"Thank God for your enemies" is one of many wise lessons my father taught me.
I give special thanks to them today, reminded to do so by Doug Berman's post, "Former Rep. (and former felon) Duke Cunningham now says "my Democrat colleagues were right and I was wrong on some issues as far as criminal justice." The post sets forth the deep thoughts of Mr. Cunningham -- a Republican ex-con who was given an eight year prison term for selling his office -- on the numerous and flagrant deficiencies of the criminal justice system.
Other Republicans who have made the New Enlightenment All-Star team include fellow ex-cons Bernie Kerik and George Ryan.
I wonder if it ever occurs to our friends on the other side to reflect on the astounding self-servingness of a bunch of corrupt officials ruminating on how they suddenly became victims of The Fascist Prosecution because -- ready now? -- their years of corruption got exposed and punished. I also wonder if it occurs to our friends to ask themselves how these people, principally by virtue of hubris, self-justification and self-pity, became experts on the criminal justice system, positioned to lecture the rest of us on its flaws. Finally, I wonder if any thinking has been done about what it means that people of this sort have to be enlisted in the flagging campaign for sentencing "reform."
Leave a comment