The author, a Paradise resident, is a former part-time community college instructor and overseas language teacher. Advertisement



Donald Trump is a hoax created by the Russians to wreak havoc on our economy and democracy. Trump isn’t even an American. He was born in Slovenia, in a little town not far from where his third wife, Melania, was born.

Excuse me, but lies have worked for Trump, so I thought I’d take a whack at it. Recall the president’s lies: Climate change is a hoax, 3-5 million votes were illegally cast for Hillary Clinton. Obama wasn’t born in the USA—Trump pushed that gem for five years. He lied about his inauguration crowd size—one lie almost every day since the inauguration!

Trump once attempted the truth to con his followers: “Hedge fund managers are getting away with murder,” he said. Later, Trump nominated hedge fund manager Steve Mnuchin as secretary of the treasury. Mnuchin’s background includes buying a failing bank and foreclosing on thousands of homeowners. He made billions. Mnuchin was sworn into Trump’s Swamp Cabinet.

Trump’s disgraced former national security adviser, Gen. Michael Flynn, enjoys lying. He got caught in a whopper and had to resign. Just before the election, he said Hillary Clinton was involved in “sex crimes with children.” He thinks “citizen journalism is the new future for truth.”

So, today we have tweets by “citizen journalist” President Trump that millions “follow” because the press is “dishonest.” Trump once promised to “open up our libel laws.” News outlets could be sued for “false” or “purposely negative” articles. Trump on Twitter is like “Newspeak” in Orwell’s 1984.

But what if Trump tweets “Kim Jong Un is a fat, impotent (deleted)”? Or maybe he’ll post a ballistic tweet about Iran or China. Could a tweet go nuclear?

We hold these truths to be self-evident. Facts don’t matter. Twitter is news. Fake news is truth. Alternative facts are possible?

If you repeat a lie enough times, does the lie become truth? No, but repetition reinforces prejudices. Like the lies about Muslims and Mexicans being a threat. “Big lies” worked for Hitler against the Poles. One becomes either numb to lies, or brainwashed. Or fights back.

Long live the resistance!