Timely words by Dan Rather on the current developments in the Trump administration:
"These are not normal times. These are extraordinary times. And extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.
When you have a spokesperson for the president of the United States wrap up a lie in the Orwellian phrase "alternative facts”…
When you have a press secretary in his first appearance before the
White House reporters threaten, bully, lie, and then walk out of the
briefing room without the cajones to answer a single question.
When you have a President stand before the stars of the fallen CIA
agents and boast about the size of his crowds (lies) and how great his
authoritarian inaugural speech was….
These are not normal times.
The press has never seen anything like this before. The public has
never seen anything like this before. And the political leaders of both
parties have never seen anything like this before.
What can we
do? We can all step up and say simply and without equivocation. "A lie,
is a lie, is a lie!" And if someone won't say it, those of us who know
that there is such a thing as the truth must do whatever is in our power
to diminish the liar's malignant reach into our society.
There is one group of people who can do a lot - very quickly. And
that is Republicans in Congress. Without their support, Donald Trump's
presidency will falter. So here is what I think everyone in the press
must do. If you are interviewing a Paul Ryan, a Mitch McConnell, or any
other GOP elected official, the first question must be "what will you do
to combat the lying from the White House?" If they dodge and weave,
keep with the follow ups. And if they refuse to give a satisfactory
answer, end the interview.
Facts and the truth are not partisan.
They are the bedrock of our democracy. And you are either with them,
with us, with our Constitution, our history, and the future of our
nation, or you are against it. Everyone must answer that question."
My name is Joan McMillan and this blog is, as Emily Dickinson says, "my letter to the world." I am currently working on a nonfiction book about the murder of a young woman, Asha Veil, born Joanna Dragunowicz, and her unborn daughter, Anina, on September 9, 2006. My book is meant to honor her life and illuminate the need to create a safer world for women and children.
To read an excerpt from the book, please click on the following link:
ashaveilbook.blogspot.com
An excerpt from The Pleasure Palace, my romantic comedy, can be found here: