Turns out the guy the Republican Party used all along to buttress their bullshit charges of corruption against Joe and Hunter Biden was peddling bullshit. Who coulda seen that coming? I mean, aside from everyone with a modicum of analytical abilities. That excludes our news media alas. But, not only is Alexander Smirnov a liar, the FBI just charged him with working with Russian intelligence to spread misinformation. Now, one could see this as a troubling, isolated incident. Or, one could see it for what it is: another proof that Donald Trump and virtually the entire Republican Party have themselves been engaged in “spy stuff” from the moment they got into bed with Trump.

By “spy stuff“, I mean treason.

Russia Is Good At Spy Stuff

Russia – historically – has always been good at spy stuff. Russian crime boss Vladimir Putin grew up a spy, cutting his teeth and learning the trade in East Germany as the Soviet Union slowly died and fell apart. By the time the Soviet Union did collapse into pieces, Putin was running the KGB’s successor. Why did then Russian president Boris Yeltsin suddenly retire from office and hand full power to Putin on New Year’s Eve 1999? Think Boris did it just because he liked Vlad?

Take this to the bank: Putin had kompromat in his hands when he offered Yeltsin a deal to go away. Spy stuff.

Trump, too, has always been the product of spy stuff. As this blog has shouted repeatedly, the Republican Party’s leadership knew even before they nominated Trump to be their standard-bearer in 2016 that Russia owned him. On June 25, 2016, now former Speaker Of The House Kevin McCarthy exited a meeting where the intelligence community briefed members of Congress about Putin’s active measures to undermine Ukraine’s fragile, new democracy.

More spy stuff – brought to members of Congress by actual spies!

McCarthy exited that meeting and entered another – this one of GOP leaders. The very first thing McCarthy said upon entering was “There’s two people I think Putin pays – Rohrbacher and Trump – swear to God!” The whole exchange that followed was recorded by someone present – and played for (then) Washington Post reporter Adam Entous.

Now, consider this moment with every bit of perspective we can bring to it. Trump’s base wasn’t anything like the monolith it is now. Republican leaders still told themselves they would/could control Trump when it mattered. But, even that was bullshit. Republican leaders NEVER controlled Trump and never could.

Trump always sat in the driver’s seat – and the GOP let it happen. Rather, Trump reminded them that (just as Putin owned him), he owned the Republican Party. It’s all about corruption. And treason.

How We Know We’re Family…

After McCarthy said what he said back in 2016, the Republican leadership made a deliberate choice to keep this terrible secret – that a “President Trump” would pose a grave national security risk to America. Then Speaker Of The House Paul Ryan stepped into the breach and told everyone present that keeping the secret would prove that they were all “family”.

A mafia family.

Our news media, to this day – even with the answer in their hands – still wonders aloud what exactly is this hold Trump has over the GOP. They insist it must be Trump’s base and nothing but. That’s bullshit of course. Yes, the base has come to dominate the discussion. But they weren’t the discussion when the discussion started.

Treason was. Still is. That’s what all this “spy stuff” is – it’s treason! If you conspire with a hostile foreign power against our interests – you’re there!

Cyber War IS War

As for the “but, treason can only happen in times of war”, that’s an argument really stupid people make. Ask the folks at Pearl Harbor – sleeping peacefully in their beds the morning of December 7, 1941 – if not being “at war’ makes a difference. Though Japan hadn’t formally declared war, they were at war with us.

If anyone living at Pearl Harbor had in any way helped the Japanese with their surprise attack, do you suppose they would have shrugged that act off as “not happening in war time” and therefore “not treason”?

It would have been act of treason just as everything the GOP has done to protect Trump from investigation also are acts of treason.

Anyone who thinks it takes bombs and bullets to make a war is going to lose every war they ever fight going forwards.

Even Canada – civilized Canada – has execution on its books for traitors. Treason betrays every last one of us in the very worst way possible. Traitors want to destroy everything that matters on a grand scale – and, so, deserves a grand punishment. The GOP has chosen treason over protecting democracy.

There’s a reason. Democracy (diversity with power) threatens white hegemonic power. The GOP has morphed into a white power party dedicated to maintaining white power and greed at all costs. The GOP had few qualms about embracing Putin, because Putin, ultimately wants the same thing they want – a broken down world greased by corruption.

They’ll even resort to the stupidest kind of “spy stuff” to achieve it.

Who You Gonna Believe…?

QUICK NOTE: Very few in our news media ever get this quote right. The “who’re you gonna believe…?” line comes from the Marx’s brilliant “Duck Soup”. Chico (not Groucho) delivers the line to Margaret Dumont (the team’s favorite foil). Chico is dressed like Groucho (so is Harpo) – that’s part of the gag that’s building.

Dumont has just seen one version of Groucho’s Rufus T. Firefly head off in one direction when another – Chico – suddenly appears and insists that he’s been there the whole time – it couldn’t have been him. Dumont insists – she just saw him with her own eyes!

“Well,” says Chico, “Who’re you gonna believe, me or your own eyes?”

Dear News Media: if your eyes are “lyin” – as you do the quote – then why would you believe them in the first place? The quote makes no sense!

Idiots!!!

Sigh…