Happy Independence Day - Enjoy The Commute

It's getaway day for everyone including Scooter Libby, whose sentence was commuted by President Bush.

Stray thoughts:

I Am Shocked, Shocked:  Was anyone surprised by this result?  When William Otis, who had advised Bush I on the  Caspar Weinberger pardon, floated the idea in the WaPo, was it hard to figure Bush II was getting a message?

If It Was Done When 'Twere Done:  As an ex post genius, I can now declare the timing to be obvious - if Bush had let conservatives howl for a few days following the appeals court denial of bail for Libby pending appeal, when (if?) he eventually gave in his action would have been denounced as a craven collapse to political pressure.  Instead, he can pretend this was a sensible, principled compromise.

Love The Jury (Hate The Judge):  The commutation is a slick straddle - Bush claims to respect the jury's verdict but disses the judge's sentencing decision.

Never Ready For Prime Time:  Harry Reid delivers a classic gaffe by going off-message and telling us what he really thinks (as per the Times):

Congressional Democrats rushed out statements lambasting the president’s move. Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, called the commutation “disgraceful.”

“Libby’s conviction was the one faint glimmer of accountability for White House efforts to manipulate intelligence and silence critics of the Iraq War,” Mr. Reid said. “Now, even that small bit of justice has been undone.”

Silly Harry.  Dems are on somewhat sound footing when they scream about respect for the rule of law, and equality thereof (please ignore Sandy Berger's non-jail time).  But the idea that Libby should go to jail because Bush mis-led us into war and mismanaged the post-liberation administration of Iraq?  I have no doubt plenty of Dems believe just that, but it is ridiculous - accountability ought to start nearer the top, if the Dems can rally themselves to hold hearings, impeach Bush, or whatever.  Helpful hint - the Vice President's chief of staff is normally neither a household name nor the Commander in Chief.

Better Late Than Never:  The latest headline is that Bush won't rule out a subsequent pardon, so now I am an ex-ante genius.  It seems like only yesterday I wrote:

As has been discussed previously, Bush has other options than a full pardon available to him.  For example, Bush could commute Libby's sentence to a fine and probation; that would allow Libby to continue his legal appeals without going to jail (and keep open the possibility of an end-of-term full pardon).

Advantage Obama - this is from Reuters:

Many at the White House found criticism from New York Sen. Hillary Clinton particularly ironic. Aside from the Rich pardon, her husband's former national security adviser, Sandy Berger, reached a plea deal in 2005 and avoided a jail sentence for illegally removing classified documents from the National Archives and destroying some of them.

Yes, it is tough for Hillary to carry the flag on this one.

MORE:  The End Of The Long And Dusty Trail: I am confident I could find fantasists who think that this commutation somehow will discourage Liby from cooperating with Fitzgerald and telling "the truth".  As an antidote, let me wave in a Bush-bashing former Federal prosecutor:

Equally unlikely is the idea that Fitzgerald would want Scooter Libby to cooperate. Not only is Scooter Libby a convicted felon - a fact that juries are entitled to take into account when assessing a witness's testimony - he is a felon who was convicted of perjury and making false statements. For a prosecutor, trying to make a case based on the testimony of a convicted perjuror is akin to a would-be suitor showing up on a first date wearing a wedding ring: it creates serious credibility hurdles. As if that weren't enough of a problem, Libby would be testifying as a cooperating witness regarding the very matters about which a jury has already found that he lied. As to those, Libby has made extensive prior statements chock-full of inconsistencies, fodder for days of devastating cross-examination. And then, to top it all off, there would be the pesky fact that Libby's entire defense at trial was based on an attempt to prove that the man has a terrible memory. A convicted perjuror with a memory problem may be a great premise for a bad joke, but it is a terrible premise for a criminal case against the vice president of the United States.

That is from Elizabeth de la Vega, a former federal prosecutor with more than 20 years of experience. During her tenure, she was a member of the Organized Crime Strike Force and Chief of the San Jose Branch of the US Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California. Her pieces have appeared in the Nation magazine, the Los Angeles Times and Salon. She writes regularly for Tomdispatch.com. She is the author of United States v. George W. Bush et al..."

Comments

[hit and run]

Merry Fitzmas!

[Poppy]

I don't think you can fault the liberal logic here:

Libby lied when he said he was suprised when Russert mentioned Wilsons wife sent him to Niger.

1. We know this because: Russert had stated in an earlier interview that he wasn't sure what exactly was said.

2. He had in the past claimed he never made a phone call that he in fact had made.

3. Russert was in a jam because he kind of lied to the court about talking to the FBI, Fitz promised Russert he wouldn't mention that little slip if he would only cooperate.

This Russert waqs absolutely sure what exactl was said when it came to the trial.

Thus you put all that together and you have Libby intentionallly lied about his conversion with Russert, it wasn't a mistake, it wasn't with Novak, and therefore he obstructed Fitz finding out about Armitage leaking to Novak and Bob Woodward, which Fitz already knew so the proverbial 'sand in the face' came after the entire game, no, the entire season was over and Fitz was following Libby out to his car with a baseball bat after a few pints in the bar.

Given all that, Cheney then must have told Libby to out Plame, although there is no evidence.

Given that Cheney told Libby, Bush must have order Cheney, because there is no evidence of that either, therefore since we have no evidenc, that directly links Bush to lying about WMD, because noone have ever heard of Iraq and WMD until Bush came to town.

Is this starting to make sense??

[clarice]

Schumer had asked for clemency for Pollard for Chrissake!

Hillary had originally refused to answer questions about a pardon for Libby at the AFSME convention and then stupidly jumped on the bandwagon--trust me, even her witchy brain trust knows this is a loser for her.

Wilson's back on the NBC/MSNBC circuit and
all's right with the world.

[clarice]

PS TM, check you email and phone messages.

[Carol_Herman]

It's a wonderful day!

Bush pushed the jail sentence away; but not the freak show at the applets to the supreme-o's. He made a good investment in Excutive privilege. And, he probably gave the GOP, in the future, a way to deal, successfully, with the litigious Bonkeys.

His numbers, which had swooned so low he was scraping Jimmy who? Are not about to rise. With the incoming information on Irak. Where, again, Americans are backing the military, with polls showing this at 70%.

Yes, Irak hit low points. But never as low as what Abraham Lincoln had to contend. Nor, even, FDR. And, I think Americans are looking for some presidencial successes, ahead, as well.

The luggage? Stuck to the behind of Arlen Specter. Could there be a revolt, ahead, behind the velvet curtains of the senate? Don't ask me. I'm not the Oracle at Delphi.

[windansea]

TM

thanks for all the great posts and fun times at JOM

now what? :)

enjoy the 4th!

[hit and run]

TM:
Advantage Obama

From the last thread, Obama's response to the news:

This decision to commute the sentence of a man who compromised our national security cements the legacy of an Administration characterized by a politics of cynicism and division, one that has consistently placed itself and its ideology above the law. This is exactly the kind of politics we must change so we can begin restoring the American people’s faith in a government that puts the country’s progress ahead of the bitter partisanship of recent years.

[hit and run]

Jane in the last thread...

Commenting on news of the commutation:
I am so bloody glad. And I'm absolutely convinced it was my email

Commenting on the fact that there wasn't a new thread about the commutation:
TM needs to get back from the beach and start a new thread!

Jane gets results.

[BobS]

Happiness is a new thread.

And I'm glad someone else noted Fitz over-the-top response to the President's clemency statement. When the book is written about this is written that is factual and not told via AP headlines or NBC perhaps it can be named after the jury -maybe something like:

"Twelve Angry Kos Kids"

So, Clarice...when IS that book coming out?

[Pal2Pal (Sara)]

Via Althouse:

David Brooks recounts Plamegate. (TimesSelect link.) He calls Joe Wilson
a strutting little peacock," a "charming P.T. Barnum," and "an inveterate huckster," who only got attention because of Dick Cheney's "unfailing talent for vindictive self-destruction."

Scooter Libby emerged as the least absurd character in the entire drama, and yet he was the one who committed a crime. President Bush entered the stage like a character from another world, a world in which things make sense.

His decision to commute Libby’s sentence but not erase his conviction was exactly right. It punishes him for his perjury, but not for the phantasmagorical political farce that grew to surround him. It takes away his career, but not his family.

[Cecil Turner]

Y'know, I was initially unimpressed with the whole commutation thing. But watching the nutroots' collective blood pressures rise to the point they're startin' to blow gaskets, I'm starting to think it's not so bad. Heh.

But the real lesson learned here is that special prosecutors are inherently out-of-control. And the appointment issue, far from being a technicality, addresses the root problem of chartering an investigator who has a vested interest in skipping blithely over the actual crime (or non-crime) to pursue "obstruction" of his non-investigation. And though I continue to believe in Libby's actual innocence, I'd be very surprised if he continues with the appeal, as vindication seems unlikely, and the pursuit is very expensive. Which begs the question of an eventual pardon, which again appears unlikely.

[windansea]

I'm starting to think it's not so bad.

as Al Davis said "just win baby"

[Appalled Moderate]

My stray thoughts:

1. Fitz was awfully graceless. Bush was not criticizing him for being a prosecutor and asking for the book to be thrown. To the extent anyone should be peeved, it should be Walton, who was responsible for the sentence. But then, I don't recall Walsh or Starr handling their treatment at the hands of politicians well, either.

2. Cecil -- you're simply wrong. Bush's approach is the correct ones for both reasons of justice (the ultimate punishment approximates the plea deal Clinton struck at the end of his presidency for a "crime" that was awfully similar) and for reasons of expediency (Congress annot compel Libby to testify because his testimony could prejudice his appeals). I haven't complimented Bush often in the last three years, but I'll do so now. I love it when the right thing to do turn out to be the slick thing to do. By the way, CT, if you want to see how a man in the midst of an apoplectic fit blogs, check out Andrew Sullivan's site.

3. Considering his constituency and his large thematic message, Obama handled this pardon absolutely right. I'm sure H&R is awash with cynicism about this, but this seems well-played. (Hillary, on the other hand, should have just said she had not studied the issue and did not think it was appropriate to comment.)

[Other Tom]

Good God--is there a remaining sentient being who discounts the value of the sheer joy in watching the Moonbat reaction? Can there be any doubt that it played at least some part in Dubya's thinking? You know damn well he'd been refreshed about Schumer and Pollard, Marc Rich, Sandy Berger, all the rest. I think he did this, in part, for the same reason he keeps saying "nuke-you-lar"--it just drives them up the wall.

Side note: On the previous thread I used the search function with my oen name in order to go to wherever I had left off. I got a hit somewhere in an interminable screed by poor ol' Major Chch, still floating strangely out there, observing that the earth is blue. He was apparently trying to convey something to me. Note to Major Chch: I hope you won't think me rude, but some time ago I stopped reading anything at all that you write. I can spot it instantly, and when I do I just scroll down at max speed. I do not know anything about what you are saying, and thus will not respond. If you wish to communicate with me, you must find some medium other than this site. I suggest you re-establish contact with Ground Control, and ask them to put you through.

But hey, pal--Keep Hope Alive. Keep Hope Alive.

[Poppy]

"""Considering his constituency and his large thematic message, Obama handled this pardon absolutely right. """

Obama showed himself to be an un-informed tool. He claimed Libby comprimised National Security which never, ever happened.

He smeared Libby as a traitor, when the Liberals hate to be called traitors when you happen to mentioned their support for the other side.

And just why did Barry change his name to Barack?

[Pal2Pal (Sara)]

I just heard a blurb a few minutes ago, and I'm sorry but I was walking through the room and not paying close attention, but it was something to the effect that ONLY Hillary has referenced the car bomb plot in the UK of all the democrat party Presidential candidates. I'm not sure if any other dems have mentioned it either. Who can possibly think about electing any one of these clowns?

[clarice]

Sorry, AM, I must take issue with Obama--How exactly did Libby harm national security by thinking Russert told him? That man is turning me into a cynic very fast.

[Other Tom]

I'm with you, AppMod. I think this one is made to order for Obama, and is something that Hillary should hope will just go away. And for all his many faults, Bush is indeed a gracious man--perhaps too gracious to do well in the environment in which he finds himself. Like his hapless father, he actually seems to think that if you treat Teddy Kennedy like a gentleman, he will respond in kind.

[Appalled Moderate]

clarice:

Obama has a job to do -- get elected by his electorate through promoting a message of rising above partisan bickering. He did his job without hurting anybody. In politics -- one takes what one can get.

No Democrat can endorse this commutaton in the same way no Republican could agree that at least some of Clinton's last pardons were justified (or any Democrat could agree that Bush I's Iran-Contra pardons were justified).

[Pal2Pal (Sara)]

Other Tom - I don't know why GWB in all his years in politics starting at his Dad's and Ronald Reagan's knee in childhood and young adulthood, he has not learned the differences between those with graciousness and those who only know the survival of the fittest of the streets, knife 'em in the back before they knife you mindset.

I was raised in a similar environment as GWB and had a lot of trouble with this issue when I first got on my own. I did not realize for a long time that all the people I had to deal with had not been taught the same social graces I had been taught were absolutely necessary to succeed in this world. GWB and I are almost the same age, give a few months, and it was a different time back then. I remember how shocking it was for me to have someone take my words of compassion and call me out as [fill in the blank]. And how shocked I was when my Mother-in-law lashed out one day, "well you were raised rich and educated and think you are entitled to be treated with respect, it is different for the rest of us." Huh?

[clarice]

I am cynical because he made a statement which was inflammatory and wrong as a matter of fact precisely for partisan political advantage--the issue hurts Hillary and the more she tries to jump on the Scooter the more everyone remembers the last minute Bill pardons for pay.

The woman has a tin ear and Obama is as partisan an in fighter and as cynical a manipulator of public opinion as anyone else.

[Pal2Pal (Sara)]

Oh good Lord, Mother Moonbat is baaaaaaaaaack!!!

Breaking: Libby half-pardon forces St. Cindy back into politics

[gmax]

Paul at Powerline is asking the same questions I did this am, what about the socialized medicine of Great Britain disincents people to take up medicine and thereby requires the expedited importation of doctors?

PAUL adds: At the Corner, Mark Steyn, Iain Murray, and Stanley Kurtz make note of the high percentage of non-British doctors practicing in England under the NHS. Socialized medicine, it seems, tends to chase British doctors into other careers or other countries.

Can I get an amen from Sister Hill?

[PatrickR]

anduril has a good post over at Beldar's blog:

The sand that Libby threw in Fitz's eyes was really his correction of his FBI interview and stubborn refusal to return (under oath) to his original, speculative statement about what Cheney may "possibl[y]" have told him to do. If Libby had not spoken loosely about possibilities he would almost certainly never have found himself in this position, despited his faulty recollection. Libby couldn't be indicted for correcting his initial statements, so Fitz had to go with the weak and non-material statements to reporters. The indictment was the last gasp at flipping Libby, who remained unflippable. But there was no going back from the indictment and Libby forced a trial by his refusal to buckle to the pressure.

[hit and run]

AM:
I'm sure H&R is awash with cynicism about this, but this seems well-played.

Clarice:
That man is turning me into a cynic very fast.

Clarice, welcome to the club.

AM, I will agree that Obama's "constituency" has no reason to question his Obamessiah Gospel and this will play very well with them.

But it is, in fact, objectively cynical of him to use it. He's playing the politics right, getting the substance wrong.

And that means any trope about ending cynicism and division is tripe.

Now, on to awashing myself in beer.

[Carol_Herman]

Well, some go for the Madonna in the Ditch mode; I tend to keep looking at the field that holds all the nominees running for nominations in 2008. Including, if the Bonkeys keep it up, a Bloomberg "expense paid" run for Independent. WHich gives ya lots of candidates still to choose from.

Is it possible Obama is now leading Hillary? That ticket looks like a two-fer. And, all the republicans have to do is keep their eyes peeled on who will be MOST electible.

Guilini? Tops out for this 2nd quarter at $15-million, raised. And, Mitt Romney at $14-million.

Fred's not a candidate, yet. And, he'll probably attempt "shoe-string" politics, just the same; heavily dependent on traffic from the Net. And, those lame mainstream shows, that pull him in to raise ratings. Thereby, getting more clips up on U-Tube. It's a marriage made in heaven.

What's interesting is that Bush doesn't run again. Bush did run into resistance from his base. WHereby he snookered the Bonkeys to hit their horns.

Yes, fer shur, "if" Mother Moonbat came out of her cave; it's either because it's a slow news day, so the MSM answered her squawking calls. And, it's much more fun on the Internet.

A win not just for Libby; but for Internet users, too. My, my fingers are happy.

[centralcal]

Sara: It is probably good that Cindy is back. It will drive the Dem candidates crazy. Most of the public associates her with them (liberals and liberal media) and the crazier she is, the better for our side.

Cindy going quietly into that good night was really good news for Dems, so I for one and glad she's back and as moonbatty as ever!

[Cecil Turner]

I love it when the right thing to do turn out to be the slick thing to do.

I'd be far more impressed if I thought it was the right thing to do.

The indictment was the last gasp at flipping Libby, who remained unflippable.

If one actually reads Libby's testimony, the thing that stands out is that he doesn't remember. The only thing he thought he remembered (the conversation with Russert) turned out to be wrong. The trial testimony showed he was in good company . . . nobody else remembered either.

What this proves, beyond any reasonable doubt, is that Plame's identity wasn't very important to anybody (with the possible exception of Armitage). Which pretty much debunks the whole premise behind the supposed conspiracy to "out" someone nobody knew was covert (if she was). Which makes the whole "flipping" concept a bit of a joke. That said, I concur with Beldar that it looks exactly like that was Fitz's plan all along . . . combined with a similarly nonsensical fixation on the NIE declassification. And it's a pretty good indicator he oughta find a new line of work. (Or be very closely supervised in anything requiring judgment.)

[gmax]

Aquote from Ian at the Corner:

The high proportion of foreign physicians is indeed down to a lack of British Doctors - not just from lack of students, but also because many trained Doctors choose to pursue other careers. Life in the NHS is not a rewarding experience. A family member of mine who is so highly regarded as a Doctor that she has won a prize carrying a substantial annual stipend for the rest of her life has withdrawn from clinical treatment because she was constantly asked to make life-or-death decisions based on the rationing of resources (you won't hear that story in Sicko). The socialization of medicine in the UK is responsible for a lot of problems. The importation of terrorists is just one of them.

Oh lets get some nationalized health care shall we?

[Pal2Pal (Sara)]

Centralcal -- as one blogger noted, at least her retirement from politics lasted slightly longer than her fast.

Mother Moonbat gives bloggers oodles and oodles of material, so we love her for that. I like your point about giving the dems fits.

[centralcal]

Alan Dershowitz on Libby at HuffPo:

"This was entirely a political case from beginning to end.

Libby's actions were political.

The decision to appoint a special prosecutor was political.

The trial judges' rulings were political.

The appellate court judges' decision to deny bail was political.

And the president's decision to commute the sentence was political.

But only the president acted within his authority by acting politically in commuting the politically motivated sentence."

[Pal2Pal (Sara)]

Pretty much sums it up, doesn't it?

[BobS]

When will some member of the media finally stand and ask to Tim Russert:

"So, Tim, did Peter Fitzgerald snare you in his little perjury trap game along with Scooter Libby?"

I know...out of the blue.

Forgive me as I'm just so inspired by Cindy ShSh's return.

[BobS]

Sigh...only Sara and Carol understand my warped mind.

[SMGalbraith]

I'm of the mind (there's an opening for you to take) that Libby should have served six months and then Bush could have commuted the sentence in December (nice Fitzmas, er Christmas gift).

From everything I've read, I have no doubt as to the patriotism of Libby. This silly "treason" charge is just that silly (I'd sure wish those who throw the treason charge would learn its requirements, i.e., aid and comfort along with adherence to an enemy; aid and comfort alone don't constitute treason (legally)).

Yes, it's a bit difficult seeing Libby in prison while the loathsome fraud Wilson walks the streets. Such is life.

But it seems to me that Libby did indeed deliberately commit perjury. Wilfully and deliberately and, such, deserves at least some jail time (high government officials and all that).

Why? He screwed up. He leaked Plame's name without realizing the danger in doing so. Whether Big Time authorized that or not is another story; my guess is probably.

Six months. Out for Christmas.

SMG

[Cecil Turner]

Why? He screwed up. He leaked Plame's name without realizing the danger in doing so.

Sorry, it doesn't wash. He claimed he leaked it to Cooper (even though Cooper says he was the one who brought it up and Libby was noncommittal) . . . further, he admitted leaking to Judy (the only person he may have actually leaked to), just at the latter meeting, and not the first. None of that is an alibi for leaking, which makes the "lied to cover up a leak" theory dubious at best; but it's perfectly consistent with a faulty memory.

[SunnyDay]

Posted by: PatrickR | July 03, 2007 at 04:53 PM

******************
Patrick I just want everyone to know, they stole my theory. I think even the hefty sentence was an attempt to flip Libby - after he got in prison, he might have reconsidered, and I'm sure Fitzfong would have promised to ask for early release for him if he would only.

Fitzfong has done that before.

[BobS]

Speaking of not being a near thing. I'm of the opinion the twelve angry Kos Kids jury weren't sure they could sell it either. The ones who talked only wanted to talk about Rove and Cheney. Talk about an agenda. And didn't more than one hope that Bush pardoned him anyhow. At any rate, I was always amazed by the amount of post-its notes they took to connect the dots in the he-said she-said game that Fitzgerald kept selling.

[PeterUK.]

The problem with Britain's National Health Service are legion,one principle problem is that it is a political football,nobody lost votes by calling for more money for the NHS.Politicians do and undo each others work in the inimitable,ignorant way that politicians will.
Secondly it is the fiefdom of the unions and collective bargaining.
Thirdly it is immensely bureaucratic,at one time reputedly the largest single employer outside the Red Army.
Regional Health Authorities are packed with political place men,often a party sinecure.
Free at the point of use,the NHS is a magnet for health shoppers from across the world,even from the US,if you have a serious long term ailment get on the plane.
There are also race quotas,employees must measure up to some mythical multicultural norm.
These are just some of the systemic problems,so is it any wonder that a newly qualified doctor,having been used a slave labour throughout training finds it more attractive to treat cellulite in Palm rather than toil under the yoke of a vast creaking bureaucracy? Besides the money is better.

[Foo Bar]

He claimed he leaked it to Cooper (even though Cooper says he was the one who brought it up and Libby was noncommittal) . . . further, he admitted leaking to Judy

Now, now. Let's not get sloppy.

[Pal2Pal (Sara)]

Sigh...only Sara and Carol understand my warped mind.

Posted by: BobS | July 03, 2007 at 05:32 PM

I'm not sure what this referring to, so I'll just say BobS, it takes one to know one. ::smile::

[PeterUK.]

Isn't what happened to Mr Libby one of the pernicious techniques of modern prosecution.Forget evidence, embroil the accused in a massively expensive and endless farrago with the option of making a plea bargain,simply to end it.
Helps if some star witness if offered immunity,doesn't sound like truth and justice to me.

[Pal2Pal (Sara)]

Has the President been dieting, he looks much thinner in his press briefings these last couple days?

[Rick Ballard]

Peter,

Letting ¿Asian? doctors substitute "Allahu Akbar" for the Hippocratic oath is just taking multiculturalism to its logical end.

Is there any way that a movement might be started to get all Labour leaders under the care of only ¿Asian? doctors? Challenge them to do it as a gesture of solidariety and then publish a primer in Urdu that explains a simpler method of acquiring a harem of 72.

Seems like a sensible solution to me.

[PeterUK.]

Obviously worrying about Scooter Libby Sara.

[Cecil Turner]

Now, now. Let's not get sloppy.

Touche. Change: "leaked it to," and "leaking to"; to "discussed it with" and "discussing it with."

[PeterUK.]

Mr Ballard,
"Is there any way that a movement might be started to get all Labour leaders under the care of only ¿Asian? doctors?"

Yes parachute them into the Tribal areas of Pakistan,community fact finding missions.

[maryrose]

TM:
First off thank for the many wonderful posts on this topic!
Sunnyday:
I concur with your assessment that all tried to ratchet up the pressure to make Libby flip to no avail.
Bobs;
I get you and think you are funny but not as hilarious as H&R.
CT,Mr. Ballard, clarice,et al:
Your analysis and attention to detail has been fantastic. Keeping to the facts you have captured the essence of this fandango of a case.
Saw Wilson on Hardball with Matthews and could not contain my glee! He is mad as a hornet and thinks he is being punished for being a democrat by this administration. He was at his banished site in Santa Fe , New Mexico still insisting that all the bad men had ruined his wife's life. Pathetic has been with a beard to go with that very important hair. To me he just looked like a loser.
FWIW: I don't think Cheney ordered any kind of vendetta against Wilson or Plame. Libby proved he wasn't any little boy Dean who spills the beans to get off the hook.

[maryrose]

should be thanks for...

[Rick Ballard]

PM Brown (he didn't change his name, did he?) has drawn some mildly negative attention from Protein Wisdom as well as Melanie Phillips.

I didn't know that mention of Muslim's some people's religion had been banned in the UK. I suppose this means that there will be no more islamofascist terror strikes unpleasantness.

What a relief.