A couple weeks ago I wrote here about the perverse GOP Tax "Reform" Bill. Turns out it's even worse than anyone expected. In addition to cheating the Middle Class and steering most of the benefits to the rich-- which will then balloon the deficit and "force" them to desperately hack away at Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, anything but make the wealthy make any sacrifices-- it also gives special tax breaks to private jet owners AND to golf course owners! I'll leave it to the reader to recall whether they're aware of any famous person who fits both categories. I'd call these provisions supremely swampy. Also, 100% predictable.

Sincerely,

Stephen Van Eck, Rushville, PA

Politicians stand right behind the ladies of the night as members of the second oldest profession, politics. The difference between the two occupations is that prostitutes earn their living by pleasing others, while politicians collect their dollars by pleasing themselves.

Witness the panicky flight of Republicans from Judge Roy Moore. They distanced themselves from Moore like rabbits fleeing from a hound. How many of that congressional herd stood by Moore in light of the present allegations of his sexual misconduct? Not a one. Zero. Nada.

Consider the word, "allegation." It's defined as "an assertion made with little or no proof." In other words, the burden of proof rests upon the women who made the "allegations" against Moore, while Moore has no legal or moral obligation to prove his innocence.

The presumption of innocence is fundamental in our judicial system. Though not explicitly codified in the U.S. Constitution, the concept is based upon constitutionally guaranteed rights such as the right to remain silent (Amendment 5) and the right to a jury trial (Article 4, Section 3). Moreover, it has been part of the western legal system called common law, which predates the Constitution by hundreds of years.

Well, all that was turned on its head.

Among the politicos, an allegation is equivalent to guilty. The defendant must prove he is innocent. There are four significant 20th-century examples of legal systems based on the presumption of guilt.

One is found in the socialist Soviet Union. Joseph Stalin's Minister of Internal Affairs, Lavrentiy Beria once said to the Soviet dictator, "Give me a man and I will find the crime." If trialed, Beria assured Stalin that the accused was on his way to a Gulag.

Another example is the National Socialist (Nazi) regime headed by the autocrat, Adolf Hitler. If brought before the bench Chief of the German Police (the Gestapo) Heinrich Himmler, who made sure that the defendant was carted off to a concentration camp.

For brevity's sake, we'll mention the other two in passing: Mao Zedong in China and Pol Pot in Cambodia, both social re-constructionists nightmares.

Should we then add a fifth terror regime, the United States?

But wait. Doesn't one of the put-upon women have her allegation supported by evidence? Yes, only one, Beverly Young Nelson.

Nelson alleges---there's that word, again---that Moore made sexual advances to her when she was 16. To lend weight to her charge, she claims to have a yearbook with this inscription, in Moore's handwriting: “To a sweeter more beautiful girl I could not say 'Merry Christmas' Christian love, 1977 Love, Roy Moore D.A. 12-22-77 Olde Hickory House.”

To Nelson's crusading leftist attorney, Gloria Allred, this is a prosecuting attorney's dream. All Allred had to do is produce the yearbook proving a somewhat intimate association between Nelson and Moore. That gives credibility to her client's allegation. Case closed. Moore's guilty.

Or so it seemed.

Then Moore took his turn at-bat.

First, he claims that the D.A. written after his stamped signature are the initials of his legal assistant, Delbra Adams. She explained that it's her initials after Moore's stamped signature that verifies the stamp as authentic. But the forger made a glaring oversight. Adams was not employed by Moore until ten years after 1977.

Second, at that time Moore was not a district attorney---the “D.A.” in the yearbook--- but an assistant district attorney.

Third, Moore said he doesn't know anything about the “Olde Hickory House."

Fourth, he emphatically asserts that he never met or has he had any contact with Beverly Nelson. And fifth, Moore refutes the entire yearbook inscription as a forgery. So it is a forgery?

Six handwriting experts were consulted. Each said that a proper examination of the inscription could only be performed on the original text, not with a photo or computer copy. Given the original document, experts can conduct a three-step analysis that reveals pressure points and the age of the ink to assess its authenticity.

The ball is in Allred's court. If she releases the yearbook for a thirty-party analysis, and it is genuine, Moore is condemned. But if it is a forgery, Beverly Nelson is condemned, and Moore is vindicated.

Allred does not and will not release the yearbook.

A parting shot. Darrel Nelson, the stepson of Beverly Nelson, said his stepmother's allegation is a lie. “I've known her for a while now, and I truly do not believe that she's being honest about this,” said Nelson.

Sincerely,

Bob Scroggins, New Milford, PA