Bush Pardons His 2nd And 3rd Turkeys This Year

This seems to be George Bush's year for pardoning turkeys. On Tuesday, he pardoned his second and third turkeys for 2007. These two turkeys were named "May" and "Flower" (one of whom is pictured above).

Of course, the first turkey he pardoned in 2007 was White House insider, "Scooter" Libby, who was convicted earlier this year. Unlike this first turkey, rumor has it that "May" and "Flower" were actually not guilty of any criminal activity.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING YA'LL !

Criminal Protects His Underling

This comes as no surprise to anyone with a functioning brain. Most of us have been expecting it for months. The nation's top criminal, George Bush, today moved to protect one of his underlings, "Scooter" Libby. Bush has commuted Libby's prison sentence.

Libby had been convicted by a jury, and sentenced to serve 30 months in a federal prison by an honest judge. Today, a federal appeals court ruled that Libby could no longer delay serving his sentence. Just hours later, the head of the White House gang commuted the prison sentence of the lesser gang member.

The Bush gang has shown little regard for the rule of law since they stole the presidency nearly seven years ago. They violated international law by invading a country that posed no threat to our country. They also violated the Constitution by spying on American citizens with warrantless wiretaps and other measures, and also by illegally mixing religion into our federal government (Office of Faith-Based Initiatives my ass!).

They have illegally fired US Attorneys, and used our government for their own political gain, and their friend's financial gain. Hell, the Bush gang has even attached "signing statements" to bills he signed over 700 times stating that his gang does not have to follow the law.

So this move by the gang leader to protect his underling should surprise no one. I don't know if he did it out of a fear that his underling would "flip" and rat on other gang members, or whether there really is a kind of twisted honor among criminals. Either way, it was a foul deed!

Evidently the Bush gang enjoys swimming in the slime and muck of criminal and unethical behavior.

Libby Sentenced -- But Still Free

Lewis "Scooter" Libby went back to court yesterday and found out what his sentence was to be. Libby and his attorneys asked for leniency, but U.S. District Court Judge Reggie B. Walton was having none of it. Judge Walton said, "Mr. Libby failed to meet the bar. For whatever reason, he got off course."

Judge Walton then sentenced Libby to 30 months in prison for lying and obstructing justice. If it were you or I, we would be sitting behind bars right now waiting to be transferred to a federal prison. But the rich and powerful operate under different rules than the rest of us do. Libby got to go home.

Libby's lawyers asked that he be allowed to remain free while his case is being appealed. Judge Walton said he saw no reason to put the sentence on hold -- then let Libby go home, while he scheduled a hearing on the matter for a week from next Thursday.

Meanwhile, Dick Cheney (Libby's old boss, and the guy he's protecting) said, "Speaking as friends, we hope that our system will return a final result consistent with what we know of this fine man." I can understand Cheney's attitude. If Libby actually had to go to prison, he might be upset enough to tell the truth about his superiors.

But I doubt that Libby will actually go to prison. If he's not allowed to stay free while his case is on appeal, then there will probably be a pardon from Bush. Republicans are already trying to put pressure on Bush to give a pardon. Several of the presidential candidates said or inferred that they would pardon Libby.

I have no doubt that Bush wants to pardon Libby. Right now, he's just hoping that Libby can stay free while appeals are heard. That way, Bush can delay the pardon until his term is nearly over.

But whether the judge allows him to stay free or not, the pardon is coming. It is just Bush's nature to reward criminal loyalty.

How Long Before The Pardon Comes?

Another Republican bites the dust. This time it's White House insider "Scooter" Libby. Yesterday, Libby was found guilty of lying to a grand jury and obstruction of justice. I don't think the verdict really surprised anyone - his guilt was pretty obvious.

The only real questions are what will his sentence be, and when will Bush pardon him. The electronic media are fond of saying that he could get 25 years, but that is very unlikely. The media always wants to report the extremes. I think it's more likely he'll get less than 10 years - probably more like five.

But don't expect him to actually serve any real time. The right-wing noise machine will crank up to make the case for a pardon, and I expect Bush will cave in to them and pardon him. Bush has given the right-wing nuts everything else, so why would he hold out this time?

Their best argument is that Libby was just a "fall guy", thrown under the bus to save the necks of higher-ups (Rove and Cheney). While I think Libby was as guilty as hell and needs to serve some time behind bars, I have to admit the "fall guy" argument has some merit.

Even the Libby jury thinks this is the case. While they knew he was guilty, several said, "Where is Rove? Where is Cheney?" They knew who the guiltiest of all were, and they were not in that courtroom. They will never be punished for their crimes.

But as guilty as Libby is, I don't expect him to actually serve any time. He will probably delay his needed incarceration with an appeal bond and some fancy legal footwork, as the rich and powerful usually do. Then, Bush will issue a pardon.

My guess is that the pardon will come sometime this Fall. I'd love to hear what the readers think. When do you think the pardon will come?