Justice For All

January 6, 2023

By Larry Checco

Tens of thousands of emails and other documents…. More than 1,00 witness interviews….Two hundred documented attempts to try to overturn the 2020 election results.

Let’s face the facts, our criminal justice system has sentenced far more Americans to death row for far lesser crimes and on far, far less evidence than the January 6 select committee has gathered against former president Donald J. Trump and many in his inner circle.

The work of the committee tells a harrowing—and verifiable—tale of how our democracy was nearly toppled by thousands of misguided Americans, many of whom said they were acting on behalf of Donald Trump, adhering to his call to take part in the January 6 assault on our Capitol to stop the certification of legitimate votes.  Trump hyped the event as “will be wild.”  And wild it was, to the extent that five people lost their lives and nearly 150 law enforcement members were injured, many of them seriously.

If this isn’t the definition of a seditious coup attempt then what is?

As for those politicians, and there were several, who tried to frame the assault as a bunch of tourists who got out of control, they should immediately be booted from office—and the rest of us should try to determine what hallucinogenic drugs they are on, and get them off the market.

The select committee is fully cooperating with the Department of Justice and has sent its evidence, along with criminal referrals for the DOJ to potentially prosecute. These referrals carry no legal weight, but as Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus writes: “…it is enormously consequential that a congressional panel has, for the first time, concluded that a former president should be subject to a criminal investigation and prosecution.”  It sends the message that no one is above the law, not even presidents.

For those who argue that indicting a former president for crimes against the government he or she has sworn to defend is unprecedented and a step too far, it can be argued that Trump and his entire presidency was as unprecedented as they come. From top to bottom, it lacked any sense of normalcy.  New precedent needs to be set in place, and the DOJ needs to set it.  Justice needs to be served.

If the DOJ fails to indict, it will affirm once and for all that our justice system is truly bifurcated; one set of rules for the wealthy and well-connected, and another set for the rest of us. This, at a time, when our judicial system—including the U.S. Supreme Court—is already held in contempt by many Americans who want to believe we are a nation of laws.

Justice in this country is supposed to be blind.  Lately it’s acted deaf and dumb, as well.

We need to begin to salvage respect for our institutions.  Holding people accountable—including a former president—for their well-documented seditious activities would be a good place to start.

Copyright 2023 by Larry Checco – All Rights Reserved

Too Big to Jail?

by Larry Checco

Here’s a radical thought.

If, at the very least, the US Department of Justice does not pursue criminal charges against former president Donald Trump and many of his most culpable cronies, then it would appear we’re headed toward codifying a new political norm in this country:  Too big to jail.
A recent glaring example of this notion of too big to jail took hold in our country during the Great Recession of the aughts when millions of Americans lost everything—their homes, their life savings, health, some even their lives—due to the egregious malfeasance of many of our largest financial institutions.

Back then too big to fail morphed into too big to jail.  Yes, multi-million dollar—even billion dollar—fines were paid by some of these institutions, but no one was ultimately held accountable and sent to prison.  

And it just may happen again.

Fact is our justice system has sentenced folks to life in prison—or worse yet, sent them to death row—based on far less evidence than this committee has accumulated against Trump and his allies.  Yet with this mob the DOJ and others seem to be splitting hairs when it comes to indict or not indict.

Do they need more evidence?  Just play back the tapes.  These folks indict themselves every time they open their mouths.

“We have lots of theories.  We just don’t have the evidence.”  Rudy Giuliani

“Big protest in D.C. on January 6.   Be there.  Will be wild.”  Donald Trump

“All hell is going to break lose tomorrow.”  Steve Bannon.

They told us what they were going to do—and they did it!  And they continue to make threats.  What other evidence do we need?

If no one is held accountable for what was obviously an insurrection against the United States of America and its Constitution, then we are headed towards lawlessness. 

We might as well let out of prison all those who have been charged and found guilty of far lesser charges because our laws will become laughable.

For those who argue that indicting Trump and his cronies would only serve to further divide our nation, many of us say it’s time we take a stand.  Enough is enough.

If no one is held accountable for insurrection, this January 6-type behavior will happen again and again until we won’t have to worry if our nation is divided or not.  We won’t have a civilized nation to worry about.

Ironic as it may sound, let’s take note of what one of the January 6^th rioters said in his testimony to the committee.

When asked by a committee member to reflect on what he had learned from January 6, Stephen Ayres, a cabinet maker from Ohio, who in June pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly and disruptive conduct, told the committee, “The biggest thing for me is take the blinders off, make sure you step back and see what’s going on before it’s too late.”

Fact is it’s later than it’s ever been before.

Contents Copyright (c) 2022 by Larry Checco – All Rights Reserved

We’ve Been Pureed!

by Larry Checco – December 2021

For many of us, malaise doesn’t begin to describe it.  The tension and sense of urgency is palpable.  Like salt water on your lips at the seashore, you can taste it.

I’m referring to the anxiety many Americans feel about the future of our democracy. 

Regardless of your beliefs or where on the political spectrum you stand, our democracy is in danger of collapsing, perhaps violently so.  

And has anyone given clear thought to what it means should it fail?  What comes after democracy?  Chaos?  Anarchy?  Tyranny?

In a recent essay, neoconservative columnist Robert Kagan makes the case that we’re already in a constitutional crisis that’s about to get worse.

“The United States is heading into its greatest political and constitutional crisis since the Civil War, with a reasonable chance over the next three to four years of incidents of mass violence, a breakdown of federal authority, and the division of the country into warring red and blue enclaves,” according to Kagan.

Kagan paints a bleak picture.

Fact is our system of government is largely built on norms, meaning we traditionally expect our elected officials to act reasonably, respectfully, intelligently and within the boundaries of our laws. 

But all that gentlemanly—and gentlewomanly—behavior has of late been cast to the four winds.

In short, our democracy is being worn down like a river stone, gradually but surely.  This erosion has been going on for decades, but is now coming to a head.

You know we’re in trouble when….

Insurrectionists can ransack our Capitol—resulting in several deaths—and threaten violence against our elected officials, and yet be considered “patriots” by millions of our fellow citizens….

A former U.S. President, as well as the leadership and the overwhelming majority of a major political party—namely Republican—can support and reward the heinous and dangerous words and actions of its members, including death threats to their own colleagues…

High-profile individuals can snub the law and evade Congressional subpoenas with an element of impunity…

Ordinary citizens can get away with being self-designated vigilantes and carry military-style weapons openly in our streets and government state houses–and murder fellow citizens….

A significant number of Americans—namely one-quarter of white evangelical Protestants and nearly three in 10 Republicans—believe “[t]rue American patriots may have to resort to violence if that’s what it takes to save the country”, according to a 2021 American Values Survey…. 

And on and on it goes.

Once, in a galaxy far, far away, one feasible answer would have been to take our grievances to the polls and vote in representatives who would take these flagrant anti-government acts seriously.

But before that can happen, we need to address some fundamental issues.

For example, we have a gerrymandering system that makes political races less competitive and less responsive to a wider constituency; an electoral college that gives the minority power beyond its numbers; legislation promoting voter suppression; basically unlimited and nontransparent campaign financing laws; filibustering used as a tool for obstruction rather than debate; a Supreme Court that has become increasingly partisan.

The list goes on to include the degradation of truth in media, the incivility of our politicians, the blithe acceptance of untruths by the electorate and more.

We’re beyond fractured.  We’ve been pureed into a toxic, soupy blend of dangerous, cynical, ineffectual political morass.

Unchartered waters doesn’t begin to describe where we are as a nation.

As conservative Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson recently wrote of our nation’s plight: “Catastrophe is in the front room.  The weather forecast includes the apocalypse.” Then what?

Let’s condemn the rhetorical and physical violence against our democracy and hold anyone — from former presidents to current officials to any American who threatens our Republic to the fullest extent of the law.

At the very least, we need to restore faith in our government and institutions, that they will govern fairly and provide stability to our nation. The alternative is lawlessness and chaos.

Contents Copyright (c) 2021 – All Rights Served

“I Waive My Rights to Covid-related Healthcare”

by Larry Checco

We’re at the point in this pandemic where all those who can receive a coronavirus vaccine, but have chosen not to, should be made to waive all their rights to covid-related health care should they contract the virus.

It may sound Draconian, but the reasons are many.

Not only are anti-vaxxers proving themselves to be petri dishes for this nasty virus, where the virus can replicate and mutate, aiding in the spread of the virus and making it more difficult to treat.  They are taking up beds from those who require hospitalization for medical conditions other than the coronavirus. 

More important, they are putting the lives of untold healthcare professionals and their families at risk.  

These professionals have toiled heroically and selflessly these past 18 months, and risked their lives to save others, often working under extreme pressure and horrible working conditions. 

As of May of this year, more than 3,600 doctors, nurses and hospital staff have died due to Covid-19, according to The Guardian and Kaiser Health News, and countless others continue to risk their lives to save others. 

Many of these deaths were preventable had the rest of us taken better precautions against the coronavirus.  

The Hippocratic oath, which dates back to ancient Greece, asks a lot from healthcare professionals, everything from treating the sick to the best of their ability, to being respectful of patient privacy, as well as teaching future generations on how best to treat patients, and more.

However, nowhere in the Hippocratic oath does it say that healthcare workers should sacrifice their own lives in their efforts to treat others.  

In Arkansas, for example, nurses are walking off the job, sometimes in the middle of their shifts, because they are frustrated and tired, according to Cam Patterson, chancellor of University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

“I’ve had moments where I’ve sat in my car and cried before I came to work,” Takela Gardner, a registered nurse at a UAMS facility in Little Rock, told CNN. “I’ve…literally just sat there and cried because I didn’t know what I was coming into.”

Scenes like this are happening in hospitals across the country.  There’s no reason doctors and nurses should continue to risk their lives for those who seemingly care little for preserving their own good health, as well as that of their family and friends. 

Politicians like Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas and Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida—both Republicans whose states have some of the highest incidences of covid—can talk all they want about personal freedoms versus government mandates. 

Freedom, however, doesn’t mean you can do anything you damned well please. Personal freedoms end where the welfare of the common good is at risk.

In short, freedom cannot exist without responsible behavior, or else we’d all live in total chaos.

So, if you’re among those who refuse to be vaccinated, or wear a mask when appropriate, or maintain safe distancing when among others, please do the responsible thing and waive all your rights to covid-related healthcare.

The rest of us would greatly appreciate this selfless, simple act of kindness so we can get on with our lives.

Contents Copyright (c) 2021 by Larry Checco – All Rights Reserved

One Step Closer to Comprehensive National Service

May 26, 2021 by Larry Checco

A comprehensive National Service program is inching closer to becoming a reality.

Recently, within the context of his infrastructure and jobs bill, President Joseph Biden proposed a $10 billion investment in a new national service program—the Civilian Climate Corps.

“This $10 billion investment will put a new, diverse generation of Americans to work conserving our public lands and waters, bolstering community resilience, and advancing environmental justice through a new Civilian Climate Corps (CCC), all while placing good-paying union jobs within reach for more Americans,” according to a White House fact sheet.

Fact is, over the last year or so several bipartisan bills have been introduced to Congress, all offering somewhat different versions of what a well-thought out, well-funded national service program can do for our youth, economy and environment.

For example, last year, in a bipartisan effort, Senators Chris Coons (D-DE), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and other Democratic Senate colleagues, along with Republican colleague Tom Cole (R-OK) and other Democratic House members, introduced the Pandemic Response and Opportunity Through National Service Act.  The act would expand national service programs from 75,000 to 750,000 AmeriCorps opportunities per year, over a 3-year period.

It would also prioritize funding for activities directly related to response and recovery, such as public health services, emergency logistics, workforce and reemployment services, education support (including for adult learners), as well as services that combat nutrition insecurity.

Last fall Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), introduced to Congress the RENEW Conservation Corps Act, which focuses on young people, many of whom are struggling to find education and work opportunities.

Durbin’s bill provides anyone 16 years or older at least two weeks of training for positions lasting a minimum of twelve weeks, but no longer than one year.

All participants would receive at least $15 an hour, with some wages determined based on work performed.  In addition, those participating in the program who complete a full year of work would be eligible to receive up to $5,500 credit for post-secondary education. 

And earlier this year Democratic Rep. Joe Neguse of Colorado and Democratic Sens. Chris Coons of Delaware and Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico lawmakers introduced the 21^st Century Conservation Corps Act, which would similarly create a $9 billion jobs program focusing on activities like planting trees, constructing trails, controlling invasive species, restoring wetlands and building parks.

All of the bills are modeled to a greater or lesser degree after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps – which employed, educated, and trained three million young men during the years of the Great Depression.

Moreover, after two-and-a-half years of intensive research the National Commission on Military, National and Public Service has provided an excellent blueprint for how to expand all forms of service.

The Commission’s recommendations offer a comprehensive blueprint to service for Americans, beginning with military service; civic education and service learning, starting in kindergarten; national service opportunities so accessible and incentivized that service becomes a rite of passage for millions of young adults; and new and revitalized service options for adults of any age, background, or experience.

The Commission’s chair, Joseph Heck, said that the Commission envisions a nation in which service is a “common expectation and experience of all Americans”—where national service is the norm, rather than the exception.

Polls show that 4-out-of-5 Americans enthusiastically support national service, and an analysis of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), such as City Year, Youth Build, among others, shows a benefit of $3.9 for every dollar invested in these programs.

The challenge is to cultivate this culture of service among our citizenry.  More importantly it will require encouraging Congress to invest in the American people—as well as the security of the nation—by taking action on these national service proposals. 

A genuine bipartisan opportunity lies before us to strengthen public service and engage citizens in the improvement of their communities, nation—and themselves. Let’s not let it get away from us.

Contents Copyright ©2021 by Larry Checco

All Reasonable People, Unite!

By Larry Checco

Here’s a simple test to find out whether you’re reasonable or not.

Did you believe Donald Trump’s ultra-right-winged erstwhile lawyer Sidney Powell when she alleged again and again on conservative media outlets—and in no uncertain terms—that the 2020 election was fraudulently conducted and stolen from Donald Trump?

Well, if you did believe her, you’re an unreasonable person. (Come on now, be honest, you know who you are.)

How do we know this?

Ms. Powell tells us so herself.

In a recent court filing, Ms. Powell’s attorneys claim that “reasonable people” would not have believed her assertions about election fraud.

That’s right.  According to her attorneys, “Plaintiffs themselves characterize the statements at issue as ‘wild accusations’ and ‘outlandish claims.’” 

In short, you had to be a fool to believe what she was so fervently asserting; that the election was stolen from Trump.  According to her lawyers, she was just positing her opinions.

The lawyers went on to say that “They [Ms. Powell’s accusations] are repeatedly labelled ‘inherently improbable’ and even ‘impossible’…and that reasonable people would not accept such statements as fact but view them only as claims that await testing by the courts through the adversary process.”

If I were the judge hearing this case, I’d laugh Ms. Powell (herself an attorney), and her ostensibly licensed lawyers right out of the courtroom and into holding pens until they can be tried for malpractice, malfeasance and malicious duping of the public.

What hurts more than people like this perpetrating and promoting the Big Lie, a lie that played a huge part in instigating the January 6 assault on our Capitol that killed several people, is the fact that they think we all believe their lies and misdirecting BS.

In short, they take us for fools.

The question that perplexes me most, however, is:  How—and why—do we allow these folks to somehow percolate to the top of our society.  How do we allow them to get into positions of power and influence in the first place.

They don’t just pop up out of nowhere.

Shouldn’t we devise some kind of tightly woven safety net that would filter these types out as soon as they expose themselves for who they really are, which often comes early in their careers. 

Donald Trump comes to mind as a perfect example of someone who told us exactly who he was long before he made his grand political entrance down that gilded escalator.

So for those of us who didn’t fall for the Big Lie.  Who consider ourselves “reasonable people”, not fools; who want thoughtful, skilled, compassionate and truthful leaders.  Let’s unite and work at the local level to make that happen.

We can only blame ourselves for the government we get.  We should want better.

Oh, yeah, one last thought.  People, the likes of Ms. Powell, and there are many, only reveal their contrition when they are caught.

 A $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems helped bring Ms. Powell to Jesus.  Dominion claims that Powell knew her election fraud accusations were false and hurtful to the company’s reputation and bottom line.

Justice?  Let’s hope so.

Contents Copyright © 2021 by Larry Checco – All Rights Reserved

Dear Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, et al

by Larry Checco

Some people live and learn; others just live.

Although we are at opposite ends of the political spectrum, for your sake and for the sake of our nation, I hope you are among those who ‘live and learn’.

The lesson you should have learned regarding your assault on the nation’s Capitol may be hard for you to swallow. Nevertheless, it is true. You were used and abused—and taken advantage of.  Some of you even lost your lives. 

Donald Trump may have taken $3.5 million dollars out of his campaign coffers—certainly not from out of his own pocket—to help get you to DC.  But he hasn’t invested one red cent in protecting your views—or your liberty—in the aftermath of January 6. 

Trump’s impeachment trial is over.  He’s getting off Scott free to live his luxurious life in Mar-a- Lago among his rich and influential friends. 

You?

While Trump is playing golf, some of you may end up going to jail. 

I watched and heard nearly every word uttered during the impeachment trial.  Not once did I hear any of Trump’s lawyers offer a single word in your defense. Unlike the former president, they didn’t identify you as “peaceful protesters”, nor as “great patriots”.  Au contraire.  

Instead, to save their client’s butt, they painted you as “rioters”, “extremists”, and “violent criminals…who hijacked the event [March on the Capitol] for your own purposes”.  According to one Trump defense attorney, you “deserve to be imprisoned for as long as the law allows.” 

Trump may have said that “I stand with the heroes of law and order”, apparently referring to you.

Still, one of his staunchest allies, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) was more than happy to throw you under the bus. “It was a horrific criminal attack [on the Capitol] carried out by violent criminals,” Cruz commented to reporters in Trump’s defense.

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) piled on by adding that your efforts amounted to nothing more than “a failed insurrection”.  Strong words. Yet I heard nothing in defense of your “patriotic” actions, neither from Trump nor from anyone in his camp.    

During the trial, in an effort to relieve Trump of all responsibility for what took place on January 6, his lawyers repeatedly made the point that the attack on the Capitol building was pre-planned. 

Ha!

They didn’t even give you credit for your organizing and recruitment skills, instead calling you a “small group” who marched down Pennsylvania Avenue — when in actuality you numbered in the tens of thousands, including grandmothers carrying Trump flags.

As far as we know, Donald Trump has yet to apologize to his own vice president, Mike Pence, for placing Pence and his family’s lives in dire jeopardy. Yet, for the past four years, Pence has been Trump’s most loyal supporter.    

Do you really think, then, that the former president gives a whit about your lives and your futures?

Hell, no. 

In his final moments as president, on January 20, Trump issued a deluge of more than 140 last-minute pardons and commutations before boarding Air Force One. 

I don’t recall seeing your names on that list.  Perhaps you are not as well connected in Washington as you thought you were.  Didn’t you once consider Donald Trump your “savior”? 

I’m still not sure what you would have accomplished if you had “successfully” taken over our government that fateful day.  What were your plans for January 7?

The fact is that unless we are sitting on the top of the heap in this country, we all feel left out and left behind. 

Still, we need better ways than anger and violence to address those issues we feel hinder us from achieving our dreams of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

This may sound a bit snarky, but if you’re planning more disruptions to our government, I respectfully suggest you first spend some time in a failed state, such as Afghanistan, or Russia, for that matter. Then come back and tell us what life is like on the other side of democracy. 

Preview in new tab

Contents (c) Copyright 2021 by Larry Checco – All Rights Reserved

A Country He Wouldn’t Recognize

By Larry Checco

My father was a forward observer in the South Pacific during WWII, ranging beyond the front lines to help determine what the other side was up to. 

He was awarded a Bronze Star for scaling a palisade under heavy enemy fire, with a radio on his back, during the battle for Manila.

He never talked much about his military service, except for some of his more humorous experiences. 

Like the time he spent a month or so in the jungle with a group of Philippine guerillas.  When he was leaving to return to his Army unit, the leader of the guerilla group presented him with a horse, a white horse, no less, as a gift. 

My father used to laugh like hell when he told that story.  “What was I going to do with a horse?”  he’d bellow.

He died two days before his 94^th birthday.  But were he alive today I don’t think he’d be laughing.

Our country is at war again.  This time the enemy isn’t wearing camouflage in some far-off jungle.  This time the enemy is right out in the open, in our communities—and now in our congress.

In short, we’re at war with ourselves, and at stake is nothing less than our very democracy and way of life.

If this war were confined to the normal back and forth, push and shove debates common to cultural war issues related to taxes, Roe v Wade, the influence of religion in the public square and such, that would be one thing. 

But this war has pushed the boundaries of civil debate off the rails and into the dangerous and often uncontrollable realm of physical violence, as witnessed by the deadly assault on our Capitol on January 6.

When a president can incite a deadly riot; when a freshman Congresswoman—whether prior to being elected to office or not—can suggest that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) could be quickly removed “by a bullet to the head”, or that federal law enforcement agents hostile to then-president Donald Trump should be executed, a blinding red line has been crossed.

To add insult to injury, as long as  she and others like her remain under government employ, our tax dollars are supporting this seditious behavior while keeping them in a position to fundraise hundreds of thousands of more dollars—millions in the case of our former president—to take our government down. 

WTF!  

After last month’s assault on Congress, more than 2 million firearms were purchased. 

A survey conducted last summer by the National Shooting Sports Foundation found that roughly 40 percent—or 8.4 million—of the guns purchased in 2020 were by first-time buyers, and that 40 percent of the purchasers were women.

We’ve reached a dangerous tipping point.  Once, shunned, angry, anti-government, anti-Semite, white supremacist militia groups were considered “fringe elements”.  Though still a minority, through persistence and the help of social media technology—not to mention people in high places—they have now become mainstream players. 

They have no interest in governing.  They know from naught about political norms or decorum.  And they hold no desire to help our nation become a more perfect union.

Instead, they are like dogs chasing after a car.  They say they are aggrieved for being “left behind”, but have no remedy to resolve their grievances other than anger and violence.

By some miracle had they successfully taken over the Capitol, seized our lawmakers and their staffs, and were able to set up shop—whatever that might have looked like—what then?  Complete anarchy?  A failed state?  Blood in the streets?  A return to the Wild West, where every dispute is settled in the manner of the OK Corral?    

My father’s heart would have broken to see what is happening to the America he and so many millions of others fought so hard to preserve. 

Had he been offered that white horse today, he just might have accepted it—and ridden out of Dodge.

The Return of Quaint

by Larry Checco

The Return of Quaint

Quaint.  I’m desperately waiting for the return of quaint.

Quaint, as in being able to take a walk in the neighborhood without having to wear a mask or avoid otherwise friendly but maskless neighbors by crossing to the opposite side of the street.

Quaint, as in being able to hug loved ones rather than exchange affection-intended but awkward  fist or elbow bumps.

Quaint, as in spontaneously being able to call a friend and say let’s go out for a cup of coffee and shoot the breeze.

Quaint, as in feeling safe planning trips, staying in hotels and patronizing restaurants again.

You get the idea.

If my father were still alive, however, he’d say I was griping with a loaf of bread under each arm, an old comparative Great Depression-era saying, meaning things could be worse.  And he’d be right.

Despite all the hardships this pandemic has caused so many, my family remains lucky.  We’re healthy.  Our pantry is full.  We have ample resources.  We’re plugged into our friends and relatives via phone or Zoom.  And we try to help others when and where we can.  In short, when all important things are considered, life is good.  

 But life is also passing.

More than in any other time of my life, as a septuagenarian I can see the sand sifting through the hourglass, an hourglass that in my youth I thought would constantly replenish itself.

Wrong!

To mix metaphors, life isn’t like a soccer game. There’s no time added at the end of the game for personal injuries or substitutions.  When our time on planet Earth has ended, no one says “Ah, gee whizz, you missed 2020.  So sorry.  To make up for it, we’re going to add another year to your life.”

To mix metaphors even further, when there’s no more sand in the hourglass the game is over.   

But if you’re a Boomer who feels like me, there’s still a lot of living to do—places to go, people to meet, experiences to be enjoyed.

So let’s get back to quaint before it’s too late.  Let’s get this damned pandemic over with as soon as possible. 

That means we all need to mask up, keep safe distances, avoid crowds—and get vaccinated.

Taking these precautions isn’t about politics, losing one’s freedom to choose, or being macho.  It’s about life and death.  

And, keep in mind, the life you save may be your own—or someone you love. What a quaint notion.

Contents Copyright © 2021 by Larry Checco – All Rights Reserved

—

And All the While We’ve Been This Guy’s Meal Ticket

By Larry Checco

For the past four years, through our hard-earned tax dollars, we’ve been DJT’s—I refuse to call him president—meal ticket.

While one out of every five kids in this country goes to bed hungry, we’ve fed this self-described billionaire and his family…sumptuously.

We’ve spent untold millions of our dollars protecting him and his clan 24/7, even when they’re off to play golf or go on safari in Africa.

Trump and his wife live in one of the best-known addresses in the world — 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue — and are waited on hand and foot by staff numbering in the hundreds.

All paid for by our taxpayer dollars.

He is saluted by members of our Armed Forces, as though he were deserving of such a distinguished form of respect after calling those who serve in the military fools and losers.  In full disclosure, my oldest son proudly serves as a sergeant in the United States Marine Corps Reserves.   

DJT and his orbit are shuttled around the country and world in the safest and most luxurious forms of transportation known to humankind, namely Marine One and Air Force One.

In short, we’ve allowed Trump and his family to live like exalted pashas—on our dime!

And what do we get in return?  A delusional, incompetent, power hungry, petulant, lying miscreant as our commander-in-chief who encourages a coup on our democracy because he has so little ego he cannot accept he lost a free and fair election.

Just prior to instructing a mob of his supporters to march down Pennsylvania Avenue and descend enraged on our nation’s Capitol, they were egged on by Dumbo Don, Jr. who led the chant “Fight for Trump” while telling those on Capitol Hill “we’re coming for you.”

Once revered and now brain-dead Rudy Giuliani fueled the flames by telling the crowd it’s time for “trial by combat.”

And after the mob had done their bidding, creating havoc on our Capitol grounds and building—where one woman was shot to death and many others injured—and after disrupting our democratic process, Trump told them: “We love you.  You are very special…you are great patriots.”

Really?  On what planet?

This could have been foreseen months ago—nay, given what he has always shown himself to be, namely a self-centered, narcissistic, masochistic, angry maniac—years ago.

Am I upset?… Angry?  Mad? Apoplectic? 

You’d need to create an entirely new lexicon to describe what I’m feeling right now.  My hands are still shaking and I’m still rheumy eyed over the events that have taken place in DC this week—and to our democracy.

It’s way past time we usher this man, his family and his ilk, including every politician and toad that performed for him—including, among countless others, the Mitch McConnells, Ted Cruzes, Sean Hannitys and Tucker Carlsons of our times—out of office, out of Washington and out of our lives. 

Unless it is served in prison, they don’t deserve another meal or privilege at taxpayers’ expense.  In fact, we should demand a refund.

Contents Copyright 2021© by Larry Checco – All Rights Reserved

January 8, 2021