Do you suppose Joe Schmo, out there in one of those “red” states — say, Arkansas or Wyoming — woke up one morning recently, turned on Fox News, and thought, “What the fu*k?!! That ain’t what he told us!” . . . ?

That’s what appears to be happening to a number of Donald Trump’s loyal MAGA base, as well as some Republican members of Congress who may have suddenly grown consciences (guilty or otherwise). And it all has to do — not with the war in Ukraine, or immigration policy, or even the economy — but with the late, licentious, lawless Jeffrey Epstein.

Personally, I don’t give a rat’s ass about Epstein. I am one of the fortunate millions of people who never met him, and who was never in any way impacted by his degeneracy. Following his conviction, I had hoped he would live a great many more years in prison, where — in a shining example of the ultimate payback — he would become the boy toy of an inmate named Hulk. But not for my personal satisfaction . . . rather, for all of those innocent people he actually harmed.

You see, what I do care about is justice. And whether Epstein committed suicide or was murdered in prison is important, because — no matter how evil the victim may have been — no murder should go unsolved, and no killer unpunished.

And the fallout from the notorious “list” — and whether it ever even existed — matters because there may be others out there guilty of heinous crimes who should be held accountable, but whose names might otherwise never be known.

And that’s the crux of the matter: Who are the people who are so frightened that their names might be on such a list? They are not likely to be the local pharmacist or your child’s elementary school teacher. Epstein only associated with the high and the mighty in business and industry, the arts, and government. And those people have everything to lose.

The sudden frantic scrambling in the White House and the Justice Department to recant their earlier allegations that such a list existed and was, in fact, sitting at one point on the desk of the Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney General, Pam Bondi . . . well, how can one not raise an eyebrow, and a whole lot of questions?

So yes, it matters. Just as it mattered when Richard Nixon tried to deny the Watergate break-in, and Bill Clinton denied having sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky.

It matters because such things are not strictly personal; there are major legal issues involved. And when you are in a position of power and trust — whether in government or private industry — there are also possible issues of national security to worry about.

Not to mention — dare I say it? — the issue of a standard of morality to which our leaders should be held . . . and to which I’m sure the good Christian members of the White House Faith Office would be the first to agree.

So, though Jeffrey Epstein is dead and gone, the detritus of his abominable lifestyle continues to float downstream. And those MAGA loyalists have every right — indeed, a responsibility — to question the motives of their leaders in hiding the truth.

As do we all.

For their sake . . .

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
7/17/25