The commutation of Scooter Libby’s prison sentence surfaces, like the Creature from the Black Lagoon, from the mire of neocon collusion. With this outrage, our president continues to plumb the depths of arrogance with impunity. Bush said his action still ''leaves in place a harsh punishment for Mr. Libby.''
Really? Should we shed crocodile tears for the $250,000 fine Mr. Libby paid? Anyone who can plunk down that amount of money with a personally signed cashier check hardly warrants fiscal pity. How dumb does the president think the American public is?
Pretty dumb, apparently. Last month, another 101 United States soldiers lost their lives in Iraq. “We’re fighting them there so we won’t have to fight them here.” Where is the reality behind that fable? Funny, the last time I checked, the Al Qaeda navy was dry-docked in the Hindu Kush. The president asserts, on the other hand, that the Army and Marines defend the tenets of Democracy, including the rule of law. Yet commuting the sentence of Scooter Libby seems to taint those ideals
July 2007
Hood River, OR
Mercy, Mercy
Forgiving the unforgivable…
The commutation of Scooter Libby’s prison sentence surfaces, like the Creature from the Black Lagoon, from the mire of neocon collusion. With this outrage, our president continues to plumb the depths of arrogance with impunity. Bush said his action still ''leaves in place a harsh punishment for Mr. Libby.''
Really? Should we shed crocodile tears for the $250,000 fine Mr. Libby paid? Anyone who can plunk down that amount of money with a personally signed cashier check hardly warrants fiscal pity. How dumb does the president think the American public is?
Pretty dumb, apparently. Last month, another 101 United States soldiers lost their lives in Iraq. “We’re fighting them there so we won’t have to fight them here.” Where is the reality behind that folk tale? Funny, the last time I checked, the Al Qaeda navy was dry-docked in the Hindu Kush. The president asserts, on the other hand, that the Army and Marines defend the tenets of Democracy, including the rule of law. Yet commuting the sentence of Scooter Libby seems to taint those ideals.
“Mr. Libby was a first-time offender with years of exceptional public service and was handed a harsh sentence based in part on allegations never presented to the jury.” Is this the softer side of president Bush coming out? Is he finally displaying some compassion along with his conservatism? If so, too bad he did not find his merciful disposition back in January of this year. He could have commuted the sentence of death of those who died in June. Encouragement literally “thumped” him on the noggin. The electorate told him in no uncertain terms last November that only by exiting Iraq could they again be confident in his leadership. The Iraq Study Group devised a reasonable plan to assist him in transforming this American tragedy into a humble but honorable retreat.
Did he listen? No. Instead he developed the “surge” offensive. In fact, the untidy doctrine of his escalation, since enacted, has led to the deaths of 519, and counting, soldiers. Scooter Libby supported the deceptions of the origin of that escalation with lies. What if those young men and women soldiers in Iraq had lied when taking their oath of enlistment to uphold the Constitution? Would they, too, as first-time offenders, be forgiven their transgressions?
Three weeks ago, millions of citizens looked to their president to see if he would give hope, just hope, to the commutation of their sentences of slow death from Parkinson’s disease, MS, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and too numerous to list other chronic illnesses. For six years they have waited for this president to show scientists the green light of inquiry into the human biology of regenerative medicine. How could the president, supported by a bipartisan Congress and 70% of the American electorate, deny them clemency?
No problem. He again chose to veto legislation lifting the restrictions on research into embryonic stem cells. The punishment of living 30, 40, or 50 years with a spinal cord injury is not excessive in the eyes of George Bush. The more rapid deterioration caused by the neurological chaos of Lou Gehrig’s disease does not warrant relief either. If only those individuals enduring the incarceration of their personal ailments had the privileged opportunity to perform some scurrilous task on behalf of the president or his vice-president. Maybe then he would consider their time served sufficient and relieve the punishment of their collective agony.
No one can say president Bush does not reward loyalty. If you will go so far as to lie for him at the expense of our national security, well, he’s got your back. Suddenly, the favorite sandbox of this failed boy-king is the American justice system. Our clueless Attorney General, who cannot recall what anyone said nor who made or approved of fundamental decisions such as hiring and firing U.S. attorneys, receives praise for a job well done. At the White House, obtuseness is now a virtue.
This, then, looms as the strategy to get us from now to 2009. At that time, the sci-fi beast of compassionate conservatism slinks back into the bog from which it came. Left behind will be eight years of executive branch indifference to its most at-risk citizens: the military rank and file and the civilian population in jeopardy due to illness and injury. The commutation of Scooter Libby reveals that this administration has no interest in cleaning up the mess it has made of our Constitution, international reputation, and social policy. Their goal is to make it so big; we will not know where to begin.