(no subject)

TBogg summed up the Bush commutation of Libby's prison sentence thusly:

Welcome to Judicial Calvinball...

Couldn't have put it better myself.

And this poll on the commutation is fascinating:

• 60% say the prison sentence should have been left in place.

• 21% agree with the commutation.

• 17% say Libby should have been pardoned entirely.

But since when has the will of the people had any effect on this government? I suspect this will mean a bump in Bush's popularity, oddly enough, as the wingnuts rejoin their tribal victory dance because Bush "stuck it to the liberals". And of course Libby will end up with a nice, cushy think tank job even as a convicted felon.

UPDATE: I highly recommend checking out The Poorman's take, and of course the always brilliant Glenn Greenwald:

We have a radical and lawless government that has run rampant over the last six years precisely because the institutions designed to stop that abuse have not only stood idly by, but have actively defended and participated in it. We actually have a press corps that holds, as its central belief, that our highest government officials should be free of investigation and accountability. In every country ruled by a lawless government and a corrupt political and media elite, powerful political officials do not go to prison for crimes. That is why convicted felon Lewis Libby will remain free.

And Atrios has a suggestion:

Politely tell them what you think about the commutation.

Comments: 202-456-1111

For my fellow Californians might I suggest Dropping Nancy Pelosi a line? Sure the White House will probably blow us off but she might actually listen and, you know, represent the people of her state. Hey, stranger things have happened.

L'Etat c'est moi

Kungfu Monkey draws the parallel between the Bush commuting of Libby's sentence and the concept of game exploits in this brilliant post:

The commutation, rather than being some canny half-measure some are calling it, is actually worse than a pardon. The President's saying "Fine, fine, I agree a jury of his peers found him guilty of multiple counts of perjury and obstruction of justice, but I don't think he should be punished for that." He's not even saying that he believes Scooter's innocent. He just doesn't think people like Scooter should have to suffer just because they're guilty.

What? What's that from the trolls? "Oh, but no, he'll be punished! He just won't do any jail time! He still has to pay the fine ..."

... which will be paid by rich conservative friends ...

"... and his conviction stays on the books, damaging his reputation."

... yes. yes. I'm sure the Think Tank or University posts he was counting on for future employment will suddenly drop him, as they have a strict policy against hiring felons. Maybe Cheney will loan him a tie for his appointment with the nice Catholic social worker who'll send him off to the car wash or janitorial placement agency. Despair for Thug-Life Libby.

Not to be a foul-mouthed blogger, but blow me.

Scooter Libby pays no fine, he suffers no damage to his employment prospects or his reputation among people he cares about. Jail was the only thing that would be any sort of payment for lying to a grand jury and obstructing justice. Now it's gone. I don't care how conservative you are -- that's just wrong. If you're down with this, you are way, way deep in the Crazification Factor.

This just hammers home my realization of what the Cheney Administration -- and yes, damn you this is the first time I've indulged in that neologism, and the first time I think it perfectly appropriate -- what the Cheney Administration has discovered. They have found the "exploit" within the United States Government. As I watched Congressmen and Senators stumble and fumble and thrash, unable to bring to heel men and women who were plainly lying to them under oath, unable to eject from public office toadies of a boot-licking expertise unseen since Versailles, it struck me. The sheer, simple elegance of it. The "exploit".

The exploit is shame.

Our representatives -- and to a great degree we as a culture -- are completely buffaloed by shamelessness. You reveal a man's corrupt, or lying, or incompetent, and what does he do? He resigns. He attempts to escape attention, often to aid in his escape of legal pursuit. Public shame has up to now been the silver bullet of American political life. But people who are willing to just do the wrong thing and wait you out, to be publicly guilty ... dammmnnnn.

We are faced with utterly shameless men. Cheney and the rest are looking our representatives right in the eye and saying "You don't have the balls to take down a government. You don't have the sheer testicular fortitude to call us lying sonuvabitches when we lie, to stop us from kicking the rule of law and the Constitution in the ass. You just don't. What's beyond that abyss -- what that would do to our government and our identity as a nation -- terrifies you too much. So get the fuck out of our way."

And to a great degree, the White House is right. You peel this back, and you reveal that the greatest country in the world has been run, for the last six and a half years, by men who do not give a shit about the Constitution, or fair play, or honesty. No, not just run by corrupt men, or bribe-takers, or adulterers or whatever, we could handle that --no we'd be admitting It Went Wrong.

There is a sizeable population in America that just does not, cannot wrap their head around the fact that the President may be a Bad Man who does Bad Things. He's President of America. We're Americans. We're the good guys. Remember, the Nixon mythos in America is that the system worked. "See, in America, even the President is not above the law."

These Suited Bastards know the fragile shell of American exceptionalism is all that's keeping a whole lot of people from processing that they're working too many hours for not enough money, and they either believe real reeaaaalll hard that they're living in the Shining City on the Hill or admit their lives are shit and they've been chumped.

Who ya gonna believe, me or your lyin' Congress?

I cannot help but think that as Nixon walked to the chopper, somewhere in the darkened hallways of the White House Dick Cheney shook his head, spit, and whispered: "Pussy."

(no subject)

I am trying to find any enthusiasm about going to dance class tonight and coming up completely short. Yes T- should be there and it's always nice to see her but honestly I'd rather work on the garden, get the entertainment center set up properly, finish cleaning my bathroom, make a pet store and grocery run, and do my dishes from last night.

And if that isn't a pathetic summary of my current life I don't know what is.

I know I paid for the class and it's exercise which I truly need, but it's just not...fun. And really it tends to make me more depressed about not studying with Alyne any more. Maybe it's just a sign that I really am just done with dancing. Hardly the end of the world but it does make me a little sad. Or maybe it just means I need to take classes with people who will peer pressure me into going with them...