Libby Links

And Also: After the Brown ruling, I.F. Stone wrote a column ending thusly: "The growing political power of the Negro had prevailed over the growing wealth of the Republican party's newest recruits, the Texan oil millionaires. In a showdown, American democracy had proven itself real." From a collection of his writings, The Best of I. F. Stone. I.F. fan Molly Ivins would have appreciated re-reading that, huh? Maybe, she would have quoted it after the recent ruling?

GRANT OF EXECUTIVE CLEMENCY BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA :

A PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS Lewis Libby was convicted in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in the case United States v. Libby, Crim. No. 05-394 (RBW), for which a sentence of 30 months' imprisonment, 2 years' supervised release, a fine of $250,000, and a special assessment of $400 was imposed on June 22, 2007;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, pursuant to my powers under Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution, do hereby commute the prison terms imposed by the sentence upon the said Lewis Libby to expire immediately, leaving intact and in effect the two-year term of supervised release, with all its conditions, and all other components of the sentence.

IN WITNESS THEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this second day of July, in the year of our Lord two thousand and seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-first.

Glenn Greenwald notes that the corrupt political elite is behind the commutation of Libby's sentence. This "elite" apparently includes "liberals" like Timothy Noah, who enables Bush with b.s. like this. Meanwhile, conservative leaning sorts that have had their problems in the past, realize something is amiss here. Meanwhile, leaving something to be desired as presidential candidate Sen. Biden brings up a good connection to a recent Supreme Court ruling. And, finally, from Talkleft:

I had a conversation with a prosecutor today about a two level enhancement for obstruction on a client in custody. I told her that the Executive Branch doesn't count obstruction as a jailable offense, so he should not get the two level enhancement.

She was not amused.

None of us are.

Not a Friend of Bush, however.

Note: I see there are problems with the comments again. Will try the blog comments feature ... sorry if there are dupes.