We are two weeks into the month of September, and it's time to announce our first Ass Clown Award for the month. As you know (because I've whined enough about it), this year has been an especially tough one in which to bestow these awards because the enormous number of potential awardees makes the selection process so difficult. It's also been a depressing exercise, because it makes me focus on the worst aspects of what's already a miserable year.
But that's all beside the point, because we need to get this award presented, and so - without further ado - I present the award for
The Right-Cheek Ass Clown for September, 2020
to
Attorney General William Barr
(third award)
Mr Barr has received this award twice before (you can read the citations here and here), and he continues his worthiness this month with his latest perversion of the Department of Justice in the service of Der Furor.
At the request of the White House, the Justice Department this week asked to take over the defense of Der Furor in a defamation lawsuit filed against him by E. Jean Carroll, a woman who has accused him of sexual assault. While the alleged assault took place some 20 years ago - long before Der Furor became President - Barr's Justice Department is claiming that it must take over the defense because Der Furor's comments which led to the defamation lawsuit came while he was in office. The move puts the cost of defending Der Furor's personal interests at the expense of the American taxpayer -- yet another example of how the Justice Department under Attorney General Barr has acted as the personal legal service of Der Furor rather than the defender of justice for the nation. While it must be noted that there is a legal basis* (however tenuous) for this action, its employment at this time makes clear that its goal is the protection of Der Furor at all costs.
This award is being presented on September 11th, 2020 ... the nineteenth anniversary of the horrific terrorist attacks on the United States carried out by Al Qaeda. It is noteworthy that the Justice Department under this Attorney General refuses to acknowledge the fact that more Americans have been murdered by radical white activists, neo-nazis, and militias since 2001 ... with the results we see: heavily armed, self-styled "peacekeepers" turning out not just to oppose those who commit violence to protest the actions of this administration, but to intimidate those who would protest peacefully.
I believe that the overt politicization of the Department of Justice is the worst damage Der Furor and his hand-picked henchman, William Barr, have wreaked upon our government and the nation ... and that's saying a lot. They have proven that the words engraved on the Supreme Court building - "Equal Justice Under Law" - are false. They have undermined the confidence of average Americans in our ability to depend upon the equal administration of justice, and sown the seeds of doubt that the might and majesty of the government and the law will be employed for our protection. Indeed, the shameless conduct of William Barr tells us that the law exists not to serve the nation, but to serve the interests of a corrupt president.
"Equal Justice Under Law?" Not under this Attorney General.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, Attorney General William Barr has received his third award, named the Right-Cheek Ass Clown for September, 2020. If you are not outraged by his conduct, you need to rethink your view of our rights, and of the responsibilities of those who are supposed to enforce them.
Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow, on Cartoon Saturday.
Bilbo
* The so-called "Westfall Act" (DC Circuit Court decision 05-5161, April 11, 2006).
A most deserving ass clown.
ReplyDeleteWhat's even worse is that the damage Barr and D.F. have done to our system of government will last a LONG time. Trust is like a good reputation - hard to maintain, easy to break, and almost impossible to rebuild. We, as a nation, haven't really trusted our government since Vietnam, but under this Administration the trust level has hit a new low, I fear.
ReplyDeleteWe can prosecute Barr along with tRUMP in January.
ReplyDeleteAn excellent choice, as always. The brazenness amazes me. He knows he's spouting nonsense, knows we know he's spouting nonsense, knows we know he knows he's spouting nonsense, but acts like/believes it doesn't matter and just doesn't care that it does. It seems certain that he's bound to win more...
ReplyDeleteThe whole lot of them need to be voted out. The Supreme Court wants to uphold individual state's voting rights but need to accept and rule before the election on these cases, especially Florida's disenfranchising felons based on unpaid fines that there are such poor records for, so there isn't a way for anyone to even know what the fine is. There's no time for the usual appeal process. This is too important for democracy and this is what The Supreme Court is for.