Monday, September 27, 2010

A Joke?

On Telemundo a commentator they call "Papa Rush" was discussing the disgusting situation with Lindsay Lohan. He switched to English to say, "the U.S. court system is a joke." Another commentator called the media and legal system treatment of the situation tantamount to using her celebrity status in an immoral way to put forward their political or marketing agendas. She advised that if the courts were serious about helping this troubled young actor they would send her away to a rehab program far enough away from her previous life that she could actually get her feet on the ground, rather than playing revolving door with her.

Point well taken about Lindsay. I think their assessment of the situation is not far from the truth. I would agree that in many instances our legal system has reduced itself to a laughing matter.

But it sounds funny coming from the source it does. There's a TV show called "Locked Up Abroad" flouting the conditions in third-world country jails (implying not-so-gently that here in the US we're "enlightened" enough to have a humane corrections system....) Understood, Mexican jails are more of a deterrent to crime than U.S. jails are. But Mexico has lost control of its northern border to the drug cartels who have the whole legal system in the area under their thumb.

Looks to me like a fine case of the pot calling the kettle black.

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