Monday, February 27, 2006

[politics] Funny, I don't remember that being there...

image of the Magna Carta Then:
No Freeman shall be taken, or imprisoned, or be disseised of his Freehold, or Liberties, or free Customs, or be outlawed, or exiled, or any otherwise destroyed; nor will we pass upon him, nor condemn him, but by lawful Judgment of his Peers, or by the Law of the Land. We will sell to no man, we will not deny or defer to any man either Justice or Right. -- article 29, "A translation of Magna Carta as confirmed by Edward I with his seal in 1297"
Then:
...here is a law which is above the King and which even he must not break. This reaffirmation of a supreme law and its expression in a general charter is the great work of Magna Carta; and this alone justifies the respect in which men have held it. --Winston Churchill, 1956
Now:
The boring title of the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill hides an astonishing proposal. It gives ministers power to alter any law passed by Parliament. The only limitations are that new crimes cannot be created if the penalty is greater than two years in prison and that it cannot increase taxation. But any other law can be changed, no matter how important. All ministers will have to do is propose an order, wait a few weeks and, voilĂ , the law is changed. For ministers the advantages are obvious: no more tedious debates in which they have to answer awkward questions.
Got that? No more awkward questions... [via LENIN'S TOMB]

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