Kangaroo Courts

Submitted by Bill St. Clair on Tue, 2002-01-01 21:35.
And Applaud

Once a young man came to me and said,
"Dear Master,
I am feeling strong and brave today,
And I would like to know the truth
About all of my - attachments."

And I replied,

"Attachments?
Attachments!

Sweet Heart,
Do you really want me to speak to you
About all your attachments,

When I can see so clearly
You have built, with so much care,
Such a great brothel
To house all of your pleasures.

You have even surrounded the whole damn place
With armed guards and vicious dogs
To protect your desires

So that you can sneak away
From time to time
And try to squeeze light
Into your parched being

From a source as fruitful
As a dried date pit
That even a bird
Is wise enough to spit out.

Your attachments! My dear,
Let's not speak of those,

For Hafiz understands the sufferings
Of your heart.

Hafiz knows
The torments and the agonies
That every mind on the way to Annihilation in the Sun
Must endure.

So at night in my prayers I often stop
And ask a thousand angels to join in
And Applaud,

And Applaud
Anything,
Anything in this world
That can bring your heart comfort!"

(I Heard God Laughing: Renderings of Hafiz by Daniel Ladinsky)

Ron Paul's Texas Straight Talk - Terrorism and the Expansion of Federal Power - another good counter to Schumer's claim that the government must grow in response to 9/11.

The cycle is repeating itself. Congress has been scrambling to pass new legislation (and spend billions of your tax dollars) since September. Most of the news laws passed and dollars spent have nothing to do with defending our borders and cities against terrorist attacks. I have already written and spoken at length concerning the dangers to our civil liberties posed by the rush to pass new laws. I do not believe that our Constitution permits federal agents to monitor phones, mail, or computers without a warrant. I do not believe that government should eavesdrop on confidential conversations between attorneys and clients. I certainly do not believe "terrorism" should be defined so broadly that American citizens expressing dissent against their own government could be investigated and prosecuted as terrorists.

Dan McDonald - Returning to the Roots of Patriotism - good job of distinguishing patriotism and nationalism. [lew]

Patriotism should furthermore be carefully protected from nationalistic fervor. Patriotism is an adult emotion, nationalistic fervor a childish emotion. Children do not recognize that other children feel the same bond for their fathers as they feel for their own. A child thinks another child's father must not be viewed as so wonderful as his own father. Nationalistic fervor is childish in that it insists that non-Americans feel the same for America as Americans. Adults recognize that each child is born into a special relationship with his or her father and mother. The adult recognizes that it is not just his particular father and mother who are to be honored, but all fathers and mothers, especially by those who have been involved in those special relationships.

Harry Browne at WorldNetDaily - Secret trials endanger security - There are two reasons that secrety trials are a really bad idea. They make it more likely that you'll convict an innocent person, and they make it more likely that you'll leave a guilty person at large.

J.D. Tuccille at Free-Market.net - No need for kangaroo courts - Mr. Tuccille chimes in on GW's star chambers.

If nothing else gives President Bush reason to reconsider plans to try accused terrorists before military tribunals, perhaps Spain's refusal to extradite eight suspects might do the trick. When a country that just three decades ago was ruled by the whims of a 1930s-vintage fascist dictator tells you that your protections for due process aren't up to snuff, it may be time to refer to the owner's manual on your legal system.

Vin Suprynowicz - Showing the colors - part of The Libertarian series. Commentary on Lt. Col. Martha McSally's fight against the Air Force's requirement that she wear Muslim clothing outside of the Air Force base in Saudi Arabia.

A Defense Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, responds that the policy is a security measure, explaining that "whether we like it or not," Saudi religious officials are empowered to physically punish women who appear in public in violation of Muslim dress codes.

Really? And let us suppose U.S. troops were stationed in a nation which still practiced chattel slavery, or at least outright racial prejudice. In order to honor local standards and avoid giving offense, in such a case, would black American officers be ordered to dress up in tattered clothing and frayed straw hats, made to walk behind their white subordinates when off base, instructed to ride in the back of the bus and lower their gaze and respond "Yassuh, massa" whenever addressed by a white person, all "whether we like it or not?"

Michelle Delio at Wired Russian Hacker Charges Dropped - Dmitri Sklyarov will soon be able to return to his home in Russia. Yay! [wes]

"The issue here, according to the charges that were filed with the court, was that the product was being sold. And the fact is that Sklyarov wasn't selling the eBook processor, his employer was," said Manhattan lawyer Ed Hayes. "And his employer, if found guilty, will face a fine, not imprisonment, since you can't imprison a company. So what happened today is a fair deal."
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