At the moment, I happen to be in Las Vegas, which is supposed to be the epicenter of Western decadence. A future Laclos will, however, portray it as a place of simple, straightforward morality compared to what one might call “Global Hollywood”.
In Vegas, drunken couples contract insincere “marriages” in fake chapels, hawkers thrust prostitutes’ calling cards at passing tourists, and “comedians” think George Carlin’s “seven words” are the only funny ones in the English language. But nobody promotes sex-with-drugged-13-year-olds as a harmless amusement verging on a civil right. To reach that level of degeneracy, one must turn to Whoopi Goldberg and other film dignitaries defending fugitive from justice Roman Polanski.
An enterprising reporter might want to ask the celebrities who pledged allegiance to Obama last January what they think of their leader’s indirect complicity in the apprehension of roamin’ Roman. Which is more important to them: bowing down to their “sort of god” or upholding the modern version of droit de seigneur?
I hope, BTW, that the Justice Department underlings who took note of Polanski’s stepping outside of sanctuary and acted swiftly to take advantage of it will receive bonuses and promotions, though I realize that, if publicly identified, they may never be able to rent a DVD again.
Addendum: Not being someone who follows Roman Polanski’s movements – until a couple of days ago, I couldn’t have told you whether he was dead or alive – I was unaware that he “has been traveling between his main residence in Paris and his chalet in Gstaad[, Switzerland] for years” and could have been nabbed several Administrations ago. Cheers, then, to the Obama Justice Department for doing the deed. I hope that the President will stand behind his subordinates in the face of the wrath of Woody Allen et al.
Correction: I’ve been informed that it was California rather than federal authorities who arranged for the Swiss to nab felon-on-the-run Polanski. I’m sorry to have to withdraw my praise of the Obama Justice Department but hope that I’ll have an occasion to say something nice about it in the near future, perhaps when the attorney general stops stiff-arming inquiries by the Civil Rights Commission.
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