Jul
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Disgusting
Just when I thought I couldn’t hate Bush any more that I already do, he does this:
President Bush Monday spared former vice presidential aide Lewis “Scooter” Libby from going to prison for 2 1/2 years for obstructing the CIA leak investigation, a White House official said.
The official said Bush “has commuted the prison sentence … leaving intact the probation and fines handed down by the court.”
“That means he is not going to jail,” the official said.
I’m sure they’re breaking out the bubbly in Fred Hiatt’s office as we speak.
UPDATE: Do what Dr. Atrios sez, peeps. Light that shit up:
Politely tell the White House what you think about this.
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
Otto Man said,
July 3, 2007 at 0:09
This just in — the Rule of Law has been pronounced dead.
comsympinko said,
July 3, 2007 at 0:21
We are all equal before the law.
Some are just more equal than others.
Smgumby said,
July 3, 2007 at 0:25
That was a close one! For a few minutes there I thought someone in the administration was going to be held accountable for their actions. Obviously that would have been bad for freedom, probably good for the terr’ists as well. Good thing President Cheney was finally able to talk some sense into W.
Gary Ruppert said,
July 3, 2007 at 0:25
In the words of Johnny Drama: “VICTORY!”
But seriously, this is a great day for America.
Scooter Libby, who was persecuted by a partisan witchhunt led by Patrick Fitzgerald, will not face jailtime. Therefore affirming that America has not been taken over by renegade prosecutors.
Therefore, Scooter Libby gets an unsentenced conviction for a victimless crime.
The fact that there has been almost 3 and a half years of investigation, and no indictments for the “outing” of Valerie Wilson shows that there was no crime committed.
Fitzgerald knows who “outed” Wilson, it was Aldrich Ames in 1994. Once she was outed, she was not allowed to go overseas and she was a pencilpusher at Langley who abused her power to send her husband to Niger, in order to lie.
Fitzgerald is a renegade liberal who tried to take down the White House and he will pay the price.
I’ll take this, but I would have preferred pardoning Libby a year ago and firing Fitzgerald.
So, how long until Hillary whines about this? despite the fact that her husband accepted bribes to pardon people.
How long until Barack Obama whines? despite Obama’s ties to organized crime and the Daley Machine.
Justice has been served. Scooter Libby got the sentence he served. A fine and some probation.
That’s a lot worse than what Bill Clinton got for a worse crime.
Gary Ruppert said,
July 3, 2007 at 0:29
You all would have better luck convincing people if you called your lackeys in the liberal media. Calling the White House to whine about Libby is as useful as calling a phone sex hotline to whine about Libby.
The President has made his decision and it’s final. America wins, Liberals lose, get over it.
The vast majority of Americans support such a display of compassion towards a man who was railroaded by a partisan prosecutor and given an extremely harsh sentence.
His Grace said,
July 3, 2007 at 0:31
Commuting a convicted (on multiple counts of perjury and obstruction of justice) felon’s sentence before he even serves a day… wow that’s some tough on crime policy the Whitehouse has going.
alphie said,
July 3, 2007 at 0:32
I bet that in addition to Kissinger, Bush family freind Manuel Noriega is advising the Banana Republicans on how to run the country.
ifthethunderdontgetya said,
July 3, 2007 at 0:32
Dear Child Molester Gary,
Scooter Libby was Marc Rich’s lawyer.
Smiling Mortician said,
July 3, 2007 at 0:33
calling a phone sex hotline to whine about Libby
Voice of experience there, Gar?
Seriously, Gary. You need to not spend it all at once. You’re gonna go all apoplectic.
Smiling Mortician said,
July 3, 2007 at 0:35
Also I blame Scooter for refusing to tell who took the preview button.
Snowwy said,
July 3, 2007 at 0:37
Gary’s right, though. Calling the White House is about as useful as calling a phone sex line. We all remember how Jeff Gannon showed us what a whorehouse the place was.
ifthethunderdontgetya said,
July 3, 2007 at 0:39
A March 9-11 CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll found that 69 percent of Americans believe Bush “should not give a presidential pardon to Libby,” compared with 18 percent who believe he should.
A March 9-12 Time magazine/SRBI poll found that 72 percent of Americans think Bush “should not” pardon Libby, compared with 18 percent who think he should.
A March 11-14 Gallup poll found that 67 percent of Americans believe Bush “should not issue a presidential pardon for Lewis ‘Scooter’ Libby,” compared with 21 percent who believe he should.
H/T Media Matters
Bush is doing all he can to torpedo the rethuglicans in 2008. So there’s your silver lining.
ox said,
July 3, 2007 at 0:40
We’re still a nation of laws, right?
Anne Laurie said,
July 3, 2007 at 0:40
Brad, you’ve summed it up — Disgusting is the only word, not just for Bush’s craven attempt to keep Scooter’s mouth shut, but for Libby, Bush, and Cheney as well.
Oh, yes, and for our own little ventriloquist’s dummy Ruppert as well. Gary, throwing out random new lies like the Aldrich Ames claim to go with your old whining about how “everybody else done it too, or done it worse, or both” doesn’t improve your alibi. It just makes it more obvious what a shallow, craven little tool you are. I hope the Wingnut Welfare Wurlitzer is offering you at least the proverbial 30 pieces of silver, but I suspect you’re so stupid they can get your “services” just for the warm glow you get feeling like you’re part of the Big Bully Party. I wish the worst possible fate for you, Gary: May you remain nothing more than a Gary Ruppert for the rest of your short, miserable life.
Gary Ruppert said,
July 3, 2007 at 0:44
ifthethunderdontgetya forgets that Bush didn’t pardon Libby here.
He merely decided that 2 years in prison for a victimless crime was excessive.
Anne Laurie, i’ve been bringing up Aldrich Ames for two years. As well, i’ll note that Joe Wilson probably mentioned his wife’s employment often too.
Snowwy said,
July 3, 2007 at 0:45
ox:
Not so much.
splinterbrain said,
July 3, 2007 at 0:48
He knew where too many bodies were buried to be facing prison time.
Psycheout said,
July 3, 2007 at 0:49
Justice has been done. Praise Him! Independence Day will be very special for my family this year. Libby is an American hero in the best sense of the word.
MrWonderful said,
July 3, 2007 at 0:51
You want to know what’s not fair? I’ll tell ya what’s not fair.
Now and then I think about trying to do what the wing-nutz do, and just make shit up. Write a diatribe about how traitorous, horrible, etc. Bush and co. are, but not even try to anchor it in reality. Just go too far, and then keep going.
I can’t do it. It always comes out being accurate to within reasonable tolerances. These people have outstripped one of my most precious “natural resources,” which I share with every child: my imagination.
That’s what’s not fair. Gary Ruppert, Mark Noonan, Prager, Hinderaker, Coulter: These individuals triangulate an area between the Proudly Pious, the Gleefully Evil, and the Sincerely Stupid in which no self-respecting intelligence can even stick its fucking toe.
judeanpeo.... said,
July 3, 2007 at 0:51
“victimless”, right.
dickhead, go read FDL for a little discussion on sentencing guidelines.
Andy Axel said,
July 3, 2007 at 0:52
Ox:
I think we’ve just become a nation of men again. White men, to be more precise, as this Libby debacle and the recent Supreme Court decisions are indicative….
mikey said,
July 3, 2007 at 0:54
Ahhh, shit. That’s like a kick in the nuts. This is…Shit.
I’m speechless at this point. Fuckers. You know, no matter what, it doesn’t end in January of ‘09. They’ve changed the rules forever. They’ve shown that the people, congress, the judiciary, nobody really has any power in the government …of the people, by the people, for the people….
It only lasted as long as it did because somehow, no matter how small, how venal, how criminally dishonest the american government was, they considered the values in the constitution inviolable. Then these pieces of authoritarian shit came along, ran a successful coup d’etat in Florida in 2000 and said, ok, we can change it all. We can break the rules. Because, in fact? There is nothing anyone can do to stop us. And yeah, they probably laughed an evil laugh.
Every future administration has learned that there’s no consequences to take the gloves off, to take any actions you wish. No consequences, no accountabiltiy. It’s like Capone’s Chicago, where he owned the cops and the courts. Nobody had access to the tools to stop them, because all those tools had been co opted. And that’s the case here.
I’m sad. I’m sick. And not just because bush/cheney has shown again how far they can sink. But rather because the processes they’ve developed and demonstrated are now ready for full implementation. And America is over…
mikey
mikey said,
July 3, 2007 at 0:57
And y’know what? Snark based site or not, I really don’t think I want to engage with Gary Ruppert right now…
mikey
BREAKING NEWS: Scooter Libby’s Prison Sentence Commuted! « Blogs 4 Brownback said,
July 3, 2007 at 0:57
[...] Update 3: Hug a liberal today. The far-left liberal blogs in the disconnected-from-reality based community are collectively weeping and gnashing their teeth. Do they recognize that justice has been done? Sadly, No. [...]
Gary Ruppert said,
July 3, 2007 at 1:00
Reading all these whining shrieking liberals really brightens my day.
I’m sure Bush is really concerns about what the Bansheecrats think about him.
America is on his side, after all.
mikey said,
July 3, 2007 at 1:01
Ok, Fitz. The fucking clock’s running. You’ve got two years to violate Scooter’s probation and send him up the fucking river. Let’s get to it…
mikey
splinterbrain said,
July 3, 2007 at 1:01
There are plenty of things that Congress could do. It’s just that the number of things is limited by a complicit Republican party and a calculating/cowardly Democratic party.
The last six years are the product of a perfect storm of failures of the system. While reproducible, the outcomes are not easily achieved without these converging factors.
ifthethunderdontgetya said,
July 3, 2007 at 1:04
You sound a lot more like shoelimpy than you used to, Gary….
judeanpeo.... said,
July 3, 2007 at 1:05
man, i hope fitz and walton comment on this shit.
Gary Ruppert said,
July 3, 2007 at 1:06
That Blogs 4 Brownback snippet is pretty nice to see too.
A shame that Brownback isn’t a better candidate. Because his blog team appears to be pretty good.
tigrismus said,
July 3, 2007 at 1:07
I guess Scoot’s lucky he wasn’t on death row, Bush never met an execution he didn’t like.
OK, there was that one, the satanist. Still.
Gary Ruppert said,
July 3, 2007 at 1:08
if Fitz comments, he better restrain himself, or else he could be fired too.
Psycheout said,
July 3, 2007 at 1:09
I have heard that the White House is no longer taking calls. Eat it, libbies!
Psycheout said,
July 3, 2007 at 1:12
Thanks Gary. Your positive feedback is appreciated by the entire B4B team.
Jillian said,
July 3, 2007 at 1:12
Shorter W: “L’État, c’est moi”.
On the bright side, the backlash against Bush for this will probably be something like the backlash against Ford – not as bad, but still not a shiny happy thing, either.
ifthethunderdontgetya said,
July 3, 2007 at 1:14
Eat it, libbies!
Your parody is showing.
Jillian said,
July 3, 2007 at 1:15
And the WH has decided that it’s not going to listen to the little people when they complain?
Shorter W: “Let them eat cake!”
It’s turning out to be a collector’s set of period pieces tonight.
judeanpeo.... said,
July 3, 2007 at 1:16
someone get the fudgehammer on the line, we need all the parody we can get!
tigrismus said,
July 3, 2007 at 1:18
Thanks Gary. Your positive feedback is appreciated by the entire B4B team.
Sweet baby Jesus, GET A ROOM.
With a camera… hotcha!
ifthethunderdontgetya said,
July 3, 2007 at 1:19
Marcy has a post explaining why the shrub didn’t go with a pardon.
This amounts to nothing less than obstruction of justice.
Of course, that is nothing new for this administration.
tb said,
July 3, 2007 at 1:24
What’s to eat, idiot? We shut them down. And Brownback is never going to be President, by the way. Never. You’re wasting your life.
Legalize said,
July 3, 2007 at 1:24
DOJ Mannual on Commutations – § 1-2.113 Standards for Considering Commutation Petitions:
A commutation of sentence reduces the period of incarceration; it does not imply forgiveness of the underlying offense, but simply remits a portion of the punishment. It has no effect upon the underlying conviction and does not necessarily reflect upon the fairness of the sentence originally imposed. Requests for commutation generally are not accepted unless and until a person has begun serving that sentence. Nor are commutation requests generally accepted from persons who are presently challenging their convictions or sentences through appeal or other court proceeding.
Jillian said,
July 3, 2007 at 1:25
mikey, we haven’t been a democracy for a couple of years now. Just because we look like one, and function like one, doesn’t mean we are one.
It’s kind of like the way HIV can lay hidden in a person’s cells for years before even the mildest of symptoms show. The person looks healthy and is able to function like a healthy person, but they are not, in fact, in full possession of their health.
This nation has been an HIV-for-democracy carrier for a while now. All we’ve seen so far are the equivalent of a few mild thrush infections – this being one of them.
It’s gonna get much, much worse.
shane's dentist's attorney's bookie said,
July 3, 2007 at 1:26
its easy to say that no good can come from this (temporary) victory of Cheney’s.
But as ITTDGY @ 0:39 points out, the public reinforcement of venal ass-covering will affect voters. Also, in that half-assed way Duh-bbya does everything, he left the FOUR FELONY CONVICTIONS draped on Libby’s head. No more “nobody did nuthin’ wrong” crap. Four arrows pointing right at Cheney, he doesn’t care, he’s at 18% approval and he’s never run for anything ever again. Meanwhile, Dub’s going to try to find a spot for his prezzie lie-berry that’s not next to a toxic waste site.
judeanpeo.... said,
July 3, 2007 at 1:27
shrewd fuckers, eh? keep libby’s fifth options open, then pardon. probably get the 250 large refunded, with interest too.
and, last comment, it’s sweet how gary and friends take the time to come celebrate here. hope we can return the favor when they impeach the fuckers.
tb said,
July 3, 2007 at 1:32
Crap. Burned again.
Herr Doktor Bimler said,
July 3, 2007 at 1:33
I did not realise that the job-description for POTUS includes reviewing the decisions of judges, in light of his greater access to the facts of each case, and revising the sentences if necessary. Can he increase sentences, or only relax them?
I see from Reuters that the nation’s prison and jail populations increased by more than 62,000 inmates, or 2.8 percent, to about 2,245,000 inmates in the 12-month period that ended on June 30, 2006. It was the biggest jump in numbers and percentage change in six years.
Criminal justice experts have attributed the record U.S. prison population to tough sentencing laws, record numbers of drug offenders and high crimes rates.
So if Bush is now in the business of overruling judges in any case of victimless crime, he’s going to have a busy 18 months.
Gary Ruppert said,
July 3, 2007 at 1:35
Nice of Julian and Mikey to show up and spin their tinfoil conspiracies about how America is really a fascist dictatorship and such
AkaDad said,
July 3, 2007 at 1:39
This is what our troops fight and die for?
Patkin said,
July 3, 2007 at 1:45
Yes, when we really know that it’s just the Fascist Party.
Who’s Julian?
shane's dentist's attorney's bookie said,
July 3, 2007 at 1:48
Dub’s vindicated Fitz’ prosecution by leaving the FOUR FELONY CONVICTIONS intact.
And, nobody knows whether Scooter would have rolled had he gone to jail, but now, everybody has to assume he would’ve immediately ratted out Rove & Cheney. Just another sleaze who cut a deal. How’s that feel, ruppert & pshycouth? “no underlying crime”? no difference, douchebags !!!
Notorious P.A.T. said,
July 3, 2007 at 2:05
America is on his side, after all.
That tells us all we really need to know about Gary, doesn’t it? Poll after poll after poll after poll says that two-thirds or three-quarters of the American people disapprove of Bush, but the Gary-types still think “America is with him”. What can you say to people like that? There’s no real point in trying. He was born a fool, he’ll die a fool.
Ted said,
July 3, 2007 at 2:09
America is on his side, after all.
Yup. All 27% of America.
stogie said,
July 3, 2007 at 2:10
Libby on his way out the prison gate:
“That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for a government of men, not of laws.”
Doc Washboard said,
July 3, 2007 at 2:11
From Malkin’s front page:
Yeah, I guess it’s his prerogative. It’s nice that she pointed that out, because otherwise it seems like a sleazy thing to do. It’s my prerogative to paddle my kids, too, but I don’t do it because I think it’s wrong.
Just so you know: there will be no fallout from this. Absolutely nothing will come of it. Bush/Cheney (and probably Gonzalez, as well) are going to skate out the rest of the term without impeachments or responses to subpoenas or anything. It will not factor into anyone’s thinking at the polls next year. It’s the nature of the situation we’re in right now.
It makes me very weary.
Davis X. Machina said,
July 3, 2007 at 2:11
It’s omertá. Scooter can’t be flipped now.
mikey said,
July 3, 2007 at 2:11
I’m not sure I’m 100% convinced, Jillian, but it doesn’t matter. The blatant criminal behavior and authoritarian tendencies of this administration is not even close to being like anything that came before. Not Kennedy, not Nixon, not Reagan, not Clinton. They took the game and changed all the rules. They took whatever it was and turned it into something foul. They took at least a narrative of respect for human rights and gave every two bit dictator anywhere and gave them a story to tell – hell, we’re no worse than the vaunted USA! They took a tradition of at least paying nominal homage to the rule of law and flaunted their contempt.
I’ll keep saying it. They have permanently changed the game, and we’re going to be the worse for it forever….
mikey
MzNicky said,
July 3, 2007 at 2:13
Oh, come on, people. As if this is a surprise. What did you think Pretendizent McFlightsuit would do? Sit around with his thumb up his ass while Scooter cooled his heels in prison, simmering over the raw deal he’d got for protecting you-know-who’s ass and contemplating his options? Please.
Someday soon—and I hope it’s before too much more damage has been done by the Child-in-Chief and his dark overlord—there will be a restoration of at least a semblance of what we remember of our country, before the great darkness descended and plunged us into the current nightmare. I think if everyone just tiptoes around him and tries not to upset him too much, we may survive the next 18 months. I’m afraid it’s our only hope.
Also: “These individuals triangulate an area between the Proudly Pious, the Gleefully Evil, and the Sincerely Stupid in which no self-respecting intelligence can even stick its fucking toe.”
Thank you, Mr. Wonderful. Beautifully expressed.
Notorious P.A.T. said,
July 3, 2007 at 2:19
Therefore affirming that America has not been taken over by renegade prosecutors.
Huh? Mr Fitzgerald put a gun to the government’s head and forced them to let him prosecute Mr Libby? Rather than being asked by the government to run an investigation?
Fitzgerald is a renegade liberal
Don’t read much, do you?
How long until Barack Obama whines? despite Obama’s ties to organized crime
What are you talking about?
Seriously. Ban Gary Ruppert. I know his kind. He will never, ever, ever contribute anything close to worthwhile to this website. It’s one thing to do nothing but recite talking points. It’s one thing to be proud that you do nothing but recite talking points. But Gary’s spewings aren’t even up to the level of talking points. They are ignorant delusions, and he is proud that he is ignorant and deluded.
Ban him.
a different brad said,
July 3, 2007 at 2:23
And a bad day gets worse…
who wants to chip in on a private island with lots of elevated land?
cur said,
July 3, 2007 at 2:24
I guess if he can commute osama’s “wanted dead or alive sentince,” to I don’t think about him too much. He is more than within his rights to commute Libby.
mikey said,
July 3, 2007 at 2:25
Can’t. Gary’s Sadly, No’s pet troll. We’re kind of responsible for him. Sure, he’s been known to show up at atrios or FDL, but he’s ours, and we gotta fight him here so we don’t have to fight him, um, over there – somewhere…
mikey
mikey said,
July 3, 2007 at 2:27
Hey, diffbrad. I don’t have much in the way of money, but I’d be happy to make whatever contribution to your community I can…
mikey
Gary Ruppert said,
July 3, 2007 at 2:27
And Fitzgerald just signed his pink slip with his irrational attack on the President’s commution of the Libby sentence. He cannot be trusted to impartially investigate this case and he must be fired immediately.
Moxie said,
July 3, 2007 at 2:31
Um, Gary? Trolls are supposed to be funny. C’mon, be funny…
a different brad said,
July 3, 2007 at 2:34
mikey, you get a free pass, no question, if only to be there to train us all how to repel invaders.
Doc Washboard said,
July 3, 2007 at 2:36
Gary:
If the commutation for Libby’s perjury was a great idea because, as you point out up above, it’s “a victimless crime,” were you as generous of spirit during Clinton’s impeachment ritual?
Gary Ruppert said,
July 3, 2007 at 2:42
Bill Clinton committed many more crimes than Scooter Libby.
Also, when it comes to Obama, I heard that he pushed Clinton to pardon former Congressman and sex offender Mel Reynolds (D-IL)
Golden Age Gary Ruppert said,
July 3, 2007 at 3:05
The fact is that all people who commit crimes against Truth, Justice and the American Way deserve a free pass.
As long as they’re conservatives.
If they’re liberals, throw away the key!
——————-
The Scooter Libby Case
MrWonderful said,
July 3, 2007 at 3:06
Moxie, Doc, P.A.T., others:
I know I violated this myself, but re trolls: we know they don’t come to “argue in good faith.” So why–as my shrink used to say–”engage”?
Your Garys, your Limpys, your Kevins: they’re hecklers at a comedy club. Except here, instead of idiotically trying to impress a date (or, more likely, impress the other dateless losers they came with), they’re feeling powerful by defending the indefensible and mocking everyone else’s good faith.
In terms of community discourse, is anything lower than that? Ans.: No, nothing is lower. Talk about “not even wrong.” They’re not worth mocking.
Dorothy said,
July 3, 2007 at 3:16
He will never, ever, ever contribute anything close to worthwhile to this website.
Actually, Gary takes the base ingredients of wingnut talking points, ferments them with a special blend of the strongest horseshit, then distills the results into the purest elixir, capable of causing even the most grounded, rational person to lose touch with reality and gibber incoherently.
It’s better than absinthe. And it’s free!
Snorghagen said,
July 3, 2007 at 3:17
They have permanently changed the game, and we’re going to be the worse for it forever…
Bush’s great contribution has been to demonstrate that the countless unspoken rules of American politics can be broken with impunity. Once it’s established that those rules are no longer binding, then the whole game, the whole system is likely to start coming unglued. My guess is we’re seeing the beginning of that now. I fuckin’ hope I’m wrong.
Oh, come on, people. As if this is a surprise. (meaning the Libby thing)
True. I was expecting it sooner or later. But it’s still pretty nauseating.
Random Observer said,
July 3, 2007 at 3:28
America *is* liberals. Why do hate America so much?
This is what dumbass trolls like Gary and Psych don’t get. *They* are the ones who hate America – American values, American laws, American freedoms, American citizens. They hate everything American. It’s plainly obvious. America as it is today disgusts them and they loathe basic American values.
Funny what it takes to be a hero today – break the law, commit perjury, help expose a CIA agent and make our security worse for the sole purpose of personal vendetta – very heroic! Worsening our security against terrorist threats is heroic.
The party of personal responsibility, “tough on crime”, mandatory sentencing, etc etc – lo fucking l. Entirely expected of course. The modern conservative movement exists solely to amass power for itself. I defy anyone here to list some actual “conservative principles” without laughing. What is it that conservatives are for again exactly? More power for conservatives. That’s it.
Gary is funny in a sad way. He just posts talking points and gloats. But we are the ones who should be gloating because Bush is being outed as the worst president in history and the Republican party is being outed as a party of incompetent fascists. While this now doubt pleases the base of trolls like Gary it’s just another strike against Bush and Republicans in the minds of most people.
Random Observer said,
July 3, 2007 at 3:29
Also I agree that engaging with trolls directly is pointless, better to laugh and point.
Doc Washboard said,
July 3, 2007 at 3:31
Oh, you’re right, MrWonderful, but I know that when I show up at some outpost of Right Blogistan like Ace or SisterToldjah or Schlussel, I’m going with the aim in mind of having a little back-and-forth, but I get dismissed immediately and forever as a troll. It’s frustrating.
Maybe there’s a shining nugget of goodness deep down in whoever is playing the role of Gary now. Maybe, if you’re not a hippie, Kevin is actually a thoughtful, intelligent, warmhearted guy. I can’t even remember what ShoeLimpy’s schtick was, but maybe he’s jake, too. You never know.
Notorious P.A.T. said,
July 3, 2007 at 3:41
Thanks to Poorman.net:
I don’t believe my role [as governor] is to replace the verdict of a jury with my own, unless there are new facts or evidence of which a jury was unaware, or evidence that the trial was somehow unfair.
Guess who said that? Go on, guess.
Brian Schlosser, lurker said,
July 3, 2007 at 3:48
Sure Gary sounds like an idiot when he says things like “America is on his side”, but remember, by the standards of the right, they are the only REAL Americans, and the rest of us don’t count, being a gang of traitors and terrorists and commies and whatnot.
So, in his mind, all Americans are on Bush’s side, because his definition of American is limited to those who support Bush.
Simba B. said,
July 3, 2007 at 4:02
Bill Clinton committed many more crimes than Scooter Libby.
Shorter Gary: CLENIS!!! BLARRRGGGHH!!!!111!!1eleven!!!
lobbey said,
July 3, 2007 at 4:04
I’m surprised anyone is surprised by this, the calls from the nuttersphere has been deafening, and there is no way Bush could have kd’ed this.
Is there not a deeper point, though? Old Scooter seemed very calm since the trial, as if he knew he was going to get away without jail time. What does he have on Cheney & Bush, papers, documents, or some photos. Cheney, Rumsfield, Rice, naked, with a huge dildo front & centre. GWB, Mark Foley, some boy scouts and as much blow as you can think off? He was always going to be pardoned.
Simba B. said,
July 3, 2007 at 4:05
I’m speechless at this point. Fuckers. You know, no matter what, it doesn’t end in January of ‘09. They’ve changed the rules forever. They’ve shown that the people, congress, the judiciary, nobody really has any power in the government …of the people, by the people, for the people….
I sure hope not, but I’ve said before that how the next presidency goes will be instructive with regards to nothing less than the future of American democracy.
But the (way too young) cynic in me says mikey’s probably right.
mikey said,
July 3, 2007 at 4:25
What does he have on Cheney & Bush, papers, documents, or some photos.
Nah, this is a classic case of over analysis. Think the mafia. Think The Sopranos. Street soldier, gets swept up. Fine. He stands up. Keeps his mouth shut. Does his time. Him and his family are taken care of. If he goes the other way, talks too much, testifies? He gets his switch flipped. But if you hold up your end of the bargain, the family holds up their end. It’s a cheap investment. ‘Cause people are gonna get hooked up. And the family wants them to do the right thing. They gotta KNOW that their shit is covered if they do right by the family. And this is the same thing. Plenty of time for the administration to take a few more hits from law enforcement. But what’s the message? Keep your mouth shut, stand up, take the hit, do your time, you’re taken care of. That’s the promise. And now, the promise has weight behind it. Any chance of getting anybody from the white house to testify before the grand jury just took a huge hit. They KNOW. There’s just no downside to taking the hit…
mikey
unrelatedwaffle said,
July 3, 2007 at 4:39
And this is why I love our resident troll so very dearly. He says something so completely inappropriate that it immediately discredits him.
Kind of like “he better restrain himself, because we hang black people in the South,” or “that abortion clinic had better restrain itself, or else it’ll get blown up.”
It very clearly shows the sick pleasure these wackos get seeing other people break the law to do what they want to do but can’t because they’re just little peons trying to scrape enough neurons together to manipulate the keyboard. If you’re going to put your head up your ass, make sure it’s far enough so that you can’t talk anymore.
Anne Laurie said,
July 3, 2007 at 5:02
On the bright side, the backlash against Bush for this will probably be something like the backlash against Ford – not as bad, but still not a shiny happy thing, either.
Time to resurrect another Watergate-era chestnut: What did the Preznident know, and when did he know it?
Because even the determinedly non-political and the frankly clueless have to be reminded that Bush wouldn’t be weaseling around with lawerly games like ‘commutation’ instead of pardoning, if he weren’t afraid that Scooter in jail was more dangerous than Scooter on bail, AND afraid to issue a pardon for fear of what would be exposed in the Wilsons’ pending civil case. Bush and Darth Cheney are criminals; it’s becoming increasingly clear that their fear of exposure is even greater than their fear of (further) gutting their own party as well as the Constitution. The question is not IF some portion of their criminal chicanery will be brought to light, despite the best efforts of the complicit media, but whether enough of their wrongdoing will be exposed in time to save what remains of the Rule of Law in America.
LanceThruster said,
July 3, 2007 at 5:06
I called the WH switchboard (202-456-1111) and got through to a polite but flustered sounding women who said try during regular business hours.
I just wrote the WH (comments@whitehouse.gov) with this:
Dear Whitehouse,
I hope every single person who reads this resigns in protest and out of shame for the actions George W. Bush. The commutation of I. “Scooter” Libby’s prison sentence amounts to an obstruction of justice in an ongoing criminal investigation. The very people who might possibly be implicated in the crime of outing covert CIA agent Valerie Plame are also most certainly the ones breathing a sigh of relief over Bush’s mockery of justice. The Whitehouse’s premiere resident has cast a pall over the nation just before it is scheduled to celebrate the principals that motivated the founders to declare their independence from tyrants in the first place.
Clearly criminals reside in the executive branch and both the legislative branch and judiciary choose to do nothing. Please advise post haste as to what American citizens are to do under such blatant abuses of power.
To quote a document from July of ‘76 (1776) I hope Mr. Bush is familiar with,
“When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.”
It actually goes on for a bit but I think the parts quoted pretty much cover it though for “the present King of Great Britain” I would substitute “the present resident of the Whitehouse.”
I hope the document quoted is not considered to be too subversive as it has inspired our nation for well for over two centuries.
With deep respect for the Constitution of the United States of America (or at least what’s left of it) and the Declaration of Independence that brought it about,
LanceThruster (actually, I used my real name)
~
g said,
July 3, 2007 at 5:14
I don’t like this new Gary. Can we have the old one back? What happened to him, did he get deported? Does he need a sponsor?
mikey said,
July 3, 2007 at 5:20
Right on, Lance. The Declaration of Independence kind of does say it all, and should well make bush feel small and shabby in his participation in this miscarriage of justice…
mikey
g said,
July 3, 2007 at 5:24
See , I feel very cynical about this. Of course Bush did it, because Bush doesn’t give a shit. It’s all gone to hell for him anyway, he doens’t have to run for re-election. He’s already demonstrated that he doesn’t give a shit about the nation, the health of its democracy, by the fact that he has allowed the incredible damage done to the Dept. of Justice to remain and fester. He doesn’t care what the people think. He doesn’t need to answer to anyone.
It will go on and on. We could fill the streets, he won’t change. We could mass in the public square, like Tianamen or like the Orange Revolution of the Ukraine, and he would be unmoved. We can can his phone line, and he’ll just turn it off.
He is the worst of us. We allowed him to be. And we can’t do anything about him because we allowed him to be what he is.
And fuckerslike Gary, and Ace, and Kevin and Psycheout and all the other stupid motherfuckers – I’m older than you and if we all die a natural death, I will go long before you. But I will go when there’s still a vestige of democracy left in this nation. You have supported the decline and fall of the American state. I only hope that you will end up suffering the tyranny you’ve brought into being.
lambert strether said,
July 3, 2007 at 5:26
Just in case Dr. Atrios’s prescription leaves the White House switchboard jammed tomorrow, here’s a copy of the White House phonebook. Now you can keep calling someone, anyone until you get through.
Of course, you’ll be courteous and dignified when you do. Our civil servants have important work to do!
Or maybe some enterprising person could organize a phone tree….
Jillian said,
July 3, 2007 at 5:31
Damn, I love the internet.
mikey said,
July 3, 2007 at 5:49
Hey, I’ve got SKYPE!! I can call 202 AC for free!! Hmm, wonder if I have anything better to do tommorrow?
Nope, can’t think of a thing…
mikey
Chimera said,
July 3, 2007 at 5:53
See here. The President cannot commute a sentence; he can only grant a reprieve or a pardon. Oops.
Psycheout said,
July 3, 2007 at 5:54
Wow, ur smartness mekes us consrvtives fel dum. But answer me this: why did liberal America elect George W. Bush twice?
Doc Washboard said,
July 3, 2007 at 6:03
Interesting, as they say, if true.
Doc Washboard said,
July 3, 2007 at 6:06
From Psycheout:
What’s in that barrel? Hey, it’s fish. And I just happen to have my trusty old rifle with me. Anybody want to take a shot?
Dan Someone said,
July 3, 2007 at 6:12
The President cannot commute a sentence; he can only grant a reprieve or a pardon. Oops.
Hey, this is great news! We just have to rush this information to the Supreme Court, and they’ll jump to reinstate… uh… oh… um… nevermind.
By the way, I’ve found that the trolls are a lot easier to deal with if you pretend they’re just idiot callers on a talk radio show. (Not really much of a stretch.) You can’t actually talk to them, so you just yell at your radio a bit and then change the station. The Interwebs equivalent is, you yell at your screen a bit and then read something by someone with a brain.
MrWonderful said,
July 3, 2007 at 6:14
Doc-
Please. I insist. Everyone needs a little release. Shoot away.
mikey said,
July 3, 2007 at 6:27
Oh yeah. Here, I brought thirteen hundred rounds…
mikey
Psycheout said,
July 3, 2007 at 6:41
Wow, great answers guys. I feel put in my place now.
mikey said,
July 3, 2007 at 6:54
Hmmm, interesting. No, really. What kind of pie, psycheout?
mikey
Psycheout said,
July 3, 2007 at 6:59
Have some crow pie, mikey, with extra beaks. He likes it! Hey mikey!
Sophist, FCD said,
July 3, 2007 at 7:55
What would be the point? We haven’t the power to put you anywhere worse than the place you have chosen to put yourself, where you wallow there in the mud and the shit of your own volition.
atheist said,
July 3, 2007 at 11:50
It’s like Capone’s Chicago, where he owned the cops and the courts. Nobody had access to the tools to stop them, because all those tools had been co opted. And that’s the case here.
OK. He still got taken down by shitty accounting, of all things. Not that this is what will happen to Bush, but- noone is really invulnerable.
RandomObserver said,
July 3, 2007 at 22:38
From Blogs for Browny. Just something to lighten the mood. 101st keyboarders to the rescue!