Millions March, Trump, the CIA and Himself

Women’s March: Never before has there been such a display of opposition to an American president on his first day in office.

Millions of people marched yesterday in Washington, New York, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, London, Paris and cities around the world in defense of women’s rights just one day after the inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States.

About half a million women, many wearing pink knit caps, and men, gathered in Washington in a demonstration larger than the Trump inauguration crowd. In Chicago, the crowd grew so large and so quickly that the actual march was cancelled. They marched anyway. In Los Angeles, the procession stretched for half a mile.

The marches were sparked by the election of Donald Trump, whose record of leering disrespect for women outraged millions. The marchers also came out to defend federal funding for Planned Parenthood and President Obama’s healthcare reform.

In Washington marchers chanted, “We want a leader, not a creepy tweeter,” “Welcome to your first day, we will not go away!” In Miami a woman carried a sign that said, “Repeal and Replace Trump.”

Speakers from actress Scarlett Johansen, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and film maker Michael Moore called for action. In Boston, Warren riled the crowd declaring, “We come here to stand shoulder to shoulder to make clear: We are here! We will not be silent! We will not play dead! We will fight for what we believe in!”

Feminist icon Gloria Steinem, 82, exulted in Washington, “This is the upside of the downside. This is an outpouring of democracy like I’ve never seen in my very long life.”

Pompous and Circumstance: In a peacemaking visit to CIA headquarters yesterday, President Trump veered off into a rambling speech about winning the military vote, “political games” over the confirmation of his CIA director, his campaign crowds, winning in general, and the “dishonest media.” He said the media made up his feud with the CIA over Russian election hacking, although they had only quoted what he said.

Even as president, Trump seeks adulation. He stood in front of the hallowed wall bearing 117 stars for CIA officers killed in the line of duty and claimed that 1.5 million people attended his inauguration, inflating the actual figure by a factor of five or six.

To great applause in the room he said, “As you know I have a running war with the media. They are among the most dishonest human beings on earth.” He complained about the press description of the modest size of his inaugural crowd. “We caught them in a beauty and I think they’re going to pay a big price.”

In a press briefing later, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer berated the press and claimed that Trump’s inaugural audience was the largest ever. He must have gone to Trump University.

Clean Slate: The climate change web page on the Obama White House website was removed almost immediately when Donald Trump took the oath. Also gone are the pages devoted generally to civil rights; the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, as well as people with disabilities.

World: Sixteen people died in Italy in the fiery crash of a bus carrying Hungarian students home from a ski trip. The bus swerved right, then left, before hitting a highway barrier and bursting into flames. One student found an emergency hammer to break out a window, helping 39 passengers escape, many with serious injuries.

Gridiron: The final playoff games later today will determine which NFL teams go to the Super Bowl. Green Bay plays Atlanta in the afternoon, and this evening it’s New England vs. Pittsburgh.

Speech, Speech!: As President Trump seems unlikely to give up his scattershot and improv style of speech, NY Times columnist Frank Bruni criticizes his inaugural address saying, “Mostly it was a flat speech, bereft of the poetry that this tense juncture called for. He used pared-down language, simple sentences and a sluggish delivery, as if he were reading to children. Call it the ‘Goodnight Moon’ of Inaugural Addresses.”

In an essay also in the Times titled “How to listen to Donald Trump Every Day for Years,” Columbia University English Prof. John McWhorter says that Trump’s style is merely a reflection of what has become the informality of American habits, including dress, sex, and speech. “The false starts, jumpy inserts and repetition — speech as montage — are all typical of casual speech as opposed to written language. The endless emphasis (‘Believe me,’ ‘big league’) is as well. All humans festoon their talk tic-style with assurances of sincerity such as ‘really’ and ‘totally.’”

McWhorter writes, “The issue is talking versus ‘speaking,’ a more crucial distinction than we have reason to think about until someone as linguistically unpolished as President Trump brings talking into an arena usually reserved for at least an attempt at speaking.”

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Friday, March 29, 2024

Page Two

The Most Corrupt Justice

Monday, October 2, 2023

Democracy and Video in the Dark

Sunday, February 26, 2023

Page Two: Do the Right Thing

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

Page Two: Sound Recall

Monday, September 13, 2021

Page Two: Cuomo Must Go

Friday, August 13, 2021

Trump and the Truth

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

The “Great” President

Monday, March 30, 2020

The Wright Stuff

Saturday, February 29, 2020

It's Been Said

"In my mind, I’ve never crossed the line with anyone, but I didn’t realize the extent to which the line has been redrawn. There are generational and cultural shifts that I just didn’t fully appreciate, and I should have, no excuses."

-Andrew Cuomo, resigning as governor of New York after accusations of sexual harassment

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