Press On!

1/27/2017

From our political correspondent, Dorothy “Lottie” Dawe:

Yikes! Week One of the Trump administration can only be described as a “clusterTrump” – or perhaps more of a clusterTrump inside a Trumpster fire in the midst of a clusterTrump. In quick recap, there were alternative facts, discussions of torture, concern over grizzly bears at schools, a clampdown on our National Parks, concealment of climate change data, tantrums over a silly (but VERY expensive) wall (which Americans will pay for), churlish quarrels with Mexico, threats against our cities, blather – and then flip-flops – about punitive tariffs, rants about important issues like the size of the “crowd” at the inauguration, outbursts about fictional voter fraud, and more. Oh – and Melania sold jewelry on the White House website.

To top it all off, the GOP and the administration crowned Kellyanne Conway’s brazen declaration of their reliance on alternative facts with deliberate public efforts to discredit and suppress the press. First, Congressman Lamar Smith croaked, “Better to get your news directly from the president. In fact, it might be the only way to get the unvarnished truth” (we can only assume that Mr. Smith used air-quotes when he uttered the word “truth”). Then, white supremacist and chief Trump strategist Steve Bannon told The New York Times that news outlets were “the opposition party,” and he snapped that “the media should be embarrassed and humiliated and keep its mouth shut.”

Wow.

Emily Dickson once said, “Truth is so rare that it is delightful to tell it.” She must be rolling over in her grave. Truth will most certainly be rare with this administration, and now more than ever we will have to rely on our mainstream journalists to have the courage, determination, and doggedness to uncover the truth from these proud peddlers of false facts.

Pictured below left to right: Emily Dickinson; white supremacist now working inside the White House, Steve Bannon; Representative Lamar Smith and his Boo. Click the images to enlarge.

Of course, such deceitfulness and fraudulence is not new to politics. Back in the late-1800s Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson’s third cousin, twice removed – at her request) wrote many-a-poem about the very loose handling of the truth by Fredreich Drümpf, a distant relative of Trump’s (we’ve posted past plog posts about Drümpf HERE and HERE).

When Drümpf ran for governor of Ohio, he tried to pull off a shameless political stunt with a pre-election day speech and parade. He gave a cheerless speech to a small crowd of confused passers-by about the “misery and carnage” associated with life in Ohio, and that was followed by a lackluster parade of farmers on mules. The next day in the Chagrin Valley Times, he tried to pass it off as having had “the largest audience to ever witness a parade in Ohio or around the globe. Period.”

Emmett Lee Dickinson wrote his now-classic poem, "Inconceivably solemn" (below on the left), about Drümpf's ridiculous charade. Dickinson's poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen a poem with the same opening line (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

Inconceivably solemn!
Things so dark
Told – by the very Press
Of Liberty –

The sparse Parade – observed by the eye
With a mute Pomp –
And fading Pageantry –

Flags, oft a brave sight –
Were even Eyed
Dull as they went by –
Steadily –

Musings were rampant –
To our fine Ear
Wincing at despair’s
Dark atmosphere –

By Emily Dickinson:

Inconceivably solemn!
Things go gay
Pierce – by the very Press
Of Imagery –

Their far Parades – order on the eye
With a mute Pomp –
A pleading Pageantry –

Flags, are a brave sight –
But no true Eye
Ever went by One –
Steadily –

Music's triumphant –
But the fine Ear
Winces with delight
Are Drums too near –

OBAMA, 2009: