A Misuse of Power
OK, I mostly write about technology here, but I just have to mention US politics, given that it’s a special day for Americans. And if you live in America, and you think you live in the land of the free, think again. I’ll keep it brief.
Here’s a classic line from a guy called Mitt Romney. Remember that name if you’ve not heard it before, because along with Rudolph Giuliani he is the front-runner to represent the Republican party in the next presidential election. In other words, he is a potential next president of the United States.
“I believe that the circumstances of this case, where the prosecutor knew that there had not been a crime committed, created a setting where a decision of this nature was reasonable,”
(quote from New York Times)
Who is he talking about? He’s talking about Vice-President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff, Lewis Libby, a man who has been sentenced to 2 and a half years in prison for perjury and obstruction of justice.
So, according to, perhaps, the next president of the United States, perjury and obstruction of justice are not crimes, and those who commit them are not criminals!
Brilliant!
So would you vote a man like this into the presidency? Probably not, I’d guess, but incredibly, you don’t have to! ‘Cos the current guy in the White house seems to more or less agree about this perjury/obstruction of justice/non-crime thing!
George Bush has just granted a commutation to Libby, which means the 30 month jail sentence he was going to serve is now excused.
So what did Libby lie about?
Libby was found to have lied to the FBI and a grand jury about conversations where he mentioned Valerie Plame. Plame is the wife of outspoken critic of the current US administration, Joseph Wilson. Plame’s position as a CIA spy was leaked, and though the source of the leak remains unproven, many believe Plame’s name was leaked in revenge for Wilson’s criticism of the war in Iraq. So why would Libby lie about Plame? I wonder…
Make up your own mind, but something stinks really bad about all of this.
References:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6723915.stm
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9977
All over the web. Use Google for chrissakes. Or Ask.com or something. Sheesh!