1. WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump lashed out Thursday at the person who gave information to a whistleblower who has accused the president of abusing the nation’s highest office for political gain, saying that individual is “close to a spy” who could have committed treason — an act punishable by death.... “Who’s the person that gave the whistleblower the information? Because that’s close to spy,” Trump said. “You know what we used to do in the old days, when we were smart, right? The spies and treason? We used to handle it a little differently than we do now.”..... 2. …..It's not clear when this era of American extra-judicial spy execution was going on, but whenever it was, the president says he wants to go back to it. This is reminiscent of his fond remembrances from the rally podium of a time when you could assault protesters in public. But with what's already happened in this country—and it's not just that one pipe bomber—this is not loose talk. And The New York Times did not help things by publishing details of the whistleblower's identity Thursday. At the very least, the president is attempting to intimidate other potential whistleblowers from coming forward.... 3. Donald Trump had unconsciously answered a puzzling question why he was elected out of a population of about 330,000,000 consisting of many bright minds from the world's top universities. As gathered from his comments: “...when we (Americans) were smart (in the old days), right?" He should have accused the whistleblower’s sources of suffering from Trump derangement syndrome (TDS) instead.
