Torrent of lies

spewing from officials

has no consequences

House Speaker Paul Ryan: Liar in Chief

OF ALL THE many existential threats to American democracy, none is as immediate and dangerous as the lack of truth in our public discourse.
Even more threatening is the apparent absence of consequences for those who tell blatant and provable untruths.
The torrent of lies coming from the White House and Congress seems to have no consequences for the liars.
If we, the voters, don’t know or care about the truth, what hope is there that we can make intelligent choices at the ballot box?
Alas, there is little, and what remains of hope is diminishing every day.

EXODUS BUILDS TO A STAMPEDE FROM TRUMP BRAND
Few global businesses would dare lose over a billion potential customers in a week.
The Trump family empire just did.
The list of famous firms distancing themselves from the Trump brand is growing daily, and could soon become a stampede.
Upending the lives of thousands of aspiring immigrants may not move the US president.
But the budding economic backlash is bound to get the attention of this egomaniac, who plastered his name on everything from steaks, to wine, buildings and even a fake “university.”
Perhaps the only good outcome for the US from its 45th president will be when the Trump brand disappears into oblivion.

DYSTOPIAN VIEWS OF NEW PRESIDENT REJECTED AROUND THE WORLD

On his first day in office, President Donald Trump was exposed as a blatant liar as millions of people around the world rejected his dystopian view of “carnage” in America.
It’s a truly encouraging sign that millions of women (and men) braved frigid winter weather to reject to the false world view of the most powerful man in thee world.
And it is equally portentous that the blatant lies he told on his first official day in office were so prominently labeled as such by the most respected news media we have.
Perhaps there is a glimmer of hope after all that we “the people” have finally found our voice.

UNVERIFIED RUSSIAN SEX TAPE, BLACKMAIL CLAIMS UNHINGE PRESIDENT-ELECT
The stunning publication of an almost amateurish “dossier” on Donald Trump’s Russian connections unhinged the president-elect at his first news conference.
Even if only a small portion of the dossier is true, the implications are enormous. The feds are investigating.
The charges have just enough “truthiness,” so that those who want to believe them will be able to. To Trump supporters, it’s the essence of “fake” news.
If the president-elect had dismissed them with a one-sentence brush-off, they might have been relegated to the dustbin of history. His howls of protest, however, have ensured it will get legs and be pursued for every once of its news value.

COULD TRUMP’S EMBRACE OF WIKILEAKS’ FOUNDER PRESAGE A PARDON?
The sudden bromance between Donald Trump and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has heads spinning across the political spectrum.
Assange has become the darling of the right since Wikileaks published emails and documents purloined from Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
Will he be forgiven all his previous sins now that many believe he played at least a minor role in swinging the election to Donald Trump?
Could a pardon be in the cards?

TRUMP WIN PORTENDS DAWN OF A NEW DARK AGE
A pall of darkness has settled over America as the reality of the recent election result sinks in.
From this vantage point it’s like a giant orange storm cloud has blotted out the sky from one horizon to the other, and no, President Obama, the sun will not rise as usual tomorrow.
More than 30 years ago, another Republican, Saint Ronald Reagan, rode to power on the promise that it was “morning in America.” Today, it is mourning in America as we grieve for the loss of hope in a better tomorrow.
Going forward we have much to fear and little to celebrate. This is why it is mourning in America.

SILENCE IN CONGRESS AFTER ORLANDO MASSACRE IS A NATIONAL DISGRACE
There is no reason whatsoever that the deranged misfit in Orlando or anyone like him could have legally purchased the killing machine he used so ruthlessly.
With its stranglehold on the majority in Congress, the National Rifle Association is the most dangerous organization in the country today. It doesn’t have to be this way.
There has been ample opportunity to make it more difficult for anyone who would slaughter innocent victims with weapons of mass carnage like the one used in Orlando.
Congress has been paralyzed by its fear of the gun lobby.
Silent.
It is a national disgrace.

BERNIE SANDERS FOR VICE PRESIDENT!
With presumptive Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton’s place in the history books now assured, her focus must turn to preventing the disaster that would be a Republican victory in the general election.
Clinton has three major items on her to-do list in the six weeks before the Democratic National Convention: unite her party behind her candidacy; pick a running mate; and launch her strongest attack yet on her Republican opponent.
She can forthwith accomplish the first two by quickly picking Bernie Sanders as her vice-presidential running mate. She should waste no time; the choice is obvious.

TRUTH IS THE MAIN CASUALTY IN GOP PRESIDENTIAL RACE

Donald Trump has succeeded in making ignorance a virtue. Those who support him clearly agree.
No one can convincingly predict anything about a Trump presidency; his major selling point is his unpredictability. Apparently this is OK with his supporters, who are oblivious to his frequent self-contradictions, outright lies and bogus claims about all sorts of settled issues.
It seems as if a sizable chunk of American voters has no problem with a presidential candidate who is such a proven liar. If it is OK to lie one’s way into the Oval Office, what possible assurance could we have that the president will tell the truth once there?
None at all

AFTER 100 YEARS, IT’S TIME TO REDRAW THE MAP
As the hundredth anniversary of the French-British-Russian pact that carved up the Middle East approaches, it is time to acknowledge that Sykes-Picot led to the creation of several failed states.
In most of them, partition has become a fact on the ground. The sooner this is politically recognized, the sooner we can find a way out of endless war costing hundreds of thousands of lives and trillions of dollars.
Redrawing the map will take statesmanship not seen in generations and serious goodwill from disparate parties. But it is becoming increasingly obvious that doing nothing is not an option. Realignment of national boundaries might be the best possible outcome.