They are battle hardened. In this particular case, they will need to be.

The unfortunate side effect of being ready to throw down at the crossing of some final line is that there is always some weasel willing to make a name for themselves by shooting you in the back. Once you are dead, regardless of the sentimental notions of human valor, honor or respect, you will not be speaking the contents of your mind in this life any further. In Mikey Weinstein's case, we would all suffer from such a tragic loss to our national dignity and honor serving in the US military.

What I want to know is why people, not unlike myself, who were crying foul like crazy over the likes of Oliver North and the Iran Contra scandal, were not respected, not heard and certainly not given much credence? Why choose to ignore a problem at first blush when common knowledge teaches us that problems do not improve with age?

Oliver North and his beloved secretary spoke of laws beyond human law which justified their trading weapons for the lives of hostages in Iran. What neither North nor his faithful secretary betrayed to the American public, however, was that selling drugs in South Central Los Angeles to African American teenagers was also an act concomitant with the application of their, "higher moral law."

When Oliver North or his apologists speak, dog feces fall from their mouths. The thought of any of them walking on this side of a steel cage offends me.

Because we the people have tolerated gross multiple insults to our national dignity, our national honor and our Constitution, we are now faced with a problem many times larger than anyone prone to sticking their head in the sand could hope would blow away.

And where, pray tell, might have been the more optimal intervention point in this creeping fascism that now has us all by our throats?

How about missing the conviction of Prescott Bush, the Brown brothers and Averil Harriman for the crime of treason against the United States of America? Why did we tolerate their continued partisanship towards the German Nazis to the point where we actually allowed Prescott Bush to run for, and win, a seat on the US Senate representing the State of Connecticut? Why were Henry Ford and Charles Lindbergh permitted to escape conviction for their pro-Nazi activities, and why do we continue to revere their names in every history book published in every grade school across this once great nation?

Freedom of association?

When freedom of association requires secret meetings with public officials, interference with an impartial judiciary and bald-faced lying about one's respect for democracy -- the only higher moral law worthy of our collective consideration -- then I believe we have crossed the line into criminal conspiracy. A multi-generational, well-funded and centrally orchestrated conspiracy to subvert the US Constitution, undo the French Enlightenment, and return all of us to the Dark Ages where theologians ruled over us with pincers and sadism -- while the rich cloistered themselves inside of castles and violated every kind of law of the land with impunity.