Yeah, Right, Whatever

Conservatives tend to get upset when people go far out of their intellectual comfort zone to go political on everyone (Tim Robbins, Babs, Ted Danson, Sean Penn, etc.). And the idea of someone using their chosen profession as a bully pulpit is equally annoying (main stream media comes to mind).

Case in point:

U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour said the successful prosecution of Ahmed Ressam should serve not only as a warning to terrorists, but as a statement to the Bush administration about its terrorism-fighting tactics.

"We did not need to use a secret military tribunal, detain the defendant indefinitely as an enemy combatant or deny the defendant the right to counsel," he said Wednesday. "The message to the world from today's sentencing is that our courts have not abandoned our commitment to the ideals that set our nation apart."

Uh... Judge... Ressam wasn't caught on the battlefield in a far away land... he was arrested as he arrived in the United States, planning a terrorist attack on US soil (prior to 9/11). That's a bit different than the fine, upstanding gentlemen who are vacationing at Club Gitmo (after 9/11).

So... I'm angry enough with this judge for taking a jab at Bush Administration policies concerning enemy combatents. But, wait... there's more.

Facing up to 130 years in prison after being convicted of terrorist conspiracy and explosives charges in 2001, Ressam began cooperating with authorities in hopes of winning a reduced sentence... he received 22 years for plotting to bomb the Los Angeles airport on the eve of the millennium... With credit for time served and three years off for good behavior, Ressam could be out of prison in 14 years.

That's a successful prosecution? Not in my book. We thank him for turning into a stool pigeon, but, in a perfect world he'd sit in jail and rot, not get out in 14 years for "good behavior."

Judge Coughenour, you have a job. Your job is to rule on the cases before you based on the merits of the case. Your job is not to provide political commentary from the bench.