This is just standard behavior from the Radical Religious Right. They believe that the way they interpret the law is always correct, and when it is plainly obvious that this is not the case, they scream like a stuck pig and then hold themselves outside the law.

A great case in point can be found locally where I live. We have a church that is basically a League of the South/Calvinist church, that has a minister that has written that slavery is fine because it's in the Bible. I wrote a letter to the editor questioning why associates of this Church were given their own opinion column, when it was filled with what most might consider borderline hate speech.

I was condemned, of course, for being against "free speech", which was nonsense. I have no problem with free speech. But an editorial column in a newspaper is not a right-- it is a privilege, and the newspaper editor can and does make decisions about the type of columns that he runs in a newspaper. You can go out on any street corner and broadcast your views regarding slavery or what have you. But no newspaper or TV station is obligated to amplify your opinion.

What was amazing was the response I received from a law professor/wife of one of the conservative columnists. She wrote me a very angry e-mail telling me, again, that the newspaper had an obligation to publish this hate speech. I corrected her, and forwarded her response to her Dean.

The problem with all this is that one of the bedrock principles that ought to be taught in law school is respect, and at least some reasonable interpretation of the law. Do not expect this from judges, nor legal scholars on the Radical Right. The law only applies when they want it to.

You've gotta infer that they wouldn't sign the memo because all of them (presumably, all prosperous lawyers) want to be able to pretend it wasn't really their doing. Of course, if this is a typical case, one of the 14 wrote the memo, then got the others to sign on -- actually, not sign on -- to give his spuriosities some heft. I can understand why they didn't sign. But not signing merely gives the secret away.

But what's with this trend among Goops? Oil execs and Al Gonzales won't take an oath when testifying to Congress. Now the Boyle clerks would rather not own up to helping to write the "Boyle's OK" memo. I'm sure glad the grownups are in charge.