Miss Otis Regrets

An old song by Nat King Cole. I know the version sung by Ella Fitzgerald. I kept thinking of this song today as I read and re-read this unbelievable article that was on the front page of the Washington Post today:

Amid Outcry on Memo, Signer's Private Regret
Friends Say Judge Wasn't Proud of Outcome

"I've heard [Jay S. Bybee] express regret at the contents of the memo," said a fellow legal scholar and longtime friend, who spoke on the condition of anonymity while offering remarks that might appear as "piling on." "I've heard him express regret that the memo was misused. I've heard him express regret at the lack of context -- of the enormous pressure and the enormous time pressure that he was under. And anyone would have regrets simply because of the notoriety."

Maybe Judge Bybee could express his regret to the family of Alyssa Peterson, the young soldier who killed herself in Iraq in September of 2003 after refusing to torture prisoners.

[I]n the years since the original Bybee memo was made public, his misgivings appeared evident to some in his immediate circle.

"On the primary memo, that legitimated and defined torture, he just felt it got away from him," said the fellow scholar. "What I understand that to mean is, any lawyer, when he or she is writing about something very complicated, very layered, sometimes you can get it all out there and if you're not careful, you end up in a place you never intended to go. I think for someone like Jay, who's a formalist and a textualist, that's a particular danger."

Blah blah blah bullshit bullshit bullshit. You know, I once risked being fired because I refused to file a motion in Superior Court that I felt was unjustified in law. I refused to do that because a) it was unethical, and b) I took an oath as an officer of the court to follow the rules. Apparently Judge Bybee was more interested in getting the federal judgeship he so desired than in upholding his oath to protect and defend the United States Constitution:

Bybee's friends said he never sought the job at the Office of Legal Counsel. The reason he went back to Washington, Guynn said, was to interview with then-White House counsel Alberto R. Gonzales for a slot that would be opening on the 9th Circuit when a judge retired. The opening was not yet there, however, so Gonzales asked, "Would you be willing to take a position at the OLC first?" Guynn said.

Sign the bullshit memo, allow thousands to be tortured, sully the reputation of America around the world, sell your immortal soul for a federal judgeship. That's Republican cronyism at it's finest. Heckuva job, Jay.

Oh yeah, Miss Otis Regrets. Roger Ailes (the good Roger Ailes) had the same thought, and he wrote some new lyrics. Miss Bybee Regrets