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2019
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Jim Austin:
Ex-Vermonter at Large
Jim Austin
Jim Austin
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is a freelance writer from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

His previous columns are archived HERE.

Posted 2.11.17

JIM AUSTIN

Trumpwatch 2017: The Nightmare Continues

CAPE BRETON, NS | Don't like Trump? Think he's an unmitigated douchebag? There's a support group for that. It's called "Almost Everybody." I'll try to keep up with the atrocities unleashed by this administration but it's like trying to take cover from a cluster bomb. So many lies, so many unethical shenanigans in so little time.

One of the most concerning situations is the unhealthy and frankly frightening relationship with Russia and its crime boss, Vladimir Putin. In a recent interview with Bill O'Reilly of Fox News Trump excused Putin's murderous thuggery by saying that America had killers,too: "do you think we're perfect?" he said. Put this together with the latest astounding fact.

National Security Advisor Michael Flynn engaged in talks with the Russian ambassador BEFORE Trump's inauguration about lifting sanctions on Russia imposed by us in response to their invasion of Ukraine. He then lied about it. Subsequently, when asked about this, Trump did the Labrador retriever head cocked to the side and said "duh what are you talking about?" Looks like Flynn either kept the President out of the loop or the President is lying. My money is on the latter.

I suspect that this egregious act will be swept under the carpet as the administration is trying to do with the Russian hacking scandal which affected the 2016 election. Finally, CNN reports that the dossier compiled by a British spy has been corroborated to the extent that the conversations it contains are true. If you will recall, this dossier created the first claim of "fake news" bruited by Trump. We're a little closer to verifying the bizarre behaviour of our weirdo-in-chief.

The truth is what Trump says it is.

The very first day of his presidency had he and his press secretary Spicer claim that his inauguration crowd was the "largest in history." It wasn't even close. He followed this by claiming that up to 5 million immigrants voted illegally for Hillary. They didn’t.

Afterwards Kellyanne "Conjob" Conway went on Meet The Press and characterized Spicer's barrage of lies as "Alternative Facts." Wouldn't George Orwell love that term?

The frightening part of these two lies are the irrelevance of them. Who cares that he is such a narcissist that he must have won the popular vote, too. Or that he wants us to believe in his fantasy crowd size at his inauguration. What about the lies that really matter? The lies in the previous paragraph are alarming. And when will he send out a corrupt seal team to make sure his lies have relevance? This scenario is not even improbable to me.

Villa Italian Kitchen, a national chain, recently introduced an "alternative facts" pizza topped with bacon, pepperoni, ham, sausage, and double cheese that will have "zero calories."

The despicable Senate Republicans have used their superior numbers to make sure that the cavalcade of billionaires and ill-suited clowns have been confirmed to their respective cabinet posts. Betsy DeVos bought her post as Education secretary by ponying up some major dough to all the GOP senators who voted for her. She is as qualified to be Secretary of Education as Chris Christie is to be an astronaut.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions was confirmed despite a history of racism and homophobia. Ben Carson appears qualified to be head of Housing and Urban Development because he once lived in subsidized housing. That's like making someone Surgeon General because he had his tonsils out.

Rick Perry is touted as Energy Secretary. This was the department that Perry sought to abolish in his 2011 run for presidential candidate. Only he couldn't remember its name and substituted "oops." Some of these appointments must be just a poke in the eye of the Democrats. Great way to run a country.

Despite all of the above victories, Trump was unable to intimidate the judiciary who denied him the ability to institute his "Muslim ban." A federal judge in Seattle halted the hastily trotted out ban and when challenged in the Ninth circuit, the 3-judge panel confirmed his ruling. Trump, of course, can't abide losing so stay tuned for the next slimy executive order. 4 years OMG.

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