As a child, I was taught that lying is wrong. Of course, many of my elders have invalidated what they said by their actions. However, truth-telling was central during my formative stages. No matter that the former adults in my life have suddenly reneged on everything moral and holy: I remain convinced that duplicity is bad: bad for relationships, bad for organizations, and certainly, bad when you are the president of the United States.

Donald Trump lies incessantly. The Washington Post, one of a host of newspapers that the president includes in his pantheon of “fake news” in a universe framed by obfuscation, compiled this list of “whoppers” told by the president as of the first of June. Anyone with a hold on reality knows that the number has certainly grown substantially over the past seven months.

The lying president.

Last night, I missed his address, which was another opportunity for the president to spread more misinformation about his so-called wall. It’s a shame that the networks allow him to get away with what is the equivalent of Cold War era propaganda. They did go to new lengths to mitigate what they knew would be “political theater.”

I heard this on Rick Biskit Roth’s “If 6 Was 9” show on WMBR. It seems fitting this morning as I climb out of bed and wonder what new falsehoods the media will be commenting on, based upon Mr. Trump’s performance and promotion of his “national emergency” on the southern border. Democrats like Nancy Pelosi accurately framed Mr. Trump’s position in my opinion when she said, he “needs to stop holding the American people hostage, must stop manufacturing a crisis and must reopen the government.” A truly skilled dealmaker, something Trump has touted as a tool in what he incessantly characterizes as a “massive” toolkit wouldn’t continue insisting that re-opening government remain contingent on something as contentious and politically incendiary as building a wall that is more symbolism than anything else. Real people are feeling real pain as a result of his “my way or the highway” demands.

Lonnie Holley speaks of waking from a nightmare in “I Woke Up in a Fucked-Up America.I know how it feels wanting to wake-up from my ongoing nightmare of the past two years, only to have the pain and hopelessness compounded by the Orange Menace.

Here’s more on Holley, a fascinating artist who at 68, doesn’t seem to be allowing age to diminish or silence his art and the recognition that art (and poetry) have things to tell us about the state of America at the moment.

Welcome to another day in the kakistocracy.