When my parents repeatedly warned “Everybody is not your friend,” and “Choose your friends carefully,” they must’ve known the guilt-by-association trouble Jeffrey Epstein’s friends would encounter. From the rich and powerful to aspiring wannabes, I suspect we haven’t felt the full weight of this sordid sex trafficking tale and the unfriendly tenacles waiting to snare those who keep trying unsuccessfully to distance themselves from him.
We’ve had a million distractions–legislative holidays, foreign invasions, resignations, political wrangling, court delays, and President Trump’s insistence that this is a partisan attempt to discredit him, but Epstein’s horrific acts won’t go away. We, the people, mind our own business unless we smell lies, a coverup, or you hurt our women and children, then it’s a relentless pursuit of transparency, justice for the victims, and the whole un-redacted truth. Then, and only then, will we move on to something else.
President Trump’s pardons are often controversial, so if he frees convicted co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, we shouldn’t be surprised—outraged but not surprised. In her most recent testimony, she offered to provide answers in exchange for a presidential pardon. That would be a slap in the face to victims and their families, especially since she was convicted of finding, supplying, and participating in these heinous crimes.
While we’re on the subject of President Trump, give him kudos for being a prolific headline generator. From offensive pictures of former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michellle, berating Olympians and half-time presenters, to taking over, then renaming/closing the Kennedy Center, suggesting nationalized elections to achieve honest and fair outcomes, and triple checking 2020 election results.
I’m not sure which White House staffer got blamed for or thrown under the bus for the brief inclusion of the Obamas in the jungle picture on social media, but either President Trump or Karoline Leavitt should have offered a more plausible excuse, quicker removal, or some sort of an apology. The American people deserve better than this deeply troubling display of stereotypical images from our leader, especially during African American History Month. In my humble opinion, our “least racist president” needs some of those DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) classes he eliminated last year.
One or two final notes: Mr. Trump, please find something else to put your name on and leave the Kennedy Center alone.
Fair and honest elections are what democracies are built on—we do not need Republicans or Democrats to accidentally disenfranchise whole swaths of people in the name of nationalizing or standardizing elections.
We have a hard enough time keeping our representatives in their lane and focused on the Constitution—the last thing they need is more power. We don’t need or want perfect folks, just those who will stand up for right, justice, equity, and fairness, and fight for all of us when the chips are down.
We need to cheer our Olympians on and respect their right to criticize the things they find troubling in this beautiful country of ours. Some of us are also ashamed of how we have treated peaceful protests(tors) and our immigrant neighbors but these amazing athletes represent us and all that makes the United States of America great. They’ve earned/inherited the right to speak/bask in the freedoms we enjoy and cannot flourish without.
Whether we understood Bad Bunny’s energetic moves or lyrical stylings in Spanish during the Super Bowl halftime or not, I felt hope and I heard unity and peace. Dear friends, we could all use a lot more of all three.
