Saturday, January 9, 2016

Is there a rule of law in the Western civilization? 

No, according  to Paul Craig Roberts,  American economist, columnist, blogger, and an author of the book "The Tyranny Of Good Intentions " . And why? His article addresses a recent news event, a stand-off between the ranchers and authorities in Oregon. He supports the right to bear arms, as a quick summary. But his point is broader than just this incident: I can attest with full confidence that the United States no longer has a rule of law. The USA is a lawless country. He does not fully explain this, but gives a low percentage of federal felonies which ever go to trial (4 percent, quoting Department of Justice statistics). 

There was another recent case, wondering how it fits into this discussion. According to the New York TimesA Florida Atlantic University professor who suggested in blog postings and radio interviews that the 2012 massacre of children at Sandy Hook Elementary and other mass shootings were a hoax designed by the Obama administration to boost support for gun control was fired Tuesday.  

I do not really support the views of the professor, and perhaps he could go about differently expressing those views or investigating the matter he was so concerned about. 

But the question arises here, is there still the Freedom of Speech and the First Amendment? There are so many exceptions to the law that it almost lost its value. Federal  government cannot put him in jail for expressing an opinion, --but his employer can take away his livelihood by having him unemployed. In practical terms, his chances of finding another job in his profession are now close to zero. 

The same goes with the double jeopardy: nobody is supposed to be tried for the same thing twice,  but there are many exceptions, so it is not really there, it just does not happen very often.   The same goes with other laws, which became so convoluted that it's very hard to see the justice and logic behind, or predict the legal outcome just based on the statue itself without going into precedents, appeals, and all that. Going into all that requires a fortune (to afford the legal costs). 



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