Above The Law?
This is so annoyingly inane that I just can’t believe it’s true:
“A suit alleging that the Bush administration is engaged in ongoing, widespread violations of our criminal laws must be dismissed because the alleged wrongdoer, the Bush administration, asserts that any adjudication of the issue would be counterproductive. In other words, under the administration’s legal theory, the administration gets to determine unilaterally which of its actions will be subject to judicial review.
“And while it assures us that the program is perfectly legal, the administration claims it cannot even divulge whether the named plaintiffs (Christopher Hitchens, Larry Diamond, etc.) were spied upon without harming national security. As Jack Balkin put it:
“If the issue were not so grave, the government’s arguments would simply be farcical. If the federal judiciary accepts the government’s argument to dismiss the case without requiring the government to make somewhat finer grained distinctions about what it can and cannot disclose, it might as well close up shop….”
From Unclaimed Territory: Orwellian Doublespeak by Glenn Greenwald.
You know what? If the U.S. was just a giant corporation—and all these “laws” just internal policies—then I could totally understand this response. But we’re talking about the Law here! You know, Lex Rex and all that? The President is not the ruler of this nation; the Law is. Bush must submit to the Law; not vice-versa.
Surely… hopefully… there’s someone in his cabinet who knows how stupid this all is?
I say from here on out, corporate CEOs should be barred from running for President. They’re just too power-hungry.
June 19th, 2006 at 6:23 am
The only ones who can fix the imbalance of power are the American people. However, that would require effort and the possibility of moving out of one’s comfort zone, so don’t look for another Boston Tea Party anytime soon.
June 19th, 2006 at 8:28 am
It’s not just that… two hundred years ago, you actually had this neat thing called “communities.” (These days, you don’t even have community in most churches!) Everyone’s an isolated individual, which means we’re scared and lonely… and folks who live like that won’t start revolutions.
Our only hope is the Amish.
June 19th, 2006 at 9:30 am
Nah, the Amish were bought off decades ago. Ever been to Lancaster, PA? What a tourist trap!
Of course we’re divided. If everyone actually worked together, the laymen would be a threat. Sow confusion — keep your “enemies” divided and fighting amongst themselves — so they’ll be oblivious to “the bigger picture” and won’t work together to overthrow you.
(And this is especially true in the church. If you believe in spiritual warfare, imagine the threat if the world’s Christians stopped bickering and started working together? Yet, the infighting continues, often taking center stage, as Christians devote time and effort to minutia instead of “the bigger picture.”)
I’m sure there’s a government conspiracy in there somewhere. And when the time is right, the atomic supermen will rise up and rule the world! Bwa ha ha ha!!!
June 19th, 2006 at 9:36 am
Dude, Lancaster was practically my summer home growing up! (I had grandparents up there and we were alwas going up to visit.)
I’ll bet your blog would take off if you became a political pundit over there.
June 19th, 2006 at 9:45 am
I lived there in 1997. Very nearly attended Lancaster Bible College (their strict anti-movie policy was the nail in the coffin.) My sister-in-law lives there now, and her husband is an actor at Sight & Sound.
Nice place. But man, has it gotten EXPENSIVE (for PA, that is.) A lot of folks commute to Baltimore from Lancaster, I’ve heard. Hey — if you can’t find a bigger place in MD, maybe you should consider PA? Then you can be the pundit.
Politics just ain’t my bag — I think both the Democrats and Republicans are full of hot air and are just two sides of the same coin. At least I’m unbiased… ?
June 19th, 2006 at 9:56 am
I swear you talk like you listen to The American View!
June 19th, 2006 at 10:48 am
Never listened to it, actually, but I may subscribe to the podcast at home. Thanks!
So I guess there are more than a few disgruntled conservatives out there? You just don’t criticize Dubya in certain company. It’s sad — and this is especially true in the church (’cuz, y’know, all Christians are born-again as Republicans — it’s in the Bible — Jesus founded the GOP Himself
)
Neither my wife or myself are keen on the Bush administration, but even hinting at our beliefs earns us a reprimand from friends and family who confuse being conservative with blindly following anyone claiming to espouse similar values. And of course, not supporting Bush earns us the title of “liberal” which has somehow become synonomous with “godless.”
(Eh, I’ve heard many of Saddam’s supporters were as absurdly loyal even when faced with proof of his evil deeds, so I suppose it’s all fair … KA-POW!)
I’m an independent voter, but think I am really just a closet libertarian. I’ve often toyed with joining the Libertarian party, but I’d admittedly be keeping some pretty strange bedfellows. Which would probably earn me even more reprimands.
Here’s some readin’ : http://del.icio.us/Kneon_Transitt/libertarian
What a pain. Some days, I just wanna grow a three foot beard and move into a cabin in Alaska with my family, where I can spend my days making politically charged (?!) Mickey Mouse comics and foraging for nuts.
(or not.)