(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . With Liberty and Justice for Some [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-11-09 The Pledge of Allegiance just got thrown out the window. There have been five versions. The first one in 1892 went: "I pledge allegiance to My flag, and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." The current one, 4 U.S.C. ยง 4, since 1954 reads: "I pledge allegiance to the Flag, of the United States of America, and to the Republic, for which it stands, one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all." There also have been totally different variations like the one put forth by the Daughters of the American Revolution, that didn't have "with liberty and justice for all" in it. I've been saying "with liberty and justice for some" my whole life. I realized that the justice system is twisted by the rich and powerful in their favor. We've just seen that happen with the cases against Donald Trump. I'll never call him "President Donald Trump". He's as far from that ideal leader as one could be. Well meaning writers and politicians may say that we should put our tails between our legs and get behind a new president for the good of the country. We can't do that and retain our duty to fairness and sanity. This time, as in 2016, we have to defend our country from the enemy within: Donald Trump. Trump already has his legal surrogates, like Mark Paoletta, threatening to go after every individual that had any involvement in a case against Trump. Paoletta is on the short list to be Attorney General of the United States, so you can see where Trump is heading. Everybody who said that Trump was just kidding about all the violent and illegal things he espoused, were stupid and ignorant beyond belief. Republicans: this is on you. Your excuses and sane-washing of "oh, well, he didn't really mean that" has left us as a country in danger of no longer being a Republic. You've turned the Pledge of Allegiance into a word salad. The accessory to this crime, besides an uninformed public, is the Supreme Court. Their immunity decision has given Trump carte blanche to do anything he can imagine. He's even threatening to go after anyone who disparages his social media platform, Truth Social. There is absolutely nothing too small or petty for Donald. Gov. Gavin Newsom of California is calling for a special session of the legislature to move the state out of Trump's grasp. This, of course, has enraged Trump. Gov. JB Pritzer of Illinois and Gov. Maura Healy of Massachusetts have vowed to do the same. Sen. Elizabeth Warren put up a pep talk video telling us that it's going to be a bumpy ride, but there are still things winnable. President Biden is doing what he can to keep Trump from reducing the functioning of government to nothing before he ratchets up the attacks on his enemies with the full force of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. There's a supposed separation of powers, but it's not detailed in the Constitution, and if it was, Trump would obliterate it. He thinks he has that power. I am not confident that checks and balances still exist to stop Trump. Every time he steps over the line, all the cowards in goverment quiver in fear of his wrath and their continuation of holding office. Justice for all. A lofty ideal that we continually want, but especially during the Trump era, seems out of reach. Nixon was taken to task for his crimes, and then not, with President Ford's pardon. That may be the root of the Supreme Court immunity decision. In 1974, that Supreme Court made Nixon give up his tape recordings and Nixon resigned before he was impeached or charged with crimes he admitted to out loud. Ford gave Nixon the pardon for the good of the nation, but many historians and legal analysts think it was a big mistake. So do I. If there was justice for all, Trump would be in federal prison for treason for Jan 6th. Remember that Donald likes the death penalty for treason. He threatened Gen. Mark Milley with it. Trump should be sentenced to 4 years in state prison for the 34 felony convictions in the election interference hush money case. He should be in jail for breaching national security in the classified documents case. He should be in state prison for RICO case in Georgia. The problem with justice for Donald is that he can afford to hire as many lawyers as he wants to muck up the works and delay his day of reckoning. This is not how the legal system should work. But it does because we don't want to trample on the rights of defendants. There should be a fair trial, but there must BE a trial. The U.S. Senate had the chance to convict Trump of crimes while in office. The justice system had the chance to convict Trump of major crimes when he is/was a former President. Now it seems he will get away with everything because is going to be President, again. This is not justice for the American people. This is not justice for the rule of law. This is not justice for the poor and unpowerful. This is a world of justice upended for the sake of one man who neither deserves it or should be allowed to have it, because has the money and power to subvert it. 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