It’s been a year that we’ve had to endure Trumpism.  I compiled a collection of some of the observational zingers that I’ve created during that time and posted on Facebook, Twitter and my blog.  See if you have a favorite:

·        Congress scuttles coal mine river debris regulation.  Who doesn’t want barbecue flavored water?

·        Trump advisor Miller says, “It’s not for me to speak what’s in Trump’s mind.”  That’s because it’s empty.

·        Rand Paul says there’s not enough time to investigate Republicans.  Who can argue with that?

·        Trump’s official inauguration poster had a misspelled word.  Did Betsy DeVos write it?

·        Spies withhold info from Trump.  They’re waiting to give it to him at the Mar-A-Lago buffet line.

·        I think the dictionary just added a new entry to the definition of deranged.

·        “Mr. President, can you comment on the rise of anti-Semitic acts in America?”  “Sit down and shut up.”

·        If Trump’s favorability rating keeps tanking, his popularity will soon be roughly equivalent to Lizzie Borden’s.

·        Trump says he’s going to bring the country together.  Only if it’s in the line at the Canadian border.

·        Trump says he has a friend in Paris.  I thought Napoleon was dead.

·        Nixon’s former lawyer sees “echoes of Watergate” in Trump’s first month.  I see echoes of Dr. Strangelove.

·        Trump misspells “hereby” twice on Twitter.  Betsy DeVos immediately called for choice in spelling.

·        Trump thinks Obama wiretapped him.  Actually, it was Putin setting up the direct line.

·        Interior Secretary repeals ban on lead bullets.  We need to do something with the extra lead that will be in our water.

·        Waiting for Trump to tweet that he is no longer tweeting and then tweeting to confirm it.

·        Trump threw his can opener away when Kelleyanne Conway told him it was breathing.

·        George Forman grill accused of leaking Trump’s tax return.

·        Whenever Trump make a ridiculous unsupported claim, I can’t help but think of Gilda Radner saying, “Never mind.”

·        Budget Director says Meals on Wheels not showing results.  Those old, poor people should be running marathons!

·        Spicer claims Britain spied on Trump.  Apparently, the queen keeps a microwave in her purse.

·        Trump didn’t hear Merkel’s request for a handshake.  The voices in his head drowned her out.

·        Trump supporter says he wasn’t lying, just speaking Americanese.  The rest of us know it as bullshit.

·        When you suddenly find yourself nostalgic for Ted Cruz, you know things have turned very dark.

·        Trump approval rating falls again.  Soon it will be lower than Trump U graduates’ success rate.

·        Trump said, “I didn’t know it was so complicated.”  I think he was referring to tying his shoes.

·        Trump proclaims Sexual Assault Awareness Month.  Kind of like Jack the Ripper proclaiming Knife Safety Month.

·        A new plague in the Passover celebration: boils due to lack of health care.

·        Let’s hope Sean Spicer doesn’t start talking about carnival rides at the Holocaust Center.

·        Trump sent missiles to Syria while eating chocolate cake with Xi.  He plans to bomb Mexico over borscht with Putin.

·        Manafort registers as foreign agent, but most good enemy countries were already taken by other Trump advisors.

·        13 health code violations at Mar-A-Lago.  Trump asks if Obamacare still covers food poisoning.

·        White House calls DeVos Sec. of Educatuon.  Pretty much how kids will spell under her leadership.

·        Trump sends armada in wrong direction.  He always gets confused between North Korea and North Dakota.

·        Trump’s 100 day accomplishments:  “I ate the most beautiful piece of chocolate cake you’ve ever seen.”

·        Ivanka got booed in Germany; she got bribed in China.

·        The tax plan apparently was written on a napkin at a Mar-A-Lago dessert extravaganza.

·        Trump said he would meet with Kim but no dinner.  A good thing: food poisoning at Mar-A-Lago could cause World War III.

·        Trump tells CBS, “I don’t stand for anything.”  Well, duh.

·        They may have to reopen Alcatraz for the Trump Presidential Library.

·        We’re going to look back at, “I am not a crook,” with fond nostalgia.

·        Trump will be going to Italy for the G7.  He thinks it’s a bingo game.

·        Trump tweets covfefe, trying to learn Russian for when Putin becomes National Security Advisor.

·        Trump has given ethics waivers to 17 White House advisors.  He’s turning the swamp into the Everglades.

·        U.S., Syria and Nicaragua not in Parris Accord.  Two dictatorships and one democracy.  Nicaragua is the democracy.

·        Sessions says he gets nervous answering questions quickly.  After all, he needs time to make up his lies.

·        Kellyanne Conway says get a job instead of Medicaid.  Nursing home residents may need help with the applications.

·        Trump was unable to find his limo parked in front of him.  Let’s hope that happens with the nuclear codes.

·        Trump’s lawyer says Trump was aware of nothing.  That about says it all.

·        Jared Kushner attended the Russian meeting in hopes of obtaining a personality.

·        Liar, liar pants on fire.  There must be a huge number of flaming trousers at the White House.

·        Ivanka says she supports her LGBTQ friends.  She thinks it means Let’s Get Back to Quotas.

·        Trump wants to be up on Mt. Rushmore.  Let’s put him there – literally and permanently.

·        Every time Anthony Scaramucci speaks, an angel pukes.

·        Stephen Miller is a rare thing.  Jewish Nazis are hard to find.

·        Kellyanne Conway says Trump is planning to be a two-termer.  Obviously, she was referring to jail terms.

·        Trump to skip Kennedy Center Honors.  Anything with honor in it offends him.

·        Trump tweets, “Help America heel.” Apparently, after he resigns, he’s going into the shoe repair business.

·        Trump donates Melania’s stilettos to the Red Cross as a rescue device.

·        Don Jr.’s next story will likely be that he went to the Russian meeting to see if Hillary was adopting Putin.

·        Trump thought Motel 6 calling for ICE is like what he does when he has a margarita at Mar-A-Lago.

·        Trump throws paper towels to hurricane victims.  For the next one, he plans to provide slip and slides.

·        Trump forgot that he was President of the Virgin Islands.  It’s just that he gets so excited when he hears virgin.

·        Every time Trump makes a ludicrous claim, he says he has proof.  Apparently it’s 80 proof.

·        Trump plays golf in Japan.  That’s to avoid the fact that he can’t remember the name of Japan.

·        It is quite telling that Trump was more upset that Kim Jong Un called him old than he was about Kim calling him a lunatic.

·        Reddi Wip and Hebrew National hot dogs pull Hannity ads.  If a beer company follows suit, and viewers boycott them, Alabamans will have no nutrition at all.

·        Shouldn’t the Attorney General of the U.S. be able to remember … anything.

·        Of course Trump supports Moore.  They’re on the same competitive sexual assault team.

·        It turns out that the witch hunt is actually catching a lot of witches.

·        Kellyanne Conway says that Trump has tremendous moral standards, and apparently she has tremendous brain damage.

·        After Trump slurred his words, there is very little left that he hasn’t slurred.

·        Trump doesn’t care anything about Net Neutrality, as long as he can still tweet from the toilet.

·        Mnuchin’s horse manure was just regifting of Trump’s tax bill.

·        Trump suing Bannon for defamation is like Kim Jong Un suing Trump for having a bigger button.

·        Trump said he could beat Oprah ... if only he could learn the words to the National Anthem.

·        So many Republicans have such poor memories, the FDA has approved a new drug called NowIRecall.

·        Analysts indicate that Trump speaks at a fourth grade level.  Come on now let’s not insult fourth graders.

·        Trump played golf on Martin Luther King Day.  He originally had planned to play tennis because he thought it was Billie Jean King Day.

·        Trump recognized a lion on his cognitive test.  Now if only he could recognize that he’s an imbecile.

·        Word has it that the entertainment at Trump’s $50,000 a ticket Mar-A-Lago celebration will be Stormy Daniels, but you have to bring your own copy of Forbes.

·        Trump says he’s a stable genius.  The rest of the horses agree.

·        Now we know that when Trump said, “Only I can fix it,” he was referring to the plumbing at Trump Tower.

·        Melania stayed home from Switzerland.  She paid Trump $130,000 so that she didn’t have to go.

·        Mueller gets Trump to agree to be interviewed by promising him two bags of Big Macs.

·        Melania flew to Florida.  She decided that she would rather spend her anniversary at the insect infested Mar-A-Lago than with Donald.

I'm just finishing a book entitled, "When Paris Went Dark," a history of the city during the German occupation of World War II. The author, Ronald Rosbottom, quotes French President Jacques Chirac, fifty years after the war. Although the context is quite different, I'm afraid similar words about today's America will resonate in the future of this country:

"There are, in the life of a nation, moments that wound its memory as well as the idea that one has of one's country. Nothing must block out the dismal hours of our history if we are to defend a certain idea of humanity, of liberty, and of dignity. In so doing, we struggle against those dark forces that are constantly at work."

Trump played golf on Martin Luther King Day.  He had originally planned to play tennis because he thought it was Billie Jean King day.

There will undoubtedly be numerous protest marches and demonstrations during 2018.  With the current incompetent, illegitimate, racist, corrupt, mendacious, despotic, Russian controlled administration still in place, I intend to participate in at least a few.  For those who think that political protests have little positive consequences, here are a few throughout American history:

·        Boston Tea Party – 1773 – At least 116 Massachusetts colonists participated, resulting in the first Continental Congress to consider a united American resistance to the British, a significant event in the growth of the American Revolution.

·        Women’s Suffrage March – 1913 – 5,000 women paraded in Washington, D.C., during which they were harassed with over 200 people treated for injuries.  Seven years later, the 19^th Amendment to the Constitution was passed, assuring voting rights for all American women.

·        Rabbi’s March – 1943 – 400 rabbis marched in support of Allied and American action to stop the destruction of European Jewry.  President Roosevelt refused to meet with the rabbis but eventually was moved to bring about a change in White House policy towards the Holocaust.

·        March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom – 1963 – 250,000 people hear Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech advocating for civil and economic rights for African Americans.  The march is credited with helping to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

·        Moratorium March to End the War in Viet Nam – 1969 – Over 500,000 demonstrators lead Richard Nixon to state, “Now I understand that there has been, and continues to be, opposition to the war in Vietnam on the campuses and also in the nation.”

·        Women’s Strike for Equality – 1970 – 20,000 marched for equal opportunity in the workplace, political rights for women and social equality in relationships.  Nixon acknowledged the credibility of the movement, and scholars say the strike was a significant spark for second wave feminism

·        National March in Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights – 1979 – 75,000 marched to nationalize the gay movement.  The second march in 1987 was estimated at 750,000.  The 1993 march was estimated at 1 million. Colorado had just passed an amendment prohibiting laws protecting gays and lesbians.  President Clinton spoke, promising increased spending for AIDS research.

·        The Women’s March – 2017 – Crowds of around 500,000 in Washington and up to 5 million across the country, responded to the election of Donald Trump. Over 600 marches took place to advocate legislation and policies regarding human rights, women’s rights, immigration reform, healthcare reform, reproductive rights, the natural environment LGBTQ rights, racial equality, freedom of religion and workers’ rights.

·        The Women’s March – 2018 – 250 events are scheduled worldwide for this coming Saturday, January 20^th.  In Washington, an impeachment march is schedule in conjunction with this event.

If you believe that our country is being destroyed by those currently in power, keep an eye out for the marches and demonstrations occurring in 2018 and show your resistance by participation.

Trump tweets that he’s a stable genius.  The other horses agree.

Not that anybody could truly believe that this administration has any compassion for other human beings or animals nor concern for the environment, but let’s take a look at what they have done in the past year to denigrate, humiliate, isolate, eviscerate, subjugate, irritate, deprecate, alienate, eliminate and nauseate those who aren’t among the very wealthy of this nation: (and sometimes them as well):

·        Record number of 1^st year departures from high level positions in the administration – 34%.

·        Drastically decreased fines nursing homes must pay for breaking regulations on patient care.

·        Considers rescinding safety rules with regard to fracking and off-shore drilling.

·        Fired all of the HIV/AIDS Council.

·        Denied the existence of climate change.

·        Threw paper towels at Puerto Rico hurricane survivors.

·        Repealed net neutrality rules.

·        Failed to renew CHIP, which helps in covering health insurance to 9 million children.

·        Trump clashed with government ethics officer, leading to his resignation.

·        Decided (but maybe not) to reverse ban on importing African elephant trophies.

·        Trump called the post office dumb.

·        Continued multiple attempts to remove health insurance from 24 million people.

·        Trump endorsed an Alabama child molester.

·        Congress and Trump enriched themselves with a huge tax cut for the super-rich.

·        Trump spent 1/3 of the year at Trump-owned properties.

·        Reversed sexual harassment regulations.

·        Trump played golf 92 times since becoming President.

·        Delayed an HUD anti-segregation rule.

·        Trump lied nearly 2000 times.

·        Removed protections for national monuments.

·        Trump called Nazis good people.

·        Allowed schools to use higher standard of evidence for campus sexual assaults.

·        Supported a bill that would allow bosses to defer compensating employees for overtime work.

·        Attempted to roll back science in the Environmental Protection Agency.

·        Trump repeatedly insulted world leaders.

·        Reversed a regulation that restricts coal companies from dumping mining waste into streams.

·        Defunded a special program that provided critical breakthroughs in diabetes research.

·        Reversed rule to ban gun purchases by mentally ill.

·        Decided to stop enforcement of protection for migratory birds.

·        Reversed order banning federal contractors from discriminating based on gender identity.

·        Directed the IRS to ease enforcement banning churches from engaging in political speech.

These are just a few, and I sure didn’t find anything beneficial to me or my family!

It turns out that the witch hunt is actually catching a lot of real witches.

Let’s take a quick perusal through a few on the roster of Trumpist campaign officials, transition members, and administration appointees, to show their extraordinary honesty, competence, accomplishments and longevity (in case you didn’t get it, this is sarcasm).

·        General Michael Flynn – Advisor throughout entire campaign.  Named National Security Advisor.  Nineteen days later he resigned.  Has pled guilty to making false statements to the FBI, a felony.

·        Paul Manafort – Lobbyist serving interests of foreign governments.  Acted as campaign manager for 2 months.  Under indictment for conspiracy, money laundering, failure to register as a foreign agent and making false statements.

·        Rick Gates – Political consultant and business associate of Manafort, handling day to day activities of campaign.  Indicted with Manafort on same charges.

·        George Papadopoulos – Member of campaign’s foreign policy advisory panel. Pled guilty to making false statements to the FBI, a felony.

·        Sean Spicer – White House Press Secretary for 6 months, in which he made many false public statements.

·        Kellyanne Conway – Counselor to the President.  Uses the phrase “alternative facts” to cover lies, apparently violates ethics rules by endorsing Trump products and also violates the Hatch Act by endorsing political candidates.

·        Jared Kushner – the President’s son-in-law and senior advisor.  Failed to report over 100 contacts with foreign governments on his security clearance form, uses private emails for government business, told Michael Flynn to contact Russia and is allegedly currently awaiting indictment.

·        Jeffrey Sessions – Attorney General of the United States – lied about having contact with Russian officials, was forced to recuse himself from the Russia investigation and claimed he remembers nothing about anything.

·        Ivanka Trump – daughter and advisor to the President, advised him to hire Flynn as National Security Advisor and produces most of her fashion line outside of the U.S., which doesn’t do much for America First.

·        Mike Pence – Vice President of the United States, defunded Planned Parenthood in Indiana, stonewalled public records request, used a personal AOL email account to conduct official business which was compromised by hackers, opposes sex education and is a staunch opponent of efforts to expand LGBT rights.  He may or may not have known that Flynn lied to the FBI.

·        Stephen Miller – Senior Policy Advisor, who stopped the public from seeing a report that found that refugees had a net positive effect on government revenues and made false claims that thousands of illegal voters were bused in to New Hampshire.

·        Steve Bannon – White House Chief Strategist, advised Trump to attribute the Charlottesville violence to “many sides.”  Resigned/fired in August, 2017.

·        Sebastian Gorka – Deputy Assistant to the President, whose doctoral degree is in question and is considered widely disdained in his own field, resigned/fired one week after Bannon’s departure.

·        Betsy DeVos – Secretary of Education – In 1997 conceded that her family contributes money to the Republican Party to buy influence, has no experience as an educator, and advocates private schools being allocated funds from the federal government.

·        Anthony Scaramucci – White House Director of Communications, gave expletive-laden interview, launched an online media venture that published a poll for people to vote on how many Jews were killed in the Holocaust, resigned/was fired after 6 days.

·        K. T. McFarland – Deputy National Security Advisor, admitted in an email that Russia had thrown the USA election to Trump, urged Flynn to contact the Russians, resigned/was fired after 3 months.

·        Sarah Huckabee Sanders – White House Press Secretary, purveyor of lies, deceptions, evasions, absurdities, delusions, distractions and photoshopped pies.

·        Others who resigned from their position – Reince Priebus, White House Chief of Staff; Katie Walsh, White House Deputy Chief of Staff, Carl Icahn, Special Advisor to the President; Chris Christie – Chairman of the Opioid Commission; Boris Epshteyn – Assistant Communications Director; Keith Schiller – White House Director of Oval Office Operations, Stephen Shwarzman, Chairman of the Strategic and Policy Forum.

·        Withdrew from nomination for positions – Tom Marino – Drug Czar; Andrew Puzder, Secretary of Labor; Vincent Viola, Army Defense Secretary; James Donovan – Deputy Secretary of the Treasury; George Nesterczuk, Director of the Office of Personnel Management, James Clinger – FDIC Chair; Jamie McCourt – Ambassador to Belgium; Daniel Craig, Deputy Administrator FEMA.

·        *Actually quite laughable* Kathleen Hartnett White – Nominee for Environmental Quality Council Chair, cannot answer even basic questions about climate and science.  If you want a bit of comic relief, watch her struggle on you tube.

·        Rex Tillerson – Secretary of State, on the positive side, he called Trump an effing moron, but he will probably be fired soon.

·        Donald J. Trump- President of the United States – You can conjure up your own comments here.

And then, a few honorable Obama era holdovers:

·        James Comey – Former Director of the FBI, fired by Donald Trump for refusing Trump’s request to go easy on Mike Flynn and to halt the Russia investigation.

·        Sally Yates – Former Deputy Attorney General – fired for refusing to defend an unconstitutional executive order and for warning the Trump Administration about Michael Flynn.

·        Walter Shaub – Former Director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, resigned in July because the White House set a tone from the top that ethics doesn’t matter.

Let the “witch hunt” continue.

The fake Trump twitter fan created by Russia isn’t as worrisome as the real Trump twitter fans.

Donald Trump has shown repeatedly that his goal is to become dictator of the United States.

Here are some of the sinister statements and activities which demonstrate his intentions:

·        Claims that he alone can fix America.

·        Says nobody knows more than he does about debt, taxes, the internet, banking, and the U.S. system of government.

·        Criticizes the legitimacy of judges (even referring to their racial heritage) who oppose his policies.

·        Denigrates the entire U.S. justice system calling it a joke and a laughing stock.

·        Threatens to impose martial law in Chicago.

·        Hides the sources of his income although he promised to provide his tax returns.

·        Fires FBI Director for accelerating the investigation into Trump team’s collusion with Russia.

·        Publicly encourages Russia to interfere with U.S. elections by hacking into opponent’s emails.

·        Wants to change libel laws to punish those who criticize him.

·        Says, “It’s frankly disgusting the press is able to write whatever they want.”

·        Called for his political opponent to be jailed – just as Putin has done.

·        Wants to “close the internet up in some way.”

·        Is frustrated he cannot interfere with the FBI and the Department of Justice in order to target his opponents.

·        Uses the presidency to promote his hotels.

·        Claims legitimate protestors are paid.

·        Has asked for death penalty sentence prior to trial, jeopardizing the prosecution.

·        Attempts to influence the outcome of ongoing investigations.

·        Encouraged violence against his political critics.

·        Delegitimizes the press by calling them “fake news.”

·        Has praised dictatorial despots.

We need to continue to RESIST.