These Things Scare Me

[ThomWV]

At the top the President's signing statements neuter legislation. So much for the rule of law.

Down just a few levels in the power structure a lieutenant is convicted of a felony for which no one believes he will spend a day in jail. So much for the rule of law.

Deeper yet, at Justice a fresh young minion is given the power of hiring and firing over 100 of the most powerful positions in the Nation's legal system, but when asked about her official duties she has to invoke her 5th amendment privilege against self incrimination - apparently not to protect herself from prosecution but to protect the people she worked for from prosecution. So much for the rule of law.

At the bottom a fabulously wealthy juvenile delinquent is released from jail after serving only a fraction of her well deserved sentence. So much for the rule of law.

Power and wealth, that's all it takes.

In the mean time - and these are very mean times indeed - we have a larger portion of our population in jail than any other country on earth. Being powerless and poor, thats all it takes.

[MistressOverdone]

1. Maybe it has always been that way?

Maybe our republic for a while, was the city on the hill. But at the moment the lights are flickering.

[BanzaiBonnie]

2. And when those on the bottom

realize there are more of them --- well, I hope we can turn this country around before there is a violent revolution. THe more people are pushed down into poverty, the more desperation they will feel. Desperation can drive people to take actions they would not be involved in under other circumstances.

[sinkingfeeling]

5. Which I think explains the recent increase in the crime rate as well. People on the

bottom are getting more desperate.

[leftofthedial]

3. this is capitalist Amurka

there is no justice

only wealth

[tabasco]

4. The people who subvert our government deserve to go to jail.

People with a substance abuse problem probably need medical/psychological help, not jail. So I am not screaming for PH to go back to jail. But the unequal treatment under the law is an abomination. Our country has been ruined by the republicans. They have made it this way with their worship of money above all else.

[ljm2002]

6. People who drive while under the influence deserve to go to jail

I am as leftist/libertarian as it gets when it comes to the drug laws: they are asinine, and people should *not* be jailed for using mind altering substances. HOWEVER, there are limits: they should not be selling these substances to minors, for example; also, they are responsible for their actions when intoxicated. This most definitely includes getting behind the wheel when too messed up to control the vehicle, for that endangers not only oneself but others as well.

Paris Hilton should spend the balance of her meager sentence behind bars.