Thorn: Silence is complicity
More than 120 Republicans in the U.S. House signed on to the ridiculous, Texas-born lawsuit designed to subvert the Constitution and give tRump a win. Amazingly, Kentucky’s delegation of brown-nosers was not on that list. U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, founder of LEO, tweeted that it “seems ludicrous to applaud my fellow members of the KY Delegation for not joining ... their GOP colleagues in sedition, but I do. There’s a low bar for high praise in 2020.” Yet, even as an increasing trickle of Republicans retreat from this Trumpian sideshow, one lawmaker has demonstrated his complicity through his silence: U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell. (Update: McConnell finally conceded Joe Biden won. But where was he for four years, and how could he be silent during his colleagues’ calumnious behavior? Courier Journal columnist Joe Gerth summed it up best in perhaps his best but certainly his shortest column. Under the headline: “Joe Gerth: My thoughts on McConnell finally acknowledging that Trump’s a loser” he wrote: “About time.”)
Thorn: ...And a side of Covid-19
While Gov. Andy Beshear temporarily closed restaurants to inside dining to keep people from dying, Indiana did not. Last week, Jeffersonville, Indiana was so busy that Red Yeti chef Michael Bowe told The CJ that downtown there felt “like a resort town.” Seems that lots of Kentuckians crossed the river for a Vodka and Virus with their COVID-19 cacciatore.
Rose: Porch pirates will be so confused
The first frosty doses of a COVID-19 vaccine came through the UPS Worldport air hub en route to arms near you (hopefully).
Thorn: Why are protest leaders dying?
Another Louisville protest leader has been fatally shot: Kris Smith was found dead inside a vehicle in the 200 block of North 26th Street. The city has had more than 150 homicides this year, a record. The FBI announced the arrest of a man on federal carjacking charges in connection with the death of passionate and popular protest leader Travis Nagdy. We hope they got the right person, but we want to hear more details about that arrest — not necessarily the police version.
Rose + Thorn: ‘O Captain! My Captain!’
CJ Editor Rick Green certainly deserves a rose for boosting the paper’s relevance and expertly guiding it to award-winning work during these historically riven times, but a thorn must be awarded because he announced he is taking a buyout after less than three years on the job. We will miss you @KentuckyRAG
