Which Way You Going, Billy?

"Bill Barr kowtowed to President Trump's worst whims, unleashed federal law enforcement on peaceful protestors, and allowed the Trump administration to throw out law and order for the president's political allies. A disgusting legacy and stain on democracy."

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.)

Bill Barr has achieved the seemingly impossible. He has made me nostalgic for John Mitchell and Ed Meese. He made me forget about John Ashcroft! I never dreamed that such a thing would be even remotely possible. Strange days, indeed. As Donald Trump's "private attorney" these last two years he has done much damage - not only to the Department of Justice - but to the very idea of Justice in America itself. From his interfering in the sentences of some of Trump's chief cronies - with Mike Flynn and Roger Stone being the most notable examples, to his issuing a misleading version of the Mueller Report where he led Congress to believe that Trump had not obstructed justice (he had).

That so many people at the beginning of Barr's term thought he would be a good choice to replace poor old Jeff Sessions was a bit unnerving to me. They apparently forgot his behavior for the brief time he served as attorney general for George H.W. Bush over thirty years ago. As the Bush 41 era was winding down, Barr had maneuvered pardons for men like secretary of state Casper Weinberger - who would surely have otherwise done some serious time in the slammer because of his machinations during the Iron Contra Affair. Trump is not the first master for whom Billy Barr has done the bidding. He really needs to be - forgive the lousy pun - disbarred.

It's not clear at this point whether or not Barr resigned or was fired. Is it possible that he is aware of plans the Donald has concocted for the next thirty-four days that even he wants no part of? That's a distinct possibility? Why not just stick it out until the end?

Tom Degan

Goshen, NY

SUGGESTED LISTENING:

Woman is the Nigger of the World

by John Lennon

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5RuCEhHcG4

 

On the occasion of his 80th birthday in October, the estate of John Lennon released a two-CD set of digitally remastered tracks of his most influential recordings. Incredibly,  in an obvious bow to political correctness,  this song - which I believe to be his greatest - was omitted from the collection. Shame on them. This reminded me of the movement in recent years to ban Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn from the nation's schools because of the presence of THAT WORD.

This is one of the most important recordings of the decade of the 1970s. To consign it to our cultural dustbin is wrong on too many levels to even count. It needs to be heard. Don't be afraid of it. To succumb to fear only diminishes all of us. Were they afraid of controversy? Really??? This is John Lennon we're talking about after all. As Lennon noted in one of the last interviews he ever gave in his life, the only people who were offended by the song were all of the uptight white liberals. In fact, when civil rights icon Dick Gregory first heard a demo of the song, he urged Lennon to record it.

Woman is the Nigger of the World.  Think about it.  Do something about it. Sing it. Share it.