Quick Hits



1. Michael Jackson's acquittal is evidence that the rich get off more often because they can afford a better defense. That's not the same as saying Jackson should have been convicted. The rich/poor problem in criminal law is not that the guilty rich get off too often, it's that the innocent poor are convicted too frequently.

2. When she died Terri Schiavo had only half a brain. That might be more than some of the people who were trying to "save" her.

3. The Downing Street Memo is not the smoking gun. However reliable British observation of the Bush Administration might be, it is still theoretically possible that in 2002 and 2003 Bush was telling the truth when he claimed to be pursuing diplomacy, and went to war only as a last resort.

4. By way of contrast, if the evidence showing Richard Nixon was involved in the Watergate cover-up consisted not of tapes, but of a British memo based on conversations with senior administration officials, Nixon would not have been forced to resign.

5. Lying to the American public about an ongoing criminal investigation is obstruction of justice, and can be criminally prosecuted. Lying under oath about private personal conduct is also a crime.

6. Lying to the American public about the reasons for going to war is not a crime.

Food for thought.

Posted: Wed - June 15, 2005 at 12:23 PM        

©