Monday, January 23, 2017

Trump's new reality show: 'American Carnage'

Like the vast majority of Americans, I did not watch or listen to Donald Trump's inauguration.

But, I did read about it and perused some of his speech.

Evidently, I didn't miss much.

George Will, the ultra-conservative columnist, wrote that it was "the most dreadful inaugural address in history."

Apparently, the turnout was far lower than what the Donald wanted and a drop in the bucket compared to the Women's March the next day.

That led to Trump's attack on the media for reporting what happened.

Even Doonesbury saw this coming weeks ago. The comic strip in Sunday's paper shows the Donald complaining about the media's low numbers for his inauguration.

The Donald is such an easy mark.

So are his acolytes who ate up his inaugural address.

It's easy to see why Trump's phrase "America First" would thrill many of his supporters.

To most of them, the phrase means: Me first and to hell with you, even if that "you" is fellow Americans.

To others, like white supremacist David Duke, the phrase rekindles the days when it was associated with anti-Semitism before America's entry into World War II.

But, the headline phrase that screamed on most sites, including the Wall Street Journal's, was "American carnage."

Did Trump mean he was going to take on the easy access to high-powered firearms in this country?

Uh, no.

Did the phrase reference the thousands of Americans who lost their lives in the unjustified war in Iraq?

No, again.

I guess he was referring to violence in the inner cities, which Trump said would stop on his inauguration day.

Well, it hasn't stopped yet. It's not likely to end anytime soon.

So, "American Carnage" is really the name of Trump's presidency.

Instead of saying "You're Fired" on Celebrity Apprentice, he can now say with glee on American Carnage, "You're Dead."

His first enemies in this carnage, of course, are the press and the spy agencies.

This piece from the New Yorker shows that Trump's visit to the CIA headquarters wasn't well received. And CBS notes that the relationship with the CIA was made worse after the visit.

And then there's "alternative facts," which we should see plenty of during Trump's "presidency." Much of the media will report facts and Trump's minions will dispute them.

Even a Russian journalist compares Trump's pressers to Putin's. In fact, Trump is now known as Putin's Puppet or Putin's Pussy.

Talk about carnage. The truth is the first casualty under a fascist like Trump. And fascist is one of the kindest things to say about him.

It was comforting to read today that Earl Blumenauer, a congressman from Portland, referred to Trump as "Liar in Chief."

Well said, and factual, too.

Fox News, though, has always represented the alternate reality to what was actually happening and now they get to present "alternative facts" along with the truth.

You decide.

Well, I have decided. I won't be captivated by Trump's "American Carnage."

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