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Secrecy Amendment

Tuesday, 22 Apr 2008 at 11:27 am

I find it increasingly disturbing that the U.S. government tries, convicts, and punishes people based on secrets which are withheld in the name of national security. This has been going on for too long.

I would like to see an amendment to the Constitution along the lines of the following:

No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property on the basis of secret law, evidence, testimony, or process.

I would much rather some guilty people go free because we were unwilling to disclose the evidence against them than see all people at the mercy of unaccountable bureaucrats who epitomize the banality of evil.

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2 Comments

  1. Kullervo said,

    April 22, 2008 @ 4:38 pm

    Are secrecy and accountabiliy always mutually exclusive?

  2. Jonathan Blake said,

    April 22, 2008 @ 6:19 pm

    Ultimately, I believe so. If the government can choose to act in secret, then the public can’t hold them accountable.

    I’m not, however, suggesting that we take away all power to act in secret, just the ability to make secret laws targeted at private citizens and to try people under the veil of secrecy.

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