May 18, 2007 02:55 PM UTC

Mindless v. Legalism: John Andrews' Blog

• 3 Comments
• by: riogrande

From John Andrews’ BrokebackAmerica blog (http://backboneameri…):

Mindless Legalism Hurts War Effort
In speaking with men who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, the common theme is “We are having to fight with our hands tied.” Why would this be? I experienced the same phenomenon in Vietnam. Without a doubt it is owing to organizations like the ACLU , the National Lawyer’s Guild and a hostile mainstream media who use adverse publicity and our legal system to harass the military while it’s trying to do its job.

It’s time we recognized these groups as enemies of our democracy and our way of life. We will NEVER be able to defend our interests and yet please the lawyers and the media moguls who are working with our opponents. It’s time we stopped trying. In fact, what we need is sweeping legal protection for our troops.

We have allowed our concept of the “rule of law” to grow to a tangled thicket of legalisms that would prohibit even the very survival of our society. It’s time to prune them all away and restore prudent basic common sense.

There is this concept of “aiding and abetting the enemy” as very close to treason. This is what these groups are committing. Aren’t there laws that can be invoked to shut down these groups and to convict and imprison its members. Ask yourself these questions: [Essentially, why don’t we hold al-Q to the same standard as Bush’s occupation army?]

Rendition.  Waterboarding.  A government free to break down the walls of our castles, rummage through our personal papers, eavesdrop on conversations, and use GPS tracking devices to follow our every move.  (I already know that I have my very own GRU– er, that is, FBI file.)  Sham elections, with the automatic destruction of auditable evidence.

Is there anything left of America to save?

We used to take pride in declaring that ours was “a nation of laws, not men.”  But in light of the Gonzales/Eid/Morrissey scandal, can this fiction be long maintained?  Our laws cast a net so broad that anyone can be ensnared, and all prosecutions (or, lack thereof) that matter are political in nature. 

Like the old Soviet Union, we only sign human rights treaties, as opposed to enforcing them.

And from the Ridiculous Right, we hear cries of “Free Scooter Libby” and see Club Gitmo T-shirts?  A mental institution, Fred Thompson.  Think about it.

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