Liddy was a true character. Plus: Trump had an infrastructure plan, too. And, covid and risks.

By Gary Abernathy

G. Gordon Liddy, one of life’s true characters

There’s some irony in the fact that the Watergate figure who often presented himself as the ultimate man of mystery and danger -- and famously offered to sacrifice his life for the Nixon White House during the Watergate probe -- lived to be 90.

G. Gordon Liddy died Tuesday at that ripe old age. USA Today reports, “Liddy, a former FBI agent and Army veteran, was convicted of conspiracy, burglary and illegal wiretapping for his role in the Watergate burglary, which led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon. He spent four years and four months in prison, including more than 100 days in solitary confinement. ‘I’d do it again for my president,’ he said years later.”

As the newspaper recalls, “After the failed break-in attempt, Liddy recalled telling White House counsel John Dean, ‘If someone wants to shoot me, just tell me what corner to stand on, and I’ll be there, OK?’ Dean reportedly responded, ‘I don’t think we’ve gotten there yet, Gordon.’”

Later in life he became a popular radio talk show host. Farewell and rest in peace to one of life’s most colorful characters.

Yes, Trump had an infrastructure plan, too

President Joe Biden is proposing a $2 trillion infrastructure plan, funded by raising taxes on corporations.

The New York Times reports, “But even spread over years, the scale of the proposal underscores how fully Mr. Biden has embraced the opportunity to use federal spending to address longstanding social and economic challenges in a way not seen in half a century. Officials said that, if approved, the spending in the plan would end decades of stagnation in federal investment in research and infrastructure — and would return government investment in those areas, as a share of the economy, to its highest levels since the 1960s.”

In all fairness, when President Trump was in office, he also proposed specific infrastructure plans totaling around $1 trillion, so if there’s been “stagnation in federal investment,” it wasn’t Trump’s fault.

Here’s how Reuters reported it in June 2020: “The Trump administration is preparing an up to $1 trillion infrastructure package focused on transportation projects as part of its push to spur the world’s largest economy back to life, a source familiar with the situation said on Tuesday. The Department of Transportation’s preliminary version reserves most funds for projects such as roads and bridges, but will also set aside about a quarter of the money for priorities such as 5G wireless infrastructure and rural broadband, two sources said. The White House, which has made similar proposals in recent years, is aiming to unveil its latest effort in July, one of the sources said. News of the potential additional stimulus, first reported by Bloomberg, supported a U.S. stock market rise on Tuesday.”

Notice how the story says the “White House… has made similar proposals in recent years…” Trump also proposed spending over 10 years, while Biden is proposing eight years.

There are many who have said Trump did nothing on infrastructure, but in fact he made very specific proposals that Congress failed to embrace.

On covid, people are deciding to take the risks

Have you noticed all the news stories designed to keep the world fearful about covid-19, even as more and more states in the U.S. drop their (in some cases) draconian covid-related restrictions?

This USA Today opinion piece by a doctor tells the story of an elderly patient who received the first of two vaccine shots, decided to travel, got covid and died. The doctor writes, “Like many people across the nation, my patient believed the pandemic to be essentially over and the dangers of returning to normal life to be minimal. But the pandemic is not over. Tens of thousands of new cases are still being diagnosed and there is ominous talk about a ‘fourth wave.’ We are so close to putting COVID-19 to bed, but we should not let up on our precautions just yet.”

“We are so close” to ending covid is a refrain we have been hearing for months. What this doctor and too many others fail to recognize is that Americans – some sooner than others – have decided to get back to normal business. They know the pandemic is not over, but they’re recognizing that their lives are ticking away in isolation or lockdowns.

They’re not getting any younger, and sometimes risks are worth taking. Sometimes, bad things happen. But for many, living in lockdowns, being told to stay away from loved ones and generally waiting out the clock is no longer a choice they’re interested in making.

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