This is actually how our system works - they just go for the easy targets

[podfish]

I've made it pretty clear in several posts over the years that I'm not particularly convinced that there's any overarching well-thought-out conspiracy managed by our political overlords. I think their blind spots and cowardice and venality are more often revealed by things like this story - and even better, it's run by my favorite source for truth and balanced coverage!

The government's cleaning itself up again, by going after the mote in their midst while missing the camel on their back. (extra points if you can untangle that biblical and colloquial miscegenation!)

On a different side of the media spectrum, Jon Stewart fell for the same thing recently when he failed to acknowledge how petty the corruption of some Illinois representative was; it caught his (and other media, and congress's) attention because the poor fool posted selfies of his bungie jumps and decorated his office with Downton Abbey memorabilia. One of the big things he was caught with was selling a car that had something less than 100K miles on it but he'd submitted a request for mileage reimbursement for something like 130K or more. My god, what a corrupt fellow! Not like the rest of his cohort, who have far higher standards about taking other people's money! Now that guy's been forced to resign, and we're all better now. Same thing as the severe punishment for stealing bread while you can easily avoid jail for financial crimes if they're big enough.

The US isn't alone - riding to work today I heard a report on the Brazilian mining company corruption. One guy apparently took 130 million(!!) in bribes, but it's ok! now that the investigation has caught him, apparently he's been forced to give it back. Bet he didn't see that coming.... how crushing a blow that must have been. Especially if he's spent a bunch of it. Which he probably has, buying up California real estate. Lots of money coming in from all over the world to here, Florida, New York, and other places where there's too much housing for the locals to ever use.

So why bother to imagine organized secret institutions when there are so many individuals whose cumulative actions lead us to the same sorry results?