Reply #75: Justice delayed is justice denied.

[genna]

I will use an example I tend to avoid. The law had been set against homosexual conduct (either it is buggery or sodomy in old law) until a court shielded the behavior as a right to privacy. Being outed was not even a consideration, the behavior itself (sexual relations) was enough to get them thrown into jail.

It took the long distance run to discuss the intimate public (oxymoron but the public declaration of an intimacy) relationship outside of the private conduct. Equal rights in every aspect of life has been slow to come to these American citizens.


Anyone can point out to these citizens that they have come a long way from the days of jail sentences, but for those who are not treated equally the distance ahead seems just as far.


Why must those of us wait who believe in the right to a fair trial, the right of an accused person to know the charges against them and to be free to move about unless a court determines the person is a danger to society, and the right to free from neglect and abuse?

How long did it take the Serbs to turn over Milosevic? What about other Pinochet? Is the U.S. and our leaders above human rights? It might make others cringe, but these human rights are God given and above rulers ability to give or take away.


It is not about the next election. Bush would not have been possible if Nixon had faced punishment for his crimes. We stand on the precipice of repeating the same pattern. Will we be able to stand under a new Nixon, a new Bush or a new Republican party in 30 years when this Bush thing blows over?


I don't want to chance a new dawn of an old stain. We don't all have to work on the same projects in order for this to go forward. I think Obama will be fine so long as Eric Holder goes after bad apples in the Justice Department. If the Justice Department only has a small number of good actors, then Eric Holder needs to empty out the Department. I think we will be fine so long as Human Rights groups press forward the case of each detainee and every individual tortured under orders from the Bush administration. I don't think the bad apples should get a light tap on their hands. I think they should stand before the Federal Bar or state bars to tell them why they should gang unto their license.

I don't think every Democrat should be involved in this, but I don't agree that lawyers should press forward in getting a hearing and/or a trial for each person affected. I also think it makes sense for those here and abroad who participated in these prisons (is it black sites?) should also stand before a court and defend their behavior.


No stone should be left uncovered. If there are more areas where Cheney and Rice colluded with the media give a journalist a storyline to write and then use that published account as justification for their argument as was the case with WMDs, then I believe the journalist should that reflected in their professional reputation. Why should we listen to these armchair retired generals when their credentials don't relect their histories?