The American Spectator

Reader Mail

(Page 4 of 14)

Oh dear! Mr. Stein has become unhinged. I thought it was the other side that did that, but I see that Republicans can lose their perspective too. What a bunch of claptrap.

I am not going to defend the Supreme Court decisions that Mr. Stein attacks. Late term abortion is wrong. Depraved minors should be subject to the death penalty if anyone else is. But his attacks on the court system in general as "fascinated by its own obsession with letting innocent people die" is ridiculous.

What we have in the Schiavo case is a situation where the Florida courts in good faith went through a legal process that lasted over fifteen years. The judge heard evidence, evaluated the credibility of the witnesses, and made a decision. Mr. Stein wasn't there; I wasn't there; President Bush wasn't there; Congress wasn't there; the judge was there. The losing party did not accept the decision, joined forces with a powerful political interest, and engaged in a relentless publicity campaign that has involved confusion of the facts and vilification of the other side and the court system itself. If we are to have ordered liberty in this country, we need to respect the court system and the process of the law, not trash them.

Rants like this should give us all pause, because there is nothing persuasive about them. Liberty is not preserved by accepting the idea that the process is not legitimate when we don't like a particular result. One would think that conservatives would understand this better than anyone else.

p>Don't tread on me. br> -- Leland E. Hutchinson br> Chicago, Illinois /p> p> Ben Stein has said it right, short and sweet. This is terrifying. This alliance between the euthanasia left and the left courts is devastating to life. What is also terrifying is the left's ability to set the terms of debate in this through the media and the medical profession that this is a question only of suffering, not of judges who believe they are gods, and guardians who can't be questioned as to their motives. Can this judge believe otherwise? The US Congress couldn't stop him. No wonder people are going crazy. All they are asking for is a fair and impartial review, not a rehash of old material. The press has been completely dishonest in reporting -- to the point of claiming it's no big deal to die of dehydration (L.A. Times). Now, we watch children being arrested for giving a glass of water. What a perverse use of our police. What is it doing to the br> officers involved? To be ordered to arrest children who want to give a glass of water to a thirsty woman? /p>

This is a break down of the rule of law -- separating it from morality and common sense, and making it illogical and cruel. No wonder people are upset. The media is also smothering debate -- accusing people of being uncivil, vicious name-calling and "let's move on" attitudes.

p>There is a lot going here, will have a lot of unintended consequences. br> --

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