Here. Al-Awlaki is probably a piece of shit but he's probably also a former CIA asset. In any case, it's all about precedent and once the precedent has been set that the government can do X, then when the government subsequently re-interprets the precedent to include X-squared, the law goes right out the window. "We can kill a US citizen without due process in this one instance" becomes "We can kill US citizens without due process, we've done it before, it's the law." We are definitely entering an eclipse of human progress. I hope people do come to their senses before they drag society all the way back to the Dark Ages.
Actually, it should have gone to the dogs, but didn't. I'm talking about Leona Helmsley's estate , of course. The contract clause of the Constitution says, "No State shall ... pass any ... Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts..." This means that private contracts cannot be changed by legislative edict. This clause is incredibly important because the willingness of private individuals to engage in profitable enterprise - which is the foundation of social welfare - crucially depends on their belief that they can realize a profit. In turn, their belief that they can realize a profit depends on their belief that they can hold parties to a contract liable to the terms in the contract. For example, lenders must have confidence that they can repossess the collateral for a loan if the loan is defaulted on. Otherwise, they will not take the risk of giving the loan in the first place. When lenders are too scared to lend, everyone is worse off. In the case of Leona Hel...
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