The Law is an Ass

You know what the bitch is about writing a daily post? Figuring out the first sentence. This doesn't have a damned thing to do with what I'm about to write, but I figure the best way to solve a problem is to point it out. Try this tomorrow; wake up and wonder what the hell you're going to do with your life. Then do it the next day and the next day and the next....

But you didn't dial in here to see me whine and I've managed to brilliantly solve my own problem. My first sentence is dead. This concludes this episode of "Fighting Writer's Block." Yay on me. Onwards and upwards.

Moving right along, I'm a little lost on what to think about Roland Burris. This is a problem. Turns out, he's just a little bit of a dick. The general consensus is that Burris is a good man caught in a controversy bigger than himself. That controversy may be bigger than he is, but he's not a good man.

[ProPublica.org:]

Former Illinois attorney general Roland Burris, embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s pick to replace Barack Obama in the Senate, is no stranger to controversy.

While state attorney general in 1992, Burris aggressively sought the death penalty for Rolando Cruz, who twice was convicted of raping and murdering a 10-year-old girl in the Chicago suburb of Naperville. The crime took place in 1983.

Cruz was clearly innocent. Another man confessed to the crime. Burris pushed to legally murder -- there is no other word for it -- Cruz for political gain. My opinion of this man is that he's the scummiest of scum. Much, much worse than the corrupt governor who appointed him. Blagojevich never tried to kill anyone.

Most people probably don't know about this and still believe Burris shouldn't be seated. A recent Gallup poll finds that a slim majority -- 51% -- think that Burris should not be seated. Only 27% thinks he should get the seat.

And here's where I earn my blogger pittance -- Burris should get the seat. Screw you majority.

It's not about Barack Obama or Blagojevich. it's about the law. And, as Mark Twain put it, the law is an ass. A big freakin' brainless donkey who'll plant his ass anywhere, anytime, and refuse to budge. As much as we'd like the law to always make sense, that's not the way it is.

Blagojevich is the governor. Scandal or no scandal, Illinois still has an executive. He's signing or vetoing law and, if there were some sort of disaster -- an icestorm, say -- he's the guy who'll deal with it. He has every right and, dare I say, obligation to make this appointment.

We need to look at nations where the law serves the rulers, rather than the other way around. China shouldn't be our model. If law is subservient to leadership, we lose in the long run. Blagojevich is a dick, Burris is a dick, but the law should be absolute.

Don't get the idea that I take this stance casually. I really, really don't like Burris. Where ambition trumps justice, we all suffer. And Burris has proved he puts ambition above justice. Screw him,

As I write, news comes in that Burris will be seated.

[San Jose Mercury News:]

In a reversal, Senate Democrats now appear ready to let Roland Burris fill President-elect Barack Obama's vacant seat.

After being rejected Tuesday when he tried to join the class of incoming freshmen senators, Burris is finding new support on Capitol Hill among Democratic leaders, the Associated Press reported.

Burris, who would become the Senate's only black member, was blocked from taking the seat by Democrats who objected to an appointment by embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

I wish I could celebrate.

-Wisco