Hold Trump Accountable

Organized by Indivisible East San Jose, over 500 of us gathered in front of City Hall in downtown San Jose on a busy Thursday evening to proclaim that no one, not you, not me, and certainly not president Trump, is above the law.

We were part of over 1,000 emergency protests across cities and towns in all fifty states of America, a day after Trump replaced the spineless and robotic attorney general Jeff Sessions with a lackey and a certified hack and fraud named Matthew Whitaker to oversee the Department of Justice and the ongoing investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

"Nobody is above the law" was the unifying theme, protection of the Mueller investigation the focus.

Trump made his preemptive move just two days after Democrats regained majority in the House in the midterm elections. In his crude and demagogic way, he threatened democrats with "war" if they dared to investigate him for his complicity in the Russian meddling in the 2016 election and for his nefarious financial dealings. By appointing a crony, whose appointment as acting AG was unanimously declared unconstitutional by legal experts, Trump thought he could bend the law to his will and make the Mueller investigation disappear.

Before politicians could respond, people responded. From sea to shining sea, in sunshine, rain and snow, Americans of all ages and from all walks of life came together to tell Trump that his days of holding truth and law captive to his ego was over. There was going to be accountability. The Mueller investigation will continue and when its findings are revealed, the chips will fall where they must.

On August 9, 1974, at 8:35 am PST, Richard Nixon resigned as president of the United States to avoid imminent impeachment over the Watergate scandal. Thirty minutes later, Republican Gerald Ford was sworn in as president. “My fellow Americans,” he said, “our long national nightmare is over." He added, “Our Constitution works. Our great Republic is a government of laws and not of men. Here the people rule.”

Forty-four years later, we find our ourselves also confronting a terrifying truth: Our two-year-long national nightmare is still with us. But with people speaking boldly to power, and with Democrats claiming the House, we are filled with hope that our current nightmare will soon be over. And people power will again prove for generations to come that ours is, and will remain, a government of laws and not of men.

President Trump Must Step Down, Or Be Impeached

The firing of FBI director James Comey by president Trump on 9^th May unleashed a cacophony of foul play claims redolent of the Watergate scandal that forced Richard Nixon to resign in 1974, almost 19 months after he was sworn in to his second term. The combination of possible obstruction of justice, hidden tapes and veiled threats in the Comey firing makes the comparison to Watergate compelling.

But all that has been overtaken by what has happened within a week of Comey’s firing. We learned from Washington Post on 15^th May that Trump disclosed highly classified information to Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak in the Oval Office a day after he let Comey go. 

Then, on 16^th May (today), New York Times reported that during their February 14^th meeting at the White House, Trump asked Comey to drop the Michael Flynn inquiry about possible Russian collusion in the presidential election last year. “He is a good guy,” Trump said of Flynn. "I hope you can let this go."

The president was alone with the FBI Director after he asked attorney General Sessions and VP Pence to leave the room.

John McCain, the senior Republican Senator from Arizona, said about the two latest bombshells: “Trump scandals are reaching Watergate size and scale.”

Talk of impeachment is in the air, along with the demand that Republican lawmakers show some spine and put country above party. America is at a crossroads because the 45^th president, by all indications, has engaged in obstruction of justice, an impeachable offense. 

The moment of truth is here. There is no turning back.

A comparison with Watergate and the current Congress offers perspective.

In the 93^rd Congress (1973-1975) during Nixon’s second term, Democrats held both the Houses, with 242 Democrats to 193 Republicans in Congress, and 56 Democrats to 44 Republicans in the Senate. The House Judiciary Committee consisted of 38 members, 21 Democrats to 17 Republicans. By law, a simple majority is required for each article of a resolution to pass, including impeachment.

Six Republican Congressmen switched sides to join all 21 Democrats in the judiciary committee to recommend that Nixon be impeached through a Senate trial. The article of impeachment was adopted 27 to 11 in that historic vote, although Nixon quit before suffering through the ignominy.

In the 115^th Congress (2017-2018), the numbers have flipped. There are 238 Republicans to 193 Democrats (with 4 vacancies) in Congress and 52 Republicans to 46 Democrats, with 2 Independents, in the Senate. The current House Judiciary Committee comprises 23 Republicans and 17 Democrats.

What is the possibility that history will repeat itself in 2017 or 2018? 

The twin bombshells - Trump spilling secrets to the Russians and asking Comey to drop the Flynn investigation - have changed the equation for the president. The combination of arrogance and ignorance, the 'damn care' attitude that has endeared him to his blind supporters, the impunity with which he flouts decency and the Rule of Law, has exceeded all bounds. The 'i' word is being sued more and more, and not just by Democrats like Maxine Waters of California, for whom the case for impeachment is clear as daylight.

Will the democrats have to wait until the midterm elections in 2018 to gain seats in the House to turn the tide? 

Not after the twin shockers. The ancient saying, “The wheels of justice grind slowly but exceedingly fine,” needs updating. When the damn breaks, there is nothing slow about it.

A national character test is upon us.

We like to believe that in America no one is above the law. To underscore our faith in that guiding principle, we add, “including the president of the United States.” It implies that if or when the moment of truth arrives, our lawmakers will put country before party.

Is this still true 241 years after the founding of our nation?

Consider what made some Republicans switch party allegiance during the Watergate hearings.

Caldwell Butler of Virginia explained it this way: “If we fail to impeach, we will have condoned and left unpunished a course of conduct totally inconsistent with the reasonable expectations of the American people …”

Lawrence Hogan, from Maryland and a former FBI agent, reasoned thus: “Richard M. Nixon has, beyond a reasonable doubt, committed impeachable offenses in an extended and extensive conspiracy to obstruct justice … The evidence convinces me that my President has lied repeatedly, deceiving public officials and the American people. Instead of cooperating with prosecutors and investigators … he concealed and covered up evidence.”

But it was Peter Rodino, the Democratic New Jersey Congressman and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, who summed it up best for the nation: “I have been guided by the principle that the law must deal fairly with every man. For me this is the oldest principle of democracy. It is this simple but great principle which enables man to live justly and in decency in a free society … Our judgment is not concerned with an individual but with a system of constitutional government … Let us leave the constitution as unimpaired for our children as our predecessors left it to us.”

Generous Americans Teach Us the True Meaning of Thanksgiving

(You can also read the article here.)

On the day before Thanksgiving this year, the Evergreen Islamic Center in San Jose, CA, received a postal mail that contained these lines:

“There’s a new sheriff in town – President Donald Trump. He is going to cleanse America and make it shine again. And he’s going to start with you Muslims. He’s going to do to you Muslims what Hitler did to the Jews. You Muslims would be wise to pack your bags and get out of Dodge.”

After some deliberations, the EIC board contacted the police on Thursday, November 24, Thanksgiving Day. Within minutes, law enforcement officials rushed to the Center and offered to provide extra security for the community. Local Priests, Rabbis and elected officials condemned the bigotry and assured us of their support.

As word of the hate mail spread through TV, newspapers and social media, support poured in. Our initial emotions of shock and distress gave way to hope and courage, and we realized anew how fortunate we were to be living in a country where ordinary citizens were united by the common goal of justice and freedom for all.

There is clearly a strong correlation between the election of Donald Trump to the presidency of the United States and the spike in hate crimes directed against Muslims and other minority groups. More than 100 anti-Muslim incidents have occurred across the country and more than 700 incidents targeting different minority groups have been documented by the Southern Poverty Law Center since November 8.

We are not afraid that bigots and hatemongers, emboldened by Donald Trump, are coming out of the woodwork to threaten us, although we remain cautious and vigilant. Ours is a land of law, and even though the law is sometimes bent by the wealthy and the powerful in their favor, we are confident that no one is above the law. Remember the case of the late President Richard Nixon, who had to resign in disgrace in 1974 to avoid certain impeachment.

Jews and Christians gather in front of Evergreen Islamic Center, San Jose, CA,
on Friday, December 2, 2016, to express their solidarity with Muslims.

Far from frightening us, this hate mail has, in fact, given us a renewed sense of mission when the ‘new sheriff’ begins his presidency. We are heartened that mayors and presidents of colleges and universities across the country have declared their cities and campuses ‘sanctuary spaces’ for undocumented workers, students and their families.

But ultimately, our faith in our country comes from the numerous messages, emails and cards we received from neighbors and strangers.

“As a Christian,” wrote Vance, “I am taught that above all else, ‘love thy neighbor.’ I want to extend my love to your community and want you to know that many Christians, like me, stand in solidarity with you.”

Miriam wrote that “not all Americans feel the way the hateful people do. I am a Jew and I support you, my cousins. Love and peace, we are all 1!”

Holly assured us that “I will do whatever it takes to help protect your first amendment rights.” Stacy reminded us that “there are many of us in San Jose who do not feel the way the haters do. We welcome you for the diversity and the rich culture you bring to our lovely city.”

Davida was sad because “here in Bay Area we think we live in a sanctuary of unity but unfortunately that is not the case. I pray for peace and understanding for all in this uncertain time.” And this from Marina: “I have heard some people talking about a ‘Muslim registry.’ Many Americans have said they will register as Muslims regardless of their faith, as many Danes under Nazi occupation wore yellow stars. I, too, will register as a Muslim if that time were to come.”

Muslim-Americans could not have learned more vividly the true meaning of Thanksgiving were it not for our generous fellow Americans. We are truly blessed.

Archer Kent Blood's Lasting Legacy

The recent publication of “The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide” by Gary J. Bass, a professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University, has reopened raw wounds in the collective psyche of Bangladeshis.

Drawing on recently declassified White House tapes and documents, Bass has summoned a searing story of hubris and genocide that will shock readers four decades after the violent birth of Bangladesh.

That Prof. Bass was able to find an American publisher for his book is rich in irony. Archer Kent Blood, Bass’s protagonist, wrote an even more searing first-person account of the blood-bath in Bangladesh but not a single American publisher would touch it. It was eventually published by The University Press Limited of Dhaka in 2002.

Author of “The Cruel Birth of Bangladesh: Memoirs of an American Diplomat,” Blood was the United States Consul General in the-then East Pakistan during the turbulent ‘70s. When the Pakistani army mounted a war against unarmed Bangladeshis to reverse the results of the 1970 national election in which Sheikh Mujibur Rahman won a clear majority, Blood was stunned by the silence of his government.

The diabolical Nixon-Kissinger duo was obsessed with appeasing Yahya Khan for the general’s role in facilitating the “grand opening to China.” They supplied him with all the arms, ammunition and spare parts he asked for. 10,000 Bangladeshis were massacred in the first three days alone. Over a period of nine months, as many as 3 million were killed (other conservative estimates put the figure much lower) and 10 million had to flee to India for safety.

Responding to the call of his conscience, Blood sent a telegram to the State Department that read in part, “… Our government has failed to denounce the suppression of democracy. Our government has failed to denounce atrocities. Our government has failed to take forceful measures to protect its citizens while at the same time bending over backwards to placate the West Pak government and to lessen likely and deservedly negative international public relations impact against them. Our government has evidenced what many will consider moral bankruptcy …”

The late Christopher Hitchens, in his 2001 book "The Trial of Henry Kissinger," described the cable as "the most public and the most strongly worded demarche, from State Department servants to the State Department, that has ever been recorded."

Kissinger was furious and recalled Blood to Washington where he was assigned to the State Department’s personnel office, a public demotion. It was the same Kissinger who, at the height of the genocide in late April of 1971, sent a message to General Yahya Khan to thank him for his “delicacy and tact.” Nixon was equally invested in the asinine dictator when he told him, “I understand the anguish you must have felt in making the difficult decisions you have faced.”

In 1973, when Blood’s name was proposed for a possible ambassadorial position, Kissinger responded with: “Get that guy out of Washington!”

Blood’s book is filled with glimpses of men steeped in arrogance and their attempts to trash the truth. In June, 1971, for example, a World Bank Mission visited East Pakistan and filed a devastating report on Pakistani brutality. World Bank President Robert McNamara desperately tried to suppress the report but the New York Times obtained the document and splashed it on the front page. McNamara sent a letter to the Pakistani government apologizing for the leak! During a briefing in 1971 in Islamabad, a sneering Brigadier General Chuck Yeager, the first test pilot to break the sound barrier, challenged Blood’s contention that Bengali resistance would win out in the end. “Do the Bengalis have any aircraft? Any tanks?” Yeager asked. “Then, how can they stand up to the well-equipped, disciplined Pakistani army?”

Blood’s testimony is proof that people armed with hope and a will to be free can defeat armies equipped with weapons of war. The diplomat saw a parallel between his own country’s war of independence against the British in 1776 and Bangladesh’s war of independence almost two centuries later.

Blood received the Herter award in 1972 for “extraordinary accomplishment involving initiative, integrity, intellectual courage and creative dissent.” The award was named after the former Secretary of State Christian A. Herter and established by the American Foreign Services Association in 1969. In 2005, he was posthumously given an Outstanding Service by the Bangladeshi-American Foundation, Inc. (BAFI) in Arlington, Virginia.

Archer Kent Blood passed away peacefully at Ft. Collins, Colorado, on Sept. 3, 2004, at the age of 81, survived by his wife Margaret Millward Blood, two daughters, Shireen Updegraff and Barbara Rankin, and two sons, Peter Blood and Archer Lloyd Blood.

Reflecting on the fateful “Blood Telegram” years later, Blood said, “I paid for my dissent. But I had no choice. The line between right and wrong was just too clear-cut.”

If this is not human spirit at its finest, what is?

Prof. Bass’s “The Blood Telegram” will undoubtedly contribute to a renewed appraisal of the Nixon-Kissinger foreign policy and the lasting damage these two “statesmen” inflicted on the world, reverberations from which continue to be felt to this day.

At the same time, it should serve as a reminder to the leaders of Bangladesh that they too are under the spotlight of history, that they too will be judged by whether or not they have squandered the sacrifices of millions. It is easy to point fingers and wallow in the past. It is far more challenging to develop policies and institutions that can move the nation forward. Bangladesh is now politically polarized to the point of paralysis. Integrity, magnanimity and farsightedness are missing from the national discourse. Perhaps our politicians should read and re-read “The Blood Telegram” and “The Cruel Birth of Bangladesh” to gain perspective on what constitutes hubris and what constitutes enlightened leadership. Forty-two years later, surely it is time.