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Mutualist Blog: Free Market Anti-Capitalism

To dissolve, submerge, and cause to disappear the political or governmental system in the economic system by reducing, simplifying, decentralizing and suppressing, one after another, all the wheels of this great machine, which is called the Government or the State. --Proudhon, General Idea of the Revolution

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Sunday, February 13, 2005

A Modest Proposal

After prolonged soul-searching, I find myself in reluctant agreement with those who consider torture permissible under certain limited circumstances, with appropriate oversight. I propose, therefore, that Congress' power to subpoena Executive officials be supplemented as follows: Upon certifying to the President its finding that a substantial likelihood or reasonable suspicion exists that a member of his Cabinet or personal staff is a lying bastard, or that his or her testimony is an utter pile of horseshit, Congress shall be authorized to insert sanitized needles under his or her fingernails, or to resort to whatever other coercive measures it finds necessary, to extract the truth. Of course, this still prohibits rendition of Ms. Rice to a jurisdiction beyond U.S. oversight and accountability, and would require compensation upon any finding that she had been, despite all expectations, telling the truth.

6 Comments:

Blogger oldwhitelady said...

Harry said...
Is this proposal scalable to Harvard law professors who propose similar measures? I realize that's introducing mission creep, but if it saves just one innocent life. . .
I want to chime in with: is it scalable, also, for radio personalities?

February 16, 2005 7:20 PM  
Blogger Kevin Carson said...

Of course, just as with civil forfeiture and roving wiretaps, they'll be saying "We're using it for x; why can't we use it for y?"

BTW, oldwhitelady, I like the article you linked on Ann Coulter. It sounds like she got a bitch-slapping on that Canadian TV program just like Michelle Malkin got from Chris Matthews. I'm sure that psychotic perma-smile never left her face, though.

February 16, 2005 9:12 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The oath of office for the president states they will 'execute' the duties to the best of their abilities. All of them have 'executed' but none has been able to resist the corruption of absolute power and greed. This oath should be changed to 'perform constitutionally restricted duties or else be executed.'

February 17, 2005 12:03 AM  
Blogger Philip said...

I object to the clause whatever other coercive measures it finds necessary. In the event of a liberal, big-government, over-spending Congress, this could lead to catastrophic abuses, e.g. investment in longer and longer needles because of wimpy lawsuit-oriented liberal inhibitions about cutting the fingernails of the guilty. Surely any sane proposal of this sort must take into account the economic necessities of its realisatification.

February 17, 2005 4:51 AM  
Blogger Kevin Carson said...

The only part of the Constitution Bush cares about is the part about guaranteeing a Republican form of government.

February 17, 2005 4:27 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bush has raped the constitution more so than all of the preceding alleged 'leaders of the free world.' Herbert Hoover said the only thing wrong with capitalism is capitalists. There is nothing wrong with a republican form of government as long as Republicans have nothing to do with it.

February 17, 2005 10:42 PM  

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