Neither the 9th nor the 10th Amendments allow Americans to take it upon themselves to lie to the courts should they deem it necessary. This is the issue, regardless of whether sex is explicitly mentioned in the Constitution.
I hope I am misunderstanding that you are actually making a case that grand juries are not allowed to try sexual cases because sex is not found explicitly in the Constitution. If so this is a grave error. Nevertheless much of what goes on in Washington cannot be found explicitly in the Constitution.
Paula Jones brought a charge against Clinton, claiming he had damaged her. Clinton was not at liberty to lie and cheat in order not to have those charges explored by the court. Once the Court turned its cold Eye toward Lewinsky, Clinton was bound by sacred oath to respect that Court, delivering to it the truth. He did not do this. He chose to instead show contempt for the Court. This is disallowed in our system.
>What I propose is unclear, secrecy may be some remedy, but more than current. A redone discovery process, ... .<
I propose that whenever a person is asked a question by an American court, that that person be compelled to tell the truth. This is clear and has worked for courts for thousands of years. In America, should a person believe the court unfair, that person has the option of pleading the Fifth Amendment. Clinton had this option. He instead chose lie and cheat your courts and another American. He chose to do it constantly, insulting your intelligence with tortured (and completely murdered) definitions of common English terms. He did it over and over again, even convincing you and most other Americans that this was perfectly acceptable in a president. There is no need to propose another system to deal with this. Our former system was not broken until America allowed Clinton to break it in plain view.
>Your pessimism has legitimacy, but autopsies often reveal needed future actions. Please do not despair; your feedback has been invaluable.<
LOL. Well thanks. I think I have risen above despair. Nevertheless I am a bit more realistic about my relationship with my countrymen. I once thought America a family of sorts in which each member felt some sort of basic moral responsibility, love even, (I feel really foolish admitting this) toward every other member – “One nation, under God, indivisible…” (You must try and understand that from a child I was literally taught this, and so have seriously held to it all my life). Now it is made plain to me I live in a country where such high minded sentiments are no longer feasible. My citizenship links me to other Americans no more than it links me to Germans, Russians or even Iraqis. It has been painful to me to see the ideals of my youth die. Nevertheless, such is life. We are always growing up. I still have my faith, family and work. I play quite a lot, and legally scheme just as much as anyone to keep as much of my production as possible. I have means and am not ashamed of it, thinking myself obligated to no one but me. I think this is pretty much the essence of what it means to be an American. |
