Stone him! Stone him!
Opinion Journal steps up to the plate in the loony challenge:
The lesson of the Moussaoui trial is that the regular criminal justice system isn’t up to the job of trying most terrorists.
Because life in prison without the possibility of parole, with the death penalty option having been lost on account of a prosecutorial error, undoubtedly means the “regular” criminal justice system is a joke.
The criminal prosecution was a missed opportunity to show the world how trial by military tribunal would work.
And cancelling the 2004 Super Bowl would have been a missed opportunity to see Janet Jackson’s nipple. Shame really.
Meanwhile, as the Administration decides whether to proceed with the death-penalty trial against Moussaoui, there’s a certain moral irony in a confessed terrorist being saved by the very legal system that he spent three years railing against.
Not to mention the moral irony in finding anything other than killing someone the equivalent of salvation. We’re sure Moussaoui will enjoy himself tremendously in prison. Good times.
“Prosecutorial error” being a nice way of saying “prosecutorial malfeasance” or “witness coaching,” for which one prosecutor was suspended.
The tried to game the system, got caught, so they blame he system.
It’s straight from the teachings of the Ken Lay school of business management.
The lesson of the Moussaoui trial is that the regular criminal justice system isn’t up to the job of trying most terrorists.
because requiring prosecutors to follow rules and orders doesn’t work when a terrorist is on trial? but it does for a serial killer?
what – exactly – is so different about Moussaoui’s trial that the rules shouldn’t apply?
of course why would we expect a coherent opinion?
I think this is an example of the inherent weakness in the straw man fallacy, which the authors of S,N! enjoy employing. I could be wrong, but I don’t think many Republicans, conservatives, rightists, et. al. believe something so patently ridiculous. Kathleen’s right: we shouldn’t expect a coherent opinion to come from the far reaches of Wingnutistania. We should expect it from the President of the United States, the Defense Secretary, the Attorney General…which makes it all the more disappointing when we don’t get it.
You see, if we don’t kill him, then the terrorists have won.
Re Janet Jackson/Super Bowl: we did get treated to some breast, yes, but sadly, there was *NO* nipplage.
Clearly, facts mean nothing to libruls.
Blood! More blood! The blood of the innocent for our Sex Magicke!
Clearly, the man would be treated far too well in a maximum security prison.
Who the fuck are these people kidding? Seems to me every Arian with a shank is gonna be swinging to bring this guy down.
…there’s a certain moral irony in a confessed terrorist being saved by the very legal system that he spent three years railing against.
That’s not irony; it’s merely the difference between “us” and “them.”
They rule by terror, while we govern through law.
They take away basic rights, while we defend them.
They are terrorists, and we are not.
Well, in theory anyway, MT. *sigh*
Tigrismus: I know. It sucks that we’ve stared into the abyss too long.
Yeah, what the hell is “moral irony”? We’re supposed to be the good guys, and sometimes the good guys have to act on principle instead of vengeful instinct. But of course, our good guy principles are subsumed to our love of the vigilante, the maverick, the man who takes the law into his own hands to Bring The Bad Guy To Justice. Usually in an especially messy fashion, preceded by a glib quip.
Here’s some “irony” for you: The image of the lone avenger that so captivates the Cracked Warnuts comes out of Hollywood… so when the wingers accuse Hollywood of subverting America, they are actually correct — not because of Teh Sex and Teh Librul Politix, but because of the glorification of vigilantism, the elevation of lawbreaking into heroism, the advocacy for destroying the principles on which the nation was founded in favor of a satisfying revenge.
Wanna see examples? Go read (if you can stomach it) the comment thread from Chazmo’s posting on the Moussaoui trial thing. Here’s a little sample:
#25 Happy Viking 3/13/2006 11:20AM PST
I long for the good old days when all you needed to deal with dirtbags like this was a tall tree and a long rope.
#56 calculatorjockey 3/13/2006 11:53AM PST
[…]Dammit. Somebody just blast that mother f’er and let’s move on to other business.
#77 Orson Buggy 3/13/2006 12:28PM PST
The solution is obvious. Fire the lawyer, yank their license to practice and shoot Moussauoi in the head a few times. Case closed, and everyone is happy.
#142 ibmkeyboard 3/13/2006 01:59PM PST
[…]NO problem,
let the Sum Bitch out of prison,
He wont get 2 blocks.
Better yet,
Put him in a New York prison,
He still wont get 2 blocks.
Man, I feel like I have to wash my eyes every time I go over there. The rest of that thread contains an amazing array of paranoia and delusion, about whether the TSA lawyer involved is associated with anti-death penalty groups, and whether Judge Brinkema (A CLINTON APPOINTEE!!!1!one!!11!) has some ulterior motive for sanctioning the prosecution for this cock-up. Eurgh.
I am sure that “Happy Viking” is in no way a racist. I can’t believe that anyone would even say that. I mean, first of all, LOTS of non-racist people long for the “good ole days” of mob lynching. and his moniker is totally neutral. I mean the Vikings were very diverse. Some of my best friends are black Vikings.
You see, we’re the good guys, he’s a bad guy. He tells lies, we tell lies too, but that’s different, we’re the good guys. He kills people, we kill people, but that’s different, we’re the good guys. They torture people, we torture people, but that’s different, we’re the good guys. They have mock trials, we have kangaroo courts, but that’s different, because, well, you know…
Kathleen – I’m a regular reader of the social disaster that is freeperland, happy viking is one of the most putrid, racist, eliminationist, radical assholes on there.
What’s so very sad about this whole scene is that Moussaouri is such a sad sack terriorist.
The wingnuts practically foam at the mouth for blood but he is just a mirror of their own impotence.
Not to pull a Bill Maher here, but if the situations were reversed would any of the LGF mouth breathers die for their own particular idiotic cause?
I’d bet not.
As Stewie wold say…
“For every witness you coach, I shall kill you”
In all seriousness, disobeying a direct court order is, on the scale of lawyering boo-boos, somewhere between screwing your client and screwing your client out of money.
We fucked up, therefore let’s blow up the system that didn’t nany state our error filled existence and replace it with a system or predetermined outcomes that have no procedural rules.
Ahhhh, here it is.
See, I have a problem: Too much faith in the human race.
Since this was the only high-profile terrorist case they’ve had, I expected them to dot all their i’s and cross all their t’s.
But instead they blow it.
This gets me thinking, “Surely they can’t be THAT incompetant! They must have something up their sleeves”`.
So I’ve been wondering lately whether this isn’t a clever ploy to position our court system as inssuficient for prosecuting terrorists.
So I’ve been wondering lately whether this isn’t a clever ploy to position our court system as inssuficient for prosecuting terrorists.
I don’t think they’ve proven themselves to be that smart.
relax, and embrace your inner island of doctor moreau…due process only makee headee hurtee. going into the house of pain will make everything all better.