Peace and Justice Day

Yesterday I was watching CNN's Suzanne Malveaux showing the famous clip of our fearless fuhrer's famous taunting of the Iraqi insurgents. As we patriotically recall, it was on July 2, 2003 when the man responsible for the safety and lives of our troops dared the Iraqis who disliked our war and occupation to "Bring 'em on."

I was initially hoping to share this occasion to celebrate the fourth anniversary of G. Dubya's brave invitation to slaughter. This heroic call to battle inspired all good war enthusiasts everywhere. They eagerly rose to Bush's challenge. The abused and persecuted “liberated” Iraqis were not to be the only ones affected by our president’s swagger. Sharing the insurgency's and Al-Qaeda's boost in stature, many others have done well by the Decider's bluster and blunder. Halliburton, Big Oil, and Blackwater's mercenary business have been enjoying record profits ever since. And not the least benefit of all was the re-election of the War President.

Mission accomplished.

I thought, "I hope this is the big item of this slow news day so all of America can relive the glories of 2003." But no, this was not to be. Soon the TV screen was showing the breaking news banner. President Bush Commutes Scooter Libby's Sentence. Just like that, Bring 'Em On Day was now Scooter's "Get Out Of Jail Free" Day. The compassionate conservative proved once again he was truly compassionate to conservatives.

In a demonstration of the superiority of his own wisdom over the justice system, Bush stated, “I respect the jury’s verdict, but I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive.”

Let's get this straight. Thirty months is excessive. Twenty-nine months is excessive. Twenty months is excessive. Ten months is excessive. One month is excessive. One week is excessive. One day is excessive. I'm surprised the $250 thousand fine was not excessive as well. Even though it will come out of the spare change drawer from the millions given to his defense by the filthy rich right-wing power players.

So now we have Scooter the fall-guy who didn't even have to take the fall. His verdict will stand, for now. His conviction will remain until it can be pardoned away as well. For the time being the conviction will be useful for the White House to maintain cover for their conspiracy to expose Valerie Wilson's covert identity. If Scooter was going to prison there was still the option for him to cooperate with the court. He might have preferred to testify about Cheney's plot to discredit and intimidate those who revealed his war-mongering lies. How lucky for Scooter to belong to the privileged class of elitists who don't have to decide between truth and prison.

Scooter still has the "lucky" status of having the conviction and ongoing appeal to insulate himself from further commenting on the matter. If he was pardoned and the conviction removed, he could be called to testify again. He then would not have the option of taking the Fifth Amendment as cover. Pretty neat, huh?

Now we have two splendid Bushian reasons to celebrate July second as Peace and Justice Day.

And so, onward into the annals of history we march with the "law and order" and "tough on crime" crew running the country. We can all rest easier and feel safer, knowing we are under the protection and watchful eyes of the Administration whose operating principle of justice is, "just us."