No Joke! 37 Years After Death Lenny Bruce Receives Pardon

"'Lenny was sentenced to jail for what you see nightly on HBO and the Comedy Channel, except he was better,' said Jules Feiffer, the cartoonist and playwright, who testified for Mr. Bruce as an expert witness on satire at the trial. 'The satirist in me is thrilled because it's hilarious. The point might have been better made while he was alive."

Good article with lots of Bubbaisms, especially those claiming that this very belated pardon is a triumph for the First Amendment. Rather, statements like these are the triumph of those wanting to cash in on Bubba mentalities.

Just think about it: the Manhattan DA sets his sights on Bruce, convicts him and the nightclub owner. Lenny Bruce is out of a job, blacklisted, spirals into depression and finally ODs on morphine. The establishment wins, free speech loses. End of story.

But no! Now people like Pataki are "channeling Bruce", trying to win some points with those free-speech advocates who know the story. Perhaps Pataki is himself a free-speech advocate, perhaps not, but his actions are, on the contrary, an action against the First Amendment. He shouldn't pardon Bruce but rather should condemn the system that convicted him. Pardons don't change laws and don't make jurisprudence, but overturning a conviction does.

To put things into seasonal terms, it's like pardoning Pontius Pilate for crucifying Christ and calling the pardon "a celebration of Roman law".