'Hamilton' is a distraction. Mitt Romney is, too.

One of the ways Trump has worked the media via Twitter is to throw them off the real story, as with his settling of the Trump U lawsuits.  He used the smoke and mirrors to appoint a torture advocate as head of the CIA.

President-elect Donald Trump’s selection of Kansas Congressman Mike Pompeo, an open aficionado of torture practices used in the “war on terror,” to be CIA director shows that Trump was serious when he said he would support “waterboarding and much worse.”

Earlier there had been a sliver of hope that that while on the campaign trail Trump was simply playing to the basest instincts of many Americans who have been brainwashed – by media, politicians, and the CIA itself – into believing that torture “works.” The hope was that the person whom Trump would appoint to head the agency would disabuse him regarding both the efficacy and the legality of torture.

But such advice is not likely from Pompeo, who has spoken out against the closing of CIA’s “black sites” used for torture and has criticized the requirement that interrogators adhere to anti-torture laws. He has also opposed closing the prison at Guantanamo, which has become infamous for torture and even murder.

After visiting Guantanamo three years ago, where many prisoners were on a hunger strike, Pompeo commented, “It looked to me like a lot of them had put on weight.”

Almost twelve years ago, when the first reports began to filter out of an Iraqi prison named Abu Ghraib, I believed that America had shredded whatever remained of our national morality as a result of the 'collateral damage' that occurs as unintended consequence when you use false pretenses to start a war on the wrong country in your search of revenge for 9/11.  And because the Obama administration abdicated serving justice to the war criminals, we somehow managed to lose even more.  And despite former chief spook Michael Hayden declaring that no CIA agent would ever again carry out an order to torture someone ... it appears we're back at square one.

Congressman Pompeo is living proof that you can get all A’s at West Point, graduate first in your class, and still flunk the Constitution with its quaint Eighth Amendment prohibition against “cruel and unusual punishment.” Not knowing the Constitution and the Bill of Rights apparently makes you a good pick to head the CIA.

As member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), Pompeo also was protective of the National Security Agency’s systematic abuse of the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against illegal searches and seizures.

The selection of Pompeo came a few days after Vice President-elect Mike Pence told ABC that he would model his handling of the job after former Vice President Dick Cheney under President George W. Bush.

All that stands between us and ethical oblivion now is Sen. John McCain.  The bad news is that a large majority of 'Muricans believe torture is a good idea.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans asked in March about their views on torture said they believe the practice can be justified to extract information from those suspected of terrorism, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. That level of support is on par with Nigeria and other countries where attacks are common ...

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