WascallyWabbit
2 days ago
“Did you really think we want those laws observed?" said Dr. Ferris. "We want them to be broken. You'd better get it straight that it's not a bunch of boy scouts you're up against... We're after power and we mean it... There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What's there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced or objectively interpreted – and you create a nation of law-breakers – and then you cash in on guilt. Now that's the system, Mr. Reardon, that's the game, and once you understand it, you'll be much easier to deal with.”

-- Atlas Shrugged //

Oyarsu
2 days ago
Israel, Romania, Brazil, England, And now France. These judges are creating a lawless world while insisting they aren’t. Its all insane. //

Buckeye28
2 days ago edited
For all the shrieking about Trump being a threat to democracy, these anti-democratic moves throughout Europe are becoming more and more troubling: machinations in France and Germany to prevent conservative parties from winning parliamentary elections; the popular conservative candidates in Romania and France being removed from the ballot by courts; conservative protest being criminalized in the U.K. and Ireland. European governments are undermining democracy, and that’s a point I hope our side really starts making to justify us distancing ourselves from Europe.

Having said that, I have to ask: did La Pen actually do something illegal under French law? It’s one thing if this is a rigged prosecution, like what happened to Trump in NYS. It’s another if she actually is guilty. (And selective prosecution arguments—“the other guy did it too but didn’t get charged”—are usually losers. If A and B both drive 40mph in a 25mph zone, and A gets a ticket and B doesn’t, doesn’t mean the speed limit isn’t a law.)