In Jamaica even the donkeys know the truth. As the old saying in the headline above reminds us, there’s no justice.  There was no justice under the British colonial system, and I bet there’s no justice there today.

In America, where I live now, the idea that justice could prevail is ludicrous.

This is a society where cheating on taxes is routine, where the national sport – baseball – includes “stealing” bases, where D.B. Cooper, Jesse James, Bonnie and Clyde and a slew of other crooks are folk heroes.

Beating the system is the name of the game.

So why would we expect Congress to be any different?

The Founding Fathers recognized this and set up America’s political system as a self-correcting mechanism based on a delicate balancing act between conflicting interests.

But I don’t think the Founding Fathers realized how cunning special interests would be in rigging the system.

And I don’t think they foresaw a population of more than 300 million people competing for “an edge.”

They certainly did not see that the Supreme Court could be perverted by political appointments, effectually sabotaging one of the Constitution’s key “checks and balances.”

And they never imagined that the justices would claim corporations are “people” entitled to spend unlimited amounts of money to get their stooges elected.

Which brings me to the composition of the “super committee” charged with solving America’s debt crisis.

An Associated Press analysis shows that the 12 members of the committee – six Republicans and six Democrats – are all heavily obligated to special interests.

According to AP:

The committee’s co-chairs — Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas — each received support from lobbyists and political committees, including those with ties to defense contractors and health care lobbyists. Hensarling’s re-election committee, for instance, received about $11,000 from Lockheed Martin and $8,500 from Northrop Grumman.

Companies like Lockheed rely heavily on government contracts: More than 80 percent of Lockheed’s net sales during the first six months of 2011 came from the U.S. government, according to Securities and Exchange Commission records. And in SEC filings two weeks ago, Northrop expressed concern of a “material adverse effect” on its finances had the debt ceiling not been raised.

To get details on special-interest  contributions to committee members, click here.

So don’t look for any useful recommendations for solving the country’s budget woes.

Come to think of it, I wasn’t expecting much from that committee, anyhow. All of the Republican members have signed a pledge never to raise taxes under any conditions. And I can’t see the Democrats meekly allowing Medicare and Social Security to be dismantled.

And now that we know defense spending is being protected because of the industry’s political contributions, I ask you, where will the ax fall?

Probably on the the poor and the sick – especially on poor children. They have no one to defend their not-so-special interests.