Momentary Outrage

I remember another time when we were all waiting anxiously for what bloggers had dubbed "Fitzmas". The verdict that was handed down today was not the verdict I was hoping for last year.

Scooter Libby is guilty of lying and obstructing justice. And because he is guilty of that, we may never know the truth. Because he stood in the way of an investigation, we will never have justice.

What is most disturbing to me is that this guilty verdict doesn't even begin the process of justice. The great crime that is still being perpetrated, is one of war, killing on a huge scale, and all of those other misdemeanors that are served up as side dishes to the main course. Those little things like torture and illegal detention. The war profiteers, those American corporations who took our tax dollars, promising to repair the damage done to this country that we promised to liberate, those Americans will not be prosecuted. The lawyers in our own justice system who made the argument that detaining enemy combatants indefinitely without due process was necessary to win the war, those Americans will not face trial. The military officers who ordered our soldiers to humiliate and torture prisoners are not in jail as they should be. The spies that we pay to protect all Americans, those who have read our private e-mails and listened to our phone conversations, they continue to enjoy life without worry of indictment.

And the architects of this terrible crime, the ones we watched on Fox, on CNN, those Americans who manipulated intelligence, those Americans who lied, they continue to hold office. The unscathed leaders of this country who warned of imminent threats and nuclear materials are still sitting in office, or have retired comfortably. These Americans remain untouched by legal problems, and America gets justice for premeditated murder and larceny on a grand scale, with a verdict of guilty for perjury and obstruction of justice.

Is this the best that the great American legal system can deliver?

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