If you don't laugh, then you'll have to cry at twist, turns of worst U.S. president ever

Cartoonist Dave Granlund zeroes in on the Robert Mueller investigation (of Russian interference in the 2016 election) turning up the heat on President Trump, whose facade of lies and deception is slowly melting away.

Jimmy Margulies, onetime editorial cartoonist at The Record of Woodland Park, calls Trump's flunkies "Birds of a Feather." All have been convicted of lying wildly to cover up the dirty deeds they performed for the president.

Dave Granlund likens the job of White House chief of staff to babysitter.

Cartoonist Steve Sack of the Minneapolis Star Tribune refers to Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, Trump's choice for acting chief of staff, as the bottom of the barrel. That makes sense. Mulvaney is a conservative Republican from the South, having served in the South Carolina General Assembly before being elected to Congress. 

Jobs at the White House are as fleeting as fame. Cartoonist Ed Wexler of PoliticalCartoons.com has Mulvaney referring to himself as "the new temp."

Trump has vowed to shut down the government, if Democrats don't give him $5 billion to build the wall along the Mexican border. Cartoonist Rick McKee of The Augusta Chronicle sees a shutdown as a Christmas gift to Democrats.

-- VICTOR E. SASSON

In only 14 days, our nation of immigrants has absolutely the worst president ever

Cartoonist Chris Britt on then-presidential candidate Donald J. Trump's version of the inscription on the granite pedestal of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free ...."

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

In President Trump's warped mind, every Syrian refugee, even a child, is a potential suicide bomber.

The founders of this nation of immigrants are turning over in their graves only two weeks after the tax-dodging billionaire's inauguration:

Witness his vow to build a wall on the Mexican border, his temporary ban on immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries and his refusal to accept even one Syrian displaced by a lingering civil war.

One protester held up a sign saying France is asking for the return of the Statue of Liberty.

All of these executive orders have me thinking of my immigrant parents, who left Aleppo, Syria, nearly 100 years ago, seeking a better life in America.

Thank God, they didn't face an arbitrary, Trump-like president -- or his right-wing, fascist advisers -- when their ship sailed or when they set foot on Ellis Island.

Of course, the real danger in the United States is from within:

Home-grown terrorists in Orlando, Fla., and San Bernardino, Calif., and fanatic gun-rights advocates with the blood of innocent men, women and schoolchildren on their hands.

Record coverage

What is Editor Richard A. Green of The Record smoking?

Demoting the illegitimate President Trump and his administration to the off-lead story on today's and Thursday's front pages sends absolutely the wrong message to readers of the Woodland Park daily.

The biggest story of Green's career is only two weeks old:

The news media parroted every outrageous claim, every lie and every racist insult from Trump, while dismissing his chances of being elected, and now thanks to Russian meddling and widespread voter apathy we have the worst president ever.

And an electoral system that sides with the candidate who lost the popular vote by nearly 3 million is broken and needs to be replaced.

Adopting after 40?

Today, Green devotes most of the front page to couples who at 40 years old or older decide to adopt children (1A).

Yawn.

Not only that, this will be an ongoing series by Bill Ervolino, the comic-journalist. Can you imagine the possibilities?

• People who after age 40 decide to get married for the first time.
• People who after age 40 buy their first all-electric car.
• People who come out of the closet after age 40, etc., etc.

Rental regulation

On Thursday, the big news was towns moving to regulate and tax short-term rentals, such as those arranged through the Airbnb website. 

I don't sympathize with Susanne Warfield, the smiling woman pictured on Page 1:

She believes she no longer will be able to pay her high real estate taxes or repair or upgrade her home without income from Airbnb guests.

Give me a break. Warfield, who lives in tony Ridgewood, should know real estate taxes are even higher in Hackensack and Englewood, where tax-exempt non-profits shift the burden to homeowners.

Why shouldn't she face regulation and taxes for renting out several rooms to tourists, netting more than $14,000 last year?

Maybe she bought far more than she can afford, and should move to another town.

Both the Airbnb and "Reboot 40" stories belong in Local, which publishes far too much crime and court news in place of municipal news.

The Aldi logo has appeared on the small supermarket under construction on Main Street in Hackensack, near Sears. The German-based company promises low prices, but you will have to bring your own reusable bag or buy one there. The grand opening date for the Hackensack store hasn't been announced.

Local news?

Three former aides of Governor Christie were found guilty in the George Washington Bridge lane closings, but they still haven't been sentenced.

The Bridgegate scandal also derailed Christie's campaign to win the White House and deprived him of a big job in the Trump administration.

And he soon my lose the title of GOP thug to Trump, who has adopted the ban Christie urged on Syrian refugees way back in 2015.

In view of all that, isn't it too soon for Staff Writer Svetlana Shkolnikova to make fun of the scandal in a traffic-light coordination story on 1L today?

"FORT LEE -- Time for less traffic problems in Fort Lee."

That's a play on the infamous email from onetime Christie aide Bridget Anne Kelly that triggered five days of politically motivated gridlock in the borough:

"Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee."