At 81, a refugee from the ruins of Nazi Germany, an immigrant, naturalized US citizen and Marine Corps veteran, long a registered Democrat, I am appalled and deeply troubled by what Fortune magazine has called the "astonishing ability to prevaricate" on the part of the man inaugurated as US President, Donald Trump, who together with his top aides has declared nothing less than war on our media, our free press, and all of us determined to keep an open mind, and to question and defy all that wants to go for truth but is nothing of the sort. As Steve Schmidt, former aide to Senator John McCain, put it, Trump's "cascade of falsehoods" all through the campaign and now in office, is "a direct assault on the very idea of representative democracy." Republicans, democrats, independents and all who are of other persuasions, parties or movements, we must join forces now against the blatant mendacity clamoring and twittering at us in the news from the White House. Is this still the America I came to as a boy soon after the catastrophic end of Hitler's genocidal war, or is it to be George Orwell's 1984?

Gun manufacturers should be civilly liable for the injuries and deaths that result from their products. Product liability should be applied to assault weapons as with any other dangerous product. In 2000, there was a rise in the same kind of lawsuits that hobbled the tobacco industry against gun manufacturers. As a result, gun manufacturers stepped up their lobbying, and in 2005, George W. Bush signed a law that shields gun makers from being sued. The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act is commonly known as the "Gun Protection Act." The law dismissed all current claims against gun manufacturers in both federal and state courts and pre-empted future claims. The law stated: "To prohibit causes of action against manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and importers of firearms or ammunition products, and their trade associations, for the harm caused solely by the criminal or unlawful misuse of firearm products or ammunition products by others when the product functioned as designed and intended." This is the same law that protected gun manfacturers from a lawsuit brought by parents of Sandy Hook shooting victims. Enough. Let them justify their product in court.

CBS's meek apology regarding its airing on "60 Minutes" a politically skewed story about the Benghazi tragedy, a story based on questionable sources, is inadequate. When Dan Rather and Mary Mapes produced a story that aired on CBS regarding George W. Bush and his foibles and preferential treatment with the Texas Air National Guard and one of their sources was alleged to be unreilable, CBS fired Mapes and three others and Rather was forced out. Unlike the current "60 Minutes" Benghazi story, the gist of the Bush/National Guard story was true. This puts the lie to Lara Logan's claim that the only thing 60 Minutes cares about is truth. If Rather, Mapes, et al were taken off the air by CBS for reporting a true story that offended the politically powerful, Logan and the others at "60 Minutes" behind the blatantly political Benghazi story, an unvarnished attempt by powerful corporate media, to distort truth and fool the public to advance their political ends, should, at the very least, suffer the same fate as Rather and Mapes.

Washington Post editorial page editor Fred Hiatt's unconscionable stances are out of step with both his readers and the country. It's time for Post owner Jeff Bezos to let him go.

Please remove all Pictures, Videos, Comments and Any and All mention of Travyon/Zimmerman Halloween Costumes.

Sign our petition to demand that companies like Mars and Nestle stop using child slave labor in their chocolate products!

Help us restore Northwood West Park.

Pearson-iPads and MiSiS messes are distracting LAUSD from providing an education to students. 1. Release the emails and the Inspector General Report for public scrutiny. 2. Seek an external audit to determine what went so terribly wrong and to prevent a repeat. 3. Meanwhile, get back to work providing students with an education and giving teachers and principals what they need to get the job done.

Now that Mueller has indicted people associated with the Trump campaign, I am afraid Trump will fire him before the investigation is finished. Please pass legislation protecting Mueller, so that his investigation can continue free of harassment.

Expand Medicaid for 191,000 poor and disabled Virginians. Expanding Medicaid will help create 30,000 new jobs and save Virginia taxpayers billions of dollars per year.