To Shtup or be a Schmuck

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Look, I was no fan of Bill Clinton, but does it not seem absurd that he was impeached for having extra-marital sex while George W. Bush continually commits crimes against his own citizens and the rest of humanity and still rides high, no questions asked? African-Americans all throughout America know that the “justice” system is nothing of the sort, but how can anyone believe in the law after this charade?

I was appalled as I listened to the misogynist words of Samuel A. Alito at his Senate confirmation hearings. But beyond that, he was questioned as to whether he believed that the President was above the law. At which time it occurred to me, does it really matter what anyone believes with regard to this issue? Clearly, the President IS above the law, since he just committed a national crime against Americans’civil liberties. In addition, he has engaged in an illegal war which is violating UN international law and has committed war crimes both directly and indirectly with methods of interrogation and torture utilized at Guantanamo Bay and around the world. This man should be in jail (along with scores of other corporate and political criminals).

Years ago, when I lived in Washington D.C., I was called for jury duty. I was selected for a group that would be whittled down to what they hoped would comprise the actual jury. The judge asked us some general questions as a group, and told us to raise our hands if our response to any of the questions was negative. One question was, “If I told you that X was the law, would any of you have a problem following that?” I raised my hand. After lunch break, anyone who had raised their hand was individually questioned by the judge, prosecutor, and defense attorney. The judge asked me again, “If I told you the law was A-B-C, then you might still see it as D-E-F?” I said that if “D-E-F” were just, then yes, I’d rather have true justice than superficial law. To which the judge looked at the lawyers, and said, “Gentlemen, I think we call that anarchy.” I smiled. Exactly.

Comments

pjs said…
Nice. Great punchline to this post. A friend just posted this somewhat related Kropotkin bit to his live journal blog: Anarchist o' da WEEK! Raise the black fist, raise the black flag.
10:13 AM
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