Post by AztecWilliam on Aug 31, 2009 11:22:26 GMT -8
I have somewhat mixed feelings on this issue. Certainly, we do want government agents, or private operatives working for the government, to violate laws or grossly exceed their mandates. On the other hand, those same agents, when working in good faith according to guidelines approved by the government, should not be second guessed years after the fact.
There are some basic questions of how the federal government works at play here. In that regard, consider this paragraph from the article. . .
The process that Mr. Holder has unleashed threatens to undermine one of the basic principles of our government. For a new administration to repudiate a consequential legal decision in an individual case made by the previous administration serves to delegitimize our government itself, which is, after, all premised upon institutional continuity.
This is more important that some may realize. In a banana republic, the new regime would simply shoot any members of the previous regime who did not manage to escape when the coup went down. In this country, which some are starting to characterize as the biggest banana republic of them all, we don't shoot our political opponents. . . we merely try to put them in jail or at least harass them and make them go bankrupt defending themselves in court.
Also of interest is how the current Attorney General of the U.S.A has flip-flopped on this issue.
www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/opinion/30finder.html?pagewanted=2&ref=opinion
AzWm
PS: By the way, you might be surprised to learn some of the things we and our allies did to "high value" POWs during WWII!
There are some basic questions of how the federal government works at play here. In that regard, consider this paragraph from the article. . .
The process that Mr. Holder has unleashed threatens to undermine one of the basic principles of our government. For a new administration to repudiate a consequential legal decision in an individual case made by the previous administration serves to delegitimize our government itself, which is, after, all premised upon institutional continuity.
This is more important that some may realize. In a banana republic, the new regime would simply shoot any members of the previous regime who did not manage to escape when the coup went down. In this country, which some are starting to characterize as the biggest banana republic of them all, we don't shoot our political opponents. . . we merely try to put them in jail or at least harass them and make them go bankrupt defending themselves in court.
Also of interest is how the current Attorney General of the U.S.A has flip-flopped on this issue.
www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/opinion/30finder.html?pagewanted=2&ref=opinion
AzWm
PS: By the way, you might be surprised to learn some of the things we and our allies did to "high value" POWs during WWII!
