Sunday Quote
Joe Lieberman on Meet The Press:
Look, we're at war. We were attacked on 9/11. And I think when you're at war, even though this is a different kind of war, people you capture, enemies who are aiming to attack you or have, in fact, attacked you, ought to be tried according to the rules of war. It's not that we're not going to have the rule of law, it's which rule of law.There are multiple rule of laws to choose from?
posted by Matt Bors at
8:58 PM
5 Comments:
As a warmonger, Lieberman knows way more about war than us regular folk.
In a sense, there are, but the problem we've been having is with people who don't want to apply any of them. Are captured terrorists (accused, not yet convicted) criminals? Fine, then treat them as such. Are they prisoners of war? OK, go with that -- Geneva conventions and all. But no, neither of those will do, apparently; we have to create a special new category of alleged transgressor who doesn't get any rights at all.
Hence the absurd word "detainees", coined just to avoid saying "prisoners", with its obvious implication "..of war".
I think what they're saying is that they're only supportive of rule of law, when it's their law that rules.
If you get what I mean.
Of course there are different rules of law. Duh.
You have one rule of law if you're rich and/or white. If you can shell out $5000 ~ $10000, there's a lot you can buy your way out of. Just look at O.J.
Then there's the rule of law if you're black and/or poor. Your life will be ruined with one marijuana conviction. Let's say you make it after a short stint in jail for selling dope to your friends and you actually get a student loan and an associates degree. Congratulations, you'll never get a job with that conviction and you'll never gain experience without a job. Eventually, you'll go back to selling dope.
There's another rule of law if you're a cop, fireman, a paramedic or in some other branch of civil service. They take care of their own. Don't expect a cop to give another cop a DUI.
There are a couple of others too. Just remember:
"All animals are equal. Some animals are more equal than others." -George Orwell
They should decide the fate of Gitmo detainees with 20-sided die. 18-20 gets you off scot-free, but 1-5 gets you waterboarded, sodomized, testicle crushed and tucked away in a black site. Points in between are variations on numerous appeals, lengthy trials and indefinite detention.
Arbitrary? Sure. But more fair than what we've subjected them to so far.
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