Barackus Obamus Imperator

People like Jonathan Turley keep talking about the Constitution and the law as if those things still actually meant something.

Turley, besides being a frequent guest on Keith Olbermann's MSNBC liberal gabfest, "Hardball," is a constitutional law scholar, so it's natural for him to condemn "Barack Obama’s failure to investigate and prosecute officials for the American torture program, a clear war crime under existing treaties," and to solemnly pronounce that "Obama is in open violation of international law due to his failure to uphold the clear legal and moral obligations of this country."

Of course, he's right. Under the law, Obama's Justice Department is not allowed to pick and choose which criminal behavior they'll prosecute and which they'll ignore. But strict adherence to the rule of law in our time is an antiquated concept, and sometimes I feel like asking people like Turley what kind of a world they think they're living in.

The Constitution was originally a hand-written document. It wasn't even typed, much less composed on a computer. The problem is we're not in Kansas or the 18th century any more.

I know the laws are still on the books, and that Congress still goes into session, just as the Roman Senate did under Hadrian. But we're an empire now, and empires are run pretty much by executive fiat, and Congress (like the Roman Senate before it) has evolved into mainly an opportunity for people to gain a lot of influence by directing flows of money, thereby enriching themselves and their reputations.

The Romans of the imperial age liked to pretend they were still a republic too, just as we like to pretend we are. They left all the old forms and institutions in place and paid lip service to them, just as we do. But as far as Obama not having the legal authority to pardon self-admitted torturers, so what? He's the emperor, and he can do whatever he wants within certain limits having nothing to do with the Constitution or the law.

Those limits are that he can't cross any person or institution which holds significant real power within the imperium (such as the CIA for example). Emperors are not subject to legal constraints, but they can be overthrown or assassinated. That's the only real limit on imperial power. Obama knows this; doesn't even Jonathan Turley, deep down, know it too?

A constitutional law scholar might, I suppose, still be trying to find the parts of the Constitution that deal with the CIA, the NSA, Centcom, the Federal Reserve, and whether the imperium has authority to torture.

What I'm finding is that I'm able to live in this world and in this Empire as long as I understand it, and as long as I'm able to tell the truth as I perceive it.