This Just In – Watch closely now. Like watching a magician with a deck of cards… this is not the time to look away. Now is when the distraction and deception is most likely. There’s just shuffling. Things seem calm and ordinary.
Recently that song lyric popped into my head – “Watch Closely now … Are you watching me now?” I saw an inebriated Kris Kristofferson chugging Jack Daniels, then singing this song. It’s about a man and a woman and his being a “master magician,” seducing her and pleading with her not to leave him.
That lyric came to me while I watched NBC’s Lester Holt interview Attorney General Merrick Garland regarding America’s favorite parlor game “Will Trump be charged with a crime?” He didn’t say so directly, but I believe the AG’s answer was “oh my, yes, of course.” Here’s why:
- Under intense pressure of public scrutiny, the Attorney General is doing a network news interview about an ongoing investigation, but at the risk of stating the obvious, there has never been an investigation like this – not even close.
- Under that same high level of public scrutiny, the Department of Justice finds it necessary to inform the public that actually they have been working on this since Garland was first brought to his desk and instructed on where the paper clips are in the office. At present, the DOJ has charged more than 800 people with criminal acts related to the January 6th attack on the Capitol. There’s no equivalent.
- Holt framed a somewhat loaded question to Garland about whether charging the former president would “arguably tear the country apart” and then asked if that prospect was included in the considerations about bringing charges, seeking indictments against the former guy, who is credibly described by a conservative former federal judge as a “clear and present danger” – not formerly … currently. Garland said the DOJ will hold anyone/everyone who is criminally responsible accountable. In other words, NO.
Watch closely now. Are you watching?
In our area, we lovelovelove some sports. Nothing will fire up the spirit of the Triangle in the coldest days at the end of each winter like the Carolina-Duke matchup on the basketball court. There’s no comparison.
We always want to win against Duke and this year, we even managed a win that brought Coach K to the floor of Cameron Indoor to apologize to his fans just for losing his last game there. Not for an unfair game, not for misconduct, not for anything other than losing the game.
So here’s the thing … There is one way and one way only that Duke and UNC have this tremendous rivalry – a rivalry that allows me to have many friends who are diehard Duke fans and allows me to have an extremely high level of respect for Coach K while still being able to criticize him when I think it’s called for. Just one thing – FAIR PLAY.
In order to have a great, hard fought rivalry and championships that mean anything at all (in this sport or any other) we must have rules and fair officiating. We must.
We loved to joust at Coach K as he “worked the refs” on his end of the court, especially in Durham, at least in part because we felt that a lot of that was show business and intended to fire up his team and their fans. And boy howdy was he ever great at doing that.
If it were true that Krzyzewski actually bought off or otherwise seriously influenced the refs to cause Duke to win, he’d be long forgotten in ACC history. It is the fairness and the acceptance of a loss that make a win great.
The world of criminal justice DEPENDS on fairness. In this realm, what is already “tearing the country apart” is a long-standing pattern of double standards between races and the über rich vs. the rest of us. We have seen more than enough of rich, white men getting away with crimes right under our noses. THIS is what’s tearing the country apart.
When criminal cases are brought against a person who was born into the wealth he enjoys and has done nothing throughout his life but lie, cheat and steal to acquire more, the masses that he calls “suckers” who serve their country in military service, police our streets and selflessly rescue us from fires and natural disasters, those who teach in often unsafe public schools and those who attend to us in the healthcare system … all of us will embrace the notion that he will receive a FAIR TRIAL – whatever the outcome.
Americans are not divided on the question of allowing a violent mob to obstruct election certification. We’re not fuzzy on whether any citizen should be able to incite an armed, angry mob to the Capitol to murder a vice-president and other members of Congress … at any time.
These things are repugnant to those whose government declares an inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Watch closely now. Are you watching?
Jean Bolduc is a freelance writer and the host of the Weekend Watercooler on 97.9 The Hill. She is the author of “African Americans of Durham & Orange Counties: An Oral History” (History Press, 2016) and has served on Orange County’s Human Relations Commission, The Alliance of AIDS Services-Carolina, the Orange County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, and the Orange County Schools’ Equity Task Force. She was a featured columnist and reporter for the Chapel Hill Herald and the News & Observer.
Readers can reach Jean via email – jean@penandinc.com and via Twitter @JeanBolduc
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