Just Finished Watching Casino Jack - The Movie About Jack Abramoff - Whatever Happened To.....

[global1]

Last edited Wed Jan 11, 2012, 02:48 AM - Edit history (1)

him? Is he out of prison now? Has he gone back to his old ways? Is he lobbying again? In the movie at least it seemed to expose Tom Delay, John McCain and other Senators as well as it spoke bad about George W. I would think that it was based on some fact. How can people that watch the movie even trust anyone in Washington D.C. - especially the Repugs? It really exposed the hypocrisy of D.C. and also exposed the sham of K Street.

What really bothers me is that everyone realizes what goes on and the corrupt nature of the process - yet we still let it happen and don't do anything to stop it. It's really sad.

The next movie I'm hoping to take in is "Fair Game" - this is the one about the outing of Valerie Plame. We all know that Cheney and Rove were key in this happening - yet they let Scooter Libby and Armitage take the fall. Again we know what went down - yet we let the culprits off scott free.

[G_j]

1. making the rounds on teevee

I believe he has a book out.

[libodem]

2. Money talks

And bullshit walks.

[starroute]

3. A long interview with Lawrence Lessig came out last month

I haven't watched it myself yet -- as I said, it's long -- but I'm looking forward to it.

[KT2000]

4. He was on C-Span

I believe it was Afterword. He said he is a changed man and I believe him. He wants to get rid of the way Congress is lobbied with big money. He has written a book about his experience and suggests what needs to be changed in Washington. He said lobbyists do not like him or his book.

A good point he made was that the attention paid to him and his case gave people the impression that now that he is gone - everything else is OK now.

Another point: The picture of him wearing the "Mafia" type hat that caused such a stir in the media was actually a collapsible rain hat that he had worn into court when it was raining. He put it back on when he left but it was a sunny day when he got outside - something you don't realize in a courtroom. The media used the picture to define his character as a criminal when in fact it was a nerdy rain hat.

I think he has some interesting things to say about how our government really works.

[pinboy3niner]

5. Both 'Casino Jack' and 'Fair Game' have been running on premium cable

Either HBO or Showtime. Both are very good. And I didn't realize how much I'd forgotten about the Abramoff scandal until the movie refreshed my memory. Rep. Bob Ney is another legislator who is skewered in the movie--and we get to see him handcuffed at the end.

It's worth checking the schedules or 'On Demand' for anyone with premium cable.

[klook]

9. Showtime has "Casino Jack" in non-prime time

so I'm recording it. Only thing I see for "Fair Game" is some William Baldwin movie with that title.

Thanks for the tip. I saw Abramoff on The Colbert Report, and he does seem to be sincere in working to clean up K Street now.

[PCIntern]

6. I had posted some months ago an OP about a nauseating conversation

I had with a colleague of mine who had just gotten back from a dinnner hosted by friends of Abramoff upon his release - that this guy had been a college classmate. What can one say to that? Interestingly, my acquaintance made no move to defend "Jack", just that he felt personally sorry for him, but you could see that he was measuring ME to see how I felt...when I didn't nod and respond positively about the man and his plight, he left it alone.

[pinboy3niner]

7. I once talked about a magazine cover story about a scandal...

...to my colleagues when I began a college internship in a congressional office. Only after I opened my big fat mouth did I learn that one woman in the office had dated the KEY principal in the story--and she was VERY defensive about him.

I tended to be more circumspective after that...

[PCIntern]

8. I actually feel sorry when I do that,

which has happened quite a few times over the years: Philly's a small town - you would think that I'd know that by now.

[pinboy3niner]

10. LOL! Live and learn, man, live and learn.

We'll get it right one of these days...unless we don't.