Blagojevich: Killed or Captured
Blagojevich: Killed or Captured
Early in the reign of “W”, following the announcement of his “War on Terra”, we soon became familiar with the now famous phrase, “kill or capture”. It seems significant that it didn’t emerge as “capt
Early in the reign of "W", following the announcement of his "War on Terra", we soon became familiar with the now famous phrase, "kill or capture". It seems significant that it didn't emerge as "capture or kill". But that's the way priorities tend to express themselves in language. They come first. We see this in our many attempts to balance the economy with the environment, or the struggle for equality between men and women. What comes first must come first.
Not long after George's War began, we had to also become familiar with extraordinary rendition, indefinite detention without trial or appeal and unwarranted surveillance of US citizens. We were forced to become inured to the prospect, and indescribably perverse photographs of the torture of detainees. These are just natural extensions of killing and capturing. Hopefully we now have an opportunity to reexamine the extent to which we wish these to be permanent features of our social code of conduct.
Now's a good time to start. These societal aberrations derive from citizens allowing our government to practice a disdain for the constitutional protections we are supposed to enjoy, from a new found willingness to withhold the underlying principles from others, from a failure to assure that the examples we present are consistent with these principles. And that is how the United States lost the world's respect. O.K., bring it home.
Without attempting to defend him, Illinois Governor Blagojevich is showing us how it works. Technically, he's innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Yet he has already been convicted. Lawmakers (and media outlets) rallied to demand his resignation, to countermand his authority and to deny his appointments. Unwilling to let due process run its course, the Illinois legislature stepped in front of the Justice Department to impeach the Governor and commence their own trial in the Senate. Blagojevich refuses to budge. Good for him. After all, wasn't he duly elected by the people? Is government supposed to be of, by and for the government, or the news? No.
What little "evidence" I've actually seen certainly suggests he's a sleazeball, but what's new about that in Illinois politics? It remains to be seen whether there is sufficient evidence to find him guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt". When I hear Illinois legislators saying things like, "It's the totality of the evidence that is damning", I start to wonder if their case is weak on specifics. That is cause for concern, because legislators are much more accustomed to working with weaker specifics that the courts.
Anybody can get arrested and accused. I've done it myself. But the theory in a free country is that that is just the beginning, not the end of the story. The importance of this is that it constrains the establishment from simply eliminating unwelcome ideas. It is one of the most important underpinnings of a free society.
I'm not saying Blagojevich has ideas worth defending. I'm saying let's at least have a good look before leaping to conclusions - or acting on them. A messy dissection of this beast will make the lessons learned all the more instructive and valuable. So, hurray for Rod Blagojevich. Give 'em hell.
Whether he is guilty or innocent, whether he is innocent or guilty, what comes first must come first - and that should be the constitution, with liberty and justice for all.
Not long after George's War began, we had to also become familiar with extraordinary rendition, indefinite detention without trial or appeal and unwarranted surveillance of US citizens. We were forced to become inured to the prospect, and indescribably perverse photographs of the torture of detainees. These are just natural extensions of killing and capturing. Hopefully we now have an opportunity to reexamine the extent to which we wish these to be permanent features of our social code of conduct.
Now's a good time to start. These societal aberrations derive from citizens allowing our government to practice a disdain for the constitutional protections we are supposed to enjoy, from a new found willingness to withhold the underlying principles from others, from a failure to assure that the examples we present are consistent with these principles. And that is how the United States lost the world's respect. O.K., bring it home.
Without attempting to defend him, Illinois Governor Blagojevich is showing us how it works. Technically, he's innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Yet he has already been convicted. Lawmakers (and media outlets) rallied to demand his resignation, to countermand his authority and to deny his appointments. Unwilling to let due process run its course, the Illinois legislature stepped in front of the Justice Department to impeach the Governor and commence their own trial in the Senate. Blagojevich refuses to budge. Good for him. After all, wasn't he duly elected by the people? Is government supposed to be of, by and for the government, or the news? No.
What little "evidence" I've actually seen certainly suggests he's a sleazeball, but what's new about that in Illinois politics? It remains to be seen whether there is sufficient evidence to find him guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt". When I hear Illinois legislators saying things like, "It's the totality of the evidence that is damning", I start to wonder if their case is weak on specifics. That is cause for concern, because legislators are much more accustomed to working with weaker specifics that the courts.
Anybody can get arrested and accused. I've done it myself. But the theory in a free country is that that is just the beginning, not the end of the story. The importance of this is that it constrains the establishment from simply eliminating unwelcome ideas. It is one of the most important underpinnings of a free society.
I'm not saying Blagojevich has ideas worth defending. I'm saying let's at least have a good look before leaping to conclusions - or acting on them. A messy dissection of this beast will make the lessons learned all the more instructive and valuable. So, hurray for Rod Blagojevich. Give 'em hell.
Whether he is guilty or innocent, whether he is innocent or guilty, what comes first must come first - and that should be the constitution, with liberty and justice for all.
