It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of an OPP icon from the recent past...PoppaGringo. I was notified by his daughter when she returned my call over concerns for him.

'Salty,' as I always addressed him, was as fine a gentleman as I have ever encountered. Though we differed in much (yet, not all) of our political leanings, we respected each other in countless ways. There is no doubt that much of that respect was due to our similar backgrounds in service to this great nation of ours. Salty, just as it is with BadBobby, will always be a hero of mine. Nothing could change that.

Salty served in Korea and I in Viet Nam...both as Marines. Having met on several occasions, we often shared our common experiences of having served in combat. However, he endured at least one hardship that I and others had the good fortune of avoiding: He was a survivor of being a POW for almost two years during the Korean conflict. That time served as a POW had a profound and lasting effect upon him to no small degree, and was accompanied by the pain of losing two sons to unsolved murders, plus a granddaughter to illness.

I honored and loved the man as one would a familial elder. Just as I called him 'Salty' as a term of endearment, in the same manner, he referred to me as 'Boot.' When I attended a Khe Sanh reunion in San Diego a few years ago, I took him with me to meet some fellow combatants from that infamous battle and war. He regaled them...although initially reluctantly...with 'sea stories' as only a Marine Vet of his experience and status could have. They all were so impressed with him, we decided to include him as an honorary member of our 'Nam unit.

Though I had feared this for a while, due to his obvious failing health, I type with silent tears rolling down my face. I had called him regularly and become somewhat alarmed when he did not answer the phone. I soon found it had been disconnected. That was attributed, in my mind, to the fact that he had recently moved from San Diego to Orlando, Florida to be with his eldest daughter, Rin, and her family.

I would ask that all who knew Salty from his past contributions on this forum...and those who may not, to honor him and his surviving Family & friends with thoughts, wishes and prayers for both theirs & our loss.

Micheal Yawn, aka 'OldGringo,' 'PoppaGringo,' and 'Salty' would have been 86 years old on January 1st. Again, goodbye ol' friend, may you Rest In Peace. As you epitomized a true proud & patriotic American, you will be sorely missed by all...

Forever, ol' friend, your Junior NCO...

'Boot'

Happy Thanksgiving Day!!!

November 22, 2019

Fox News legal analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano has claimed that evidence presented against President Donald Trump in the impeachment inquiry is "overwhelming."
Napolitano made the remarks during a video interview taped Thursday with Reason's Nick Gillespie, which was uploaded the following day to the libertarian media outlet's ReasonTV channel on YouTube. In the interview, Napolitano said Democrats had produced "overwhelming" evidence of Trump's "impeachable behavior."

"The Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee have unearthed enough evidence, in my opinion, to justify about three or four articles of impeachment against the president," said Napolitano. "We have to start this conversation by underscoring the fact that impeachment is not legal, it is political. Its only constitutional base is treason, bribery, or other hard crimes and misdemeanors."
Napolitano added that the impeachment process House Democrats are engaging in is being done entirely within legal bounds, as congress is explicitly given the "sole power of impeachment" by the U.S. Constitution. The judge also said the constitution demands "each house to write its own rules," and Democrats are operating under rules written by Republicans, who drafted the rules when they controlled congress in 2015.

"Congressman Schiff, whether you like him or not, whether you agree with him or not, he's following rules that the Republicans authored four and a half years ago," Napolitano said.
Gillespie then asked the judge what he predicts will be included in the articles of impeachment, yet to be formally presented at the inquiry.
"Here's what I think they will advance. Charge one is bribery," said Napolitano. "The technical definition of bribery is the failure to perform an official duty until a thing of value comes your way, and they will argue that the president's failure to disperse funds that the Congress ordered be dispersed until the recipient of the funds agreed to investigate a potential political opponent is an act of bribery. That is enough, in my opinion, to make it over the threshold of impeachable off**g--mean nothing anymore to the republican party which is really now the trump party. enses. I don't think it's enough to convict of bribery, but it's enough to allege it for the purpose of impeachment."

"The second charge will be high crimes and misdemeanors, e******n law violation," he continued. "The third crime will be obstruction of justice, the fourth will be interference with the witness and the fifth may be lying under oath."

The remainder of the interview covered constitutional issues, along with the political and legal history of impeachment and additional details of the Trump inquiry. The judge appears to believe many of the allegations against the president are credible but says he "can't imagine" Trump will be removed by Republicans in the senate despite overwhelming evidence.
Napolitano is a senior legal analyst for Fox News, having joined the network in 1998. Although Trump previously praised the judge, his opinion soured after being criticized by Napolitano, who called the president's behavior "criminal and impeachable" earlier in the year.