As a boy, I remember being told that the oratorical skills of Adolph Hitler would rob a person of their own internalized principles and beliefs.  That was added to the growing list of things I didn’t understand as a boy about the grown-up world.  Later, I was told that I would understand the holocaust IF I would just read Mien Kampf.  I did but still didn’t understand.  In high school, certain books like Catcher in the Rye were banned, because they might corrupt my weak mind, causing me to forsake my own internalized principles and beliefs.  Of course, I searched for and read as many of those books as I could and was left wondering what was the point of so much consternation.

All these thoughts came back during one recent hotel stay, when I channel-surfed my way into RT television.  RT stands for Russia Today.  It is an English-language version of the Russian perspective on international news.  Frankly, I thought the international coverage was surprisingly thorough.  (Later, I learned it is available 24/7 online at www.rt.com )

Watching saturation coverage by the American news media of Trump’s problems with Russian connections, I wondered how the Russian media was covering it and went to their website on Friday night.  The lead story was about a demonstration in Grand Central Station by activists urging the U.S. to get out of Syria.  Five stories later, they barely mention “media claims” that Trump and his associates had improper contacts with Russian officials.  No big deal, nothing to see here, keep moving on . . .

Now, I am really suspicious!