Rand’s stand was noble. Surely he brought attention to a touchy and ominous subject. Beyond that though, not much was accomplished. The huge question out there is ‘can the government use drones here against us?’ The answer is not as clear as Holder’s letter would make it.
So. No drones unless that individual is in combat with the United States. Sounds clear enough. But let’s play with it.
We now know that Obama’s much vaunted ‘transformation’ of America means a radical shift–from capitalist powerhouse to collectivist soft (for now) tyranny. Fully half of america is totally disgusted with that. They see their constitution being shredded and their long-held values being mercilessly trampled. But they are expected to sit quietly and watch it happen. Should they deign to resist. Should they lift the slightest finger in opposition to this trend, they are now ‘in combat with the United States’ and the president has reserved to himself the ‘constitutional’ right to reign hellfire down on them.
By these definitions, the British would have had every right to use drones against the American revolutionaries. Abe Lincoln would have had every right to use drones against the rebs. And the left has now reserved itself the right to use taxpayer-funded drones against the ‘radical’ right should they in any way feel threatened. Who can forget that our president referred to that half of our populace as ‘the enemy’.
The political differences we are experiencing in this country just got infinitely more a-symmetrical.
For myself, I would be much more comfortable if our senate were working to absolutely banish armed drones from the skies over America.
