BRAINWASHED

            Next to Howard sat the most dangerous man in the state.  And, possibly much of the country.  The one and only good ole boy federal judge Harry Eugene Claiborne.  That sneaky phony smile of his jumped across his narrow lips as he noticed he was being looked at by the governor.  His bright blue eyes sparkled, as he nodded his head toward the governor, who nodded back in recognition.  Those store bought teeth of his were showing brightly, as his trademark.  The man could summon up a phony smile in the face of extreme danger.  He had been considered the best defense attorney in the west before becoming a federal judge.  Of course very few knew the truth behind that reputation.  He was a wheeler and dealer.  He played both ends against the middle.  The Las Vegas Police Department and the Clark County Sheriff’s Department had ole Harry on a permanent retainer to represent cops when they got in serious trouble.  And ole Harry and the corrupt Las Vegas judges got all of the cops out of trouble regardless of what the charges against them were.  And most of the time they were murder charges.  But not to worry.  For the District Attorney’s Office never seriously prosecuted, and the judges were all close buddies of Harry’s.  They all ate at the same trough together.  Consequently, good ole boy Harry Claiborne obtained a magnificent reputation for being the best defense attorney in the west.  When in truth it was all phony.  For the guys he got off were mostly all cops, and Harry didn’t really have any competition from the bench or the prosecutor’s office.  They were all gimmick deals.  No prosecution, naturally no convictions.  And the despicable Las Vegas news media simply made a king out of good ole boy Harry.  They praised him to high heaven every time the corrupt courts dismissed murder charges against his cop clients.  Harry was deadlier than a Cobra.  The very quiet rumors were, that good ole Harry had his own clients knocked off in jail and prison, so he wouldn’t have to spend any of the money they had paid him for their defense.  And, had witnesses against his clients knocked off.  Harry E., didn’t miss a beat....

            “Well, thanks for the confidence.  And yes, we are planning to move to Washington after the election.  That is of course, if I win.”  He smiled warmly at the other faces looking his way.  They all smiled softly themselves.  Hell, as far as they were concerned, the election was in the bag.  They had together made certain of that.  They had called in many favors, spread the money where it was needed, and as always, they had John Q. Public brainwashed through the news media.  That of course being their ace in the hole.  They owned those monkeys in the news media lock stock and barrel.  Owners and Editors of newspapers and television stations were a dime a dozen.  You could buy those bums off the same as any other corrupt bum.  Money accomplished everything.  And these guys together had plenty of it.  And, had the power to get all they needed from the bums they did favors for and pulled strings to make them richer.  It was all about money and power.  Which were one in the same.  The thought struck his mind that when he was a young boy going to school in Las Vegas with these same six men when they were boys, he actually believed in honor.  And of course all the absolutely false crap the teachers taught him about George Washington and that dumb cherry tree.  Yeah right, ole George was caught in the act of chopping down the cherry tree by his father.  And his father allegedly said; “George my boy, who chopped down my cherry tree?”  And good boy George supposedly responded; “Father, I cannot tell a lie.  It was I who chopped down your cherry tree”.  Then of course we all know that good ole boy George because of his absolute honesty went on to become the first president of the country. And of course he always told the truth....  What a crock.  Start a country with a lie.  And that little tiny lie mushroomed into millions of people still being dumb enough to think they had some Rights that were supposedly bestowed upon them by the first politicians of the country.  That being possibly the biggest bad joke of all.   Constitutional Rights.  Y