The Partisan Divide: After 14 hours of rancorous debate that crossed the midnight hour, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee delayed their vote on articles of impeachment until today, enraging the opposition They said they did not want to hold the vote in the dark of night.

  Chairman Jerrold Nadler said, “I want the members on both sides of the aisle to think about what has happened over these last two days and search their consciences before we cast our final votes.” 

  The committee’s senior Republican exploded over the change in schedule. You chose not to consult the ranking member on a scheduling issue of this magnitude,” thundered Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia. “This is the kangaroo court that we’re talking about.” 

  Earlier in the day Republicans tried to kill the articles of impeachment. First they attempted to remove the charge of abuse of power, then they went after obstruction of Congress. 

  The Republicans also proposed to insert an amendment to the articles saying President Trump withheld security aid from Ukraine because he was concerned about generalized corruption, even though in the infamous July 25^th phone call with the president of Ukraine Trump never used the word “corruption.” The record of the phone call and surrounding events shows that what he wanted was an investigation, or just the announcement of an investigation, of Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. 

  The Republican strategy was to eliminate, deny, defer, and ignore the facts of what President Trump actually did.  They could just say the President did wrong, but it’s not impeachable. Instead they are deflecting. Some of the rougher action came when Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida proposed to remove mention pf Vice President Biden and insert a reference to “a well-known corrupt company, Burisma, and its corrupt hiring of Hunter Biden.

  Hunter Biden should never have accepted that lucrative job with the Ukraine energy company, and his father should not have allowed it, but they are not the subjects of impeachment.

  The full House is expected to vote on impeachment next week. Even before trial, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says there’s no chance President Trump will be convicted and removed.

Brexit Man: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Conservative Party won an election victory yesterday that gives him a bigger majority in Parliament and appears to assure that his country will exit the European Union.  The Conservatives were projected to win 368 seats in the House of Commons, giving them an 86-seat majority, their largest since Margaret Thatcher in 1987.

Journalism 101: The Atlanta Constitution and journalists in general are irritated about the portrayal of a real-life reporter in the new Clint Eastwood movie portrayed as trading sex with an FBI information for the scoop.

  The movie “Richard Jewell” is about the security guard who was unjustly suspected of being the culprit after he saved lives finding a bomb planted at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Actress Olivia Wilde plays the real-life reporter Kathy Scruggs, who got the story about the investigation of Jewell.  Her paper and colleagues say Scruggs, who died at age 42, did not and would never do that.

  The movie excuses itself with the classic “based on actual historical events” disclaimer, but Scruggs was a real person. A letter from the newspaper’s lawyers to film director Clinton Eastwood says, “Such a portrayal makes it appear that the AJC sexually exploited its staff and/or that it facilitated or condoned offering sexual gratification to sources in exchange for stories. That is entirely false and malicious, and it is extremely defamatory and damaging.”

  The movies have a long history of putting its fictional female reporters in bed with their sources. Some of the best journalism these days from impeachment to the sexual harassment beat is being done by women, and they aren’t sleeping with anyone to get the story.

The Bulletin Board: The US and China have reached the outline of a partial trade deal that could ease tensions in a 17-month trade war. Tariffs have cost the average American household up to $1,000. — The New Zealand military has recovered some of the bodies left on a volcanic island popular with tourists. Doctors have called for donations of human skin to treat some of the tourists who were horribly burned in the eruption of White Island. —  Getting with it, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth is looking for a social media director. The Palace posted a listing on LinkedIn that says, “It’s about never standing still and finding new ways to maintain The Queen’s presence in the public eye and on the world stage.” She should hire Kim Kardashian.

Anger Management: Donald J. Trump, the 45^th President of the United States, mocked the 16-year-old Swedish climate change activist who has Asperger’s syndrome and was named Time Magazine’sPerson of the Year. Trump tweet-bullied Greta Thunberg saying, “Greta must work on her anger management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend!” 

  Thunberg recognizes climate change and Trump does not. He’s also enraged when anyone other than him is named Person of the Year.

  Asperger’s is a condition on the autism scale that can make a person socially awkward, overly serious, or somewhat humorless. But Trump proves that Asperger’s is not a requirement to be socially awkward and humorless.

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