Saturday, December 20, 2008

Scott Free

It seems as though there will be no justice. No one will be held accountable. They'll get away with murder. Literally.


Here we are almost 6 years after the beginning of the War in Iraq. More years if you count the pre-war planning. Almost 8 years of this administration.


What galls is the idea that there will be no hearings. No investigation. No trials. No one will go to prison.


Now, don't misunderstand. I recently wrote that one is, under our constitution, presumed to be innocent. I believe that regardless. But when there are allegations of wrongdoing, our system of justice also allows for a full investigation and then, if there is enough evidence, people get indicted.


It seems that there have been plenty of allegations recently. From Rumsfeld's alleged sanctioning of torture, to Cheney's alleged fiddling with the energy industry to Gonzales' alleged involvement with Prosecutorgate.


Plenty of allegations. No real investigations. A few reports. Some tepid news coverage and an overall "who cares" from the public consumed with fear about foreclosures and pink slips and plant closings and Christmas.


But c'mon! How about paying a little attention to the alleged transgressions of the past 8 years. How about a little discussion about the alleged degradation of the constitution. How about a little dialogue about the devolved stature of the US around the world.


Here comes Obama. There goes Bush. Gail Collins has a countdown calendar awaiting January 20th when she will probably pop a cork and sing "Ding, Dong the Witch is Dead" followed by "Here Comes the Sun."

But will Eric Holder, provided he's approved (Marc Rich and all...), appoint a special prosecutor to dig into these allegations? Will he finally compel Karl Rove and Harriet Myers to testify before congress about their knowledge of Prosecutorgate? Will Henry Waxman hold hearings into the alleged wrongdoing during the Bush administration? And don't get me started about the Wall Street bailout and the investment bankers bonuses...

Don't hold your breath. Just hold your nose. We'll cheer Obama and obsess about our problems, large and small, but we'll lose sight of the big picture. We are "free" because of the constitution and without it we'd be Russia. Or China. Or Somalia.

Which we may become anyway. So enjoy the snow (if you're in the Northern US) and Merry Christmas unless your Jewish in which case Happy Channukah, or African-American in which case Happy Kwanzaa, or...

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