Can I kick it? No, you can't.

"You can...trust me."
Hm hm hm hm...suckers.

Earlier today, the Senate rejected attempts to renew several provisions of the so-called USA Patriot Act. The portions with which most people seem to be concerned deal with roving wiretaps, and secret warrants for books, records and other items from businesses, hospitals and organizations such as libraries. These are areas where serious abuses could, and apparently have, occurred.

We know this, because no lesser human than the President of the United States personally authorized secretive eavesdropping in the United States more than three dozen times since October 2001. These cases involved allowing the NSA to monitor phone calls and the email of thousands of Americans. As I understand it, that's illegal.

The truly astounding thing is, I'm not even certain that either of these is the big story this week.

Now, I know that the president has as his prerogative, the right to pardon criminals and commute sentences and so forth. You'll see a flurry of activity of this type in early 2009, just you wait and see. Bush will have a lot of buddies who want out of jail.

At the moment, that scumbag without peer, Tom DeLay, stands charged with felony counts of money laundering. He is scheduled to go to trial soon, and have his case heard by a jury, which you older readers may recall, is the American way. But what if...

What if you were good friends with the president? What if you had done him a lot of favors over the years? What if perhaps, the very crime with which you were charged was actually part of a strategy to aid the president? Could you avoid the indignity of being judged by your peers?

Maybe, but it would look bad. Bush could lean on your persecutors and get them to drop the charges, but people would still assume you were guilty. And waiting for the president to leave office is just too far in the future. Time in jail is an unacceptable option. Couldn't we just declare Tom DeLay innocent?

Ha! YES! We can!

The President, just yesterday, when asked about his opinion on Tom DeLay, let it be known that he believes the man is innocent of all charges. DeLay's trial is only weeks away, and George W. Bush, the President of the United States has made it clear that the current system of justice is antiquated, unnecessary, and as quaint as the Geneva Conventions.

Well, that's jury tampering.

Regular readers may have noted that I have tried to clean up the language a little bit in the blog. It's just a personal decision, to try and make my points without it. The language doesn't offend me, and I don't mind if others prefer to use it.

That being said, George Bush is an ongoing, and monumental fuck-up.

Either he is just laying the groundwork for his successor, and hoping that the next President will do what Ford did for Nixon, or he's the most ignorant person we've ever had in the White House. It's all the more frustrating, because DeLay was going to walk anyway, but no less than the Commander in Chief, and former governor of the state in which DeLay is to be tried, has declared the defendant "Not Guilty."

Over. Done. Enjoy the freedom to continue the activities which so clearly fall under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

My problem, I think, is that I don't believe in heaven or hell, really. I think you live, you die, and that's all you get. And that time is enough. What I'm getting at is that I don't believe there is a reward or penalty in the hereafter for actions, good or bad. So, Tom DeLay is not going to get what he so richly deserves for eternity. While I don't believe in things spiritual, I do believe in justice. All I really desire is true justice for the criminal acts that this man has perpetrated.

And thanks once again to the president, there isn't a jury in the United States that will be able to deliver.

Friday, December 16, 2005

Friday, April 08, 2005