And the hits just keep on coming
Those of us who tuned in weekly to hear the late Casey Kasem hosting America's Top 40 heard the title phrase often. I don't know for certain, but I believe he took it from the title of an excellent album from Michael Nesmith. He made the album in 1972 after leaving The Monkees.
I bring this up because of an op-ed from yesterday's L.A. Times that caught my eye. Regarding the presumption of innocence, its author Brendan O'Neill writes, "The great liberal English barrister John Mortimer called this presumption the “golden thread” running through any progressive idea of justice. And it’s a thread that is being weakened in the febrile post-Weinstein climate."
The thing is, Mortimer was quoting someone else. Lord Justice John Sankey was a barrister and judge in pre WWII England. He said, "Throughout the web of the English criminal law one golden thread is always to be seen - that it is the duty of the prosecution to prove the prisoner's guilt subject to what I have already said as to the defence of insanity and subject also to any statutory exception."
The presumption of innocence is a right that we are all entitled to, in the criminal justice system. Outside the criminal justice system, it is not a right codified in the law. We should be considered innocent in the court of public opinion, in the eyes of others and so on, but that is not what is transpiring at this moment.
O'Neill writes about the fact that Jeremy Piven and George Takei's reputations are tarnished because of a single accusation against them. He also rails that "It is now astonishingly easy to ruin a celebrity or near-celebrity. You can do it with a social media post. Spend five minutes writing a Facebook entry about how so-and-so in Hollywood once did something bad to you and — boom — that person is done for. You can dispatch him from polite society with a press of a button on your cellphone."
CBS is investigating the allegation against Piven, but his new TV show is continuing. If George Takei's reputation is suffering, it may have something to do with the allegation against him when reviewed in light of comments he made on the Howard Stern show. But like anything else, people get to make up their own minds about what they think.
I'm not saying that the people accusing Piven, Takei and others are being less than truthful. I'm not passing any judgments regarding those allegations. OTOH I think Roy Moore, Harvey Weinstein, James Toback. Brett Ratner and Kevin Spacey are almost certainly guilty of at least some of the allegations against them. That's because it isn't just one or two people accusing them.
We also need to remember that this is being politicized. And what's really interesting is that while there are some Republicans being critical of Roy Moore, and some Democrats calling for Al Franken to resign; accused politicians are being attacked and defended along party lines. How else do we explain how an Alabama pastor by the name of Earl Wise is defending Roy Moore by saying "plus there are some 14 year olds, who the way they look, could pass for 20."
Uh, Pastor Wise, 20 year olds are carrying around their high school year books.
* * *
When a police officer is accused of wrongdoing, they are normally suspended with pay. They must await the investigation's completion.
Olivia Munn says she can't understand why anyone would want to work with Brett Ratner. Choosing who you will and won't work with is a choice that people in her industry get to make. Don't want to work with another producer/director/actor/writer/whatever, you don't do the deal. That's fair. Gal Gadot said she wouldn't make another Wonder Woman film if Brett Ratner had any involvement. That's her right.
Jeffrey Tambor chose to leave "Transparent" where he'd won a Golden Globe and two Primetime Emmy awards for his work. He's been accused of sexual harassment. Does that constitute an admission of guilt? No. But some will see it that way.
How people choose to react to allegations is up to the individual. But no one's life or career should be ruined by an anonymous allegation.
I bring this up because of an op-ed from yesterday's L.A. Times that caught my eye. Regarding the presumption of innocence, its author Brendan O'Neill writes, "The great liberal English barrister John Mortimer called this presumption the “golden thread” running through any progressive idea of justice. And it’s a thread that is being weakened in the febrile post-Weinstein climate."
The thing is, Mortimer was quoting someone else. Lord Justice John Sankey was a barrister and judge in pre WWII England. He said, "Throughout the web of the English criminal law one golden thread is always to be seen - that it is the duty of the prosecution to prove the prisoner's guilt subject to what I have already said as to the defence of insanity and subject also to any statutory exception."
The presumption of innocence is a right that we are all entitled to, in the criminal justice system. Outside the criminal justice system, it is not a right codified in the law. We should be considered innocent in the court of public opinion, in the eyes of others and so on, but that is not what is transpiring at this moment.
O'Neill writes about the fact that Jeremy Piven and George Takei's reputations are tarnished because of a single accusation against them. He also rails that "It is now astonishingly easy to ruin a celebrity or near-celebrity. You can do it with a social media post. Spend five minutes writing a Facebook entry about how so-and-so in Hollywood once did something bad to you and — boom — that person is done for. You can dispatch him from polite society with a press of a button on your cellphone."
CBS is investigating the allegation against Piven, but his new TV show is continuing. If George Takei's reputation is suffering, it may have something to do with the allegation against him when reviewed in light of comments he made on the Howard Stern show. But like anything else, people get to make up their own minds about what they think.
I'm not saying that the people accusing Piven, Takei and others are being less than truthful. I'm not passing any judgments regarding those allegations. OTOH I think Roy Moore, Harvey Weinstein, James Toback. Brett Ratner and Kevin Spacey are almost certainly guilty of at least some of the allegations against them. That's because it isn't just one or two people accusing them.
We also need to remember that this is being politicized. And what's really interesting is that while there are some Republicans being critical of Roy Moore, and some Democrats calling for Al Franken to resign; accused politicians are being attacked and defended along party lines. How else do we explain how an Alabama pastor by the name of Earl Wise is defending Roy Moore by saying "plus there are some 14 year olds, who the way they look, could pass for 20."
Uh, Pastor Wise, 20 year olds are carrying around their high school year books.
* * *
When a police officer is accused of wrongdoing, they are normally suspended with pay. They must await the investigation's completion.
Olivia Munn says she can't understand why anyone would want to work with Brett Ratner. Choosing who you will and won't work with is a choice that people in her industry get to make. Don't want to work with another producer/director/actor/writer/whatever, you don't do the deal. That's fair. Gal Gadot said she wouldn't make another Wonder Woman film if Brett Ratner had any involvement. That's her right.
Jeffrey Tambor chose to leave "Transparent" where he'd won a Golden Globe and two Primetime Emmy awards for his work. He's been accused of sexual harassment. Does that constitute an admission of guilt? No. But some will see it that way.
How people choose to react to allegations is up to the individual. But no one's life or career should be ruined by an anonymous allegation.
posted by me at 6:35 AM
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