I pride myself on trying to learn as much as I can about everything and how history repeats over and over. Some things are obvious on the surface but a little digging shows something else.

When I hear what an FBI check on a person looking at being appointed to a federal job is actually, I was astonished. It seems to me to be no more than a job application many of us may have done before. They do a simple criminal check. Not all states participate in the national register. To see if the person has committed a crime, who do they contact for background and character? They talk with the people the person uses as references. If the FBI is only able to talk with the people given to the FBI, then every report is suspect. Yes, they do thousands of these every year. But why do the checks if they are half-assed?

Judge Kavanaugh went through six of these checks. If they are of this caliber then a seventh was warranted. However, when the President limited the research in scope and time, the report was worthless. No wonder so many of Trump’s people are gone and many arrested. Does the CIA, FBI, etc. do such a rudimentary investigation on their people?

When I was in college a friend asked if he could use me as a reference. I said yes and lived in fear of an FBI agent knocking on the door–they never did.

I now feel no better about Kavanaugh than I did before and am concerned about the checks on Trump’s advisors, cabinet, and other appointees. Being a news junkie can keep a person awake at night. There’s too much ignorance, stupidity, and greed at all costs running local, state, and federal governments. I wonder if someone who is elected gets any more than an FBI cursory check. Did the President? More sleepless nights….