How We Do Things Downtown

 It is a decidedly different landscape. 

This past weekend, a man who ran his car through a crowd of people waiting to enter a nightclub in Los Angeles. Thirty people were injured, but the driver was pulled from the car by the rest of the bystanders. And shot. 

Some might call it karma. Others might call it justice. Whatever you'd like to name it, the crime and punishment was meted out in rather abrupt and some might suggest efficient terms.

This kind of event sets an interesting counterpoint to the ongoing discussion of The Epstein List. It surprises me that the country seems to need some sort of documented proof that the convicted felon and adjudicated rapist who paid hush money to a porn star to cover up his affair with her while his wife was pregnant with his child might be involved in the illicit goings on with one Jefferey Epstein. 

The hoops through which those seeking verification of illicit conduct on the part of this morally bankrupt individual seems ridiculous in the extreme. "Oh, those files? I know right where they are. On my desk. You'll have them in the morning."

When morning comes: "What files?"

None of the families of the underage victims of the Epstein client list are dragging the perps out into the street and shooting them. Or naming them. They continue to stand by and wait for the wheels to turn ever so slowly while consequences are meted out for much less egregious offenses at the hands of less famous, infamous, or rich defendants. 

698 out of every 100,000 Americans is currently incarcerated. Events like the one in Los Angeles last week probably won't move the needle very far one way or another. The courts won't be bogged down with a lot of pleas and motions since the punishment has already been handed down. What about this guy, wandering around the country, playing golf and dropping bombs on other countries with an extensive rap sheet? Why can't we find a cell for him?

Is it because we don't have the will to put a president, even a truly awful president, in jail? 

I think we should get over that. 

Soon.