With 4 indictments, you get egg roll.

 

As I started writing this entry, our ex-president has just had his 4th criminal indictment.  My friends know how happy I am to see this, as this man has no empathy for his fellow human being.  Like the late, great Dame Edna, they'd both say that "it's all about me."  Unlike Dame Edna, the ex-president is a malicious and corrupt grifter.

If one is a "Conservative" by today's standards, one dispenses with the rule of law and order when their side breaks the law.  In the case of our former president, most GOP politicians defend our 45th president because they are afraid of his supporters.  The ex-president is the leader of a cult, and he is an expert at leading it.  The "sane" members of the GOP fear this cult, and go out of their ways to avoid its ire.

Unfortunately, the names of the Grand Jurors who indicted the ex-president and his henchmen on RICO charges are public record.  This means that it is likely that they will be "punished" for indicting the leader of the cult.  This is a shame.  All jurors (Grand and Trial) should not have their names published in the public record.  Sadly, in Georgia, Grand Jurors' names and addresses are on the public record, and in this case, puts these people at risk.  Don't be surprised if some cult member attacks one of the 23 grand jurors on the case at some time in the near future.

And now the "fun" begins.

I expect to see the prosecuting attorneys all fighting to get their cases on the docket in ways that the individual trials don't conflict with each other.  The Federal trials will not be on TV.  But Georgia's might be.  We need for the public to see everything, so that there is no chance to say the ex-president and his cronies were railroaded.  We need for people to see that justice was fair, and based on all credible evidence.  Hopefully, something will allow this to happen.

But what happens before, during, and after a fair trial?

Many people who are part of the MAGA cult have given up on classic American principles.  They feel that the elite live under different rules than the rest of us do, and they are right to some degree.  Clinton lied under oath when referring to Monica Lewinsky, and no one from the Democratic party stood up to say that a felony was committed and that he should be disciplined (or impeached, then removed from office).  Because his wife stood by him, she got one of two choice US Senate nominations and easily won the vacant seat.  People in this class were told that globalization would bring them more and better work, and instead were put on the dole in states where no new work was to be found.  Can you blame them for supporting a cult leader, when he says the very things the masses want to hear - even if easily proven untrue?

Since many in this cult no longer believe that we have the rule of law, nor do they believe that we have fair elections, they feel that it is OK to use violence to achieve their ends - nothing else has worked for them.  What will happen to the jurors who indicted their leader?  I'm afraid to find out the answer to that question. I'm even more afraid of what will happen during the trial, and after a possible conviction.  Could you imagine what would happen if this man and his henchmen are sent to prison - as they likely deserve?

I'm afraid for America.  Very afraid.... 

 

 

 

PS: MAGA Lunatics have published the names and addresses of the Grand Jurors, so that they can extract their revenge.  Let's hope that they can stay safe from harm.

Since grand juries are in the news lately....

 

In mid 2017, I was called up for Federal Grand Jury duty. This wouldn't be such a bad thing, save that I had to be up by 5:30 am to make it to Lower Manhattan (Pearl Street) by 8:30 am.  If I lived in Putnam, Dutchess, or Orange counties, I'd have served only in White Plains - a much easier trip for me.  But this option wasn't available.  So I traveled into NYC, and was lucky not to be called on to serve.  Given that they expected this jury to meet 2-3 times per week and to serve for 18-24 months, I was very lucky indeed.  

This should have exempted me from serving for 2 years.  Sure enough, 2 years later, I was called to serve again - this time on a "regular" jury.  Since I  was starting work at the census bureau, I didn't want to lose any money by taking the lower paid service on the court.  So I asked for a deferment and got it.  Then, the pandemic struck, and all jury calls were deferred until the pandemic eased off (or when government could figure out how to have people serve in the middle of a pandemic).  This gave me another year that I was able to avoid jury service.  And then, I got the above summons that called me in to serve in early July.  

I applied for my second deferment and got it.  Now, I'm hoping that I get called on to serve during the winter, as the subways will be much more comfortable than in the summer.  If the summons comes as expected (6 months after a deferment is requested), I should get a call for service in late December to serve in January.  And then, I'll be glad to serve - especially, given that I'll be in Marian Mode throughout my service.

Jury Duty - Deferral Requested

This is what a SDNY (Southern District of New York) Federal Jury Duty summons looks like.  The bottom part of the form has been cropped, so that my private information isn't made public.  This will be the second time I'm asking for a deferral, and I need it for two reasons: (1) I expect that we'll be very busy at the office dealing with headaches from a new customer. (2) I don't want to travel to Lower Manhattan during the summer on potentially overcrowded subway cars on the Lexington Avenue line.

Travel to this courthouse takes me about 2 hours.  If I find it hard enough to get up by 6 am to be at work at 8, imagine how much of a pain in the ass it will be for me to get up by 5:30, to be in court by 8:30.  People from Northern Westchester are expected to go downtown, while people North of me are allowed to go to White Plains.  This is not fair.  But we are stuck with a system that is geared to impose hardships on the jurors, and make it easy for every other stake holder involved in court cases.  No wonder why people try so hard to get out of jury duty.

The last two times I went to this courthouse for jury duty, I "served" by being available for a grand jury, but not being picked.  (I like to imagine that this grand jury may have been investigating some of Trump & associates' crimes.)  Last time, it was just before the pandemic struck.  And I wasn't going to give up $194/day (before taxes) to get a measly $50/day plus a 4 hour round trip commute.  So I asked for a deferral, and the pandemic gave me a year's reprieve.  Now, I am asking for a short deferment, so that my service can be scheduled for cooler months.  At that time, I will go into serve (dressed as Marian), and get this duty over and done with.  Since a winter jury duty service will excuse me from being called for 4 years, I figure that with the right use of deferment requests, that I might reach 70 years of age before I get a "Must Serve" request.  And if that's the case, I will have successfully avoided service at this god-awful location.