Just For The Record

I do not believe, as Jamie Kirchick asserts, that the commutation of Libby's sentence for perjury is a sign of creeping authoritarianism. I've said it's constitutional, but indefensible. My concern with authoritarianism is related to the Bush administration's claims that it has the right to detain any American or non-American anywhere in the world, detain them indefinitely without charges and torture them, if deemed necessary to national security; it is related to the use of signing statements that exempt the president from enforcing the laws; to wire-tapping Americans with no court oversight; and to the suspension of habeas corpus. I know Jamie seems utterly unconcerned by any of these things - and for good reason. We now know that neocons need not fear the justice system. They have a president who will exempt his ideological supporters from the rule of law. Maybe if a president Clinton assumes these Cheney-crafted powers, they will become less complacent.