Scopes got a trial. Darrow won, WJ Bryan lost - but today you can't tell that

[banned from Kos]

Same as it ever was.


Kafka dreamed. Justice is a slippery thing.


(yes, Scopes was found guilty - I know)

[Warpy]

1. To me, this is a series of horrible alternatives.

Violating international and domestic law to execute a threat on foreign soil is the first and what has now happened twice. The fact that the second is a US citizen just adds another layer of badness to the whole thing.

Invading a country to capture the threats to US security. It seems we did that 10 years ago and are still bogged down there. Do we have another trillion dollars to piss away on a war which itself is of questionable legality?

Going in with a team with guns blazing to extract the bad guy is another, undoubtedly costing lives on the ground, of dubious legality, and of uncertain success.

Having a show trial in absentia, presenting evidence and convicting the bad guy as an enemy of the state also has a dubious history, it seems to have been done extensively by the Soviets, as well as launching the teams of assassins to perform the execution outside the country.

Then there was the alternative of leaving him where he was, building his organization online but within the US, filling them with all sorts of jihadist nonsense about slaughtering infidels (the rest of us). While some of his converts would likely find actually acting too much trouble to pursue, some of them would undoubtedly act and how many of us do you think should have to be sacrificed to following rules?

While I've never been a fan of using unattainable ends to justify unacceptable means, this is a series of terrible alternatives, all of which had to be considered.

While I shed no tears for one more murderous asshole shuffling off this moral coil, I do shudder at the prospect of its becoming business as usual as it was under GOP presidents. I also think this is going to have some legal consequences now that they're not the ones doing it.

(Don't bother responding if you're young and idealistic)

[banned from Kos]

3. You see the nuance - the shadow of law

and said it better than I did by far.

[Warpy]

4. Thank you, few people are taking the time to get it tonight

which is why the "young and idealistic" crack was at the end.

All the alternatives are bad and all had legal, moral, and life consequences.

I've been asking the young and idealistic to come up with better ones, but so far it's only been spluttering and non sequitur.

[Kennah]

2. So we can launch a Hellfire missile at creationists now?

:sarcasm:

[MedicalAdmin]

5. And then when the creationist get in they can return the favor.

There goes the NIH.

Sigh.

[Kennah]

6. Gonna be one of those nights on DU