Alec Baldwin may not be the most popular actor on movie sets across the country, but that doesn’t mean he is criminally responsible for the death of DP Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust. Nor, despite his billing as producer does it mean that he is responsible for the deplorable lack of professional behavior on that set.
Everybody in the industry understands that it is normal for producer credits to be doled out in lieu of cash to secure the work of actors. This does not mean that those actors actually have the responsibility of the producer’s job. That is normally left to a production professional who has that as his only responsibility.
But a couple of small-time prosecutors who have accurately identified the benefits of the kind of press coverage that comes with the name value that Baldwin brings to this mess have decided to press charges.
This pair, Mary Carmack -Altwies and Andrea Reeb, have readily recognized the attention that Baldwin’s name will bring to their careers, but they don’t seem to recognize the necessity of doing their homework if they hope to capitalize on it.
In describing their plans to charge Baldwin they claim that it was his responsibility as an actor to make sure that the gun he was handling was safe. This is blatantly false! The fact that they don’t know this leads one to ask, “what else don’t they understand about their own case?”
Having worked in the film business as a set designer and an armorer in the ‘70s and ‘80s I can assure you that no actor should ever be responsible for the safety or condition of any weapon. Their job is to act, not to load the guns. An actor should never do anything with a gun except take it from the armorer and do the action of the scene. The armorer’s job is to prepare the weapon, hand it to the actor and inform him or her that it is ready for the scene. An actor should never be practicing with a weapon on any set, and it is the AD’s job to inform him of that and find him a safe rehearsal space, even if he’s the producer.
The AD on Rust did not do that, which is probably why he has already pled to some charges.
Baldwin seems to be without guilt. Now if he will just keep his mouth shut and stop babbling ridiculously about not pulling the trigger, he will probably be okay. However, the armorer, Hannah Guiterrez, looks like she’s in big trouble. The set was reportedly a mess and very unsafe. Guns were made available for target shooting and a live bullet was in the gun Baldwin used when it should have been empty. In fact, live ammunition should never be anywhere near a set. The whole thing looks like a giant clusterfuck, but from the incomplete information available it sure doesn’t look like Baldwin should be charged with anything.
*****
Former VP Mike Pence is the latest entry in the purloined document sweepstakes.
Congressman Mike Turner, chair of the House Intelligence Committee, just to prove that he’s a fair-minded guy, has described Joe Biden as a serial document hoarder and when asked to compare Biden’s actions with Pence’s, he jumps off the bridge and states that it’s likely Biden would have had to take them on the train from DC to his home, thereby exposing them to being stolen. Really? VP Biden had no other way to transport classified docs, even with a whole government at his beck and call? I’m sure Turner would have liked to have seen them moving by horse and wagon, but helicopter is more likely to be the realty.
*****
Now that Kevin McCarthy has finally gotten 218 people to give up and vote for him as Speaker of the House, he’s feeling the power. He was scheduled to meet with President Biden last Wednesday to find a solution to the Debt Ceiling crisis, but when he opened his mouth on the political shows last Sunday it became obvious that he had no intention of helping to solve the problem.
If you have any intelligence and you are going to meet with someone to hammer out a difficult negotiation you start out by praising that person so at least you begin without animosity. McCarthy started out by denigrating Biden’s position when he clearly had nothing to sell himself.
What’s equally clear is that the GOP is interested only in getting more for the rich. They have no intention of working to solve the Debt Ceiling problem, only in firming up a position that gives the already wealthy a better shot at ending up with more of your money in their pockets.
How McCarthy won his job and why he shouldn’t be in it were very obvious during his interview with Margret Brennan when he simply refused to answer a question about George Santos by sidetracking onto another subject and then accusing her of not giving him a chance to answer her questions. This is a gutless slime who will sell the United States down the drain just to hold onto his job
*****
After watching the ludicrous logic of Kevin McCarthy, it was unbelievably refreshing to watch an interview with Margaret Brennan, Mark Warner and Marco Rubio in which the Republican and the Democrat were able to hold an intelligent discussion of policy and economics on the subject of Chinese vs American business and security. We need a hell of a lot more of this and the nation and its people will definitely benefit.
*****
Chuck Todd interviewed Jim Jorden on Meet the Press last week and it was a clear indication of why our government is working on a 70% disapproval rating. We know Jordan is a criminal. He should have been indicted for his participation in the sexual harassment of Ohio State athletes when he was a member of the coaching staff.
Ohio voters, who must like that sort of thing, have elected and re-elected him and he is a prime example of why we have low ratings of government approval. Jordan has no interest in governing, only in maintaining power and a paycheck. His record shows he has made no attempt to create or pass any legislation that will help the American people, only continuing attempts to block legislation that does not, as its primary intention, have the enrichment of the already rich.