Not Quite Breakfast at Tiffany's

Dear Tiffany Van Dyke,

Your husband murdered—in cold blood—a confused, aggravated but ultimately harmless young man by shooting him sixteen times as he walked away from your spouse.

Realizing the potential fallout of his actions, your husband's employer buried any and all evidence of the event. His co-workers concocted a lie and submitted it in writing to the Chicago Police Department as fact.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel aided in the cover-up, knowing the dash-cam video was inflammatory and would unite opponents of an overly-aggressive police department. Closer to home, this would also have a negative effect on his bid for re-election.

All was well until the court-ordered release of the video thirteen months after the fact.

It was as inflammatory as your husband, his co-workers and his employer feared. The murder was as brutal as it was senseless.

Even uglier were the lies your husband, his lawyer and his co-workers persisted in. They gave the city and the Chicago Police Department a black eye neither could afford, cementing in the public imagination the idea that our law enforcement feels itself above the very law it was created to enforce.

Your husband's flimsy and preposterous arguments thankfully gave way to justice when he was found guilty of second-degree murder. For a brief, shimmering moment, right appeared to have triumphed over wrong.

At sentencing, your mate dodged yet-another bullet (please excuse the pun) when he inexplicably was handed a sentence more appropriate for car theft. It was a slap in the face to anyone who has ever been a victim of the Chicago Police Department and its over-zealousness.

Yes, the family name has been besmirched. Yes, your husband is temporarily out of a job. But knowing the intransigence of his supporters, I am confident he will have an offer waiting when he walks in just three short years.

Conversely, his victim will be dead forever.

I was hoping we had heard the last of your husband. And of his hideous crime. That we could flush this from our system and move on.

But after being transferred to an out-of-state prison, your spouse was roughed-up by some of his fellow inmates, which unfortunately isn't an uncommon occurrence in jail.

You had the temerity to wail in front of a media assemblage that “...the number-one fear for my husband has always been his safety, that someone was going to get him and hurt him and the worst has happened.”

Interesting words, indeed. 

Has it occurred to you or those mercenaries you have on retainer that Laquan McDonald and his loved ones could have said the same? That you have unwittingly expressed the very thoughts that have been on their minds for the last four and-a-half years?

And if it has, what are your thoughts? What is your reaction?

Tiffany, not to belabor the point, but your husband is a very lucky man. He is serving a soft sentence in a minimum-security prison for a crime that would have netted you or I or practically anyone else a lifetime behind bars.

Please. No more press conferences.

Kindly go away, will you? 


Sincerely,

La Piazza Gancio 

Hit and Run

So. Daniel Herbert, the defense lawyer for Jason Van Dyke, has filed a motion requesting a change of venue, fearing that public comments by elected officials amount to “the public execution of Jason Van Dyke.”

Funny, but I thought the sixteen shells Van Dyke pumped into Laquan McDonald's back as McDonald was walking away from him was the public execution at issue here.

And with a pro-cop judge (Vincent Gaughan) overseeing the pre-trial preparation who has already set several legal precedents insofar as keeping potentially damaging testimony and evidence from the public record, what's with all the talk about a fair trial?

That's a joke. Right? Do you really believe Jason Van Dyke is going to see the inside of a jail cell? 

Really?

The Republican-dominated Supreme Court just gifted public-sector union members with something for nothing. Thanks to their decision, union members can now enjoy the fruits of union representation free of charge.

Wow. When was the last time Republicans did anything for the working man?

Predictably, there's a big, giant string attached. What looks to be a gift is actually a harakiri sword. Because by opting out of paying dues, what do you think will happen to the union?

That's right. It will bleed to death. Short-sighted union members can now slit their own throats by opting out of union dues. And without union dues, the Democratic party loses a major source of funding. 

Combined with the Citizens United decision, the supposedly impartial Supreme Court will have effectively crippled the Democratic Party, clearing the way for unopposed Republican rule.

Aside from seeing how badly Republicans will cock everything up (remember: they're better at acquiring power than wielding it), what I want to know is this: If public-sector union members can opt-out of paying dues when the organization representing them offends their political sensibilities, can I likewise opt-out of paying federal income taxes when the sitting administration offends my political sensibilities?

I didn't think so.

Ed Schultz was a born-again Democrat. Immersed from birth in Republican hooey, he not only saw the error of his ways but possessed the strength to publicly acknowledge them and moved to serve the greater good by becoming a Democrat in 2000.

As a powerful and passionate speaker, he was able to communicate his new party's ideals, which make Democrats the strongest and best upholders of the convictions that birthed this country. His plain-spoken manner especially resonated with the inhabitants of the Great Plains, traditionally a Republican stronghold.

Sadly, Mr. Schultz died early this morning of natural causes in Washington D.C.

Rest in peace, Sir.

Finally, I have never used this blog to shill for money. I have made no attempt to monetize The Square Peg. Ever.

But there's a temporary change afoot. On June 24^th, I read a powerful article in the Chicago Tribune by Anne Kim about a dentist working in rural West Virginia. A dentist committed to serving instead of inflating her net worth.

In the Age of Trump, that struck me as profound. It left me wanting to help.

In appreciation of her selflessness, I would like to raise a thousand dollars, money that could help sustain her practice and/or herself.

If you're of a mind to, please visit the GoFundMe page I created at http://gofundme.com/helping-a-dentist-with-a-heart. If the mood strikes, please donate what you can.

Thank you.