First, let's kill all the lawyers....

[exedir]

We are a troublesome people, living in a troublesome society that has a troublesome view of just what and who is the point of justice, the American system of justice. And one of the troublesome part of Americans and their sense of justice is, to paraphrase another justice, Supreme Court Justice Potter Steward, " I know it when I see it".

Of course, this viewpoint has changed overtime and change more recently due to what people see and hear, see and hear on media that has brought the criminal and justice system into American homes as entertainment. And in that entertainment we have moved from those that enforce the system and operate our courts to the viewpoint of the individuals that experience the system not only as criminals but as victims, victims both of the crimes and the system of justice.

Once it was the point of justice was to carry out the enforcement, where we saw the police as the ultimate barrier against crime and criminals, from radio to television as shows such as Gang Busters and Dragnet had heroes defending us on a daily basis against criminals, both foreign and domestic. Then we saw justice from the defense bar; Perry Mason, The Defenders, Matlock and Ironside where sympathy was generated for those accused and the struggle for justice against the state. And now we have reality, or, a sense of reality with courtroom television to show us the "real" story as to how justice is done, and what the system can provide for both entertainment and education, if not drama.

We have had a range of cases brought before us, and the court of public opinion, to see, hear and to have mostly analyzed by those that are presented to have expertise and opinions, that can express what it is we are seeing and hearing, as to who is "winning" and who is "losing". Seeming we have been presented a combination of another reality TV genre, the game show, such as Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy where both skill and luck play. We are also entertained by the reality and eratz genre, court TV, where faux judges are placed in front of ginned up, scripted plaintiffs and defendants to fill syndicated afternoon airtime shared with the celebrity hosted talk shows.

And there have been the unscripted, live, as it happens, courtroom television of actual trials and courtroom proceedings that reached its peak with the O.J. Simpson murder trial and has continued with such trials as; Casey Anthony, Jodi Arias and now George Zimmerman. These widely covered actual trials have also included Michael Jackson(more than once), Lindsey Lohan and Britney Spears as what inquiring minds want to know.

Overall the question remains, has justice been done, or, is it only in the eye of the beholder.

[LoveLife&Laughter]

The Tea Baggers are trying real hard to blame Martin for being dead, not Zimmerman.

[P.A.]

Why do you think the tea baggers all lined up with the killer and not with the unarmed teen he killed? They claim to be Christians. What happened to thou shall not kill?

[ProblemAgain]

it just might be an idea to look at the unholy alliance between the nra and the evangelical christians....that has more to do with the idiocy in this country than race in the present timespan. race just becomes a leverage point when you have testosterone-fueled young men wandering around with guns.

[Ioruach]

There has been a lot of heavy breathing and pontificating about the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman matter, beginning with the first report of the shooting.  I suggest reading a column that appeared today in Slate, written by William Saletan.  In it, he takes one of the more rational and reasoned approaches to the issue that I have seen.