Wondering on Wednesday (v79)

So, now we know that General Flynn did not treat VP Mike Pence badly, and he did not treat America badly, but instead he was treated badly by the failing press and the "intelligence" community.  I have to say, I'm wondering how Trump managed to get that all twisted around and wrapped up in a pretty little bow.

And, I'm wondering, how someone who was so excited about all those leaks about risotto recipes and emails between Clinton people talking about their boss and their boss's daughter and stuff like that, who loved the leaks, now thinks that leaks are so bad? How does that work, exactly?

And, speaking of those illegal leaks, do you think they were bused in from Massachusetts like the voters were bused in to New Hampshire to take down former Senator Kelly Ayotte? 

@TrumpDraws 

And where is the massive investigation, the Executive Order-signing photo op, announcing the investigation into the leaking?

And speaking of those ridiculous photo ops, does Trump even know no one can read what he's signing? 

And, I wonder, has Trump started reading them better now, since we had that report that he didn't even know that he put Steve Bannon as a permanent member of the Security Council?

I'm also wondering if there's a dining room in the private residence at Mar-a-Lago? Not because I want to see one single more picture of gold-leaf-covered decorative atrocities, mind you, but because I'm trying to figure out why it was that Trump felt the need to host Japanese Prime Minister Shinze Abo in the member's dining room? And stay there during a hurried cluster over documents by the romantic light of cell phones?

And are those all secure phones? And extremely-vetted members? I don't care if they paid $100K or $200K or $500K -- all that means is that they have money, not that they they are people that love us and want to love us and will end up loving us.

I mean, remember the blow up when those wacky socialites got into an Obama State Dinner? Oh, dear lord. But here we have golfers posting photos on Facebook of the Winter White House 'situation room' in full swing? And the quarterback of the nuclear football appearing in a selfie?

#whatthesniff is going on here, I wonder? 

Trump in Transition (v8)

Remember back in July, when the GOP was rocking in Cleveland?

And General Michael Flynn was on stage echoing the chants of Lock Her Up! Lock Her Up! Lock Her Up! when he talked about Hillary Clinton thinking she was above the law?

Fun times, that was for the retired general. No one's above the law, certainly not Hillary Clinton and her recklessness with classified information, oh no sirree.

Lock Her Up! Lock Her Up!

Flynn famously said at the convention

Yeah that's right, lock her up... You know why we're saying that? We're saying that because if I, a guy who knows this business, if I did tenth - a tenth of what she did, I would be in jail today So Crooked Hillary Clinton, leave this race now.

Seems he might have done more than a tenth of what Clinton did. She admitted she inadvertently and carelessly passed classified information to others, aides and advisers, State Department employees.

Flynn, on the other hand, did something else entirely, according to a report in the Washington Post about a 2010  investigation. The WaPo provided a link to documents they obtained under a Freedom of Information Act request. Here's what the documents say.

While serving as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, CJ-2 International Security Assistance Force, Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan Major General (MG) (Flynn) shared United States classified information with various foreign military officers and/or officials in Afghanistan without proper authorization. 

Whoa, Nelly!

The Commander, US CENTCOM, initiated an AR 15-6 investigation upon receipt of a complaint from a Navy Intelligence Specialist that MG (Flynn) inappropriately shared US classified information with various foreign military officers and/or officials in Afghanistan. The inquiry was conducted by a properly appointed official and was thorough. The AR 15-6 found that some inappropriate sharing of US classified information with various foreign military officers and/or officials occurred as a result of MG actions. The AR 15-6 investigation is classified SECRET.

So, he did it. He shared classified information with foreigners.

Department of Defense Inspector General completed an oversight review of the AR 15-6 investigation and concurred with the findings. 

Yep, it must be true. The DoDIG concurred. So, was he locked up? Hell no - he was promoted!

The Department of the Army strongly supports the nomination of MG (Flynn) as Assistant Director of National Intelligence for Partner Engagement The Commander CENTCOM reviewed the AR 15-6 investigation and noted the efforts to properly cleanse the foreign officer's read-books. He further stated that there was no evidence of senior officer misconduct, rather there was keen attention to mission accomplishment in a coalition, combat environment. In light of the mitigating and extenuating circumstances concerning the adverse information ascribed to MG Flynn and MG Flynn's exceptional qualifications and dedicated service, his nomination and appointment to lieutenant general is fully supported and is the best interest of the Department of Defense and the United States of America.

Flynn dodged a bullet, got promoted, and eventually left the military. He hung out in Russia, he advised several of the Republican candidates for President, while saying there was no role for him in the administration. He retweets nonsense, fake news (he's deleted those tweets now, it seems).

And now, he's going to be advising the president on national security. Unless, of course...

LOCK HIM UP! LOCK HIM UP! LOCK HIM UP!

Wondering on Wednesday (v72)

So, what am I wondering about tonight? Well, let's see.

Are you getting tired of hearing people talk about 'fake news' and how 'fake news' may have influenced the outcome of our recent presidential election, and how 'fake news' is becoming the new normal and how hard it is to differentiate between 'fake news' and real news?

I wonder, do you now (or did you ever) really believe that Hillary Clinton was ever (or is now) involved in a lesbian pedophile sex trafficking orgy of epic proportions, operating out of a pizza shop in Washington, DC?

This guy did. He drove from North Carolina to our nation's capital to 'self-investigate' what's become known as 'Pizzagate' and he went into the shop, fired off a round, and was promptly arrested.  The pizza place has been the target of harassment for weeks; other businesses have been been harassed for their proximity to the presumed den of iniquity, and more.

The best part? General Michael Flynn, our soon-to-be National Security Advisor, tweeted a story on this fake news as a 'must read.'

Which, of course, makes me wonder how the hell he's going to keep you and me safe when he can't even make a reasonable judgment on a story as ridiculous as this.

There are lots of people out there who can't tell satire sites from real news outlets, and who don't understand the little 'Show Facts" and "Hide Facts" buttons at the top of articles that tell us what's real and what comes from the author's imagination.

To some extent, this drives from the fact that the real news is sometimes so absurd, we have to clarify that what we post is real; for example, I've been compelled to use a "NOT The Onion" disclaimer more times than I ever thought would be necessary.

But I wonder, how did we get so far removed from that little voice in our heads asking us if we're SURE about something... you know, like when your older brother asks you to taste something, and you hear that little voice asking if you're SURE you want to do what he asked you to? Yeah, that's the voice I'm talking about.  How did we lose that, and start trusting everything we read without the slightest hesitation?

Is it because people treat the news as a hook-up, a bit of instant gratification with no strings attached, I wonder? Or maybe it's because of all the 'reality' TV shows (which, as we know, is about as 'real' as the ubiquitous boob jobs that star in that medium)? Is it because we're in a 'sampled' world, filled with autotune mics, and we're willing to pay boatloads of money to watch people lip sync their way through concerts?

A lot of what passes for 'news' can be debunked in seconds - not days hours minutes but mere seconds.  Don't we have that much time to educate ourselves? Or is it that we simply don't care to?

Here's another test for you: is this passage real or fake?

You wouldn't believe the nonsense WideAwakePatriot and ArmedLibertyNews are pushing about how the world elites meet in Davos, Switzerland to rig the global economy, when if you actually paid attention to the facts the mainstream media doesn't want you to know about, you'd realize that the actual power players of the Jew World Order meet every day in Los Angeles to design their doomsday compounds and determine new methods to control us. (Click here to find out if this is real or fake.)

Or this one, about the POTUS-elect and a certain Baldwin brother?

And you know, I get that that's show business and it's supposed to be funny and entertaining and all that, but this just goes overboard every single time I see it, it's just plain offensive. And here's the thing right, I'm a guy who knows about show business. I've been part of it my whole life and I've made millions off of it. I know what people like and what people want to hear and see - that's part of why I am today the President of the United States and not a company owner struggling with debt who's about to go bankrupt. I know what I'm doing and I'm the first one to take a joke, but what they're doing on that show is plain rude and offensive. I won't stand for it. (Click here to see if this is real or fake.)

I wonder if General Flynn would have gotten the right answers. I think he would have said they were both real, what do you think?