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By Impeaching Trump, The Democrats Are Destroying Both Our Political System And Their Chances Of Winning In 2020

The Democrats probably never imagined that this effort to remove Donald Trump from office would backfire so spectacularly.  Yes, it was always a foregone conclusion that they would be able to impeach Trump in the House, but they were expecting that a majority of the American people would rally around them and that simply has not happened.  In fact, we just got some brand new numbers that are incredibly good news for President Trump.  As you will see below, public support for impeachment continues to fade, and a brand new survey just found that President Trump would beat all of the major contenders for the Democratic nomination if the 2020 election was held today.  At one time, it appeared that the Democrats were likely to win the 2020 presidential election in a historic landslide, but now thanks to this impeachment debacle the numbers have shifted dramatically in Trump’s favor.  And if Trump does ultimately end up winning, the Democrats are going to be kicking themselves for ever going down this road in the first place.

Meanwhile, the heavily slanted and exceedingly bitter coverage of this impeachment process by the mainstream media is deepening the very painful political divisions that have been tearing America apart.  This week, there will literally be hundreds of pro-impeachment protests in cities all across the nation, and the anger that we see on the left is rising to a level that is absolutely frightening.

If President Trump does win again in 2020, everyone already knows what is going to happen.  Key Democratic leaders and the mainstream media have been stirring the pot day after day, and all of the frustration that they have been fueling will reach a crescendo if Trump is not defeated next November.

In order for any political system to operate successfully, most of the population must be willing to accept the outcomes that system produces.  But now we have gotten to the point where a large portion of the population is ready to start burning things down if election results don’t go their way.

If the Democrats truly believed that President Trump did something that warranted impeachment, they should have gone out of their way to make the impeachment process in the House a fair, bipartisan effort.  But instead, they alienated their Republican colleagues at every turn, and that was a tragic mistake.  After the sham that we just witnessed in the House, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell sees no reason to take an impartial stance in the Senate…

McConnell on Tuesday made clear he’s not interested in giving in to any demands from Democrats. He said that the partisan House impeachment would result in “an almost entirely partisan outcome in the Senate as well.”

“I’m not an impartial juror,” McConnell said. “This is a political process.”

McConnell’s strategy relies on keeping Democratic requests on procedures, documents and witnesses bottled up and maintaining pressure on any wavering Republicans who might agree with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s push for more evidence.

Can anyone blame McConnell?  If the Democrats had tried very hard to conduct things fairly in the Senate, McConnell would have been forced to at least maintain a pretense of objectivity.

But now all of that is out the window, and the stage has been set for President Trump to potentially turn the Senate trial into his own version of “show and tell”, and many on the left are fearing the worst.

For example, the following is what one USA Today reader is anticipating from the upcoming trial…

President Donald Trump is not satisfied with avoiding conviction in a Senate trial. He wants a spectacle and platform to humiliate the Democrats, former Vice President Joe Biden and Biden’s son, Hunter. If Trump gets his way with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a World Wrestling Entertainment event will replace a serious impeachment trial.

After all that Trump has been through in recent months, it is quite understandable that he would be eager to “humiliate the Democrats”.

In particular, I think that Trump is quite keen on telling the whole world about what Joe and Hunter Biden were really up to in Ukraine.

According to a new survey, 62 percent of Americans believe that Trump will be treated fairly in the Senate.  And since Republicans control the Senate, things are likely to proceed a whole lot differently than they did in the House.

Once the Senate trial begins in January, you might want to grab some popcorn, because it promises to be quite entertaining.

The Democrats were apparently hoping that by tightly controlling the process in the House that they would be able to get the American people on their side.  But instead, a CNN poll that was just released found that public support for impeachment has fallen substantially…

A CNN poll released this week, conducted by SSRS December 12-15, among 1,005 adults, found that 45 percent support impeaching the president. That reflects a 5-point drop from November’s results, which showed support for impeachment at 50 percent.

Support for impeaching the president, even among Democrats alone, is dropping. In November, 90 percent of Democrats supported impeaching the president. The most recent results show the number falling to 77 percent — a 13-point drop in one month.

A 13 percent shift in one month among Democrats is absolutely catastrophic for Nancy Pelosi and her minions.

This is a failure of epic proportions, and Pelosi’s political future is looking exceedingly grim at this point.

Meanwhile, things have never looked better for President Trump’s political future.  According to another new poll that was just released, Trump would beat every single one of the top contenders for the Democratic nominaton if the election was held today…

The national survey, taken as the House of Representatives planned an impeachment vote and the Senate a trial, showed Trump defeating former Vice President Joe Biden by 3 percentage points, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders by 5 points, and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren by 8 points.

In hypothetical head-to-head contests, Trump also led South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg by 10 points and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg by 9.

But before this impeachment saga ever began, all of the polls showed all of the Democratic contenders defeating Trump quite soundly.

Since it was never likely that Trump would be removed from office by the Republican-controlled Senate, many believed that Pelosi launched this impeachment process as a way to damage Trump and the Republicans for the 2020 election, but if that was her goal she is failing spectacularly.

At one time, it appeared that the 2020 election was potentially going to be a landslide for the Democrats.

You can forget all about that now.  By impeaching Trump, the Democrats may have just given him the edge that he needs to win in 2020, and for many on the left that is the worst possible outcome imaginable.

About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. This article may contain opinions on political matters, but it is not intended to promote the candidacy of any particular political candidate. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help.

Warm Your Heart With These Inspirational Stories Of Extraordinary Human Kindness

Despite all of the horrible things that we read about in the news, the truth is that there are still people out there that are making great sacrifices in order to do good for others.  My hope is that these extraordinary stories of human kindness will inspire others to act likewise.  We live at a moment in history when darkness is growing rapidly all around us, and our society can feel so very cold at times.  Those that follow my work regularly already know that I write a lot about this growing darkness.  In fact, just yesterday I posted articles about the collapse of the American family and our wildly out of control drug crisis.  One of the reasons why I write so much about the darkness is so that people will start realizing the need for radical solutions.  As Kirk Cameron has aptly noted, it can be exceedingly difficult to “try to give a cure to a patient who wasn’t convinced of his disease”.  It is time for American to wake up.  The status quo is not acceptable, we are steamrolling down a road that leads to national suicide, and we need to understand the error of our ways before it is too late.

What we should all want is a society that is filled with love.  As humans, we are meant to love and to be loved, but love seems to be in such short supply in our nation today.

Fortunately, there are still a lot of people out there that are trying to do the right thing.

Let me start by sharing the story of a five-year-old girl named Katelynn Hardee.  When she heard that some other families were having a really hard time paying for school lunches for their kids, she decided to take matters into her own hands…

After overhearing another child’s mother say she was having a hard time paying for an after-school program, Katelynn Hardee, 5, spoke to her own mother about how she could help other students.

Katelyn set up a cocoa-and-cookies stand, and it turned into a success. She soon decided the money she made would be used to pay off the lunch debt of 123 students in her San Diego County school district.

“I don’t want people to be hungry,” Hardee told NBC San Diego, which did not say how much the bill was.

Sometimes it takes a child to remind the rest of us how we are supposed to live.

I really enjoy interacting with small children, because their hearts have not yet been corrupted by the great evil that permeates our society at every level.  They instinctively understand the value in helping others, and they take great joy in making a difference.

Never lose your joy, because it is a source of fuel that will propel you in the direction of becoming the person that you were always meant to be.

And if you have lost your joy along the way, do whatever you can to get it back.

We all have a purpose, and we all have the capacity to do something really special.

Just consider the story of Nancy Banta of Rumson, New Jersey.  According to her daughter, she has been crocheting blankets for sick children in the hospital for many years…

“My mom has been donating crocheted blankets to sick children over the past 20+ years,” her daughter said. “In total she has made 49 afghans this year, 45 of which she just donated to Jersey Shore Medical Hospital’s Pediatric and Pediatric ICU wards.”

This is Banta’s 5th year donating to the hospital.

“She has probably donated over 1,000 blankets to those in need at this point in her lifetime and she’s not stopping anytime soon!” her daughter added.

What a wonderful lady.

That is the kind of person that I want in my life.  People that joyfully give to others consistently are always such a blessing to be around.

It has been said that it is more blessed to give than to receive, and it is also true that being a “giver” makes you a much better person than being a “taker”.

Speaking of giving, a large church in New Jersey made news when they put together over 1,000 food kits for needy children in their community…

A New Jersey-based nondenominational megachurch has helped to pack more than 1,000 food kits for less fortunate children living in the area.

The Paramus campus of The Life Christian Church, which meets at an AMC movie theater at Garden State Plaza, helped put together 1,056 food kits on Sunday with other volunteers.

Terry Smith, senior pastor of Life Christian, told The Christian Post that the food-packing event was consistent with one of the church’s core values, namely, to be “enthusiastic servants of all.”

As I document regularly on my website, tens of millions of American families deeply struggle to pay for the basics in this economy, and things are only going to get worse in the years ahead.

But if we had more churches doing this sort of thing, we would be in far, far better shape.

I greatly applaud what they are trying to do, and I believe that they will be greatly blessed for their efforts.

Last, but certainly not least, I would like to share with you the story of Bonita the dog.

Bonita spent 500 days in a shelter in Niagara Falls, New York, but now she finally has a forever home…

After spending 500 days in an animal shelter in Niagara Falls, New York, a 5-year-old pit bull mix is going home for Christmas!

Bonita, the shelter’s longest resident – and one of its most popular dogs – finally found a home just in time for Christmas after she was adopted by local man Ray Kinz.

In a video captured by the Niagara County SPCA, Bonita is given a loving sendoff by her former family members at the shelter. She jumps up and wags her tail as she passes through the crowd with Kinz.

Sometimes, it is those that have been through the most pain that are the most loving of all, and I have a feeling that Bonita is going to shower Mr. Kinz with a tremendous amount of love and affection in the years ahead.

If you want to live a life that really matters, endeavor to be a person of great love.  The big news networks are unlikely to cover the stories that I just shared with you on their broadcasts, but it is acts of kindness such as these that are going to make our society a better place to live.

The more we love, the more we will grow, and may we never stop growing.

About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. This article may contain opinions on political matters, but it is not intended to promote the candidacy of any particular political candidate. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help.

Destruction Of The Family: The U.S. Has The Highest Rate Of Children Living With A Single Parent In The Entire World

The family unit is one of the fundamental pillars of any society, and so the weaker our family units become the weaker our entire nation is going to become.  For decades, the traditional family unit has been under assault in America, and the consequences have been absolutely catastrophic.  Today, the marriage rate has dropped to levels that we have never seen before, we continue to have one of the highest divorce rates in the entire world, and more couples than ever are choosing not to get married at all.  As a result, the number of single parents has been steadily rising, and at this point the United States actually has the highest rate of children living with a single parent of any country on the entire planet.  The following comes from Pew Research…

For decades, the share of U.S. children living with a single parent has been rising, accompanied by a decline in marriage rates and a rise in births outside of marriage. A new Pew Research Center study of 130 countries and territories shows that the U.S. has the world’s highest rate of children living in single-parent households.

Almost a quarter of U.S. children under the age of 18 live with one parent and no other adults (23%), more than three times the share of children around the world who do so (7%).

You would think that with how rapidly modern notions of “morality” are spreading around the globe that someone out there would be worse than us, but sadly we are dead last on the list.

In fact, our rate is more than four times higher than India and more than seven times higher than China…

In comparison, 3% of children in China, 4% of children in Nigeria and 5% of children in India live in single-parent households. In neighboring Canada, the share is 15%.

Should we really be lecturing anyone else about how they should be conducting themselves when we are such a complete and utter mess?

We like to think of ourselves as a light to the rest of the world and a great example that they should follow, but the truth is that we are a nation of complete and utter degenerates.

Of course it wasn’t always this way.  If you go back to 1960, less than 10 percent of all American children lived with a single parent…

America’s top spot has been a long time coming, data from the U.S. Census Bureau show. In 1960, just 9 percent of U.S. children lived with one parent, and just 3 percent lived with either a non-parent relative or a non-relative. By 2019, the Census Bureau estimated that 26 percent of children lived with single parents (a figure that varies from Pew’s due to methodological differences), while just 4 percent lived with non-parent relatives or non-relatives.

So what happened?

Well, the truth is that there has been a concerted effort to radically change American culture, and this has especially been true when it comes to sexual morality.

Our televisions, our movies, our education system and most of our politicians endlessly assure us that it is perfectly fine to run around like wild animals doing whatever we feel like doing.  As a result, more than 110 million Americans now have a sexually transmitted disease, we have the highest teenage pregnancy rate in the industrialized world, and about 40 percent of all U.S. babies are born to unmarried women…

In 1960, nonmarital births were quite rare. Today, about two-fifths of all births are to unmarried women. This resulted from a complicated combination of moral and behavioral changes, and a new report from Senator Mike Lee’s Social Capital Project disentangles them.

If we want to turn America around, this is a great place to start.

Just like virtually everything else, our families are collapsing, and the path that we are on clearly leads to national suicide.

If we don’t want to do it for ourselves, we should at least do it for future generations.  Because if we don’t get things turned around, our children will continue to suffer greatly…

The results for children are often grim. Although academics debate about causality, single parenting is strongly related to risk for poverty and lower educational attainment on the part of the child, as well as incarceration among boys and teenage pregnancy among girls. As the share of single-parent households increases, the risk of these adverse outcomes also rises.

Of course these days a lot of young adults don’t want to have children at all.

Our society has trained our young people to view parenthood and family life as undesirable, and so it shouldn’t be a surprise that the U.S. fertility rate has fallen to the lowest level ever recorded…

The US fertility rate dropped for the fourth straight year in 2018, and has fallen approximately 15% since 2007, according to the National Center for Health Statistics – which reports that there were 59.1 births for every 1,000 women of childbearing age.

In total, 3,791,712 births were recorded across the country last year – extending a steep decline that began during the 2008 Recession, according to the New York Times.

As one user in Reddit’s “Childfree” forum notes: “Babies are expensive, and we’re all broke,” to which another user replied “Also, pregnancy and its effects on the body are gross and not worth it.”

Incredibly, our fertility rate is now actually below replacement level.

That means that we aren’t even producing enough babies to replace ourselves at this point.

There is no future for any society that does not value children, marriage and family.  You can’t show me one example in human history of any society that has ever thrived for an extended period of time without cherishing those institutions.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what we need to do.  Unfortunately, most of the country is running completely in the opposite direction as fast as they can.

If we continue to go down this road, the institution of the family is going to continue to collapse in the United States, and there is no possible way that America will ever be great again as long as that is happening.

About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. This article may contain opinions on political matters, but it is not intended to promote the candidacy of any particular political candidate. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help.

The Final Full Moon Of This Decade On 12/12 At Exactly 12:12 AM Is Precisely 6,666 Days From 9/11

A few days ago, hardly anyone had heard about “the 12/12 warning”, but now the Internet is buzzing with lots of speculation about what it could possibly mean.  On December 12th at exactly 12:12 AM eastern time, we witnessed the very last full moon of this entire decade.  As I detailed yesterday, there is only a 1 in 691,920 chance that the last full moon of this decade would fall on that exact minute in time.  And many have also pointed out that the individual digits of “2019” also add up to a total of 12.  You can believe that all of this is just some sort of grand coincidence if you want, but a lot of people out there are really freaking out about this.

What makes this strange confluence of numbers even stranger is the fact that it happened exactly 6,666 days from 9/11.

If you go to timeanddate.com, there is a handy calculator that allows you to instantly calculate the number of days between two specific dates.

Just a little while ago, I typed in 9/11/2001 as the start date and 12/12/19 as the end date, and it gave me a result of precisely 6,666 days.

Isn’t that weird?

And of course two sixes add up to 12, and so adding up the digits in that time span gives us the number 12 two additional times.

As I cautioned yesterday, I don’t know what significance all of this may have.  But it is interesting to note that this extremely intriguing confluence of numbers only occurred in the eastern time zone of the United States.  And this has happened just as the debate on the articles of impeachment is about to begin in Washington.

Could it be possible that someone is trying to highlight the fact that this is an absolutely critical moment in American history?  As the full moon approached, mainstream news sources all over the world ran stories about it.  For example, the following comes from the Daily Mail…

The final full moon of the decade will reach its peak in the night sky as the clock strikes 12:12am on 12/12 in the Eastern United States, delighting numerologists.

While only the Eastern United States will have such a notable time and date for the lunar peak, the full moon will be ‘bright and visible’ around the world.

This is a good time of year to watch and possibly photograph the full moon, according to NASA, because it is opposite a low sun.

And needless to say, Twitter was buzzing with plenty of chatter about this very strange full moon.

Here are just a few examples…

–Nick Hinton: The last full moon of the decade will peak on 12/12 at 12:12 A.M. Is there any significance behind this or is it just a cool coincidence?

–Pee-wee Herman: THIS JUST IN! Last FULL MOON of the DECADE happens on 12/12 at 12:12 AM EST!!!!!

–RepentantSinner: Interesting fact: The full moon happens at 12:12 ET am on December (the 12th month) 12th. In Strong’s Concordance the number 1212 refers to the Greek word délos which means “clear, manifest, evident”. I believe we are about to witness something very interesting prophetically

–Alaskan: This weeks full moon occurs on 12/12 at 12:12 AM. If that isn’t a good omen for the #Seahawks game vs. the Panthers this weekend I don’t know what is!!

–Teri: the final moon of the first decade of the 21st century will peak at 12:12 am EST on December 12 which breaks down to 12-12-12-12

–Pamela Denise Smith: FASCINATING!!! According to the Bible, God’s appointments are set by the heavenly luminaries that He set. Plus, “Twelve” is the scriptural number for tribes, family, and government.

–Jenna: The last full moon of the decade will be on 12/12 peaking at 12:12 a.m. Following with Friday the 13th right after

–JeanKP: The kids in my school were off the chain today!!! I hear the full moon will hit its full zenith at 12:12 am on 12/12/19.

–Ken Kruger: Is God Trying To Tell Us Something By Giving Providing A ‘Long Night’ Full Moon On The 12th Day Of The Twelfth Month At Exactly 12:12 AM?

–Mark McConville: It’s 12/12 and there’s a full moon tonight so at 12:12am I will be out in my yard soaking up lunar juju in the nude.

I seriously hope that Mark McConville was kidding about that last comment.  Nobody wants to see that.

The full moon that happens in December is known as the “Cold Moon” because winter is approaching and as the “Long Night’s Moon” because it usually happens not too far from the winter solstice.

And many have also found it noteworthy that this very unusual full moon appeared just one day before Friday the 13th.

But to me, if this full moon does have some sort of special significance, then it has something to do with the number 12.

When I think of the number 12, the first thing that comes to mind is midnight.  When someone says “the clock strikes 12”, you know exactly what they are talking about.  And that phrase carries with it the connotation that time has run out.  From a very early age, Cinderella and other stories teach us that there is something very special about the stroke of midnight, and it is a concept that has now become deeply ingrained in our culture.

For a long time, many of us have felt that we were living in “the 11th hour”.  We have been relentlessly warning America about what is ahead if we do not change course, but the nation continues to race down a path that leads to national suicide.

Could it be possible that someone is trying to tell us that time is either running out or has now run out completely?

I don’t know.

Perhaps all of these numbers are just some sort of giant coincidence and they don’t mean anything at all.

But if it is a giant coincidence, it is quite a whopper.

Right now, people all over the globe are talking about the giant sign in the sky that we just witnessed, and there is an enormous amount of speculation about what it could mean.

I don’t have any solid answers for you, but I am not afraid to ask the hard questions.

About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. This article may contain opinions on political matters, but it is not intended to promote the candidacy of any particular political candidate. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help.

Americans Are Lonely, Miserable And Depressed – The Legacy Of A Society That Has Rejected Family, Faith And Patriotism

What in the world has happened to us?  Once upon a time, America was made up of tightly-knit communities that were united by family, faith and patriotism, but now we are more isolated than ever before.  Of course one of the biggest reasons for this is the fact that we are all spending countless hours staring at screens instead of interacting with real people, and this is something that I covered in a previous article.  However, our fundamental beliefs are also significantly shaping how we behave.  For the past couple of generations, we have de-emphasized family, faith and patriotism as a nation, and instead we have become an extremely “me-centered” society that is primarily focused on doing whatever makes ourselves happy in the moment.  But this single-minded pursuit of individual happiness has resulted in much of the country being perpetually mired in loneliness, depression and/or addiction.

When you look at the numbers, they truly are startling.  For example, a recent survey that was conducted by Cigna found that almost half of all Americans feel lonely…

Nearly half of Americans are lonely, according to a survey of 20,000 people across America by Cigna, which used the well-regarded UCLA Loneliness Scale to measure responses. Indeed 46% said they sometimes or always feel alone and 47% say they sometimes or always feel left out.

And other surveys have produced numbers that are even more alarming.  A Harris Poll that was conducted a few years ago actually discovered that 72 percent of all Americans “experience loneliness”…

The survey of more than 2,000 Americans conducted by the Harris Poll last month on behalf of the American Osteopathic Association, showed that almost three-quarters (72 percent) of Americans experience loneliness. And for many, it’s not just a once-in-a-while occurrence — one-third said they feel lonely at least once a week.

Of course this is commonly known as “the happiest time of the year”, but for many it just magnifies their loneliness.

People see love, warmth and community modeled in television commercials and in Hallmark movies, and they assume that most people out there must be living lives like that.

Sadly, that is not true at all.  What we see on our televisions are echoes of the way that America used to be, and many of us would love to see that type of culture make a roaring comeback.

But for now, America is a very, very lonely place, and this reality is reflected in a song that was just released by one of our most popular pop singers…

Mabel, the singer behind the hit “Don’t Call Me Up,” has a new track for those who struggle with loneliness during the holidays.

Titled “Loneliest Time of Year,” Mabel captured how for some people, the holidays can heighten feelings like loneliness, loss and depression. In the song, released Friday, she sings lines like, “Sorry I’m not so merry/But I feel like this yearly/Christmas time isn’t my vibe/Brings no joy into my life” and “If I’m feeling lonely/I can’t be the only one.”

Yes, millions of American families will gather during the holidays, but way too many of those gatherings are filled with bitterness, resentment, strife and discord.

In fact, another new survey has found that the average American only needs 3 hours and 54 minutes “before they start to feel sick of their families”…

The holidays are supposed to be a time to come together with family and celebrate, but a new survey finds that most Americans can barely get through an evening with their family before needing a break. A total of 2,000 Americans who usually travel to visit family during the holidays took part in the research, and 75% say they will inevitably need to get away from their relatives and indulge in some much needed “me time.”

In fact, it only takes respondents an average of three hours and 54 minutes before they start to feel sick of their families.

This isn’t how it is supposed to be.

We were created to love and to be loved.  And when you remove love from the equation, people become very miserable quite rapidly.

In America today, “deaths of despair” are happening at the highest rate in all of U.S. history.  The following information comes directly from the United States Congress Joint Economic Committee…

Anne Case and Angus Deaton famously chronicled a dramatic rise among middle-aged non-Hispanic whites since 1999 in “deaths of despair”—deaths by suicide, drug and alcohol poisoning, and alcoholic liver disease and cirrhosis.1 The Social Capital Project has extended Case and Deaton’s research to cover the full American population as far back as available data permit: to 1900 in some cases, and to 1959 or 1968 in others. We present here a snapshot of the long-term trends in deaths of despair. We also attach our full dataset for use in future research, including results broken down by age, sex, and race.

Mortality from deaths of despair far surpasses anything seen in America since the dawn of the 20th century. (The trend for middle-aged whites reveals a more dramatic rise but only goes back continuously to 1959.) The recent increase has primarily been driven by an unprecedented epidemic of drug overdoses, but even excluding those deaths, the combined mortality rate from suicides and alcohol-related deaths is higher than at any point in more than 100 years.

So it would appear that our very unhappy nation is rapidly becoming even unhappier.

And it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what this is happening.

As a society, we decided that marriage wasn’t important.  So now we have one of the lowest marriage rates and one of the highest divorce rates in the entire world.

As a society, we decided that children weren’t important.  So now our birth rate has dropped below replacement level and a third of all U.S. children live in a home without a father.

As a society, we decided that patriotism wasn’t important.  So now the American flag is being banned by some schools as a “divisive symbol” and most of our young people have never even read the entire U.S. Constitution.

As a society, we decided that God wasn’t important.  So now just about every form of evil that you can possibly imagine is exploding in our society, and we are literally on a path that leads to national suicide.

If you feel lonely, miserable or depressed this holiday season, I would definitely encourage you to get my latest book entitled “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  It is filled with very practical advice that will enable you to start turning things around immediately.  But even more importantly, reach out to those that you love during this holiday season.

Life is way too short to live it alone.

Society would have us believe that those that have the most money are the most “successful”.  But that is not true at all.  In reality, those that love the most are really the most “successful”, and so let us endeavor to be people of great love.

About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. This article may contain opinions on political matters, but it is not intended to promote the candidacy of any particular political candidate. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help.

“Abuse Of Power” And “Obstructing Congress”? Is This Really The Best That The Democrats Could Come Up With?

Are you kidding me?  After weeks of hearings, endless hours of testimony and consultations with hordes of lawyers, this is all that the Democrats can come up with?  Originally, Democrats were accusing President Trump of bribery, extortion and various campaign finance violations, but the facts didn’t fit any of those crimes, and so they were abandoned.  Instead, Democrats have drafted articles of impeachment focusing on “abuse of power” and “obstructing Congress”, and if this process was not so serious there would be howls of laughter all over the nation.  I think that a bunch of five-year-old kids on a sugar high could have probably come up with something better than this.  For the Democrats, this is a failure of epic proportions, and history will not remember them kindly.

The U.S. Constitution sets a very high standard for impeaching a president.  In Article II, Section 4 it says the following: “The President, Vice President and all Civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

So in order for President Trump to be impeached and removed from office, he must be convicted of treason, bribery or some other crime.

But nowhere in federal law is “abuse of power” defined as a crime.  And that is a huge problem, because how can you convict someone of “abuse of power” when there is no law against it?

Ultimately, “abuse of power” is a very vague phrase that could mean just about anything.  After all, is there any president in modern American history that has not abused his power at some point?

And if President Trump does get impeached by the House, that is going to set an extremely dangerous precedent.  In the future, are we going to start impeaching presidents for “abuse of power” whenever an opposition party gets control of the House of Representatives?

As for the charge of “obstructing Congress”, at least there is some precedent for that.  It is actually properly called “contempt of Congress”, and the following is what Wikipedia has to say about it…

Contempt of Congress is the act of obstructing the work of the United States Congress or one of its committees. Historically, the bribery of a U.S. Senator or U.S. Representative was considered contempt of Congress. In modern times, contempt of Congress has generally applied to the refusal to comply with a subpoena issued by a Congressional committee or subcommittee—usually seeking to compel either testimony or the production of requested documents.

Yes, President Trump has instructed members of his administration to refuse to comply with congressional subpoenas.  But is this really something that we should be impeaching a sitting president for?

In the end, these are matters that can be easily sorted out by the courts.  If the President or members of his administration continued to refuse to comply with Congress after a court had ordered them to do so, then the Democrats might have an argument, but that has not happened in this case.

And most Americans simply do not care that President Trump may have been “obstructing” Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler.

If any president is going to be impeached and removed from office, it needs to be for something very serious, and it needs to be a matter that generates a large national consensus.

The Democrats should have dropped this impeachment inquiry a long time ago, but at this point they can’t turn back without looking exceedingly foolish.  Debate will begin on the articles of impeachment on Thursday, and according to the Washington Post, those articles of impeachment could “be voted on by the full House next week”.

Since the Democrats have a solid majority in the House, and since they are so obsessed with taking down Trump, the outcome of the vote is already a foregone conclusion.

They are going to vote to impeach President Trump, and that means that there will be a trial in the Senate.

If the Democrats had come up with something more substantial in their articles of impeachment, there would have been a chance that they could have swayed some moderate Republicans in the Senate, but as it stands now that does not appear to be too likely.

This entire impeachment process has been a comedy of errors by the Democrats.  No matter how many breaks go their way, they just can’t seem to do anything right.

Of course they still believe that they are doing “the right thing”.  During a hearing on Monday, House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler made it sound so simple…

Walking through the evidence and testimony so far in the impeachment inquiry, Nadler observed, “the President welcomed foreign interference in our elections in 2016.  He demanded it for 2020.  Then he got caught.”

In doing so, Trump “violated his most basic responsibilities to the people” and broke his “oath” of office, Nadler concluded.

But in reality, the Democrats are not winning over the American people with their arguments.

In fact, they could actually be alienating the very voters that they desperately need to defeat Trump in November 2020.  The following comes from an opinion piece by Liz Peek…

Here’s what House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has done by undertaking a reckless and partisan drive to impeach the president: absolutely guaranteed that anyone who voted for Donald Trump in 2016 will vote for him again next year. Guaranteed, as a result, that Trump will be reelected.

Across the United States, tens of millions of Americans are furious that Donald Trump, a man they respect, has been bullied and bloodied by hate-filled, crazed political antagonists who mock him, lie shamelessly about his policies, obstruct his every move and, most disgusting of all, savagely demean his wife and children.

We’ll see what happens.  But as things stand today, the Democrats do not seem to have a prayer of being successful in removing Trump from office.

However, they sure are stirring up a lot of anger and frustration on the left, and that could have very serious implications as we approach the next election.

If President Trump wins next November, the Democrats are going to be kicking themselves for ever going down this path.  All of the polls taken before this impeachment process began looked really good for them, but it is entirely possible that they could blow yet another election that they could have easily won.

In politics, it never hurts to have a little luck.  And even though this impeachment process has been very painful for President Trump, it may just be the stroke of luck that he needs to win another term.

About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. This article may contain opinions on political matters, but it is not intended to promote the candidacy of any particular political candidate. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help.

Only 19 Senators Are A “Firm No” Against Impeachment – And There Are Whispers Some Republicans May Turn On Trump

It has been widely assumed that the Democrats could never possibly get the votes that they need to remove Donald Trump from office in the U.S. Senate, and so therefore the outcome of this entire saga is already a foregone conclusion.  But what if that is not true?  In this article, you will see that only 19 members of the Senate are a “firm no” when it comes to impeachment, and 35 members have already publicly committed to convicting Trump.  In the end, it is going to take 67 votes to remove Trump from office, and Democrats only control 47 seats.  It was always going to be a monumental task to try to find 20 Republican members of the Senate willing to betray Trump, and it still doesn’t seem likely that we will get anywhere near that number.  But there are whispers that at least some Republicans are currently very much up in the air regarding how they will vote.

On Friday, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy appeared on the “Morning Joe” program, and what he had to say is really shaking a lot of people up…

Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, told MSNBC’s Morning Joe program on Friday that he has spoken to GOP senators who are thinking of voting against Trump.

“It’s a small list on one hand,” Murphy said. “I don’t buy this secret ballot thing. If there was a secret ballot, there’d still be only a handful of them that would vote to impeach this guy.”

Up until now, most of us had assumed that Republicans in the Senate would unanimously stand behind Trump.

But according to Murphy, cracks are starting to form.

It is certainly possible that Murphy could be lying, but what purpose would he have for lying about these private conversations?

Of course we definitely are not talking about a long list of potential turncoats.  In fact, he openly admitted that only a handful of Republicans are thinking this way…

When pressed, Murphy said that as it stands he thinks there are a maximum of five Republican senators willing to turn on the president: “I think that’s probably right.”

This is not a major crisis for the Trump White House yet, but it definitely has got to be alarming for any cracks to be forming at all at this stage.

So who specifically are we talking about here?

Well, it has been suggested that Susan Collins, Mitt Romney and Lisa Murkowski are all potential candidates to turn on Trump.  In particular, Collins and Murkowski are essentially Democrats for all practical purposes, and so it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise if either one of them turned on Trump.  In fact, they both have voted against Trump in a number of high profile votes in recent years.

For Romney, this could be an opportunity for sweet revenge.  Trump and Romney have exchanged insults for years, and Romney has already publicly referred to Trump’s dealings with Ukrainian officials as “troubling in the extreme”…

He has called Trump’s prodding of Ukrainian officials to investigate Biden “troubling in the extreme.” When the president also called on China to investigate Biden, Romney blasted the move as “wrong and appalling.”

Romney, 72, is seen as having the most freedom to vote to convict, as he made his concerns about the president’s character known during the 2016 primary, when he excoriated Trump as “a phony” and “a fraud” in a last ditch effort to deprive him of the nomination.

Needless to say, President Trump is deeply concerned about what could potentially happen in the weeks ahead, and he has been working very hard to court the support of his fellow Republicans in Congress…

Since the fall began, Trump has hosted more than 40 Republican senators, primarily for weekly lunches. The White House has also hosted Republican House members for weekends at Camp David, and Trump has brought lawmakers to several sporting events, including to the World Series in Washington and the Ultimate Fighting Championship in New York City.

But despite all of that effort, the outcome of the upcoming Senate trial is still surprisingly up in the air.  Just check out the following numbers from Politico…

A tracker by Politico, which is evaluating the current position of each of the 100 senators, estimates that there are only 35 firm votes to remove Trump from office. A further 10 are down as probably, five maybe, 31 probably not, and 19 a firm no.

So why aren’t more Republicans in the Senate a “firm no”?

In fact, why aren’t virtually all of the Republicans in the Senate a “firm no”?

Something stinks about all of this.  In Washington, far more goes on behind the scenes that most of us would dare to imagine.  And a tremendous amount of pressure can be brought to bear on our representatives when very powerful people want them to vote a certain way.

I still think that it is extremely unlikely that pro-impeachment forces will get the 67 votes that they need in the Senate to remove Trump from office.  And if it doesn’t look like there will be 67 votes, some Republicans that would be inclined to betray Trump may chicken out and decide that it isn’t worth the risk if the effort is not going to be successful.

But we definitely live in unprecedented times, and anything could still happen in the weeks ahead.

Top Democrats have indicated that they would like to have the full House vote on impeachment some time around Christmas, and so it looks like we could actually see the Senate trial happen in January…

The Senate’s legislative calendar, released Wednesday, includes an ominous blank spot for the month of January, a reminder that the proceedings surrounding impeachment are fluid. Although the details for an impeachment trial remain unclear, Senate Republicans said they can guarantee at least one thing: Trump’s defense will be heard.

Needless to say, the mainstream media is going to be relentlessly covering these proceedings, and the whole world will be watching.

But the most fascinating action will actually be going on behind the scenes.

Pro-impeachment forces will be working night and day to try to get the 67 votes that they need, and if the potential vote count starts to creep close to that number, that is when things are going to start getting really interesting.

About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. This article may contain opinions on political matters, but it is not intended to promote the candidacy of any particular political candidate. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help.

Is The Impeachment Effort Simply A Political Ploy To Win Votes For Democrats In 2020?

Could it be possible that Nancy Pelosi and her minions in the House of Representatives had a completely different goal than we thought this entire time?  As you will see below, the Democrats in the House plan to impeach President Trump, and it could potentially happen by the end of this month.  But there appears to be zero chance that Trump will be removed from office by the Senate, and many will consider that to be a major victory for the Republicans.  So why is Nancy Pelosi pushing ahead when she knows that this impeachment effort is going to fail?  Could it be possible that this entire drama has simply been a political ploy to win votes in November 2020?

Many have assumed that a backlash against impeachment will greatly benefit Trump during this election season.  But history has not been kind to other presidents that have gone through an impeachment process.

In 1868, President Andrew Johnson was impeached by Republicans in the House of Representatives.  Johnson was not convicted by the Senate, but Republicans went on to win the next presidential election.

In 1974, Republican Richard Nixon resigned rather than face almost certain impeachment.  Democrats won the next presidential election even though they had a relatively weak candidate (Jimmy Carter).

In 1998, Republicans in the House of Representatives impeached Bill Clinton, but the Senate did not remove him from office.  However, Republicans did end up winning the presidential election in 2000.

So that means that the opposition party is three for three in cases similar to what we are facing now.

Could that actually be the key number that top Democrats are looking at?

On Thursday, Nancy Pelosi announced that the House is moving forward with articles of impeachment, and one CNN article sounded almost giddy that this is actually happening…

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi moved the House much closer to impeachment Thursday when she officially directed the Judiciary Committee to draw up articles of impeachment. (As if it wasn’t already.)

But her announcement all but guarantees that President Donald Trump will be impeached. This is happening, people.

But Trump is not going to be removed from office, and millions of Democrats are going to be deeply disappointed when that does not happen.

Of course Nancy Pelosi has never suggested that her effort will be successful, and she continues to insist that her hand was forced by Trump…

“I’m really sorry the president made this necessary by his complete disregard for the vision of our founders,” she told reporters Thursday. “An impeachment is not a pleasant experience. It can be divisive. We don’t take any glee in this at all. It’s heartbreaking. But the president gave us no choice.”

What Pelosi is trying to do is to take the moral high ground.  Her intended audience is voters in the middle of the political spectrum, because they are the ones that will decide the 2020 election.

And it appears that things could move along quite rapidly in the House from this point forward.  In fact, NBC News is reporting that House Democrats are being told “not to make plans” for the weekend just prior to Christmas…

Pelosi did not say whether she had set a deadline for committees to write the articles of impeachment or when a full House vote would take place. Members who attended a closed-door Democratic caucus meeting on Wednesday, however, said they understood that the House would vote on articles before the holiday recess. One member said they were told to “not make plans” for Dec. 21 or 22, the weekend before Christmas.

I have been warning for months that the Democrats were going to impeach Trump, but at first a lot of people didn’t believe me.

But at this point even Donald Trump appears to be resigned to the fact that he will be impeached…

“If you are going to impeach me, do it now, fast, so we can have a fair trial in the Senate, and so that our Country can get back to business,” the president said in a pair of tweets shortly before Pelosi spoke.

It will only take a simple majority to impeach Trump in the House, and Democrats currently control 233 of the seats.

Of course there is still a possibility that some Democrats could actually vote against Pelosi, and one Democrat has already made it clear that he plans to do just that…

Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, one of two Democrats to vote against formalizing the impeachment inquiry, said he plans to vote against all the articles of impeachment “unless there’s something that I haven’t seen, haven’t heard before.”

He warned Democrats to “be careful what you wish for” and he added that impeachment “is tearing the nation apart. … And I want to bring people together.”

But a whole lot more Democrats are going to have to defect in order for the impeachment vote to fail, and right now there is absolutely no indication that is likely to happen.

In fact, most Democrats can’t wait to impeach Trump.  On Thursday, Representative Al Green actually suggested that they could try to impeach Trump again if the first attempt does not work…

Thursday on C-SPAN, Rep. Al Green (D-TX) discussed impeachment, saying “there is no limit” to how many times the House and Senate can try to impeach President Donald Trump.

Green said he suspects Trump will have additional offenses in the future, so he believes House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) will “move forward” with a vote to impeach Trump for his alleged quid pro quo demand with Ukraine and then try again “at a later time” if they find more during their investigations.

Sadly, most of the Democrats in Congress don’t seem to understand that they are tearing the country apart, and that could have very serious implications in the not too distant future.

But in Washington, winning is everything, and Democrats are absolutely obsessed with November 2020 right now.

Just consider what Nancy Pelosi told a CNN town hall on Thursday…

“Let’s not even contemplate that,” Pelosi said at a CNN town hall Thursday evening in response to an audience question about what checks will exist in the House of Representatives if Trump is reelected and the impeachment process is over.

“Civilization as we know it today is at stake in the next election, and certainly our planet,” Pelosi said.

Nancy Pelosi knows that the Senate will not vote to convict Trump, but that is not what she is after.

Her grand plan has always been to damage Trump for the 2020 election, and only time will tell if her gamble was successful.

About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. This article may contain opinions on political matters, but it is not intended to promote the candidacy of any particular political candidate. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help.

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