With Friends Like These ...

Those friends being the Russian government, and the NRA.

A while back, one of my cousins pointed out that I have, on occasion, used 15104 as a cudgel with which to bash the current occupant of the Oval Office.  Quite true.  Not surprising, though; my cousin's politics are among the most conservative in our tribe.  But the chasm between his beliefs and mine also presented me with an opportunity.

At various points in my life, I've been a long-lapsed Catholic, an agnostic, or a Buddhist.  That last faith tradition, and the others as well, advise us to learn from, and show compassion to, even our adversaries.  (In this context, I'm reminded of the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, and the Tibetan Buddhist prayer for compassion.)  So, Cousin, you were right, at least to the extent of reminding me that it is Mr. Trump's behavior, rather than the man himself, which one should excoriate.

Taking that at least slightly more enlightened approach brings me to Maria Butina's guilty plea today.  Seems Ms. Butina was a sort-of-spy for Russia, who sought to infiltrate the NRA as a vehicle for infiltrating the Republican Party of 2016.

Dear readers, why doesn't it surprise me that an organization as amoral and heartless as the NRA should have been considered by the Russian government as rapid transit to the Republican Party's power structure?  Might the answer be that Mr. Trump's obstreperous defense of gun rights gave the Kremlin a wink-wink-nod-nod?

Ms. Butina's courting of the NRA dates from about the time in 2015 when Donald Trump's campaign for the Presidency, and Russia's efforts to assist that campaign, began.