Let me see if I have this
straight. It's not possible to be a little bit pregnant, right? You
can't teach an old dog new tricks, and the meek shall inherit the earth.
You can't fool mother nature, and to everything there is a season. I
guess everything includes politics, every season includes Christmas, and
when you mix those two together, that must mean it is the season
for presidential pardons.
Excuse me, but did I miss something here? Didn't Cap
and company engage in illegal acts, or were the rules changed by
Congress while I wasn't looking? Aren't people who break the rules
supposed to be punished?! Isn't that why we have those wonderful brick
buildings with the white pillars in front and the venerable rooms with
the beautiful wood benches inside, so that justice can be dealt out
fairly to those who break the rules?
I guess I was wrong? Maybe it's time I threw my civics
books away. They must be obsolete because all the wonderful notions I
remember reading about in them are obviously not true anymore. You know
the blindfold that Lady Justice wears? Well, is just a guise. When no
one is looking she peaks, and if she sees politicians, she tips the
scales of justice in their favor.
Please don't think that I'm passing judgment here on
poor Cap and his friends. Far be it from me to do that, or to say a
crime has been committed without having all the facts presented and laid
out for me to examine. Of course, with the Christmas Eve actions of not
soon enough to be Ex-President George Bush, I will not have the
opportunity to do that. No one will. And that my friends, is a
crime!
I have always been a big supporter of civil
disobedience. I explained the idea to many people over the years and I
have engaged in it myself. I would be very willing to listen to all the
arguments of everyone who has been implicated, indicted, or convicted
because of their actions or involvement in the Iran-Contra affair. Given
my strong feelings about Civil Disobedience, I probably would let it all
pass if the defense cited it.
I know I run the risk here of arguing for "the
end justifying the means." Well, to put it bluntly, sometimes it
does. But, when it does, there is a real distinction between, and a
clear knowledge of right and wrong. There is full and complete
understanding of the rules of the game, and the willingness to break
those rules. Most importantly, there is also the ability and willingness
to take responsibility for your actions, and to accept any consequences
and punishment that result because of them.
That is where the defense for the Iran-Contra gang
falls down. They do not have any idea or belief that they did in fact
break the law. They have absolutely no concept of right or wrong, and
without that, my willingness to listen to their arguments also falls
down.
The laws they broke may in fact be dumb laws. Maybe
they are bad laws and they should be changed or wiped off the books.
But, right or wrong, good or bad, they are the law. If you choose to
break the law you also should choose to accept punishment for doing so.
Passing the buck by saying "I was just following orders," or
claiming executive privilege doesn't cut it anymore. And, if politicians
who grant themselves pay raises can get you enraged, how do you feel
about a President who grants pardons to his friends and buddies and
saves his own tail in the process?
Boys and girls, the word today is pardon, as in
Presidential Pardon. If you are a crook or a criminal (or politician),
and have done something very bad, it is a very good word
because it means you won't have to go to the tool shed with daddy and
the whipping stick he cut from the tree.
Of course, if you're like me and you're not a crook or
criminal, all it does is make you sick and have to use the bathroom real
fast. So George, I wonder if you'll pardon me too so I may be excused.
You see, I'd hate to do to you what you did the Prime Minister of Japan.
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