their limits every day and are determined to be the best they can be- but most will settle for a lot less from themselves. That spectrum goes as low as the homeless who won't even pursue a roof over their heads, the drug addicts who want to withdraw from reality, and the people who want society to provide the life they are entitled to.

I don't know of any way to penetrate this resistance to self-development, and for sure I've tried a great deal more than most people have or will to breach it. The genuine drive to pursue your best comes from inside the person- not outside. The conditions around us, family, politics, etc- are somewhat like a wind that may push us one way or another, but a person who genuinely wants it all does not allow that to determine which way they will go. It takes a strength of character from within to prevail- and nothing anyone on the outside does can make that happen. We can encourage, try to motivate, try to set examples, try to make it easier- but we cannot alter what is inside another person. It's a kind of "awakening" moment for a person to see it, then they must actually live it. If and when they are ever ready to take on that job, we can help- but if we didn't, those who had come to see this would probably go for it anyway.

I had a phrase I used in my personal development classes, relating to the tipping point, where the drive to take the journey to self began and what it required.

"When you come to the point that you can say If I die- then I die, I'm going anyway". Then, you have the mindset that can accomplish change. Total commitment, total priority. Literally, you bet your life that you can do it, and you can. Takes more courage than most people can find within themselves. Not that they don't have the potential, but they can't find it.
The risk of your life is perceived by people in that position, but in fact that is a point were basic existence becomes unacceptable and real life begins.

If you figure out how to convince people of this, let me know.

You can't do it for them.

 

The agonizing hubris of Fox News’ “so what?” impeachment defense
https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/agonizing-hubris-fox-news-so-what-impeachment-defense

We all knew it would come to this. Backed into a corner, President Donald Trump’s legal advisers, both official and informal, took to Fox News to reveal a defense they’d long hinted at: So what if he did it?

“It,” in this instance, refers to allegations that Trump withheld aid to Ukraine unless the country’s leaders would announce an investigation into Burisma, an energy company linked to Hunter Biden. “It” could have been any number of administration scandals, however. The truth is that for many of Trump’s loudest cheerleaders on Fox News, it’s unlikely that there’s anything he could do that would convince them he must be removed from office.

 

Urban myth I believe.

It's not about wanting "more"...it's about wanting something different. It's not about being "more"...it's about thinking differently & doing things differently.

There's no shortage of ability, talent & creativity...nor is there a shortage of effort & energy being expended. But where that effort & energy is being channeled is the issue. Your statements are a good description of the level of apologetic programming that has contaminated the minds of the people, and why nothing really changes. Humanity is short-changing itself.

If one is offended by the notion of what I'm presenting here, it's only because the truth is often painful, and even disturbing. Because being confronted by the fact one has been living a lie is nothing to cheer about, though it's the first step to liberation. What is being offended is the ego, not the true ego-less Self...and ego is programmed to protect itself. But the ego is not who/what we are and can be made to conform to truth & reason. Being offended is a natural first step to confronting the nature of one's programming.

The ability is there and has always been there. It's just that the ruling class has taken great effort to harness & channel that incredible ability, creativity, and power (energy) of humanity in a direction that serves their interests. The ruling class didn't create this world...they don't have that power. The people did. The world we have is not the one people really want or would choose to have...but the one that the people have been duped into creating for the ruling class. This unnatural way of living that goes against the fabric of our humanity and the universal Oneness of All continues to stir restlessness & a persistent uneasiness in the people that's very palpable everywhere you go.

And this is why throughout history to the present day people are compelled to organize into this or that group in an attempt to take a different path away from the will & reach of the ruling class...some seeking a more radical direction, others seeking a less radical direction. But the ruling class has thwarted these groups through infiltration and even violence, nipped them in the bud before they could germinate & grow to spread. Keeping the people in a persistent state of divisiveness & conflict among the people is a constant struggle because it's not our natural state. Humans are a social, gregarious, peace-loving people...but also trusting & easily swayed by fear. So what is absent is not ability, but a knowing.

It's not our job or responsibility to try to reach a person to compel them towards "self-development", for we risk losing sight of our own path & becoming self-righteous. It would be wiser to first work on ourselves by de-programming ourselves from destructive habits, thoughts & beliefs. If you wish to lead, then lead by example. That would be showing them the "door" without pressuring them enter. But never be afraid to tell the truth, to question authority & "experts", or to go against popular beliefs, opinions & traditions. The more people that do these things on the "inside" the more people will begin to see the kind of changes they seek on the "outside". We should understand the outside world is a reflection & extension of the inside world. There's truly no fundamental separation between the two. If we put ourselves in a mental prison, our world becomes our physical prison. If we free our mind, our world becomes our limitless playground.

Correct. We can't do it for them. Do it for yourself to show them that it can be done. The rest is up to them. To be strong they have to find their own strength.

 

You realize that there are people all over the world being exceptional, showing what can be done. There are people- like me- who have done their best to show others the path, the tools they need to master themselves, to find and use what they have. There are books, classes and every kind of mechanism you can think of promoting this. It's not a lack of the new knowledge, but a refusal to let go of the flawed fundamentals in the minds of most people that dictates their destiny; that causes them to make poor decisions over an over.

The problem is everywhere. It's fundamental. But only those who are ready and willing to tackle it will rise above it. Worst of all- there is nothing you can do to convince or motivate a person who doesn't want to make the trip. Not within our power.

 

Senate GOP Is Coming Around To The Idea That What Trump Did Was Okay
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/...ound-to-the-idea-that-what-trump-did-was-okay

"We’re three days into the impeachment trial, and Senate Republicans have begun floating their “what President Trump did was okay” trial balloon.

For the most part, they’re still avoiding weighing in directly about the Trump conduct House managers have described, and instead have thrown around procedural complaints or claims about how the Trump administration’s Ukraine policy has been stronger than the Obama’s.

But listen closely to the main themes in their reactions to the House’s meticulously built case. What you’ll hear being shaped is a defense that accepts that Trump mounted a secret pressure campaign to force a Ukrainian investigation into his 2020 rival and a defense that concludes that such an effort was permissible."

 

Republicans’ damaging new line of defense
JOHN BOLTON has not yet testified or spoken anywhere in public about the Ukraine affair, but his unpublished manuscript is exerting a gravitational pull on the Senate trial of President Trump. The former national security adviser is reported to have written that Mr. Trump directly connected his freeze on military aid to Ukraine with his demand that the country’s president launch politicized investigations, including of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, the former vice president. The result is that some Republican senators who previously insisted that there was no evidence of such a quid pro quo have now retreated to a new line of defense: Maybe there was but, if so, there is nothing wrong with it.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...=hp_no-name_opinion-card-c:homepage/story-ans

This what typically happens with Trumpette's. Defensive cries of "fake news" and TDS give way to the facts, producing the "yeah he's an immoral criminal but so what, I still love my Dear Leader," defense.

 

How ironic:

 

Trump made an offense against the DEMS Presidential nominees, there's no doubt about that, but that was cunningly crafted and very well calculated, the key is they do have the final verdict which is the senate. The DEMS need a solid candidate free from censure for any wrongdoings whatsoever for this can be made an issue and used as political leverage however light it is, politics can make it bigger by using their mouthful of magnifying lenses. Biden is positioned behind Sanders and Buttigieg with the recent DEMS polls and he should be upfront.