Justice depends on which team you play on

Constitutional law should be taught in every high school in America. It might help put a stop to the misguided rantings of the ignorant and uninformed. It could very well educate people like Tommy Tuberville, who in spite of being a college educated man, didn’t know the levels of government when he was elected to serve in the United States Senate.
What is even more disturbing is the fact that we now have a government with two sets of rules that depend on which team you play for. How angry do you think we in Alabama would be if our football teams were penalized for jumping offsides and Georgia jumped offsides every play? We would demand justice, yet some of us turn a deaf ear and blind eye to the crimes that have been committed by the former president. It has come down to which team we play on and not upholding the law of justice.
We are seeing and hearing the same members of our Senate make excuses for Trump, but they demanded restitution when it came to the other side. Don’t misunderstand where I am coming from. There should be the same laws and rules for everyone regardless of which political party commits a wrong act.
Before Trump, our Congress was not as “cult-like” as they have become. Former Republican Alabama Governor Robert Bentley was asked to “do the right thing” and resign when he was caught in an affair. That is not what got him, but much like Trump, he was caught misspending campaign money and using taxpayer’s money to cover up an affair. The same Alabama members of Congress had a much different look at the time.
Robert Aderholt said Bentley made the right decision to resign, but he is calling the indictment against Trump “a stunt.”  Aderholt also commented, “The prosecutors of New York City should focus on the very real crime crisis that they are facing on a daily basis. To use our justice system as a weapon is to tear down the system that we all hold dear.”  Our justice system is misused by ignoring the crimes of the rich and famous.
Gary Palmer also said Bentley did the right thing but is now saying that Trump is a victim of an attempted political assassination of a former president and demanded the case be thrown out immediately.  
Barry Moore said at the time that he hoped Bentley would show remorse and resign. However he has stated the arrest of Trump proves that Democrats have used the government against the American people.
Dale Strong accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of abusing his office and the indictment of Trump is “politically motivated.” Once again a lesson in Constitutional Law would prove beneficial in this case.  Bragg did not indict Trump. That is not how an indictment works. A grand jury of every day, average citizens listens to the testimony, reviews the evidence and then determines if there is enough evidence to charge and/or convict someone for violating the law. We don’t usually expect a person without a law degree to automatically know this, but we do expect a member of Congress to know it. Chances are, Strong does know this, but in spite of it, is defending Trump just like so many of his peers.
Tuberville has been holding up the promotions of members of our military placing our country in jeopardy because he is using his own personal opinion about women's rights instead of doing his job. Tuberville is also calling the indictment of Trump a “witch hunt” and claims that it is a threat to our democracy. The fact that Trump attempted to bribe a Georgia elections officer in the last election and laundered money through his campaign for personal use and countless other criminal acts should be viewed as a “threat to our democracy.”   
If one wants to be honest with oneself, we have to answer the question: if these were actions committed by former President Barack Obama, would any Republican defenders of Trump be voicing this same opinion? Be honest! In a post-Trump county, it is no longer about justice, but which team you play on.  
We believe our justice system works on the rule that a person is considered innocent until proven guilty. Lady Justice is blindfolded because justice is unbiased. She holds scales to represent the impartiality of the court's decisions and a sword as a symbol of the power of justice.  Our political leaders take an oath to protect our country against enemies both foreign and domestic. If we want this system to work, we have to stop putting the wolf in the hen house.
The attack on our Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was a slap in our faces as Americans. It was made even more revolting when members of our Congress tried to change the truth of that day to excuse the actions of an instigator against our democracy. We must watch the actions of our Congress had a much different look at the time.
Robert Aderholt said Bentley made the right decision to resign, but he is calling the indictment against Trump “a stunt.”  Aderholt also commented, “The prosecutors of New York City should focus on the very real crime crisis that they are facing on a daily basis. To use our justice system as a weapon is to tear down the system that we all hold dear.”  Our justice system is misused by ignoring the crimes of the rich and famous.
Gary Palmer also said Bentley did the right thing but is now saying that Trump is a victim of an attempted political assassination of a former president and demanded the case be thrown out immediately.  
Barry Moore said at the time that he hoped Bentley would show remorse and resign. However he has stated the arrest of Trump proves that Democrats have used the government against the American people.
Dale Strong accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of abusing his office and the indictment of Trump is “politically motivated.” Once again a lesson in Constitutional Law would prove beneficial in this case.  Bragg did not indict Trump. That is not how an indictment works. A grand jury of every day, average citizens listens to the testimony, reviews the evidence and then determines if there is enough evidence to charge and/or convict someone for violating the law. We don’t usually expect a person without a law degree to automatically know this, but we do expect a member of Congress to know it. Chances are, Strong does know this, but in spite of it, is defending Trump just like so many of his peers.
Tuberville has been holding up the promotions of members of our military placing our country in jeopardy because he is using his own personal opinion about women's rights instead of doing his job. Tuberville is also calling the indictment of Trump a “witch hunt” and claims that it is a threat to our democracy. The fact that Trump attempted to bribe a Georgia elections officer in the last election and laundered money through his campaign for personal use and countless other criminal acts should be viewed as a “threat to our democracy.”   
If one wants to be honest with oneself, we have to answer the question: if these were actions committed by former President Barack Obama, would any Republican defenders of Trump be voicing this same opinion? Be honest! In a post-Trump county, it is no longer about justice, but which team you play on.  
We believe our justice system works on the rule that a person is considered innocent until proven guilty. Lady Justice is blindfolded because justice is unbiased. She holds scales to represent the impartiality of the court's decisions and a sword as a symbol of the power of justice.  Our political leaders take an oath to protect our country against enemies both foreign and domestic. If we want this system to work, we have to stop putting the wolf in the hen house.
The attack on our Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was a slap in our faces as Americans. It was made even more revolting when members of our Congress tried to change the truth of that day to excuse the actions of an instigator against our democracy. We must watch the actions of our elected government and make sure these defectors from our Constitution are held accountable in our next election and elections to come. We need to all play on the team of justice when we see and know of a wrong being done regardless of which team we play on. If we continue to lose our way in what is justice, we will lose our democracy. One man’s excuses to always ignore the law and demand and threaten those who bring him accountable is not a team player for either team. He is out only for himself and cares nothing about how he gets his way, as long as he gets it. He will destroy and tear down everything that has been built with the blood of our veterans and the sacrifices of our ancestors. This man is not worth the lies that he needs to escape the justice that we as a country deserve. We all serve our country every time we vote. If we continue to elect those who are playing with a deceitful game plan, then we all lose.  
Lynda Kirkpatrick
Marion County Democratic Party Chair, Alabama State Democratic Party SDEC, District 17 Representative ADP Executive Committee