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In the 2/10/2014 issue of the online Washington Post I read the following:
The Obama administration is weighing whether to approve a lethal strike against a U.S. citizen who is accused of being part of the al-Qaeda terrorist network overseas and involved in ongoing plotting against American targets, U.S. officials said. The officials said that no decision has been reached on whether to add the alleged operative to the administration’s kill list, a step that would require Justice Department approval under new counterterrorism guidelines adopted by President Obama last year.
It seems to me that the operative word in the above report is (or should be) alleged -- Any country that describes itself as being run by "the rule of law" cannot arbitrarily kill a citizen without a trial. Of course, that country's government can surely put that citizen on trial and then abide by the court's decision. I don't suppose the defendant has to be present at the trial, but there must be a trial.
General Douglas MacArthur once said, "I am concerned for the security of our great Nation; not so much because of any threat from without, but because of the insidious forces working from within."
Granting one man (the U.S. President, for example) the power to take questionable life-or-death actions against a private citizen without approval of the Legislature and the Judiciary is (or should be) strictly forbidden. After all, this is a serious matter; it's not a kid's game. It's not a matter of the good guys against the bad guys.
Anybody who thinks a democratic nation's leader should have dictatorial power is living in a state of abysmal ignorance. Isn't that so?
LINK to article.
But I also believe that if an individual citizen is plotting an imminent attack that will kill a multitude of innocent people and there exists a way to take him out then it must be done... Which makes me ask myself who should have the power, the final authority, to order such an action.
So...?
I do not have all the answers.
And when I re-read what I have written above, I think I should not have written it and thereby exposed myself as being a downright hypocrite. Perhaps I will go ahead and publish it now, then reserve the right to return later and delete the whole thing.
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Did You Know . . .?
The waffled style ice cream cone, hamburgers, hot dogs, iced tea, cotton candy, and Dr. Pepper were all first introduced to mass audiences or popularized at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.
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HISTORICAL EVENT
In addition to advocating for women's reproductive rights, Goldman was an anti-war crusader. In 1917, she was arrested for protesting America's involvement in World War I and the draft. She spent two years in prison and was then deported back to Russia. Goldman lived the rest of her life in Russia, Europe and Canada, and died in Toronto in 1940 at age 70.
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WORD FOR TODAY
abysmal
adjective
1. Resembling an abyss in depth; unfathomable.
2. Deeply profound; limitless: abysmal misery.
3. Extremely bad: an abysmal performance.
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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
(born February 11, 1969)
Jennifer Aniston is an American actress, film director, and producer. Aniston made her screen debut in the television series Molloy (1990), but her film career began in the horror film Leprechaun (1993). She gained worldwide recognition in the 1990s for portraying Rachel Green on the television sitcom Friends (1994–2004). In 2012, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Additionally, Men's Health magazine voted Aniston the "Sexiest Woman of All Time".
Aniston has also enjoyed a successful Hollywood film career. She gained critical acclaim for her performances in the independent films She's the One (1996), Office Space (1999), The Good Girl (2002) and Friends with Money (2006). She has had her greatest commercial successes with the films Bruce Almighty (2003), Along Came Polly (2004), The Break-Up (2006), Marley & Me (2008), He's Just Not That Into You (2009), The Bounty Hunter (2010), Just Go with It (2011), Horrible Bosses (2011) and We're the Millers
(born February 11, 1953)
Jeb Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd Governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. He is the second son of former President George H. W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush; and the younger brother of former President George W. Bush. Bush is the first and only Republican to serve two full four year terms as Governor of Florida.
(born February 11, 1964)
Sarah Palin is an American politician who served as the ninth Governor of Alaska, from 2006 to 2009. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election alongside Arizona Senator John McCain, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice presidency.
(Feb 11, 1926 - Nov 28, 2010)
Leslie Nielsen was a Canadian-American actor and comedian. Nielsen appeared in more than one hundred films and 150 television programs over the span of his career, portraying more than 220 characters.
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"Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one."
--Benjamin Franklin
NASA TV
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