Prisons Puppies and Injustice

The Democrats won another election a few weeks back, this one with an horrific backstory but happy- relatively- ending: Calvin Duncan is the new clerk for New Orleans, amassing more than 68% of the vote. Duncan was falsely accused and then wrongfully convicted of a murder that he did not commit.  He was and is a black man in Louisiana.

He spent almost 3 decades in Angola prison, truly hell on earth. He honed his skill as an in-house counsel for other inmates and advocated on their behalf while there before being exonerated.  Methinks, he didn't have puppy-time, nor had specially prepared meals sent to his cell. ( See Ghislaine

Maxwell's current prison perks.)

Duncan went on to become a licensed attorney.  He knew by firsthand experience that the antiquated record keeping "system" used by the courts hurt an untold number of those incarcerated in this Louisiana.  All paperwork was just that: paper, not digitized. He worked tirelessly to help others navigate the opaque and hard to access court documentation. And now he has beaten the incumbent and will be sworn in next May, continuing on his mission to advocate for those caught up in an unfair legal morass.

Duncan’s selfless public service contrasts starkly with the seemingly never-ending sordid soap opera of pedophilia and privilege we see elsewhere in politics. The estate of Jeffrey Epstein has released a trove of emails implicating a bevy of well-known individuals.  Not only was Epstein not stopped during his lifetime, thereby saving countless young girls of being sexually abused and trafficked- but he continued to interact with high level politicians, world leaders and others (e.g. Bankers, professors, individuals branded as intellectuals, powerful and rich).

We will probably find out much less from the Epstein files that the Congress finally voted to release.  The house- with only 1 nay vote and the Senate by unanimous consent.  Trump avoided the appearance of losing by jumping in and saying that Congress should release the files. Quite a thin ploy after months of delay, denial and lies, when he could have easily ordered the Epstein files be made public by fiat using the authority vested in his office.

With this about-face, there is real concern about how much the current DOJ will mutilate these files.  Whistle blowers have already disclosed that Trump's name was being removed.  By the sheer number of times of his inclusion, it is a long process.  The files can be redacted and changed.  Pam Bondi, so-called US AG, but acting like the president's personal lawyer, is ostensibly in charge and will surely release information no matter who it implicates…/s. (Sarcasm font.)

Enough has been released, however that it’s hard to imagine entirely scrubbing Trump’s name from the files and keeping even a fig leaf of credibility. Instead, or in addition we might see the administration obstruct and delay the release of the most damning documents with other strategies, like opening new investigations which would preclude any relevant files from being released. 

There has been overwhelming evidence for years that young girls, children, were abused by a cadre of very powerful people, and that compromising intel was extracted, adversely affecting some of these people.  Not sent to prison for decades but instead enjoying coveted positions for decades.

But jeopardized by what Epstein and others knew.

Regardless of what we can learn from any files that are released, just look at Ghislaine Maxwell. trump's former personal attorney, now a part of this DOJ, met with the convicted predator.  Many victims, now grown women, have testified that she recruited and groomed them.  She also participated in the abuse and was often considered by these victims, when they were children, to be worse than Epstein.

And for her crimes, Trump’s DOJ moved her to a so-called country club prison. Something not done for convicted sex offenders sentenced to 20 years.  She has privileges that most people don't receive at a mid-level hotel.  Maxwell swore that she never saw Donald Trump do anything wrong.  She was likely fishing for a pardon, but even Trump didn’t want the public outcry to pardon her... now.  So, she will have to suffer through private exercise time, the warden sending her emails, and unlimited toilet paper until...

She has been subpoenaed by Congress.  This has more consequence than just privately talking to a Trump lackey, Maxwell stated that she will invoke the 5th amendment. So if you question Trump's involvement with Epstein and the extent and nature of that relationship- just look how the DOJ has treated Maxwell.

But in New Orleans, a good man has found some justice and will be able to change the system that has historically hurt those most vulnerable, caught up in the police/legal system and seeking fairness.  And doing it finally as a free man. In the spirit of Duncan’s generosity, we also want to recognize that today is Giving Tuesday. We at DSOT are fully supportive of giving Tuesday’s mission, and want to emphasize, as we do every year, that giving to charity is not shopping, and is part of the pro-community ethos we promote each week at Don't Shop on Tuesday. 

The solution lies with us. Together.  Uniting and cross supporting an array of vital causes.  Demanding policy changes and a fully representative government. Promoting truly blind justice, unable to distinguish race, money and power. Tasking elected officials to construct progressive tax laws that do not allow let alone promote the vast wealth gap we are seeing today.

Link arms, vote, protest.  And Don't shop on Tuesday.

#DSOT