Ministers of Injustice

But when war becomes literally continuous, it also ceases to be dangerous

--1984, George Orwell

[talking on the phone about the arrangements for an international conference]
Bernard Woolley: Have the countries in alphabetical order?
Oh no, we can't do that, we'd put Iraq next to Iran
--Yes, Minister (1980)
__________


After being force-fed a continuous diet of the nonsense ''news'' regarding the Duke players who did not rape a black woman, Ranger has a comment, though not on newly disbarred DA Nifong, the stripper or the accused players, per se (''N.C. Panel Disbars Duke Prosecutor.'')

Nifong's ''dishonest and deceitful conduct'' is reminiscent of that of Attorney General Ashcroft, GWB, Cheney and Alberto Gonzales. What did Nifong do that any of these jokers don't do on a daily basis?

The crux of the issue lies in Mr. Nifong's rush to judgment in a case guaranteed to appeal to the public's most salacious interests, a reverse Mandingo story, 2007-style. It had everything--privileged white boys (not corner b-ball players) playing a game most Americans can't spell, a black woman reduced to hawking her wares for pay, boys then taking more than they were willing to pay for--everything, that is, except substantiating facts.

"This matter has been a fiasco. There's no doubt about it,' said committee chairman F. Lane Williamson.

''He said Nifong's early comments about the case — which included a confident proclamation that he wouldn't allow Durham to become known for 'a bunch of lacrosse players from Duke raping a black girl' — were purposefully designed to boost his campaign for district attorney.''

''The disciplinary committee. . .unanimously agreed with the bar on almost every charge — including the most serious allegations — that Nifong's actions involved 'dishonesty, fraud, deceit and misrepresentation.'"

''State Bar prosecutor Douglas Brocker told the committee that [Nifong]. . .charged 'forward toward condemnation and injustice,' weaving a 'web of deception that has continued up through this hearing.''

Remember Padilla? Ashcroft immediately held a press conference and convicted Padilla without benefit of trial. Immediately thereafter, Padilla entered a netherworld of military imprisonment. Remember when the burden of proof rested with the prosecution?

The same prosecutorial malfeasance is true of Generalissimo Gonzales. The prisoners in the Phony War on Terror were not deemed POW's, thereby stripped of Geneva Convention protections, nor were they criminals, to be dealt with by the federal legal system. In effect, these prisoners were denied all rights to defend themselves legally. By comparison, Mr. Nifong was a saint.

Ashcroft and Gonzales sanctioned kidnappings, torture, extraordinary rendition, open-ended imprisonment and warrantless wiretaps.

"Mr. Nifong did not act as a minister of justice, but as a minister of injustice," Brocker said. This state's attorney is now disbarred, with even the veteran lead prosecutor saying ''the punishment was appropriate.''

And what of Gonzales and company?