We are living in the upside down world. The president of the United States, Donald Trump, has just called an op-ed piece by conservative nut senator Tom Cotton “excellent.” The essay has been so widely criticized that this afternoon two top editorial page editors at the New York Times have been ousted.
But Trump thinks “Send in the Military” was great. He wrote:
Opinion Editor at @nytimes just walked out. That’s right, he quit over the excellent Op-Ed penned by our great Senator @TomCottonAR. TRANSPARENCY! The State of Arkansas is very proud of Tom. The New York Times is Fake News!!!”
Cotton, who I think should be in a straitjacket with a ball gag, wrote of the protestors this past week: “One thing above all else will restore order to our streets: an overwhelming show of force to disperse, detain and ultimately deter lawbreakers. But local law enforcement in some cities desperately needs backup, while delusional politicians in other cities refuse to do what’s necessary to uphold the rule of law.”
Cotton, who is 100% polyester, is a sick man. He continued: The pace of looting and disorder may fluctuate from night to night, but it’s past time to support local law enforcement with federal authority.
After a massive protest within and outside the Times, the publisher has decreed that “Stop the Military” didn’t meet the paper’s standards. Op Ed page editor James Bennett was forced to resign for letting the editorial run, and editor James Dao has been reassigned to the hot dog counter at Schnipper’s off the Times lobby.
I do feel bad for those guys. To think a loony tune like Cotton has wrecked their careers.
But much worse is that Trump has backed the editorial. He obviously was aiming for Marshall Law, and wanted the National Guard to move in on Washington DC permanently. He’s erected his nine mile triple fence around the White House — “the people’s house” — in defiance of all American tradition. His level of paranoia is way beyond Nixon’s. And that, back in the early Seventies, was so unacceptable we swore it would never happen again. And yet, here it is.
