I don’t like conspiracy theories.

Most of them are baseless and are crafted by angry basement dwellers and other socially awkward miscreants.

And then there are those occasions where you have to just stop and at least consider.

Case in point: Trump’s connection to Russia’s Vladmir Putin.

Things just keep popping up and at some point, if you’re smart, you have to stop what you’re doing and give more than a sideways glance at the evidence.

So we’ll put aside the information we already have about Trump’s campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and his alleged connections to pro-Russian figures in the Ukraine (including the recent report that he’s received money from Ukrainian sources).

We’ll put aside Trump’s casual call for Russians to hack Hillary Clinton’s emails.

The latest piece of that puzzle is a report from People.com today that highlights the whereabouts of Trump’s daughter, Ivanka.

Keep in mind that Ivanka is the only woman Trump could think of to make a part of his administration.

The daughter of GOP nominee Donald Trump shared a scenic snap with Wendi Deng Murdoch, the ex-wife of billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch, from Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Trump, 34, was spotted with husband Jared Kushner in the city’s old town, seemingly taking a couple’s vacation without their three children – Arabella, 5, Joseph, 2, and Theodore, 4 months.

So Ivanka and her husband, both key players in Trump’s campaign are “vacationing” in Croatia with the ex-wife of media bigwig, Rupert Murdoch. Not necessarily a big deal, right?

“Everything she has is available to her friends, which, believe me, is not common,” Trump told Vogue earlier this summer of her friend. “There’s nothing that doesn’t interest her, and she can hit five topics in a 35-second conversation. It’s really a whirlwind with Wendi. I can’t recall the last time I had a conversation with her that didn’t conclude with her connecting me to four people who might become great friends or great business opportunities.”

My emphasis.

Since becoming the ex-Mrs. Murdoch, what has Wendi Deng Murdoch been up to? Well, after Murdoch, she was connected to British Prime Minister Tony Blair (which he denies), may have had a few dalliances with Alphabet chairman Eric Schmidt, and if some of the tabloid reports from earlier in 2016 can be believed, she’s acting as Russian President Vladmir Putin’s love interest.

From a Vanity Fair article in March 2016:

It is difficult to imagine finding a fourth mate who could out-titan a media mogul, a king of technology, and a world leader, who, combined, are worth about $23 billion. But if there’s someone you want to bet on reaching that summit, it is Deng, who is now allegedly dating Russian president Vladimir Putin, according to the gossip magazine Us Weekly. Maybe Deng, then, is the lightning.

Now, it is unclear just how accurate the report is. Even the tabloid admits that news of the pairing stems from the rumor mill, though word on the couple has apparently been traveling among a certain set for some time. The two have yet to be spotted together in public, because that level of self-serving malevolence in one single frame would likely crumble the earth onto itself. But Us did report Deng was spotted earlier this week boarding the St. Barths–docked yacht of Russian businessman Roman Abramovich. After Putin’s election, the billionaire reportedly gifted him a $35 million yacht to add to his collection of playthings, according to the Daily Mail.

And there have been other reports about Deng-Murdoch and Putin. Most are of the tabloid-y variety, but still.

It’s as if the universe is screaming for me to become a conspiracy theorist.

Trump’s campaign manager has close ties to certain pro-Russia figures.

Ivanka Trump’s  dear friend has really close ties to THE pro-Russia figure, and she and Ivanka are having a child-free vacation together in Croatia, right now.

So, rather than screaming, “WHERE THERE’S SMOKE, THERE’S FIRE!” I’ll just leave this here and let others who are queasy over the direction of this election and this nation just come to their own conclusions.

That’s right. Just let your minds run free in the fertile fields of Hhmmm…

If anyone needs me, I’ll be in the basement with a roll of tinfoil.