Donald in Wonderland

"Truth isn't truth." -- Rudy Giuliani

   Humpty Dumpty was a lawyer.
   Who else would say, "When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less."
   Likewise, the current president of the United States says one thing and a day or so later denies having said it, that he was misquoted by the "fake news" media, and insists, "I never said that." Which prompts the TV producers to respond with video recordings of the president saying precisely what he denies ever saying.
   Then the video documenting his comment brings more vituperation from the Twitter in Chief.
   Reporters, however, ignore the attacks and continue to list the conflicting comments and  to put them into context with reality.
   This only angers the Chief Twit even more, as reporters refuse to react to the criticism.
   Colleagues at the networks and newspapers who are paid for their comments and opinions, however, do react to the verbal assaults. That's what they get paid for.
   Perhaps it's time the president  became aware that there's a difference between reporting and editorializing. Reporting facts that contradict what a politician claims is not editorializing, but balanced and straight reporting.
   Journalism's duty is to report all sides of an issue, whether the subject of the report likes it or not. Many politicians mislike negative reports of what they say and do -- few people in the public eye enjoy negative publicity.
   But The Donald seems to live in a Wonderland of Snow Jobs, where he expects others to believe everything he says whether it comports to reality or not.
   This is why we see presentations of video clips showing the president saying one thing at a certain time and  place, followed by another clip showing him saying the opposite.
   And when Humpty Dumpty insisted we cannot know what his words mean until he explains what he says, the curious Alice asked "whether you can make words mean so many different things."
   To which the lawyer on the wall said, "the question is, which is to be master -- that's all."
   But before you get egg on your face, Mister Lawyer, remember that words have meanings generally accepted by the public, and to claim that listeners cannot really understand what you say until and unless you explain to them is to insult all those who are proficient with words and language.
   Especially news reporters.