Happy Law Day

For most of the world May 1 is May Day, which is either a pagan celebration of spring; or a celebration of workers rights, organized labor, socialism, or communism depending on your political outlook. But here in the United States, it's officially "Law Day", where we celebrate living under the rule of law rather than under the dictatorial whims of an idiot monarch. I like what The New York Times has to say on the subject:

As long as there was a national consensus about the importance of the rule of law, Law Day felt superfluous, like celebrating gravity. But for six years now, the rule of law has been under attack. An array of doctrines has emerged to undermine it, like the enemy combatant doctrine, which says people can be held indefinitely without trial, and the unitary executive doctrine, which insists that a president can do as he wants in many areas, no matter what Congress says.

In keeping with tradition, President Bush has issued a proclamation inviting Americans today to “celebrate the Constitution and the laws that protect our rights and liberties.” It rings more than a little hollow, though, as he continues to trample on civil liberties in the war on terror, and stands by an attorney general who has politicized the Justice Department to a shocking degree.

The less committed a president is to the law, the more need there is for Law Day, which makes it a holiday whose time has come.

(HT: Crooks and Liars)