Capitol Punishment: Fear and loathing in DC

“I’m 18 With a Bullet…

…Got my finger on the trigger and I’m gonna pull it.”

Those old song lyrics came immediately to mind after the chaos in Washington when rioters stormed the US Capitol last week. No, they weren’t protesters any more than looters are protesters. This was rioting.

And not only did Capitol Police fail to quell the violence and ransacking, but the DC cops did a vanishing act, despite the fact that a murder was involved. A murder committed by one of Donald Trump’s “sweet” renegades.

If the Orange Menace hasn’t embarrassed his country enough, he actually found a way to further disgrace himself with his dog whistle tactics that directed his moronic followers to attack Congress on the day members were to vote on approving the states’ election results.

The one thing it did prove conclusively is that this narcissistic pathological liar is totally unfit for office, to the point where his remaining in the Presidency until January 20 presents a danger to the country. (P&J went to press prior to seeing what would take place in Congress toward removing him and taking away his access to the nuclear codes on January 11.) And in a move designed to show that The Donald indeed has no shame, he announced he would give the inauguration ceremonies a miss, a childish stunt that should surprise no one. But it did give Joe Biden the chance to get off a good one-liner about how he and Trump shared the same view for a change.

As sick as P&J felt the day after the 2016 election, this overall travesty may have topped it because it was tangible, rather than simply a dread about the way Trump would infect the Oval Office. He sure didn’t fail to live up to those fears. Where he goes next is uncertain — unless he wants to dodge spit outside the Trump Tower in New York or adhere to his previously signed agreement not to reside in his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach more than 21 days a year. It will be interesting to see where he ends up. Current odds favor prison, or a nice country home outside Moscow secured by his good buddy Vlad Putin.

Movin’ on Up

Speaking of capitals, some relatively good news here in La Prov pretty much put in the shadow of the DC events. That would be our governor, Gina “Knock it Off” Raimondo, being tapped by Biden to be his new Secretary of Commerce. Certainly given her admirable handling of the COVID-19 pandemic she is more than qualified for the job, and it is a nice little present to honor the good work she did here in Little Rhody.

The only caveat P&J would give is for Raimondo to not get too ambitious, as she did here with both the UHIP computer premature roll-out, or the computer problems continuing at the DMV. You’re movin’ on up the ladder, little lady, so don’t get carried away.

P.S. – Betcha more than half of Vo Dilunders couldn’t pick out new governor Daniel McKee in a police line-up.

Passages

P&J mourn the recent passings of two of Vo Dilun’s finest in their fields, Ken Lyon, the veteran musician and godfather to the local blues and rock community in the Biggest Little, and longtime ace reporter for WJAR – Channel 10, Bill Rappleye, who had most recently been working at RI-PBS. Bill was a Casa Diablo regular and a good friend of the Cool Cool World.