1726 - Injustice rampant within England (and Ireland) is satirically and mercilessly savaged by Swift in his "Gulliver's Travels."
2011 - Instead of our federal justice system, the US decides to "try" (ahem, wink wink) Khalid SheikMohammed in a (ahem) military tribunal.
COINCIDENCE? I think NOT!
A nation cannot become free and at the same time continue to oppress other nations.
--Friedrich Engels, on W's invasion of Iraq
In a country ruled by an autocracy, with a completely enslaved press, in a period of desperate political reaction in which even the tiniest outgrowth of political discontent and protest is persecuted, the theory of revolutionary Marxism suddenly forced its way into the censored literature before the government realised what had happened and the unwieldy army of censors and gendarmes discovered the new enemy and flung itself upon him.
--Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, on Bush Administration's attack on anti-war protestors
From the Church of Ineffable Stupidity:
It was tough watching Eric Holder, Attorney General of the Untied States of America. Clearly, this man had the rule of law, fairness, and justice in mind, when he continued to plead his case that our federal justice system should be employed to try Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the (alleged) mastermind of 9/11.
I know of three friends who died in 9/11, including one guy whose wedding was unforgettable. My honey was to fly into New York the day before, and fly out that day, but for her client getting sick. My eyes poured buckets of tears out, watching the death and destruction caused by Saudi Wahabi-ists. My anger is still white hot, when I think that the incompetent bimbette who controlled America's national security burro-cracy was so shortsighted, out of her league and arrogantly bull-headed that she willfully ignored serious risks to our country. And I am even more angry at how our senate and house caved in to fear, to manipulation, and to lies, leading directly to the misbegotten, misguided, and mishandled invasion of two countries, simply because Boy W lost his temper.
Set all of the above aside. Either we have a functioning, fair, equitable, and open legal system, or we do not.
Apparently, we do not.
Could we try the Sheik, before a jury in New York? With all legal defenses made available to him, including our ever-shrinking Bill of Rights? Sure. Would we have convicted him? Most likely, given his own admissions AFTER we read his rights to him. Several times.
Unfortunately, that specter of fear and loathing continues to thrive in America. We see it in the anti-Mosque attacks in New York, we see it within Florida, when competing holy books are burned, we see it within the AFA, one of the most mindless, conservative christian collection of assholes, misanthropes, and closed minded bigots our country has ever seen, except when it involved the wearing of sheets and hoods.
The problem with military tribunals is not only that we don't have a fair set of well-defined rules, yet. Nor does it have to do with multiple allegations of torture, inflicted both at Abu Grhaib and Gitmo. No, the real problems of the decision to try the Sheik in Gitmo are twofold: a) It proves to the rest of the world that our word is not good, that our legal system is not open, that we change the rules based on emotion, not fact or law; and, b) it is simply wrong.
Eric, it may be time for a resignation. Simply as a matter of honor. Unfortunately, today's most ferocious assholes, people normally associated with TeaBuggery, have no honor, and are incapable of recognizing it for what it is in others. These folks have retribution, no trust in a legal process, driving their ideas.
Today's America - A working legal system? Perhaps. Perhaps not.