June 08, 2005

Twelve Angry Men
By Quentin Langley

The 1957 movie in which Henry Fonda heroically turns his 11 fellow jurors away from a hasty conviction to an eventual acquittal is classic entertainment and widely used in civic education in the Anglo-American standard of proof: beyond reasonable doubt. But much as we enjoy watching this fictional jury on film, would it serve the interests of justice if real juries were regularly filmed, as is being considered now in a capital case in Houston?

First, we should dispose of two side issues. The constitutional right to a public trial does not include public jury deliberations. Before we lose our liberty, even to the limited extent of having to answer charges in a courtroom, the prosecution has the obligation to present a coherent case against us. If prosecutors lack the confidence in their case to do this in public, then we have no obligation to answer the charges at all. And we all have the right to be reassured that those of our fellow citizens who are imprisoned or executed have been convicted on compelling evidence indeed. But such considerations apply only to the evidence and sentencing stages of the trial. (Read the rest here)

Prosecution Versus Prevention - The Logic For The Patriot Act
By Ted Lang © 2004

At a roundtable discussion conducted at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, on September 16, 2002, and sponsored by the Department of Political Science there, the following remarks were recorded: "I was shocked like everyone else, but to be honest, I wasn't surprised," said Bassa. He went on to describe the advent of what he called ‘modern terrorism,' which ranges from the first plane hijacking in 1961 to an eerily prescient attempt in 1994 to fly an Air France jet into the Eiffel Tower. He dismissed as ‘patently false' claims that we had no warnings of our own attack, citing the letter by FBI Agent Colleen Crowly."

The speaker continues: "If headquarters had given the field office more authority," said Bassa, "they would have been able to crack [terrorist Zacharias] Moussaoui's laptop, get to the other hijackers, and prevent this crime." (Read the rest here)

Baker’s Dozen ™ Tips for Rebuilding Disfunctional Societies
By Nathan A. Barton © 2004

Massive invasions to “liberate” nations, even when coupled with massive foreign aid programs, voting schemes, and generous pensions for redundant politicians and military dictators, have been proven to be inadequate for creating truly human societies. (For example, it has been sixty years now since most of Europe was liberated from Nazi tyranny, and they STILL can’t get it right.) Therefore, these tips to create a functional and human society are provided for your use. WARNING: Avoid so-called “professional” individuals and groups, especially those who claim vast experience in nation-building (or re-building) and those with short acronyms or abbreviations like “UN”, “USA”, or “CPSU.”

While these tasks are listed in general order in which they should be accomplished, it is not always necessary to complete one task before proceeding to the next. (Read the rest here)

Fear Not China
by Sheldon Richman

China. Why has that word for so long struck fear in the hearts of Americans? During the Cold War people harbored terrible fantasies about hordes of Chinese swarming over them and imposing a virulent Oriental communism. Now the Cold War is over, and although China still has a communist-inspired authoritarian government, this is not your father’s Red nemesis. Much has changed in the world’s most populous country.

Yet we remain in fear. But now it is an economic fear: China will buy up all the beef. China will buy up all the wheat. China will make all the textiles and clothing and take our jobs. China’s trade surplus with the United States will put us hopelessly in debt.

Nonsense. It’s about time we kept our heads and applied some basic economics to what’s going on. (Read the rest here)

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Libertarian Commentary on The News
By Nathan A. Barton © 2005

Once you've drawn a "line in the sand" and the thug has stepped over it, what do you do? Do you draw another and another? Do you make the next one into a moat or a ditch? Or do you (in BTP's words) shout, "Stop or I shoot!" and then do just that? How many more times do we need to see the footprints of five, six, or seven men (and women) in black ground into the US Constitution to accept that it is a dead letter, honored only when it is good public relations and vote-encouraging to do so, but otherwise with as much force as if that same parchment were used to plaster a hole in a bridge?

How many times do we need to say, "enough is enough" and then go on about our business? How many laws? How many raids? How many court decisions? How many arrests? Each one of us has to answer this question for himself, for herself. And then we have to live with the consequences. But we aren't answering these questions as a group, if we continue one at a time to stand up and get arrested, stand up and get locked up, stand up and get fined, stand up and get killed - they'll win. And so far, at least, they are.

At least that is my opinion, about today's news stories and those of the past few weeks, and of the situation we find ourselves in, right now, on the 7th of June, Anno Libertatis 229. And I realize that may not be your opinion, or that of people associated with TPoL, RRND, or anything else, but at this point, I really don't care. (Read the rest here)

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