The Nunes memo was not just a “nothing burger,” it was a double-whopper nothing burger that drew derision and disdain. It’s a pundit’s piñata, with commentators hammering the memo and its hyperventilating advocates. MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program aired a video mashup comparing the hype over the memo to Geraldo Rivera’s “Al Capone’s vault” fiasco, featuring horse poop hucksters like Sean Hannity, who said the memo uncovered “the biggest abuse of power … in American history.” That’s like conflating a sex fantasy with syphilis (Capone sub-reference intended). But the memo might inadvertently suggest Donald Trump’s greatest fear.
The memo is not only insubstantial, it’s illogical. Nunes claims the FBI submitted a misleading declaration to surveil Carter Page, a foreign policy advisor on Trump’s campaign team. He alleges the FBI failed to disclose that some of the evidence in the declaration came from a source funded by the Clinton Campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC). “I don’t believe that somebody like Mr. Page should be a target of the FBI,” Nunes told Trump News, “especially using salacious information paid for by a political campaign…” The “salacious information” is in a dossier prepared by former MI6 agent Christopher Steele, who had been hired by research firm Fusion GPS to investigate Trump’s Russian connections.
The Year of the Dog
Salty was sitting next to Omar Rivera, blinded 14 years earlier by glaucoma. Omar grabbed for Salty’s leash and the dog calmly threaded his way through people and debris to the fire escape. At one point, a well-meaning but unknowing co-worker tried to grab Salty’s leash, thinking the dog needed help. Salty refused to leave Omar’s side and made it clear he had everything under control. It took 75 minutes to descend 71 floors to the lobby. They were a few blocks away when the tower collapsed. Salty had saved them both.
Roselle was asleep when the building was struck by the aircraft 15 floors above the office where she and her human, Michael Hingson, worked. Michael was blind since birth and met Roselle in 1999. Roselle, like Salty, rescued her human companion, along with 30 others who followed them down the fire escape. About half way to the lobby they passed several firefighters who were climbing the stairs and Roselle stopped to greet them. After descending 1,463 steps, Roselle and Michael were on the ground floor. As they left the building, Tower 2 suddenly collapsed, spewing debris that showered on them. “She saved my life,” Michael said later. “While everyone ran in panic, Roselle remained totally focused on her job. While debris fell around us, and even hit us, Roselle stayed calm.” She led Michael to a subway station, where she rescued a woman who had been blinded by flying dust and debris.
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