TELL BUSH TO PARDON SOMEONE WHO ISN’T A FORMER BUSINESS ASSOCIATE, FRATERNITY BROTHER, OR POLITICAL CRONY. COME ON, JUST ONE.

Twenty-four years ago Jonathan Pollard was indicted on one count of passing classified information to an ally (Israel), without intent to harm the United States. The usual sentence for such a crime is 2-4 years. Neither the American or Israeli governments wanted to get involved in a long trial, so a plea bargain was offered and accepted. The problem is that Pollard is still in jail; he was sentenced to life with no hope of parole. Everyone from Rabbis to former heads of the NAACP to Senators who were made aware of the content of the classified information have come out to support Pollard’s being freed, to no avail.

Now it’s up to you. The last weeks of a presidency are traditionally pardoning season, and as these last few days pass we’ll no doubt see a long list of greedy white collar criminals go free. To be fair, Clinton did the exact same thing, so we can’t blame Bush too harshly for that. Still, you would think that our soon-to-be-ex-president would appreciate the opportunity to strengthen his legacy before he goes. This would certainly be a good start. You can help by calling, writing or faxing the White House; you can also sign this petition. Telling all of your friends about this matter certainly wouldn’t hurt either. Opportunities to help correct travesties of justice are rare. We should all take advantage of them when they arise.