| Latest Commentary: | Volume VI, Number 80 |
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Bush Commutes Libby’s Perjury Sentence -- Yesterday, President Bush commuted the sentence of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby so that the former chief of staff to the Vice President of the United States and convicted perjurer wouldn’t have to spend any time in jail. He had been facing 2 ½ years along with 2 years of probation and a $250,000 fine. The probation and fine remain because Mr. Libby was not pardoned. Nevertheless, the fine will get paid by his legal aid fund, and his probation will be nowhere as severe as Paris Hilton’s. The right is gratified, the left is outraged, and the real question is why anyone is surprised by any of this.
Bush and Putin Agree Little at Kennebunkport Summit -- When the big success out of a summit meeting is the catching of a single fish, it’s pretty fair to say the thing was a failure. The White House and the Kremlin won’t say that about the “Lobster Summit,” held at the family home of the Bush dynasty in Kennebunkport, Maine. They will point to an agreement to present a “united front” against Iran’s nuclear ambitions and to working harder to bridge the gaps (which means they don’t agree on stuff). The truth is Mr. Putin knows the American president is a lame duck, and he wants to maximize his international position for the rest of his own presidency. That means hardball negotiating and the frequent use of the word “nyet.” He did, however, share credit with Mr. Bush for the single striped bass they caught during their talks, a “team effort.” Britain’s Awash in Money, Rates to Rise -- To most Britons, the M4 is the motorway linking London with Bristol and Wales. To economists, it is a rather broad measure of the money supply and to confuse everyone is almost exactly the same as M3 in the US and EU. The current growth rate of Britain’s M4 money supply is 13.8%, which scares the bejesus out of inflation hawks. The market has already priced in another increase in British interest rates from their current base rate of 5.5% as a result of this money supply increase. That is, of course, one way to deal with the problem, but there is another. The Price Paid for the Fourth of July -- The Kensington Review is honored to reprint the following description of a little-known ceremony that fills the halls of the Army corridor of the Pentagon every Friday morning. Thanks to the internet, this journal has made a friend of its author, Lieutentant Colonel Bob Bateman. This has already appeared on May 17 on the Web-log of media critic and pundit Eric Alterman at the Media Matters for America Web site, and was reprinted by the McClatchy Newspapers in Joseph L. Galloway's column for Memorial Day. © Copyright 2007 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux. |
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