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   From: nowomr@protonmail.com   
      
   Trump is an America hating traitor.  His supporters deserve to the jailed   
   for treason like the rest of the Jan 6 mob.   Nothing short of killing the   
   ring leaders will suffice in protecting democracy.   
      
   Edelman: Trump's cozy relationship with Russia threatens US' best   
   interests   
   By Mitch Edelman   
      
      
   Imagine that you arrive home one evening, after a long, hard day counting   
   beans at the office, and notice a scratch or two around your door. When   
   you enter your house, everything seems in order, but the next day, a   
   concerned friend phones to tell you he got a tweet containing a copy of   
   the outline for the great American novel you hope to write.   
      
   You check, and sure enough, you find incontrovertible evidence that   
   someone had sneaked in. The manila folder you've stashed those notes in   
   has been rifled through, and smudge marks can be seen all over the folder.   
   The police answer your call. Fingerprints on the door and on the folder   
   match those of the weird kid from across the street, the one with the   
   binoculars, whom you'd caught peering through your daughter's bedroom   
   window. But the kid did compliment you on your haircut the other day, so   
   you think: "It couldn't have been him. It must have been someone else,   
   maybe that Julian kid from down the street." And so, even though the   
   police urge you to press charges, if only to protect yourself from the kid   
   doing something dangerous, you say, "No, I like the kid, he said nice   
   things about my beautiful pompadour."   
      
   Of course, this little slice of my notes for the great American novel is a   
   silly fantasy, except it's based on the frightening reality of our   
   president-elect's reaction to Russian hacking and trying to influence the   
   presidential election.   
      
   American intelligence agencies speak with one voice in claiming that   
   Vladimir Putin's hands were all over the hacking. Last Thursday, the   
   director of national intelligence, James Clapper, testified that Russians   
   tried to spread fake news and propaganda to meddle in the election. He   
   testified that "only Russia's senior-most officials" could approve hacking   
   the DNC's emails. He testified that our intelligence captured senior   
   Russian officials celebrating the news that Trump won.   
   TODAY'S TOP VIDEOS   
      
   Leaks about DNC internal actions were timed to do the maximum amount of   
   damage to the Democratic Party. Trump said that the source of the leaks   
   was Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and Russia had nothing to do with the   
   hacking; later, he said he was just repeating what Assange had said and   
   "it is for the people to make up their minds … ." When asked if any   
   credibility could be given to Assange's comments, Clapper's answer, based   
   on the facts he had, was "Not in my view," a conclusion reinforced by CIA   
   analysis that actually identified the Russian officials who fed the leaks   
   to Assange.   
      
   Do you believe the unanimous, evidence-based conclusion of the world's   
   only superpower's intelligence professionals? Or do you agree with Trump's   
   uninformed, self-serving tweets?   
      
   Trump seems more concerned over the legitimacy of his electoral victory   
   than with the dangers Russian cyberattacks present. His spokesperson   
   Kellyanne Conway visited talking heads on news programs to say in essence,   
   "So what if Russia hacked into the DNC? It didn't change the outcome of   
   the election." Maybe not this time, but I would sleep more soundly knowing   
   that the president, with his awesome power, decided America's world policy   
   based on hard facts and not a former Soviet Union spymaster's propaganda.   
   As it is, Trump's attitude toward America's intelligence community is   
   troubling; they're our country's eyes and ears in the world, and to   
   dismiss them is for the president to operate blind.   
      
   At least two Republican senators, Lindsey Graham and former presidential   
   nominee John McCain, are on record as demanding the incoming   
   administration strengthen sanctions already in place against Russia; the   
   Obama administration expelled more than 30 people in the country on   
   diplomatic passports and took other, classified measures to counter   
   Russian cyberwarfare. Given Russia's track record of cyberattacks against   
   Ukraine, Georgia, Estonia, Germany and several other countries, it would   
   be prudent for the United States to do so.   
      
   Trump's rhetoric indicates he'd like to strengthen Russo-American   
   relations, an action that would come at the expense of our successful   
   partnerships with liberal democracies in Western Europe. A sea change such   
   as that would threaten 70 years of stability in Europe, as well as boost   
   radical right wing movements such as that of Marine Le Pen's National   
   Front in France. More importantly, it would reward Russia's unacceptable   
   conduct and encourage them to expand their disruptive interference in   
   other countries' internal politics. The price for cooperating with Russia   
   should not and must not be at the cost of sacrificing our nation's best   
   interests.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)