Der Parson's rant

Can President Bush pardon people who haven't even been charged with a crime? - By Jacob Leibenluft - Slate Magazine: "Pre-emptive Presidential PardonsCan you be pardoned for a crime before you're ever charged?
By Jacob Leibenluft
Posted Monday, July 21, 2008, at 6:36 PM ET

With six months to go before President Bush leaves office, the White House is receiving a flurry of pardon applications. The New York Times reported that 'several members of the conservative legal community' are pushing for the White House to grant pre-emptive pardons for officials involved in counterterrorism programs. Wait—can a president really pardon someone who hasn't even been charged with a crime?"

Yep. In 1866, the Supreme Court ruled in Ex parte Garland that the pardon power "extends to every offence known to the law, and may be exercised at any time after its commission, either before legal proceedings are taken, or during their pendency, or after conviction and judgment." (In that case, a former Confederate senator successfully petitioned the court to uphold a pardon that prevented him from being disbarred.) Generally speaking, once an act has been committed, the president can issue a pardon at any time—regardless of whether charges have even been filed.

Bushism of the Day - By Jacob Weisberg - Slate Magazine: "'And they have no disregard for human life.'—Describing the brutality of Afghan fighters, Washington, D.C., July 15, 2008"

Isn't having "no disregard for human life" a good thing? George must have confused it with his lack of regard for human life.

Bushism of the Day - By Jacob Weisberg - Slate Magazine: "Bushism of the Day
By Jacob Weisberg
Posted Friday, July 18, 2008, at 3:14 PM ET

'I remember meeting a mother of a child who was abducted by the North Koreans right here in the Oval Office.'—Washington, D.C., June 26, 2008

Click here to see video of Bush's comments. The Bushism is at 12:50."


Holy crap! a child was abduted right in the Oval Office. Were the secret service guys out on smoke break?

This has to be one of the funniest things I have seen in a long time. It was created by Joss Whedon (creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and the Firefly TV shows). It was created as a way to get around the writers strike. The show stars Neil Patrick Harris, and Nathan Fillion. There are 2 shows up and a 3rd will be released on Saturday.



I knew Nathan Fillion could be pretty funny, but Neil Patrick Harris is just a riot in this show. This is a great idea for using the internet for showing TV shows especially shows that the "networks" won't support. Like Firefly, one of the best Sci-fi shows put out in years. I hope this type of thing catches on and we see more of these. I would even be willing to put up with a few commercials.

I found this on Youtube, (rated R for language)



How much more patriotic can you get?