Okay, so Ghislaine is going to jail, as she should. It’s looking a bit like Prince Andrew is going to take a shellacking in the press and public opinion. The article I read in the Guardian said, “As to whether Prince Andrew is in greater jeopardy in terms of the civil suit now being stronger there could be some pressure on the court because the public wants to know why the users of these young girls were not held accountable,” former sex crimes prosecutor Wendy Murphy told the Observer.“ The public wants a pound of flesh from the rapists – not just the pimps – but the civil suit is all about money and when the right numbers are paid the case will go away, assuming it survives the jurisdictional challenges,” Murphy added. (I added the italicized emphasis because that’s the salient point to this piece.)

See, the prince MAY end up paying some money. Even if a judgement is entered against him, it will be done in an American court and the Brits could just say, “Yeah, so?” and ignore the judgement. Then Andrew will just go back to his life. Not the public appearances, of course but not jail, either. Despite the fact that “the public wants to know why the users of these young girls were not held accountable” and “The public wants a pound of flesh from the rapists – not just the pimps” – all true – that will be as far as it goes. It’s just bad luck for Andrew that he got caught up in this thing publicly before his people could get ahead of it. It’s also bad luck for humanity as we all watch – again – as the so-called “rule of law” demonstrates it’s limitations, applying, as it does, only to the “great unwashed…”

Some have speculated that ol’ Ghis might make a deal with prosecutors to go after some of the other abusers. She’s not going to get the chance, I think. We all KNOW she has the goods on some very rich, very powerful people but those people have done the necessary work to get the government to stand down without pursuit. That is, the government isn’t going to prosecute anyone else. From the same article; “…government prosecutors have made no indication since Maxwell’s conviction that they intend to prosecute further, either other members of Epstein’s staff or alleged customers of the Epstein-Maxwell sex trafficking conspiracy. Instead, they have given signs that they are closing the book.” Since the government has decided to let those perps scurry back into their little hidy-holes, she has nothing to trade. Bummer for her but, really, it might save her life.

Remember when her partner Jeffery Epstein didn’t kill himself in jail? I mean, he died there, sure, but an investigation discovered that he managed his “suicide” in the few moments not one but TWO guards simply turned their backs for a few carefully selected minutes. Okay, maybe he had the most amazing timing in history. I go with the “looks like a duck, walks like a duck” theory. But guess what? Again, from the same article, “Last week, prosecutors dropped charges against the two detention guards who failed to check on Epstein the night of his suicide (sic).” They didn’t “fail to check” him. They intentionally turned their backs and closed their eyes. Now they’re walking away – likely MUCH wealthier individuals…

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Okay, this is funny. John Roberts, Chief “Justice” of the “Supreme” Court, says Federal judges need to be more careful about presiding over cases in which they might have a financial interest. Apparently, he’s concerned about the appearance of impropriety. He said (and he actually said) “…because public trust is essential, not incidental, to our function.” Then he went back to dismantling the Constitution with ideological decisions. Who in their right minds would – could – trust this sour cream court after the packing done by the GOP? The lip service is all well and good but actions speak louder than words…

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I guess by now we all know that Betty White passed. Most of the pieces I’ve seen written about her focus on her success as a “Golden Girl.” I first came to know her as Sue Ann Nivens from ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’ and that will always be my favorite of her roles. Sue Ann hosted a fictional show called ‘The Happy Homemaker’ and was perky, happy, and sweet. Sickeningly sweet. She was also devious and “man-hungry.” White, herself, described Nivens as “icky sweet.”

Apparently, Betty White and Mary Tyler Moore were very close personal friends and the show runners producing ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’ were hesitant to audition White for the role of Nivens for fear that if she wasn’t right for the part, it might create tension between Moore and White. Of course, she wasn’t just right for the part, she was perfect. She won two Emmy’s for that role. Do yourself a favor. Go back and watch Betty White as Sue Ann Nivens on ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show.’ You’ll laugh.

What greater gift could a performer leave behind?