| We have a right to Jury Nullification! |
[Feb. 2nd, 2008|10:37 am] |
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This means, we have the right when we are jurors to nullify the law if we find the law unjust. Just don't let the judge know that you know you can nullify the law, and don't let the judge find out that you intend to nullify the law because he could take you out of the jury. |
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| QUESTIONS THAT WON'T BE ASKED ABOUT IRAQ |
[Jul. 22nd, 2007|01:33 pm] |
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Congressman Ron Paul
U.S. House of Representatives
September 10, 2002
QUESTIONS THAT WON'T BE ASKED ABOUT IRAQ
Soon we hope to have hearings on the pending war with Iraq. I am concerned there are some questions that won’t be asked- and maybe will not even be allowed to be asked. Here are some questions I would like answered by those who are urging us to start this war.
1. Is it not true that the reason we did not bomb the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War was because we knew they could retaliate?
2. Is it not also true that we are willing to bomb Iraq now because we know it cannot retaliate- which just confirms that there is no real threat?
3. Is it not true that those who argue that even with inspections we cannot be sure that Hussein might be hiding weapons, at the same time imply that we can be more sure that weapons exist in the absence of inspections?
4. Is it not true that the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency was able to complete its yearly verification mission to Iraq just this year with Iraqi cooperation?
5. Is it not true that the intelligence community has been unable to develop a case tying Iraq to global terrorism at all, much less the attacks on the United States last year? Does anyone remember that 15 of the 19 hijackers came from Saudi Arabia and that none came from Iraq?
6. Was former CIA counter-terrorism chief Vincent Cannistraro wrong when he recently said there is no confirmed evidence of Iraq’s links to terrorism?
7. Is it not true that the CIA has concluded there is no evidence that a Prague meeting between 9/11 hijacker Atta and Iraqi intelligence took place?
8. Is it not true that northern Iraq, where the administration claimed al-Qaeda were hiding out, is in the control of our "allies," the Kurds?
9. Is it not true that the vast majority of al-Qaeda leaders who escaped appear to have safely made their way to Pakistan, another of our so-called allies?
10. Has anyone noticed that Afghanistan is rapidly sinking into total chaos, with bombings and assassinations becoming daily occurrences; and that according to a recent UN report the al-Qaeda "is, by all accounts, alive and well and poised to strike again, how, when, and where it chooses"?
11. Why are we taking precious military and intelligence resources away from tracking down those who did attack the United States- and who may again attack the United States- and using them to invade countries that have not attacked the United States?
12. Would an attack on Iraq not just confirm the Arab world's worst suspicions about the US, and isn't this what bin Laden wanted?
13. How can Hussein be compared to Hitler when he has no navy or air force, and now has an army 1/5 the size of twelve years ago, which even then proved totally inept at defending the country?
14. Is it not true that the constitutional power to declare war is exclusively that of the Congress? Should presidents, contrary to the Constitution, allow Congress to concur only when pressured by public opinion? Are presidents permitted to rely on the UN for permission to go to war?
15. Are you aware of a Pentagon report studying charges that thousands of Kurds in one village were gassed by the Iraqis, which found no conclusive evidence that Iraq was responsible, that Iran occupied the very city involved, and that evidence indicated the type of gas used was more likely controlled by Iran not Iraq?
16. Is it not true that anywhere between 100,000 and 300,000 US soldiers have suffered from Persian Gulf War syndrome from the first Gulf War, and that thousands may have died?
17. Are we prepared for possibly thousands of American casualties in a war against a country that does not have the capacity to attack the United States?
18. Are we willing to bear the economic burden of a 100 billion dollar war against Iraq, with oil prices expected to skyrocket and further rattle an already shaky American economy? How about an estimated 30 years occupation of Iraq that some have deemed necessary to "build democracy" there?
19. Iraq’s alleged violations of UN resolutions are given as reason to initiate an attack, yet is it not true that hundreds of UN Resolutions have been ignored by various countries without penalty?
20. Did former President Bush not cite the UN Resolution of 1990 as the reason he could not march into Baghdad, while supporters of a new attack assert that it is the very reason we can march into Baghdad?
21. Is it not true that, contrary to current claims, the no-fly zones were set up by Britain and the United States without specific approval from the United Nations?
22. If we claim membership in the international community and conform to its rules only when it pleases us, does this not serve to undermine our position, directing animosity toward us by both friend and foe?
23. How can our declared goal of bringing democracy to Iraq be believable when we prop up dictators throughout the Middle East and support military tyrants like Musharaf in Pakistan, who overthrew a democratically-elected president?
24. Are you familiar with the 1994 Senate Hearings that revealed the U.S. knowingly supplied chemical and biological materials to Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war and as late as 1992- including after the alleged Iraqi gas attack on a Kurdish village?
25. Did we not assist Saddam Hussein’s rise to power by supporting and encouraging his invasion of Iran? Is it honest to criticize Saddam now for his invasion of Iran, which at the time we actively supported?
26. Is it not true that preventive war is synonymous with an act of aggression, and has never been considered a moral or legitimate US policy?
27. Why do the oil company executives strongly support this war if oil is not the real reason we plan to take over Iraq?
28. Why is it that those who never wore a uniform and are confident that they won’t have to personally fight this war are more anxious for this war than our generals?
29. What is the moral argument for attacking a nation that has not initiated aggression against us, and could not if it wanted?
30. Where does the Constitution grant us permission to wage war for any reason other than self-defense?
31. Is it not true that a war against Iraq rejects the sentiments of the time-honored Treaty of Westphalia, nearly 400 years ago, that countries should never go into another for the purpose of regime change?
32. Is it not true that the more civilized a society is, the less likely disagreements will be settled by war?
33. Is it not true that since World War II Congress has not declared war and- not coincidentally- we have not since then had a clear-cut victory?
34. Is it not true that Pakistan, especially through its intelligence services, was an active supporter and key organizer of the Taliban?
35. Why don't those who want war bring a formal declaration of war resolution to the floor of Congress? |
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| (no subject) |
[Jul. 7th, 2007|11:36 am] |
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So a few days ago, I asked my girlfriend to marry me, thus I'm engaged. More to come if anyone is listening. |
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| I swam |
[Jun. 17th, 2007|12:08 am] |
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I swam a mile. Strange thing, goals and stuff. |
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| (no subject) |
[Mar. 20th, 2007|10:12 pm] |
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Alive with 3D images. More images will be made, and the methodolgy will improve greatly as well. |
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| (no subject) |
[Mar. 3rd, 2007|03:00 pm] |
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Alive barely, but I feel overwhelmed. God help me. |
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 5th, 2007|11:44 pm] |
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I'm going back to Notre Dame tomorrow, and it is just odd I guess, but it should be fun too. I really like campus there and what not. However, I feel like I'm becoming an adult. It is a scary thing. If I could just be an at-will adult, I'll be good. |
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| Diet coke and mentos |
[Dec. 9th, 2006|12:31 pm] |
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I just watched a bunch of videos of Diet Coke and mentos after watching Ryan's video on YouTube. Man, it reminded me of back in the day, like way back in the day back under the bridge where we threw that bottle of coke. And then of course there was throwing cans of diet coke off of Matt's balcony. Ah, the memories. |
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| An open letter to any Southern Baptist |
[Oct. 22nd, 2006|02:05 pm] |
I recently was talking to a friend about the War in Iraq and how the Southern Baptist Church was the only major Christian denomination in favor of the war. I wanted to know why this was their stance, so I read an article on the sbc website:
http://www.sbc.net/redirect.asp?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Esbclife%2Enet%2FArticles%2F2003%2F04%2Fsla7%2Easp&key=war+in+iraq&title=Fighting+a+Just+War+in+Iraq&ndx=SBC%2C+IMB%2C+NAMB%2C+ANNUITY%2C+LIFEWAY%2C+WMU%2C+ERLC%2C+SEMINARIES
And I had some questions I hoped you could answer.
1. Is this still the current stance of the Southern Baptist Church?
2. Where does loving our neighbors even if they are supposedly so much evil than us come into play?
3. The just war criteria:
1. Just cause doesn't apply anymore does it?
2. We don't have so much of a probability of success anymore do we?
3. What was really the right spirit since the reasons for going to Iraq all
proved false?
4. We didn't really have the right intention did we? I mean, we haven't
restored peace, and in fact we have destabilized that region didn't we?
5. What about discrimination? We bomb everything including things for civilians like waterworks, powerstations, farms, etc. We have been doing that since the Korean war or before have we not? So in knowing that our strategy does not discriminate to begin with, how is this criteria met either now or when the war started?
6. Did we really try avoiding evil? We tortured people, and we still do. What's with that? It wasn't just one or two bad apples, it was systematically part of our war strategy.
7. How did we have Good Faith? We lock up people that we claim are enemies and we strip them of all of their rights and dignity. How can we possibly claim we are this when we clearly are not?
4. And my last question, what is your church doing to actually have a morally just government?
I wanted to ask these questions because I thought they were important especially for those claiming to be righteous.
-Robert |
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| (no subject) |
[Oct. 6th, 2006|12:51 am] |
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Giggity giggity. The movie was fun, but it wasn't the main attraction for me. I only pray it be God's will for this to continue. |
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| I love to love |
[Oct. 1st, 2006|09:07 pm] |
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and feed ducks. I fed some ducks today, it was fun. I'm having a good day, the world isn't collapsing around me, and it seems there aren't too many huge stresses in my life. I think I'll try some living. |
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| Yeah, so I didn't know this until today |
[Sep. 20th, 2006|10:08 pm] |
"Katrina flooded 80 percent of New Orleans and virtually wiped out neighboring St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes.
"The Louisiana death toll was nearly 1,600."
Wow, that seems to be about half of 9/11, and yet we just didn't do so much. Anyhow, I'm just venting, and I only pray that life works out. |
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 11th, 2006|07:39 pm] |
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I'm kicking ass, but I would like something else to do. |
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| Stingray kills 'Crocodile Hunter' Irwin |
[Sep. 4th, 2006|10:07 am] |
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I feel we have lost a great man, he was a great man. I would like to shed a tear for he was a wonderful person unafraid of getting completely messed up by the world's craziest animals. I guess the stingray won, but I think that's probably the way he would have wanted to go. |
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| What is really important |
[Sep. 3rd, 2006|12:03 am] |
Right now, all political issues fall to the wayside because the most important is whether this world lives or dies. Without solving the issue at hand of global warming, all other issues will eventually end because the people arguing them will be wipped out. This is not a linear process of change, the world is getting exponentially fucked, and we carry the responsibility to do something about it.
Look at the math, and tell me how many days do we have left? Do we have weeks or months or years to change? We certainly don't have a generation because it has been in one generation that our species has messed this world up. So the world will warm up, plants will grow to compensate until the earth cools down, then we have an ice age, and for the most part, we will become extinct. I don't care about nature, it'll rebound, we might not. Our required temperature range in the scheme of things is very small. Nothing else really matters when it comes to big issues anymore. |
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