Trump, the Flynns and, fuck, I'm typing this... "pizzagate"

Look, I love a good conspiracy theory as much as anyone (as entertainment), but really?!  I think the industry jumped the shark on this one.

Yeah.  Trump's team tried to get security clearance for Flynn Jr. (son of his National Security Advisor pick, cuz' nepotism rulz!), who is a pizzagater.

Good reference:  John Zaller, The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion.  One of the critical concepts is the "rejection axiom."  Basically, people have a tendency to reject messages that are inconsistent with their prior beliefs.  Why?  Cognitive dissonance sucks.

Trump knows nothing and believes nothing.  Therefore, he rejects nothing.  The problem with surrounding himself with conspiracy theorists who share his tendency to accept crazy shit, then, is that they reinforce his tendency to buy into the batshit-craziest notions around.

What will he do on the basis of whatever batshit crazy conspiracy theory floats into the Oval Office after he takes the oath?

A president with a brain would be able to reject those conspiracy theories, and surround himself with serious advisors in order to make rational decisions, even if you disagree with those decisions.

Craziest president of the modern era?  No question:  Nixon.  Dude was seriously paranoid.  Also, racist and antisemitic.  Go listen to those tapes.  His presidency?  A very strange one, hard to classify in ideological terms...  Some liberal policies, some conservative policies, some very violent policies...  Anyway, weird things ahead.

This is what happens when we elect the guy who rose to the top through birtherism.

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