The Tyranny of Good Intentions: How Prosecutors and Law Enforcement Are Trampling the Constitution in the Name of Justice | 
| Authors: Paul Craig Roberts, Lawrence M. Stratton
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Category: Book
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Avg. Customer Rating:  23 reviews
Sales Rank: 110240
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.1 x 0.7
ISBN: 0307396061
Dewey Decimal Number: 340
EAN: 9780307396068
ASIN: 0307396061
Publication Date: March 25, 2008
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Amazon.com Review
The authors of The New Color Line return with another libertarian polemic, this time taking aim at a justice system that has lost sight of its most important goals. Paul Craig Roberts and Lawrence M. Stratton warn of a "police state that is creeping up on us from many directions." There's the war on drugs, which makes it possible for federal agents to investigate people simply for carrying large amounts of cash. There's the crusade against white-collar crime, which has turned the plea bargain into an enemy of the truth. And there's outright misconduct, abetted by prosecutors more interested in compiling long lists of indictments than ensuring the fair treatment of all suspects. The Tyranny of Good Intentions is replete with examples of how government treads on freedom through ill-willed prosecution and faceless bureaucracy. The book's overpowering sense of disaffection sometimes leads to alarmist prose: "We the People have vanished. Our place has been taken by wise men and anointed elites." The authors are swift to suggest that America, barring "an intellectual rebirth," may yet go the way of "German Nazis and Soviet communists." Yet The Tyranny of Good Intentions is nothing if not well intended; it is full of passion and always on the attack, whether the writers are taking on racial quotas, wetland regulations, or any number of policies they find objectionable. In a jacket blurb, libertarian icon Milton Friedman calls it "a devastating indictment of our current system of justice." Roberts and Stratton, although right-leaning in many of their political sympathies, will probably find plenty of fans on ACLU-left--and anybody who cringes at the thought of unbridled state power. If the road to hell is indeed paved with good intentions, consider this book an atlas. --John J. Miller
Product Description
In this updated and expanded edition of The Tyranny of Good Intentions, Paul Craig Roberts and Lawrence M. Stratton renew their valiant campaign to reclaim that which is rightly ours–liberty protected by the rule of law. They show how crusading legislators and unfair prosecutors are remaking American law into a weapon wielded by the government and how the erosion of the legal principles we hold dear–such as habeas corpus and the prohibition against self-incrimination–is destroying the presumption of innocence. A new introduction and new chapters cover recent marquee cases and make this provocative book essential reading for anyone who cringes at the thought of unbridled state power and sees our civil liberties slowly slipping away in the name of the War on Drugs, the War on Crime, and the War on Terror.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 18 more reviews...
 Solid September 13, 2008
Unaware of Robert & Stratton's book until recently, I had written many articles on government abuses, including articles about the improper use of civil forfeiture, criminal indictments, grand jury proceedings, foreign intelligence surveillance, and signing statements. (Google my name or go to www.jvbline.org.)
R & S's book simply confirms what my independent research had shown and what must now be viewed as established beyond a reasonable doubt: our democratic ideals have been consumed by government overreach.
"The Tyranny of Good Intentions" is a wonderful resource and R & S show their deep patriotism (a word as much abused nowadays as government powers are). I liked the approach the authors took of going back to Blackstone and the "Rights of Englishmen." I also enjoyed their discussion of Jeremy Bentham, whose utilitarianism they claim was the start of the downfall of our republic. I agree with R & S about both of these matters.
Few people know that Jeremy Bentham was friends with Aaron Burr, a tidbit which I find fascinating as someone who has long studied the Burr mystery. It was to Bentham that Burr shared his deeply private remarks about his crucifixion by Thomas Jefferson. And Burr seems to have sold himself into Bentham's intellectual spell for a time, but it does not appear that Burr personally adopted any of Bentham'e views.
In any event, R & S's book is important and although I don't share their views (as far as I can discern them) on corporations (they appear to hold the free market approach, while I think corporations should be banned), among other things, and the authors occasionally descend into rant, the book contains a huge amount of solid research material and well-founded conclusions about what has happened to our democracy.
Jennifer Van Bergen, JD, MSIE Candidate
Author of "The Twilight of Democracy" and "Archetypes for Writers"
Law lecturer, Anglo-American University, Prague, Czech Republic
 Tyranny September 8, 2008
The United States Constitution was written to give us, the citizens, our rights to freedom, and to tell the government how they were not to infringe on those rights. Mr.Roberts and Mr.Stratton lay out how power hungry government employees, yes our employees, from the local to federal level, have reinterpreted the law and are now using it against us. How have our government's various wars, from the war on drugs to the war on terror, been absolute failures? How have these wars actually been used as a weapon against our rights? Learn here. Governments have historically become more abusive over time, and ours is no different. This is an eye opener that tells us where we've been, what we have become, and what our future holds if we continue on the same path. The credentials of the authors only adds to the forcefulness of this message.
 Tranny of good intentions May 26, 2008
0 out of 7 found this review helpful
Tranny of good intentions was a ground-breaking Danish movie that blurred the borders between pornography and Kierkegaard's moral philosophy... It is surprising to see the title changed by a "y" but, nonetheless, very encouraging to read "good intentions" as a motivation description of the "sheeple", the "evil government" and the other enemies of the "trufers"... Mr Roberts' creation shines with unintentional ironies and unforeseen vignettes of simplistic brilliance...
 Yet Another hysterical Anti-Bush diatribe from Roberts May 3, 2008
0 out of 22 found this review helpful
Roberts sure has gotten a lot of mileage from his incessant mentioning of his small part in the Reagan administration. Surely if Ronnie must be turning over in his grave at reviewing Roberts' recent articles.
Roberts hates Bush so obsessively, he desires any catastrophic on American people so that he can blame unfortunate events on Bush.
One of the most repulsive articles he has written was a letter to Islamic terrorists,, essentially instructing them to create the most destruction on the USA by doing anything it can to destroy the US dollar. Great,, Roberts is coaching terrorists on how to hurt the US$ in order to hurt Bush. Problem with that is it will hurt many millions of innocent Americans,,ones that Roberts clearly does not care about in his pathetic endeavor to hurt Bush as much as possible.
He's a certified lunatic. He is constantly ranting.
What's Roberts going to do after Jan 2009? Stop writing the garbage he writes? I CERTAINLY HOPE SO!
If anyone should be tried for TREASON its Roberts!
Excellent overview of how the Constitution is being subverted by bureaucrats and legislators April 23, 2007
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
The basic theme of this book is that the rule of law is being subverted by legislators who grant far too much authority to regulators who are beyond reach of the voter. The result is that the essence of Constitutional law is lost. One grievous example, which is not mentioned in the book, but serves as an illustration is Roe v. Wade. This Supreme Court decision removed a highly contentious argument from the people, acting through their various state legislators, and created judge made law. Judges who are not elected by the people.
"The Tyranny Of Good Intentions" sticks to lower ground. For example, the Housing and Urban Affairs Department attempted to suppress the First Amendment rights of people protesting the creation of a taxpayer-funded homeless shelter in their neighborhood. HUD didn't want any opposition - and sought to silence its critics. Another example is how Netscape Corporation, unable to succeed in the marketplace, was able to sic the law on its more able competitor, Microsoft Corporation. Thus the law was perverted to serve private desires under the flag of public interest.
The authors maintain that "[t]he Constitution has been lost in poor teaching and the legal profession's accomomodation to unaccountable power". Constitutional law, the authors say, has been trivialized - and they provide many examples to support their contention. They claim that the United States today is ruled by bureaucrats who make law under broadly delegated powers and by judges who legislate an tax from the bench. The original American Republic they say is lost - and if the people don't reclaim their power - worse is to come.
The book is essentially non-partisan and any American who reveres the Constitution and its promises should take notice.
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