Jan. 8, 2026 Editor, The News-Gazette: Barbara Tuchman’s portrait of the 1300s offers a view of a barbarous society resembling ours. She describes “knights,” the only wealthy, who raped and pillaged with impunity, aided by pitiless henchmen.
We have “knights” today, like Musk, who use social mayhem to hog more money. Ten billionaires increased their wealth by $700 billion this year. How? Government contracts, leveraging tax advantages and slashing funding for “peasant” wellbeing: Medicaid, SNAP, the VA; subsidies to the poor for Obamacare.
How do you finagle tax cuts for people making over $917,000, get them $1 trillion in tax cuts the next 10 years? The new henchmen are politicians, who stay in Congress, work for the ultra-rich, hoping to retire to “think tanks,” cushy boards and consultancies. They don’t serve “the people” who elected them; they serve those who finance their campaigns.
Who’s the biggest flunky for the ultra-wealthy minority? The poster boy for medieval-level greed who tells Americans they’re imagining job losses and higher prices.
The Lexington henchman is columnist Mike Lowry: silent on $3 billion of grift by the despicable DC character. Two billion dollars to a son-in-law’s investment fund from Saudi Arabia, taxpayers spending $1 billion to retrofit a “free” luxury jet from Qatar, $709 million bribe — meme coin purchases by the rich and $338 million for a worthless “token.” Silence on not releasing all the Epstein files.
Lowry will probably describe the invasion of Venezuela as the equivalent of Washington crossing the Delaware, not the next Republican foreign war.
Can’t be drugs; Trump pardoned the importer of 400 tons of cocaine. Oil? That would be stealing. Trump mentioned Cuba. The Florida Cubans, Rubio being one, have prevented peace with Cuba since the 1950s. Evil Communists? Trump always sides with the murderous Putin.
How can we “run” Venezuela, when Trump dozes through cabinet meetings? Lowry’s next evasions will be stunning.
JOE PETITE Rockbridge County
