Trump lies about issues both big and small

Trump lies about issues both big and small

Most people are taught a couple of basic rules in life: The first is that your word is your bond: thou shalt not lie. The second is to be careful who your friends are, as they are a reflection of you.

I was in D.C. on Jan. 20 and walked to the mall soon after the inauguration ended. Admittedly, there were lots of people, but the audience dissipated fairly quickly and it didn't seem that crowded.

By contrast, the next day, women, men and families were packed for blocks on end on several major streets. The protest was not just about women's issues; people were also marching for civil rights, climate change, foreign policy concerns, healthcare access, etc. It was a very courteous crowd and later I heard there were no arrests, despite the estimate that more than 500,000 people were in attendance. In addition, the D.C. Metro reported that they had the second busiest day in history; the busiest day was Barack Obama's 2009 inauguration.

It was obvious to anyone who was there or who looked at the aerial photographs that Donald Trump's assertion of record-breaking crowds at his inauguration is a lie. Besides, who cares, except for him? The problem is, not only does he lie about the little things, but also the big things, such as, if elected, he would release his tax returns, place his holdings in a blind trust, drain the swamp, and protect Medicare and Social Security. And let's not forget his latest claim that he won the popular vote because 3 million to 5 million immigrants voted illegally for Hillary. This lie (debunked even by his own lawyers and party) is extremely dangerous as it is a tactic to enact more voter suppression laws, which disproportionally affect the poor and minorities.

Or does Donald Trump believe what he wants to believe (regardless of the truth -- his "alternate facts") and is seriously delusional?

Which gets me to my second point: Dear Republican representatives, you either have a pathological liar or a deranged man as your leader. Why are you enabling him? While I am not crazy about Mike Pence, I do believe that he can separate fact from fiction and he would be less likely to destroy the economy, climate or planet for monetary gain or his own grandiose vision of himself.

Come 2018, we won't forget. For those who continue to support Trump, you no longer have Obama to blame. It is all on you.

Mary Hatfield Lowe

Fayetteville

Replace Ten Commandments with simpler monument

Note to the Arkansas legislators planning a religious-specific monument on the Capitol grounds just because you can: I challenge you to replace it with the Golden Rule, a simple but powerful idea that has universal applicability for everyone and all religions.

I know they won't do that because they might be expected to abide by it, but they don't need Ten Commandments if they just follow one Golden Rule.

Mike Cooper

Fayetteville

Commentary on 02/02/2017

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