If the President can take the law into his own hands…

[Beam Me Up]

…and hire mercenaries to assassinate anyone he believes may be a terrorist, why can't anyone?

Of course, I'm asking a hypothetical question here. I don't even own a hand gun much less have the resources to hire mercenaries. But lots of people in this country DO own guns and some of them even have enough wealth to equip and train a small army if they chose to do so. SO, if the President can abrogate unto himself the law and decide to use it as he sees fit, why can't anyone with resources do the same?

It seems to me, either we are a nation of laws or we are not. In fact, it seems to me that it is THE LAW which 'says' that George W. Bush IS the President of the United States. If he nullifies the law, then he nullifies the legal and social framework that appropriates the rights and privileges, not to mention the responsibilities, of his Office. According to the Constitution, these are granted by We The People.

I'm just saying. I don't think Mr. Bush has the concept very clear in his mind.

[savemefromdumbya]

1. a problem

we like to think the USA is a shining example of law-abiding and human rights. However, things have gone down the tubes. Tyranny reigns. (in the old days the king would have his enemies beheaded - we like to think we have come along way down the road from that? But have we?)

[punpirate]

Umm... quite the contrary...

... he has the concept very firmly fixed in his mind--but, in a very personal way. This is a person who has effectively evaded responsibility all his life and has successfully evaded restraint by law. He feels it is his right to ignore law when he alone decides the law is an impediment. That is essentially a regal notion, and a tyrannical one.

The Constitution has remedies for this, but the political system as it has evolved has prevented those remedies from being applied for partisan reasons (and has caused them to be applied for partisan reasons). Politics has effectively trumped government.

Until we fix that, Bush--and worse people than him--will continue to behave with impunity.

[Swede]

2. You see,he has to destroy the village,in order to save it.

Happens all the time.

[RobertSeattle]

3. This is The Ends Justify the Means Administration