I would guess that the fraction of Americans who believe that our system of justice is broken runs north of 9/10. But many people tie our system of justice to whatever political party happens to be in power at the time.
I ran into an old friend the other day who is furious that Joe and Hunter Biden haven’t been prosecuted for taking bribes from the Ukrainian energy company Burisma. I pointed out that a former FBI informant who fabricated a story about their accepting bribes that became central to Republicans’ impeachment effort was sentenced to six years in prison.
She laughed and said, “Just wait until the new Justice Department takes shape under Trump.” Her point is that Trump will make sure that Biden, and especially political rivals who called for him to be prosecuted for his crimes are punished.
Whether she knew it or not, her point is that the present-day United States has lost its sense of fairness and honesty.
Today, I met a professional driver for the film-making industry whose principal focus is stunt-work.
Somehow, we got to talking about the many movie stars for whom he’s worked over the years, and how pleasant most of them are to be around.
He started by mentioning Kevin Costner.
“I really like him,” I said. Please tell me he’s not an asshole.”
“Oh no; he’s a prince,” my new friend replied. “I also do the driving for Jay Leno’s show about his massive garage full of vintage cars. He’s even kinder. When we’re having lunch between shootings, he’ll often come up our table and ask if we need another Coke or two. Maybe desserts?”
We eventually got around to the stars who are, in fact, assholes.
“I drive in Lethal Weapon 4,” he began.
“Let me make a stab. Mel Gibson?”
Yes. One of the most hateful, most miserable people you could meet in 100 lifetimes.”
“That’s the rumor everyone’s heard,” I responded. “It’s weird how people who have more money that God feel the need to be such terrible people.”
“Well, my theory is that money doesn’t change people; it only amplifies them.”
I remind him of Henry Ford’s observation above.
Great conversation.
How Trump has any credibility with Americans–or the other citizens of planet–is a mystery that is impossible to unravel.
At This Point, No One Should Believe a Word that Comes Out of Trump’s Mouth
It’s good to hear Bernie Sanders say what he did here, but it’s sad that it needs to be said at all.
Are we really interested in lower grocery prices if we’re living in a dictatorship?
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