Morning Update: 05/31/24

The System Worked As Designed

There can now be no question that we are living in historic times. I wish we weren’t, because too many of the “historic” things we’ve experienced have been bad. In a sane world, the Iran hostage crisis of 1979 wouldn’t have happened. The terror of 9/11 wouldn’t have happened. And a former president wouldn’t have broken the law (before he was president). In a sane world, people behave. In a sane world, people don’t lie. In a sane world, adults don’t respond like three-year-olds.

We obviously have never lived in a sane world. Ever.

When the news came across my phone that a verdict was ready in the former president’s hush money case, I turned on a live stream of ABC News and called the kids into the room. They needed to witness this because it will most likely affect them a lot longer than it will affect me. ABC displayed a simple graphic numbered 1-34, representing the number of counts against the former president. We watched together as the space in front of each one filled with the word “guilty.” There were no non-decisions, nor did they find him not guilty on any count. That was it.

The Orange Felon called the trial rigged, but let’s consider how we got here. First, there were charges. Each charge had to be vetted by the New York Attorney General’s Office to see if there was any chance of the charge being true. They concluded that there was. Next, a grand jury was assembled. It was the grand jury’s job to consider all the evidence and decide whether there was sufficient cause to go ahead with a full trial. Had there not been enough evidence, the case would have ended there. The case was scheduled for trial. Both sides participated equally in the selection of jurors. Both sides called their witnesses and pleaded their case, presumably to the best of their ability.

The jury deliberated for a mere ten hours over the course of two days. They had the judge’s instructions read back to them to ensure they followed the law. There was ample opportunity for any one of the jurors to muddy the waters. A single juror is all it would take to declare a mistrial. Had there been any question, the jurors could have debated for days, even weeks, about the efficacy of each count. That was their right and totally within their power. But that didn’t happen. This fairly and reasonably selected jury was unanimous and came back with one verdict on which they all agreed: guilty.

This is the way the system was designed to work.

I want my children to grow up believing in the rule of law. I want my children to know that no one, including a former president (or a sitting president, for that matter), is above the law. These matters are critical because without them we lose our Democracy.

I know that Reuters is reporting that Trump supporters call for riots and violent retribution after verdict. The media is going to hype that angle, perhaps to the point of making it come to fruition. Without all the media hype, I don’t think it would actually happen, but this is the way we apparently work now. And, honestly, when have the Orange Felon’s cult members not responded like three-year-olds who didn’t get their way? Ever? No, never. Every damn time. Why? Because three-year-olds don’t understand that they’re not that special. Three-year-olds don’t understand that there are consequences for disobeying rules. The difference here is that actual three-year-olds learn. The members of the Felon’s cult, don’t.

After the verdict, G made us all a delicious celebratory soup because the system worked. We ate the soup, took our meds, and went to bed. We slept well. Today, we’ll mow the lawn because it’s almost certain to rain tomorrow.

Our lives go on. I still have cancer and diabetes and high blood pressure and arthritis and I’m insane. The kids are still enjoying the few weeks of summer break they have. Kat will still do the most awesome work on people’s hair. The dogs will still bark at anyone who walks past the house. The cats will still leave hair on everything. Nothing changes for us.

But we go forward knowing that the system works, whether anyone likes the outcome or not. Fuss all you want, the law is the law. If you want to change the law, you have to vote. But then, who is going to change the law to allow for deceptive financial practices? There are enough loopholes already that corporations are exploiting.

By the way, can we end this talk of jail time for the Orange Felon? There’s almost zero chance of that happening. These are E-level felonies, the lowest possible in the New York system. While there is an allowance for jail time, that rarely happens. Probation, public service, and house arrest are the most common sentences handed down in this type of case. Because the Orange Felon is a former president and thereby entitled to Secret Service protection for the rest of his life, any jail time would present a considerable burden on both the Secret Service and the prison system. As salacious as jail time would be, I don’t see the judge making that decision.

Now, I need to get my day started. Ya’ll sit around here and fuss all you want.