Comic for Tuesday, July 3rd, 2007

Posted: 7:00 am, Tuesday, July 3rd

He's done! I never in my wildest dreams meant for that to go on for so long. Thanks for bearing with me.

For God's sake, you utter piece of shit. Remember the part where you swore to uphold the Constitution? You utter fucking piece of shit. What fucking reason is there for anyone to follow the laws of this country anymore? You complete and total filth. It's a good thing we're all so fucking doped up on TV or there'd be blood running in the streets. His wife and children have suffered enough - because I can't think of at least 3,867 other wives and children who have suffered at all for a cause your boy helped foster, you foul fucking monster.

2.0 and I have, after a down period, been hitting the Netflix lately. We've reviewed the last two Harry Potter flicks, prepping for the next few weeks o' awesomeness ("last two" = "good ones"), and on Sunday evening caught Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette. Have you guys seen that? Wtf was that? If the whole point was the clothing and sets, then, mission accomplished. But if that was supposed to be a character study or something, um, it really helps to have either an astoundingly emotive actress in the lead role (I actually like Kirsten Dunst, too), or maybe some FREAKING DIALOGUE. What was there, like 20 lines in the first half hour? I dunno. Just a glacially paced film. (Which I guess could be the point, since it was kind of about how there was nothing to do when you're that astoundingly rich, or whatever, but, God, I'm not rich, I'm on my couch watching the flick. Give *me* something to do.) Oh, and the intermittent punk soundtrack? Wtf was *that*? The whole film was a big long series of odd decisions that makes me wonder if Lost in Translation wasn't just a blind-luck shot in the dark for Coppola in addition to it being a blind-luck shot in the dark for Scarlet Johanssen.

Some awesome quotes by 80-year old Vin Scully midway down, proving that Joe Morgan really is just a troglodyte. Use a fucking computer, you moran. Speaking of baseball, the All-Star game is celebrating its fifth year of being utterly fucking meaningless, but vote for Okajima anyway. He is so bad-ass, he will strike you out with his eyes closed.

It's some weird German site, so God knows how long this'll be up, but the new Go! Team is much better than the old new Go! Team.

Oh, we're in business tomorrow, so stop by before headin' to your cookouts.

bullfrog

e -- Tuesday, July 3 2007, 07:11 am

Did you mean "an Unforgivable Song"? I am confused.

While I am not happy about the sentence being commuted, 1. every president does it - it is an enumerated right in the Constitution and 2. I predict there will be more to come.

Did ... did I write "Unforgivable Song"? How did I confuse you?

Of course there's more to come. Why would that make me feel even the slightest bit better?

Don't most president's do it when they're walking out of the office for the last time though? Like the middle of January?

Aren't they usually not handed to people who helped engineer an illegal war?

Sorry, "presidents".

Iran Contra?

I love this, "I respect the jury's verdict, but I have concluded that the prison sentence given the Mr. Libby is excessive."

Your 2nd paragraph expressed my thoughts exactly, and your poll made me laugh out loud. (I'm guessing an "Unforgivable Song" is the wedding equivalent of an "Unforgivable Curse" in Harry Potter?)

Not that it will make an ounce of difference to George W. Bush, but if you'd like to call and express your feelings at the Libby pardon, the White House comment line number is 202-456-1111 (open 9-5 EST -- because they don't want to hear the opinions of the American people on evenings or weekends, or if you're from the West Coast).

Five Bucks to Friday: Uttering obscenities for those too polite to since 2004!

M'ise well give that sucker a call on my lunch break. Thanks, man. (I thought two polls in a day would've been too many, but I probably should've also had a poll as to which descriptor of Shitwit I had in the second paragraph was the most accurate.)

Or Ford, who did it as he was walking into the office for the first time!

Of course the founding fathers wrote this at a time when most crimes were still punished by death, not 30 months at Club Med.

Somewhat germane to the conversation, Stacked has a fucking awesome video about trying, hanging, and the shooting Shitwit.

http://patrickstack.com/2007/07/02/hung-then-tried-then-shot/

that song should definitely be banned from the wedding. i cringe every time i hear it...

I think the idea that we should not be outraged by this because it happens all the time is the root of the problem in this country.

Slate with an argument about why Shitwit was right to commute Scooter. I don't agree with it, but I figured I should present dissenting opinions from time to time.

http://www.slate.com/id/2169718/nav/tap2/

First thing I thought when I heard about the pardon... Bullfrog's gonna go nuts.

Second thing (and I'm a conservative)... what the fuck is Bush thinking?...there's NO rationale to defend this.

Five Bucks to Friday: Synonymous with Apoplectic Political Overreaction Since 2004!

If you're wondering who voted for the Macarena, it was me! I decided that a "yes" win in the poll would result in pure comedy gold.

And wow. I didn't think I could hate Bush more... Silly me!

Well, give Bush very little credit: he just commuted the sentence, not pardon the whole thing all together. Pardons mean the crime is wiped away completely, so there is no criminal record. Libby just doesn't have to do any jail time. He still has a guilty conviction on his rap sheet and he still has to pay the $250,000 fine and be on a two year probationary period.

That alone has probably angered many Republicans as they had wanted a full pardon of Scooter. Listen, when you have about as much support among Republicans as you do Democrats, and you're looked upon as the Vice President's bitch, what the hell would you have to lose by pardoning the guy anyway? I mean really, Jimmy Carter should be doing cartwheels, he's not going to be looked upon as the worst President. I mean, do you really think Bush would have garnered any brownie points by not interfering in the Libby case as he's done?

To just commute the sentence and not pardon him either shows that Bush has still some restraint left, he's a complete idiot thinking he could still turn around his perception of himself or he's just not caring about anyone or anything at this point and showing how much of a weasel he really is.

True... meant commute the sentence...not pardon... Coffee hadn't kicked in yet.

But still... I guess since the Race to the White House has officially started, Bush figures he might as well start all the "lame duck" stuff.

Here's the odd thing. Pardoning would have meant the president was saying that Libby was completely innocent, that the entire case against him was political. Commuting, though, means he's saying Libby was indeed guilty; he just disagrees with the sentence. Somehow, I don't think he's more qualified to pass judgment than a judge.

Can't Bush still pardon him on 1/19/09? For now he saved him from jail.

"I think the idea that we should not be outraged by this because it happens all the time is the root of the problem in this country." I am not sure if this was directed at my comments earlier this morning, but just in case let me respond. While I am not thrilled, I am also willing to acknowledge that it is a right of the president granted by the Constitution. It was put in there for a reason. I've read some of the Notes from the Constitutional Convention, but I don't remember this discussion off hand.

I don't think he's more qualified to pass judgment than a potato. But we all knew that.

Frankly, I think that Wonkette (I think it was them) has it right: Bush cares not for your laws, tiny people, or your opinion polls. Look out below, Iran and North Korea.

Enough politics! More rock n' roll: The White Stripes (yes, again, shut up, it's an awesome album) have recently gone all-out nuts. They played a bus in Winnipeg yesterday. A bus!

http://www.stereogum.com/archives/video/the-white-stripes-play-on-a-winnipeg-bus-help-pass.html

Here's to blatantly stealing from http://www.DailyKos.com (front page story, so click through and you can read the whole thing)

In the [Constitutional] convention George Mason argued that the President might use his pardoning power to "pardon crimes which were advised by himself" or, before indictment or conviction, "to stop inquiry and prevent detection." James Madison responded:

[I]f the President be connected, in any suspicious manner, with any person, and there be grounds [to] believe he will shelter him, the House of Representatives can impeach him; they can remove him if found guilty...

And I think Bush lost more by commuting than by pardoning. By taking the middle road, he basically pissed everyone off. Libby supporters (who probably supported him until last night) think Bush didn't go far enough and folks who didn't support Bush before just have one more reason to hate him now. And most folks like the quaint notion of criminal justice that if you're found guilty you go to jail--Bush got in the middle of our nice little system (flawed though it may be) and that just doesn't seem fair to a lot of people regardless of political affiliation.

Blatant theft, a-OK, ad.

I think we all acknowledge that it's a basic right of the president, too, E. But outrage is not unjustified. After all, hasn't a good chunk of the shit these assholes have been pulling the last seven years been vaguely adherent to the letter of the law? It's still douchebaggery of the highest order.

It wasn't directed at you e, but at the general climate of apathy surrounding this issue. Yes, the president has the right to do it, however that right is not unmitigated and as a such his actions should not be taken lightly.

I'm watching Sky Sports News, and they're showing some thing about an English event called "Fishomania", intense three hours fishing event or some kind of wacky british event. They're interviewing some british girl who's organizing the event, and she's wearing a really ratty looking Yankee's cap.

I mean really ratty, as in it's been the target of many bird's droppings over the years. She could have been naked and all I would noticed is that bad hat. Freaky.

Ho-lee shit. A Kwik-E-Mart has been set up for to promote the Simpsons movie.

http://flickr.com/photos/rdr07/sets/72157600590001691/

Oh, man, there's apparently one of those down the street from me.

I just mapped out the one in Chicago... it's about 25 mins from my office... chances are better than good there will be a pilgrimage.

Apparently they are renaming the Slurpees "Squishees" and everything... that's phenomenal advertising.

I don't know, is anyone surprised at all that Bush did that? I'm not even mad, it's just not surprising in the slightest. It's not like his approval ratings can go any lower. No point in waiting; he might as well shove his dick in America's face on this issue now and get it over with.

Also, that Slate piece, I think, was trying to be a bit too Slate, in that it felt contrarian for the sake of being contrarian.