by staff

New York Times

07/04/04

People too often get the impression that the only people who use the nation's civil liberties protections are lawbreakers who were not
quite guilty of the exact felony they were charged with. Perhaps we should thank the Bush administration for providing so many situations that demonstrate how an unfettered law enforcement system, even one pursuing worthy ends, can destroy the lives of the innocent out of hubris or carelessness.

... Virtually every time the Bush administration feels cornered, it falls back on the argument that the president and his officials are honorable men and women. ... But this nation was organized under a rule of law, not a dictatorship of the virtuous. The founding fathers wrote the Bill of Rights specifically because they did not believe that honorable men always do the right thing...

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http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/04/opinion/04SUN1.html?th