I won’t summarize this story for you.

‘Up Is Down’: Trump’s Unreality Show Echoes His Business Past – The New York Times
https://apple.news/AJdjqug_SQMOEWu6v8InxcA

I urge you to read it.

Categories Lies

18 Comments Post your own or leave a trackback: Trackback URL

Laura H. Chapman says:

January 29, 2017 at 3:19 pm

Trump is proving to be a pathologiacal liar, a serious threat to the safety and security of US, and to the architecture of our Constitution as the basis for government.

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Lloyd Lofthouse says:

January 29, 2017 at 3:21 pm

I wonder how long the New York Times will continue to report the news based on facts before Littlefingers Donald Trump and his fascist, white supremacist regime, crushes it, shuts it down, or takes it over.

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- Ellen Lubic says:
  
  January 29, 2017 at 4:07 pm
  
  It is all horrific, but well known info for some time. Yes, Lloyd, if he had the cash to purchase the Times I guess he would try to take it over. But the essence of the problem is their quote here.
  
  “Mr. Trump’s election alone is evidence he did not pay a high price for his plethora of false claims on the campaign trail. Nor are there many signs that his loyal base of supporters is troubled by the misstatements he has made in the first week of his presidency.”
  
  What has happened in America that there is no penalty for these dangerous lies?
  
  I am fearful that Jared Kushner has finally been displaced permanently by the most bigoted and frightening to democracy of Trump’s insiders, Steve Bannon, who seems now fully in charge of our government. So, there is no one to calm the crazed Prez left in this mix. He is surrounded by jackals who feed him their poisonous input and he then acts out and exaggerates his successes.
  
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  - Joel Herman (@jwherman11) says:
    
    January 29, 2017 at 5:39 pm
    
    http://www.dw.com/en/germany-recalls-rallies-that-helped-bring-down-berlin-wall/a-4776699
    
    When the demonstrations get big enough and start disrupting the economy .He will be dealt with in rapid order. Let us not lose sight of who the real puppet masters are here. The demonstrations already have him walking back his immigration statements. At some point continued mass resistance will become so disruptive so as to force action on impeachment. At some point Republican office holders will have to make a choice America or the party.
    
    On the issues the Republican party is a marginal minority party built on smoke and mirrors. Built on demagoguery and fear there is nothing new with Trump. The majority did not vote for him. Those that did not vote outnumber those that voted for him. Many of those that supported him will early on discover that they become the victims not the beneficiaries of his lunacy. From those that lose their government subsidized healthcare to construction workers both union and non union who lose the wage safety net of Davis Bacon. All those non Union workers who receive 2 to 3 times their wage on Federal work. To the coming assaults on Social Security and Medicare the buyers remorse will become overwhelming.
    
    Democracy Spring may finally be beginning.
  - GregB says:
    
    January 29, 2017 at 9:14 pm
    
    I heard from two European friends that they will not be visiting the U.S. on their family vacations this year as planned. I’ve asked them to consider sending letters to the local newspapers of the cities they planned to visit.
    
    Let’s hope this eats into tourism.
    
    I’m going to see if I can inspire some European colleagues to boycott their annual meeting in the U.S. this year. Perhaps they can inspire their 10,000 colleagues who attend to do the same.
- dienne77 says:
  
  January 29, 2017 at 6:31 pm
  
  It would be nice if they started basing their news on facts. Remember, the NYT and Judith Miller brought us the Iraq War. They’ve also been taken in by some of the fake stories that WaPo has lately, like the one about the Russians supposedly hacking into the Vermont power supply (completely untrue). They should clean their own house first.
  
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  - Joel Herman (@jwherman11) says:
    
    January 29, 2017 at 7:10 pm
    
    One does not need the NYTimes to pass judgement on Trump and those that surround him They are fascists plain and simple .
  - NYC public school parent says:
    
    January 30, 2017 at 3:23 am
    
    The NY Times was also taken in on the fake “Hillary Clinton did something illegal” stories. And on the fake “Ken Starr’s multi-year Whitewater investigation will unearth illegal activity” stories.
    
    And what do you mean by “some of the fake stories” in the Washington Post? The ONE story you listed was corrected by the Post itself.
    
    If the Washington Post had been Donald Trump, the Post would have insisted that the Russian hacking of the Vermont utility was the absolute truth. They would still be saying it and insisting that they had proof that they absolutely promise to show us at some later date.
    
    I don’t know why you would try to play the “false equivalency” game with an administration that not only lies, but then doubles down on its’ lies in an effort to gaslight the American people into believing that it is us who are losing our marbles, and there is no reality except what Trump and his minions tell us is real.
    
    I don’t know why you are trying to pretend that a news organization that gets something wrong and corrects itself is anything like Donald Trump and the outrageous lies he and his people spout. I don’t know why you would attack the news organization in a way that seems modeled after something Kellyanne Conway might say.
    
    It’s almost as if you need to legitimize Trump to make up for the months and months of insisting he was no worse than any other politician and certainly no worse than the corrupt Hillary Clinton.
    
    He is worse. He is much worse. And denying it because you don’t want to admit you made a mistake is just plain wrong. Frankly, it reminds me of Trump. There is no shame in being wrong. The shame is in not admitting it.
Akademos says:

January 29, 2017 at 3:30 pm

Election by deceit
Rule by conceit
Downfall by derision and disobedience

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Akademos says:

January 29, 2017 at 3:46 pm

“Amateur Hour at the White House”

https://www.google.com/amp/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/38791752?client=safari

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Steve K says:

January 29, 2017 at 4:54 pm

I don’t like Trump. But I don’t think he’s lying. He has a twisted worldview and believes he is telling the truth. It isn’t manipulation but rather insanity. He takes what people believe is true and wildly exaggerates. It’s impossible to argue against because there’s no reality. But it’s so tough to counter it because beliefs can’t be disproved. It’s more like a demented religion than anything else.

He’s George Costanzo. It isn’t a lie if he believes it.

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- Akademos says:
  
  January 29, 2017 at 5:17 pm
  
  Yes, not a strategy, a psychosis.
  
  And the press and protests surely get under that vainglorious skin!
  
  Give him press and dissidence on steroids! He may yet succumb to the consequences of his insanity and convert himself into a human being. He was and is, deep down, just a child.
  
  Reply
  - Joel Herman (@jwherman11) says:
    
    January 29, 2017 at 7:13 pm
    
    Or he may suffer a complete breakdown and go catatonic. Making it impossible for them to roll him out in front of the press or a crowd.
- Akademos says:
  
  January 29, 2017 at 5:27 pm
  
  But, you know, once he gets caught in a falsehood and then knowingly reiterates it, which he does, he is lying. Within his psychosis it is like denial. He denies yet knows or accepts on some level that what he has said is at least regarded as fallacy.
  
  Reply
Gordon Wilder says:

January 29, 2017 at 5:12 pm

For me the most worrisome thing about this is as was noted, his followers believe in him, NO MATTER WHAT.
I fear the country will never be the same again. Sides have been chosen.
I thought that I had posted this that I had put on facebook but cannot find where I did. Forgive me if this is a double entry.
Perhaps no one will care. Few if any did on my facebook page.
………………………………………………..
A nation divided against itself cannot stand.
“The Divided States of America”.
We disregard this at our peril. So let me try to expound on my recent thoughts a bit. Maybe it will make some sense to at least some of you.
Do we choose to live together in peace and harmony or tear ourselves apart in divisiveness? Do we see others as fellow human beings likewise created by God or as just members of some religion, ethnicity etc and thus we can denigrate, demonize “those people” who are different from us? “Those people” are less than us, WE are superior beings. Those who wish to divide and conquer await our answer.
Who are we, what do we stand for as individuals or as a nation? Some have suggested that this is a Christian nation. If so the bible they read must be different from mine. Do we really believe that love is stronger than hate? That he who takes up the sword shall perish … That we should do unto others…? That we should chase out the money changers and not worship the golden calf – monetary gain? That we should first seek the kingdom of righteousness? That we are our brother’s keeper? That we care for the poor, the helpless etc? [ Oxfam says that the top 1% will soon have as much money as the rest of us put together. Important?] That the despised “Samaritan” – Muslim, ethnic group etc – is our neighbor to be treated with respect? Those knowing the bible better than I could list much more.
When Rumi the great mystic Sufi poet died his funeral was attended by people from every religious persuasion and ethnicity. Would that that would be true of us all.
I was told when teaching high school choir I did too much religious music, caught a great deal of flack because of that. Yet when my former students got together they on their own sought to relive that candlelight procession we did in Monbeck auditorium. Many have told me what a great experience the “Christmas” concert was for them, some bursting into tears. Some remembered great Jewish music we did in other concerts. I have said that when we put aside our own belief systems and seek out the best, the BEST in that which other belief systems have and join together to create beauty we ourselves are enriched by these by becoming for at least a few moments deeply involved in these other cultures. That is why we “travel”. That is MY belief.
When we indulge in negative aspects, anger, hatred et al we ourselves are harmed physically and emotionally. That happens as a nation also.
In contrast when we, individually and as a nation project love and compassion it is my strong belief that USUALLY those kinds of things are projected back to us. When we project fear and hostility those aspects too are projected back and conditions are exacerbated that are deeply harmful – to everyone. This does NOT mean we should not be on our guard, protect ourselves against all who would harm us, domestic or foreign. But how many people are killed by guns in the U. S. every day by our own citizens vs how many have been killed by foreign “terrorists” in the last several years?
We spend as much on our military as the next 7 countries combined including Russia and China. We are asked to pay more. We have enough nuclear armaments to decimate every man, woman and child in the world many times over. We are asked to add more to the trillion dollars already allocated to update them and then build even more.
Meanwhile about 20% or our children live in poverty. Our nation cannot afford health care for all as does every other industrialized nation which provides better care for a fraction of our cost. Our infrastructure crumbles. Ad nauseum. Priorities?
```
On my recent posting as well as past postings people immediately ASSUMED that what was put on the page was antithetical to their views and arguments were made which had nothing to do with what was posted.  Do we really listen to what others say?  
It is disheartening.  I seriously doubt if many, likely no one, ever looked up the things I posted.  On the continuum we all follow in search of ultimate truth, wisdom, they already knew, had made up their minds as to where they were on that continuum and that further exploration of a possible enrichment of thought was not possible. 
In the past two people I consider very good friends and myself were having coffee together.  They had completely different political views.  Something was said and I interjected a view and one friend said to be careful.  I said why.  Good friends should be able to discuss differences amicably.  If we did so perhaps both of us could learn something.  This is the kind of thing I am advocating.  Of course we have disparate views.  We put our faith in what we believe is true in different places.  Some believe the bible contains all truth, some the Koran, some only in science. Etc.  Perhaps in all are some basic truths which in at least a limited parameter of understanding are truths.  Those believing in the flat earth society, utilizing Euclidean geometry; it works for the person utilizing limited space.  For the astronaut it is disastrous.  Enlarging perspectives is, I believe, imperative in the search for truth and wisdom.  Knowledge without the wisdom to use it can be catastrophic.  
Yes, I do have definite views but have made it a point to try to find intelligent discourse on the several sides of political discourse.  I believe I have written more letters to President Obama objecting to some of his policies than all my very conservative friends put together.
Thus my fears for the division which enfolds our country now.  We can or should be able to disagree without being disagreeable.
In all honesty I find, from my viewpoint, that there is a humongous danger when any person promotes him/her self as the possessor of all knowledge, who knows more than than the experts, that disputes the findings of scholarly research, who utilizes “alternative facts” and is the only person who can “save” us.  This is especially intolerable to me when that person tries to suppress any ideas that are antithetical to his/her own and/or makes up their own “facts”.
This may or may not be of interest to anyone nor satisfy you but as I said I will continue to try to educate as long as I am able.  Many will disagree with me.  That is fine.  As I told Colleen I am glad that people have the courage to differ with me and  to expound on their beliefs.  What I ask is that be very careful.  There are many “wolves in sheep's clothing” who are very clever.  Democracy when once lost is very difficult to get back.  I for one do not wish to live in a police state no matter who is president.
So, where do we go from here?  What do we choose as the best path to follow?  Do we love our neighbors as ourselves?  Do we spread the hand of friendship to others,  nations and individuals and as Pope Francis wished build bridges or do we build walls separating us from “those people”.
Do we admire and follow those who spread dissension, fear etc?  Are we a beacon of light for human values or do, should we practice what we preach?
There is so much more and others say it much better than I but my concern is deep and real.  I shall continue to do my best to create an enrichment of ideas.
```
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- Duane E Swacker says:
  
  January 29, 2017 at 6:14 pm
  
  Gordon,
  Have you read any of Comte-Sponville’s works?
  
  Reply
JB2 says:

January 29, 2017 at 7:51 pm

Far too many strawmen….

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Susan Lee Schwartz says:

January 29, 2017 at 9:23 pm

Read it an posted it at Oped,before I saw your post. Here are the crucial points.

1- ” Mr. Trump’s cascade of falsehoods was “a direct assault on the very idea of representative democracy” in the United States.”

2- “In a democratic government, there must be truth in order to hold elected officials accountable to their sovereign, which is the people,” Mr. Schmidt said. “All authoritarian societies are built on a foundation of lies and alternative facts, and what is true is what the leader believes, or what is best for the state.”

3- “As a businessman, Donald J. Trump was a serial fabulist whose biggest-best boasts about everything he touched routinely crumbled under the slightest scrutiny. As a candidate, Mr. Trump was a magical realist who made fantastical claims punctuated by his favorite verbal tic: “Believe me.”Yet even jaded connoisseurs of Oval Office dissembling were astonished over the last week by the torrent of bogus claims that gushed from President Trump during his first days in office.”

4- “We’ve never seen anything this bizarre in our lifetimes, where up is down and down is up and everything is in question and nothing is real!”

5- “Deception, dissembling, exaggeration — what Fortune magazine called his “astonishing ability to prevaricate” — has deep roots in Mr. Trump’s business career. In project after project, he faced allegations of broken promises, deceit or outright fraud, from Trump University students who said they had been defrauded, to Trump condominium buyers who said they had been fleeced, to small-time contractors who said Mr. Trump had fabricated complaints about their work to avoid paying them.In innumerable interviews over the years, Mr. Trump glibly inflated everything from the size of his speaking fees to the cost of his golf club memberships to the number of units he had sold in new Trump buildings.”

and Finally AND MOST IMPORTANT

6- “It is one thing when the hyperbole comes from a reality TV star exaggerating his ratings to a roomful of television critics. The stakes are infinitely higher when it comes from the leader of the free world, and this reality is provoking alarm from many across the political spectrum.
In a democratic government, THERE MUST BE TRUTH in order to hold elected officials accountable to their sovereign, which is the people,! All authoritarian societies are built on a foundation of lies and alternative facts, and what is true is what the leader believes, or what is best for the state.”

You betcha!

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