The House Intelligence Committee's reenactment of the McCarthy hearings dramatized Marx's famous aphorism that history repeats itself, "the first time as tragedy, the second as farce." The only thing this circus was lacking was ringmaster Rep. Adam Schiff (D-California") rising to declares that "I have in my hands a list!" 

War was on the minds and lips of the Democrats. Rep. Denny Heck (D-Washington) compared Hillary Clinton's loss to the 9/11 attacks, because the killing of over 2,000 people on American soil is just like the publication of emails that exposed the corruption at the heart of Democratic party politics. Oh, and "the attack didn't end on Election Day" – because isn't that a Russian hiding under your bed?

If political humor, albeit unintentional, is your shtick, there was plenty of that: my own favorite was Rep. Jackie Speier – from where else but California? – likening Vladimir Putin to a tarantula spider who has "ensnared in his web" a whole list of Trump supporters, including Wilbur Ross, the Commerce Secretary, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Echoing a common phrase at the hearing, she declared that alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election was "an act of war," although she gave no hint as to when the shooting will start.