Ben Ricchio

@benricchio

Chicago native, living near Indy. Web developer. Gardener, with interests in soil ecology, biodiversity, and pollinators. Focused on how to boost civic engagement.

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Ben Ricchio@benricchio· 23d

For some reason, it just reminds me of the smoking cherubs picture.

A sarcastic version of the famous cherubs from Raphael's "Sistine Madonna". In this version, both cherubs are smoking and appear to be drunk, or hungover.

Ben Ricchio@benricchio· 23d

I'm sorry, I know it's not directly relevant, but I'm just wondering what's going through her mind at that very moment.

A post from X user "Acyn", with a picture of Trump at a rally in Georgia. The text from the post quotes Trump. It reads:

Trump: The radical left is actively trying to destroy our children's future with the disaster known as communism. The communists want to take Mount Rushmore down. They want to blow it up and take it down.

In the background of the photo, a woman in the stands is highlighted for looking bored and disinterested.

A woman in the background, behind Trump, looking bored and disinterested.

Ben Ricchio@benricchio· 29d

This must be what people mean when they say that we can only bridge our nation's divide by talking to each other. apnews.com/article/main...

A counter protester yells at a volunteer providing security during a demonstration near a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Scarborough, Maine, Tuesday, July 14, 2026, one day after the shooting of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Ben Ricchio@benricchio· May 3

Here are the reasons people didn't vote in 2020, per www.axios.com/2021/11/16/e.... I look down the list of reasons and, in order from top to bottom, think "lazy, lazy, lazy, kinda legit, kiiiinnnda legit, lazy, lazy, lazy, lazy, and too lazy to lie and come up with an excuse".

Ben Ricchio@benricchio· May 2

“I can finally sleep (...) For four years, I couldn’t sleep because I was so concerned about where we were going.” Beth... You've BEEN asleep. You're still asleep now. www.politico.com/news/2026/05...

“I can finally sleep,” Beth Ramsey, who lives in nearby Fruitland Park and is president of Southern Diamonds Federated Republican Women, said of Trump’s presidency. “For four years, I couldn’t sleep because I was so concerned about where we were going.”

Ben Ricchio@benricchio· Apr 27

Per www.meidasplus.com/p/this-weeke... This part about Dan Scavino is just...wow...

An excerpt from the Meidas Touch weekend politics recap, which includes the following text that recaps the events immediately following the attempted shooting at the White House Correspondents Dinner:

"… Minutes after the shooting, Dep. WH Chief of Staff and former Trump golf caddie Dan Scavino got up and tried to lead attendees in a “USA! USA!” chant by screaming it out several times. Not one person joined him and he walked out."

Ben Ricchio@benricchio· Mar 31

And this

Ben Ricchio@benricchio· Mar 31

Here's more that I found alarming

Ben Ricchio@benricchio· Mar 22

The last time MAGA regained a scintilla of moral high-ground was when people celebrated the assassination of Charlie Kirk. This post proves it was all faux-outrage. MAGA is in the final gasps of relevance, no one can look at MAGA now and argue that we need to understand their plight. It's all BS.

A screenshot from Donald Trump on Truth Social, on which he writes: "Robert Mueller just died. Good, I'm glad he's dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people! President DONALD J. TRUMP."

The post of then re-posted by Laura Loomer, who writes: "President Trump says what everyone is thinking. He's right. We shouldn't be sad when bad people die "

Ben Ricchio@benricchio· Mar 11

Also from Rear Admiral McRaven Source: www.newsweek.com/donald-trump...

Selected text from the Newsweek article "Donald Trump is Like a ‘Disturbed’ Teenager: Admiral William McRaven", published October 29, 2024:

"McRaven went on to mention Trump referring to Harris as "mentally impaired" and 'a shitty vice president.'

'For those of you who dismiss this kind of language or, worse, defend it, if Mr. Trump is reelected you shouldn't be surprised if this kind of aberrant behavior continues," he said, "and everything about it will affect the future of the nation.' "

Ben Ricchio@benricchio· Feb 9

Not sure why this isn't breaking news... www.thedailybeast.com/epstein-file...

An official statement from US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York (authored by US Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman), declaring Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his cell. The statement is dated Friday, August 9, 2019. Jeffrey Epstein was found unresponsive in his cell on Saturday, August 10 at approximately 6:30am, 1 day AFTER this statement was authored. The statement is titled "Statement of Manhattan U.S. Attorney on the death of Defendant Jeffrey Epstein".

The text reads:

"Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said 'Earlier this morning, the Manhattan Correctional Center confirmed that Jeffrey Epstein, who faced charges brought by this Office of engaging in sex trafficking of minors, had been found unresponsive in his cell and pronounced dead shortly thereafter. Today's events are disturbing, and we are deeply aware of their potential to present yet another hurdle to giving Epstein's many victims their day in Court. To those brave young women who have already come forward and to the many others who have yet to do so, let me reiterate that we remain committed to standing for you, and our investigation of the conduct charged in the Indictment - which included a conspiracy count - remains ongoing. We continue to urge anyone who feels they may be a victim or have information related to the conduct in this case to please contact 1-800 CALL FBI

Ben Ricchio@benricchio· Jan 31

That is SOME ratio for the Melania movie.

A screenshot of the Rotten Tomatoes score for the documentary "Melania". The "Tomatometer" (which reflects professional critics' reviews) is 8% positive.

Conversely, the "Popcornmeter" (which reflects general audience scores) is 99% positive.

Ben Ricchio@benricchio· Jan 29

@npr.org Trump country gave us a 2nd Trump term, even after J6, a botched response to COVID, cruel detention of migrants (I could go on). No one cares what Trump country thinks anymore. They might disagree with him now, but they'll vote for him again and again and again. That's the story.

Ben Ricchio@benricchio· Jan 13

This pic will never get old. I would be surprised and elated if the NRA actually gives out grades for candidates leading up to the next debate, because I just know any Democrat-candidate is going to have plenty of comebacks - both for the NRA, and any mainstream media that gives them oxygen.

Headline: NRA Accidentally Forgets To Rise Up Against Tyrannical Government

Main text: An embarrassed National Rifle Association says it totally forgot to do the things it has been saying for years it is solely there to do.

Ben Ricchio@benricchio· Jan 13

This dialogue from Ricky Gervais's "The Office" sums up why Trump will continue to have MAGA's loyalty:

Dialogue from the British version of "The Office":

David Brent: I gave a speech only this morning to my staff assuring them that there would not be cutbacks at this branch and there certainly wouldn't be redundancies, so...

Jennifer Taylor-Clark: Well, why on Earth would you do that?

David Brent: Why? Oh, don't know. A little word I think's important in management called morale.

Jennifer Taylor-Clark: Well, surely it's going to be worse for morale in the long run when there ARE redundancies and you've told people that there won't be.

[pause]

David Brent: They won't remember.

Ben Ricchio@benricchio· Dec 12

The only thing Governor Mike Braun got right about his post is that there will be political consequences, and they're going to be for Braun, and the 19 spineless GOP Senators who voted "yes".

Twitter/X post from Indiana Governor Mike Braun:

"I am very disappointed that a small group of misguided State Senators have partnered with Democrats to reject this opportunity to protect Hoosiers with fair maps and to reject the leadership of President Trump. Ultimately, decisions like this carry political consequences. I will be working with the President to challenge these people who do not represent the best interests of Hoosiers."

Ben Ricchio@benricchio· Oct 23

Cracks are EMERGING? How on Earth did the entire wall not collapse months ago? Are people THAT stubborn when they're wrong, that it takes months of illegal and inhumane ICE raids to admit that voting for Trump was a bad idea? Why can't people be this stubborn about their values when they vote?

A description of the episode from the Vox Podcast "Today, Explained" for Oct 22, 2025. The description reads: "We visit New Jersey, where there are cracks emerging in Trump's gains with Latinos."

Ben Ricchio@benricchio· Oct 20

Solid response from Kenny Loggins. One question, though: what exactly are Democrats doing to divide America, other than calling out MAGA for its divisive rhetoric and actions? I know Kenny Loggins didn't say Democrats were, but I want to be explicitly clear that Democrats are not.

Kenny Loggins's response to Donald Trump's use of "Danger Zone" in an AI video where Trump flies a fighter jet and dumps feces on No Kings marchers:

"This is an unauthorized use of my performance. Nobody asked for my permission, which I would have denied, and I request that my recording on this video is removed immediately. I can't imagine why anybody would want their music used or associated with something created with the sole purpose of dividing us. Too many people are trying to tear us apart, and we need to find new ways to come together. We're all Americans, and we're all patriotic. There is no 'us and them' - that's not who we are, nor is it what we should be. It's all of us. We're in this together, and it is my hope that we can embrace music as a way of celebrating and uniting each and every one of us. "

Ben Ricchio@benricchio· Oct 20

Odd, when I read the article, the headline is different:

Reuters article:

"Trump says will hike tariffs on Colombia as drug trade escalates"

Ben Ricchio@benricchio· Oct 6

Given Trump's current attempts to Federalize Texas and California's National Guard so he can deploy them to Oregon, this passage from her Wikipedia page is just rich for its timeliness.

On April 17, 2024 Dhillon testified in front of the House Judiciary Committee to demonstrate the violations of civil rights that took place during the Covid pandemic. She argued that during the pandemic that fundamental rights were taken simply because the government declared an emergency, when perceived by the government as such, could lead to such an abrupt "erosion of our freedoms and the complete disregard for the judicial scrutiny the courts use to preserve them in every other instance."

Ben Ricchio@benricchio· Sep 25

Quote from Erik Moeller:

"I find Trump as repulsive as most people here, but as a German, one thing I want to push back on is focusing only on one man.

Hitler's rise was possible because he was able to exploit the racial hatred and conspiratorial thinking that already existed.

It's MAGA acolytes that see Trump as an extraordinary figure. He was a reality show grifter with a crumbling business; Hitler was an undisciplined drifter with delusions of grandeur.

It's the soil that matters, not just the rotten harvest.

Ben Ricchio@benricchio· Sep 16

“It’s only going to last as long as this administration does, and that’s why we have to codify this,” he said. “Because what farmers need [is] certainty.” There's something seriously wrong when farmers look to Trump and think "certainty".

Thompson said he plans to introduce a solution based on the 15 bipartisan policy recommendations proposed by the Agricultural Labor Working Group last year. Some of those recommendations, like restructuring the wage methodology for workers hired under the H-2A visa program, are already being undertaken by the Agriculture and Labor departments through rulemaking.
Watch: The Conversation

1:19
McBride calls for responding to 'Trumpism' with bipartisanship | The Conversation

While he welcomes the administration’s efforts to reform H-2A, Thompson sees them as temporary and no substitute for legislative action.

“It’s only going to last as long as this administration does, and that’s why we have to codify this,” he said. “Because what farmers need [is] certainty.”

Ben Ricchio@benricchio· Aug 17

People would do well to remember this. Our sense of civics has degraded so much that we think we're responsible voters when we pick the candidate whose platform most-aligns with our values. Instead, we should create our platform first, and then pick whoever promises to deliver on it the most.

Ben Ricchio@benricchio· Aug 5

I'm concerned I could be turninQaedag into Calvin's dad when I read this.

A Calvin & Hobbes strip in which Calvin's dad talks extensively about the character and style of old, wooden escalators that he used to ride when he was a kid, and then Calvin wonders to himself whether he, too, will grow up to find that all of his experiences will one day become stories with no point.

Ben Ricchio@benricchio· Jul 29

I can assure you that Folgers Classic Roast at Costco never cost $17.49 before. At its worst, it was $13. But not a peep out of MAGA. I guess they don't drink coffee.

A 2.72lb canister of Folgers Classic Roast now costs $17.49 at Costco. Before Trump's tariffs, the top cost observed as $12.99.

Ben Ricchio@benricchio· Jul 27

I wonder how many people eat eggs every morning, and had a legitimate reason to be aggrieved by a $2 price hike in eggs last year... ... how many people drink coffee every morning, and have a legitimate reason to be aggrieved by a $5 price hike now. Anyone in the far-right wanna comment?

A picture of Folgers coffee at the end-cap of a Costco. A 2.72 lb can of coffee now costs $17.49 in Indianapolis, IN. Before Trump's tariffs took effect, the average cost hovered around $12, and when it was on sale, the same can of coffee cost $9. Before Trump won the 2024 Election, Right-wing media and influencers complained about the price of eggs rising $2 per dozen, and blamed the rise in price on Biden-era economics, when in fact, the price-hike was due to a spread of avian flu.

Ben Ricchio@benricchio· Jul 25

Aww, DeSantis says "get outta here" like he's pretending to be Trump. Oh Ron...still suffering from penis envy.

A picture of Donald Trump's penis, as depicted in an AI-generated video shown in the Season Premier of South Park.

Ben Ricchio@benricchio· Jul 24

Is this the best photo they could use for the article? The guy on the right looks like he's about to let one rip. abcnews.go.com/Politics/doj...

Deputy AG and team arrive for meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell in Tallahassee, FL. The team members are standing on a street corner, preparing to cross. Some team members' stance suggest they are trying to pose dramatically, which is unusual, given the uninspiring location they are being photographed.

The member furthest to the right appears to be leaning to his left side, pushing his abdomen and posterior outward, away from each other. The pose suggests he is either trying to free his underwear from being wedged in his butt, or, he is preparing to let out a fart.

Ben Ricchio@benricchio· May 26

Screen capture from the SNL sketch "The Chris Farley show", with the meme-caption "Remember when women lost the right to choose because of Trump, and then in 2024,they were still like 'I'm undecided'?"

Ben Ricchio@benricchio· May 16

And then there's this text from the article: The rich irony of this quote is that Joe Biggs doesn't see the parallels between how he was treated by the likes of Steve Bannon, and the roots of his decision to get involved in Right wing extremist groups.