Tinker, Tailor….

Donald Trump should never have been allowed within a thousand miles of the White House. How he got there is a sad and infuriating testament to the arrogance and ignorance of the media; the capitulation to greed and fascism on the part of the Republican Party, and the votes of millions of people who tell you how much they “love America,” but have no idea what that means, other than symbols like flags and parades.

Anyone who had any ability to analyze or grasp reality, would have known how dangerous Trump was. A man who has no control over his impulses, who somehow has convinced himself that he is always right, that he knows more than anyone else about everything. who listens to nothing but what might help him get what he wants.

Russia saw him as a very useful asset, even they probably didn’t think that he could get himself elected President, but he was. The rest of it we know about, at least up to what we are learning now, that he stole top-secret documents from the White House, refused to give them back, and thus may have already greatly compromised national security.

Maybe the Intelligence and Defense Departments can figure out how many of our assets have already been compromised, and how many sources and methods are now known by countries and people who wish us no good at all. Even if they do figure it out, what can they do about it now?

I just had the image of the early scenes of the television series “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy,” starring Alec Guinness. British Intelligence had been greatly compromised, “Control,” the wise man who led it, has been forced out, and soon thereafter dies. George Smiley has been part of the purge. The people running Intelligence are not as good; some may mean well, one may be the person who was the spy who fed Russian Intelligence all the information. The overall scene is very unsettling and bleak.

The novels, written by the inestimable John Le Carre, are taken after real events, the treachery of Kim Philby, uncovered by MI6 after years. I thought of it, because we could be there now, I am just speculating. Why did Trump take the many documents, some classified as Top Secret? Not out of carelessness or ignorance. Did he already give them to enemies? Sell them? Have them viewed, copied or stolen?

At least in “Tinker Tailor,” there was not a national movement to defend the traitors, as we have here. We could go into the psychology of that, but we know it is there. No matter what it is revealed that Trump did, the reflexive response from MAGA and Dominionists and Fascists and Anarchists is to support him, make excuses for him, and blame everyone else, including the FBI, the DOJ, the Democrats, anyone they can try to use to deflect and project.

There is so much to say, of course, but right now, I am just overwhelmed by the enormity of it, not that we did not already intuit it. Not just how evil Trump is, but how the supposed controls and barriers were overcome so easily; how somehow half the media loved Trump, while sneering at and demonizing Hillary Clinton who had an entire career as a patriot; a highly intelligent and caring person, who made one mistake: using a private server, just the way that the lauded Colin Powell did before her. As always, the Vast Right-wing Conspiracy jumped on it, the perfect misdirection. And so we got an infantile traitor in the White House instead.

Now the media feels compelled to tell us Trump’s reactions and blaming. They will never let go of the “both sides,” unless they are absolutely forced to. Fox, which knows things, has tried to get ahead of this, by jettisoning Trump in favor of DeSantis. All they care about is money and power, and so any fascist will do. You don’t think that they actually care about the welfare of this country?

So they may “get” Trump, or they may not. He has avenues to continue to delay and impede. Will there ever be a trial of him for violations of the Espionage Act, and will there be a jury of twelve people who will unanimously vote for conviction? It would be gratifying, and necessary, but it would not undo the damage which this spoiled, arrogant, and stupid person has inflicted on this country, and far too many of its citizens. And that is what I am thinking about right now. And the three people on the Supreme Court whom he appointed, who will be there for thirty to forty years, and who will perhaps do more damage than even Trump could have done. “The evil that men do lives after them.”