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I have a sick feeling tonight. Its like we're living in Roman times. I have always felt that the Bush cabal looked at themselves as though they were the modern day equivalent of the Romans. With the latest revelations about now ex-congressman Foley it seems that we are all subjects in the new Roman empire.
The sick perversions that were so prevalent during Roman times are alive and well amongst our power elite. One can imagine Foley perusing the new crop of pages with a leering eye and selecting his favorites to be called to his chambers. His colleagues turn a blind eye to his tastes. In fact, in an even more perverse turn of events, it seems that Congressman Reynolds probably used knowledge of Foley's sick acts to coerce a $100,000 "donation" from him. Or perhaps that payment represents the standard fee for pimping a young page from your district.
The thing that has me upset however, is the feeling that there will be no repercussions from this revelation. The conduct of those that knew that Foley was a child molester -put aside any "innocent until proven guilty" notions, this sick bastard has been doing stuff like this for a long time- is more than just politics or strategy, its criminal. As a society we're too busy watching the Gladiators on Sunday or Desperate Housewives or I don't know what, to really care too much. Just keep waving the 'merican flag, blowin' up them there terrists and cuttin' my taxes and everything will be just fine.
Where are the parents of any of these kids Foley was trolling for? Parents that sent their kids to Washington for the experience of a lifetime and instead ended up as contestants in a perverted version of Love Connection. People shouldn't even be thinking about the kinds of things Foley was putting in those instant messages. What kind of person would stand by and allow someone like Foley to continue to go about his business after finding out what he was doing? Oh, Speaker Hastert now calls for an investigation, but anyone who let this go on for one day longer than it had to is criminally liable. Everyone who thinks that anyone who failed to put a stop to Foley's escapades will be held accountable, raise their hand.
A long time ago, I was a young assistant prosecutor. My job was to put people like Foley in jail. It's hard to rank what the most disturbing part of the job was. Having to interview the victims. Having to put them on the witness stand and elicit their testimony. Having to talk to the jury during openings and closings about just plain sick stuff. Looking at the defendants and trying to figure out just what in the hell was going on in their minds. Just having to think about this stuff in an analytical and clinical manner was pretty creepy. At the end of the day however, the defendants paid the price for their actions. I'm wondering if Foley will. I hate to say it but I don't think he will nor will any of his former colleagues who share in his guilt.
So, back to the Roman Empire. Emperor Georgius has sent his legions to far off places to fight the barbarians while tales of their valor are used to glorify our emperor. The people are kept mollified by the benevolence of his excellency, (exemplified by his cutting the amount of tribute that is demanded from us) and by wondrous entertainment (like Survivor, COPS or the Amazing Race). Bread and Circuses indeed. The Praetorian Guard keeps opposition at home in check. The coffers of the elite keep growing. Secure in their status and insulated from the masses, the ruling class is free to indulge in gluttony and perversion. Episode 4 of I Claudius? No, its I Georgius 2006. Pardon me while I repair to the vomitorium.
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