Different standards for elite politicians
July 6, 2007

All hell has broken loose in Washington among the politicians over this Scooter Libby saga. Really now, did you expect anything any differently from this president? Bush and Cheney are close. In fact, if the truth be known, Cheney ostensibly runs this White House. Cheney and Libby are the best of buddies. They once car-pooled together on their merry way to work.
Do you really think Cheney would let his buddy end up in a place such as this — Terre Haute, Indiana — with its sprawling federal prison south of town?
Combine this fact of life with this administration’s policies of unconstitutional, warrantless wiretaps of American citizens, the indefinite imprisonment of our citizens without charge, the use of secret Eastern European prisons as a part of its third-party rendition program, the commitment of this nation to a war based upon WMD lies, the negotiation of a secret agreement with Mexican and Canadian governments to form the North American Union without review or oversight of such by the Congress, the manipulation of justice by Attorney General Gonzales’ firing of various United States district attorneys because they investigated political corruption cases involving key Republican lawmakers and campaign contributors, the use of 180,000 private contractors in Iraq who are billing the American taxpayer, and the machinations behind this comprehensive immigration reform surge which would have institutionalized cheap labor costs for the benefit of corporate profit interests.
Should this Libby sentence commutation gift come as any surprise to anyone?
Now, what about Compean and Ramos, two border patrol agents prosecuted by the El Paso district attorney, whom I think immigrated from Pluto, for doing their jobs by shooting a fleeing drug trafficking felon in the butt. The felon had 750 pounds of dope in his van, yet was granted immunity from drug prosecution to testify against these agents. Both are now serving reprehensible prison terms.
Has this president exercised the same Libby-like fairness and equity doctrine in this instance by pardoning them?
Of course not. These agents never car-pooled with Cheney.
Hypothetically, should the allegation prove true regarding the Barry Bonds connection with this Balco-steroid case, this would mean that, just as Libby had done, Bonds lied to a grand jury.
Perhaps, in this scenario, Bush likewise would extend the same Libby courtesy to Bonds by commuting his perjury and obstruction of justice prison sentence.
Given the likelihood the Hilton Hotel Corp. has given bountiful booty to both Bush and Cheney campaigns, the only really surprising thing about this whole affair is that Bush didn’t commute Paris’ three-week jail stint.
Yes, there is a dual system, and a double standard of justice ongoing for the politically powerful and wealthy in America.
That includes, for those who care to remember the facts and circumstances of 1969, the incident which involved a narrow wooden bridge somewhere in Massachusetts. This is just a fact of life which you nor I can change.
— Earl Beal
Terre Haute

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