Katie Bar the Door
I have a new theory -- that the most dangerous circumstances for individual liberty in this country are when Conservatives and Liberals agree. When there is some issue where the authoritarianism of the right coincides with the authoritarianism of the left, then watch out. The example I offer today is child molestation prosecutions, where the law and order Right meets the smug for-the-children moralizing of the Left. Where Janet Reno meets Joe Arpaio.
Congrats to Tonya Craft for her acquittal, and here's hoping (though there is not much chance) that the prosecutors and particularly that jackass of a judge suffer some sort of negative consequences from their outlandish abuse of due process. My jury experience on a similar case here.
Update: And speaking of Sheriff Joe...
Ken:
Wonder how long it will take NBC to memory-hole the interview Matt Lauer did with the ex-prosecutor, either yesterday or Monday. She was insisting, and Lauer was nodding right along, that there was never any basis whatsoever for questioning allegations made by children. My first thought was "Gerald Amirault would object."
May 12, 2010, 1:45 pmDr. T:
I don't believe that Conservatives are behind or in favor of the witch hunts of child care workers. There are a handful of nutcases (particularly among the religious right) who believe that there are many child molesters and satanists attacking children, but I've yet to meet an ordinary Conservative who believes such nonsense. Unfortunately, I have met a number of nanny state-"liberals" who believe that child molestations are commonly perpetrated by child care workers (except, of course, for those who work in government-run child care centers where all the workers are well-trained saints).
What irks me is that these innocent child care workers get prosecuted, while priests who sexually abuse children rarely get arrested and tried in criminal courts. (Almost all the court cases against abusive priests in the USA were civil suits.)
May 12, 2010, 3:33 pmJohn Anderson:
The last two links (including the update link) go to the same place. I suspect you had a different URL in mind for the update link.
May 12, 2010, 4:28 pmrob sama:
NEW THEORY?!?!? I have long asserted that any piece of legislation that passes the US Senate 99-0 is by definition, horrendously bad. Is simply isn't possible to get all of them to agree on something that increases liberty.
May 12, 2010, 5:38 pmRob:
@Rob
I've always assumed until proven otherwise the same thing.... How about the audit on the fed... It's amazing how unanimous the vote.... Oh wait it is just for show, not hardline audit that Ron Paul was calling to vote.
May 12, 2010, 6:42 pmJames H:
I've felt this way for a long time. I hear people complain of a "do nothing" congress or government, and explain to them that this would be a best-case scenario. I would usually seek to make the majority party of congress opposite to the party of the presidency, in hopes of gridlock.
May 12, 2010, 7:39 pmGil:
When the Stupid Party and the Evil Party agree, we get legislation that's stupid *and* evil.
May 14, 2010, 4:57 pm