Rhode Island: Time To Call Batman

Batman Calls a Press Conference (Truth Revolt)

Ten years ago, the Christopher Nolan revamp of "Batman" exceeded expectations.

Christian Bale as the new Dark Knight brought the chilling, troubled, more psychological complex.

Batman would face off against two major enemies: Raj Al-Ghul (played by Liam Neeson) and Jonathan Crane aka the Scarecrow, played by Cillian Murphy.

The Sequel, the Dark Knight, had two other fascinating and complex enemies: the Joker and then Two-Face (formerly district attorney Harvey Dent, with half his face blown off).

One scene stands out early in the film, however, in which Batman chases down a corporate raider in China first, then teams up with the new District Attorney to arrest the vast majority of criminal miscreants, predominantly mafia.

Sounds familiar, Rhode Island? Sometimes, I wonder how Ocean State residents distinguish between the mob elements and the politicians. The mob are honest?

At any rate. .

In "The Dark Knight", the measures for the massive arrests are controversial, and one courtroom scene has hordes of locked-up bad guys yelling for attention. Is there any way a court, a judge, anyone could plow through this mess?

The District Attorney, before he became Two-Face, makes the case to the mayor:

Yes, the hundreds of criminal cases will take weeks to process.

Yes, the mob bosses have high-powered lawyers. Some may walk.

But, the appellate process will take months.

Imagine having your streets free of crime for six months. Imagine having the time and resources to train and regroup your police forces and patrol the streets.

With this image in mind, perhaps Rhode Islanders should consider a similar crime-fighting venture against the state legislature.

Former Speaker Gordon Fox is going to jail for bribery: three years.

Assemblyman Almeida was found guilty of misappropriating campaign funds. He got a suspended sentence.

What if conservatives in the Ocean State pushed an all-out investigation to find out who else has been bilking money from the treasury? Why not start prosecuting whole sets of Democratic candidates and lawmakers who are abusing their authority and profiting themselves at the expense of their constituents?

The corruption is rife in Rhode Island. Why not use a RICO statute against the lawmakers?

Granted, they are attorneys themselves and they can hire their own counsel. They could fight and delay the trials for months.



Batman with Batkid (Truth Revolt)

But they would be out of office. They could do no damage. They would have no power. Yes, there would be a bunch of empty seats on Smith Hill.

But so what? The lull in legislative activity would give Rhode Island Republicans room to breathe, plan, and advance long-term strategies in the state.

What can I say?


Rhode Island: Time to call Batman!