The screen shot, below, from the Associated Press was captured at 7:16 am this morning.

It is the third day in a row the lead has been about a disgruntled actor, who is accused of staging a fake hate crime, to enhance his public persona.  Before January 29, 2019, I would venture an overwhelming majority of Americans did not know who Jussie Smollett was nor did they care.

In the meantime, a 49 year-old Coast Guard officer has been charged with stockpiling weapons for the alleged purpose of killing the Democratic leadership in Congress, several Democratic presidential candidates and journalists critical of Donald Trump.  His hit list consisted of 22 names including:

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schmer
Senator Richard Blumenthal (CT)
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (NY)
Senator Cory Booker (NJ)
Senator Elizabeth Warren (MA)
Senator Kamala Harris (CA)
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY)
MSNBC Host Joe Scarborough
MSNBC Host Chris Hayes
CNN Host Chris Cuomo
CNN Host Van Jones

In the old days of print journalism, the lead story was said to be “above the fold.”  The digital equivalent is a news service’s home page.  Do the digital editors at the Associated Press truly believe Jussie Smollett deserves more attention or represents a greater threat to the country than Lt. Christopher Hanson?  I hope not, but the evidence suggests otherwise.

Trumpism does not exist without its twin Kardashianism with its focus on celebrity where fame, not character or accomplishment, is the measure of success. Kudos to the FBI and the Coast Guard for averting this potential disaster.  My fear is Lt. Hanson is not alone.  How many more Lt. Hansons are stockpiling weapons and creating hit lists?  Instead of sending reporters to the Midwest to continue interviewing Obama voters who like Donald Trump, maybe those resources would be better devoted to understanding why individuals who claim they support the “law and order” guy have so little respect for what the term actually means.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP