The REAL Black Friday: Trump Takes Office

     The real Black Friday is almost upon us; Donald J. Trump will be sworn in as the 45th President of the United States.  By a substantial margin, most of us voted for other candidates.  Hillary Clinton alone defeated Trump by close to three million votes.  The Electoral College handed down a different verdict.  So, we are told, we need to grin and bear it--come together in the best interest of the country.

     Well, this was not your “typical” election where political passions ran high, but in the end we unify behind the victor. 

     Donald Trump ran a scorched earth campaign based on vitriol and outright lies, “fake news”, and racial hatred.  He doesn’t deserve a “pass”, and he certainly doesn’t deserve the “honeymoon period” the Republicans never saw fit to deny President Obama (see Mitch McConnell’s infamous remarks following the 2008 election). 

     Trump employed fake news like no one before him... and he started long before the election with the assertion that President Obama was not a natural born citizen.  It was utter rubbish, which Trump undoubtedly knew, but he used it to gain a toehold in the fight for the GOP nomination. Trump’s subsequent ventures into fake news quickly proved the man is pathologically dishonest.  Here are just a few of his “greatest hits”:

Trump attacked Heidi Cruz’s looks, then denied it.

Trump claimed Rafael Cruz was involved in the JFK assassination.  LIE.
Trump claimed Muslims in New Jersey celebrated the 9/11 attacks.  LIE. 

Trump claimed Syrian refugees were entering the U.S. without vetting.  LIE.

Trump claimed 34 million undocumented immigrants are living in the U.S.  LIE. 

Trump claimed he couldn’t release his taxes due to an IRS audit.  LIE.

Trump claimed he never supported the invasion of Iraq.  LIE. 

Trump claimed that he never referred to women he didn't like as "fat pigs", "dogs", "slobs" or "disgusting animals".  LIE
Trump claimed he never said that the numerous women who accused him of sexual misconduct/assault were "too unattractive" to assault.  LIE.

     From his ties/allegiances to Vladimir Putin, to the insane lies he spouted about Hillary Clinton, and now John Lewis... he is a paranoid narcissist run amok.  Whether or not the dossier is factual almost doesn’t matter to me; he’s thrived on these sorts of stories so I hope he chokes on this one.

     This Friday he takes office, and as I write this over 50 Democratic Representatives are boycotting the inauguration.  I applaud their decision but almost wish they’d attended and then turned their backs on the stage when Trump is sworn in (his hand on the Lincoln bible is almost too much to bear).  It would be no less than he deserves.

Resist!

After Trump

     The unimaginable has happened.  Donald Trump, who ran a campaign based on bullying, bigotry, misogyny, half-truths and outright lies, will be making himself at home in our White House... the People's House.  The "basket" of deplorables that Hillary Clinton made reference to morphed into an eighteen wheeler truck.  Much was made of that label, "deplorable"... I don't doubt that many of Trump's  supporters are indeed white supremacists who are panicked at their diminished influence/control.  Many others are alt-right types willing to do whatever it takes to further a dangerous agenda.  "Some, I assume (yes, I'm quoting Trump), are good people..." likely motivated by genuine economic frustration and fear.  They're wondering what happened to their seat at the table.  What happened to their American Dream?
     It's hard to be sure what Trump's economic policies might entail, since he seemed to go to great lengths not to engage in a detailed discussion of the issues during the campaign.  If it wasn't "great", "huge", "tremendous" and didn't involve a wall, it was unlikely to be mentioned.  In any case, Trump has given no indication that he either understands or cares about income inequality.  Furthermore, he'd never do anything that wasn't in the best interest of his fellow one-percenters. 
     For Trump supporters then, this lack of any economic agenda only seems to leave racial and cultural resentments as their unifying doctrine.  Not much in the way of building a better America...
     One would have thought that given the slow-but-steady forward march of history we wouldn't be confronted by hatred, fear, and paranoia on this scale again... yet here we are.  We'll need to raise our voices to defend immigrants, Muslims, the millions of our fellow citizens who'll have their health insurance stripped away, the environment, Mitch McConnell's plan to turn the Supreme Court into a cluster of ultra-conservative tools... you name it.  We have our work cut out for us.  As much as it may be tempting to look toward a more progressive society (Canada), this is our country.
     We can take comfort in the realization that we're not alone.  In fact, we are the majority.  53% of us voted for someone other than Donald J. Trump. Even setting aside the votes cast for Gary Johnson and Jill Stein, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote (by a margin of at least1-2 million, depending on the estimates).  So, although Trump and his supporters would be appalled at having this word attached to them, they're a minority.
     Leading up to the election, Trump and his supporters whined for months about how unfair "the system" was.  They assured us the election was rigged.  Funny how all that talk vanished in the blink of an eye! 
     In the next few weeks the President-elect is scheduled to appear in court to face allegations of massive fraud (Trump "University") brought in a lawsuit.  Perhaps he won't even make it to the White House... Even if he does, we'll use the same system he derided and demeaned to take our country back.  God knows, we all deserve better... even James Comey.