The word out today is that the entirety of the Mall will be closed for Joe Biden’s inauguration next week. The Whitehouse, Capitol building and the Washington Monument had already been circled with security fencing, now it appears that the lawn in-between these hallowed structures will also be closed off to the public. This precaution is partly due to the pandemic, but it is mainly because of last week’s insurrection by Trump terrorists. Tickets to the inauguration will not be issued. Instead, 200,000 American flags will be planted in the grass, where people normally sit to view the swearing in ceremony. It’s a little sad that things have come to this, but when so many of our fellow citizens have given leave of their senses and choose to believe the baseless lies that the Republicans have been pedaling since Election Day, what else is one to do?

From news reports, it appears that the Justice department is already well underway with prosecuting the perpetrators of last week’s riot. Many arrests have already been made and more are sure to come, but all of these security precautions speak of a fear of further violence that also needs to be addressed. After 9/11, our government launched an extensive campaign against Islamic terrorism. I think that an effort of similar scope and ferocity needs to be undertaken against these right-wing, white-supremacist thugs. I hold with none of their “unity” bullshit that has been floated of late. They cloak themselves in the flag, claim to be patriots, when in reality they are seditious criminals. If they want unity, then they can join us on the side of the law, as many of them have already done and more are doing daily. Sure some dead-enders will be provoked. Violence will occur, but wakeup people. Racist attacks have been up, way up, for the past four years. It is high time that we put down this epidemic of hate. Criminally prosecute perps on the street and the instigators behind the microphones. One without the other is a job left undone.