Power to the Swift Boaters!

LA Times.com ^ | December 20, 2006 | Bradley A. Smith

[IrishMike]

Donated $100 to the swifties,
will again.

[Phlyer]

The FEC admitted to going easy on the groups, given the "uncertainty" in the law.

Robert Heinlein had an interesting essay in which he advocated a 'Plain Language' amendment to the Constitution. (Actually, he wrote it as a short fiction vignette, but the good things that resulted amounted to advocacy).

In his proposed amendment, any law that was confusing or ambiguous or 'uncertain' enough that there was more than one legitimate interpretation based on normal usage of English was unconstitutional on that basis alone.

I am leery of too-easy amending of the Constitution - though I have to admit the argument gets weak when the courts are 'interpreting' the words into meaninglessness anyway - but I think this is a good idea. We should not be subject to arbitrary interpretations of ambiguous law. In the same sense of 'innocent until proven guilty' there should be an immunity from vague laws, with any ambiguity resolved in favor of the defendant, not in favor of the government.

Of course, there should be a zillion dollars in my bank account (fairly earned, not stolen from others through government-enforced wealth redistribution) and I should be taller, younger, and better looking. I expect all of those will happen before the government surrenders its authority to exercise power arbitrarily.

[pierrem15]

LOL! Nice, succinct summary of 50 years of Kool-Aid Konstitutional Jurisprudence.

According to the SCOTUS, you have the right to commit sodomy, but your political rights are subject to restriction.

Turns the Constitution on its head.

[Sir Gawain]

Power to my ammo when the sh*t hits the fan.

[Larry Lucido]

"The FEC admitted to going easy on the groups"

It's not the fine. The fine could have been $5.00. It's the chilling effect on future speech that matters.