Finally, we stand up to thugs

[bl825]

I would say there absolutely is rule of law in Saudi Arabia.  Is their legal system just?  Probably not.  There is definitely rule of law, though.

How about Syria?

[CTL]

I would say there absolutely is rule of law in Saudi Arabia.  Is their legal system just?  Probably not.  There is definitely rule of law, though.

How about Syria?

I've got to admit I don't know much about Syria

[bl825]

Probably doesn't matter too much.  I think we just disagree as to the use of the term "rule of law."  I wouldn't call Saudi Arabia, or any country where there's a ruling family or group, as a place that follows the rule of law.

At any rate, Somalia doesn't have anything.

[CTL]

Probably doesn't matter too much.  I think we just disagree as to the use of the term "rule of law."  I wouldn't call Saudi Arabia, or any country where there's a ruling family or group, as a place that follows the rule of law.

At any rate, Somalia doesn't have anything.

Yea, I mean, what constitutes rule of law is one of the most fundamental questions to consider in law and politics, but it is not very easy for people to agree on the answer to that question.  It is at the heart of the debate between certain legal positivists who hold that there is no necessary connection between law and morality, and other legal theorists who hold that there the validity of law is based, in part, in morality.

[bl825]

Oh I don't think of it as being quite that complicated.  I just ask myself if a there's anyone who's above the law.  In dictatorships or monarchies (real ones, not the British kind), the answer is yes. 

[CTL]

Where are you headed in the fall?

[bl825]

Where are you headed in the fall?

Various places, none of which I'll be naming. 

[CTL]

Various places, huh?  I gotta figure out how to do that

You're one of those anonymous types.  I get it.  Well, good luck to you, wherever you decide to go.

[bl825]

Thanks.  And I think Ithaca's beautiful, for the record. 

[CTL]

No doubt!