The Russians are Coming. The Russians Are Coming.

I'm getting some work done in my studio. Martin is working in his office...which is also the TV room. Every time I go down there the impeachment hearings are blasting.

I just can't.

And I'm usually the political one.

The yelling and screaming (which have nothing to do with reality) is more than I can bear. Even the Dems are bugging me a little bit. But at least there is some reality on that side. Also they aren't yelling (as much).

To be clear, I am glad this is happening. Trump has been using the office for personal gain since day one. Half an hour of research will show Trump's lawless past. It is no surprise that his presidency is equally lawless. His modus operandi has been to lie, cheat, and steal. When he is caught he sues and countersues. If it is a legal issue he throws lawyers at the government until they settle. Nothing has changed. So Dems, have at it. Get it on the record...and get all that evidence on the record.

We know what will happen in the Senate. Don't get your hopes up over those occasional articles about potential Republican Senators voting to remove. One or two will. There will not be enough to remove him from office. I can't invest too much energy into a known outcome.

I have no power to save our democracy from our lawless president.

Instead I spend my political online time trying to save our democracy from the Russians.

Have you read the Senate Intelligence Report on Russian Interference, part 2. If you haven't, you should. It is 85 pages, but is actually a very easy read. Since you probably won't, let me give you my take on it.

The Russians primary objective is to sow division in the US. Yes, they like Trump as President. He is friendly to them. But even more than that, Trump as President helps in their primary goal of sowing division.

Remember Lincoln. Y'know. A house divided against itself cannot stand. He was right.

The Russians post stories (often fake, sometimes based on a tiny kernel of truth) about pro-gun stories and anti-gun stories. Anti-abortion and pro-life. And especially stories about race. They have no skin in any of those issues. But they have a lot of skin in sowing division.

Most 2016 Clinton voters did not hate Bernie, and most Bernie voters did not hate Clinton. But the Russians were VERY successful at convincing everyone that they hated everyone else. Hey presto...it worked.

Please everyone. Watch the stories. It is incredible how much is out there. I rather like Mayor Pete (still not sure if which candidate is my fave...and I'd be very happy with many of them). But these days you would think that he is a Wall Street and Big Pharma stooge. And that he rings bells for the Salvation Army. Look carefully folks. I spent a lot of time digging into the Salvation Army thing. It's important to me. In spite of the Salvation Army's PR, the organization is still anti-gay. It turns out the Buttigieg/Salvation Army story is manufactured out of almost nothing. I won't bother with the whole background, but it is one of many stories out there about Pete, and Bernie, and Warren, and Biden, and on and on.

Progressives ('cause that's who largely reads my stuff) think on this. If Biden were the nominee, he would probably represent a very progressive agenda. He wants to expand Obama Care. He is a huge voice for working people, and especially unions. The man has a solid background. But if you are a progressive you probably are thinking of him these days as somewhere around Reagan on the political linear scorecard. Nonsense.

(Again...to be clear...Biden is not my first choice. I still have a hard time with his whole approach to Anita Hill, for instance. But the Russians have successfully convinced a good 45% of the Democratic Primary voters that he is Republican light or worse).

There is nothing wrong with a robust primary and questioning of who our best candidate is. But be careful that you aren't doing the Russians work for them. 

If you see me on a facebook feed questioning a story, it is probably just me doing my small part in combating the disinformation campaign. You should join the Disinformation Corps, as well.