This business of Bradley/ Chelsea Manning getting a pardon
for treason is incomprehensible. What the hell was B. Hussain Obama thinking
when he deemed to set free a person who betrayed his/her country and put us all
at risk? And what about our intelligence agents overseas?
I remember seeing, a number of years ago, a movie in which a
foreign agent acquired a list of American agents working in Europe. A number of
agents were done in by agents from Russia and other enemies of the U.S. Of course
the star of the movie got away but only by the skin of his teeth. I must
apologize for a failing memory, but I do not remember the name of the movie.
Not only is the pardoning of Manning a travesty (there
should be a rule that states when a dangerous
convict is set free by an
irresponsible president, the next president, or an act of Congress) has license
to revoke the discharge and return the dangerous criminal to jail where he/ she
belongs.) But Obama set free nearly 2,000 prisoners, many convicted of serious
crimes, like rape and murder, treason, of course, being the most heinous. There’s
something to be said for the concern of Obama in attempting to empty federal
prisons of nonviolent criminals, which he claimed was his intent. There are
many stories of people (and not just minorities) receiving long sentences for paltry
crimes. This should be rectified. No one should be in prison for twenty or
thirty years for having a couple of joints in his pocket. And judges should be
barred for handing out such sentences.
But when Presidents consider clemency for hard-boiled felons, he should
have an eye on public safety. A couple of reasons why should suffice to
illustrate the point. Some of you may be
old enough to remember the 1988 presidential campaign, Republican George H.W. Bush
vs. Democrat Michael Dukakis. Dukakis had just vetoed legislation that would
nix a controversial weekend furlough program in Massachusetts. One prisoner
chosen to participate in the program was a guy named Willie Horton, a convicted
murderer. Horton went on the road and did not return to prison. He did,
however, kidnap a man and his girlfriend, stab the man and rape the woman, then
steal the man’s car. Dukakis’ continued support of the furlough program cost
him the election. Horton’s case is the most notorious, but there are plenty of
others. For instance, Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee can tell you about Maurice
Clemmons, who was serving a 108-year sentence for robbery and theft. Governor
Huckabee commuted his sentence to 47 years in 2000, making Clemmons eligible
for parole. Nine years later, in November 2009, Clemmons walked into a Tacoma,
Washington-area coffee shop and shot to death four police officers.
An observer of such proceedings
must ask just what the hell these presidents think they are doing. If they
offer early parole to inmates, why not chose those convicted of less-violent
crimes. Chances of success would be must greater. Although the recidivism rate
is higher than fifty percent, an opportunity to lower the number must be
appealing. And if one is running for
president it may be a wise move to abandon the practice well before the
election. (Huckabee lost any chance at a nomination due to his, dare I say, stupid commutation of Clemmons sentence.
This near-the-end-of-term leniency
isn’t the only foolishness these guys are up to. Under Obama’s reign, the U.S
Sentencing Commission lowered the guidelines for a broad range of crimes, and
made the reductions retroactive. BO went
crazy! The move triggered the largest release of prisoners in U.S history. Something like 6,000 inmates found
themselves free – they had served their sentences! I’ve been insisting for nine
years that BO is an idiot – or he has intentions of destroying the country. He couldn’t
quite pull it off himself so he’s released a gang of thugs to finish the job. I
wonder how many of us will be robbed and killed because of the former president’s
poor choices.
Of course, large and small groups
of dumb-assed Democrats were (and are) sitting around sipping port wine and
some kind of tea exclaiming that those who received pardons and reduced
sentences are leading productive and law-abiding lives, and contributing to the
community in meaningful ways. Well, maybe half of them are. The other half choose
to go back for some of that yummy jail chow.
(I wonder how many of these ex-jailbirds have
joined the rioters and anti-Trump crowds who are plaguing
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