Well, we’ve got our values straight as a Nation, don’t we? Violate national security and you get punished! That’s it, case settled.
Except there are real differences in who get punished and for what. General David Petraeus gives his biographer/mistress written evidence of security codes, the public release of which is a threat to national security, and he gets a misdemeanor conviction with a paltry $40,000 fine. Pfc. Chelsea/Bradley Manning releases documents, the dump of which is certainly embarrassing but hardly as potentially damaging as the General’s information, and your punishment is 35 years of your life.
Of course, the General is so remorseful for his faux pas! And who gives a damn what some trans-gender person thinks or feels following a probably-immature decision.
We are equal before the law. Some of us are just more equal, that’s all.
Sanchismos 
Can I have an Amen!! Regards
Indeed, the People say ‘Amen!’
Orwellian.
Great post. If there is not equal application of the law, then there cannot be rule by law. We might as well go back to the days of monarchy and dictatorship where rule is administered by arbitrary decree.
Secular Jurist-
Appreciate your encouragement! Commenting on the world news is getting to be something of a bore, what with the ease with which the critique can flow.
🙂
Chelsea Manning embarrassed certain politicians when Wikileaks released the diplomatic cables. She embarrassed the military brass when she released the video of soldiers playing Call of Duty with real, live civilians in Baghdad. She had to be made an example of for other would be whistleblowers or conscientious objectors.
Jeff-
There seems no end to the gusher of inequality. Although I long ago gave up theism, it is not difficult to understand the attraction of appocalypticism. If we are not delivered from ‘outside,’ we shall probably perish and since there is no ‘outside,’ the outlook is not encouraging.
Sadly I don’t find such things surprising anymore -they are confirming of the inequality we just cant seem to address. Exceĺlent comparison Ron.
Interesting too about the biographer/mistress thing. An x PM of ours in Oz ended up leaving his wife and marrying his B/M…the PM that said “any boss who sacks a worker for not showing up today is a bum!” when we won the Americas cup in the rich mans sport of maxi yachting.
Sedwith-
Always more than one way to ‘sack’ a worker, I guess. An American idiom refers to being in ‘the sack with’ as ‘in bed with,’ in case I need provide a thesaurus. Words are fun!
Yep funny Ron hadn’t picked that one up…something about egos and adoration with PM Hawke (more of a cockatoo (scuse another pun) than a hawk.
Sedwith- Your kudos are appreciated. Cynicism seems the only reasonalble response.
Appreciate your reading/reply, Bob. Petreaus and his Mistress are such a lovely couple in their photo, don’t you think? There was a time when such disloyalty of intimacy was seen for what it is, i.e., duplicitous.
Too true, Ron. 😦
Robyn- Many thanks for paying attention!!