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• Wednesday, January 7, 2009 11:40 AM

  To Quote Bruce Fein

  "The rule of law consists of two fundamental elements: (1) a collective agreement to accept a particular result voluntarily if it results from procedures ordained by the constitution; and (2) an equilibrium of power between the president, congress, and the Supreme Court that consistently keeps outcomes away from extremes characterized by their disregard for minorities or the unorthodox. A statute that would make adherence to Islam a crime if passed unanimously by congress, signed by the president, and unanimously sustained by the U.S. Supreme Court,

  -and heres the important part-

  would nevertheless be tyranny, not law, because it would fail a minimum moral yardstick in the rule of law"

  My point is that can't people like Tamm use this as a defense? I know this sounds tacky, but its kinda like the movie a few good men and how the soldiers were still guilty of the last charge (i think it was conduct unbecoming or something like that). Sure they weren't guilty of homicide, but they followed orders that they should've known were illegal.

  Tamm appears to be the oppositie. He saw that the government was doing illegal things, (and even if they were legal, would they even pass the moral yardstick for a healthy democracy?) and spoke up about it.

  Back to Fein, the next thing he goes into are transcripts from the Nuremberg trials

  "Frick: well what do you expect a man to do when he has orders to carry out

  Gilbert: If it is a question of one man's will against the lives of millions of people, I would say that one is morally obligated to kill the dictator rather than carry out such orders, if that is the only way out.

  Frick: A moral obligation to murder? That is a very peculiar obligation. That is a crime against social convention, you know.

  Gilbert: I see. Killing a murderous dictator is a crime against social convention, but war and extermination were quite legal in Nazi Germany.

  Frick: Oh, that is another Matter."

  In no way am i comparing genocide to warrantless wiretapping, but nonetheless i dont think i would be going too far by claiming that it is illegal and undemocratic and that people like Tamm should be praised for doing what was morally obligated.

  btw quotes from pgs 22-23 of Constitutional Peril by Bruce Fein

  —jididly Read jididly's other letters
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