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| Cartoonist Monte Wolverton, editor of The Plain Truth magazine, calling for "some real gun control laws" after the slaughter at a Florida school. |
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| Cartoonist Daryl Cagle illustrating the close relationship between congressional Republicans and the National Rifle Association. |
REPORTERS HAVE NO OBLIGATION
TO SPREAD ALL THAT DECEPTION
-- HACKENSACK, N.J.
Editor's note: Today, New York Times Op-Ed Columnist David Leonhardt said, "There is no longer any doubt President Trump is failing to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, as he solemnly swore to do."
By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR
The surest sign of a brewing constitutional crisis were the surprisingly frank words from President Trump's own lawyers.
They fear that if Trump is interviewed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller in the wide-ranging Russia probe, the president could be charged with lying to investigators.
That effectively conceded that Trump -- as a businessman, candidate and now as president -- lies all the time about everything under the sun.
Yet, reporters are knocking themselves out trying to capture, print and broadcast every false, deceitful and deceiving word.
I mean, if you can't trust the president, who can you trust?
On Friday, Mueller filed criminal charges against Russian nationals and businesses for what he called a wide-ranging effort to undermine the 2016 presidential election while supporting the campaigns of Trump and Bernie Sanders, and attacking Hillary Clinton.
Kaboom!
Prosecutors said that Facebook and Instagram were "the most frequently used tools for Russian operations that sought to sow discard," The New York Times reported.
No "collusion," Trump insists time and again. But I'll bet there was a conspiracy among the Russians and Trump campaign aides, and Mueller will find it.
School shooting
And last week, Trump shed crocodile tears over the murders at a Florida high school, visited parents and wounded students in a hospital and then left for his golf resort.
Not a single reporter asked the president how he could allow the cold-blooded murder of students in their school by a gunman with an assault rifle.
Trump didn't even order more federal funds for school security and less for militarizing the police, who inevitably arrive after all the killing is over.
Race relations
Thanks to Trump the white supremacist, race relations in the United States are at their lowest point since the Civil War.
So, why is The Record of Woodland Park, my local daily newspaper, making such a big deal over "Black Panther," a Hollywood superhero film aimed at African-Americans?
Appraisals of the film appeared on Thursday's front page and all over Friday's Better Living section. What a joke.
Hackensack news
Let's hope a federal judge throws out the $3.18 million suit filed by former Hackensack Deputy Police Chief Frank Zisa (The Record's Local front on Saturday).
His lawyer, who is suing to obtain a retroactive salary increase for Frank Zisa's pension, claims Mayor John Labrosse "has a vendetta against the Zisa family."
Of course, the same can be said for the thousands of voters who elected Labrosse and his slate of reformers in May 2013 and again in May 2017, and told the Zisa-backed candidates to go to hell.
In other Hackensack news, The Record reported the city fired five police officers who were involved in a warrantless search in 2016.
Three others retired before a disciplinary hearing or the investigation.
In preparation for returning Main Street to two-way traffic, the city will remove 9 bus stops on that street and shift them to State Street.
There was no word on whether the city will begin clearing bus stops after snowstorms.
'Toxic Secrets'
The Record's investigative series on DuPont pollution under 400 homes in Pompton Lakes certainly is worthy of praise.
But I'm sure readers, especially those in the small Passaic County community, wonder why the paper waited until now to document how DuPont fought against testing and "feared action in court" (Sunday's 1A and special section, 13A-20A).
The plume of toxic chemicals "has lurked ... beneath homes in the shadow of a now-shuttered munitions plant" for decades [italics added], the paper says (13A).
Bad headlines
Puzzling, bad or incorrect headlines have become the rule since the Gannett Co. took over The Record, and laid off hundreds of employees, including copy editors.
On Sunday, the headline over the DuPont investigation on Page 1 declares:
I can't imagine what that means, and I wrote headlines for The Record for about 18 years.
On Tuesday's front page, the banner headline said:
"Runner" was an apparent reference to the private company that "runs" the New Jersey lottery.
The story -- labeled a Record investigation -- was worth reading:
Northstar New Jersey will be paid more, even though sales and revenue are falling.
But I wonder if some readers ignored it because of that stupid headline.
The surest sign of a brewing constitutional crisis were the surprisingly frank words from President Trump's own lawyers.
They fear that if Trump is interviewed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller in the wide-ranging Russia probe, the president could be charged with lying to investigators.
That effectively conceded that Trump -- as a businessman, candidate and now as president -- lies all the time about everything under the sun.
Yet, reporters are knocking themselves out trying to capture, print and broadcast every false, deceitful and deceiving word.
I mean, if you can't trust the president, who can you trust?
On Friday, Mueller filed criminal charges against Russian nationals and businesses for what he called a wide-ranging effort to undermine the 2016 presidential election while supporting the campaigns of Trump and Bernie Sanders, and attacking Hillary Clinton.
Kaboom!
Prosecutors said that Facebook and Instagram were "the most frequently used tools for Russian operations that sought to sow discard," The New York Times reported.
No "collusion," Trump insists time and again. But I'll bet there was a conspiracy among the Russians and Trump campaign aides, and Mueller will find it.
School shooting
And last week, Trump shed crocodile tears over the murders at a Florida high school, visited parents and wounded students in a hospital and then left for his golf resort.
Not a single reporter asked the president how he could allow the cold-blooded murder of students in their school by a gunman with an assault rifle.
Trump didn't even order more federal funds for school security and less for militarizing the police, who inevitably arrive after all the killing is over.
 |
| From the The Political Resistance Against Donald Trump on Facebook. |
Race relations
Thanks to Trump the white supremacist, race relations in the United States are at their lowest point since the Civil War.
So, why is The Record of Woodland Park, my local daily newspaper, making such a big deal over "Black Panther," a Hollywood superhero film aimed at African-Americans?
Appraisals of the film appeared on Thursday's front page and all over Friday's Better Living section. What a joke.
Hackensack news
Let's hope a federal judge throws out the $3.18 million suit filed by former Hackensack Deputy Police Chief Frank Zisa (The Record's Local front on Saturday).
His lawyer, who is suing to obtain a retroactive salary increase for Frank Zisa's pension, claims Mayor John Labrosse "has a vendetta against the Zisa family."
Of course, the same can be said for the thousands of voters who elected Labrosse and his slate of reformers in May 2013 and again in May 2017, and told the Zisa-backed candidates to go to hell.
In other Hackensack news, The Record reported the city fired five police officers who were involved in a warrantless search in 2016.
Three others retired before a disciplinary hearing or the investigation.
In preparation for returning Main Street to two-way traffic, the city will remove 9 bus stops on that street and shift them to State Street.
There was no word on whether the city will begin clearing bus stops after snowstorms.
'Toxic Secrets'
The Record's investigative series on DuPont pollution under 400 homes in Pompton Lakes certainly is worthy of praise.
But I'm sure readers, especially those in the small Passaic County community, wonder why the paper waited until now to document how DuPont fought against testing and "feared action in court" (Sunday's 1A and special section, 13A-20A).
The plume of toxic chemicals "has lurked ... beneath homes in the shadow of a now-shuttered munitions plant" for decades [italics added], the paper says (13A).
Bad headlines
Puzzling, bad or incorrect headlines have become the rule since the Gannett Co. took over The Record, and laid off hundreds of employees, including copy editors.
On Sunday, the headline over the DuPont investigation on Page 1 declares:
"POLLUTION
EVASION
FEAR"
I can't imagine what that means, and I wrote headlines for The Record for about 18 years.
On Tuesday's front page, the banner headline said:
"BIG WIN FOR LOTTERY RUNNER"
"Runner" was an apparent reference to the private company that "runs" the New Jersey lottery.
The story -- labeled a Record investigation -- was worth reading:
Northstar New Jersey will be paid more, even though sales and revenue are falling.
But I wonder if some readers ignored it because of that stupid headline.
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